Filter by Categories
What's Your Source?
Commentary by David C. GrabbeThe scattering that began at Babel continues today not through geography or language but through divergent worldviews shaped by competing sources of information. These sources create belief dialects that prevent mutual understanding even among those who speak the same tongue, as repeated exposure to selected content gradually forms convictions without requiring personal verification. Higher education introduced secularism and humanism that undermined a biblical foundation, while modern communication systems intended to unite people instead accelerate fragmentation by supplying an endless stream of customized material. Algorithms prioritize engagement over accuracy, and human oversight operates from a humanist perspective, allowing fringe ideas to gain traction through sheer repetition. The result is that impressions solidify into beliefs, as seen when polls reveal widespread acceptance of extraterrestrial life based solely on accumulated impressions rather than evidence. Within the church the same dynamic appeared when a new theological dialect originating in seminaries rather than Scripture led to division and regrouping according to differing convictions. Political and cultural sources have since added further layers, producing contradictory understandings that hinder fellowship. In contrast, the true source of truth is found in the words of Jesus Christ, who declared that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. Those words encompass the whole counsel of God from the beginning, and living by every word that proceeds from His mouth purifies the belief dialect, filters unreliable sources, and aligns thoughts with His. This alignment enables those who follow the same source to understand one another despite the surrounding confusion.
Keeping the Truth Pure
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Charles Whitaker (1944-2021)If we allow doctrine to be contaminated with man's flawed reason, it will defile the truth. Job's friends used profane sources in their arguments.
A Rewired Society (Part Two): A Post-Truth World
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe new morality is lawlessness and rejection of all restraints, which ironically makes them abject slaves of sin and candidates for the Lake of Fire.
Mightier Than the Sword (Part Nineteen)
Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Without the acknowledgement of God, epistemology has no authority to set humanistic standards in place of the Creator.
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.
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 Second Commandment (1997)
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughMany fail to perceive the difference between the first and second commandments. The second commandment defines the way we are to worship the true God.
Mightier Than the Sword (Part One)
Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Apostasy in nominal Christianity has come from major philosophers, serving as 'educators' within the worldly churches, causing great damage with their pens.
Trusting the Bible
Sermonette by Craig SablichWhen asked about our beliefs and the foundations of them, we should be prepared to answer these questions systematically and thoughtfully.
Titus (Part Three): Rebuking False Teachers
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe congregations in Crete were beset with insubordination, subject to no authority, full of meaningless and senseless talk, distracting the overseer.
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twenty)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod has given us His Law, which shows us the way of sanctification and holiness. God is in the process of reproducing His kind — the God-kind.
Azazel: Beginnings
Sermon by David C. GrabbeWhile there is a handful of common starting places for understanding the azazel, none of them has multiple witnesses of Scripture. We must begin elsewhere.
Jesus Christ's Trial (Part Four)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsGod will not reveal His precious truth to idle curiosity, as was the case with the self-indulgent Herod Antipas, seeking entertainment rather than truth.
Falling Leaves
CGG Weekly by Richard T. RitenbaughIf the opinions we hear or read are not based on the truths of God, they are like dead leaves falling from a tree: unsightly and worthless.
The Sovereignty of God (Part Eleven)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughUnderstanding God's sovereignty as a basic doctrine provides a link between knowledge and practice, as well as providing motivation to yield to God's purpose.