Weekly Sabbath Sermon

Today, many churches professing Christianity are out there... yet teaching all kinds of different doctrines. If truth matters then they can't all be right. How can a person recognize God's Church in such a sea of confusion?Today, we will look at the essential characteristics of God’s Church? What does it teach? What does it do?Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0yb

We cannot properly honor and serve out Father God or Jesus Christ unless we have accurate and informed knowledge of His will. We learn His will through diligent study of His word... the bible.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

We don't know a lot of details about Jesus growing up. But, today we are going to look at what we do know. This will serve as a conclusion to the previous two messages about Jesus' conception and birth. Of all the things that could have been said about Jesus as a pre-teen, or teen... we are only told what is most important... He actively sought out understanding of God in His youth. The bible is consistent on this point: seek God while you are young.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0yb

The circumstances of Jesus' birth tell us about how God sees life. Humanly devised systems of status, power, and wealth mean nothing to God. So we should ask, why do they mean so much to us?God has a plan for you... salvation from death... resurrection... placement within His family... participation in the universal rule of God. And, it is not based on your material achievements, status, or wealth.A better picture of God's life priorities is found in Jesus' birth in the flesh. Nobody in this world, but set apart, to serve God's purpose, to give Himself as a sacrifice to God, and to rise up to everlasting life.With that in mind, let's review the birth of Jesus and consider the different reactions it produced in those who were on the scene.Link to article referred to in the videoWas There Really "No Room in the Inn"? https://www.ucg.org/the-good-news/was-there-really-no-room-in-the-innPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

God's great plan of salvation is worked out through the humble: Israel a nation formed out of lowly slaves... David the shepherd exalted to rule... and God's selection of a humble teenage girl from a remote farming village to give birth to Jesus... God with us.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "Who Was Jesus?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/glCjCDPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

A lot of human time and energy goes into the study of war, news about war, analysis and commentary on war, recovering from the last war, preparing for the next war.But, followers of Christ are called to become people who have learned to be peacemakers... those who do what needs to be done to make peace.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?"Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

In May 2023, archaeologist Scott Stipling published his discovery of an altar on Mount Ebal which proves to be the very one mentioned in Deuteronomy 27 and Joshua 8.Within the covenant there were blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. This is the curse of the law Paul referenced in Galatians 3:10.What does the ceremony of blessing and cursing teach us today?Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

The possession of the “promised land” as an enduring inheritance passed from generation to generation is an object lesson about the permanence (and the conditions) of our eternal inheritance ahead. When God's people will be given life itself as a permanent possession.Today, we will look at the "promised land" within the covenant, and the spiritual reality it points to.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

The bible is filled with: prophecy, history, miracles, theology, discussions of God's nature. futurism etc. All these various types of instruction are built upon (or revolve around) an ethical core. That core is based on concepts like equal justice, honesty, loyalty, non-violence, avoiding destructive thought patterns. Simple (not simplistic) concepts that don't require a Phd to learn... or teach... and all the prophecy, history, miracles etc. serve the purpose of pointing us back to this ethical core. Today, I would like to use the virtue list of 2 Peter to see how the bible’s many roads lead back to the ethical core of moral behavior.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Futuristic thinkers, and respected scientists alike, have dreamed that the sum of our minds... our intellect, our memories, even what we call consciousness might be captured digitally or in some form of software and be reloaded into some sort of machine... maybe a humanoid robot... maybe something better. What human scientists have started to conceptualize God has been talking about from the beginning. God says: I can do this. I proved it through the resurrection of my son Jesus (witnessed and explained in my bible). Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Today, we’ll look at one of God’s laws about debt and forgiveness and consider its practical value and the spiritual lesson it contains.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybForgiveness is part of putting on the mind of God. Generosity is closely related to forgiveness. It is easy to look at someone in need/trial/trouble and say... they deserve what get... its their own fault... if they'd only made the right choices [like me] they wouldn't be in the state they are in... they chose the easy was and now they are paying for it. And in some cases that's true.To extend generosity to people like this is to forgive their mistakes and help them. If not for God’s forgiveness... and generosity... you would not be here. You would have any hope or expectation of everlasting life. You would be like a caged criminal sentenced to death, awaiting our final execution. But, He forgave… and He gave His only begotten Son to set you free from your debt to sin.From one screw up to another... I'm glad God is forgiving.Photos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

To really understand Christianity you have to accept it as a complete lifestyle... a way of life.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybThis way of life is built upon the foundation of the 10 commandments... to that we add the judgments and statutes God has given to show how to apply the commandments. These laws are sensible and practical with guidance for managing finances, for building and strengthening marriages and families, for healthful clean living, for social equity and cohesion. As much as they are applied they show good results.Photos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Jude's letter warns the Church about some people who were part of the Church but were teaching and promoting false ideas that had the potential to lead a lot of people astray. These false teachers questioned the reality of permanent destruction for those who disobeyed God. They also twisted the grace, mercy and patience of God such that it became a green light for all sorts of immorality. I covered how to identify and combat false ideas like these in a previous message I gave on “the faith once delivered”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNFmbACaMb4Today we will look at Jude’s warnings from another angle: identifying the characteristics of those who lead others into sin and error.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

The spirit of man is found in every human being.This spirit is not the Holy Spirit because scripture is very clear that not everyone has the Holy Spirit in them. The Holy Spirit of God is a special gift given to some people to set them apart and designates them for a special purpose.Let's learn more about what the human spirit actually does.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0yb

The first fruits offerings upon which the day of Pentecost is established reflect a biblical principle in which a small portion of a very large crop is presented before God. This tiny portion offered has a sanctifying effect upon the whole.Smallness is built into the symbolism of the first fruits!God chooses to work with only a small portion now and leaves the rest for later. God's work of spiritual creation is rolled out in stages. It starts small... then grows bigger. In this way God distributes the work of proclamation and instruction among human beings. God likes to get others involved. Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0yb

Jude urges us to "contend for the faith once delivered to the saints". Today we'll break down that phrase and see if we can gain insight into what Jude was getting at.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybJude's letter provides warning and instruction about handling false teachings that are prophesied to infiltrate the Church. We can detect the false from the true by comparing it with the written word... ie. the faith once delivered. We can also tell what is false from the behavior it produces.Because we have this deposit of truth delivered to us from God we are warned of certain behaviors (Jude uses the example of sexual immorality) which are considered "bad fruit".Photos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Anxiety, stress, fear, despair are in the air and God's people are not immune… address and overcome these negative emotions and thoughts with a strong sense of purpose. But not just any purpose, God’s purpose which does not fail or fade away.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

As part of the instructions about observance of the days of unleavened bread Israel were to thereafter consecrate/sanctify/set apart as devoted to YHWH... every first born son. The teaching of redemption and paying a price to bring people out of bondage will take on bigger and better meaning when carried over into the new covenant.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Let us keep the festival of unleavened bread in the the spirit of the new covenant. Putting out the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness and eating instead the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0ybPhotos by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.​https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

The bible indicates that offering salvation to all human beings comes in stages 1 Corinthians 15:22-26. ALL will be made alive but each in turn:First - Christ is raised from the dead to eternal lifeThen - those who are His followers are raised to eternal life at Christ's returnThen - "the end" - those who have never become followers of Christ, or even had the opportunity to do so will be raised and enter into a period of judgment. "the end" marks a momentous time which, when finished, will remove death from the human experience forever.Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?"Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0yb