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Subscribe to this Channel ⤵ Acts 20:32-35 at the time this teaching of Jesus took conventional wisdom and turned it upside down. Today, after 2,000 years of hearing this idea promoted by various churches it doesn't sound as revolutionary as it once did.      Our society may be familiar with the idea but that does not mean we actually live by it or practice it. For most part we still measure a person by how much were they able to sock away in the bank or how much authority, or social status they achieve. What they were able to get, or what flowed into their life.To say giving is better than getting indicates the more important measure of a person is what flows out from them to others, Luke 12:15. Covetousness is about focusing on what flows in rather than what flows out.But why give a commandment telling us not to covet stuff. How does me wishing I had my neighbors big fancy house harm anyone? If I were to murder my neighbor and take over his house I can see the harm  done. But we have commands covering murder and theft already... why prohibit coveting? Answer: the one harmed by coveting is You... the one thinking the thoughts... even if you never act on them. And this is how I intend to approach the subject today: covetousness is a sin against yourself. Request our free bible study booklet: The Ten Commandments. Its a great way to walk through the bilical references to these important directives from our Creator.Keep Reading »

How Should We Worship God?A great way to answer this is to quote Jesus Himself "worship God in spirit and in truth". Lots of information is packed into that short phrase. Let's investigate more closely and see what we find.One day Jesus was traveling through a region in Judea known as Samaria. The region of Samaria roughly aligned with the region once occupied by the 10 northern tribes after they split away from the rest of Israel. The people who lived in this region of Samaria had a curious collection of beliefs and practices that were similar to what the Jews practiced but definitely not the same. While the disciples were off running errands Jesus sat down to rest at a public well and started up a conversation with a Samaritan woman who was there. Their conversation was mostly about the truth of who He was and what He had to offer spiritually. However, their conversation touched briefly on the subject of proper worship.Read the whole chapter to get the context and then zoom in on these verses John 4:19-24. The woman's question in verse 19 begs an answer "which way of worship is correct"? The summation of Jesus' response is found in verse 23-24 "the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth".The woman thought of Samaritans as the true worshipers of God. But Jesus corrected her saying "no, your people don't know what they are talking about. The truth of salvation and correct manner of worship [at least up until that point] was with the Jews".Some folks interpret Jesus' comments about “worshiping in spirit” as meaning... after the coming of the sacrificial lamb of God and the new high priest all matters of worship becomes a spiritual matters of the heart rather than a matter of obedience and action. But, Jesus forecast actually said, true worshipers will worship 1) in spirit 2) in truth.If there is a way to worship that is in truth... then there is also a way to worship that is false.Here is a link to the handout referred to in the message regarding the kings of northern Israel - https://www.ucg.org/system/storage/serve/1206121/sins_of_jerobam.pdf Keep Reading »

The Apostle Paul and the Holy DaysPaul’s epistles are often referred to by those who wish to teach the cancellation of the laws of God in general... and the holy days in particular. Among the commandments and laws of God the holy days are singled out for special attention due to three specific statements found in: Colossians 2:14-17, Romans 14:5-6, and Galatians 4:8-10. Today we are going to carefully read our way through these statements and use their context to show that Paul's statements were not negatively targeting the observance of the annual holy days but rather:1. The manner in which members of the church were keeping them2. Humanly devised traditions they were elevating to the same level as God's commands. When considering Paul's statements about observing days it is important to remember that Paul himself writes about keeping the Passover and days of unleavened bread himself with the Corinthian congregation [ 1 Corinthians 5, 11]. He offered that congregation a lot of correction regarding the manner in which they observed the biblical festivals... but never gave them any indication he wanted them to stop celebrating and observing them. Request this free booklet: Holidays or Holy Days - Does It Matter Which Days We Observe? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Keep Reading »

Destruction & RestorationIf you have ever done one of those reading programs that get you though the whole bible in a year you know some books are difficult to get through... list of genealogies, temple functions, records of kings and kingdoms, years of rule etc.. The book of Ezra can be like that... but this book also serves a very specific function within the bible.  The book of Ezra documents the fulfillment of a prophecy. Today we will to review the fulfillment of God's prophetic word [given through Jeremiah]. That true worship would be restored in Jerusalem after 70 years of exile in Babylon for Judah.Prophecy often speaks of God's judgment and punishment for sin, and assures us of its unstoppable march forward which cannot be thwarted. Prophecy also speaks to His promise of life giving restoration, and establishment of Godly governance on earth also marches forward with unstoppable sureness. The book of Ezra carefully documents the fulfillment of just such a prophecy.Request a free copy of this helpful booklet: Is The Bible True?Keep Reading »

God has told us that prior to the return of Jesus Christ in power, there will be a distinct and discern-able period of 3.5 years [1,260 days]. We will know when this period of time is upon us by the following series of events and circumstances:· A worldwide power structure will be established with total control over the lives of all people on the planet: military, police, business, religion. This state will be granted its absolute power from Satan. In the bible this final world government is called "the beast" [Revelation 13:5]· The military and police forces of the Beast will occupy [trample] Jerusalem [Revelation 11:2, Matthew 24:15, and Luke 21:20]· The public ministry of the Church of God will have ceased. What little strength and power they once had to witness to the truth of God, and His calling to repentance will be broken [Daniel 12:7] · Some of the Church God will be deems eligible for protection and go into hiding in what is known as "a place of safety" [Revelation 12:14]. The remaining portion of His Church will be subject to direct persecution from Satan. Who will accomplish this working through the government power of the Beast· All the flesh and blood descendants of Jacob will be persecuted and violently oppressed [Jeremiah 30:7, Matthew 24:21]There is one more event that will occur during this 3.5 year period. Our purpose today will be to review the final, global witness of God's truth accomplished by those who are known as "the two witnesses" Revelation 11:1-14.Request your FREE copy of... Seven Prophetic Signs Before Jesus ReturnsKeep Reading »

When we are faced with a trial we have two options:· Give up· Gird up your loins... endure adversity with unflinching faith in GodThere are times when all seems bleak. When everything appears to go wrong. When obedience towards God brings disappointment... We wonder, where are the blessings? Where is the reward for doing good? I'm so tired…Giving up:  1. denounce God [ I cannot worships such a being], 2. denounce the church [I cannot deal with other people struggling with sin], 3. apathy, nothing really matters anyway, I don’t wanna think about it. One of these is going to get you… unless you:Change your perspective God does not see life as we see it. Flesh and blood focuses on the days we have right now [because that's all we really know]. Your Father Creator sees a much bigger picture... so big, it actually goes on forever. He says "My thoughts are not your thoughts”.Our purpose today is to review 5 examples of endurance in the lives of faithful servants of God. Get a Free copy of The Gospel of the KingdomKeep Reading »

Have The Ten Commandments Been Done Away With?For followers of Jesus Christ the ten commandments remain as the foundation of ethical behavior and spiritual interaction with our Creator. Through the ten commandments we learn what it means to love God and to love other human beings.These commands were known by Abraham Genesis 26:5; they were written on tablets of stone as part of the old Sinai covenant Exodus 20:3-17; they are now being written on the hearts of those who enter the new covenant Hebrews 10:16.Learn more about this important question using the pages of your own bible. This small information packed booklet is available free of charge. Request your's here ▶▶▶ The Ten CommandmentsKeep Reading »

None is Righteous... No, Not OneJesus' 3.5 years of ministry took place at a time of widespread civil unrest. The nation of Israel had been conquered by the Romans and was subject to them. They had to pay heavy taxes, their sense of national dignity was stripped away, and it was only through a great deal of unrest that they had been granted immunity from the requirements to pay religious homage to the emperor as a God. Some of their protests   had borne fruits of religious liberty.... however...They were oppressed, harassed, and often brutally treated by the Roman soldiers who occupied and policed the land. There were protests [some of which turned violent], there were massacres, religious beliefs were often meshed together with political agendas... there were racial tensions, there were cultural tensions, economic tensions, nationalistic tensions. The situation was so bad that within a few short decades Roman would send in an entire army to completely flatten the entire city of Jerusalem.And in the midst of this walked Jesus Christ. Who by doing the will of the Father and walking in the spirit of God, cut a straight and true path right through the middle of it all... preaching repentance and the coming rule of God on earth.Luke 13:1-8A group of people had gathered and were questioning Jesus about current events. Based on the answer He gave they were expecting Him to tell them which side He considered right. They wanted Him to give His opinion: who's cause was righteous, and who's was not? And I think the assumption was, if a person was aligned with the more righteous cause... they were themself more righteous.Jesus said, "what makes you suppose, the people in this group were more righteous in the eyes of God than the other"... and then followed up with "the only path to righteousness is to repent before God".Practice justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.Request your own free copy of Jesus Christ: The Real Story. You'll get a short, but information packed, bible study into the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Keep Reading »

Images of Effective Disciples2 Timothy 2:1-8 in verse 7 Paul tells Timothy to take what he has written and reflect upon it, calling upon, or expecting God the to give insight. That is our goal today: to take these images of effective disciples and reflect on the qualities that bring about success in these worldly endeavors and consider  how these might be helpful for us to apply to our personal quest to put on the mind of Christ and attain the better resurrection. `1. Athlete - [2:5] the one who trains and shows stamina2. Soldier - [2:3-4] the one who fights to win3. Farmer - [2:6] the one who sows and reaps4. Teacher - [2:1-2] the one who learns and passes along understanding & strengthens others5. Jesus Christ - [2:8] the one who set our ideal and pattern for righteousnessRequest your free copy of Why Were You Born? This short book will help you gain biblical insight into God's purpose for human life.Keep Reading »

The holy spirit is at work in the people of God. The areas of our lives touched by the holy spirit are many. Two broad categories we could apply are INPUT, and OUTPUT:Input: through the active power of God present within us  good things come into our lives such as: conviction, faith, understanding, discernment, courage, endurance and more. Output: though acting upon and using these good things God gives us through the spirit we are able to produce good mental attitudes: love, peace, joy, humility, kindness, gentleness, patience, goodness, kindness, etc. These are examples of "thinking like God", and they form the foundation of life everlasting, the bedrock principles of the kingdom of God, and positive participation in the family of God.These inputs and outputs are workings of the holy spirit. Is there more we can know about the actual "mechanics" of how the spirit of God interacts with our minds and human spirits? Yes, there is. Is there anything we can do to "grease the wheels", so that the good things coming into our lives and the good things produced in our live flow more freely? Yes, there is.Our purpose today is to review the work of holy spirit which is involved in our understanding of God’s word.Get a free copy of this small but helpful book The Power of The Holy SpiritKeep Reading »