Playlist: Worldliness (topic)
A "Lot" of Credibility
Sermonette by Joseph B. BaityWe need to resist the lure of the world to pitch our tent toward Sodom as Lot did. Love for the world's ways constitutes enmity for God and His law.
The Christian and the World (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe entire world is antagonistic to God because of the spirit generated by an unseen ruler. Our Christian duty is to stay awake and keep our guard up.
Christianity Is a Fight! (Part 3)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe must avoid following the negative examples of our forbears. We have been enlisted into spiritual warfare on three fronts: the heart, the world, and Satan.
Faith (Part Four)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe example of Lot's wife teaches us that God does not want us to maintain close associations with the world because it almost inevitably leads to compromise.
John 3:16: Does God Really Love the World?
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod does not love everybody equally. Nowhere does He tell us to prefer the ungodly world. Though He tells us to love our enemies, but not to be affectionate.
A Pillar of Salt
Sermonette by Joseph B. BaityWe have a mandate to flee idolatry and the contagion of worldliness. If we seek to save our lives by embracing worldliness, we will lose our lives.
The Christian and the World (Part Nine)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughAnxious care and foreboding are debilitating and faith-destroying. Meditating on what God has already done strengthens our faith and trust in God.
Dating Outside the Church
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughDating outside the church is fraught with dangers, yoking a believer with an unbeliever and complicating the spiritual overcoming and growth process.
The Christian and the World (Part Eight)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughHaving anxiety, foreboding and fretting about food, clothing, and shelter, or being distressed about the future, demonstrates a gross lack of faith.
The Christian and the World (Part Three)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe must realize we are walking on a razor's edge, with the Kingdom of God on one side and the world with all its sensual magnetic charms on the other side.
Laodiceanism
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughOur love for beauty must be coupled with love for righteousness and holiness. Our relationship with Christ must take central place in our lives, displacing all else.
Are You Being Brainwashed? (Part 1)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsWe must embrace the fruits of the Spirit, preferring God's truth to the deceitful spin, brainwashing, and doublespeak of the world's institutions.
The Christian and the World (Part Seven)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe best way to attain true wealth and the abundant eternal life is to loosen our grip on worldly rewards and treasures, and single-mindedly follow Christ.
What Is the Church's Work Today (Part Three)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe primary focus at this time is the repair of the faith once delivered that has seriously deteriorated because of heresy, apostasy, and Laodiceanism.
Letters to Seven Churches (Part Five): Thyatira
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe Thyatira epistle carries a central theme for all seven churches, namely the tendency to syncretize or mix worldly ideas with the truth of God.
The Handwriting Is on the Wall (1996): Scattering
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod initiated the scattering of the church for our ultimate good. When the revelation of God was replaced with the wisdom of this world, God intervened.
Looking Back to the Future
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe dwelling in booths and the sacrifices were the context for rejoicing at the Feast of Tabernacles. The booths depict our current lives as pilgrims.
Matthew (Part Twenty-One)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughThe Pharisees and Sadducees, who normally opposed each other, joined forces against their common enemy, Jesus. They should have recognized Him as the Messiah.
New Covenant Priesthood (Part Two)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe Sabbath is not a mere ceremonial observance, but identifies God's people as different, and consequently a perpetual irritant to the world.
Abraham (Part Five)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughWe learn from Abraham's experience to trust God even when we have incomplete information. When we attempt to take the expedient way out, we will run into trouble.
Letters to Seven Churches (Part Six): Sardis
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe letter to the church in Sardis reads like an obituary, warning us who are alive but lacking zeal to repent and become serious about our calling.
Knowing God: Formality and Customs (Part Three)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughClothing and hair length signal and reflect areas of rebellion, defiled attitudes, and spiritual health, providing a barometer of a person's character.
What Is the Work of God Now? (Part Three)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughTo preach to the world and ignore a disintegrating flock is like a husband and wife paying attention to other people while the family is falling apart.
God's Perseverance With His Saints (Part Two)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsWe seriously err if we rely on the secular media to give us spiritual understanding. God sends strong delusion to those who do not love the truth.
Freedom, Liberty, and Bondage
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Grace places limits on our freedom, training us for the Kingdom of God. Our behavior must be clearly distinguishable from the non-believers in society.
What Is the Work of God Now? (Part Four)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe scattering of the church was an act of love by God to wake us from our lethargic, faithless condition. The feeding of the flock is the priority now.
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.
Vanity (Part 2)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughSolomon'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.
Hope in Christ Purifies Us
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsWe must remember that hope is sure, but we must wait patiently for God's plan for us to unfold. In the meantime, we purify ourselves of corruption.
The Thinking Mind
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Martin G. CollinsIn the current toxic culture, we have been warned not to be conformed to the world, but to become transformed into the glorious likeness of Christ.
Faith (Part Three)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughFar from being blind, faith is based on analyzing, comparing, adding up from evidence in God's Word, our own experience, and our calling by God's Holy Spirit.
Color In Scripture
Sermon/Bible Study by Richard T. RitenbaughThe Hebrews perceived color differently than we do, assigning symbolic significance to a number of different colors as they associate with concrete objects.
Unity (Part 6): Ephesians 4 (C)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughUnity has to come from the inside out, with God raising a leader which His people, having their minds opened by His Spirit, will voluntarily submit to.
The Christian and the World (Part Six)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughClear vision lights the way spiritually. If the eye of the heart is aimed at spiritual treasure and the glory of God, it will remain singly focused.
Faith (Part Two)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughFaithfulness in a person ultimately rests on his or her trust in God, and if a person is going to be faithful, its because he or she believes what God says.
Letters to Seven Churches (Part Seven): Repentance
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughAs High Priest, Christ is putting His people through the paces, tailoring the trials and experiences needed for sanctification and ultimate glorification.
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.
Freedom and Unleavened Bread
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughChristian freedom has nothing to do with location or circumstance but how we think. By imbibing on God's Word, we will incrementally displace our carnality.
Four Warnings (Part Two): Beware of False Prophets
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughGod's people will know false teachers by their fruits. Even as helpless sheep, we must exercise vigilance detecting the fruits of their preaching.
Mightier Than The Sword (Part Twenty-Three)
Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Advancing secularism has been the result of Satan's work through human henchmen over the last 600 years, bringing the world back to the time of the Nephilim.
Continuing on to Completion
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsBecause of God's grace, those who are called late will reap as much as those who are called early. Whenever we are called, we must continue faithfully.
I Know Your Works
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughContrary to Protestant understanding, our works emphatically do count - showing or demonstrating (not just telling) that we will be obedient.
False Gospels
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughA major clue for discerning false gospels is that any teaching attempting to change the nature of God or Christ or their doctrines is anti-Christ and false.
What Is the Work of God Now? (Part Five)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughNeglecting to feed the flock has been detrimental to preaching the gospel to the world. Because of neglect, members succumb to feeling insignificant.
Parables of Matthew 13 (Part 1): The Mustard Seed
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe Bible, in both parables and prophecies, interprets itself and remains consistent in its use of symbols. We cannot arbitrarily attach meaning to symbols.
Don't Be Indifferent (1995)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe cannot allow ourselves to become surfeited with the world's distractions, being lulled off to sleep as the foolish virgins, wasting our precious time.
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twenty-Three)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughIn Colossians 2:16 and Galatians 4:9-10, Paul was warning against mixing Gnostic asceticism and pagan customs with the keeping of God's Sabbath and Holy Days.
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Nine)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughSatan has attempted to obliterate the sanctification step from the conversion process. Sanctification is produced by doing works pleasing to God.
Satan (Part 5)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughTo resist the Devil is to resist unlawful desires, not allowing him to manipulate our emotions. Satan works on fear of being denied something pleasurable.