Playlist: Vanity (topic)

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Vanity (Part 2)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Solomon's statement that all of life is vanity is only true if one is not privy to God's ultimate purpose for mankind. Paul describes what God is doing.


Vanity (Part 1)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Vanity has many nuances, including transitoriness, futility, profitlessness, confusion, falseness, conceit, vainglory, denial, and idolatry.


If You Do These Things, You Shall Never Fall

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Mark Schindler

God has not set up us for failure, but if we can't control our inordinate pride, we could destroy our own chances of fulfilling God's purpose for us.


New Covenant Priesthood (Part Seven)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Pride is the basis of resisting God, while humility is the key to a relationship with Him. We recognize it in others but we seldom see it in ourselves.


Faith (Part Six)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The hallmark of Christian character is humility, which comes about only when one sees himself in comparison to God. Pride makes distorted comparisons.


Don't Be a Politician

Sermon by Mike Ford

Jesus proved that one cannot become a leader through political intrigue, but by assuming the position of a humble servant. God sets Himself against the proud.


Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Fourteen)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Solomon ruminates about life being seemingly futile and purposeless. A relationship with God is the only factor which prevents life from becoming useless.


New Covenant Priesthood (Part Nine)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Pride elevates one above God, denigrating any dependence upon God, replacing it with self-idolatry. We ought to boast or glory in the Lord instead of ourselves.


Surprise Attack

Sermon by Bill Onisick

Any thought not aligned to God's Spirit is satanic, including bragging, putting others down, being puffed up with arrogance, or putting anything before God.


Unity

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

Each member of Christ's body must choose to function in the role God has ordained to produce unity, emulating Christ in striving to please the Father


Faith (Part Seven)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Pride is a perverted comparison that elevates one above another. Because of its arrogant self-sufficiency, it hinders our faith. Faith depends on humility.


Satan (Part 4)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Satan uses lies and disinformation to promote self-satisfaction over obedience to God. The way to the kingdom is through self-denial, even suffering unjustly.


Knowing God: Formality and Customs (Part Six)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

In the matter of godly standards for dress, we must adopt the humble, childlike, sincere, unassuming, and teachable attitude, loving God intimately.


Who Then Is In The Kingdom Of Heaven?

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Martin G. Collins

In Matthew 18, some disciples pondered who would be greatest in the Kingdom. However, ambition, arrogance, and pride will keep one from even being there.


Preparing To Rule

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

How can a group of rag-tag upstarts with no experience—that's how the world's leaders perceive us—hope to succeed where they have utterly failed?


Do Little Things Not Count?

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Those who ignore the clear biblical instructions for the wavesheaf offering with its unambiguous prohibitions risk the displeasure and judgment of God.


Grace, Mercy, and Favor (Part Four): Favor to Live as God Lives

Sermon by Mark Schindler

We earn God's favor by obedience; there is a direct tie between submission to His will and His favor. The more one submits, the more favor and grace accrues.


Job and Self-Evaluation (Part Three): Attitude

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Job had not achieved spiritual maturity, but had assumed the arrogant stance of attempting to debate the Creator on his own level.


Satan (Part 5)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

To resist the Devil is to resist unlawful desires, not allowing him to manipulate our emotions. Satan works on fear of being denied something pleasurable.


John (Part Twenty-Six)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

While the other accounts of Jesus' trial and crucifixion seem to show passivity, John shows Jesus totally in charge, purposefully and courageously moving.


Living by Faith: God's Grace (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Grace implies empowerment for growth. It is the single most important aspect of our salvation, and His giving of it is completely unmerited on our part.


The Heart's Self-Absorption

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

II Timothy 3:1-5 contains 19 characteristics of carnality. The common denominator is self-absorption and pride, placing the self above others.


Ecclesiastes and the Feast of Tabernacles (Part 2)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

God emphasizes Ecclesiastes during the Feast of Tabernacles to show the result of doing whatever our human heart leads us to do. The physical cannot satisfy.


Amos (Part Eleven)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

Ancient Israel had at the core of its religion an obsession to please the self at the expense of justice and the best interests of the disadvantaged.


Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Fifteen)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Our relationship with God is often strengthened through hardship. We must choose to yield to God, living for a much higher goal than raw materialism.


Sin (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Though influenced by Satan and the world, sin is still a personal choice. Christ's sacrifice and God's Spirit provide our only defense against its pulls.


The Problem Of Leadership

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

The demise of society is caused by the lack of leadership within the family. The breakdown of society derives from the breakdown and of the family.


How to Combat Future Shock

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Alvin Toffler described a phenomenon known as Future Shock, a stressful malady caused by an inability to adjust to rapid change and over-stimulation.


Conviction, Moses, and Us

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Like Moses, we have to develop conviction, a product of a relationship of God, established by being faithful day by day in the little things of life.


Ecclesiastes and the Feast of Tabernacles (Part 1)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Love for this world will inevitably bring disillusionment. Because the world is passing away, our priorities should be to fear God and keep his commandments.


Government (Part Six)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The ministry's authority consists of teaching, edifying, and equipping the members for sainthood, but not to wield dictatorial power over their lives.


Spiritual Renewal

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Paul admonishes the Corinthians to resist contentions, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambition, backbiting, whispering, slander, conceit, and agitation.


Loyalty and Submission (Part 3)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

As wives are admonished to emulate the ideal of the Proverbs 31 woman, husbands must emulate the sacrificial spirit of Jesus Christ.


'But I Say to You' (Part One): The Spirit of the Law

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Our righteousness must exceed the that of the Pharisees, keeping God's law in the spirit rather than in the letter, replacing the law of death with the law of life.


Reap the Whirlwind

Sermonette by Ronny H. Graham

Haman's evil purposes were thwarted; he had sown the wind only to reap the whirlwind, paying for his evil communication with his life and his family.


Where God Places His Name (Part Two)

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Because we would die from exposure to God's glory, the name of God, reflecting His characteristics, is the only way we can approach God.


Life in Sodom

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Sodomites were industrious people, but they cared nothing for God, mirroring the worst aspects of modern Israel. We need to make sure that we live soberly.


No Real Love Without God

Sermon by John O. Reid

We are called to take on the very nature of God, to put on the love of God. Surprisingly, We can rekindle our first love by ardently keeping God's Commandments.


Knowing God: Formality and Customs (Part Five)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The notion that it does not matter what we wear if our heart is right on the inside is foolish. Our clothing ought to reflect our inward character.


Knowing God: Formality and Customs (Part Four)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Hair length and clothing are outward indicators of a person's inner spiritual condition. They serve as a testimony of what we are on the inside.


Knowing God: Formality and Customs (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Clothing and hair length signal and reflect areas of rebellion, defiled attitudes, and spiritual health, providing a barometer of a person's character.


Unity (Part 1): God and HWA

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

A major cause in the splitting of the church has been the wholesale rejection of the doctrines Herbert Armstrong, under God's inspiration, restored.


Accountability

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The prophecies reveal that if young people try to find answers in the world or other religions, they will meet with disaster.


The Commandments (Part Eighteen)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

A community can only be established upon a foundation of stability and truth. Our relationships must be based upon God's truth, producing faithfulness.