Cortez church of Christ

The phrase “there is nothing new under the sun” from Ecclesiastes captures a sober, almost unsettling truth about human existence. The writer looks across generations of work, wisdom, pleasure, and ambition and concludes that human patterns endlessly repeat themselves. People love, strive, build, fail, and hope in remarkably similar ways across time. What feels revolutionary to one generation is o...

The New Testament teaches that the Law of Christ has replaced the Law of Moses, not by abolishing God’s moral will, but by fulfilling and completing it through Jesus. The Mosaic Law was given to Israel as a covenant, serving as a guardian until Christ came (Galatians 3:23–25). Once Christ fulfilled the Law through His perfect obedience and sacrificial death, believers were released from that coven...

The Lord’s Supper is a sacred act of remembrance and proclamation for Christians. On the night of His betrayal, Jesus instituted this memorial, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” and “This cup is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:19–20). Through the bread and the fruit of the vine, believers recall the sacrifice of Christ and the covenant sealed by...

The beginning of a new year invites reflection, renewal, and a commitment to be better—not merely different, but transformed in heart and action. Scripture reminds us that true growth begins within. Romans 12:2 urges believers to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind,” calling us to align our thoughts, priorities, and desires with God’s truth rather than the patterns of the world. Being bet...

According to the biblical accounts, an angel named Gabriel appeared to a virgin named Mary in Nazareth, in the region of Galilee, to announce she would miraculously conceive a child by the power of the Holy Spirit and name him Jesus. At the time, Mary was pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, who was reassured by an angel in a dream not to be afraid to take her as his wife because the pregn...

Matthew 7:21-23 is a stark warning from Jesus about self-deception and the nature of true faith, concluding His Sermon on the Mount. The passage declares that merely professing belief or engaging in religious activities is insufficient for entering the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus states, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will o...

The Bible presents living to a "ripe old age" as both a blessing and a reward for a righteous, God-fearing life. One of the most direct promises appears in the Old Testament. For example, in Exodus 20:12, honoring one's parents is linked to long life on Earth. Similarly, Proverbs 3:1-2 connects obedience to God's commands with "length of days and long life and peace." This recurring theme in the w...

From the beginning, humanity was designed for connection, both with God and with one another. The New Testament further defines this as koinōnia, a profound fellowship or sharing that goes beyond mere friendship to a spiritual bond among believers who share a common pursuit of union with God. The Bible highlights several vital aspects of this fellowship: Mutual Support: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 emphasi...

In the Bible, thankfulness is not merely a polite custom but a fundamental expression of faith and a direct command from God. Scripture consistently portrays a grateful heart as the natural response of a person who recognizes God's sovereignty, goodness, and constant presence in their lives. The mandate is clear: Christians are called to be thankful in all circumstances, a posture declared to be t...

“I didn't get anything out of worship at that church”. “That church is too political for me”. “That church doesn’t feed me what I need”. “I don’t need to go to church, I can worship God on my own”. Notice something about these quotes? Its all about the speaker. What “I” want/need/think. The truth is, the church isn’t about you! It belongs to Jesus, He purchased it with His blood (Eph. 5:25). So wh...

There is no better keeper of promises than God. He promised Noah that He would never again destroy the world with water. He promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child. He promised the Israelites that He would deliver them from Egyptian bondage and lead them into the promised land. And He promised David that his descendants would sit on the throne of Israel. One of the great promises,...

Many people think that you have to be perfect to be a Christian. Even worse, some people who profess Christianity, think that they are perfect; an attitude that is contrary to what our Lord taught. The truth is, perfection is not what most people think it is. In biblical terms, perfection does not mean sinless. If it did, no one would reach perfection. But are we actually called to be perfect. In...

Our Lord tells us in Matthew 11:28-30 that His way is not hard, in fact it is easy. And His way also has great promises, mainly that if we accept His way, we will have an eternal heavenly rest. Then why in the world would anyone not accept His way!? Well, it requires obedience, that is, we have to do what He says. Many don’t like to be told what to do. But we’re told what to do all our lives! As c...

The king of Syria learned an important lesson, as recorded in 1 Kings chapter 20: don’t underestimate God! He was convinced by the people around him that he could defeat the Israel if they fought them on the plains instead of in the mountains. They were wrong. God is God of both the mountains and the plains! And what arrogance to think otherwise! With the help of God, Israel would defeat the Syria...

We are living in challenging times. And while I remain optimistic that things will get better, we have some real problems that will take a lot of effort to overcome. One of those problems is an ever increasing disregard for the sanctity of life. It manifests itself in many ways: abortion, war, assassinations, murder, genocide-and the tolerance and sometimes encouragement that accompanies these. A...

In the book of Jude, he wanted to write to his readers about their common salvation. But in he says that he felt it more important to write to them and tell them to "contend earnestly for the faith" (v.3). What faith is he talking about? Why is it worth fighting for? And if it is, how do we go about doing that? Listen to this lesson and get ready to step into the ring!

Our series on ‘Highest & Best’ concludes with the topic of how we can best listen to God’s word. As we know, there’s a big difference between hearing and listening; that’s why ‘Listening’ appears in the title and not ‘Hearing’. A quick topic search will give you this: Hearing is the passive, physical process of sounds entering your ears, while listening is the active, cognitive process of focusing...

We continue in the series ‘Highest & Best’, taking up the subject of giving back to the Lord. People are hesitant to talk about money. People are ESPECIALLY hesitant to talk about how much they put in the offering plate on Sunday! Why? Are you ashamed of how little your giving? Are you fishing around in your purse or wallet hoping you’ll find some money in there before the usher gets to you? A cou...

Acts 17, beginning in verse 16, is possibly my favorite passage in the Bible. The apostle Paul is in Athens, Greece, waiting for his traveling companions to catch up to him. He was taking note of all the idols in the city and talking with people about Jesus. Some intellectuals were interested in what he had to say so Paul took the opportunity to engage them. His ‘jumping off point’ was his recogni...

In this episode we look at how we can best partake of the Lord’s supper, as we continue in the series “Highest and Best”. Jesus, Himself, instituted the Lord’s supper while He was still on earth. Matthew 26:26-28 reads, “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had...

We continue in the series “Highest and Best”, looking this episode at how we can best pray. Prayer is part of a two-way communication we have with God. He speaks to us through His word, that is, the Bible. He has said all that He is going to say to us in this life. The next time we will hear Him is when we meet Him in judgement. Be ready! Until then, we can speak to Him in prayer. He doesn’t NEED...

The phrase ‘highest and best’ is used in economics, particularly in real estate, and it means, “the reasonably probable and legal use of vacant land or an improved property that is physically possible, appropriately supported, financially feasible, and that results in the highest value.” To put it simply, “what’s the highest value and best use for this piece of property.” I like to use this in thi...

Today, we look at ‘the rest of the story’ (as Paul Harvey used to say) of Saul and his dealings with the Amalekites and their king, Agag, as told in 1 Samuel 15. We know from last week’s lesson (What's This Bleating In My Ears) that Saul did not utterly destroy the Amalekites, as God told him to. The rest of the story is that Samuel had to step in and complete the job by executing Agag. The comman...

King Saul was told to utterly destroy the long-time enemy of Israel, the Amalekites. He didn't. Instead, he chose to only do some of what God told him to do. There are some great lessons to be learned from this story. Take a listen!

Sometimes Christians are insulted by being called "narrow-minded". But in some cases, being narrow-minded is a good thing! Listen to this lesson to hear what it means to be "narrow-gate-minded".