) God has ordained that one day He will come to earth again to take his followers home and then He will hold a marriage supper to celebrate His marriage to His bride (the Church) Though many argue whether Christ will return before the tribulation, during the tribulation, or after the tribulation, God in ordaining Rosh Hosanna and Yom Kippor has spelled out the sequence of the last days. (The coming of Christ followed by the time of tribulation, and finally the final judgment and the end of the age when Christ ushers in the new heaven and the new earth and rules for 1000 years, followed by the marriage supper in heaven-See “Before Your Eyes”) Since God fulfilled the Passover and Pentecost exactly as He ordained them, I have no doubt that He will do the same with Rosh Hosanna. This is the last Sunday of the Christian calendar and celebrates what will one day be the last day of the human race as we know it, when Christ ushers in the new heaven and the new earth which Christ shall rule and from which Satan and all who follow him will be forever banished.
Archive for the ‘Kingdomtide’ Category
Christ the King Sunday Nov 23-A
(A) While the third and final holiday which God commanded the Jews to observe, Rosh Hosanna, occurs in
September on our calendar, it is connected with the harvest season and our harvest season is later and occurs in
November. As a result, it is better celebrated in connection with our harvest. Since the establishing of the
Christian calendar, Christians have celebrated Christ the King Day, the celebration of the Second coming of
Christ, on the last Sunday of the Christian calendar, the Sunday before Advent begins the new cycle. It usually
occurs the Sunday before Thanksgiving, though it occasionally occurs the Sunday after. Christians no longer
celebrate Christ the King Day and take little thought of Christ’s return. True believers will be caught up in the
air with Christ on the first day, while non-believers will go through the tribulation where they will have a final
chance to repent. Since we don’t know when Christ will come again, it is important for us to be ready. According
to God’s Word, the final harvest will be complete at the end of the days of Tribulation, and God will close the
books forever and we will celebrate the marriage Supper of the Lamb with God in heaven. (See “Before Your
Eyes” for more on the holidays)
Eleventh Sunday of Kingdomtide Value of Children-B Nov 16
While children come as a blank slate and need training in obedience and caring for others, our society believes that they know what to do and should be left to themselves to find their own way. In fact, any kind of discipline is viewed as abuse. Yet they wonder why children act like wild animals. The Church views children as gifts from God and views their training and discipline as an important responsibility of parents. While children should attend Sunday School and learn about God, they learn how to live that out by watching those around them. In the past, children spent most of their time at home and learned by watching their parents. Our public schools and society in general reflected Christian values and reinforced what children learned at home. Today, parents are often scarce and feel they have little time to give their children, leaving the training of their children to teachers, babysitters, and even other kids. Yet they wonder why children don’t share their values. Children are involved in a lot of after school activities and spend very little time with their parents. In addition, schools and our media do not reflect Christian values. While church used to be a big part of most families, many families have no church background and have not been raised in a Christian atmosphere. As a result, they need to learn the value of children and how to train them in love. It is important that the church models love for children and trains parents in good parenting.
Eleventh Sunday of Kingdomtide Value of Children-A Nov 16
In early history, children were prized because they were necessary for the preservation of the family or group. In fact, women (who produced children) and children were so prized that they were often kidnapped or taken as captives of war from neighboring groups. Over the years, they were often valued to help out on the farm and farm families had a lot of children. As cities have grown, the value of children has declined. At various times in history, they have lost their value and various means of aborting unwanted children or killing them after birth, were developed. However, at no time in history has it taken on the proportions it has today. Lately, children have been looked down on as a burden on society because they don’t support themselves. Over recent years, we have seen the overall value of children change from valuable labor to excess baggage. Without God, everything and everyone has value only if they contribute to society. From that standpoint, unborn babies, young children, those who are chronically or terminally ill, the elderly, and those suffering serious injuries are expendable and even a burden that should be eliminated. Our society views children as having no economic value. Children today are often viewed as “accidents” or byproducts of making love rather than as gifts from God. In addition, the constant promotion of abortion gives the impression that children are disposable. Yet many people wonder why children have low self-esteem. Environmental activists seek to restrict the birthrate to preserve nature and groups like Planned Parenthood seek to restrict the birth of populations they don’t like, such as Blacks and Hispanics, and the poor. They look at whether they can contribute what they cost to maintain or will they restrict our opportunities? We have no way of estimating what the future economic contribution of a child will be. Many non-White and poor White orphans have gone on to make great contributions, when given the opportunity and the education. Many people have overcome great trials to accomplish more than anyone could have believed. I was paralyzed from the waist down at age two and they said I would never walk again, yet I not only was able to walk again, I went on to accomplish far more than many people thought possible. God values all life because He created it for a purpose. When it no longer has a purpose here, God will end it. We have no right to judge the value of a life solely on what it can contribute financially. Many people contribute a great deal to those around them long after they can no longer contribute financially. Christians recognize that each person is created by God for a purpose and to take that life is to destroy God’s creation. Many individuals contribute a great deal that cannot be measured in dollars and cents and God created them regardless of their skin color and nationality.
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Tenth Sunday of Kingdomtide Nov 9
Time, Truth, and Education –God places great value on time, both past, present, and future. We must remember past events and learn from them, we must experience His presence in the present through celebrating the past, and we must look forward to the future when He will fulfill what He promised. God told the Jews to celebrate three events as a way of doing that and to do it forever. Many say we are not under the law any longer and do not have to celebrate them, however that is only partially true. They were designed to teach the major tenets of the faith. By celebrating them, it reminded the Jews of what God had done and showed them what God would do. They continued to celebrate them, but forgot the meaning of them, so they did not recognize Jesus when He came. God has fulfilled two of the celebrations so we no longer look forward to their fulfillment, yet they should now be a part of our experience and worth celebrating. We celebrate our birth, why not celebrate being born again. We celebrate when God gave the law to guide the Jews, why not celebrate when the Holy Spirit came into our lives and became our teacher and guide. I am glad Jesus came to save me and that the Holy Spirit came to guide me, and I celebrate those events. Do you? God has not fulfilled Rosh Hosanna. Jesus said he will come again and take those who are His, to be with Him. However, He said if we are not ready when He comes, we will be left behind, so it is important to remember that He is coming and to be ready. How can we be ready, if we don’t remind ourselves that He is coming. If we forget, we will not be ready and we will be left behind like the Jews that forgot He was coming the first time. Just about everything I do is designed to prepare myself and those who are willing to listen, to walk with Jesus. What do you spend most of your time for? Time is important. The time to prepare is now. When time ends, there won’t be a second chance.
Ninth Sunday of Kingdomtide-B Nov 2
Relation of M-F -Men are by nature bigger and stronger than women. To those of the world, that means that men can dominate women and use them for their pleasure. However, God created men and women to be different so they could best fulfill what they needed to do. God created men bigger and stronger, and more independent so they could protect women and provide for them. God gave women the ability to bear children and care for numerous children, the sick, and aging parents. It was not meant to be something of domination by the stronger but a pooling of abilities between two equals. People have distorted that to fit their warped desires. With modern technology, a lot of jobs have opened to women that were formerly closed to them allowing them to expand into new areas but that was not always so. You can’t go hunting for days on end or go to war dragging a child who is still nursing. God knew what He was doing but man has twisted it for his own benefit. Feminists in the early 20th Century fought hard to gain the right to walk with their husbands as equals but modern feminists care only about themselves and in their push to become dominant over men, are destroying many of the gains that early feminists fought so hard to win.
Ninth Sunday of Kingdomtide-A Nov 2
Relationship of men/women God chose to create woman from man’s rib. It meant that she was a part of him and not just a separate being that might like to hang around him to have a good time. They shared a bond that drew them together. While God created them different so they could each do what God created them for, they were of the same flesh and were meant to share a bond with each other. God created in men and women an attraction for each other so they would seek meaningful relationships between them. God didn’t create women from men’s feet so he could dominate her or from his head so she could dominate him. They were to be equals working together. The competition and conflict between the sexes we see today is contrary to God’s design, just as the domination of women by men common outside Christian and Jewish circles is contrary to God’s design. It is important that the church train young people in developing a loving relationship and that Christian couples model a loving relationship before their children and others.
Eighth Sunday of Kingdomtide-B
Value of Marriage-The church has also been very lax about promoting marriage. The once growing divorce rate is finally beginning to drop, but it is because fewer people are getting married, not because marriages are lasting longer again. When I taught Sociology at a local community college, I would mention during the presentation on marriage, that I had been married over 30 years. (Now I have been married for almost 56 years) Many students were astounded that I had been married that long. They were even more astounded when I told them I had been married to the same woman. Most had never heard of such a thing. They could not conceive of how a man and woman could stand to live together that long. Many in our churches have been married a long time but it is rarely mentioned. When it was common, there were usually big celebrations when someone reached 30, 40, or 50 year anniversaries. Now it is hardly mentioned. Our church recognizes those with a birthday in the coming month at the start of each month, as some churches do. Other churches may put birthdays coming up in the bulletin. The church should have special recognition for anniversaries as well as birthdays to remind the church and show the children that marriage is important and not to be taken lightly.
Eighth Sunday of Kingdomtide-A-Oct 26
Value of marriage-A While the church teaches the sanctity of marriage, it has been lax in protecting it. Churches need to support young families going through the stress of surviving in a culture that considers marriage transitional or obsolete and who have no family nearby to help them. The church can do a great deal to strengthen the marriages in its church families through marriage enrichment classes and discussions with youth about dealing with relationships. The subject is too broad to cover here but I have written a series on the Value of Marriage including “God Made Them Male & Female” (about differences between them), “In Defense of Marriage” (about benefits of marriage), and “What is Normal” (Problems we have today due to the breakdown of marriage) which are available through Udemy at – https://www.udemy.com/course/value-of-family-and-gender/?referralCode=B59AC09CACA5C0C97BDD