Playlist: First Love, Leaving (topic)
Keeping Love Alive (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWorks demonstrate our faith, our response to God's calling and His freely given grace. Reciprocity is always a part of our relationship with God.
How to Know We Love Christ
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe cannot become weary of well-doing, allowing our first love to deteriorate, looking to the world for satisfaction. Here are 8 tests of our love for Christ.
Do The First Works
Sermonette by Richard T. RitenbaughWe also need to return to our first love and diligently do the first works, including fellowship, continuing in the doctrine, and doing things properly.
Hebrews, Love, and the Ephesian Church
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLike the Ephesians, the weary veterans in Hebrews were becoming apathetic through outside pressures, losing their former zeal and devotion to Christ.
What Are You Leaving?
Sermonette by David C. GrabbeThe Ephesians had a strong sense of duty and served as a vanguard in the battle against false doctrines. What was lacking was devotion to Christ.
No Real Love Without God
Sermon by John O. ReidWe are called to take on the very nature of God, to put on the love of God. Surprisingly, We can rekindle our first love by ardently keeping God's Commandments.
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.
Intimacy with Christ (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe must guard our time, not allowing busyness and involvement with activities of the world to prevent us from forming a deep intimacy with God.
Hebrews: A Message for Today
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe book of Hebrews provides reasons to recapture flagging zeal, focusing on the reason for our hope and faith, establishing Christ's credentials.
Hebrews (Part Two)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughHebrews is addressed to a people living at the end of an era, who were drifting away, had lost their devotion, and were no longer motivated by zeal.
The Holy Spirit and the Trinity (Part Seven)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod personally handpicks individuals with whom He desires to form a reciprocal relationship. This relationship must be dressed, kept, tended, and maintained.
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 Two): Ephesus
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe Ephesus church effectively battled various heresies, for which Christ commends it. However, the members lost sight of the reason, having left their first love.
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 Providence of God (Part Five)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod uses calamities as part of His creative process. Like Jacob, who initially succumbed to weak faith and fear, we must repent of our loss of devotion to 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.
Conviction and Moses
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughOur conviction reveals itself in living by faith. Moses is a stunning example of how a convicted Christian should live — with loyalty and faithfulness to God.
Hebrews (Part Twelve)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughHebrews 11 provides examples to bolster faith. The faith described is not blind, but is carefully developed from systematic analysis of available evidence.
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.
Caught in a Blizzard?
Sermonette by Bill OnisickWe are being exposed to a spiritual blizzard, bringing darkness and coldness into the entire world. We are admonished to stoke the fire of God's Holy Spirit.
Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen (Part One)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsJesus Christ warns us to hold fast to true doctrine. Secular historians help us discover the identity of the small flock repeatedly rescued from apostasy.
Prayer and Seeking God
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughRather than having an apathetic relationship toward God, we must ardently, earnestly, and fervently seek God in order to imitate His behavior in our lives.
Exalt With Music
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughMusic has an intense power to stimulate the emotions, trigger the imagination, set the mood of services, and serves as a teaching vehicle for instruction.
Those Who Hunger and Thirst
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughIn the Beatitude, hungering and thirsting for righteousness are present tense active participles signifying continuous longing for God's righteousness.
Hebrews (Part One)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughIn terms of spiritual insight, Hebrews is a pivotal book, whose function is to bridge the purposes and themes of the Old and New Testaments.
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.
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.
What Is the Church's Work Today (Part Two)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe easiest part of God's work is preaching the gospel to the world. Much more demanding is the feeding of the flock, producing life-changing faith.
Hebrews (Part Seven)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughWith godly hope, we need to envision the successful accomplishment of God's purpose for us, realizing that God has bound that promise with an oath.
Hebrews (Part Three)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughJesus blazed a trail, giving a pattern for qualifying (through suffering and resisting sin) for our responsibility as priests, reconnecting man and God.
Grace, Mercy, and Favor (Part Four): Favor to Live as God Lives
Sermon by Mark SchindlerWe earn God's favor by obedience; there is a direct tie between submission to His will and His favor. The more one submits, the more favor and grace accrues.
The More Things Change
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughWe tend to think of the early Church as a 'golden age' of unity and momentum. But early church members experienced problems similar to what we face today.
The Times They Are a-Changin'
Sermonette by Clyde FinkleaBob Dylan's lyrics in 'The Times They Are A-changin' seem prescient; within a few years of Herbert Armstrong's death, heresies were imported into the church.
Letters to Seven Churches (Part Eight): Overcoming
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughEach of the letters in Revelation 2 and 3 speak of overcoming. By examining those churches, we can understand what we are up against and what we must do.
God Never Disappoints
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsUnlike people who, because of their natural carnal nature, feel disappointment with God, God's people should never experience any disappointment with Him.
Debt and Obligation
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe live in a time when people have acquired a weak sense of obligation to family, society, or nation. Because sin cannot be undone, all are debtors to God.
John (Part Twenty-Eight)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughThe book of John provides a plethora of signs corroborating Christ's authenticity and also shows how to live as God would live if He were a man.
Feast: Command of God?
Sermonette by Ronny H. GrahamKeeping God's annual Sabbaths are just as much a mandate on God's people as keeping the Ten Commandments.
Going Beyond Definitions
Commentary by David C. GrabbeIt is improper to build a doctrine on one scripture, let alone the definition of a word. We need at least two reliable witnesses to establish any teaching.
Corporate Faith
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughCorporate faith requires that we lay aside our individualism and join our brethren doing God's work.