Playlist:

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Letters to Seven Churches (Part Eleven): Laodicea

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Laodiceans fail to reciprocate Christ's love for them. The comfort of prosperity blinded them to their spiritual condition, especially their need for Christ.


Letters to Seven Churches (Part Ten): The Church

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Ups and downs, blessings and trials, have characterized every era of the church. God's people are always battling something negative between the brief highs.


Letters to Seven Churches (Part Eight): Overcoming

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Each of the letters in Revelation 2 and 3 speak of overcoming. By examining those churches, we can understand what we are up against and what we must do.


Letters to Seven Churches (Part Seven): Repentance

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

As High Priest, Christ is putting His people through the paces, tailoring the trials and experiences needed for sanctification and ultimate glorification.


Letters to Seven Churches (Part Three): Smyrna

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Christ prepared the members of Smyrna for martyrdom, promising them eternal glory for enduring a relatively short time, looking at things from a hopeful perspective.


The Seven Churches (Part One): Overview

Bible Study by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Revelation's seven churches have intrigued readers for centuries. Were they just seven historical churches, eras, or attitudes ever-present in the church?


Revelation 10 and the Laodicean Church

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Revelation 10 and 11 describe a time before the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, a time when the last of the seven thunders rumbles to a faint whimper.


Are We Laodiceans?

CGG Weekly by Pat Higgins

At day's end, ask how much time we spent communicating with God and Christ and how much time They were in none of our thoughts (Psalm 10:4).


Urgency to Get Closer to God

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Kim Myers

The time when the offspring of Jacob are going to pay the piper is rapidly closing in. We must cultivate a sense of urgency in our relationship with God.


Laodiceanism and Being There Next Year

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Our biggest danger at this time is to be lured into spiritual drunkenness by the pagan Babylonian system. Our God is not what we say we worship but whom we serve.


Called to Change

Sermon by Ryan McClure

We are admonished to change, becoming living sacrifices, renewing our minds from carnal to spiritual, becoming transformed into the image of our Savior.


The Colossian Heresy and Laodiceanism

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Colossae and Laodicea were susceptible to fast-talking teachers, whose plausible words eroded the true Gospel in favor of pagan thought and practice.


Laodiceanism

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Our love for beauty must be coupled with love for righteousness and holiness. Our relationship with Christ must take central place in our lives, displacing all else.


Prepare to Meet Your God! (The Book of Amos) (Part Two)

Booklet by John W. Ritenbaugh

Israel had every opportunity that the Gentiles did not have. God gave the Israelites gifts to live a better way, but they completely failed to reflect Him.


The High Christology of Colossians

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

High Christology as a doctrinal stance was not enough to prevent the eventual apostasy of those in Asia Minor. Doctrine must produce the right conduct.


What Does it Mean to Take Up the Cross?

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

Bearing our cross means our time on this earth is virtually finished, that we are willing to give up our lives, emulating the life of our Savior.


Knowing God: Formality and Customs (Part Five)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The notion that it does not matter what we wear if our heart is right on the inside is foolish. Our clothing ought to reflect our inward character.


A Truth About Revelation 2 and 3

Sermonette by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

In the Day of the Lord, Christ stands in the midst of all seven churches. We are to learn from the lessons from all seven, not get sidetracked by eras.


A Swift End

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

When the end-time signs begin to be fulfilled, the time for long-term spiritual growth will be over. So Jesus commands us, 'Therefore you also be ready.'


A Truth About Revelation 2 and 3

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Most of God's church believes that the seven letters of Revelation 2-3 reveal seven church eras. However, the Bible indicates an end-time fulfillment.


The Remnant

'Prophecy Watch' by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The subject of a remnant occurs 540 times in the Bible! What is a remnant? How does it apply in this end time? How does it apply to the church?


He Who Overcomes

Sermon by John O. Reid

Just as fighting to escape its cocoon strengthens the butterfly, our calling requires effort above what the world has to endure to become free of Satan's cocoon.


Blessing Promises: Our Spiritual Inheritance

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Martin G. Collins

When we ask to be blessed, it should be exclusively on God's terms. What God has done in our lives is the best preparation for our future responsibilities.


A Place of Safety? (Part 1)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

God has the ability to protect and save in a variety of methods. The Scriptures reveal various purposes for intervention, protection, and prudent escape.


But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?

'Prophecy Watch' by David F. Maas

In the letters to the seven churches, Scripture foresees that a dearth of steadfastness marks the time of the end, but Christians are urged to hold fast.


Revelation 2-3 and Works

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The letters in Revelation 2 and 3 are for the end times, shortly before Christ's return. Each emphasizes repentance, overcoming, and judgment according to works.


I Know Your Works

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Contrary to Protestant understanding, our works emphatically do count - showing or demonstrating (not just telling) that we will be obedient.


Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen (Part Seven)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

The letters to the seven churches of Revelation warn of losing our first love, heeding false teachers, compromising God's Truth, and forgetting right doctrine.


'He Who Has an Ear, Let Him Hear . . .'

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

A man with myopic judgment will take the good times he has as evidence of God's pleasure, and conclude that the bad times must be caused by Satan's persecution.


Do You Desire the Day of the Lord?

'Prophecy Watch' by David C. Grabbe

Amos describes the Israelites as proud and secure in their special relationship with God, while God castigates them for presuming He approved of them.


Smyrna: Faithful Until Death

'Prophecy Watch' by David C. Grabbe

The biblical city of Smyrna may be one that many know the least about. The city's name reveals the themes that the Head of the church wants us to understand.


Don't Lose Your Focus!

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Paul urged that we get our focus more balanced, emphasizing love over prophetic correctness, not remaining indifferent to what Christ deemed important.


Increased With Goods

Sermonette by James Beaubelle

The Laodicean congregation had a penchant toward materialism, which sidetracked them from their primary goal of following Christ.


When the Trumpet Blows

Sermon by John O. Reid

Throughout Israel's history, the trumpet blast has always meant the onset of war, death, and destruction, ushering in harsh correction for physical Israel.


What Is the Church's Work Today (Part Three)

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The primary focus at this time is the repair of the faith once delivered that has seriously deteriorated because of heresy, apostasy, and Laodiceanism.


A Place of Safety? (Part 5)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Obsessing 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.


Considering the Day of the Lord

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

The ancient Israelites smugly believed that God was on their side, and that because He had not yet responded to their sins, they would be victorious.


Cloak of Zeal

Sermonette by Bill Onisick

Zeal is characterized as ardent, passionate, energetic, or being on fire. Jesus Christ exemplified this kind of zeal as He drove the moneychangers from the Temple.


Christian Zeal

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Zeal has been discredited as the tool of the charlatan, but Christians must develop passion and zeal for the Christian way of life and the Kingdom of God.


The Relationship Deficit (Part One)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

In the unsettling letter to the Laodiceans, Jesus paints a picture of Himself in relation to the church that reveals His people care about other things.


The Providence of God (Part Five)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

God uses calamities as part of His creative process. Like Jacob, who initially succumbed to weak faith and fear, we must repent of our loss of devotion to God.


Are You Zealous? (Part One)

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Are we giving our all for Christ and the way of life that God has revealed to us? Are we giving our all for the Kingdom of God? Are we truly zealous?


The Relationship Deficit (Part Three)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

In Laodicea, the people judge, but they are judging according to themselves. They are not seeking the will of Christ, and thus their judgment is distorted.