Playlist: Decay (topic)
Dealing With Change
Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)In the natural order of creation, there is a built-in tendency toward decay and disorder, as reflected in the principles of energy and mass. This inherent decay means that without effort to preserve it, everything naturally disintegrates over time. A human body, for instance, will cease to function unless it is periodically …
The Beginning of History
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Charles WhitakerThe perspective of decline shapes our understanding of historical movement as a descent from the perfection of Eden to increasing deterioration. Left to our own devices, without God's grace, revelation, or Spirit, what is inevitable is entropy and death, not progress toward any utopia. The cosmos, steeped in the present evil …
Faith and Healing (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe world we inhabit is subject to vanity, which signifies futility and, more pointedly, decay. God has built decay and deterioration into this creation, a reality we must confront and manage. This relentless force, akin to the second law of thermodynamics, breaks everything down, rendering it less useful, less beautiful, less …
When Our Change Comes
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughGod has embedded change into the very fabric of creation, and decay is an integral part of this process. Things are made to break down and transform over time. Land erodes, sediments are deposited, and iron rusts. Grass grows and then withers; flowers bud, bloom, fade, and fall. Creatures are born, grow, mature, deteriorate, and …
New Heavens and New Earth
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe creation, as it exists now, is subject to decay, a condition purposefully imposed upon it. This decay is evident in the weariness and aging that the earth and universe endure, a state that does not align with the eternal nature of God, who never grows weary or old. If the creation could think and feel, it would groan under …
Remaining Unleavened
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughIn the natural order of the world, decay and disorder prevail as an inevitable process. The second law of thermodynamics reveals that any isolated system naturally tends toward a state of entropy, a condition of disorder or decay, where energy is wasted and transformed into lower forms. All physical processes contribute to this …
Vanity (Part 1)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe concept of decay permeates the broader discussion of vanity, reflecting the transient and futile nature of human existence and creation. In the exploration of life's purpose, there is a profound sense of frustration over the decay that binds both humanity and the natural world. The whole creation is personified as suffering …
Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Thirty-Five): Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:4
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughExplore Genesis 1:31 and Ecclesiastes 9-10: the fall from innocence, wisdom's limits in a flawed world, and guidance on handling folly in leadership wisely.
Creation Stewardship
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Martin G. CollinsWe as Christians should strive to be the most conscientious environmentalists or creationists in the world because the earth and its fullness are the Lord's.
Do You Take Sin Seriously? God Does!
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsThe demise of an institution can result from the irresponsibility of its constituents; if one member sins, the whole body experiences the effects.