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Acquainted with Grief

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

Christ's bearing of our sicknesses and infirmities may have taken place throughout His life. He may have been acquainted with ill health for our benefit.

Death Is Not the End (Part Three)

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Having faced the perils of life with disturbing regularity, Paul was intimately acquainted with the certainty of death. He can provide us a positive example.

House of Mourning

Sermon by Bill Onisick

The prospect of death makes one more mature and self-aware, illuminating the meaning of Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 that it is better to go to the house of mourning.

Not To Reason Why

Commentary by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Why did God allow this tragedy? Why do the good suffer and the evil prosper? We want answers to these questions, but Jesus points us in another direction.

A Time to Tear

Sermon by Charles Whitaker (1944-2021)

The practice of rending clothes symbolizes sorrow, agony, despair, and hopelessness, a realization that God alone can restore the profound loss.

Lamentations (Part Three)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Personified Jerusalem, whom God depicts as a grieving widow, blames others for her troubles while overlooking her own sins as the real cause of her sorrow.

The Miracles of Jesus Christ: The Resurrection of Lazarus (Part One)

Bible Study by Martin G. Collins

Among Christ's greatest miracles is the resurrection of Lazarus. John 11 details Jesus' approach to and way of expressing the concept of death, giving hope.

Lamentations (Part Six)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

In Lamentations 3, the narrator finally convinces Lady Jerusalem that her own sins have caused her necessary punishment and affliction by God.

Of Death

Sermon by James Beaubelle

While some view death as a transition or displacement of cosmic energy, scripture affirms that death is real, appointed to all, and occurs under God's authority.

Those Who Mourn

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Worldly sorrow leads to death while godly sorrow leads to repentance and life. After godly repentance, sorrow is swallowed up in profound joy.

Lamentations (Part Five)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The expressions of sorrow in the Psalms far outnumber expressions of praise, indicating that the Hebrew culture has almost made the lamentation an art form.

The Beatitudes, Part Three: Mourning

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Blessedness and mourning seem contradictory, but obviously Jesus saw spiritual benefits to sorrow. True, godly mourning gets high marks from God.

Lamentations (Part Four)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

In Lamentations 2, Lady Jerusalem sidesteps godly repentance, opting instead for self-centered recrimination against Almighty God.

Strategies for Escaping Babylon (Part Three)

Sermon by David F. Maas

Creating a sense of humor will make it easier to escape the satanic lies of Babylon, or at least make it more endurable.

Assurance (Part Three): Glory and Hope

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

The sufferings we go through are minuscule compared to the glory which we will receive, completely eclipsing the glory of Adam and Eve before their fall.

Back to Life (Part Four)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

God's love does not shield us from sickness, pain, sorrow, or death. There are several scriptural contexts in which Jesus shed tears and expressed grief.

Abraham (Part Twelve)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

Based on his long friendship with God, Abraham could systematically calculate the reliability of God's promises even in the lack of visual evidence.

Tearing Your Clothes

Sermonette by James C. Stoertz

Tearing one's clothes was the ancient custom (still around in some cultures) that showed great mourning and sorrow about loss or about the realization of a huge transgression. In our modern era, tearing one's clothing has lost its meaning, such as when it is used as a form of vanity like in torn clothing fashions or as a form of faux humility. We need to understand the context of how biblical characters used it to show the correct attitude towards repentance. Examples include the grief of Jacob in Genesis 37 at the loss of Joseph, and the tearing of Paul's clothes in Acts 14 when the people misunderstood the point of his message and ventured into idolatry. Now we are expected to apply the analogy to rending of the heart and striving for genuine humility at the understanding of the amount of how much God contributes compared to the small amount we do and the resulting repentance and change of behavior resulting from that realization.

On The Value of Joy

Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Because we live in a troubling world, our reserves of joy are probably somewhat low, perhaps making us feel that we are deficient in God's Holy Spirit.

Job and Self-Evaluation (Part Two): Perspective

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Job's three 'friends,' exemplars of all men, made critical assumptions and judgments about Job on the basis of biased religious and cultural tradition.