Category Archives: Articles

Various Topics

Wave Sheaf Sunday—Why It’s Important

Posted on by

By: Bill Watson / 5-18-26

It is commonly known within God’s Church that the waiving of the sheaf of firstfruits before the Lord on “the morrow after the Sabbath” (Lev 23:9-11) was a portrayal of Christ presenting Himself to His Father following His resurrection (John 20:17). This connection to Jesus Christ’s resurrection should erase any questions about which Sabbath Leviticus 23:11 is referencing. Christ fulfilled this ritual’s portrayal of first fruits because He is the “first of the first fruits” (1 Cor. 15:23).

Interestingly, this “Wave-Sheaf Day” continued to be observed forty days after what “traditional” Christians believe to be Easter Sunday. However, the celebration came to be known as “The Feast of Ascension.” It developed into a cherished feast and was promoted by many early Catholic (Universal Church) fathers. It grew to become a significant spiritual, devotional, and historical tradition. Its traditional value has remained so important to this day that even some Protestant denominations have retained its observance as part of their liturgical celebration.

Continue reading →

God’s House is Filled with Atheists

Posted on by

by Jeremy A. Brown

What if I told you that the church is full of atheists?! Atheists do attend church, but they profess and believe that they are Christians. According to the Lutheran historian Martin Marty, in the book The Marketing of Evil by David Kupelian, too many pews are filled on the Sabbath and Sunday with practical atheists—disguised nonbelievers who live their lives during the week as if God does not exist, meaning they never touch their Bible, pray, have Bible studies, fast, and/or actively participate in other Bible-related studies outside of church services. God does say many are called—I mean, more than 75 percent of Americans claim to be Christians—but few will be chosen (Matthew 22:14). Many Christians choose to worship God how they desire, built on passed-down traditions and not based on the instructions given to us by God our Father in His Bible.

Many church-goers have no clue what to say regarding today’s moral chaos and only regurgitate what they hear from their preachers, who only preach “happy” feeling messages. Many Christians claim that God is cold, and they do not know or understand Him. We often ask how America and the West got into our current moral debacle. We need not look any further than those who claim to be Christians but live like atheists.

Continue reading →

Mother’s Day

Posted on by

by Mike James

One of the many criticisms “the world” has about Christianity is that it keeps women down or does not allow women to reach their full potential. Some of the reasons for this may be due to the fact some Christians and Christian groups emphasize male leadership. The Bible mentions the lead role of a man in marriage. God is referred to as “the Father,” and I could go on with other examples.

Despite all this, the Bible makes it clear that God’s image is made up of both male and female (Genesis 1:27). Let’s not forget this physical life is not what it is all about. God has primary roles for both men and women in this world. But that does not diminish women or make them less than men. Galatians 3:28 makes it clear that in the coming Kingdom, there is neither male nor female. In other words, the physical limitations we live in will be overcome in the spiritual kingdom we are preparing for.

Continue reading →

Empty the Pews

Posted on by

by Mike James

I recently read a book titled Empty the Pews, which contains twenty-one essays by people who left hardline, authoritarian Christian groups. As the numbers for Church of God and other Christian groups continue to decline, I think it is important to see if we can find anything in these stories that may help us keep our young people. According to one estimate, 40 percent of people under 30 in the United States are religiously unaffiliated.

The editors of the book, Chrissy Stroop and Lauren O’Neal, cite a number of reasons as to why many young people are leaving right-wing Christianity: shame, repression, hypocrisy, and that many of the church’s teachings didn’t make sense. Let’s take a closer look at some details in the essays of this book and see what we can learn about not turning away our young people.

Continue reading →

What does the Holy Spirit provide to us?

Posted on by

by Mike James

We are probably all aware that when we are baptized, we have hands laid on us, and prayer is provided to imbue the Holy Spirit within us. God’s Spirit in us then helps us understand that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16). The hope is this will lead to our eventual transformation into a Spirit being when Christ returns (1 Corinthians 15).

How do we use the Holy Spirit? What is the Holy Spirit.

During the most recent Feast of Tabernacles, a question was posed to our panel of elders during a Bible study in Ohio. The question was about the Holy Spirit. The questioner understood that the Holy Spirit is God in us (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), but they wanted to know what else we get from the Holy Spirit.

Continue reading →

Be Prepared

Posted on by

by Jeff Reed

Jesus gave an engaging parable concerning the nature of the Kingdom of God in the life of His followers. Jesus tells a story about five foolish and five wise virgins.

“For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you’” (Matthew 25:3-12, ESV).

Continue reading →

Overcoming Sin

Posted on by

by Mike James

As we end our first Holy Day season of the year (Passover and Unleavened Bread), we need to be reminded of the fact that we must work at eradicating sin from our lives. Yes, we are saved by grace through faith, but we are also expected to do good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). Good works, of course, are the opposite of bad works, or sin.

We will begin by defining the Greek and Hebrew words for sin. In Hebrew, the word for sin is hata or chattah. It can mean erring, doing wrong, missing the mark, or going astray. The primary Greek word for sin is harmatia. Much like the Hebrew word, it means to miss the mark. There are other terms in the Hebrew and Greek pertaining to sin, but these are the primary words associated with it.

Continue reading →

America’s Origins, Christian or Not?

Posted on by

by Mike James

With the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States today, there is an ongoing debate in various forms of media as to whether the United States originated as a Christian nation. Many of the early settlers who came to America came from states (nations) that were known as confessional states. This means that the monarch of those nations decided the religion of their people. The early leaders of our country were aware of the problems this caused in Europe with many conflicts that arose over religious differences.

With this in mind, our founding fathers made sure our founding documents provided a separation of church and state. But it is important to note that prior to the Revolutionary War, most of the Thirteen Colonies were confessional states, although of different Christian denominations. Connecticut remained one until 1818. Those that were not made it clear in their constitutions that they believed in the biblical God. Other American states required each town or individual to support some Christian religious body without the state deciding which one. This was also abolished. The last state was Massachusetts, which restricted the obligation in 1821 and ended it in 1843.

Continue reading →