Israel, Selfies, and Idolatry
Sermonette by Mike FordThe religious hobbyist Micah practiced his own self-devised hybrid of religion, amalgamating some orthodox truth with abundant noxious, pagan admixtures.
Searching for Israel (Part Six): Israel Is Fallen, Is Fallen
Article by Charles WhitakerAfter 200 years of rejecting Davidic rule, Israel fell to Assyria, and its people were carried to Media. Judah lasted about 150 years longer.
Deuteronomy and Idolatry
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe are admonished to internalize the book of Deuteronomy in preparation for our future leadership roles.
The Doctrine of Israel (Part One): Origins
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughBecause Abraham trusted God, his descendants have received unprecedented blessings. If the Israelites would have kept God's law, they would have served as a model.
The Doctrine of Israel (Part Four): God's Indictment
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughEven though Jacob's offspring have had a special relationship with God, their carnal nature led them to test God's patience, growing more corrupt than even Sodom.
Deception, Idolatry and the Feast of Tabernacles
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJeroboam, pragmatic and fearful, established a more convenient idolatrous festival to prevent his people from keeping the real Feast of Tabernacles in Judah.
The Second Commandment: Idolatry
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe natural mind craves something physical to remind us of God, but the Second Commandment prohibits this. Any representation will fall short of the reality.
The Beast and Babylon (Part Eight): God, Israel, and the Bible
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughThough she transgressed every commandment in multiple ways, the sin through which Israel's unfaithfulness is most frequently demonstrated is gross idolatry.
The Doctrine of Israel (Part Three): A Cycle of Rebellion
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughIsrael consistently cycles through God's deliverance, apostasy through idolatry and immorality, God's chastening, national repentance, then deliverance again.
Hosea, Gomer, God, and Israel
Sermon by Kim MyersTo dramatize the perennial harlotry of Israel and the incredible love God exhibits toward His people, He commands Hosea to marry a harlot, Gomer.
Do You Have a Golden Calf?
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Mike FordAbijah had three good years but was suddenly cut off because he didn't remove the idols. One act of faith is only something to build on, not a cause to rest.
The High Places (Part Two)
CGG Weekly by David C. GrabbeKing Jehoash (or Joash) of Judah, though he overcame much and did many good things, did not quite have the fortitude to rid the kingdom of its high places.
The High Places (Part Four)
CGG Weekly by David C. GrabbeUzziah was the third successive king of Judah who failed to remove the high places from the land. His downfall lay in not handling worldly greatness.
What Will It Take?
CGG Weekly by David C. GrabbeYesterday the Supreme Court of the United States of America removed the ban on homosexual sex. ...
Passover (Part Eight)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe temple Passover commanded by Hezekiah was a very unusual circumstance in which the king centralized worship to keep Baalism from defiling the Passover.
A Different Kind of Savior
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughRichard Ritenbaugh shows that, at the time surrounding the birth of Jesus, there existed considerable messianic fervor. Simeon the priest, Anna the prophetess, and many others, including the Samaritans, were looking for the Messiah. Andrew and his brother Peter were looking for the Messiah and were prepared to follow Him …
Passover (Part Seven)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughMajor reinterpretations have significantly distorted the meaning of Passover and Unleavened Bread, blurring the distinction between the two events.
The Torment Of The Godly
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Charles WhitakerBoth Lot and Ezekiel were tormented by the abominations, sins, and defilement taking place within their culture, polluted with idolatry and paganism.
The Second Commandment
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughMost people consider the second commandment to deal with making or falling down before a pagan idol, but it covers all aspects of the way we worship.
Asa
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughRichard Ritenbaugh, reiterating that the book of Chronicles, written around 420 BC, after Israel had returned from captivity, was not intended to be so much as a historical record as a sermon, drawing lessons from the historical record, showing what happens when the nation and its kings conform to God's covenants and what …
The High Places (Part One)
CGG Weekly by David C. GrabbeGod points out four kings of Judah who did not remove the high places. Many kings neither built nor destroyed high places, yet God points out four who failed.
Remember When
Sermonette by Ronny H. GrahamRonny Graham, reflecting upon mankind's propensity to selectively filter events, forgetting the bad and remembering the good when assessing "the good old days," asserts that our civilization has undergone a terrifying free-fall of morality and ethics for multiple decades. Some feel the good old days are a myth, while others …
Manasseh
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughEven though Manasseh was absolutely the worst king ever to lead Judah, Manasseh finally got the message that God only is God, and sincerely repented.
The Fourth Commandment (Part One) (1997)
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughMost people think the fourth commandment is least important, but it may be one of the most important! It is a major facet of our relationship with God.
The Fourth Commandment
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughAt creation, God sanctified only one day, the seventh, as a day of rest. At Sinai, He again sanctified it as a holy day, tying it to creation and freedom.
Be There Next Year
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughMembers of God's church usually come home from the Feast of Tabernacles with renewed strength. Yet, some fall away each year. Here's how to stay the course.
Sabbathkeeping (Part 1)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughHow and why a person keeps the Sabbath determines whether this test commandment is really a sign between God and His people or an act of futility.
The Sin of Self-Deception
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughIn our relationship with God, we must emphasize principle over pragmatism. If we are led into deception, it is because our carnal nature wanted it that way.
The Spirit of Babylon
Sermonette by David C. GrabbeThe Spirit of Babylon is couched in brazen outlook of the goddess Inanna/Ishtar, the femme fatale who asserted her free will to overcome the influence of Eden.
Not Just a Better America
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughRichard Ritenbaugh, after pointing to some recent miraculous interventions of God on behalf of America, warns people not to conclude that God tacitly approves or condones the American way of doing things. God does not endorse the American system any more than any other system not based on God's Laws. The Millennium will not …
The Nature of God: Elohim
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughUnderstanding Elohim teaches us about the nature of God and where our lives are headed. Elohim refers to a plural family unit in the process of expanding.
The Commandments (Part Two)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughIdolatry constitutes the fountainhead from which all other sins flow, all of which amplify obsessive self-centeredness and self-indulgence.
