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From Start to Finish

Sermon by Charles Whitaker (1944-2021)

Jesus Christ stands as the Author and Finisher of our faith, embodying the profound concepts of beginning and completion. From the foundation of the world, He was established by God as the sure foundation, a founded foundation prepared for the work of salvation. God made ready a body for Him, gifting Him with the form to offer as a living sacrifice. As the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, He encompasses the entirety of God's work, from the initial act of creation to the ongoing restoration and perfecting of His people. He began this spiritual race before the creation of the cosmos, and He will bring it to completion at His return on the Day of Christ. Through His attentive care, He maintains, equips, and adds value, ensuring that everything needed is provided to reach the ultimate goal of resurrection and eternal life. God, who started this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of His Son and our Master Jesus, and He will never cease His work until it is fully accomplished.

The Christian Walk (Part Three): In Wisdom

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Jesus Christ stands as the ultimate example of accuracy in the Christian walk, being the Author and Finisher of faith. He serves as the Trailblazer who runs alongside His followers, offering help and encouragement from start to finish. His life provides a template for believers, demonstrating a path that leads to victory, as evidenced by His resurrection and ascension. By looking to Him, one can gather strength and find assurance through His Spirit, knowing that He is ever-present to guide and support. The virtues emphasized in His example include joy, endurance, indifference to shame, and keeping the goal of eternal life foremost in mind. He endured the cross with joy set before Him, showing commitment and perseverance. He ignored outside pressures and shame, remaining unshaken by persecution, even unto death. His ultimate reward, sitting at the right hand of the Father, serves as a beacon for believers, inspiring them to pursue the same narrow, constricting path. With Him in us, we are empowered to follow this path, striving for the same glory and life in God's Kingdom that He attained.

Christ Our Standard

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Jesus Christ stands as our ultimate Standard, the embodiment of all that is good, pure, holy, and righteous, against which we must evaluate ourselves. He personifies the goal and purpose of our spiritual journey, encapsulating everything the law and God's way aspire to achieve. We are called to grow into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, reaching both the depth of His knowledge and the breadth of His actions by applying truth in every aspect of life. Our mission is to emulate Him continuously, in every thought, word, and deed, striving to live as He lived. Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith, the One who starts and completes our salvation. We must keep our eyes focused on Him, as He is both the Starter of our race and the One waiting at the finish line to welcome us. He is the way, the method, and the process by which we attain the Kingdom of God, and there is no other path to follow. Without Him, no true or lasting good can be accomplished, and He demands not just fruit, but much fruit, borne through the application of knowledge into practical, godly living. Throughout His life, Jesus went about doing good, filling every moment with purposeful action that left no room for sin. His relentless pace of preaching, healing, and serving others serves as our example, showing us that by doing good, we displace sin and grow toward perfection. As our Standard, He calls us to imitate Him, to do good to everyone, even those who oppose us, so that we may become complete and mature, just like our Father in heaven and His Son, who gave Himself for all mankind while we were yet sinners.

Four Points of Faith

Sermonette by James Beaubelle

At times we exhibit some faithlessness, perhaps because we have viewed faith just in terms of what we do rather than what God does through His gifting to us.

Snapshots (Part Two)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

Even if a present snapshot of our lives looks dismal, it cannot reveal what happens next. What happens next is in God's hands—and He finishes what He starts.

Saved By His Life

Sermonette by Austin Del Castillo

Contrary to the belief that most of the Christian professing world hold that we are saved by the death of Jesus Christ, in reality we are saved by His life.

Creator, Sustainer, Head (Part One)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

The book of Hebrews resonates for the church of God at this time due to the strong parallels between our circumstances and those of the first century church.

God's Workmanship (Part 3)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

God assumes the burden for our salvation, but we are obligated to yield to His workmanship—made manifest by good works, the effect of salvation.

The Last Adam

Sermonette by Ryan McClure

The first Adam yielded to sin and brought death upon humanity; the last Adam beat sin and is on course to permanently destroy death.

Deleavening the Home

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

If each of us individually puts out the leaven of malice and consume the Unleavened Bread of sincerity, we would fulfill our community responsibility.

He Lives, We Live

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Redemption is useless to mortal beings without God's gift of eternal life (I Corinthians 15:19), which God made possible through Christ's resurrection.

Philippians (Part Three)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

Paul conveyed to the Philippians his optimism that his imprisonment was actually a blessing, enabling him to magnify his effectiveness and bear more fruit.

Hebrews (Part Fourteen)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

Like Jesus and other heroes of faith, we need to look beyond the present to the long term effects of the trials and tests we go though, seeing their value.

'Being Seen of Them Forty Days'

Sermon by Mark Schindler

On the 40th day on the count to Pentecost, Jesus ascended. The details of His activity before His ascension have not received the focus they should.

A Royal Priesthood

Sermonette by Austin Del Castillo

We have a much bigger reason for developing godly character than merely make it into the Kingdom. We are rehearsing our roles as a royal priesthood.

This Body of Death

Sermonette by Ted E. Bowling

In ancient times, the corpse of a murdered person was attached to the murderer, allowing the body to decompose until the murderer was infected and died.

The Church Family - Convinced and Persuaded

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Church government should reflect God's government, typified as a family, with Christ as the loving husband and the church as the submissive wife.