Streaming Service from Cincinnati this Sabbath

We would like to introduce our Beyond Today viewers, readers, donors and coworkers to our weekly church services. They have already become acquainted to us through our media. Now, we invite them to take a step further and join us in worship. We also invite all who have no specific church to attend to join us. We will be promoting this service through our communications such as the weekly eNews and other letters, including our subscriber letters.

This service will be directed equally to the audience in Cincinnati as well as including and speaking directly to the thousands of people online. When we held our first online-only services in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, we had upwards of 9,000 people online. It will also be available immediately after its live presentation at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Our first service will be this coming Sabbath, Feb. 27. You can find it on the home page of UCG.org as well as the “live service” on the United Church of God app.

The first service will feature a sermon by Darris McNeely in which he speaks about Christ’s parable showing the condition of His Church prior to His coming. The Parable of the Ten Virgins is part of the Olivet prophecy where He answered the question, “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). In this sermon he will look at what Christ says to the Church about preparing itself for the final push to the Kingdom. Are the times telling us it is time to awake? Some of the answers are found in this timely parable.

I will precede this message with a short feature in which I will speak about the Doomsday Clock that is now set at 100 seconds to midnight. Scientists, using criteria such as nuclear risk, environmental and technical disruption, speak about the impending end to civilization. The good news is that the same metric of 100 seconds is also one showing the nearness to the Kingdom of God coming to this earth.

Preparing for Your Best Passover Yet (Part 2)

How can we make this the best Passover of our lives? Last week we reviewed the awe-inspiring stature of Jesus, the prophesied Messiah, and how He gave His very life as the sacrificial Passover Lamb for all humanity. Even though you and I don’t now see our Savior physically, you love him and “you believe in him and rejoice with joy” (1 Peter 1:8, English Standard Version).

Here is part 2.

As I noted last week, we deliberately examine how we live as a critical part of preparing for the Passover. God intends that this be highly personal between you and Him (John 17:21). Paul prayed that you would be given “spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God,” even to the point where “your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called” (Ephesians 1:17-18, New Living Translation).

Each year the Holy Day seasons commit us to a fresh cycle of continuous spiritual improvement (Matthew 5:48). Each Holy Day helps our hearts to “be flooded with light.” The Spring Holy Days are especially tightly knit together. They complement each other deeply, resetting our lives.

Starting before Passover, we recommit to daily surrendering every corner of our lives to God the Father and Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Honestly examining our heart helps us re-size ourselves spiritually. As Paul wrote, we can freshly understand and yield to the fact that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, ESV).

This understanding motivates us all the more.

God helps us avoid a trap of self-deception when we observe His Holy Days. We can be blind to personal flaws that are obvious to others; but God, who sees everything perfectly (Proverbs 15:3), continues to direct us toward life-giving change (Romans 12:1-2).

As we renew our relationship to Jesus as our Passover, we reignite our commitment to overcoming sin, to being spiritually victorious (Revelation 2:7). The rewards for this commitment are many, both spiritual and physical. As the very children of God (1 John 3:1), we desire to be like Him. As we obey Him in love, God rewards us even more than would our human fathers!

We exercise serious care in this examination process. We know that there exist direct potential consequences if we do not (1 Corinthians 11:29). We humbly discern and deeply appreciate what our Savior did for us. We use the spiritual tools God gives us to measure—even judge—our behavior and thoughts against His standards. The result? We benefit by building our spiritual house on the Rock (Matthew 7:25).

We know that if this process is somehow neglected, God loves us to the point where we will be “disciplined so that we may not be condemned” (1 Corinthians 11:32, ESV).

What is the standard that Jesus set for us as His disciples? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30, ESV, emphasis added throughout).

Magnified by the open door for reconciliation through Christ’s sacrifice, the Passover focuses us on learning to love God. We in turn are to “be imitators of God, as beloved children . . . and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us” (Ephesians 5:1-2, ESV).

Through taking a spiritual inventory in preparation for the Passover, we set ourselves up for a great reset to last the year long. We immediately and actively put to work what we’ve learned from the direct engagement of our heavenly Father and Elder Brother. We experience new value in prayer and meditation, spiritually deleavening our lives.

In this upcoming Passover season, we will be reminded that yeast, like sin, is everywhere. If one leaves out freshly made dough overnight, the unseen microscopic yeast in the air will leaven it. The point? Sin, like leavening, is pervasive—even inescapable.

Partaking in the symbolic process of deleavening renews an important spiritual lesson for us. As we find bread crumbs and leavened pieces in unexpected places, we physically see that sin, like leaven, spreads in unusual ways. We are warned that, if left unchecked, it can become “the leaven of malice and evil” (1 Corinthians 5:8, ESV).

In the days ahead, let’s be openly and frequently asking God: “What do I need to know about myself? What do I need to change?” Directly ask God to help you become a better Christian, producing spiritual fruit as you follow Jesus the Messiah.

Paul gives us a highly useful standard for this. In the book of Galatians, he lists for us both the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. You can conduct a spiritual inventory here that can serve you well in this upcoming season. I want to add that a fast can really help you focus and is highly recommended.

Here’s a sobering thought: ever wonder what can keep you out of the Kingdom of God? Paul specifically warns us with the answer in Galatians. These traits are nothing short of deadly: “sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties” (Galatians 5:19-21, NLT). We must honestly review these carefully and prayerfully, asking God to remove these from us and spiritually heal us.

On the other side, Paul tells of the behaviors, emotions and state of mind that bring many blessings. We are indeed the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) and this should—and will—describe the fullness of our lives: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23, NLT). Like a young tree, the fruits may be small at first. But God is patient!

In the section of scriptures that we often read on Passover evening, Jesus declared: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser . . . every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1-2, ESV). God pays close attention to those who love and obey Him, and all that He does has a direct purpose for you and me. That is an unbreakable promise!

As you prepare for the Passover this year, bind these inspiring words of our Savior to your heart: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15, NLT). What does Jesus have in mind for you? “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (verse 10).

Each day leading up to this coming Holy Day season, ask God what He wants you to do today. Then ask Him to help you do it. Ask Him how you can better walk your daily life with His Son, your Elder Brother. It seems simple, but it will have profound results.

This season, be a believer. Believe in Jesus Christ your Savior, believe what He says, believe in what He does, believe in His role in the coming Kingdom of God and everything that this means—and experience your best Passover yet!