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Israel, Selfies, and Idolatry

Sermonette by Mike Ford

The religious hobbyist Micah practiced his own self-devised hybrid of religion, amalgamating some orthodox truth with abundant noxious, pagan admixtures.


Searching for Israel (Part Six): Israel Is Fallen, Is Fallen

Article by Charles Whitaker

After 200 years of rejecting Davidic rule, Israel fell to Assyria, and its people were carried to Media. Judah lasted about 150 years longer.


Deuteronomy and Idolatry

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

We are admonished to internalize the book of Deuteronomy in preparation for our future leadership roles.


The Doctrine of Israel (Part Four): God's Indictment

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Even though Jacob's offspring have had a special relationship with God, their carnal nature led them to test God's patience, growing more corrupt than even Sodom.


Deception, Idolatry and the Feast of Tabernacles

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Jeroboam, pragmatic and fearful, established a more convenient idolatrous festival to prevent his people from keeping the real Feast of Tabernacles in Judah.


The Second Commandment: Idolatry

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The natural mind craves something physical to remind us of God, but the Second Commandment prohibits this. Any representation will fall short of the reality.


The Doctrine of Israel (Part One): Origins

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Because Abraham trusted God, his descendants have received unprecedented blessings. If the Israelites would have kept God's law, they would have served as a model.


Hosea, Gomer, God, and Israel

Sermon by Kim Myers

To dramatize the perennial harlotry of Israel and the incredible love God exhibits toward His people, He commands Hosea to marry a harlot, Gomer.


The Beast and Babylon (Part Eight): God, Israel, and the Bible

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Though she transgressed every commandment in multiple ways, the sin through which Israel's unfaithfulness is most frequently demonstrated is gross idolatry.


The Doctrine of Israel (Part Three): A Cycle of Rebellion

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Israel consistently cycles through God's deliverance, apostasy through idolatry and immorality, God's chastening, national repentance, then deliverance again.


Do You Have a Golden Calf?

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Mike Ford

Abijah had three good years but was suddenly cut off because he didn't remove the idols. One act of faith is only something to build on, not a cause to rest.


The High Places (Part Two)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

King Jehoash (or Joash) of Judah, though he overcame much and did many good things, did not quite have the fortitude to rid the kingdom of its high places.


The High Places (Part Four)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

Uzziah was the third successive king of Judah who failed to remove the high places from the land. His downfall lay in not handling worldly greatness.


What Will It Take?

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

What would have to happen for us to wake up and, instead of rolling over and going back to sleep, actually turn back to God with the entirety of our being?


A Different Kind of Savior

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Jews were looking for a military leader like Jehu, a hasty, callous, impetuous man with a temper, bent totally on eradicating the legacy of Jezebel.


Passover (Part Eight)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The temple Passover commanded by Hezekiah was a very unusual circumstance in which the king centralized worship to keep Baalism from defiling the Passover.


Passover (Part Seven)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Major reinterpretations have significantly distorted the meaning of Passover and Unleavened Bread, blurring the distinction between the two events.


The Second Commandment

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Most people consider the second commandment to deal with making or falling down before a pagan idol, but it covers all aspects of the way we worship.


The Torment Of The Godly

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Charles Whitaker (1944-2021)

Both Lot and Ezekiel were tormented by the abominations, sins, and defilement taking place within their culture, polluted with idolatry and paganism.


Idolatrous Suppressors of the Truth

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

When John talks about idols, he is going far beyond things like statues, icons, and crucifixes, but instead anything people focus on first.


Asa

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Asa left a few things undone, losing steam in his later years and playing it safe. Idolatry was so ingrained in the land that Asa grew weary in well-doing.


Manasseh

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Even though Manasseh was absolutely the worst king ever to lead Judah, Manasseh finally got the message that God only is God, and sincerely repented.


The High Places (Part One)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

God points out four kings of Judah who did not remove the high places. Many kings neither built nor destroyed high places, yet God points out four who failed.


Remember When

Sermonette by Ronny H. Graham

Our previous fellowship was blown apart because of apostasy; we need to solemnly remember that fact and purpose to get back to the old faith once delivered.


The Fourth Commandment

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

At creation, God sanctified only one day, the seventh, as a day of rest. At Sinai, He again sanctified it as a holy day, tying it to creation and freedom.


The Fourth Commandment (Part One) (1997)

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Most people think the fourth commandment is least important, but it may be one of the most important! It is a major facet of our relationship with God.


Leadership and the Covenants (Part Two)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

We must become leaders in our own families, protecting them from the curses that are already falling on our nation. We have the obligation to fear God.


The Spirit of Babylon

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

The Spirit of Babylon is couched in brazen outlook of the goddess Inanna/Ishtar, the femme fatale who asserted her free will to overcome the influence of Eden.


Hosea's Prophecy (Part Three)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Modern Israel has a form of religion, but it is empty and unsatisfying because it refuses to obey God and substitutes the traditions of man in its place.


Hosea's Prophecy (Part Two)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Hosea is an account of Israel's unfaithfulness to the covenant with God, and the redemptive work of God to rescue His unfaithful spouse from slavery.


Be There Next Year

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Members of God's church usually come home from the Feast of Tabernacles with renewed strength. Yet, some fall away each year. Here's how to stay the course.


Not Just a Better America

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

God does not endorse the American system any more than any other system not based on God's Laws. The Millennium will not resemble America.


The Nature of God: Elohim

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Understanding Elohim teaches us about the nature of God and where our lives are headed. Elohim refers to a plural family unit in the process of expanding.


The Sin of Self-Deception

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

In our relationship with God, we must emphasize principle over pragmatism. If we are led into deception, it is because our carnal nature wanted it that way.


The Commandments (Part Two)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

Idolatry constitutes the fountainhead from which all other sins flow, all of which amplify obsessive self-centeredness and self-indulgence.