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The Doctrine of Israel (Part Five): A Remnant of Judah
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughJudah's sins exceeded those of the northern kingdom of Israel and even Sodom, ranking as the most severe according to the divine assessment that placed Israel's offenses at only half the level of Judah's. After Josiah's death the nation degenerated so completely that its people no longer distinguished right from wrong and approached the seared conscience of the generation destroyed in the Flood. Despite repeated warnings sent through messengers and prophets, the king, priests, leaders, and people mocked, despised, and scoffed at every appeal, stiffening their necks and hardening their hearts against repentance. They committed the abominations of the surrounding nations, defiled the temple, shed innocent blood through child sacrifice, violated the covenant, and profaned the Sabbath by working fields, trading, and conducting commerce on the day of rest. They also withheld tithes, offered blemished sacrifices, intermarried with pagans, and spoke contemptuously against God. These accumulated transgressions exhausted divine patience, prompting the Lord to bring Nebuchadnezzar against Judah, resulting in the destruction of Jerusalem, the burning of the temple, and the deportation of the surviving population to Babylon for seventy years so that the land could observe its neglected Sabbaths. Even after the Persian reversal of the resettlement policy allowed a remnant to return and rebuild the temple and walls, the people quickly resumed the same patterns of selfishness, ritual hypocrisy, Sabbath breaking, and neglect of God's house. This unbroken continuity of sin across generations culminated in the rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah, filling up the measure of ancestral guilt and bringing further judgment in A.D. 70. The enforced exile and subsequent return nevertheless fulfilled the prophetic timeline that placed the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, thereby advancing the plan of salvation despite Judah's persistent unfaithfulness.
Lamentations (Part Three)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughPersonified 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.
Lamentations (Part One)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe book's five acrostic songs (chapters) answer the question, 'Why did this happen?' God brought the punishment on Judah because of gross and sustained sin.
Lamentations (Part Seven)
Sermon byThe people suffering under the Babylonians had basked in the privilege of being God's chosen people while also trashing the terms of the Covenant.
Lamentations (Part Three; 1989)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughAs Lamentations opens, Jerusalem is personified as a widow who has had to endure the destruction of her family as well as the mocking scorn from the captors.
Lamentations (Part Two)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe Lamentations show poignant before-and-after vignettes of formerly happy times contrasted with the horror of the present as God punishes Judah.
The Wrath of God
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughLove motivates the two intrinsic parts of God's holy character—goodness and severity, as He seeks to rescue humanity from the consequences of sin.
Love Thy Neighbor
Sermon by John O. ReidAs the Good Samaritan took pity on what normally would be his adversary, we are obligated to be sensitive to the needs of those around us, enemy and friend.
The Doctrine of Israel (Part Four): God's Indictment
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughEven though Jacob's offspring have had a special relationship with God, their carnal nature led them to test God's patience, growing more corrupt than even Sodom.
The Providence of God (Part Five)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod uses calamities as part of His creative process. Like Jacob, who initially succumbed to weak faith and fear, we must repent of our loss of devotion to God.
The Doctrine of Israel (Part Ten): Where Is Israel Today?
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughNo matter how scattered Israel is, God will not lose the smallest grain. Using Jerusalem as a reference point, Israel dispersed north and west into Europe.
The Doctrine of Israel (Part Six): New Testament Teaching
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThose who follow Christ are the true Israel, the Elect, and the Chosen, called by God to precede unfaithful physical Israel in the salvation process.
John 3:16: Does God Really Love the World?
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod does not love everybody equally. Nowhere does He tell us to prefer the ungodly world. Though He tells us to love our enemies, but not to be affectionate.
Self-Government and Responsibility (Part Three)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJacob's Trouble, or the Great Tribulation, comes about because people are not meeting their God-given responsibilities: keeping His Commandments.
Deuteronomy (Part 3)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughOur goal shouldn't merely be to be saved, but to finish the spiritual journey God has prepared for us, developing the leadership to help those who follow.
Life in Sodom
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughSodomites were industrious people, but they cared nothing for God, mirroring the worst aspects of modern Israel. We need to make sure that we live soberly.
Afflicting Our Souls
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughJesus taught that fasting is an internal, spiritual good work, done in the inner self. Any other kind of fasting has little or no spiritual value.
The Widow and the Fatherless (Part Three)
CGG Weekly by Mike FordGod fills the first 15 verses of Isaiah 1 with a laundry list of sins, but He provides only two direct, uncomplicated verses on how to correct the problems.
The Commandments (Part Nineteen)
Sermon/Bible Study byJesus taught that all outward sin stems from inner inordinate desire. What we desire or lust after automatically becomes our idol.