The Truth Church

Reverend Riggen opens with Ecclesiastes 3:1, distinguishing between 'season' (an appointed time controlled by God) and 'time' (a space not appointed, which we choose how to use). He argues that while we cannot change our season—whether of sorrow, loss, or trial—we can decide our response within it, citing Psalm 118:24: 'This is the day the Lord hath made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.' From Romans 13:11-12, he urges awakening from spiritual complacency, emphasizing that salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. Using 1 Samuel 4:11 and 2 Samuel 6, he contrasts Israel's defeat when the ark was taken with David's exuberant dance before the Lord when it returned—a dance born of joy and reverence, not self-consciousness. He warns against limiting God by fixating on titles or preferred gifts, instead urging availability. The central message is that praise, even in dark seasons, confounds the enemy and releases God's power. He illustrates this with Paul and Silas singing in prison (Acts 16), their praise shaking the foundations and freeing all prisoners. Further, from the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3) and Bartimaeus receiving sight (Mark 10), he shows that when our season shifts, our first response should be worship. He concludes with Psalm 150, calling all who have breath to praise God with dance and loud instruments, regardless of present circumstances, because this is our appointed time to worship.

Pastor Hilton addresses the congregation's fear, following recent troubling national events and personal crises within the church. He anchors his message in Luke 8:49-50, where Jesus tells Jairus, whose daughter has just died, 'Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.' The core teaching is that fear is the direct opposite of faith, and believers must actively stir up the 'unfeigned'—genuine, undisguised—faith God has given them. Using Paul's exhortations to Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5-7), he illustrates that even seasoned ministers can let their faith wane under pressure, needing to 'stir up the gift.' He contrasts the twelve spies sent into Canaan: ten returned paralyzed by fear of giants, while Joshua and Caleb, though outnumbered, declared 'we are well able.' Forty years later, Moses still had to command Joshua repeatedly to 'be strong and of good courage.' The pastor emphasizes that faith comes by hearing God's Word and by praying in the Holy Ghost, and it must be continually increased. He returns to Jairus, a desperate father whose daughter died despite his plea to Jesus. Jesus’ immediate response to the worst news was not to let fear override the faith that brought Jairus to Him. The sermon's purpose is to break the spirit of fear, urging each person to renew their faith at the altar, trusting that God is in control of every situation—health, job, family—and that with belief, all things are possible.

Reverend Hilton preaches from 1 Peter 5:8-10, teaching that God allows suffering for a purpose: to perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle believers. He explains that the Greek word for perfect means to complete thoroughly, fit together, and restore—like a master builder removing faulty materials. Reverend Hilton illustrates this with the concept of building inspectors who test foundations; similarly, God puts believers through fires to purge wood, hay, and stubble, leaving only gold, silver, and precious stones. He emphasizes that repeated trials indicate a need to learn the lesson and gain victory. Reverend Hilton calls for transformation by renewing the mind, rejecting convenient Christianity that compromises with the world. He encourages lifting eyes to God, who prepares a table (a mesa) by clearing harmful briars ahead of his sheep. The preacher warns against relying on a single 'tank' of the Holy Ghost, comparing it to a car needing frequent refueling—and notes that church fellowship provides a faster recharge than private prayer alone. He concludes by urging the congregation to believe not just that God can answer their prayers, but that He can do exceeding abundantly above all they ask or think, inviting them to leave their burdens at the altar with faith.

Bishop Riggen preaches on guarding our eyes, focusing on Matthew 6:22-23 where Jesus says if your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light. He explains that what we see affects our heart, and what is in our heart determines our character. Reviewing six categories of abominations from last week — moral, occult, vocal, worship, character, and violent — he stresses that God hates these things and we must too. Deuteronomy 7:26 commands not to bring an abomination into your home, lest you become cursed like it, and to utterly detest it. The bishop warns that entertainment has become a trap, desensitizing believers to sin. He cites Romans 1:32, condemning not only those who commit abominations but also those who take pleasure in them. He argues that Hollywood pushes an anti-God agenda, normalizing sexual perversion, witchcraft, and violence through programming. He contrasts television, where servers choose what you consume, with the internet, where you choose what you look at. He urges a covenant with our eyes to avoid entertaining what God hates, using the illustration of not inviting a gender-confused man into your home to entertain your children. He highlights how repeated exposure normalizes sin, leading to societal acceptance of homosexuality and transgenderism. The bishop calls for separation from abominations, noting pastors may soon face persecution for preaching truth. He concludes by urging the church to spend more time in prayer and Bible study than on entertainment, and to teach future generations to stand firm on God's unchanging Word.

Pastor Hilton preaches from Deuteronomy 6:4-7, emphasizing that while the foundational truth that the Lord our God is one Lord is essential, the deeper call is to love God with all one's heart, soul, and might. This love requires a personal, experiential relationship, not mere intellectual assent. Using the analogy of marriage, he illustrates that true understanding of a person—and of God—comes through spending time and developing a relationship, not just knowing facts. He argues that the Israelites already assumed God's oneness; Moses' command was to love that one God. Pastor Hilton then systematically builds a biblical understanding of God's attributes: God is a spirit (John 4:24), one (Isaiah 45:6; Ephesians 4:4-6), invisible (1 Timothy 1:17), eternal (Psalm 90:2), immutable (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10), omniscient (Psalm 147:5), and omnipotent (Matthew 28:18; Revelation 19:6). He refutes trinitarian interpretations, particularly of Jesus' baptism, as actually proving God's omnipresence rather than a plurality of persons. The ultimate revelation of this one, all-powerful God is in Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). The spiritual purpose is to move believers from knowing about God to knowing Him through relationship, culminating in the truth that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19), making salvation possible for all.