UCG Raleigh

On all these sins of the tongue I hope that looking into the meaning helps you identify and avoid “sins of the tongue”. They are... Deceit​ Whispering​ Backbiting​ Reproach​ Reviling​ Clamor​ Hater of God​ Evil Speaking​ Filthy​ talk Foolish​ talk Jesting​ Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybKeep Reading »

Intro Paul’s Sin ListsDigital media company Buzzfeed made a billion dollar business out of click-bait headlines  like “10 things you must do now if you want to…” or “7 Reasons You Shouldn’t…”. People love lists! You’ll even find lists in the bible [ex. the Women’s discussion group is going over the “7 things God hates”]. The apostle Paul is known for providing interesting lists of spiritual virtues and vices commonly known as “the sin lists”. There are 8 of them. Your bible contains other such lists but I’m limiting myself to these 8.I have compiled the 40+ sins or vices on these lists and categorized them in 5 basic groups: Sexual, Bad Temper, Greed, Quarreling, Speech. Each list contains vices from multiple categories. Sometimes, the way Paul groups and orders them shows a cause and effect relationship [this, leads to this].SPS: today, I would like to address the sins and vices from Paul’s lists by category. Limiting myself to the category of quarreling: strife, self-ambition, sedition, heresy, conceits, and tumults. Note: I will be spending more time on words mentioned multiple time in the bible than I will on words only mentioned once.The multiple and different word in the category reveal different facets of this problematic behavior. Such as; what do we tend to quarrel about,  what motivates quarreling, what are the outcomes of quarreling, and how do we confront it. So, let’s begin:Keep Reading »

The biblical holy days are presented to us as 3 seasons of harvest, two grain harvests in spring and early summer, then a produce harvest in the fall. The first festival season is Passover and Unleavened Bread, the second is the Feast of Weeks, the final is the Festival of Tabernacles.The United Church of God teaches that the second grain harvest… the harvest of wheat which happens at the same time as the festival of Pentecost … is a picture of the great spiritual harvest taking place NOW. The sowing and reaping of this harvest is the current work of the Church, placed upon us by the Father and Jesus Christ. The 7 holy days give us God's timeline for bringing humanity into eternity… a timeline that spans thousands of years... At this present moment we are in the phase of the great spiritual harvest, the harvest of the first-fruits. So let's go through what the bible has to say about the great spiritual harvest pictured by the Feast of Pentecost.Keep Reading »

Christ as Head of the 7 Churches of RevelationRevelation chapters 2 & 3 contain messages written for and sent to the 7 Churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.l Each receives its own short, personalized message from the head of the Church, the resurrected Jesus Christ.l Each message follows a pattern of noting their accomplishments, their faults or shortcomings, their trials, and they are reminded of the glorious outcome for those who overcome and persevere.l At the start of each message He mentions one or two things about Himself which relate to His role as head of the Church. This serves to remind them that what the messenger brings to them is actually from HimMost of these attributes of Christ are mentioned in Revelation 1:10-20. These verses serve as an introduction to the letters written to the churches and in certain cases adds some insight to what the symbols mean.SPS: Let’s look into these attributes of the risen Christ and consider how they relate to His present role as the living head of the Church… actively working within His Church!Keep Reading »

Leaving SinJust as Israel was commanded by God to march boldly out of Egypt… you have been told [and are being reminded today] to come out of sin. Sin is violations of God holy perfect commandments… but beyond actions and trespasses, sin is also a way of thinking and acting that has no positive future. It has no future because through sin you have become separated from God… and separated from the tree of life… cut off from the potential of entering eternal existence. So, you need to get back into a right relation to God… but that means you have to leave some things behind.

Mark 16:9-11 as a human being… Mary Magdalene was nobody special really. What made her special is Jesus’ appearance to her... Likewise, you are nothing special, [not a gathering of the beautiful, the rich, the elite] what makes you important, significant, noteworthy is that you have been brought into the body of the resurrected and living Christ.Keep Reading »

Jesus’ Baptism  Matthew 3:13-171. Jesus came to John to be baptized even though He had no sins to be forgiven and washed clean from. 2. When John questioned Him about submitting to baptism Jesus said that it was necessary to establish an example “let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness”. 3. This was a full immersion baptism, Jesus “ came up out of the water”4. Jesus received the holy spirit [represented by a descending dove].In this way Jesus teaches us that baptism is an act we should do to fulfill all righteousness. It was not a fulfillment of any old covenant requirement. Baptism was something new… [its actually a new covenant replacement of circumcision]… and baptism is expected for all believers and followers of Christ.https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2023/04/discerning-body-of-christ.html Keep Reading »

Did Jesus Death By Crucifixion Really Happen? Since the very beginning there has been opposition to God's truth and His church. Some opponents even make the bold claim that Jesus death by crucifixion never happened.Keep Reading »

God put the first Passover in place among the people of Israel just days before they would gather up all their stuff leave behind the slavery they had known in Egypt. Egypt did not want to let them go…  God fought the Egyptians for the freedom of His people. He did this through a series of devastating plagues attacking everything the Egyptians held sacred. The last of these plagues was the death of every precious  firstborn in the land. This final blow took place on the night of the Passover. Keep Reading »

The 3.5 year period  Jesus spent preaching and teaching  was filled with amazing activity. He healed the sick, raised the dead, quieted the storm, cast out demons, and proclaimed the coming kingdom of God... Yet, out of the tens of thousands He reached, He was misunderstood and rejected by almost everyone. Only 120 people were there when the Church of God began with the receipt of the holy spirit.Some of that misunderstanding was cleared up by the NT writings of the apostles… some remains with us today… and some new ones have developed along the way: The wise sage… the fighter for social justice… the welcoming and accepting friend.Our purpose today is to review the biblical statements about Jesus mission and purpose as Messiah.Keep Reading »