Playlist: Security, Sense of (topic)

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Money, Control and Sacrifice (2015)

Sermonette by John W. Ritenbaugh

In the important things in life, money is powerless. Wealth cannot buy forgiveness, eternal life, or God's Spirit. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath.


Money, Control, and Sacrifice

Sermonette by John W. Ritenbaugh

Wealth will certainly damage our character if we permit it to control us. Riches cannot buy forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, or eternal life.


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.


Carelessness

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Carelessness, indicative of not thinking, when reinforced or carried on into life, can be lethal or irreparable. Undervaluing our way leads to a careless lifestyle.


New Covenant Priesthood (Part Eight)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Pride leads to destruction, tricking us into thinking we deserve better than we have. Paradoxically, pride is a mark of inferiority, causing overcompensation.


Pride, Humility, and Fasting

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The intent of fasting is to deflate our pride—the major taproot of sin—the biggest deterrent to a positive relationship with God. Humility heals the breach.


Poor in Spirit (1997)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Being poor in spirit is a foundational spiritual state for qualifying for God's Kingdom. Poor in spirit describes being acutely aware of one's dependency.


Lot's Day and Our Day

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

The West is obsessed with materialism and guaranteed security, as many institutions protect—even encourage—mediocrity, incompetency, and malfeasance.


Deuteronomy (Part 5) (1994)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Paradoxically, humble obedience and dependency upon God strengthens us, while prideful self-sufficiency weakens us.


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.


Guarding Against a Laodicean Attitude

Sermonette by Kim Myers

We cannot not allow ourselves to backslide, allowing pressure from the world's culture to draw us away from the faith once delivered to the saints.


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.


What's So Bad About Babylon? (1997)

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Babylon constitutes the fountainhead of instruction that, like strong drink, impairs the ability to function properly while creating the illusion of ability.


Zephaniah (Part Two): God's Wrath on the Whole World

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Even though the Gentiles will be punished, only Israelites had a special relationship with God, and consequently were more accountable for their failure.


Whom the Lord Loves He Chastens (Part One)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

If we are not receiving God's correction or chastisement, we should be concerned! God's chastening is what He uses to sanctify His spiritual children.


The Philadelphia Syndrome

Commentary by David C. Grabbe

The Worldwide Church of God considered itself to be the 'Philadelphia era,' but the fruit has been misplaced trust, idolatry, competition, and exclusivity.


Of Living Dogs and Dead Lions

Sermonette by Austin Del Castillo

Guilt from failure to overcome is a dangerous distraction. When we consider God's profound pity, we realize that He is able to cleanse us, too.


In Whom Do You Place Your Confidence?

Sermonette by Martin G. Collins

God does not want us to have confidence in ourselves or other people, but only in Him. Consequently, it is a mistake to trust the media or the leaders of nations.


Does Doctrine Really Matter? (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Throughout the 'Christian' world, militant atheism may be decreasing, but religious indifference is also increasing at even a more dramatic rate.


Amos (Part Six)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

The favorite-son status of Israel was conditioned on accepting the terms of the covenant with God. Israel, then and now, has placed her trust in material things.


The Meek

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Meekness is the opposite of weakness, exemplifying self-control under immense pressure, demonstrated by Jesus refusing to retaliate.


The Sovereignty of God (Part Eleven)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Understanding God's sovereignty as a basic doctrine provides a link between knowledge and practice, as well as providing motivation to yield to God's purpose.


Love's Greatest Challenges

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

An irrational fear of loss prevents the development of agape love — we fear that keeping God's commandments will cause us to lose something valuable.


Letters to Seven Churches (Part Six): Sardis

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The 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.


It Takes a Church

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

As Christians, we need to form warm, productive, quality relationships with our brethren, actively ministering to the needs of one another.


Contentment

Sermon by John O. Reid

Many people live in a state of discontent. Tragically, what they set their hearts upon often displaces the love for family and a relationship with God.


Micah (Part Two): Rest for the Restless

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Micah describes the current state of America, in which the former checks and balances between the three branches of government have rapidly deteriorated,


Church Unity Despite the Spirit of the World

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

The unity of God's church does not derive from organizational expertise, the conformity of ecumenism, or the tolerance for evil, but from the family model.


Shane and Integrity

Sermonette by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

If the past is good, the present can't hurt you, and if the past is bad, it will haunt you. In Wordsworth's words, 'The child is the father of the man.'


Letting Go (Part One)

Sermonette by Joseph B. Baity

Fearing the end of something we thoroughly know and have become emotionally attached to may be every bit as terrifying as facing the unknown.


Asphalt Aspirations and Pentecost's Promise

Sermon by Charles Whitaker (1944-2021)

God reversed the Babel debacle with His own plan to unify, making one called-out people, having one mutually understood language, commencing on Pentecost.


Compromise

Sermon by John O. Reid

Solomon compromised with God's law because his heart was turned to idolatry through his multiple marriages, diluting his early gift of wisdom and understanding


We Can Make It!

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

A disciple cannot escape the kind of persecution directed against his teacher. In the wake of this kind of abuse, people can succumb to depression.


Faith and the Christian Fight (Part Eight)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Abraham embodied living by faith. Through perpetually living in a tent, he demonstrated his complete trust and reliance upon God.


God Has Faith in You

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John O. Reid

It can be encouraging to us that our patriarchs and the prophets had serious doubts, but God overrode all their fears in accomplishing His purpose.


Matthew (Part Seventeen)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus didn't break the Sabbath, but he did break extra-legal fanatical human custom applied to the Sabbath apart from God's Law.