Playlist: Laziness (topic)
Are You An Unwitting Spiritual Terrorist?
Sermonette by David F. MaasA theme throughout the wisdom literature is the deleterious effects of neglect or passivity, where the sluggard is both the perpetrator and recipient of ruin.
An Ounce of Prevention
Sermonette by Bill OnisickPoverty and destruction are the products of neglect. Preventative maintenance will help us whether we deal with physical or spiritual problems.
Our Final Performance Review
Sermonette by Bill OnisickWithout well-defined plans, projects become quickly derailed. Both time and energy are wasted in the absence of carefully established goals.
On Earning Wealth
Sermonette by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)The three principles for acquiring prosperity (diligently working, wisely managing what one has earned, and meticulously saving) all militate against laziness.
Increasing Your Life Span
Commentary by Martin G. CollinsPeople entering retirement often experience degrees of depression brought about by deteriorating health status and the feeling of no longer being needed.
Work and Welfare
Commentary by John W. RitenbaughThe Bible does not condone a government-supplied welfare system, insisting rather that people who refuse to work shall not eat (II Thessalonians 3:10-15).
The Other Israel
Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)The media portrays Israel as a war-torn, savage country. Actually Israel is a world class scene, having a better GNP than any country in the Western world.
Self Control
Sermonette by James BeaubelleSelf-control helps us to restrain ourselves from harmful lusts of the flesh, including gluttony, intoxication, sex outside of marriage, and drug abuse.
Making Good Use of God's Talent
Sermonette by David C. GrabbeBiblically, a talent has nothing to do with ability, skill, or aptitude. The Parable of the Talents goes far beyond making use of skills and abilities.
The Present and Future Crisis (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe need to exercise diligence, acquiring economic stability by submitting to God's counsel, sacrificing now before forces usurp our economic substance.
Love's Greatest Challenges
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughAn irrational fear of loss prevents the development of agape love — we fear that keeping God's commandments will cause us to lose something valuable.
Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen (Part Eleven)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsThe Parable of the Talents teaches the need for diligence in using the gifts of God. God expects us to use our talents to His glory and in the service of others.
Giving All Diligence!
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsThe recipients of Peter's epistle were having difficulty holding on to their faith, having succumbed to fear as a result of lack of discipline and laziness.
The Five Warnings of Hebrews
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe modern church stands in danger of allowing salvation to slip away. Hebrews gives warnings to help us turn our lives around so we do not fall short.
Burying Our Talents?
Sermonette by Bill OnisickGod expects a return on the investment He has placed in us. Doing nothing with our abilities is a grievous abuse of this trust.
Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Ten)
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Many of God's servants, including Elijah and Jeremiah, had their crises of faith, desiring to flee from their responsibilities and commitments.
Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Three)
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Solomon emphasized in Ecclesiastes 2 that we should enjoy and derive pleasure from our work. The way that we work is a visible witness of God before men.
A "Gimme" Nation
Commentary by Richard T. RitenbaughThe noble trait of self-sufficiency, long associated with the American spirit, has sadly been eclipsed by a spoiled brat, whiney, 'gimme' welfare mentality.
Why Governments Can't
Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)While working for the government may provide a feeling of security, it can also breed complacency and laziness, inspiring a wholesale lack of motivation.
Faith and Healing (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe have a responsibility to analyze our health needs, continually adjusting and changing as we learn, faithfully maintaining the temple of God's Spirit.
Lessons From the Animals
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughMankind has been given dominion or responsibility for the care of animal life, preserving and embellishing their environment, as God would take care of them.
Ask, Seek, Knock
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughIn answer to the question, 'How can a mere human being fulfill the difficult expectations of God?', Jesus instructs us to 'Ask, seek, and knock.'
God Expects a Return on His Investment (Part One)
Sermon by David F. MaasWe have the obligation to bear spiritual fruit, heeding the lessons of the cursing of the fig tree, and the parables of the barren fig tree and the talents.
Discerning Signs and Redeeming Time
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsGod's people have an obligation to awaken out of their complacency, realizing that their allotted time for repenting and overcoming is drawing to its close.
Can You See Yourself From Every Side?
Sermonette by Ted E. BowlingAs we exercise circumspection, we must take God's will for us into our cautious examining in our prayers, study, and meditation, avoiding the world.
Dating (Part 3): A Love Worthy of Your Life
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsSociety's interpretation of love is lust or infatuation. Premarital sex leads to long-term devastating effects, and never leads to adjustment in marriage.
The Essence of Self-Control
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsA lack of self-control, as well as the cultivation of self-indulgent perversions, will characterize large segments of our society living at the end times.
Defining Trials
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John O. ReidTrials define who we are by placing choices before us, forcing us to have faith in God. Character is built by making right, though difficult, choices.
Examine Yourself
Sermon by James BeaubelleJesus kept the two great commandments flawlessly, providing us an example. These two great commandments are where most of our self-examination should revolve.
Hebrews (Part Ten): Chapters 1 and 2
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)God created angels as ministering spirits to take care of the heirs of salvation. The Bible is filled with examples of angels rescuing God's people from harm.
Sanctification, Teens, and Self-Control
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughYoung people are responsible for the spiritual knowledge that they have learned from their parents, as well as the custodianship of spiritual blessings.
Elements of Motivation (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughFearing God leads to a determination not to bring shame on God's name or offending and hurting the relationship between God and us.
Using God's Given Authority
Sermon by Mark SchindlerGod has gifted all His called-out ones, expecting them to use those gifts with the pillars of godly wisdom for the edification of the Body of Christ.
Resistance (Part One)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe antidote to spiritual resistance is certainty and confidence in Christ to conform us into His image—a directed movement toward Christ.
Lacking Nothing (Part Two)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsDisobedience to God paves the road to scarcity and economic slavery. Moral debasement leads to debasement of currency, which leads to economic enslavement.
To Test You
Sermon by John O. ReidJesus, Joseph, David, and Abraham all endured considerable trials before they qualified for their offices. We must make our calling and election sure.
Foundations of Sand
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughWe all have a measure of sand in our foundations, symbolic of the world's evil standards, prioritizing badly, becoming neglectful, and letting things slip.
Christian Men: Personal Responsibility
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsAlthough men have no moral or mental advantages over women, God has commissioned them to actively lead, providing security and stability to family and society.
Satan, Division, and Humility
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughCompetition is the root cause of war, business takeovers, and marital discord. Solomon describes man's rivalry with one another as a striving after wind.
Faith and the Christian Fight (Part Five)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughBoth the 'eternal security' and 'no works' doctrines are destroyed by the remarkable example of Noah, who performed extraordinary works based upon faith.
Matthew (Part Seven)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Jesus, showing the spirit of the law, warns against rash divorces, taking oaths, invoking God's name frivolously, realizing that a covenant is binding.
It Takes a Church
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughAs Christians, we need to form warm, productive, quality relationships with our brethren, actively ministering to the needs of one another.
Faith (Part Six)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe hallmark of Christian character is humility, which comes about only when one sees himself in comparison to God. Pride makes distorted comparisons.
Letters to Seven Churches (Part Four): Pergamos
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughCultural compromise, such as found in Pergamos, brings judgment from Jesus. To those who refuse to compromise their convictions, Christ promises eternal life.
New Covenant Priesthood (Part Eight)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughPride leads to destruction, tricking us into thinking we deserve better than we have. Paradoxically, pride is a mark of inferiority, causing overcompensation.
Producing Fruit
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughTo be made clean only prepares us for producing fruit. If we stand still, simply resting on our justification, the dark forces will pull us backwards.
New Covenant Priesthood (Part Seven)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughPride 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.
Maintaining Good Health (Part 8)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughA poor spiritual diet will bring about a weak spiritual condition. What the mind assimilates is exceedingly more important than what the stomach assimilates.
The Seed of Eternal Life
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsPaul provided a decaying kernel of grain as a metaphor of death and resurrection, indicating that the new spirit body will be a completely different body.
Serving Others
Sermonette by James BeaubelleNeither the toxic worldview of evolution nor that espoused by mainstream Christendom fails to answer why we exist. We have a mandate to serve both God and man.
Our Spiritual Marathon
Sermonette by Bill OnisickIt behooves us not only to accept God's will, but also to earnestly desire it as our will, and not to kick against the goads, as Saul initially reacted.
Are You Dissipating Your Own Energy?
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsWe need to be on guard against dissipating our energy, becoming over-immersed in activity and busyness to the point of losing overall effectiveness.
Faith and Healing (Part Two)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughBoth spiritual and physical healing require us to work intensely, asking for God's merciful intervention while working toward a solution, exercising wisdom.
Money Is Power
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughIf we are untrustworthy with a paltry sum of money, we will be untrustworthy with the vast resources of God's creative power.
Prosperity: What Is True Wealth?
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Martin G. CollinsNew Testament examples reverse the Old Testament emphasis, focusing instead on upon the wealth of spiritual character, salvation, and eternal life.
James and Unleavened Bread (Part Three)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughJames had to be written as a counterbalance to antinomian elements that twisted Paul's writings to proclaim that that grace nullifies the need for works.
Stewardship
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughA steward is responsible for the supervision or managing of something entrusted into his care by a superior. As God's stewards, have been entrusted with much.
How to Combat Future Shock
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughAlvin Toffler described a phenomenon known as Future Shock, a stressful malady caused by an inability to adjust to rapid change and over-stimulation.
Amos (Part Eleven)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughAncient 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.
Childrearing (Part Six)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughIf we, as Christian parents, could shape and mold the minds of our children early, we could inoculate them against making the same mistakes that we did.