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.
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. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh, reflecting on Jesus Christ's prayer for unity in John 17, insists that unity with our brethren is impossible without unity with God first. Adam and Eve severed this unity by yielding to Satan's influence, stimulating their minds with a novel diversion. Sin automatically separates us from God. The key to …
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. CollinsMartin Collins focuses on the second and third epistles of John, letters. Second John warns Christians against false teachers and the necessity not to let down their guard, realizing that deception is possible when they move 'progressively' against doctrines of Christ, as had occurred in the final years of the Worldwide Church …
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. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh reiterates that God alone chooses the servants through whom He works His will. Sometimes the rationale God uses for selecting His vessels defies worldly wisdom. The major reason for the horrendous split of the greater church of God was the rejection of the doctrines God's servant and Apostle Herbert Armstrong had …
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.
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?
Reconciliation and Unity
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh stresses that unless the splinters of the greater church of God repair their mangled relationships with the Almighty, recoupling will be impossible. A major contributory factor in the scattering is the deceitful heart of man (Jeremiah 17:9) and carnal nature (Romans 8:7) which attempts to substitute charm and …
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.
Unity
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughJesus, in His prayer recorded in John 17, fervently asks for unity among His Disciples (and by extension-all of us). Almost 20% of this prayer is devoted to the subject of unity, that His disciples would be unified with God the Father and with each other, as Jesus is unified with the Father. If we aren't unified with our …
Understanding Unity
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh, focusing on the alarming fragmentation and disunity taking place throughout society and within God's church, assures us that God will ultimately answer Jesus' five-fold prayer for unity in John 17:11. We have a vital part to play in bringing about this unity, beginning with the marriage institution and families. …
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. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh observes that although each of God's festivals depicts increasingly larger numbers of people being drawn to God, the counter pulls emanating from sinful carnal human nature war against the prompts of God's Holy Spirit, producing continual conflict. Choosing between these two opposite poles is something we have to …
James and Unleavened Bread (Part Two)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughRichard Ritenbaugh asserts that the epistle of James stresses both faith and works, emphasizing those factors necessary for growth, enabling us to produce a bountiful harvest of fruit. We are to exercise humility and impartiality, taking particular effort to bring our tongues under control, being cautiously slow to speak, …
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 …
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.
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 …
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 …
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.
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.
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.
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 …
