Triangle Family Church Sunday Service on September 15, 2024
Sermon
Message from Rev. Demian Dunkley: 21-Day Activation
Only love can make a person more open to change NOT by magic potion.
September 15, 2024
Sunday Service on September 15, 2024
Only love can make a person more open to change NOT by magic potion.
September 12, 2024
Abraham And Sarah's Family - Morning Devotion in September 2024
Abraham And Sarah's Family
No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
Genesis 17:5
The Idol-Maker's Son
12:1 Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse: and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves."
The eyes of the world could not understand the way of God. In this manner, with such implausible instructions, God could test the faith of the man he had chosen as His champion. This is what happened in Noah's day. And at the time of Abraham it was no different. God called Abraham, the son of an idol-maker, and commanded him, "Leave your home at once!" God does not allow for any compromise. God takes a position where evil can be totally denied. In no other way can good begin.
God has said He will start a new history, in which no element of evil will remain. God demands a complete response from man. Those who follow God's direction must begin from absolute denial of the evil world. That is why Jesus Christ taught: "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matt.10:39) He also said, "A man's foes will be those of his own household." (Matt. 10:36)
You may ask what kind of message is this? This is God's way, to choose His own people and put them in a position where they will be rejected by evil. Otherwise His champion can do no good for God. From the point of view of God's standard, then, modern Christians have been having a very easy time. This is very strange, because there is no easy way indicated in Christian teaching. I wonder how many Christians are really serious about following the path of God. God's demands are absolute. He allows no middle ground.
The Future of Christianity
October 28, 1973
12:4 So Abram went as the Lord had told him and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 And Abram took Sar'ai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in Haran and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan,
6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said. "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appealed to him.
God called Abraham and drove him the opposite way, toward tribulation. You have to understand that God ordered Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldeans and drove him into tribulations that his relatives, family and people dared not attempt.
We have to understand that Abraham transcended himself and deeply felt the existence of Heaven, which was guiding his tribe and descendants to the ideal world.
Abraham knew that ordinary daily life was not something of which the people could be proud, When God's command was given to him in this state of mind, he abandoned all that he owned.
It was not easy for him to do that. Abraham set out on a truly miserable journey toward the land of Harran, abandoning all that he had -- his family, which had given him great joy, and all his belongings.
However, even though he was a pitiful wanderer, his footsteps were full of confidence because he believed that a glorious and proud day would come, even if he could not be proud of his situation at that time.
Abraham was determined that no matter what kind of ordeals and difficulties he might face, he would overcome them hundreds and thousands of times. Because the heart of Abraham and the heart of God, who was desperately looking for a reciprocal object, came together in unity. God was able to proudly give Abraham His blessings, which included the garden of the absolute ideal for which God longed. This is how Abraham was put in the blessed position of being the ancestor of faith before Heaven. Let Us Understand God.
Who Wanted to Be Proud
February 8, 1959
12:10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there for the famine was severe in the land.
11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sar'ai his wife, "I know that you are a woman beautiful to behold;
12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say. This is his wife; then they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account...
14 When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
Since Noah was the second human ancestor, for Abraham to restore the position of Noah, he also had to assume Adam's position, For this reason, he was required to make a symbolic condition of restitution to restore the position of Adam's family before he could make the actual symbolic offering.
In this regard the Bible gives an account of a trip Abraham made to Egypt because of a famine. (Gen. 12:10-20) When they entered Egypt, Abraham instructed his wife Sarah to pose as his sister because he was afraid that the Pharaoh might desire her.
Abraham feared that the Pharaoh would have him killed if he found out that he was Sarah's husband. Indeed, at the Pharaoh's command, Abraham handed Sarah over to him while she posed as his sister. Thereupon, God chastised the Pharaoh, and Abraham took back his wife along with his nephew Lot and the abundant wealth which the Pharaoh had given him, and they left Egypt.
Without knowing it, Abraham walked this providential course to make a symbolic payment of restitution to restore the position of Adam's family. When the Archangel took Eve -- capturing under his dominion all of Eve's descendants and the natural world -- Adam and Eve were still brother and sister.
For Abraham to make the condition of restitution to restore this, he was deprived of Sarah, who was playing the role of his sister, by the Pharaoh, who represented Satan.
He then had to take her back from the Pharaoh as his wife, together with Lot as the representative of all humanity, and wealth symbolizing the natural world... Once he had fulfilled this resiitutional condition, Abraham was deemed ready to make the symbolic offering.
Exposition of the Divine Principle
Part II, Chapter 1. Section 3.1
Living The Conviction
15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. "Fear not, Abram. I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."
2 But Abram said, "O Lord God, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless; and the heir of my house is Elie'zer of Damascus?"
3 And Abram said, "Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir."
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir:
5 And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6 And he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.
When Abraham became a wanderer, he was in miserable shape, traveling aimlessly with his family in the wilderness. Yet under those circumstances God gave him this blessing: "Number the stars, if you are able to number them. So shall your descendants be."
Only a crazy person or a man of adventure could accept that blessing and uphold his faith. Abraham suffered much almost losing his wile and all his possessions and relatives to the Pharaoh in Egypt. However, he never, never gave up his faith in the blessings of God.
Nothing could change his conviction, and he fully lived that conviction, ultimately receiving his promised blessing from God. Anyone who just sits and waits for God to take care of everything will never encounter the blessing of God.
There are three types of religious people in this world. One type are the men of faith who are sitting idle. The second are the men of faith who feel that they should at least set some condition by doing something to help God. The third type are the men of faith who want to translate their conviction 100 percent into action by offering up their lives.
Which ones do you think God will side with? Do you just want to set some condition of restitution to jump over the mountain, or do you really want to pay the full amount and release yourself completely? If you say, "I want to pay the full amount," then your attitude becomes absolute; that is most bold.
The Road of Religion and the Will of God
April 24. 1977
15:7 And he said to him. "I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chalde'ans, to give yon this land to possess.
8 But he said, "O Lord God, how am Ito know that I shall possess it?"
9 He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon...
10 And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
11 And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses. Abram drove them away.
History reveals that blood must always be shed before an offering can be made to God. Therefore, whatever was sacrificed was killed and cut in half, to ensure that one part representing goodness was separated from the bad so that God was free to claim it. You already know that in Abraham's offering a heifer was cut in half, a ram and a goat were cut in half and birds were to be cut in half. Treasures as well were laid on the altar.
In the ideal of creation no bloodshed should have been necessary, but because the Fall
introduced Satan's blood, the shedding of blood is necessary in order to restore the original position. This is why we see in the course of history that whenever an offering was given it was made by killing things.
By instructing man to shed the blood of animals God could begin to restore man without shedding man's blood. That offering served as a condition, but most important of all it was to separate the offering from satanic domination, the whole purpose of restoration.
If the animal that is shedding blood is not obedient and goes against its master, then the offering will not be valid. Many animals could protest, but some animals like the heifer and the lamb are very obedient and calm.
The lamb is the symbol of obedience and the dove is the symbol of peace, so those animals were selected. Who kills these animals for the offering? The chief priest is the one who kills these animals, and in order for that offering to become a valid and acceptable condition, they have to be completely obedient to the priest, never protesting.
The Day of All Thongs
June 6, 1978
Because Abraham did not cut the dove and pigeon in two as he should have, birds of prey came down and defiled the sacrifices... Let its first investigate the reason why Abraham was instructed to cut the sacrifices in half.
God's work of salvation aims to restore the sovereignty of goodness by first dividing good from evil and then destroying evil and uplifting the good. This is the reason Adam had to be divided into Cain and Abel this is the reason why in Noah's day, God struck down evil through the flood judgment and winnowed out Noah's family as the good.
God had Abraham cut the sacrifices in two before offering them, with the intention of doing the symbolic work of dividing good from evil, which was left unaccomplished by Adam and Noah...
Why was it a sin not to divide the offering? First, not dividing the offering has the significance of not dividing Abel from Cain. Without being divided, the offering could not be acceptable to God because it did not provide Him with an Abel-type object partner which He could take. Consequently, the mistakes Cam and Abel had made in their sacrifices were not restored.
Second, not dividing the offering was tantamount to repeating the failure of the providence in Noah's time, when good and evil remained undivided despite the flood.
Like the failure of Noah's family, Abraham's failure to divide the offering also deprived God of His good object partner. Thus, it repeated the mistake which made the dispensation of the flood a failure.
Third, not dividing the offering means there was no symbolic condition to separate a realm of God's good sovereignty out of the universe under Satan's dominion.
Fourth, because the blood of death was not drained out of it, not dividing the offering meant it could not be a sanctified offering acceptable to God.
In other words, when Abraham offered the birds without first dividing them, it meant that he offered what had not been wrested from Satan's possession. His mistake had the effect of acknowledging Satan's claim of possession over them.
Exposition of the Divine Principle
Part II, Chapter 1, Section 3.1.2
15:12 As the sun was going down a deep sleep fell on Abram and lo, a dread and great darkness fat upon him.
13 Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know of a surety that your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for four hundred years...
Abraham's mistake in making the symbolic offering caused the offering to be defiled. All the conditions God intended to restore through it were lost. As a consequence, Abraham's descendants had to suffer oppression and slavery for 400 years in the land of Egypt. Let us investigate the reason for this.
God called upon Abraham and commanded him to make the symbolic offering at the completion of a 400-year period for the separation of Satan. This period had been set up to restore through restitution the ten generations from Adam to Noah and the 40-day period of the flood judgment, lost to Satan due to Ham's sin. It was also the period of restitution necessary to establish Abraham as the father of faith when he completed the symbolic offering.
When Abraham's mistake in the symbolic offering allowed Satan to claim the offering as his, that 400-year period was also lost to Satan. To re-create on the national level the situation before Abraham's failure in the symbolic offering, which was itself parallel to when Noah was called upon to build the ark, God set up another 400-year period for the separation of Satan.
During this period, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. By enduring through this period, the Israelites were to restore -- this time on the national level -- the mutations of Noah and Abraham at the outset of their missions as the fathers of faith, thereupon also laying the foundation for Moses to begin his mission.
Hence, this period of slavery was both the time when the Israelites were being punished for Abraham's mistake and the time when they were laying the foundation to cut off ties to Satan and commence God's new providence.
Exposition of the Divine Principle
Part II, Chapter 1, Section 3.1.2
16:1 Now Sar'ai, Abrams wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar;
2 and Sar'ai said to Abram, "Behold now, the Lord has prevented me front bearing children; go in to my maid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her" And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sar'ai.
3 So, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, Sar'ai, Abram wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.
4 And he went in to Hagar; and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress... And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bare, Ish'mael.
Abraham, representing mankind, tried to make a complete turnabout by making symbolic offerings. Yet because he did not cut the birds in two, the condition was not established. Then the course of Abraham's family was to pass through three stages --
from Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. Finally, for the first time, a victorious historical turning point was made at the time of Jacob.
The Turning Point of History
December 1, 1975
If Abraham had not failed in the symbolic offering, Isaac and his half-brother Ishmael would have stood in the positions of Abel and Cain. They would have been responsible to fulfill the restitutional condition to remove the fallen nature which Cain and Abel did not accomplish. However, because Abraham failed in the offering, God set up Isaac in the position of Abraham, and Esau and Jacob in the positions originally intended for Ishmael and Isaac.
Exposition of the Divine Principle
Part II, Chapter 1, Section 3.2
... Ishmael was the Cain type offspring of Abraham. Who got the real victory in those areas of the Middle East? Islam. Abraham had two wives. Because Sarah could not bear children, he took a second wife to have a son.
When Sarah was 100 years of age, Isaac was born, but the second wife had a child too. Those two wives were supposed to be united together as one family of Abraham but that was not done.
The crucifixion of Jesus followed the same pattern as Abraham's time. Because of his crucifixion, the right and lets have been divided, and vertically, upper and lower have been divided. All kinds of divisions occurred centering on the crucifixion.
The coming of the messiah is expected within Christianity, and Judaism united in that direction. At the same time, on the left side we see them united with Barabbas. This is the tragic and detrimental division. When the Second Coming of the messiah occurs, his first mission is to unite left and right.
The messiah is going to unite mind and body on the individual level. The Second Coming must be the one who overcomes the failure of the times of Jesus. If acceptance of the Second Coming of the messiah happened immediately after World War II, there would be no communism. However, that was not done. Instead, rejection of the messiah occurred.
So for over 40 years, Father has had to struggle to lay the new foundation from which he can restore the whole world. During this time, modern communism was born.
Therefore, this Cold War era was a time of struggle between right and left. The fight between the free world and the communist world became very severe.
If Abraham had not failed in his symbolic offering, Isaac and his half-brother, Ishmael, in place of Abel and Cain, should have set up the condition of indemnity to remove the fallen nature which had been left unaccomplished by Cain and Abel.
Because of Abraham's failure, God, by setting up Isaac in Abraham's position, and Esau and Jacob in place of Ishmael and Isaac, worked the providence to have them set up the condition of indemnity to remove the fallen nature. Therefore, Esau and Jacob, centering on Isaac, are in the position of Shem and Ham centering on Noah.
True Patents' Birthday
February 20, 1991
17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty, walk below me, and be blameless.
2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly..."
3 Then Abram fell on his face: and God said to him,
4 "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father a multitude of nations.
5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham: for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations..."
In the seventh century the religion of Islam emerged among the central people who received much blessing from God upon their return from Egypt. Muslims and Jews were brothers, but became adversaries. Muslims are expanding more rapidly than Christianity.
They have a strong conviction. They are not swaying back and forth. But Christians are swaying back and forth, compromising. Ishmael and Isaac were both sons of Abraham, but their descendants became adversaries and fought throughout history.
They fought centering on Jerusalem and Israel was lost. The lost Israel should be restored, but not by force.
That's why Rev. Moon, representing Christianity gave his hand to Minister Farrakhan; and also to President W'ahid of Indonesia. I want to see Wahid and Farrakhan become brothers. I helped them at the Million Family March.
White people opened their eyes in alarm, saying that I should not help them. But I said to those people, "You opposed me, so wait and see who is right. Everybody who follows me will be blessed by God. Close your eyes and pray. Don't open your mouth."
UTS 25th Graduation
June 21, 2001
If someone has something special, it is human nature to want to boast about it. But for a long time Abraham kept the great dispensational will promised to him in his heart.
He upheld that dispensation for the sake of fulfilling the will of God.
As the chosen root, no matter who touched him or vied to uproot him, he persisted in his way for the purpose of laying down a solid and unshakable foundation. Even when he was subjected to all kinds of persecution and ridicule, he lived a life of unseen ordeals in which he persevered and overcame.
Abraham's course of ordeals, which others did not know about, became even greater when Abram ("exalted father") was elevated from the individual level to Abraham ("father of many nations"), who was chosen to be the ancestor of faith.
We should reflect back on our own past and, making a one-to-one comparison between ourselves and Abraham, we should deeply repent. What is more, we must experience the situation in which Abraham found himself.
We can never forget that we should inherit the foundation of faith that Abraham established on the basis of his hardships.
The family of Abraham, the ancestor of faith, was promised a blessing. Through Isaac, Jacob and Moses, this was raised to the level of the people, and eventually expanded to the worldwide level. If there had been no loyalty and faith in Abraham that had penetrated deeply into Heaven, then there could not have emerged a relationship on the earth that could create a bond with Heaven.
Do you know what the secret was behind Abraham's rise to the position of the ancestor of faith? Because his heart of longing toward Heaven and love for the earth was so extraordinary, he could build a wide and solid ground for the relationship with the Father in Heaven and could become the ancestor of faith.
The Responsibility Of Those Who Have Become The Root
July 1, 1956
17:15 And God said to Abraham, "As for Sar'ai your wife. you shall not call her name Sar'ai, but Sarah shall be her name.
16 I will bless her and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."
17:9 And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised."
Because of the Fall, Adam's family lost the original blood lineage. That's why, in order to indemnify this lost blood lineage, the people of Israel practiced circumcision.
What is circumcision? It is the cutting of the tip of the manic sexual organ.
At the time of Noah, what kind of judgment was there? A flood, judgment by water.
So, instead of going through the circumcision, that time was the water judgment. It was like a baptism. That's why when John the Baptist came, instead of practicing circumcision, what did he practice? Baptism. It was not just a random happening; it was God's will.
Leaders' Meeting
December 22, 1994
In the Old Testament Age, which was the providential age to find hope, circumcision was the condition for chosen people. In the New Testament Age, baptism of water and fire (through the Holy Spirit) established faith before Gad. You should know that in the coming Completed Testament Age, you can enter into the loving relationship with God by receiving His seal of love.
Let Us Regain the Victorious Nation
January 4, 1959
Weekly Update on Sep. 12, 2024
Join us on Sunday, September 15 at 11:00 a.m. for our weekly service. Gene Huneycutt is sharing a message titled Prodigal. Please bring a dish to share for potluck lunch.
Join us for Yoga Night With Hakwa on Saturday, September 14 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00. TFC will provide light refreshments and we have extra yoga mats.
On Sunday, September 22, TFC will meet at Lake Crabtree county park, White Oak shelter at noon for a picnic. TFC is cooking hamburgers and hot dogs. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share. Won Jin Bowman will share a brief message: What Does A Life Of Faith Mean To You?
Message from Cathy Kace, SR2 BFM representative: The most important takeaways from Glimpse of A Blessed Life (October 25 - 27, New Hill NC) is hearing from couples about what a Blessed Life is like and how it differs from a typical marraige. They hear about the challenges and victories, which is more personal and relatable than a sermon. They will also receive a Level 2 Certificate. This workshop is especially important for single members who may be on the fence about the Blessing. There will be anonymous question and answer sessions, and special guest speaker Reverend Edgerly, who will speak about the meaning and value of the Blessing. It's completely different, with very thorough explanations of lineage, which is a difficult but important topic to understand.
Workshop is open to BC's between 18 and 35. Here is the link to register.
Join Reverend Saunders online on Friday evening, September 13th, at 7:00 pm. We will hear Dr. Thomas and Dr. Grace Selover's third presentation on the abridged version of the CIG scriptures. This presentation will also include some new materials that came out of a special Witnessing Summit dubbed "The Manhattan Project 2024" and information on the 21-day witnessing campaign set to begin Monday, September 16th. Join by Zoom at: http://us04web.zoom.us/j/9415791302
SR2 Education Programs to Introduce DP:
Create A Life You Love - Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.
Essence of Principles of Peace - 2nd and 4th Saturdays, 1:00 p.m.
Discovering the Principles of Peace - Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m.
Living the Principles of Peace - Mondays at 7:00 p.m.
Here is the link to join.
President Dunkley is asking us to contribute to the Cheon Won Gung, the original holy Temple where our Heavenly Parent will reside. Please donate online or you can leave your donation in the tithing basket at church. Write CWG Fund on your check.
Statewide ACLC outreach meetings are the first and third Mondays at 7:00 p.m. The next meeting is Monday, Sep. 16 at 7:00p.m. Here is the link to join the meeting.
Please join us for Morning Devotion from Monday to Friday at 6:00 a.m.
Here is the link.
We will join Dr. Achille and Capitol Family Church on the weekend.
Here is the link. Passcode: 2027
Please feel free at any time to use the Cheon Shim Won (Prayer Room) at TFC to pray or meditate.
September 08, 2024
Sunday Service on September 8, 2024
Triangle Family Church Sunday Service on September 8, 2024
Musical Offering
Sermon
Key Insights
- Celebration of Faith: The Riddick's anniversary underscores the importance of community in faith, reminding us how collective milestones strengthen our spiritual journey.
- Moments of Timelessness: Personal experiences, like the childhood memory shared, illustrate how God reveals Himself in profound ways during seemingly ordinary moments.
- God’s Forbearance: The concept of God’s patience reflects the divine understanding of humanity's struggles, encouraging us to embrace our journeys towards repentance.
- Call to Awareness: The sermon highlights the urgency of recognizing our historical context in faith, particularly in light of significant events like the upcoming Cheon Il Sanctum opening.
- Eternal Dreams: Emphasizing the importance of holding onto our original dreams, even amidst struggles, connects us to our purpose and God’s vision for humanity.
- Unity in Diversity: The invitation to various Christian denominations to collaborate symbolizes hope for a united faith front, essential for global peace.
- Significance of Upcoming Events: The anticipation of April 13, 2025, as a pivotal moment in faith history invites reflection on how we prepare for and participate in God’s unfolding plan.
Sunday School: Bible Study - Jonah Runs From God
Jonah's Disobedience: Jonah's disobedience to God negatively affected others around him.
Consequences of Sin: Sin always has consequences, and God must punish sin, but He is also merciful.
Sailors' Response: The sailors showed compassion and prayed to God before throwing Jonah overboard, calming the sea.
Positive Actions: Living an obedient life for God positively impacts others; say kind words and encourage others.
Sunday Service on September 1, 2024
Triangle Family Church Sunday Service on September 1, 2024
Sermon
Jesus emphasizes the importance of making every effort to enter through the narrow door of salvation, highlighting belief and obedience.
Key Insights:
- Faith and Obedience: Salvation requires more than mere acknowledgment; it demands genuine belief and action. Many fail to grasp this fundamental truth.
- Navigating Life’s Journey: Just like a map needs updates, our spiritual understanding must evolve to guide us accurately in a changing world.
- The Narrow Door: The narrow path symbolizes the difficulty in achieving true faith and the commitment needed to follow it.
- Inclusivity of God’s Kingdom: God welcomes all who respond to His call, showing that past mistakes do not disqualify us from grace.
- Urgency of Salvation: The closing of the door represents the urgency to embrace faith before it’s too late, as opportunities for salvation are finite.
- Guidance in Faith: Just as climbers need experienced guides, we require spiritual leaders to navigate our faith journey effectively.
- True Connection with God: The relationship with God is about unity and belief, which leads to a transformative experience in our lives.
August 29, 2024
Weekly Update on Aug. 29, 2024
Join us on Sunday, September 1 at 11:00 a.m. for our weekly service. Reverend Mamoru Uyama will share a message titled The Narrow Gate. Please bring a dish to share for potluck lunch.
On Sunday, September 8 at 3:00 p.m. Bob Huneycutt will share a message with our friends at Armed and Ready Ministries. Feel free to join the service at the invitation of Pastors George and Linda Riddick.
On Sunday, September 8 at 3:00 p.m. Bob Huneycutt will share a message with our friends at Armed and Ready Ministries. Feel free to join the service at the invitation of Pastors George and Linda Riddick.
President Dunkley is asking us to contribute to the Cheon Won Gung, the original holy Temple where our Heavenly Parent will reside. Please donate online or you can leave your donation in the tithing basket at church. Write CWG Fund on your check.
SR2 Blessing coordinator Cathy Kace is organizing a Level 2 Blessing Workshop in New Hill, NC on October 25 -27, about 30 miles from the Triangle. We are looking for volunteers to help with cooking and childcare. Workshop is open to BC's between 18 and 35. Here is the link to register.
Statewide ACLC outreach meetings are the first and third Mondays at 7:00 p.m. The next meeting is Monday, Aug. 5 at 7:00p.m. Here is the link to join the meeting.
August 26, 2024
Sunday Service on August 25, 2024
Triangle Family Church Sunday Service on August 25, 2024
Musical Offering
Sermon
A personal journey from depression to self-love and forgiveness, emphasizing that anyone can change their life for the better.
Key Insights:
- Transformation is Possible: No matter how difficult your circumstances, change is achievable through self-reflection and effort.
- The Impact of Childhood: Early experiences shape our self-worth; recognizing this is crucial for healing and moving forward.
- Power of Forgiveness: Letting go of past hurts, especially concerning family, can lead to profound personal freedom and growth.
- Self-Expression is Healing: Engaging in creative outlets, like music or journaling, can facilitate emotional healing and self-discovery.
- Self-Love is Fundamental: Developing a loving relationship with oneself is essential for overall well-being and happiness.
- Inner Power and Potential: Each person has the ability to tap into their inner strength and creativity to transform their lives.
- Gratitude and Optimism: Focusing on gratitude and maintaining a positive outlook opens doors to new opportunities and joy.
Closing Song
August 24, 2024
Weekly Update on Aug. 22, 2024
Join us on Sunday, August 25 at 11:00 a.m. for our monthly youth service. Hakwa Suttles will share her personal testimony and a song, Lift Me Up by Rihanna. TFC will bring pizza and salad; you bring a side dish, dessert or beverages to share.
We are heartbroken to report that our friend, Dr Randall Hall-Walker has died. We are praying for his peaceful ascension. The memorial service is at Freedom Worship Center, 301 N. Polk Street in Pineville, NC. Pastor Bob will be attending.
On Friday, August 23, CARP is sponsoring an information table at NC State from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Contact Sharon Pace before you come at 919-210-9186.
President Dunkley is asking us to contribute to the Cheon Won Gung, the original holy Temple where our Heavenly Parent will reside. Please donate online or you can leave your donation in the tithing basket at church. Write CWG Fund on your check.
Henri Schauffler will present The Essence of Jesus and Human History, from the new Principles of Peace series, on Friday, August 23 at 7:00 p.m. Here is the link to join:
SR2 Blessing coordinator Cathy Kace is organizing a Level 2 Blessing Workshop in New Hill, NC on October 25 -27, about 30 miles from the Triangle. We are looking for volunteers to help with cooking and childcare. Workshop is open to BC's between 18 and 35. Here is the link to register.
Statewide ACLC outreach meetings are the first and third Mondays at 7:00 p.m. The next meeting is Monday, Aug. 5 at 7:00p.m. Here is the link to join the meeting.
August 21, 2024
Noah's Family - Morning Devotion in August 2024
Noah's Family
"And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to His hear."
Genesis 6:6
The Sorrowful Path
5:1-32 This is the book of the generations of Adam… The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years; and he had other sons and daughters. When Seth had lived a hundred and five years, he became the father of Enosh... When Enosh had lived ninety yeas, he became the father of Kenan...When Kenan had lived seventy years, he became the father of Ma-hal'alel.... When Mahal'alel had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Jared... When Jared had lived a hundred and sixty-two years he became the father of Enoch... When Enoch had lived sixty five yeas, he became the father of Methuselah... All the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God: and he was not, for God took him. When Methuselah had lived a hundred and eighty-seven yeas, he became the father of Lamech. When Lamech had lived a hundred and eighty-two years, he became the father of a son, and called his name. Noah, saying, "Out of the ground which the Lord has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands." ... After Noah was five hundred years old, Noah became the father of Shem. Ham, and Japheth.
I do not necessarily think that Adam lived 6.000 years ago. The time between Adam and Abraham is considered as the pre-historic age. At that time, according to the Bible, people lived 800 or 900 years.
We don't know if they had the same kind of calendar we have today Nine hundred years in their time might not be 900 years by our way of measuring time. As it says in the Bible, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. Often things revealed by God are not literally true, but symbolic.
We say it is ten generations from Adam to Noah, ten generations from Noah to Abraham. and so on. The ten generations are not necessarily literal. God may choose one person out of ten million to accomplish a certain mission. He will count that person as one generation.
For example, Adam was the first generation; Jesus was the second generation; and the Lord of the Second Advent is the third generation. We should count the generations from Adam to Noah and Noah to Abraham just as we count Adam, Jesus and the Second Messiah... However, the existence of Noah and of Adam as individual human beings is factual, pray about this matter and try to get answers yourself.
The Master Speaks of Creation
March-April, 1965
God raised Noah through the ten generations after Adam. When Noah could no longer serve the will because of the mistake of Ham, God prolonged His will ten more generations and came upon Abraham. However, because Abraham made another mistake while making the offering, it was extended two more generations.
The twelve sons of Jacob symbolized the time from Adam to Noah. Jacob had to raise twelve children who possessed this kind of significance.
The Meaning of the Trinity
January 3, 1958
What kind of sorrow then does God possess? This is a very important question for us.
It was derived from the result that, since the Fall of Adam and Eve, God could not establish the original world of creation, which was to be established through them. We should experience the grief of God.
Due to the Fall of Adam and Eve, the ideal of creation through which they were to enjoy an eternal blessing in the garden of love centered on God's love and ideas, was frustrated. God thus came to labor continuously until the present day, throughout thousands of years of history. To fulfill the ideal of creation that Adam and Eve could not fulfill due to the Fall, God has been experiencing all kinds of grief while fighting Satan. We should empathize with such the heart of God Since Adam, what did all the prophets and sages, from Noah, Abraham, Moses to Jesus say to humans on the earth? It was only to convey God's grief to the ignorant people. Due to the human Fall, God came to carry grief. He sent many saints and sages, but He endured double grief when lie had to watch them fighting Satan also.
Many saints and sages walked a sorrowful path to witness to the ignorant people, none of whom welcomed the will of God, or felt His sorrowful heart. The more they empathized with the sorrow of God, the more they felt responsible on behalf of God, and they had to fight Satan with the sorrowful heart of God.
The saints and sages were to be recognized for their value on behalf of the eternal will, but on the contrary, God had to feel a double grief, watching them being ridiculed and rejected by the ignorant people and chased from here and there. God was already sorrowful enough not to have been able to fulfill the ideal of creation, but it was an indescribable grief for Him to watch many saints and sages who were sent to awaken the ignorant earthly people and fight Satan. We should not forget that God has carried a double grief.
Let Us Become the Ones that Can Understand God's Sorrow
October 25, 1957
6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continuant
6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to His heart.
At the time of Noah, God was overwhelmed with indescribable sorrow. The sorrow toward humans was so overwhelming that He could never forget it for even one moment. Overcoming it, to fully manifest His sorrows before all humankind and the creation, He set up Noah.
Why then did God establish Noah in the position that people at that time could not understand? It was to establish one person, Noah, as a representative of humans, and put him in an incomprehensible environment, to experience the sorrow and pain of Heaven, caused by humans for 1,600 years.
Noah tolerated people who opposed and ridiculed him in faithlessness for 120 years.
Even 120 years later, when a warning was given that the earth was to be judged, he accomplished his duty to God in faith.
Because he was a righteous person, he was deeply concerned and saddened for the corrupt society in which he was living. Because Noah was concerned with and grieved for the people of that time, God called him.
Let Us Become the Ones that Can Understand God's Sorrow
October 25. 1957
6:13 And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled wish violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth,
14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and over it inside and out with pitch."
In Noah's time, no one could believe that Noah had received a command front God -- nor did anyone accept his mission of revealing the coming flood judgment. Can you imagine how Noah appeared to the people of his day?
For 120 years he went up and down, up and down that mountain working on his boat.
Would anyone among the ladies in the audience like to think of herself in the position of the wife of Noah? I don't think you would be a very happy wife.
Noah's wife must have packed his lunch basket every day, using only a little food.
Noah was so busy with the ark he could not find time to provide for his family. Within only a few months the family squabbles must have begun, but it was not just for twelve months or twelve years that Noah's wife had to sustain her situation, but for 120 years.
Why, then, did God ask of Noah such an incomprehensible mission? Why does God have to work that way? There is a reason. It is because of evil.
God cannot dwell together with evil. The direction of God is 180 degrees contrary to the direction of evil. God abhors evil! God cannot accept the things that the evil world accepts. God does not want anything to do with the evil world, or with whatever is tainted by evil.
We are all in the image of God and can find traits similar to His in our human nature.
Consider if you have an enemy toward whom you have strong feelings; you don't want to so much as look at that person. Likewise, Gal will have nothing to do with die evil, satanic world. Therefore, in dealing with us, He chooses ways often incomprehensible to man.
God also tests the faith of mans He cannot do this by asking just ordinary things of people. We must be willing to comply with God's extraordinary instructions. We must display absolute faith. This is not an easy task. People thought Noah was a crazy man for building the ark. Nobody knew he occupied the central position in God's view.
God's Hope for America
October 21, 1973
The ark was built with three decks, symbolizing the cosmos which had been created through the three stages of the growing period. The eight members of Noah's family who entered the ark represented Adam's family who, having been invaded by Satan, had to be restored through restitution.
Thus, the ark symbolized the cosmos, Noah, its master, symbolized God; the members of his family symbolized humanity; and the animals brought into the ark symbolized the entire natural world.
Exposition of the Divine Principle
Part II, Chapter 3, Section 1.2
God chose Noah to declare the word. Noah's announcement was, "The flood is corning. The salvation is the ark." The people could have saved themselves by listening to Noah's words.
However, the people treated Noah as if he were a crazy man, and they perished -- because they opposed the word of God, According to the Bible, only the eight people of Noah's immediate family became passengers on the ark. Only these eight believed, and only these eight were saved.
The Future of Christianity
October 28, 1973
Noah maintained his unyielding determination even when Heaven dragged him around for 120 years. This is what made him greater than Adam. We know that Adam fell when he had not yet reached adulthood.
Because Adam betrayed God, to make it possible for God to believe in us again, we must exert ourselves more than Adam. Even If we are to suffer through toils hundreds of times more harsh, we must be able to break through them.
Noah was not affected when his own self, his family; his relatives, his people and anything in the world put up opposition. Fixed on his determination, he clung to God and fought on for 120 years. This became the condition for him to be elevated before the humanity of that time, representing God.
The most important thing for Noah, who was inside the realm of the grace of God and escaped the flood judgment, was that he needed someone who could inherit his heart.
which possessed the heart of God. However, even Noah himself did not know this.
Let Us Not Weaken Our Determination For Heaven
February 23, 1958
7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and North's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark,
14 they and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every bird of every sort.
When reflecting on God's providence of restoration, God established one person, Noah, alter having endured a long 1,600 years since the Fall of Adam and Eve. God chose Noah and saved him and his family. Further. He attempted to put Noah in the position of a chief priest, as a representative of humanity.
This was God's will. If Noah had understood the endeavor of God, who had worked for 1,600 years to establish him, and if the eight members of his family had felt the heart of God, there would not have been the grief caused by the mistake of Ham.
Some people think that salvation is completed by being free from personal lamentations and pain, but it is not true. We should cleanse our own individual sins while also cleansing the universal sin.
Alter pulling out many nails of lamentation from deep in the heart of God, we should be able to say "Father, please rest in peace! God, who has been leading the dispensation of restoration until the present, please be relieved from the heartbreaking grief. Hallelujah! Amen." God has been waiting for such a victor to come to earth.
When Noah's family was saved from the flood judgment, they should have led a life of gratitude, but they continued their habitual life. We who came forth after being called by the heavenly principle can also easily commit the same mistake.
Thus, we should not be the kind of person who will go back to our habitual lives. If Noah had faced God, who had saved him and his family, with a constantly renewed heart, had felt God's heart of wishing for the arrival of a day when all humanity possessed the same kind of heart, and had established a life of absolute faith before God, he would not have committed the mistake of the second Fall
Let Us Be Strong and Bold and Restore' the Lost Land
June 23, 1951
8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided...
6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made.
7 and sent forth a raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.
8 Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground;
9 but the dove found no place to set her foot and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put forth his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him.
In the Bible we read that at the end of 40 days of rain, Noah sent forth from the ark a raven and a dove. (Gen. 8:6-7) Let us examine what future providential situations this foreshadowed...
By building the ark and passing through the forty-day flood judgment. Noah fulfilled a condition of restitution for the restoration of the cosmos. The flood corresponds to the period of chaos before the creation of the universe when "the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters." (Gen. 1:2) Accordingly, the works which God performed around the ark at the end of the 40-day flood symbolized the entire course of history following God's creation of heaven and earth.
What was foreshadowed when Noah sent forth the raven, which circled about looking for a place to land until the waters subsided? It signified that Satan would be looking for a condition through which he could invade Noah's family just as the Archangel vied for Eve's love soon alter the creation of human beings, and just as Satan couched at the door looking for an opportunity to invade the offerings of Cain and Abel. (Gen. 4:7)
What was foreshadowed when Noah sent forth the dove three times? Although it is written in the Bible that Noah sent out the dove to see if the water had subsided, that was not its only purpose. Certainly Noah could have looked out the opening from which he set forth the dove to examine the situation for himself.
The sending forth of the dove had a deeper significance connected with the mysterious will of God. Seven days after God proclaimed the flood judgment through Noah, the flood began. (Gen. 7:10)
Forty days later, the dove was first sent out. It flew about but then returned to the ark because it found no place to land, and Noah took it back inside. (Gen. 8:9) The dove, when it was sent out the first time represented the first Adam.
Seven days later. Noah sent forth the dove a second time. Still the water had not yet dried, and again the dove returned. This time it carried in its mouth an olive leaf, indicating that there would be a place for it to and the next time. (Gen. 8:10-11)
The dove, when it was sent out the second time symbolized Jesus, the second Adam whose coming would be God's second attempt to realize the perfect incarnation of the divine ideal on the earth.
These verses foreshadowed that if the chosen people were to disbelieve in Jesus at his coming, then he would have "nowhere to lay his head" (Luke 9:58) and thus would not be able to realize God's complete will on the earth. In that situation, Jesus would have to go to the cross and return to God's bosom, leaving behind the promise of the Second Advent.
After another seven days had passed, Noah sent out the dove for the third time. This time the dove did not return to the ark, for the ground was dry. (Gen. 8:12) The dove, when it was sent out the third time, symbolized Christ at the Second Advent, who is to come as the third Adam.
This foreshadowed that when Christ comes again, he will surely be able to realize God's ideal of creation, which will never again be withdrawn from the earth. When the dove did not return Noah finally disembarked from the ark and walked upon the earth, which had been purged of sin and made new.
This foreshadowed that when the ideal of creation is realized on the earth through the work of the third Adam, the new Jerusalem will descend from Heaven and the dwelling of God will be with men. (Rev. 21.1-3)
Exposition of the Divine Principle
Part II, Chapter I. Section 2.1.2
8:10 He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
11 and the dove came back to him in the evening, and lo, in her mouth a freshly plucked olive leaf: so. Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.
12 Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove: and she did not return to him any more.
Noah's Sons
9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth....
9 "Behold. I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you,
10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with an, as many as came out of the ark.
11 I establish on covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."
12 And God said. "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
13 I set my bow in the cloud and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth."
In the providence of restoration through Noah's family, Noah was the central figure to restore the foundation of faith. God called Noah ten generations or 1.600 biblical years after Adam for the purpose of fulfilling the will which He had intended to realize through Adam.
Accordingly God bestowed His blessings upon Noah, "be fruitful and multiply," (Gen. 9:7) much as earlier He had bestowed the three great blessings upon Adam. (Gen. 1:28) In this sense, Noah was the second ancestor of humanity.
Exposition of the Divine Principle
Part II, Chapter I, Section 2.1.1
9:18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the Ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.
19 These three were the sons of Noah: and from these the whole earth was peopled.
20 Noah was the first tiller of the soil. He planted a vineyard:
21 and he drank of the wine, and became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father; and told his two brothers outside.
Noah, who had severed his ties to Satan through the 40-day flood judgment, was supposed to secure the position of Adam right after the creation of the universe. God expected that the members of Noah's family would react to Noah's nakedness without any feelings of shame and without any thought to conceal his body.
Had Ham been one in heart with Noah, regarding him whit the same heart and from the same standpoint as God, he would have looked upon his father's nakedness without any sense of shame. He thus would have fulfilled the condition of restitution to restore in Noah's family the state of Adam and Eve's innocence before the Fall.
We can thus understand that when Noah's sons felt ashamed of their father's nakedness and covered his body, it was tantamount to acknowledging that they, like Adam's family after the Fall had formed a shameful bond of kinship with Satan and were thus unworthy to come before God.
Satan, like the raven hovering over the water, was looking for a condition to invade Noah's family He attacked the family by taking Noah's sons as his partners when they in effect acknowledged that they were of his lineage.
When Ham felt ashamed of his father's nakedness and acted to cover it up, he made a condition for Satan to enter; hence his feeling and act constituted a sin. Consequently, Ham could not restore through restitution the position of Abel from which to make the substantial offering.
Exposition of the Divine Principle
Part 11, Chapter I, Section 2.2
We can say that the failure of every providential mission resulted from failing to think deeply. If Noah had persevered in his vigilance a little longer, instead of becoming intoxicated and lying naked, his mission would not have been invaded. We can definitely say his mission would have succeeded if he had continued his devotion to God and thought a little more.
Perseverance and Contemplation
August 27, 1.978
If Cain had thought more deeply before killing his brother, then history would have been different. If Adam and Eve had examined their motivation one more time before they fell, then history would have been different. Noah was careless in lying naked on his bed. If he had thought about it once more, for his children's sake, he might not have committed that blunder.
Ham was humiliated at seeing his father, and he felt his dignity was hurt, "Me" was the center of his thoughts and actions and, based on that motivation, he covered his sleeping father. That action brought tragedy to the dispensation.
Covering his father's body was not wrong, but Ham should have had unconditional respect for his father as a man of God. If he had approached his father without shame and covered his father's body with a loving heart, then that scene would have been beautiful to God.
It was essential that Ham honor the fact that his father was accepted in the sight of God. Noah had persevered through 120 years of ridicule and persecution in order to build the ark, and because of his faith, Noah's family was the only group of people alive upon the face of the earth after the flood. Ham should have been humble after witnessing this and should have looked at his father from the public point of view.
Let Us Think Once More
June 12, 1977
9:23 When Shem and Japeth took a garment. laid it upon their shoulders, and walked backward and coveted the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's nakedness.
24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him,
25 he said, "Cursed be Canaan; a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers."
There was no son who could sympathize with the heart of Noah, who was deeply concerned with the heavenly principles, even while suffering through the 120 years of heartbreaking and distressful toil. No one could say to Noah, "Father, please give me any kind of order and I will do it."
If the eight members of Noah's family had understood Noah's determination to give all of his heart for God, then they should have stood in the position in which they could absolutely obey Noah, whether they lived or died.
They should have obeyed to the extent that they would be willing to die if their father were to die. They should have liked things that their father liked. If they had done that, even if another insignificant bad condition was set, if they could have solidified their hearts centered on God, then they would not have had any problem.
Ham should have listened to the words of his father. Noah. No matter what his brothers told him, if they were not in accord with the will of his father, he should not have listened to them. Because he did not listen to the words that he should have listened to and instead listened to words that he should have ignored. Noah's 120 years of exertion were undermined.
"Let Us Not Weaken Our Determination Toward Heaven"
February 23, 1958
The Global Family
If human beings had not fallen, we would have formed one global family, which may be likened to a body whose members are all inter-linked with each other with God as their head. Then all would have shared a common language: there never would have risen a profusion of tongues unintelligible to one another.
The reason various languages arose and prevented free communication between peoples is that, once their vertical relationship with God was severed at the Fall, all horizontal relationships between people were also cut off. Humanity, then splintered, dispersed to different geographical locations, and formed isolated communities.
There is also a biblical account giving spiritual insight into the confusion of languages. This is the story of the Tower of Babel. Noah's descendants had shared a common language. One day, the descendants of Noah's second son Ham, who had sinned against God, built the Tower of Babel to exalt themselves even above God, thus furthering the will of Satan.
When the descendants of Shem and Japheth, who stood on Gods side, helped with the construction, God brought such confusion to their languages that they' could no longer communicate with each other to further the will of Satan.
Exposition of the Divine Principle
Part II. Chapter 6
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