UCG Raleigh

Daniel the Interpreter of DreamsDaniel was placed, by God, into an important position within the court of the Babylonian King. He was put there to witness to God's sovereign power over all nations. The lesson for you and me is this: because God controls and directs the affairs of the earth kingdoms we should be mindful that He can and does control the events of your life. Daniel 1:17-21 God was working with Daniel and his companions through the power of His spirit. God gave Daniel spiritual and intellectual gifts. He understood the literature, culture and wisdom of Babylon... but it would be the interpreting of dreams that would cause Daniel to rise to power in the king's court... where he would serve as God's witness.Daniel  had proven his obedience through the simple test of not defiling himself with the royal food [either unclean or having been offered to idols]. This is why the book of Daniel begins with a test of obedience!  Acts 5:32 "God gives His spirit to those who obey Him"https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2022/06/daniel-and-magicians-of-babylon.html Keep Reading »

Christ [the second member of the God family] has a role to fulfill within that God family. He assumes the role of a Son while the first member of the God family assumes the role of Father. The Son is as much all powerful, all knowing, and eternal as the Father… yet he takes on the subordinate role. He is a servant, He is a Son, He is a messenger.The Son does not consider equality with God the Father a matter to be contested. They work together as one… yet they are unique.The Father and the Son have big plans for you… who are to be part of the first resurrection. When Christ returns He will give you a new role to fulfill: you will be His bride, you will wield authority [kings], you will teach on matters eternal and spiritual [Priest], and you will dispense mercy and punishment [judges].All of these are roles which have responsibilities… and boundaries.For now we are like school children. In the flesh we are given simple tasks intended to teach big lessons. Faithfulness in small matters indicates readiness to take on the weightier matters that will be given to us when Christ returns.One of these simple lessons is to accept, and operate within the roles God has given us based on gender… And to do so in a Christ like way. Today, I would like to discuss how marriage, family, and gender help us better understand God.Keep Reading »

The day of Pentecost focuses on the first-fruits of God's plan of salvation. Through the imagery of harvest the bible teaches us that God's plan is rolling out in waves. 1. There is a first harvest [the offering of a single wave sheaf of the early barley crop], that is Jesus Christ the first of the first born2. Then there is a small second harvest of the winter wheat [Pentecost] - the first fruits3. Then there is a large final harvest of all the various produce of the land [ the festival of in-gathering or Feast of Tabernacles]. When "the rest of the dead" are raised.What is important for now is that the first fruits of Pentecost have been given a job to do. Let's talk today about the purpose of the first fruits... what we have been given to do, and why.Keep Reading »

The Life & Times of Daniel the ProphetDaniel was a teenager who was taken captive by Babylonian army in the year 605 B.C.  He would be used by God to record important prophecies concerning the course of human history from the fall of Israel through to the end of age and the return of the Messiah.https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2022/05/life-and-times-of-daniel-prophet.htmlKeep Reading »

Daniel in the Court of the KingGenesis 11:1-3In 605 BC the army of Babylon moved into Palestine and subjugated the kingdom of Judah. They carted off the treasures of the temple and took much of the nobility and skilled tradesmen of Judah as captives to Babylon. Daniel, the prophet was among those captives.The Hebrew text of Daniel calls Babylon by its ancient name... Shinar. A name that points us back to the plain where people first sought to unify themselves under one government and magnify themselves before God. Babylon in the time of Daniel was not a new kid on the block... it was only the most recent version of an ancient civilization between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Babylon had risen and fallen many times. From the biblical perspective it is the place where wickedness dwells Zechariah 5:5-11.Babylon remains the biblical label for the wicked nature of human self government from the time of Daniel... to Zechariah... to our own day and the prophecies of the end time. Babylon is a cultural, social, and political model of human self government with its own standards of righteousness... standards that are presented as the alternative to the righteousness, and authority of God.· Daniel lived in a Babylonian world --> You and I live in a Babylonian world· Daniel had to find a way to survive in culture hostile to God --> You and I must survive in a culture hostile to Godhttps://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2022/05/daniel-in-court-of-king-nebuchadnezzar.html Keep Reading »

Your Part in God's Master Plan of Spiritual CreationThe biblical festival of Unleavened bread follows immediately after the biblical festival of Passover. There is no separation between the two. The nanosecond the Passover ends at sundown the first day of unleavened bread begins. Perhaps this is to tell us how closely inter-related the spiritual meaning of both festivals are. Step 1: Jesus' sacrifice makes possible forgiveness of sin and provides atonement for it. He who was God and was with God came in the flesh to do for us what we could not ever do for our self. Step 2: After Passover, comes the festival of unleavened Bread which tells us about:l First, the contribution we must make towards God's great purpose for us l AND it points to the help God extends to us through the living risen ChristMy purpose today is to explore both of these aspects of the festival: Keep Reading »

A repost from the archives...Passover is a time of spiritual renewal and rededication. We get more out of it if we prepare ourselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. What better example can we look to that Jesus and how He approached the Passover. #christ #passover2022

Why Should We Keep the Biblical Holy Days?God’s Holy Days Are Full of Meaning, Instruction & InsightGod created human beings for an amazing/eternal purpose! Every man, woman, and child here has been made in God's own image... a physical being made of dust, clay, molecules.... yet with a spiritual component built into us. That spirit within humans distinguishes us from all the other creatures on the planet... it takes humans to a different level of being and thinking. That spirit God has placed within us is designed to interact with and work with the holy spirit of God to bring about a new creation... each completely unique... yet conforming to a righteous pattern. Humans are designed for spirit-born life... and all have the potential to be born into the family of God Himself.The chart referred to in this message can be downloaded at this link - https://www.ucg.org/system/storage/serve/1371366/slide5_1.jpg Keep Reading »

  Jesus Himself put in place a new Passover service for His followers. He changed the practices of the old Passover service and gave us a new purpose for observing the Passover. This is a message from 2016 that is appropriate for the present season. I am re-posting it to our podcast feed. I hope you find it helpful for understanding why Christians ought to observe the biblical holy days and festivals as outlined in Leviticus 23. This message starts with the first of these observances found in Leviticus 23:5. The original post with full text can be found here: Passover Observance for Christians

Betrayed By A FriendThe Messiah/King entered the gates of Jerusalem in the spring of 31 A.D. The Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread of 31 AD. were about 2 days away... there was excitement and expectation in the air. To many the signs looked like the restoration of Israel was about to unfold.But, over the course of the next few days, that same Messiah/King would be rejected by the very people God had chosen to represent His name on earth. Even as Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem [riding on a donkey... greeted with shouts of joy], the chief priests and leaders of the Jewish people were plotting for a way to arrest and kill Jesus. They wanted a way to do it that would not cause Jesus' crowds of followers to rise up in revolt. They did not know it yet, but their plans would be fulfilled though a man names Judas who would betray his friend, master and teacher... Jesus... for a handful of silver coins.https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2022/03/jesus-betrayed-by-judas-for-30-pieces.html Keep Reading »