Playlist: Mesopotamia (topic)
Abraham (Part One)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughMesopotamia served as the homeland from which God called Abraham, placing his origins in the northern portion of the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys in the region now occupied by Iraq and part of Iran. This area lay east of the Euphrates, distinguishing the northern Ur of the Chaldeans from the southern Ur located in Shinar. …
Abraham (Part Two)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughMesopotamia served as the setting where Shem continued Noah's governmental office while Eber worked to restrain Nimrod's expanding influence. Abraham lived there prior to the events of Genesis 12, during a time when the region was dominated by Chaldean idolatry. The Austrian Chronicle records that Abraham, a man of princely …
Eden, The Garden, and the Two Trees (Part Two)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe real cradle of civilization is not Mesopotamia, but Jerusalem, where God started His physical creation and where He will bring it to spiritual fruition.
Imagining The Garden of Eden (Part Five)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughEating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil opened the minds of our first parents to evil, the experiential knowledge that comes from sin.
Eden, The Garden, and the Two Trees (Part One)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe we follow God's patterns, Jerusalem becomes the likely location of the Garden of Eden and the likely location for the future, heavenly Jerusalem.
Abraham (Part Four)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughAbraham is the only biblical character singled out as a type of God the Father. He is also the only one to be called 'friend of God,' and is a good model.
The Covenant of Circumcision
Sermon/Bible Study byCircumcision was the sign God gave Abraham indicating that his descendants would ascend to greatness, acquiring physical and spiritual blessings.
Isaac and the Day of Small Things
Sermon by Charles Whitaker (1944-2021)Isaac did not play what historians might judge to be a significant role on the world's stage, yet kept the faith, never despising the day of small things.
Faithful Stephen
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsChrist does not want His staff to exercise Gentile patterns of tyrannical, top-down leadership, but to humbly serve people without striving for greatness.
Lamentations (Part Two)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe Lamentations show poignant before-and-after vignettes of formerly happy times contrasted with the horror of the present as God punishes Judah.
A Contrast of Kings
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughWe currently have no preparation for our future roles as kings and priests, but God desires to fill thousands of leadership positions in the Millennium.
Habakkuk: A Prophet of Faith (Part Three)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsHabakkuk was frustrated that God would use an evil people to punish Israel, yet he resolved to cease fretting and to become a responsible watcher.
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.
The Doctrine of Israel (Part Five): A Remnant of Judah
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughDespite her former relationship with God, absolutely no nation could ever out-sin Judah, even though God had given her multiple warnings to repent.