UBC Wed For Life

                                               In a recent sermon, Pastor Pope revealed a saying that he uses somewhat like a daily mantra: heaven is better. On the surface, most of us probably believe that saying is a no brainer. Those of us who believe in heaven believe that it is paradise, so of course, it must be better than here on earth right? Pastor Pope noted that heaven is a place where we’ll find peace, love, and freedom from the strife that we find in this world. That’s undoubtedly true, but what’s often unspoken is the fact that there is a lot that we love about this world that won’t be in heaven. The world is full of things that tempt our flesh. Our society offers plenty that is either sinful or could lead us to sin, like drugs, gambling, and a variety of sexually immoral acts. These things can take us off the righteous path, yet we all still hav...

                             Prophets and prophecies are seen throughout the Bible. Prophets were typically tasked with bringing the Word of God to the people either by delivering what God spoke directly to them like in the case of Moses or through interpretation of dreams and prophecies similar to what Joseph did when he was in Egypt. Several books in the Old Testament are dedicated largely to prophecies and the prophets that delivered them. The Book of Isaiah is probably one of the more well-known examples, and Isaiah might be the best known of the prophets among Christians because of what his prophecies meant for Jesus’ coming. Isaiah lived during the reigns of the kings of Judah: Uziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. That time began with affluence and became tumultuous for God’s people because of their disobedience and rejection of God. Isaiah’s first mentioned vision addresses that state of affairs. Hear ...

                               Valentine’s Day is coming up on February 14th. The day originally started as a Christian feast holiday meant to honor a martyr named Valentine or Valentinus. Historians are not quite sure which man is the inspiration for the holiday as they know of multiple martyrs by the name of Valentine. For example, one was killed for defying the Roman emperor, Claudius II, by marrying young couples after the Romans outlawed marriage for young men. Another was killed for illegally freeing Christian prisoners. Regardless of what or who exactly inspired it, we do know that Valentine’s Day is very old and has changed quite a bit over the centuries. Originally, it had very little to do with love.  Over time, that became a more and more significant aspect of the way the holiday was celebrated. The concept of a Valentine's Day being a celebration of love started to really be embraced in...

                                             This is not an argument about Paul, this is an argument against verbal and plenary inspiration. Therefore I will begin by explaining the view of verbal and plenary inspiration. According to 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV): All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. This verse asserts that whatever is considered as Scripture is breathed out by God. This means that if it is considered Scripture, it is to be taken as what God the Holy Spirit says through the vessel that He is using. It does not matter who the vessel is that He is using, whether it is a prophet, an apostle, a male or a female. This is done according 2 Peter 1:21 by the instrumentality of the Holy Spi...

                              Paul is one of the most prominent figures in the New Testament. Between the account of his life in Acts and all of his letters, text about Paul or from Paul makes up quite a bit of the material in the New Testament. It should be no surprise that his words have had a very big impact on Christianity both in how it began and how it is practiced now. We should all be able to agree that, based on what the Bible tells us, Paul was a great man of God. There should also be no debate that if you follow Paul’s instructions you will find yourself on a righteous path. All that said, I believe we have to be careful about how we apply Paul’s teachings. Christians have historically taken what Paul taught and promoted it as the absolute way to behave. That can be problematic in my opinion because I don’t believe everything Paul said should be treated as if it is commandment from God. I also b...

                        As believers, we all share the task of trying to navigate God’s Word and come to some understanding of what it means and what God wants and expects from us. When we read the Bible regularly, it’s not uncommon to get the feeling that the Word is alive and speaking directly to us. That should not be a surprise since we have been blessed with the Holy Spirit, who helps us interpret and take inspiration from the Word. With that said, we don’t always get things right, and we don’t always agree with one another about what we read. That’s why it is good to have discussions with other believers about the Bible and what it means. Through those discussions we might gain insight that we did not have before. We might come to a better understanding or begin to see things more clearly after getting another viewpoint. At the end of the day, we all have our own relationship with God and we all eventually have to st...

                                                    Another year is coming to an end. In many ways, this year was almost as tumultuous as the last. We've all likely experienced some hardship and loss. However, no year is all bad or all good. Every year has a mix of both. As we reflect on the passing year, let's be sure to remember all the ways that God blessed us in addition to thinking back on the trials we faced and overcame. Let's thank him for all that he did for us and all that he brought us through and ask him to help us build on the good to make 2022 even better. Many people choose to bring the new year in with parties and celebrations. That is fine, but we at United pray that everyone has a safe and blessed transition into the new year. If you do choose to party, remember that even festive merriment can be used to serve and bless God. As the...