Weekly Message

Love For Enemies—there is no specific command in the OT to love your friends and hate your enemies. But it’s definitely the way we as people tend to operate. Everybody loves their own. But the greater righteousness is to go above and beyond… showing love for “others”… those outside our family, our group, our race, even to those who oppose us and don’t like us, criticize and mock us. To do so is to be like our Father. He gives rain and sunshine to all His creation… the righteous and the unrighteous. He loves you even when you are not especially lovable. He judges, He disciplines, but He always loves. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message This is a clip from a more in-depth message about the Sermon on the Mount which you can access here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upriwyzq6CM QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c

Jesus says the real answer to retaliation (and implicitly reconciliation) is… let it go. If someone insults you (slapping a person on the cheek with the back of your hand was a big time insult) don’t respond in like kind. Let it go. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c An Eye For An Eye—referring to Ex 21:24, Lev 24:19-20, Deut 19:21… the law is generally interpreted as seeking to limit the escalation of retaliation and revenge. In Genesis 4:24-25 Lamech says “I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.” God’s law sought to limit that… yes there were to be consequences for such things but they needed to be appropriate for the actual crime or misdeed. So, the OT law allows retaliation or punishment… in like kind. But, Jesus says the real answer to retaliation (and implicitly reconciliation) is… let it go. If someone insults you (slapping a person on the cheek with the back of your hand was a big time insult) don’t respond in like kind. Let it go. On the flip side avoid the downward spiral of grudging resentment of tasks and duties. If you are legally required to do something don’t approach it resentfully… doing the bare minimum required. Go above and beyond with graciousness and good cheer. That’s the way to go about life’s many tasks great and small.

Others should be able to trust you and count on your word being truthful in everything… large or small. That is what is in the heart of a disciple! Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c The people of Jesus' day had created an elaborate hierarchy of oath taking. To swear an oath on the gold of the altar was very serious… you wouldn’t want to break that one. An oath on the tassles of the levite’s robes would be less so... breaking that one wouldn’t be good but there was some wiggle room. So oath taking, or truth telling, was not YES or NO it would be shades of grey… Others should be able to trust you and count on your word being truthful in everything… large or small. That is what is in the heart of a disciple!

Exceeding the righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes seems like an impossible goal... but Jesus is simple teaching a new way to apply commandments that requires digging down to the level of thoughts, motivations, and emotions! Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! This message is a clip from a more extensive look at the sermon on the mount you can access here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upriwyzq6CM -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c With each of these illustrations that follow this brief introduction Jesus contrasts the letter of the law and its traditional interpretation with His more exacting requirements. He uses a formula: “You have heard… but I say”. In doing so He is not contradicting the law, or replacing it. He is teaching a new way to apply commandments that requires digging down to the level of thoughts, motivations, and emotions… a project which is ultimately beyond the ability of language to express. If Jesus were merely offering a more complete list of do’s and don’ts it that we could carve on new stones He would not address the core issue of internalization… the Holy Spirit writing the laws of God on your heart and mind. Gal 3:21 If you could put righteousness into words or regulations… then the law of God was it. Holy, righteous, good. So, the laws and commandments remain… a guide to life and a starting point for a more intense spiritual project. Putting on the mind of God through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you!

The "letter" of marriage is legal rights… the "spirit" of marriage is love, commitment, unity, faithfulness. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c Divorce—Here Jesus appears to be forbidding a practice that the OT permits… Deut.24:1: "When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a bill of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house." The problem was the Jews played games with the word indecency such that it could mean anything from sexual sin to being a bad cook or just ugly… in other words they could divorce her for any reason. Jesus says this should not be so. What’s the heart issue here? Something God hates… faithlessness, selfishness, hardness of heart. The letter of marriage is legal rights… the spirit of marriage is love, commitment, unity, faithfulness.

Lustful thoughts will come… no doubt… but how do you deal with them? Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c Adultery—An example that’s applicable to all sexual sin. Thoughts allowed to linger in the heart and mind are a sexual sin and lead to greater sexual sin. The thoughts will come… no doubt… but how do you deal with them? The solution offered here is that you remove yourself from situations that lead to sin, sexual or otherwise. And sins left unaddressed lead to judgment and death.

We are in the midst of a decades long sexual revolution. Many see this as a liberating process of throwing off the shackles of shame and taboos... inherited from the influence of the bible on western culture. Actually, the bible teaches that human sexuality is a good thing and that it is only the wrong applications and uses of sex which cause shame and feelings of guilt. Our purpose in this message is to explain how human sexuality and reproduction teaches us about God's plan for creating His own spirit born family. That understanding is highly motivating, convicting, and can change the way you live your life and is why sex should not be a matter to be taken lightly. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/marriage-and-family-the-missing-dimension Created in His Image is About Sharing His Spiritual Character At creation of humanity God said “let us make humans in our image, in our likeness”. The physical aspects of the man and woman are not what make them in the image of God. The man and the woman actually looked very different... people of different races and nationalities look different... but all are in God's image. The likeness of God we bear is the spiritual character. Like all animals, plants, rocks… we are made of the material stuff of the created universe [dust]. However humans are unique. We also have a spiritual component added to us. This "spirit" is not God’s spirit, nor does it have any independent life of its own... it cannot see, hear, think... it does not live on after our flesh dies. This spirit in man is merely a component part that gives flesh and blood humans a spiritual and moral capacity... something which animals don't have. In this way human beings [our bodies, mind and spirit] are designed as the starting point for something bigger and better… spiritual conception through the receipt of God’s holy spirit 2 Corinthians 5:17. Of itself the material human body and mind serve no lasting purpose they just decompose John 6:63. Spiritual conception also is paralleled by the process of human reproduction. Which is why it is important to God that it not be perverted, or made common. Read this message on our blog: 👉 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2022/01/conception-birth-coming-of-age-in.html Photos licensed under CC BY-NC-N

Who ever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. So make peace with others quickly! Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! This is a clip from a more in-depth message covering teh Sermon on the Mount available here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upriwyzq6CM -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c Murder—by OT definition not referring to killing in self defense, manslaughter, holy war, capital punishment after due process. Murder is the ultimate act of hatred and anger and surely comes about by harboring and feeding those emotions. Its that spirit and emotional component Jesus is getting at. Notice that the examples he uses are between brothers and sisters, what they say to one another… judgment, contempt. What does He say? Don’t just offer prayers or gifts of penance, go fix the relationship and do it quickly before the emotions fester and grow.

Jesus made it clear that He is not contradicting the law or getting rid of it… BUT He is going to change the way it functions in our lives and our world. This is part of a longer message about the Sermon on the Mount available at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upriwyzq6CM Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c Some aspects of the law were going to be accomplished, for example a couple that are explicitly spelled out in scripture… once He offers himself as a sufficient sacrifice for all sins... the priesthood along with all its regulations will be replaced beginning with a new High Priest, Jesus Himself. Both institutions are still part of the plan but they are very much changed. Some aspects of the law are to be magnified in a way that calls for greater righteousness than even the Pharisees or teachers of the law… expanded in a way that internalizes the law/concept making it part of how you think and feel… or, if you will, no longer written on stones, or scrolls, or paper, or an LCD screen but written on your heart.

Repentance is where the message of Christ and His church begins. Repentance is how we begin the process of self examination, self correction, and self awareness. Repentance is the process whereby we change the direction of our life towards life rather than death. Repentance has real psychological and spiritual benefits. Repentance has an ongoing role in the life of every believer! Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c Repentance begins our spiritual journey. In repentance we cry out to God for forgiveness. We accept Jesus Christ as our savior. We surrender ourselves completely to God: and make a conscious decision to obey: 1) we commit to a change in our behavior and obedience We surrender our self to his will and do what He instructs us to do 2) we commit our self to a complete rewiring of our mind and spirit. We trust God to take control of our life, to use instruction, together with trials, suffering, and other life experience to learn about our self... often to learn the awful truth about our self... and work together with Him to change it. Neither of these commitments is easy or pleasant. We may be tempted to take back control of our life… stop trusting in God so much… stop surrendering when we think God is asking too much of us. But when we put trust and surrender together with confidence and Faith in God’s ability to deliver we can experience a combination of peace and joy. Read this message on our blog - https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2022/01/we-begin-with-repentance_01162932192.html

God [through Christ] has made it possible for human beings to be released from their death penalty for sin and begin moving towards a resurrection unto spirit born, everlasting life. In this message we are going to walk through this teaching by breaking it down into 8 points and provide scriptural references to show where the teaching is found in the bible. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/jesus-christ-saved-by-his-life How Does Jesus Sacrifice Save Us From The Penalty of Sin? God shows His great love for the created world through His great acts of love. This love is demonstrated, seen, and experienced through His great plan to save human beings... who have all brought upon themselves the penalty of eternal death for their sins... through the life death and resurrection of His only begotten Son... Jesus Christ. Although He [Jesus Christ] was without beginning or end... He was God... and He was with the other who was also God... He submitted to being born as a human being named Jesus. This Jesus live a perfect human life... without any sin whatsoever... although experiencing temptation on all points. Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice to pay the penalty of death for all humanity. Jesus Christ should also be recognized as the member of the God family responsible for the creation of the universe. Therefore, His life is of greater value than the sum total of all human life and is therefore enough to pay the penalty for everyone has, or whoever will, live. In paying that penalty God [through Christ] has made it possible for human beings to be released from their death penalty and begin moving towards a resurrection unto spirit born, everlasting life. This sequence of sin, sacrifice, redemption, and resurrection has always been God's plan for the human beings He created. Read this message on our blog: 👉 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2022/01/how-does-jesus-sacrifice-save-us-from.html

Considering how different we are to be from the society around us you could conclude that we are called to separate ourselves… live in a monastery, a religious compound in the desert, be like the Amish. But no, we are expected to interact with others in the world to achieve a secondary, God ordained purpose. Like salt we are to act as a preservative, maintaining purity in a world of corruption. We are to be a light that shines into dark places… exposing evil and offering the truth of God in its place. This is a clip from a longer message available at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upriwyzq6CM Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c

Jesus made it clear that He is not contradicting the law or getting rid of it… BUT He is going to change the way it functions in our lives and our world. This is part of a longer message about the Sermon on the Mount available at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upriwyzq6CM Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c Some aspects of the law were going to be accomplished, for example a couple that are explicitly spelled out in scripture… once He offers himself as a sufficient sacrifice for all sins... the priesthood along with all its regulations will be replaced beginning with a new High Priest, Jesus Himself. Both institutions are still part of the plan but they are very much changed. Some aspects of the law are to be magnified in a way that calls for greater righteousness than even the Pharisees or teachers of the law… expanded in a way that internalizes the law/concept making it part of how you think and feel… or, if you will, no longer written on stones, or scrolls, or paper, or an LCD screen but written on your heart.

Jesus begins His preaching ministry with a call to repent and prepare for the coming kingdom of God. The record of Jesus' sermon on the mount presented by the gospel of Matthew gives us an overview of the sort of teaching Jesus gave those who came to listen. He speaks with great authority. He magnifies the law, expands upon it, he does not diminish it. He explains how the new covenant will work… writing the commands upon our hearts and our minds. This is a clip from a longer message covering the entire sermon on the mount. To listen to the entire message use this link https://youtu.be/Upriwyzq6CM Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c

These blessed attitudes are rejected by this world and if not outright rejected held in low esteem as foolish and weak. But they are the way to true blessings and joy. This message is a clip from a longer message on the Sermon on the Mount available at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upriwyzq6CM Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c

Judges chapter 17 and 18 record for us the experiments in false worship made by a named Micah and the Israelite tribe of Dan. In this section of Judges there are 6 lessons we can draw on how false worship can take root in our lives and our church. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/the-church-jesus-built False worship stems from a false understanding of who and what God is… from replacing god’s instructions with ideas of our own… from searching for ministry who will tell us what we want to hear… from substituting lavish display for obedience… from using scripture to validate ideas of our own imagination… and from adding to what God says. From beginning to end God’s word tells us to be alert and on guard against false worship and false teaching. I hope this helps. Read this message on our blog: 👉 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2021/12/how-false-worship-takes-root-idols-and.html

The Commandments, laws and statutes of God are spiritual, perfect, holy, just, and good. They provide a foundation for defining, understanding and living God's love. The law of God reveals the only way to true everlasting life, and the only possible way to achieve happiness, peace, and joy. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/the-ten-commandments God created human beings to ultimately become members of His family, to inherit immortality and live in harmony with Him and with one another. To dwell with God in harmony we must also agree with, embrace and share His way of thinking. These values are revealed to us in His law… which have been carefully recorded in scripture. Those who God chooses also are given understanding through the power of the holy spirit. We are given understanding of the application of God’s law… but also its meaning and purpose. Which is simply: that anyone who seeks this ultimate relationship with God must make every effort to heed the directives of God's law. Sin & God's Law We know the laws and commandments of God go back 3,500 years to the establishment of His covenant with Israel at Sinai. But these laws really go back further than that… they can be traced back to Abraham… and before that to the very beginning of creation itself… and even before the beginning… because they are a revelation of the mind of God who created all things. The essential substance of these laws has not, and does not, change. They are the ideal model for human behavior and the standard against which human behavior is judged. Breaking any one point of God's law is sin and brings upon a person the penalty of death. All injustice, misery, anguish and woe have come from transgressing God's law. Sin came into the world through the disobedience of the very first human beings. As a result, they were cut off from the tree of life, and only death remained for them. All human beings are under this penalty of separation from God and the source of everlasting life... and all human beings are subject to death. The sin that separates us from God, and from everlasting life, is the product of both the deception of Satan and of the very makeup of the human heart and mind [which is geared toward fleshly goals not spiritual]. The good news is that forgiveness for sin and release from its penalty are available through Jesus Christ. Today we will go though the scriptural backing for this summary of the United Church of God's understanding and teaching concerning sin and God's law. It will be organized into 6 points. We will primarily use NT verses since the teachers of lawlessness use these so much. Read this message on our blog: 👉 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2021/12/gods-commandments-are-good-for-you.html

God's will for humanity is found in the written word of God... the ideas expressed and the words used in the original writings and languages are inspired by God and without error... they are the final authority in all things pertaining to faith and in life... the old testament and new testament are a unified document and constitute the foundation of all truth. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/is-the-bible-true 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/how-to-understand-the-bible Reading, hearing, and doing God's word are key characteristics of God's people… our faith is not based on emotion… or spiritual feelings! We are to be people of the book... and we do not set aside the OT writings as obsolete. We use them together with the NT writings to get a full and complete understanding of God's will for us... and for all humanity. The word of God builds faith in a person's life and He expects His people to diligently study His word regularly for understanding, for personal edification, and to guard themselves in a ungodly society. Internalizing God's word enables us to defend our faith, and make us "wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus". Read this message on our blog: 👉 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-old-testament-vs-new-testament.html

The 1st century controversy over meat offered to idols provides us all with helpful instruction on how we can better exemplify the mind of Christ and bear with one another in love. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/jesus-christ-the-real-story 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/transforming-your-life-the-process-of-conversion Meat Offered to Idols Around the late 40s and into the 50’s and perhaps 60’s AD. there was a controversy within the Church of God which cause a lot of upset. That controversy revolves around the question… how should church members deal with meat offered to idols. The issue first comes up at the first Church council recorded in Acts 15. I delivered a sermon on what was decided at this first council of the Church of God [ April 2020]. If you have questions about the issues and decisions made by the council you might find that message helpful. In a nutshell: it addressed whether gentiles needed to adopt Jewish cultural traditions. For our purpose today I only want to look at what is decided about meat offered to idols Acts 15:28-29. Why would this be a controversy? The bible gives a very clear message about avoiding participation in all forms of idolatry. Isn’t that sufficient instruction on the matter! SPS: today we are going to review the context and applica tion of this instruction. Read this message on our blog: 👉 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2021/11/meat-offered-to-idols-bear-with-one.html

Those who are in Christ at His return will be raised to a state of glory and are brought into the family of God as the bride of the Son. At that point human beings may become partakers of the divine nature Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/jesus-christ-the-real-story 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/who-is-god The Choice We believe that God placed before Adam & Eve [and therefore all humanity] the choice of eternal life through obedience OR death through disobedience. They chose disobedience and sin entered the world. Because of sin, all humanity has become cut off from God, cutoff from the tree of life. Now, the only inevitable or automatic outcome for flesh and blood human beings is death, a return back to lifeless molecules and atoms, and non-existence. But there is a way to set matters straight, to be forgiven of sin, to receive the spirit of eternal life... John 3:16-17. The terms and conditions of that salvation are also spelled out in God's word. Through instruction we come to a realization of what sin is… we become convicted of our need to repent from that sin… we become baptized in the death of Christ… we receive the holy spirit within us as the seed, or beginning of eternal life… we spend a life of overcoming and living under the judgment of God, we die in the flesh... those who are in Christ are then raised to spirit born life at His return. Read this message on our blog: 👉 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2021/11/partakers-of-divine-nature-created-in.html

The proper wielding authority as exemplified by the Father, and proper submission to authority exemplified by the Son, are both aspects of the character and mind of God. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/jesus-christ-the-real-story 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/who-is-god The United Church of God believes and teaches that God is the sovereign of the universe, existing without beginning or end, and supreme above all. God is spirit and cannot be contained or described in terms of atoms, molecules, or mechanical processes like math or physics. God exists in a different realm from human beings, who are flesh, made up of atoms, molecules and subject to mechanical processes like physics John 4:24 “tells us God is spirit”… 1 Corinthians 15:50 “tells us flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”. There is a vast difference in who and what we humans are, compared to who and what God is. Full comprehension is out of reach… what understanding we do have, our ideas, and our experience of God are based on God's revelation to us through the written word of the Bible. The bible shows God as "the Father" and "the Son" [which/who is Jesus Christ]. This is how God wishes to be understood… through the means of a family relationship. But not who came first: father or the son... rather it is to be understood in terms of authority... authority that is expressed in love and obedience that is filled with love and respect. That there is a Father, and Son, was not previously understood in the OT scriptures. It is a teaching transmitted to us by Jesus and from the Church of God. Read this message on our blog: 👉 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-authority-of-god-father-and.html

The interaction between Deborah the prophetess and Barack the deliverer expose the spiritual and societal crisis in Israel during the days after Ehud the Judge. There is much we can learn today from the record we have of these days in scripture. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 Find our pocast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BrkjwU3izZEBsmtx60swZ?si=a39330c58384413c Read this message on our blog: 👉 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2021/10/deborah-and-barack-crisis-of-leadership_01461397976.html Judges 5:6-8 spiritual and leadership problems led to hard times in Israel. The people had started to copy the Canaanite practice of worshiping Baal. God basically said, "if you want to be subject to Canaanite culture I will give you just that... I'll remove my protection and let them dominate you". Israel was cruelly oppressed by the Canaanites. 1) they had all their weapons taken away so they could not defend themselves 2) the Canaanites controlled the main highways so people were afraid to travel 3) people abandoned the small towns which had no way to protect themselves. They moved to the cities that had walls built around them… which would cause a decline in agriculture. Whatever crops they produced were likely to be stolen and confiscated when the well armed Canaanites swooped in. The people are suffering the consequences of bad choices. God Want His People Present and Accounted For Judges 5:9-12 some of the leaders of Israel were willing to take action and God was pleased with them. Other leaders chose to play the role, ride around on fancy white donkeys, and collaborate with the Canaanite overlords down in the flat valleys where the main roads were. The men of Israel… who were willing… gathered at the gates for action. Deborah was filled with the spirit of prophecy and Barack was appointed as deliverer… God was not please that Barack did not have the spiritual drive of his own to fulfill God’s appointed tasks.

The commission of the Church is best presented in Matthew 28: 19-20. It is connected to a clear proclamation of the authority of Christ. Watch this message to delve into the personal meaning this short proclamation has for you. Hit the LIKE button 👍 to help more people see this message QUESTION -- Have a question about This Message... Other Bible Questions... or Anything Else? Post in comments section of this video! -----Locate a UCG meeting near you------ ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ 🎪 UCG Raleigh on Social Media: ➤ https://www.facebook.com/UCGRaleigh.main.page ➤ https://twitter.com/UCGRaleigh 📚 Dig deeper into your bible with this helpful bible study guide: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/jesus-christ-the-real-story 2 -- 150 word description of content Read this message on our blog: 👉 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-great-commission-of-church-of-god.html

📘 Get a FREE bible study guide on the 10 commandments https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/the-ten-commandments What is the first commandment and what does it mean? How do I obey the first commandment? When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was He answered" to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind". The First commandment is our first step in realizing how we begin to love God with all our heart and mind. It begins with making our relationship with God our top priority. The bible tells us that what we prioritize becomes our God. So we owe it to ourselves to take a good hard look at our priorities. the commandment warns us: "You shall have no other gods before me". What are some of the common distraction that get between us and our Creator and how can we guard against them. 👓 Find UCGRaleigh 👓 Locate a UCG church near you: ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ Donate to UCG Raleigh and help spread the word: ➤ https://www.patreon.com/ucgraleigh Follow UCG Raleigh ➤ https://www.facebook.com/UCGRaleigh.main.page ➤ https://twitter.com/UCGRaleigh Subscribe to the UCG Raleigh podcast on ➤ iTunes ▪▪▪ https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/united-church-of-god-raleigh/id1315758270 ➤ CastBox ▪▪▪ https://castbox.fm/channel/Weekly-Sabbath-Sermon-id1094811 Read this message at our blog 📘 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-1st-commandment-setting-right.html

We commonly think of the 2nd commandment as a prohibition of strange carvings of Dagon (the fish god), or Molech, or a human figurines with the head of a wolf. But the prohibition of false deities is already covered in the first commandment... "have no other gods besides me". If you obey that first command you wouldn't need this subsequent warning against idolatry. It would be redundant. The second command must therefore also refer to the use of pictures, statues, and other false representations of the true Creator God. The 2nd command says make no pictures or carvings as representations of Me. Lifeless inanimate objects could never properly represent the living God. In this same spirit there should be no false theories or explanations of who and what God is. The Creator will explain and reveal Himself to humanity as He sees fit. Let's take a good look into what He reveals! Discover more about the ten Commandments. Get this Free bible study ebook 📘 https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/the-ten-commandments 👓 Find UCGRaleigh 👓 Locate a UCG church near you: ➤ http://ucg.org/congregations/ Donate to UCG Raleigh and help spread the word: ➤ https://www.patreon.com/ucgraleigh Follow UCG Raleigh ➤ https://www.facebook.com/UCGRaleigh.main.page ➤ https://twitter.com/UCGRaleigh Subscribe to the UCG Raleigh podcast on ➤ iTunes ▪▪▪ https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/united-church-of-god-raleigh/id1315758270 ➤ CastBox ▪▪▪ https://castbox.fm/channel/Weekly-Sabbath-Sermon-id1094811 Read this message at our blog 📘 https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-second-commandment-true-image-of-god.html