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Letters to Seven Churches (Part Nine): Philadelphia
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughWhen Jesus warns us not to let anyone take our crown, He encourages us to endure over the long-haul and not bask in the glory of a brief, victorious accomplishment.
Finishing Your Gun Lap
Sermon by John O. ReidThe most dangerous lap we encounter is when everyone around us tends to be compromising. Today, what was once aberrant behavior is now considered normal.
Going on to Perfection
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John O. ReidWe are bombarded by technology, competing for our attention, causing us to drift from our spiritual quest. God expects us to continue to mature spiritually.
God's Warning
Sermon by John O. ReidTo watch world events but to ignore our spiritual progress and overcoming is a foolish and futile exercise. We need to watch how we conduct ourselves.
Studying the Bible
Sermon by John O. ReidBible study provides a personal means of attaining the mind of God, growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Motivation to Endure
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John O. ReidWe must develop patience, perseverance, and endurance for the times ahead, safe-guarding the precious calling God has given us and enduring to the end
When the Trumpet Blows
Sermon by John O. ReidThe sound of a trumpet evokes many images in modern life, yet biblically, particularly in Israel's physical history, it most often signaled the immediate warning of imminent war, death, and destruction. Jeremiah 4:19-22 captures this dread, with the prophet's soul pained at hearing "the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war," lamenting a people who are foolish, wise to do evil, but without understanding of God. Jeremiah 6:1-8 extends this image, commanding the blowing of the trumpet in Tekoa and the setting of a signal-fire as disaster approaches from the north, describing a nation likened to a delicate woman under siege, full of oppression and wickedness, urged to be instructed lest she be made desolate. Jeremiah 6:9-17 continues the theme, showing God's fury poured out because the people, from least to greatest, are given to covetousness and false dealing, healing the wound of His people only slightly by crying "Peace, peace!" when there is no peace. Watchmen were set to warn, "Listen to the sound of the trumpet!" but the people refused, declaring, "We will not listen." This refusal to heed the trumpet's warning parallels the danger of national and personal correction, since the same nature that plagued ancient Israel remains in those today who share the same stock. Zephaniah 1:14-18 intensifies this picture, describing the great and near day of the Lord as "a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities," a day of wrath, darkness, and devastation from which neither silver nor gold can deliver. Zephaniah 2:1-3 follows with the appropriate response, gathering together in humility to seek the Lord before the decree is issued, essentially urging preparation while opportunity remains. Ezekiel 33:1-5 reinforces the watchman motif, showing that whoever hears the trumpet's warning and fails to heed it bears responsibility for the consequences, while the one who takes warning saves his life, directly applying this principle to God's people today as those who must decide whether they will take the warning being sounded. This martial symbolism connects directly to the broader message concerning the final trumpet that will herald Christ's return and end humanity's wicked, Satan-influenced rule. Unlike the world, which anticipates wars but has no true understanding of the devastation the final trumpet portends, the Family of God possesses revealed insight into this coming reality. This knowledge carries urgency, for the parable of the ten virgins demonstrates that once the trumpet sounds, it will be too late for the unprepared to gather the oil they lack. Just as ancient watchmen sounded alarms that were often ignored, God's people today are warned in advance precisely so they might "get their act together," overcoming spiritual lukewarmness before the final trumpet blows. The trumpet, therefore, functions not merely as a historical symbol of physical warfare but as a present call to spiritual vigilance, urging believers living in the dangerous Laodicean era to heed the warning now, while time remains, rather than risk the fate of those who refused to listen when the trumpet sounded.
Deuteronomy: Being Careful
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughOur care in following God's instructions must be thorough, leaving no place for inattention, short cuts, negligence, or doing only enough to get by.
Trumpets Is a Day of Hope
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe are on the threshold of the greatest period of testing ever to come upon mankind. We need a sense of hope and faith to stay focused on our calling.
Motivation to Endure
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John O. ReidWithout daily contact with God in prayer and Bible study, and without continual contact with the brethren, we may lose the determination to persevere.
Keeping God's Standards
Sermon by John O. ReidGod's law will be the spiritual weights and measures in the Kingdom, but until then, we must glorify God by keeping these standards as a bright light.
Lessons From First-Century Christianity
Sermon by David C. GrabbeEven though the believers of the first century experienced extraordinary events, because of entropy, their zeal atrophied after the shockwaves dissipated.
Reflections on the COVID-19 Pandemic
Sermon by David C. GrabbeLessons learned from COVID, as well as possible reasons God allowed or caused the pandemic to sweep through the church and wreak havoc on Feast observance.
He Who Overcomes
Sermon by John O. ReidJust as fighting to escape its cocoon strengthens the butterfly, our calling requires effort above what the world has to endure to become free of Satan's cocoon.