Home Office Weekly Update
September 26, 2024
Spiritual Preparation for the Holy Days
Greetings brethren around the world,
This past Sunday, Sept. 22, autumn officially began in the Northern Hemisphere. A notable season is upon us as we approach the final days of the sixth month of God’s calendar, eagerly anticipating the first day of the seventh month, which is one week from today.
The seventh month is significant. In the Bible, “seven” symbolizes completion, and this month begins with the Feast of Trumpets (which will be observed next Thursday, Oct. 3). During this month we have four Holy Days, including a commanded seven-day observance that takes us out of our homes and the “everyday world” of work, school, entertainment and daily activities.
Those four Holy Days represent the completion of God’s plan for mankind and this physical earth. As those who He has called out of this world to be firstfruits, it should serve as a reminder of our commitment to God and our loyalty to Him. They also make us mindful of our great responsibility and accountability to God the Father and Jesus Christ.
They have given us the priceless gift of salvation and the knowledge of God’s plan, along with the way to life, peace and purpose. This comforts, guides and transforms us from carnal, selfish human beings into people who truly seek God and love Him and His ways with all our hearts, minds and souls.
When the trumpet blasts begin, the return of Jesus Christ is set. God will intervene in man’s affairs, demonstrating that He is God and supreme over the universe. Leading up to the trumpets mentioned in the Book of Revelation, the earth will experience a horrendous time where mankind, under the influence of Satan, creates misery and hate in an all-out attempt to bring death to the truth and the people of God.
By His grace, mercy and protective powers, He will deliver us, if we have faith—faith that is developed during these times under the direction of His Holy Spirit within us. This faith equips us to resist the threats, influences and wrath of the powers of this earth that will be directed our way.
Now we are preparing for the upcoming Holy Days, particularly the Feast of Tabernacles, when, in accordance with God’s command, we travel to the place(s) He has chosen around the world for His people to gather before Him, and with one another. This time will picture the teaching and living of God’s way, which will produce unprecedented peace, joy and harmony on this earth.
Spiritual preparation and heartfelt prayer
Physical preparations are important, but spiritual preparation is more vital. Heartfelt prayer to God—daily and sincere—must be an important part of preparing of our hearts and minds for the Holy times ahead of us. And, we must recognize our need for God’s strength, power and guidance as we prepare for the challenges we will face in the days to come.
This time leading up to the Feast of Trumpets should remind us of unfolding current events. Four seals of Revelation are open. The four horsemen are riding across the earth and forces are at work to bring upon the world the end-time effects and intensity of their ride—resulting in the death of a fourth of the earth’s population (Revelation 6: 8).
Following this, the fifth seal brings the great tribulation upon the earth. After this time of trial that comes on the whole world (Revelation 3:10) heavenly signs will show that God will intervene in world affairs—to make His power known and to usher in the return of Jesus Christ.
The only way to survive those times as His people is to be very close to God. When the pressures of society and Satan bear down on us, it will then be too late to develop the relationship and trust in God that we must have. If we don’t actively make the right choices in our lives and ask God to strengthen us and deepen our conviction to Him now, we will fail.
Unity of heart requires us to put away selfish ambitions and the desires of this world that divide us, and this must happen now. We must yield ourselves to God, let His will be done and trust His will is being fulfilled—and we bind together as His family.
The way to achieve this is through prayer to God. Only through heartfelt, daily prayer—asking God to reveal the sins, faults and weaknesses within us that separate us from Him and from each other—can we overcome, both personally and collectively, and begin to build the temple of God that He is establishing. Only through prayer can we develop a relationship with God that reassures us He is always there and that we can humbly call on Him to direct our words, attitudes and motivations. Our motivation should be for His will to be done and His Kingdom to come.
Brethren, I could go on and on, but I’ll leave it at this: let us all commit to real, heartfelt prayer—beginning now and continuing throughout the rest of our lives.
Remember to keep up with the recommended reading of the book of Deuteronomy. Combining that reading with prayer will help us all to understand and implement God’s will in our lives.
Our thoughts and prayers are with each of you, around the world. May you all have a very inspiring and meaningful Feast of Trumpets.
In Christ’s service,
Rick Shabi
REMINDER: Please Share Weekly Updates
Pastors and elders, please remember to forward and share each Home Office Weekly Update with the membership in your congregations. These are an important, weekly update on the work of the Church and other important events.
STATISTICS: Daily Bible Reading Program
Don’t forget to participate in the special daily Bible reading program we introduced four weeks ago. Since then we have had more than 54,000 views of our Bible Reading Program pages by 5,685 different individuals.
The reading schedule is available by going to the ucg.org home page and clicking on the link for “Daily Bible Reading: The Book of Deuteronomy” or by clicking here: ucg.org/members/news/daily-bible-reading-the-book-of-deuteronomy.
Holy Day Sermons for Shut-ins
Sermons for the upcoming Holy Days for those shut-in or unable to attend services have been curated and uploaded to our Sermon Disc Program page at https://www.ucg.org/Sermon-disc-program. Sermons include those for the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day.
Those who need these sermon files should navigate to each individual sermon page and download the file needed. Files include video in high, medium and low quality, and MP3 audio.
Pastors, for those in your care who do not have Internet access or the ability to download these sermons, please have someone download and provide these files to them for playing at home during the Feast and Holy Days.
—Peter Eddington, Operation Manager, Media and Communications Services
No Update Next Week
There will be no Home Office Weekly Update next week on the Feast of Trumpets. The final update before the Feast of Tabernacles will be on Thursday, Oct. 10.