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unleavened
Explore "unleavened" with insightful episodes like "The Preparation and Calling of Moses", "Oppression of Israel In Egypt", "Sound Doctrine", "The Paradox of Jonah - Challenging Assumptions About Biblical Prophecy" and "Who Was the Prophet Jonah and Where Did His Loyalty Lie?" from podcasts like ""UCG Raleigh", "UCG Raleigh", "UCG Raleigh", "UCG Raleigh" and "UCG Raleigh"" and more!
Episodes (47)
Oppression of Israel In Egypt
Sound Doctrine
The Paradox of Jonah - Challenging Assumptions About Biblical Prophecy
Jonah’s story challenges assumptions. Assumptions about what it means to be “chosen”… not a free ticket but a responsibility. Assumptions about the power of human freedom within the framework of prophecy and the will of God.
The account we have of Jonah sticks out as very unique within the 12 minor prophets. Putting Jonah among the 12 minor prophets asks us to consider it in relation to those books and their message. The story of Jonah questions overly simplistic ideas some people, may have about prophecy. Placement among the 12 minor prophets offers a thoughtful antidote to false assumptions held by people in 500 B.C. … the 1st century A.D. … even 2024 A.D.
l Particularism - the idea that God only cares about the people of Israel [in our day we might apply it to the Church of God].
l Determinism/Fatalism - the idea that outcomes cannot change. Which can lead to pessimism and apathy about the future.
Who Was the Prophet Jonah and Where Did His Loyalty Lie?
Jonah 1:1 this verse allows us to find Jonah in 1 Kings 14:23-25. He came from a town in northern Israel on the south coast of the sea of Galilee near Nazareth. He appears to be a part of the company of prophets surrounding the king of the norther tribes… Jeroboam II. The time frame would be 780 BC.... about 50 years before northern Israel would fall to the Assyrians.
Why was Jonah giving Jeroboam II prophecies of victories at the same time Amos and Hosea were dishing out such hard criticism?
Dressing for Sabbath Service
Is the Holy Spirit a Person
Why Proper Teaching About the Holy Spirit Matters
Teaching the holy spirit is a third person in a trinity causes confusion. What the bible actually reveals is a better, and more functional, explanation about how God is at work within you… of how you can and will be at one with God… how you can become like Him in mind and character… and how you can enter into the universe ruling God family.
The trinity teaching makes God more remote, self contained, and strange than actual scriptural teaching. The scriptural way in which God presents Himself is as a family. A family which achieves oneness through a unity of mind, will and purpose. A family that you can be part of… but if you do want to be part of it you have to change the way you think and behave.
You can join a family… you cannot join a trinity.
The roles of Father and Son clearly present God as a family. The inclusion of a holy spirit a third divine person doesn't fit... what is it? An eccentric uncle? A cousin? No, the holy spirit is not presented as part of any recognizable family member.
The family pattern also portrays the importance of authority and submission as the means whereby peace and harmony will be achieved (now and in eternity). The Father and the Son are easily understandable pictures of authority and submission balanced with love and respect
Including the Holy Spirit as a third person gets us off track. Not only does it not have a clear place in any family pattern... it does not fit any recognizable pattern of authority or submission.
Knowing & Understanding God.. the Trinity
Knowing & Understanding God
Jeremiah 9:23-24 God wants us to know and understand Him... and He wants us to then pattern our lives after what we know. Because that is how we will get joy and pleasure from the gift of eternal life.
We know and understand Him through 1) what He does (hesed, exercises kindness, grace, mercy) and 2) what He says (guidelines for justice and righteousness).
What He Does: the record of Israel's history... is there to show YHWH in action… ready to bless with every good thing, but also ready to judge righteousness and justice, but with mercy. The Psalms & Prophets could be seen as reflections on what we come to know about God through His actions.
What He Says: God has given us a foundation of laws, statutes, and behavioral case studies. These are God's ideals for human interaction.
Then… God revealed Himself to us even more powerfully through the life and ministry of Jesus. God became a human being so that we might know God better (and visa versa).
The Trinity
However, most professing Christians (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox) insist that God must be understood in a very different manner... the trinity.
The 7th Day Sabbath is Sign Between God and His People
I Come as a Thief in the Night - Stay Alert, Watchful, and Sober
We proclaim the coming kingdom of God... like Jesus did, like the apostles did… and the early Church did. We know the rule of God on earth does not come about by human efforts or pretensions of progress... the rule of God on earth begins with the return of Christ preceded by clear signs and events foretold by Jesus and the prophets. Like the disciples we ask and wonder... when will it come?
A New Covenant Day of Atonement
A Day of Resurrection - The Gift of Eternal Life, the Hope of All Humanity
The Prophet Joel's Plague of Locusts - A Call to Repentance
Prayer as Spiritual Self Discipline
The King of the North and the King of the South - Daniel's Final Prophetic Vision
This is the longest and most detailed of the visions given to Daniel. It adds detail to previous visions but without the symbolism or riddle. The focus of the vision is the person who will rise up at the end time... a.k.a. the man of lawlessness, the anti-Christ, the beast.
The coming of this person is one of the key pieces of information Jesus gave His followers in answer to their question "what will be the sign of your return?" ... the one who invades Jerusalem and sets up the abomination of desolation.
Here is a link to the handout used in the message - https://www.ucg.org/system/storage/serve/1524411/daniel_11_verse_details.pdf
Hostility & Enmity - The Sin Lists of Paul - Part 4
- The sins covered in this message are: Wickedness G4184 - poneria 7x Maliciousness G2549 - kakios 11x Malignity G2550 kakoethia - 1x Murder G5408 phonos - 10x Proud G5244 huperephanos 5x Boaster G213 alazon 2x Hatred G2189 echthra 6x Wrath G2372 thumos 18x Anger G3709 orge 36x Without Natural Affection G794 astorgos 2x Implacable G786 aspondos 2x Unmerciful G415 aneleemon 1x
From Holy to Profane
- Holiness - set apart for a God given purpose
- Bitterness - focusing on the negative
- Defilement - caused by disobedience
- Profane - unable to see, unwilling to acknowledge God’s purpose The path from holy to profane, is a path from life with purpose to a life with no purpose. Get a FREE copy of our eBook "What Really Happens After Death?" Full details are at this link: http://eepurl.com/ddB0yb
Sexual Sins - the Sin Lists of Paul - Part 3
When I first introduced the sin lists of Paul I pointed out to you that sexual sin seemed to be at the top of most of the lists. If order is a form of ranking then overcoming sexual sin is a priority issue.
Regulating our sexual behavior according to biblical lines is challenging. Desire and promiscuity seem to be written into our genetic code... acknowledging that raises hard questions:
if we are designed that way isn't placing limits and establishing boundaries going against nature? Wouldn’t it be more natural to simply let human sexuality operate without interference? Why would an all-knowing creator design us one way and then expect us to over-ride some of the basic programming on a regular basis?