Playlist: Love (topic)
Love God, Love Neighbor
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThroughout the annals of twentieth-century popular music, numerous songs have celebrated the theme of love, portraying it as the ultimate solution to life's challenges. Songs like "Love is Here to Stay," "Love is a Many Splendored Thing," "Love Makes the World Go Round," "All You Need is Love," "Love is All Around," "Love is in …
Our Part in the Sanctification Process (Part Two): Cultivating Love
Sermon by David F. MaasOur Lord Jesus Christ, in response to a Pharisee's test, declared the greatest commandments in Matthew 22:36-40, stating that you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, marking this as the first and most important commandment. The second, equally vital, is to love your neighbor as yourself, upon which …
Essence of Love
Sermonette byDavid took all the persecutions from King Saul, and then later showed his mercy to Saul's extended family, he demonstrated the true essence of godly love.
Love's Emotional Dimension
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLove holds a supreme and permanent place among attributes of personality, surpassing all others in completeness. God is a loving God, and all His acts are rooted in love, reflecting His very nature. As the Source of this love, God imparts it to mankind, who do not naturally possess this kind of love, known as agape . This love …
Biblical Loves
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughScripture draws from Koine Greek, offering four distinct words for 'love,' each relaying different dimensions of human connection, restoring clarity and depth.
Love's Importance and Source
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLove is of supreme importance to life. Love will never end and is always useful. Love is the sum of all duty. Love is the bond of perfection that unifies groups and holds them together. Love is of God. The God is love. This agape love has its source in God. God initiates a relationship with man by His love and sustains it by His …
The Revelation 2:4 - You Have Left Your First Love
Sermonette by James C. StoertzAs we examine ourselves in preparation for the Passover, we must consider the vital importance of love, especially as highlighted in Revelation 2:4, where it is said, "Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love." This first love, from the Greek "protos" meaning foremost or most important, and …
No Real Love Without God
Sermon by John O. ReidThe world today is driven not by love, but by Satan's way of living, marked by greed, hatred, lust, and self-seeking—the way of get, the way of self. What the world truly needs is not the fleeting, worldly idea of love or the passionate entanglements of youth, but the true love of man reflected across all mankind, bringing …
Love
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John O. ReidLove is outgoing concern for others. The lieutenant exhibited agape love by giving his life for the captain out of a decision of the will that led to right action rather than emotion. Love fervently means to love continually, intently, diligently, carefully, earnestly, and perpetually with a pure heart that is sincere and …
Loving Christ and Revelation 2:1-7
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLove is the central motivation for the works that Christ requires, as it alone produces the sustained loyalty and obedience that define a right relationship with Him. Although salvation remains a free gift that cannot be earned, meeting the condition of ongoing faithfulness after repentance demands works of overcoming human …
Love Thy Neighbor (Part 1)
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Loving God and loving neighbor, the two great commandments, are so closely joined that they cannot be separated: one cannot love God without loving man, nor love man without loving God. Jesus' word "like" ( homoios ) means equivalent in authority, so the lawyer who joined them was right. The Parable of the Good Samaritan shows …
Abraham's Sacrifice (Part Two): Love Exemplified
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe first mention of love in Scripture, in Genesis 22:2 ("your only son Isaac, whom you love"), uses the Hebrew ahab , which ranges from brotherly affection to unconditional, sacrificial love. By stressing a father's love for his son, God points beyond Abraham to His own love for Jesus Christ, the true Promised Seed. Abraham's …
Loving Christ
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod's love is the foundation of the believer's relationship with Him and the answer to restless drifting between church groups. Paul said "the love of Christ compels us" (II Corinthians 5:14), meaning Christ's love in him, not merely his love for Christ, drove his transformation from carnal to spiritual perception. Deuteronomy …
Love's Greatest Challenges
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLove's greatest challenges are laziness and fear, two personal factors every believer faces daily, rather than vague appeals to human nature, lack of knowledge, or Satan. Love is something done, and it takes hard work because Christianity runs against human nature. Works do not earn salvation but produce growth, as seen in …
'But I Say to You' (Part Seven): Love Your Enemies
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughJesus' command to love even enemies runs against human nature, which is naturally selfish and returns fire when attacked, and it is why the world finds His "soft virtues" naive and even killed Him for them. Quoting Leviticus 19:18, the Jews limited "neighbor" to fellow Israelites and added "hate your enemy," which Scripture …
Honor Before Love
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughHonor must precede agape love, just as the horse must come before the cart. Difficulty in loving, especially within marriage and family, comes from failing to honor the people who should be loved. The Greek words behind "honor" ( timao , time , timios , timiotes ) all mean fixing a high value on something, and what is valued …
Hebrews, Love, and the Ephesian Church
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLove stands at the center of Christ's warning in Matthew 24:12, where He declares that because iniquity abounds, the love of many will grow cold. Sin, understood broadly as falling short of God's glory rather than merely law-breaking, produces a chilling effect on spiritual energy, described as a maligned and poisonous wind that …
Go and Do Likewise
Sermon by Bill OnisickAgape love stands at the center of this message as the very nature of God Himself, defined in I John 4:8 and 16 as simply, "God is agape." This Greek term combines thought, motive, and action together, always working toward what is best for another person and for God's plan and purpose. Far from conflicting with God's law, agape …
A True Disciple
Sermonette byWe must exercise longsuffering and kindness to all, including to those that have done ill to us. We are disciples of Christ if we love one another.
River of Life
Sermon by Bill OnisickThe concept of agape stands as the central theme, presented as God's greatest attribute and the very essence of His being. Though humanity was created in God's pure image, that image has been contaminated by Satan's self-focused spirit of "get," requiring a lifelong process of purification to restore hearts to God's pure image …
The Identifying Sign of a True Disciple of Jesus
Sermon by Clyde FinkleaLove, as presented through Scripture and illustrated by the sacrificial bond of Navy SEALs, stands as the defining identifier of true discipleship. Just as God publicly identified Himself with Israel at the Exodus and with Jesus at His baptism, He identifies Himself with true disciples through their demonstration of love for one …
Sacrifice Dost Thou Want: Kindness
Sermon by Bill OnisickWe are called to walk in love as a form of daily sacrifice, mirroring the way Christ has loved and sacrificed for us, offering Himself as a sweet-smelling aroma to God. This love, expressed through sacrifice, is not a mere emotion or feeling but requires action and cost, involving the denial of personal desires and the giving up …
Deuteronomy and Holiness
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Love stands at the center of what it means to become holy, and this theme unfolds through a careful legal and spiritual argument built primarily from Deuteronomy, the Psalms, and the New Testament. The foundational principle is agricultural in simplicity: whatever seed one plants produces its corresponding crop. If holiness is …
The Greatest Motivation
Sermonette by Bill OnisickMost people are not aware of the motivations that drive their behavior. Are we cognizant of our own motivations? Are we analyzing their activation and intensity?
By This Shall All Men Know You
Sermon by John O. ReidLove stands at the center of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, serving as the identifying mark by which the world recognizes God's people. Christ's new commandment in John 13:34-35 establishes that love for one another, not dress, wealth, or position, distinguishes true followers, just as the early Christians were …
Our Spiritual Roof
Sermon by Bill OnisickLove, as God's very essence of agape , stands as the most important teaching for the end-time church, surpassing focus on prophecy, symbolism, or current events. The purpose of God's commandment, as Paul tells Timothy, is love from a pure heart—this is the goal toward which the law points, not the law's end. The law …
God's Perseverance With His Saints (Part Three)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsThe unity Jesus appeals for with His disciples is not organizational unity, but unity within the divine nature, exampled in the unity between He and the Father.
Abraham's Sacrifice (Part Three): Hope Demonstrated
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughAbraham's resolute intent to sacrifice Isaac displayed his unreserved devotion to God's purpose for him. We must display the same kind of tenacity.
You Are My Friends!
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsWhile it is common on Facebook to defriend/unfriend, Christ's love for His people is a friending with the condition that godly fruit is produced.
Is the United States a Christian Nation? (Part Seven)
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)When the U.S. Congress wanted to put 'In God we Trust' on currency, the Seventh Day Adventists objected, arguing that the U.S. has never been a Christian nation.
The Unleavened Sinless Life!
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsLike with Joseph, trials and troubles have been preplanned by God to shape us into members of His family, predestined to be sanctified and glorified.
Reach for the Goal
Sermon by John O. ReidSimilar to the way people pull together in times of crisis, we must also have a goal, a vision of the finish line, in order to overcome and grow.
John (Part Twenty-Two)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughJesus encouraged His disciples by promising to send the Holy Spirit to empower them for the challenges of the Christian life, making us sensitive to God.
Offerings (Part Five)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughWe give peace offerings today through living sacrifice, keeping God's law out of love and to glorify Him rather than just to perform duty.
Prayer and Persistence
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughPersistence in prayer does not mean an incessant pestering God into action. God always looks at our petitions from the vantage-point of His purpose.
Am I on the True Path of Conversion?
Sermonette by Craig SablichObserving oneself in the mirror is useless unless one makes appropriate changes based on the observed image. We must do a thorough self-examination.
Our Part in the Sanctification Process (Part Eight) Cultivating the Fruit of Faithfulness
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by David F. MaasThe only tangible measures of faith is faithfulness, trust, and loyalty to God. We don't need to ask God for more faith, but rather work on being faithful.
Patriotism, the Summer Soldier, and Our Times (Part One)
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Jesus Christ was not a sunshine patriot, but sacrificed everything He had for the sake of God's people and the Kingdom of God—His holy nation.
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.
From Dust to Glory
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Clyde FinkleaAs our sanctification process comes to full term, we will see our Creator as He is, having attained the same glorified state.
Blessed Are the Meek (2014)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughIn Paul's listings of virtues, meekness always appears near the end, reflecting its difficulty. Meekness is the gentle, quiet spirit of selfless devotion.
Do Unto Others and Reap What We Sow
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Reaping good fruit does not happen immediately. If we feel we are not reaping, we must consider that we might be reaping some negative things we have sown.
The Two Great Commandments: First Principles
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughGod made male and female in His image and has determined that the binary metamorphize into unitary in order to accomplish higher Spiritual purposes.
Fearing God
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Kim MyersIf we fear our boss, college professor, employer, or spouse more than God, we are guilty of idolatry, putting human figures in the place of God.
Forbearance
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughGod put up with the foibles of Abraham, Samson, David, Job, and others, allowing them time to repent and build character. We need to develop this godly trait.
A Place of Safety? (Part 5)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughObsessing about the Place of Safety is a sure way to disqualify oneself from it. God calls some faithful, zealous ones for martyrdom during the Tribulation.
Choosing to Have a Good Relationship
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsThe Bible emphasizes marriage as the primary bond of society. The purpose for the marriage relationship is to depict the marriage of Christ and His bride.
John (Part Twenty-One)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughThe humble attitude exemplified by Jesus in footwashing shows the mind of God. God expects us to follow Christ's example of loving others, flaws and all.
The Gift of Eternal Life
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Martin G. CollinsThe difference between living forever and eternal life is that longevity does not equate to quality of life. Living forever while enduring pain lacks appeal.
Themes of Ruth (Part Four): Kindness and Faith
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughBoth Ruth and Naomi demonstrated covenant loyalty in this marriages long after the death of their spouses. Ruth faithfully continued to serve her mother-in-law.
The Epistles of II and III John (Part One)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsIn our quest for unity, we can never compromise with the truth. True love between brethren is impossible without an equal pr greater love for the truth.
Forms vs. Spirituality (Part 1)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLove, justice, mercy, and fidelity (the weightier matters of the law) God desires more than meticulous, mechanical religiosity.
Prayer and Fervency
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLiving faith has its roots in fervently, diligently seeking God and His righteousness with intense desire (like a passionate lover) through habitual prayer.
Producing Fruit
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughTo be made clean only prepares us for producing fruit. If we stand still, simply resting on our justification, the dark forces will pull us backwards.
The Talking Blood (Part Two)
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)God the Father does not take the minimization of His Son's sacrifice lightly, as some Protestant theologians imply with their cheap grace doctrine.
Leadership and the Covenants (Part Six)
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Paul urges Euodia and Syntyche to follow the example of Christ rather than placing their desire to be right over unity. Godly leadership follows submission.
Do You Really Want Just Any Eternal Life?
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsWe have a natural desire for eternal life, but living endlessly would not be a blessing if our circumstances were miserable. Eternal life means quality of life.
WHAT?! Me Submit to Someone Else?
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsSubmitting is repugnant to the carnal mind. The church is no place for uncompromising people who demand their own way.
It is Done! The Perfect Peace of God
Sermon by Mark SchindlerIn the peace offering, Christ is the priest, offeror, and offering. Since all parties share the peace offering as a meal, it exemplifies a peaceful communion.
Deuteronomy (Part 4)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughIf we learn to fear and love God, loyalty, faithfulness and commandment-keeping will naturally follow, and we will instinctively hasten to depart from evil.
What Does God Really Want? (Part 2)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughIf we want to be like our Savior, then we will live the way He lived, keeping God's commandments — which exemplify the highest form of love.
Unity (Part 8): Ephesians 4 (E)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe group that one fellowships with is less important than the understanding that there is one true church, bound by a spiritual, not a physical unity.
When Actions Contradict Stated Beliefs
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsHypocrisy consists of professing beliefs or virtues that one does not genuinely possess. The primary motivator is pride, and its resulting sin is lying.
Do Not Judge: What Does it Mean?
Sermon by Clyde FinkleaThe caution not to judge is more accurately rendered, 'do not condemn' rather than to evaluate according to their fruits. We risk condemning ourselves.
Our 'Mental' Deathbed
Sermonette by Bill OnisickMoses asks God to teach us to number our days, realizing that our physical lives are finite, requiring a sense of urgency to get rid of our sins.
The Purpose of the Marriage Relationship
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsMarriage prepares God's called-out ones to collectively become the bride of Christ. God hates divorce but allows it on grounds of adultery and violence.
Honoring Mom
Sermonette by Ted E. BowlingTruly, a mother's love knows no bounds. The special bond between mothers and their children provides an insight as to how Jesus Christ loves us.
Using God's Given Authority
Sermon by Mark SchindlerGod has gifted all His called-out ones, expecting them to use those gifts with the pillars of godly wisdom for the edification of the Body of Christ.
On The Value of Joy
Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Because we live in a troubling world, our reserves of joy are probably somewhat low, perhaps making us feel that we are deficient in God's Holy Spirit.
Elements of Judgment (Part One)
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)The last days of the Worldwide Church of God demonstrated a dearth of righteous judgment. God expects us to judge wisely within the parameters of His Law.
Looking Forward (Part 2)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsWhich button would someone have to push for you to leave the truth of God? The doctrines of grace and liberty have been perverted into tolerance of sin.
Focus
Sermon by John O. ReidThough Christ has warned us to be aware of the times, we need to be more alert to how we are living. End-time events should lead us to repentance.
Don't Take God for Granted
Sermon by John O. ReidWe all tend to allow familiarity to lure us into carelessly taking something for granted. This is particularly dangerous regarding God and His purpose for us.