Spiritual priorities must be our foremost focus, as Jesus emphasizes in Matthew 6:33 to seek first God's Kingdom and righteousness. Neglecting this, as warned in the letter to Laodicea, risks spiritual stagnation. Worldly distractions, likened to thorns in the Parable of the Sower, choke spiritual growth if not uprooted through daily prayer and study. We must give God our best time and effort, maintaining constant vigilance to prevent spiritual laziness. Single-minded devotion ensures moral health and fruitful growth, while allowing secondary interests to dominate steals from our primary calling. Eternity hinges on how we spend our time now, demanding unwavering commitment to God's way of life above all else.

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Priorities

Sermonette by Ryan McClure

We must screen out the allure of Babylon and make sure that God is always number one on our list of priorities.

Put God First

CGG Weekly by John Reiss

In His letter to the church in Laodicea, Jesus Christ rebukes the members for failing to prioritize their calling and warns them of the consequences of their neglect. Our Savior provides the solution: Repent and make God and His way of life a priority. The things of this world come and go, but our God is eternal, and His Kingdom will last forever, which is why we should ensure that our relationship with Him comes first in everything we do. We must give God the very best of our time and efforts. Our calling demands that we pay attention, prioritize, and put our focused and dedicated concentration on God and living His way of life. He has great plans for our future, knows our needs and dreams, and will ensure our spiritual success if we put Him first.

Weeds!

Article by Mike Ford

Spiritual priorities must be diligently maintained, much like a gardener tends to a plot to prevent the overgrowth of weeds. In the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, Christ illustrates how the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the pleasures of this life act as thorns that choke the Word, rendering the hearer unfruitful. These worldly distractions are aggressive, stealing time and attention from spiritual growth, just as weeds rob nutrients and sunlight from desirable plants. If not addressed, they can crowd out spiritual progress, hindering the maturation of fruit. To manage these spiritual weeds, constant vigilance is required. Missing a day of prayer or Bible study allows entanglements to take root, which must be plucked out before they become entrenched habits. The difference between fruitful and unfruitful ground lies in the hearer's response—action versus inaction. Spiritual laziness can lead to a state akin to being Laodicean, where lethargy permits weeds to overrun one's spiritual garden. Daily effort is essential to hoe this garden, rooting out distractions like excessive focus on entertainment or material pursuits that sidetrack from higher priorities. One must regularly assess whether they are spiritually asleep or merely coasting, allowing other pursuits to overshadow spiritual needs. If distractions are found, they must be addressed immediately, pulling out these weeds by the fistful to prevent them from choking out the potential for quality spiritual fruit. Summer, as a growing season, demands daily checks to ensure that weeds are not springing up, crowding out the useful plants of faith and devotion.

Simplify Your Life!

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus clearly established the highest-priority goal for His disciples in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." He did this because He knows that the main goal, our highest priority, determines the preparations, efforts, and zeal for reaching it. Jesus is giving a warning to people with too many interests, as the most important interests, the spiritual ones, almost invariably get crowded out. Much of the time, our chief problem is a lack of commitment to the highest priority; we allow the secondary priorities to steal time from the primary one. Jesus urges single-mindedness, showing we must focus our attention on our highest priority, indicating devotion to purpose and undivided loyalty to the object of that purpose. A single-minded person who pursues God's Kingdom and His righteousness will have moral healthiness and simple, unaffected goodness. Eternity is purchased by how we spend our time in the present, making time priceless and not to be wasted.

In Focus or Out?

CGG Weekly by Gary Montgomery

What do an astronomer, a microbiologist, and a photographer have in common? They each use a lensed instrument to see God's physical creation in detail.

Simplifying Life (Part Two)

Sermon by David F. Maas

We are obligated to conserve and redeem time by prioritizing daily communion with the Father and Jesus Christ, dedicating time to spiritual practices.

Avoiding Prayer? Consider Carefully

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The whole world is in hurry-up mode. What have often suffered are prayer and its companion, Bible study—and ultimately, the individual's relationship with God.

Make Sure of Your Focus!

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Distractions produce a movement toward randomness and confusion, seriously endangering one's calling. We must sharpen our focus on God and His purpose.

In Search of a Clear World View (Part One)

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

A Christian worldview includes the importance of our calling and the reality of God and His laws. Our worldview determines how we spend our time.

Acting the Fool

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Hebrew words for 'fool' describe a person living his life without considering the consequences of his deeds—a moral deficiency, grounded in insolence.

Worry and Seeking the Kingdom

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Worry is a wired-in proclivity of carnal human nature, a response that Satan has programmed in a perpetual state of discontent and distrust in God.

The Christian and the World (Part Eight)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Having anxiety, foreboding and fretting about food, clothing, and shelter, or being distressed about the future, demonstrates a gross lack of faith.

Deadlines

Sermonette by Joseph B. Baity

In a recent study, scientists declared that, regardless of lifestyle or environmental factors, each human being has a clock with its own expiration date.

Intimacy with Christ (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

We must fight against the world's pulls (including advertising), simplifying our lives, seeking quiet to meditate and build a relationship with God.

A Government to Fear (Part Four): Apathy

Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Americans are apathetic to religion, politics, morality, and civic responsibility, while devoted to hedonism, sports, entertainment, and narcissism.

Be Strong and Work

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by David C. Grabbe

While the returned Judean exiles prioritized their own houses over building the temple, we should understand that it is always time to work on God's house.

Why Hebrews Was Written (Part Five)

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

If church members are to grow in grace and knowledge and be zealous in producing fruit to God's glory, they need to have their priorities in the right place.

Strategies for Interfacing with Babylon Without Becoming Assimilated (Part Three)

Sermon by David F. Maas

The current stormy cultural headwinds consist of noise, hurry, and party spirit. We must replace the gentile style of leadership and elevating leaders.

Seeking God (Part Two): A Foundation

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Christians need to have a conscious plan in seeking God. Here are several essential qualities that must be included in any successful course of action.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Four)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Profit from life is produced by work, requiring sacrifices of time and energy. We have been created for the very purpose of doing good works.

Don't Be Indifferent (2010)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Labor-saving technology seems to have had the effect of separating us from each other and making us indifferent to things that should be important to us.

Widows' Mites

Sermonette by James Beaubelle

Whatever the future held, the widow's life with God would always show her love for God, no matter what the circumstances.

Are We Redeeming the Time?

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Time is fleeting; any of us could perish tomorrow. Procrastination in matters of godliness can be fatal, as the parable of the rich fool teaches.

Don't Be Indifferent

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The frightful Trumpet Plagues are coming on the world because of the breaking of covenants on the part of people who should have known better.

The Mark of the Beast

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Will we trust God in the basic areas of life—food, clothing, and water—or compromise, accepting the mark of the beast to save our physical lives?

My House or God's?

'Prophecy Watch' by David C. Grabbe

In a revealing passage (John 7:53-8:1), the apostle John contrasts Jesus Christ to the Jews. God wants His people to prioritize Him above themselves.

Christianity Is a Fight! (Part 4)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The sanctification process requires us to cooperate with God in order to produce Christian works and character, preparing us for the Kingdom of God.

Our Core Business

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John O. Reid

When corporations get rid of their core business, they become less effective. Likewise when we deviate from our core job, we risk returning to the world.

What Do We Do at the End of an Age?

Sermon by David C. Grabbe

In this unstable world, the only solution is to decisively prioritize our relationship with God. That relationship is the only secure footing at the end of an age.

Remember the Sabbath Day

Sermonette by Hunter D. Swanson

All of God's people have at times felt overwhelmed by grief and exhaustion, needing a genuine rehabilitative rest. The Sabbath restores spiritual strength.

Whatever Your Heart Desires

'Ready Answer' by Staff

The Bible tells us that at the Feast of Tabernacles, we can spend our money on whatever we desire. Do we indulge ourselves, or do we enhance the Feast for others?

Is God in All Our Thoughts?

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

We must not allow the cares of the world, its pressures or its pride, to crowd God out of our thoughts, bringing about abominable works or evil fruits.

Hebrews 12 and 13: Advice for the End Time

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

We must lay aside every weight, accept God's chastening, receive encouragement from those who have gone before, and get back into the spiritual race.

Strategies for Escaping Babylon (Part Seven)

Sermon by David F. Maas

We draw closer to God through Bible study and prayer. Here are practical techniques for augmenting our Bible study, gathering our daily spiritual manna.

Giving All Diligence!

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

The recipients of Peter's epistle were having difficulty holding on to their faith, having succumbed to fear as a result of lack of discipline and laziness.

Teaching Children

Sermonette by John W. Ritenbaugh

Should we teach our children or should we allow the church to do that? Do youth programs have a positive impact? Do they keep youth them in the church?

The World (Part 2)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Our intimate fellowship should not be with the world, but be concentrated upon God and those who have made the Covenant, loving them as we would ourselves.

Matthew (Part Twenty-Eight)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

When God gives a responsibility, He gives all the tools to carry it out and the freedom to decide how to do it. He wants to see how we do with what He gives.