Seeking God (Part One): Our Biggest Problem
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughAfter making the covenant with God, how does a person avoid backsliding? The answer lies in seeking God, which involves much more than commonly thought.
Prayer and Seeking God
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughRather than having an apathetic relationship toward God, we must ardently, earnestly, and fervently seek God in order to imitate His behavior in our lives.
Seeking God (Part Two): A Foundation
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughChristians need to have a conscious plan in seeking God. Here are several essential qualities that must be included in any successful course of action.
Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty (Part Three)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughEternal life is to live a quality life as God lives, having developed a close relationship with God, living by faith and accepting His sovereignty over all.
Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty, Part Three: The Fruits
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughHere are four qualities of character that our full acceptance of God's sovereignty will build and that will prepare us for whatever work God may choose for us.
Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty (Part Two)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughFaith in God and in the motivating power in God's Word have to be the driving force in everything we do each day.
Do You See God Working in You?
Sermon by Kim MyersJob was able to endure the multiple trials and tragic events by seeing the hand of God in his life, realizing that God works in both good and bad times.
Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty (Part Four)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe are not individually sovereign, but we are taught to give ourselves over completely to God's sovereignty. If we do, we will reap unfathomable blessings.
Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty (Part Two)
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughFully accepting God's sovereignty should drive us to seek Him so that we can come to know Him as completely as possible, which is vital to our salvation.
Seek My Face
Sermonette by Ryan McClureGod turns His face away from those who have committed sin. Our entire spiritual pilgrimage is a quest to see God's face in full splendor (Revelation 22:1-5).
Why Does God Keep Secrets?
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by David F. MaasBy not revealing everything immediately, God has been employing teaching techniques that have taken the educational community thousands of years to discover.
The Fear of God (Part One)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe must have established some relationship with God before we can rightly fear Him. A holy fear is the key to unlocking the treasuries of salvation and wisdom.
Truth and God's Governance (Part Two)
CGG Weekly by David C. GrabbeThe best human leaders are those who recognize that they are not the ones running things. Exceptional leaders submit to the reality of God's sovereignty.
God, the Church's Greatest Problem
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughAfter our calling, we must seek God and His way, for our conduct is motivated by our concept of God. Coming to know God is the church's biggest problem.
Power Belongs to God (Part 2)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe may be going through a period of hopelessness, but must believe that all things work together for those who believe and are called for His purpose.
Boundaries, Incursions, Migrations, and God (Part Two)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughEven though the way God exercises His sovereignty is inscrutable to us , calling the foolish to confound the wise, all He does fits perfectly into His plan.
Why Does God Keep Secrets?
'Ready Answer' by David F. MaasProverbs 25:2 says, 'It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.' God hides certain things to make us dig deep because the focused effort engraves the lessons.
Knowing God: Formality and Customs (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh cautions that placing our hope in the wrong thing can jeopardize our relationship with God. We must remember that God alone is the source from whom all blessings flow, and that we need to reciprocate those gifts back to God,fearing and standing in awe of Him, honoring Him, and conforming to His standards. We must …
'What Do You Seek?'
Sermon by Mark SchindlerWe all had somewhat carnal reasons for responding to God's calling, but we must lay those aside in favor of truly seeking Christ and His righteousness.
God and Reality
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWhat God puts us through is designed to reveal reality to us. Accepting His doctrine without looking for loopholes will keep us true.
Facing Times of Stress: Always in God's Presence
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsWe can maintain spiritual contact using David's tactic of continually maintaining the Lord before him in his thoughts, prayers, and meditations.
God Gives Grace to the Humble
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsGenuine humility is one of the most elusive characteristics a person can attain. It consists of of self-respect accompanied by a genuine desire to serve.
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.
Prepare to Meet Your God! (The Book of Amos) (Part Two)
Booklet by John W. RitenbaughIsrael had every opportunity that the Gentiles did not have. God gave the Israelites gifts to live a better way, but they completely failed to reflect Him.
Are You Alive to God?
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsEphesians 2 says Christians were spiritually dead. Thankfully, God resurrected us from the grave through the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ.
God of Our Salvation
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughRichard Ritenbaugh, suggesting that many people go to their graves with their spiritual problems unresolved, suggests that they carelessly follow the dictates of their own hearts. Even just men fall into sin. Many people have lived their whole lives not aware of their sin, unaware of the law that defines sin. The Great White …
First Things First (Part Three): Walking With God
CGG Weekly by David C. GrabbeAbel's example of alignment with God precedes Enoch's example of walking with God, and they both precede Noah's example of faithfully witnessing for God.
What Does God Really Want? (Part 6)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod provides the gift before it is actually needed so that when it is needed, everything is prepared for the person to do as he has been commissioned to do.
Anticipation
Sermonette by Joseph B. BaityJoe Baity, reflecting on the lyrics of Carly Simon's song "Anticipation," in which a woman wonders whether the present moment of joy will last into the future or turn into disillusionment, draws a spiritual parallel to an interval all God's called-out ones experience. That is the interval between our calling, the …
Do You Have Enough Oil? (Part Three)
CGG Weekly by David C. GrabbeThe foolish virgins did not have enough oil because they did not pursue God's spiritual abundance, nor consistently seek the Source of the oil as a way of life.
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing a Man Born Blind (Part One)
Bible Study by Martin G. CollinsOnly John records Jesus' healing of the man born blind, which shows Christ calling a people for Himself despite the efforts of the Jewish leaders to deter Him.
The Holy Spirit and the Trinity (Part Seven)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod personally handpicks individuals with whom He desires to form a reciprocal relationship. This relationship must be dressed, kept, tended, and maintained.
Intimacy with Christ (Part Two)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh emphasizes that we ought to be devoting considerable time getting to know our prospective bridegroom, like the apostle Paul desiring to conform to Christ in every way before the marriage. This challenge becomes extremely complicated because Satan has deliberately designed this world to burn up our precious time, …
What's Love Got to Do With It?
Sermonette by Joseph B. BaityThe old serpent that deluded Eve has bastardized the term love, flooding the world with over one billion books distorting love. This is not the love of God.
Praying Always (Part Six)
Article by Pat HigginsJesus' command to pray always contains the advice Christians need to strengthen their relationships with God as the return of Christ nears.
The Sacrifices of Leviticus (Part 1)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh compares the multi-faceted, infinite, marvelously complex, and perfect works of God with the limited, flawed works of man. Like geodes, hiding magnificent structural and aesthetic designs, the biblical types, emblems, or allegories are deceptively simple on the surface, but deep, complex, and awesome as one …
Intimacy with Christ (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh warns that the narrow "pay and pray" mentality experienced by many in our previous fellowship took our attention away from the more important overcoming and growing aspect, preparing for the Kingdom of God. We desperately need to become immersed in a cause, yielding to God's creative power, personally …
Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Sixteen)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh, reminding us that Ecclesiastes chapters 1-6 contains a sub-theme of materialism—specifically an indictment of the supposed satisfaction one receives from it suggests that materialism contains no lasting fulfillment. According to some studies, the higher a person is on the economic scale, the less …
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 …
Praying Always (Part Four)
Article by Pat HigginsJesus' admonition in Luke 21:36 has a far deeper meaning to the people of God at the end time than most people have realized. Pat Higgins answers the next obvious questions: How does 'praying always' work, and why is it such a powerful tool in the process of overcoming?
Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part Seven): Contentment
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughGod desires far more for us than mere satisfaction: He wants to give us real contentment, a state that comes only through a relationship with Him.
Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Fifteen)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh, continuing his exposition on Ecclesiastes 6, appraises the book of Ecclesiastes as the most bluntly profound book in the entire Bible, pointing to our urgent need to develop a relationship with God. We did not create ourselves or give ourselves life. The Psalmist David realized we were made by somebody other …
Prayer and Fervency
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLiving faith has its roots in fervently, diligently seeking God and His righteousness with intense desire (like a passionate lover) through habitual prayer.
The Third Commandment
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughMany think the Third Commandment merely prohibits profane speech. In reality, it regulates the purity and quality of our worship of the great God.
Deuteronomy (Part 4) (1994)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod has invited us into a love relationship—one in which He has already shown Himself to be absolutely faithful. If we truly love Him, severing our affections with this world, we will meet the demands of becoming holy. God's Holy Spirit enables us to have this love (Romans 5:5), but we must actively use it or lose it. We …
Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Fourteen)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJohn Ritenbaugh, reflecting on Solomon's ruminations about life being seemingly futile and purposeless, reiterates that a relationship with God is the only factor which prevents life from becoming useless. As many celebrities and public figures withdraw to spend more time with families, so must we withdraw from the rat race of …
The Quest for Happiness
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsMartin Collins reminds us that in the Declaration of Independence people were guaranteed the opportunity to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, a quest that has proved futile and elusive. This quest should prompt us to carefully number our days and seek a close relationship with God. When we waste our days, we waste them for …
A Time To Scatter
Sermonette by David C. GrabbeDavid Grabbe, cuing in on Ecclesiastes 3:1-3, reminds us that God has designed sequential seasons in which various events occur as a part of a long-term plan. God plans the season; we only get to choose whether and how to respond. There is a time to gather and a time to throw away; there is a time to embrace and a time to …
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Eight): Conclusion (Part One)
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughThe offerings have a great deal to do with our relationship with God. How closely do we identify with Christ? Are we being transformed into His image?
What Are You Leaving?
Sermonette by David C. GrabbeDavid Grabbe, reminding us that the Days of Unleavened Bread are about leaving one venue (sin and Satan) and moving toward deliverance, warns us that as we leave sin, we do not want to leave our first love, as did the Ephesus congregation as recorded in Revelation 2:1. The Ephesians had a strong sense of duty to not let down, as …
Living Abundantly In Tough Times
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughRichard Ritenbaugh, debunking the widely-held belief that Christians lead boring lives, blames the popular media for this negative image. Some churches want to counter this image by glomming onto glitzy, high-energy motivational speakers, short sermons, and Christian rock music. We are admonished by the scriptures not to try to …
Faith and Prayer
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughConstant, earnest prayer keeps faith alive and makes certain the receiving of the qualities that make us in the image of God. God's purpose comes first.
