The Truth Church

Bishop Riggen continues a seven-part series on the Godhead by reviewing four principles from earlier weeks. He insists the Godhead is not a mystery but clearly understood through Scripture. Principle one: there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Principle two: God the Father is a spirit, invisible and omnipresent, not a person (John 4:23-24). Principle three: the Son of God refers to the fleshly body born of Mary (Luke 1:35). Principle four: God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19), so the man Jesus had two natures — human and divine. He then addresses two common objections to oneness teaching. First, Stephen's vision in Acts 7:55: the preacher argues Stephen saw Jesus at the right hand of God, but "right hand" signifies power, not a second person; moreover, Stephen called on "Lord Jesus," acknowledging one God. Second, Jesus' cry from the cross, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" — Bishop Riggen shows this is a quotation of Psalm 22, which prophesies the crucifixion. He concludes that Psalm 22:24 proves God did not hide His face; Jesus was never forsaken. The sermon calls believers to understand and be ready to give an answer for the biblical truth that there is one God whose name is Jesus.

Pastor Hilton preaches from Isaiah 55:6–13, using the biblical imagery of thorns, thistles, and briars as symbols of sin, spiritual neglect, and impending judgment. He traces this theme from Genesis 3, where thorns and thistles are part of the curse after Adam’s fall, through Isaiah 5’s parable of the vineyard, where God’s people produce wild grapes instead of the fruit He planted. He warns that a neglected vineyard—overgrown with thorns and with its protective wall broken down—is vulnerable to destruction, like the California wildfires fueled by unremoved debris. The message calls for urgent repentance: to seek the Lord while He may be found, to clear out the obstacles that choke spiritual fruitfulness, and to return to the altar. Using Hebrews 6:8, he emphasizes that a life bearing thorns and briars is rejected and nigh unto cursing, but God can clear a way back through prayer and His Word. He illustrates this with his own testimony of being delivered from feeling like a rejected outcast. The spiritual purpose is to move listeners from hopelessness to hope by turning from sin, seeking God with all their heart, and allowing Him to restore the hedge of protection and produce lasting fruit in their lives.

Pastor Hilton preaches from Joshua 3, contrasting faith failure with fulfillment. He recalls how the first generation of Israelites stood at the same Jordan River forty years earlier but forfeited their promised land through unbelief. Now a second generation stands at flood-stage Jordan, and Joshua commands the priests carrying the ark to step into the water. Pastor Hilton emphasizes that every promise comes with a price: there is no victory without a fight. The miracle is not in knowing what to do but in doing it. He insists that people cannot wait until circumstances improve or feelings confirm the path; they must move by faith. He illustrates from Peter’s fishing miracle that one step of obedience can turn emptiness into overflow. God is not a man that he should lie; what he has spoken he will do. The preacher calls the congregation to shake off fear, doubt, and unbelief, and to develop the same fighting spirit Caleb had when he said, "Give me this mountain." He stresses that the priests kept moving until they stood in the middle of the Jordan, and while they lifted the ark in praise, all Israel crossed on dry ground. That midway, midnight praise—praising God in the trial—shook prison doors open in Acts 16. Those who are going through their own Jordan should praise anyway, because somebody else’s breakthrough depends on it. The water left no residue; they walked through on dry ground. Pastor Hilton closes with an altar call for people to step into their miracle and to step into someone else’s miracle, believing that one obedient step initiates it.

Pastor Hilton preaches from Matthew 16:13-19, focusing on the rock of revelation upon which Jesus builds His church. He emphasizes that just as Peter received divine revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, believers today must also receive this revelation from the Father—not from flesh and blood. This revelation is foundational to being in the church. Jesus then declares, 'Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' Pastor Hilton underscores that being in the church is not about personal merit, discipline, or goal-setting for the new year; it is a divine calling and a matter of spiritual identity. He draws a parallel between the calling of Abraham in Genesis 12—being called out of his country and kindred to be a blessing—and the New Testament saint who has been called out by God into the church. The pastor stresses that every believer is a functional, necessary part of the church body, with a Holy Ghost-empowered mandate to preach repentance, remission of sins in Jesus' name, and to be witnesses. He encourages the congregation that their testimonies of what they have seen and heard—deliverance, healing, changed lives—are powerful tools to share. The keys of the kingdom given to the church include the authority to bind and loose, and the power of the Holy Ghost enables believers to fulfill the Great Commission. Pastor Hilton concludes by urging believers to pray for one another, support brothers and sisters who are taken captive by sin or sickness, and to confidently declare, 'I am in the church,' because the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.

Bishop Riggen continues a series on the Godhead, reviewing four key principles: there is only one God; God the Father is a spirit, not a person; the Son of God refers to the flesh born of Mary; and God the Spirit was in Christ the flesh. He emphasizes the need to be ready to answer questions about the Godhead, drawing from 1 Peter 3:15. Addressing common objections from Trinitarians, he first explains Genesis 1:26, where "let us make man" uses a majestic plural—a rhetorical device showing God's greatness, not multiple persons. He notes that the act of creation is described with singular pronouns and that Isaiah 44:24 confirms God created alone. Similarly, the Hebrew word Elohim is a plural of majesty, not of persons, as it is used for false gods like Baal. On Jesus's baptism, he argues that the Spirit descending as a dove and the Father's voice do not prove three persons; the signs were to identify Jesus to John the Baptist, and God's omnipresence allows Christ to be on earth and speak from heaven. For John 3:16, he clarifies that "God gave His Son" does not imply preexistence, as John the Baptist and Isaac were also "sent" or "given" without preexisting. Regarding Jesus praying in Gethsemane, Bishop Riggen contends this disproves co-equality, since the flesh was weak and needed the Spirit's empowerment, and the Father is greater than the Son. The sermon concludes with the purpose of equipping believers to confidently explain the oneness of God.