Unity and Division: The Blessing and the Curse (Part One)
'Ready Answer' by Charles WhitakerUnity seems to be 'godly,' while division is 'ungodly.' However, unity and division are not as black and white as we typically think of them.
Unity and Division (Part One)
CGG Weekly by David C. GrabbeEven though God desires brethren to dwell in peace and unity, at times HE ordains and causes disruption and division. How do we explain this apparent paradox?
Division, Satan, Humility
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThroughout the course of Biblical history, whenever sin appears, confusion, division and separation are the automatic consequences.
Unity and Division: The Blessing and a Curse (Part Two)
'Ready Answer' by Charles WhitakerA curious phenomenon ties together several biblical stories: God makes a judgment and divides His people into two groups, often splitting them down the middle!
Unity and Division: The Blessing and the Curse (Part Three)
'Ready Answer' by Charles WhitakerGod instructed the Israelites to divide themselves by tribes on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal to pronounce blessings and curses, providing lessons for us.
Satan, Division, and Humility
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughCompetition is the root cause of war, business takeovers, and marital discord. Solomon describes man's rivalry with one another as a striving after wind.
Unity and Division: The Blessing and the Curse (Part Four)
'Ready Answer' by Charles WhitakerGod commanded the Israelites to utter blessings from Mount Gerazim and curses from Mount Ebal, most of which deal with hidden sins that give rise to hypocrisy.
The Zero-Sum Game
Commentary by Mark SchindlerDespite the often wrong-headed propaganda promoted by the mainstream media, voices of common sense and logic occasionally manage to ascend to power. One such voice is that of the mayor of Orland Park, Illinois, Keith Pekau, who has successfully argued against the Illinois' masking and vaccination mandates. Although Orland Park …
Pride, Contention, and Unity
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughThe sin of pride underlies many of our other sins, and it is often the reason for the contentions we get into as brethren.
Unity (2006)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLike the symphony orchestra, only as an instrumentalist submits to the leader, working with the other members of the ensemble, can unity be accomplished.
Humble Your Hearts and Be No Longer Stubborn
Sermonette by Bill OnisickThe peace that passes all understanding comes from yielding to God's will, asking Him for a soft, pliable heart to replace the hard heart of stubbornness.
Unity and Unleavened Bread
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughAs members of Christ's body, we must function for the good of the whole body, not competing with other parts. We must continually function as a son of God.
Unity (Part 2): God's Pattern of Leadership
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod is not the author of confusion, but throughout the scriptures has used a consistent pattern of appointing leaders over His called-out ones.
Antidote For Disunity!
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Martin G. CollinsWe will become united as we draw closer to God. If we regard a brother in Christ as a competitor rather than as a trusted ally, unity will be impossible.
The Epistles of II and III John (Part Two)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsJohn warns Gaius of the treachery of Diotrephes, who had initiated a mutiny against God's true ministers, putting out of the church those who did not follow him.
Psalm 133
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughUnity comes only through the initiation of God. If we would follow the suggestions in Romans 12, we could do our part in promoting unity in God's church.
Unity (Part 7): Ephesians 4 (D)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughBecause of our lack of self-discipline and willingness to guard the truth, we have allowed our theological base to deteriorate under the persuasion of the world.
Unity (Part 3): Ephesians 4 (A)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod alone chooses the servants through whom He works His will. Sometimes the rationale God uses for selecting His vessels defies worldly wisdom.
Of One Accord
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughConfusion and separation have been man's legacy since Eden. Christ is working to put an end to division, enabling us to be one with the Father and each other.
All in All
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughHave you ever wondered what 'all in all' means in relation to God and Christ? This term has great significance to us today.
The Whirlpool of War
Article by John O. Reid (1930-2016)John Reid, a veteran of the Korean war, knows the horrors of war. We are in a spiritual war right now, and it will only become hotter as we near the end!
Knowing God
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughTo fulfill one's purpose, one must be singularly focused on what one wants to accomplish. Divided minds result in no productivity or even devastation.
Differences of Opinion
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsSatan champions self-opinion and mob behavior. God's church has never been immune to division because each member has only part of the truth.
Who Are We and Where Do We Fit (Part Two)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod has placed us all in the body where it has pleased Him. We dare not imitate Satan by letting self-centered goals eclipse God's purpose.
Reconciliation and Unity
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughIt is foolish and pointless to use the same charm, social skills, and duplicity toward God as we use to deceive others and, sadly, even ourselves.
The Christian and the World (Part Three)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe must realize we are walking on a razor's edge, with the Kingdom of God on one side and the world with all its sensual magnetic charms on the other side.
A Distant Reflection
'Prophecy Watch' by Richard T. RitenbaughConsidering the events and trends exhibited in the modern church of God, will it follow the disastrous example of early second-century Christianity?
Unity
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughEach member of Christ's body must choose to function in the role God has ordained to produce unity, emulating Christ in striving to please the Father
Understanding Unity
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe must separate ourselves from the world, sacrificing ourselves to God's purpose to become at one with God, waiting for Him to unify us to others.
A Search for Identity
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod gave His approval for the destruction of the Worldwide Church of God into numerous groups, allowing heresies so He could see who really loves Him.
Grace, Faith, and Love
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughPride condemned Satan to a fate of manipulating rather than serving. This presumptuous self-centered trait creates disunity and ultimately destruction.
James and Unleavened Bread (Part Two)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe epistle of James stresses both faith and works, emphasizing those factors necessary for growth, enabling us to produce a bountiful harvest of fruit.
Debate
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughRichard Ritenbaugh contends that we in the church should side neither with the progressive (liberal) worldview nor the traditional (conservative) worldview, but march to the beat of a different drummer. Americans, as part of the culture of Israel, debate absolutely everything. The Bible takes a very dim view of argument, debate, …
Unsharpened
Sermonette by Joseph B. BaityJoseph Baity, stressing the need to strengthen the bonds of our fellowship with each other, suggests that in the past, the Church of God may have focused too intensely on elusive esoteric principles and neglected the basics, such as developing solid relationships within the body of Christ, forgetting the principle that iron …
Unresolved: The Way We Were
Sermonette by Joseph B. BaityJoe Baity, graphically describing the many life-destroying elements of our current culture, emphatically declares that mankind is destroying itself by rejecting God's law. One of the major tools Satan uses to upend us is the unresolved weaknesses and sins welling up from our past. In Psalm 90, Moses affirms that our secret sins …
Envy: The Most Precious Daughter
Sermonette by David C. GrabbeIt is easy to follow in Satan's footsteps, courting his daughter Envy, reaping the disquiet which accompanies her. Envy comes from pushing God from our thoughts.
A Badly Divided Nation
Commentary by John W. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh, acknowledging that our country is divided politically and culturally more than at any other time since the Civil War, points out that even though the abortion issue is one of the most divisive issues, the population as a whole has become more callused. The scattering of our previous fellowship was allowed by God …
The Wisdom of Men and Faith
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe pressures and conflicts that the church has undergone is part of the spirit of the time that has embroiled religious and political institutions worldwide.
Two Loaves, Baked with Leaven
Sermonette by David C. GrabbeThe leavening indicates that the wave loaves speak to this life rather than the resurrection. It is accepted by God only because of the other sacrifices.
Facing Times of Stress: Persecution
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsPersecution involves a wide spectrum, ranging from torture, physical beating, social excommunication, imprisonment and death. Our boldness should match Paul's.
Passover and New Creation
Sermon by Charles WhitakerCharles Whitaker, observing the plethora of pairings (binary opposites, dichotomies in Genesis 1 and 2 (day and night, male and female, sea and land, the Tree of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life, etc.) asserts that during the first stage of Creation, God unleashed multiple universal processes of division or separation. In the …
Troubling the Household of God
Sermon by Mark SchindlerMark Schindler, reflecting on the 30th anniversary of his baptism, recalls how he joyfully, but perhaps myopically, assumed that he would automatically walk harmoniously and peacefully with the other members of the body of Christ into the Kingdom and eternity of God, without experiencing any impediments or sibling rivalry among …