The Truth Church

Bishop Riggen opens with Mark 10:42-45, where Jesus teaches that true greatness in God's kingdom is found in serving others, contrasting worldly lordship with Christ's model of servanthood. He identifies verse 45 as the theme of Mark's Gospel: the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom. The Bishop explains that Mark wrote to a Roman audience, emphasizing Jesus' actions and miracles over lengthy discourses, portraying Him as a Servant rather than a King. The sermon then focuses on the author John Mark—initially a quitter who fled during Jesus' arrest and later abandoned Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey. Despite this, through mentoring by Barnabas and eventual reconciliation with Paul, Mark was transformed into a profitable minister and wrote this Gospel. Bishop Riggen uses Mark's failure and redemption to illustrate that God redeems those society writes off. He recounts Jesus' healing of the demon-possessed man in Mark 5, showing that even a man with 2,000 demons could worship and be delivered, becoming an evangelist. The message builds to an altar call: no one is too far gone; transformation comes through repentance, baptism in Jesus' name, and receiving the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

Pastor Hilton expounds on the pattern of the prodigal from Luke 15, emphasizing that 'prodigal' describes a wasteful, dissolute lifestyle utterly abandoning moral restraints. He teaches that the prodigal's pattern—separation from God through sin, wasting God's blessings, experiencing want, and finally coming to repentance—applies to believers who take for granted the abundant truth, power, and presence found in a Pentecostal church. Drawing from Joel 1-2, he illustrates how Israel also fell into this cycle: blessed abundantly, they became drunken on God's gifts, lived wastefully, and suffered judgment not for condemnation but to produce conviction and repentance. The core of the message is a call to rend the heart, not garments—to pursue genuine, inward repentance rather than outward religious expression. Pastor Hilton warns against the 'elder brother' spirit that resents forgiving returning prodigals, insisting that forgiveness must be limitless—seventy times seven—because God's compassion runs to embrace the broken before they even arrive. The sermon's spiritual purpose is to break the cycle of taking grace for granted, to cultivate a heart of radical forgiveness and celebration when the lost come home, and to restore the church to the father's compassionate posture rather than the brother's judgmental one. The promise from Joel 2:25 is that God will restore the years the locusts have eaten for those who truly repent.

Reverend Ross opens with Ephesians 5:14-18, calling believers to 'awake thou that sleepest' and redeem the time because the days are evil, leading to his central charge: recognize that this is your time to act for God. He explains that just as seasons respond to God's beckoning, so should believers sense the spiritual season upon them. Using the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as an illustration, he notes that animals fled instinctively because they sensed danger; similarly, the church must be spiritually sensitive to the shifting times and the nearing return of Christ. He declares emphatically that the church is alive, not dead, and that young people especially must awaken to their assignment. Drawing on 2 Corinthians 5:19-20, he says God has committed the word of reconciliation to believers, making them ambassadors of Christ. This is not a time for distraction, indifference, or lethargy—it is a time to work, worship, and witness. Reverend Ross recounts how David, as a teenager, understood it was his time to fight Goliath, and how Peter recognized Jesus as the Christ when others did not. He warns that if you are not busy in God's work, you are out of His will. From the book of Esther, he emphasizes Mordecai's challenge: 'Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?' He urges young people to travail in prayer like Rebecca with twins in her womb, bringing forth God's purpose through effort and consecration. He closes with Nebuchadnezzar's warning from Daniel 4, cautioning that holy watchers observe whether we answer God's call. The sermon's spiritual purpose is to catalyze an awakening of urgency, purpose, and sacrificial commitment among young believers to seize their God-given moment.

Bishop Riggen draws from Titus 2:8, where Paul instructs believers to use 'sound speech'—words that are true and helpful—so that opponents have no evil to say about them. He pairs this with Psalm 141:3, a prayer for God to set a guard over one's mouth. From James 3:7-8, he notes that while every beast can be tamed, the tongue cannot be tamed by human effort; only God can control it. He emphasizes Proverbs 18:21, that death and life are in the power of the tongue, and warns that every idle word will be accounted for at judgment (Matthew 12:36-37). The preacher warns that outward religious standards, including speaking in tongues, are vain if the tongue remains unbridled (James 1:26). True spiritual maturity is marked by controlling one's speech. He challenges the congregation to avoid negative, doubtful, or harmful words, citing the Israelites who missed the Promised Land because they voiced their doubt, spreading unbelief. Joshua’s command to march silently around Jericho illustrates the power of withholding negative speech. He urges believers struggling with doubt to seek out those full of faith rather than spreading discouragement. The spiritual purpose is to surrender the tongue to God, speaking only words that build up, encourage, and align with faith, because seasons change and God is no respecter of persons.

Pastor Hilton opens Isaiah 4:6, which speaks of a tabernacle as a shadow from heat and a refuge from storm and rain. He observes that literal storms have physical effects, and spiritual storms likewise impact believers. The message is not about avoiding storms but finding a way through them. He turns to Job, who endured tremendous loss, yet God spoke to him out of the whirlwind. The storm was the vehicle for divine direction. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah, after a great victory, fled in fear and isolation. God sent a wind, an earthquake, and a fire — but the Lord was not in any of those. Instead, after the storm, came a still small voice. The purpose of the storms was not to destroy but to get Elijah's attention, to refocus him on the word God had already spoken. Likewise, believers today may face winds of chaos, shaking of foundations, and fires of trial; these are not meaningless. They are sent so that we will stop hiding in our caves of fear or complaint and listen. Pastor Hilton then points to the disciples in Mark 4, crossing the sea at Jesus' command. When the storm arose, Jesus was asleep, yet He was fully aware. The storm tested their faith. Jesus calmed the storm, but first He asked why they were fearful. The spiritual lesson is that God may allow storms to test our faith and to get our attention, but He is always in control. The way through the storm is to stop asking why and instead to listen for that still, small voice that brings clarity and direction.