United Church of God - Portsmouth,OH

09/13/2026

https://youtu.be/TypzmfPcW5o?si=9cxvc8KdOt9wE1jb

In Matt. 24, Christ made a very chilling projection. He said human ...

09/11/2026

Hello brethren,

I hope you're doing well. The sabbath is almost upon us, and I hope that we are ready and anticipating it. This is a special Sabbath, as it is a High Holy Day. "The Feast of Trumpets".
We did talk a little bit last Friday evening about this special Holy Day.
I realize that in just over a week we will be celebrating the Day of Atonement, so I thought that I would talk a little about that tonight.
If you remember, last week I used the idea of "Returning" home from a trip to talk about these Holy Days. I will continue with that theme as we go through the Day of Atonement.

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) — the deepest moment of reckoning, forgiveness, and cleansing.

The broader meaning is the putting away of Satan and of sin in our lives.

The Day of Atonement frames "returning" as a complete restoration of purity—both personally through deep spiritual cleansing and universally through the permanent removal of sin and its author. While the Feast of Trumpets initiates the return through a wake-up call, Yom Kippur represents the final, decisive crossing back into an unhindered, untainted relationship with God.

The Inward Return: Reckoning and Cleansing
Returning requires facing the full weight of one's separation from God. It is traditionally a day of absolute fasting and affliction of the soul, where absolute honesty replaces justification or denial.
The ultimate goal of this return is a total wipe-out of spiritual debt. Returning means stepping back into a state of absolute innocence and justification before God, entirely cleansed from past transgressions.

The Universal Return: The Putting Away of Sin
The Scapegoat Reality: In the ancient Yom Kippur temple ceremony, one goat was sacrificed as a sin offering, while the high priest laid hands on a second goat (the scapegoat or Az**el), transferring the nation's sins onto it before driving it into the uninhabited wilderness. This symbolizes the total removal of sin from the presence of the community/church.

The Removal of Satan: In the broader meaning, returning creation to its perfect, Eden-like state requires more than just human repentance; it requires the absolute exile of the source of rebellion. The putting away of Satan ensures that humanity and the earth can return to a state of peace, free from the constant friction of deception, spiritual warfare, and temptation.

By putting away sin and the adversary who incites it, the Day of Atonement represents the ultimate "return" to the original state of harmony between God and creation.

I hope this gets us excited about these upcoming Holy Days and gets us in a mindset that will allow us to enter these days with great expectation of the future that these days represent.

Tomorrow, services in Portsmouth will be at 11:00 AM and again at 3:00 PM. In Paintsville, we will meet at 10:30 AM in the Crickett room just outside and down the hall from the usual meeting room that we have.
I hope that you all have a wonderful evening, and I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow.

--
Take Care,

Kevin D. Call
-Pastor-
United Church of God-IA
Portsmouth, Oh - Paintsville, Ky

09/09/2026

https://youtu.be/Hkp6RenegfQ?si=3s_tAd4CarN1_NQP

09/04/2026

Hello Brethren,

I hope this email finds you all doing well and have been having a great week. Debbie and I just returned from a nice four-day mini vacation and had a wonderful time. There's something about air travel that makes you glad you are home again. (Delays, deviations to a different point, people acting entitled..etc..)

Anyway, we are very happy to be home again. All this travel got me to thinking about the idea of return, or returning home, and I thought that I would couple that with the upcoming Holy Days.

A single most significant thread of the fall holy days, as well as across all the High Holy Days and the biblical fall feasts, is the idea of return: returning to clarity, to accountability, to gratitude, to God, and to one another. Everything else radiates from that center.
Across all of God’s holy days, the dominant theme is that we have a spiritual reset. It’s the moment in the year when we stop, look honestly at our life, repair what’s broken, and realign ourselves with what matters. A great reminder of what we should be doing all the time.

True Christianity expresses this most explicitly through teshuvah.

Teshuvah (pronounced tuh-SHOO-vah) is a Hebrew word that literally means "return" and refers to the spiritual act of turning back to God, righteousness, and your own core goodness.

Today, let’s start with the Feast of Trumpets. Over the next few weeks, we will look at the remaining Holy Days.



Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) — a wake‑up call, a summons to self‑examination and repentance.

The broader meaning: The glorious return of Jesus Christ to this earth.


The Feast of Trumpets frames "returning" as a dual event, at the very least: a present, personal return to God through repentance, as is a common thread throughout all of God’s Holy Days, and the ultimate return of Jesus Christ to earth. The trumpet (shofar) acts as the bridge between the two, serving as both a spiritual alarm and a royal herald.

The Inward Return: Repentance

The Wake-Up Call: The piercing blast of the trumpet acts as a spiritual alarm clock. It disrupts complacency, urging individuals to wake up from spiritual drift and engage in deep, honest self-examination.
Teshuvah: In the Jewish tradition of Rosh Hashanah, the concept of repentance is called teshuvah, which literally translates to "return." It goes beyond simply feeling remorse; it is the active, deliberate choice to turn away from brokenness and walk back toward God's original standard.
The Glorious Return: The Second Coming

The Final Herald: In Christian theology, the trumpet is inextricably linked to the return of Jesus. New Testament scriptures (such as 1 Thessalonians 4 and Revelation 11) describe a massive trumpet blast that splits the sky to announce His arrival and gather His people.
Restoration of Rule: Christ’s return represents the ultimate "returning" of creation to its rightful King. It is the moment the earth begins its transformation back from its fallen, chaotic state into its glorious, intended design under divine authority.
The personal summons to self-examination is the necessary preparation for the broader, Eternal reality. The inward return of the human heart readies us for the outward return of Christ.

Tomorrow, both Portsmouth and Paintsville will meet at 1:00 PM. Paintsville will be receiving the cyber-cast from Portsmouth, and after services, we will be having our roundtable bible study on Hebrews chapter 12.
I hope you all have a wonderful Sabbath beginning in just a few hours.

Take Care,

Kevin D. Call
-Pastor-
United Church of God-IA
Portsmouth, Oh - Paintsville, Ky

08/29/2026

Hello Brethren,

I hope this week has been good for you and your family. Even though it is still warm outside, Fall is certainly in the air. The Fall Holy Days are just around the corner. Among many other things, the command to rejoice is always important and interesting to consider.

Just what does it mean?

When God commands His people to "rejoice at the Feast" (primarily found in Deuteronomy 16 regarding the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles), it goes far deeper than just a suggestion to have a good time, to eat an expensive meal, or to party like never before.

It is an intentional, spiritual practice rooted in several key meanings:
Celebration of God’s Provision: The major biblical feasts coincided with the agricultural harvests. Rejoicing was an act of gratitude, acknowledging that every meal on the table and every blessing in the barn came directly from God’s faithful hand.

Deuteronomy 26:10–11: "And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me... So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house..."
Active, Commanded Joy: Scriptural joy at the Feast is not presented as an optional mood that depends on how you happen to feel that day. It is a commanded action—an intentional decision to pause daily labor, focus on God’s goodness, and choose gladness regardless of life's temporary worries.

Nehemiah 8:10: "Then he said to them, 'Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.'"

When the people wept upon hearing the Law, Nehemiah and Ezra instructed them that a holy day requires an intentional decision to stop grieving and actively choose joy instead.

Inclusive, Shared Community: God specifically instructed that the joy of the Feast must extend to everyone—family, servants, widows, orphans, and foreigners living among them. It meant breaking down social barriers so that the most vulnerable in the community could feast and rejoice just as fully as the wealthy.

Deuteronomy 26:11–12: "So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you... so that they may eat within your gates and be filled."

Remembering Deliverance: Feasts like Passover and Tabernacles (Sukkot) called Israel to look backward at their history. Rejoicing was a celebration of freedom—remembering how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt and sustained them through the wilderness.

Leviticus 23:42–43 (Feast of Tabernacles / Sukkot): "You shall dwell in booths for seven days... that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."
A Foretaste of Eternal Joy: In both Old and New Testament theology, these earthly feasts point forward to the ultimate celebration: the great banquet of God’s Kingdom, where sorrow, hardship, and hunger are permanently ended.

Revelation 19:9 (New Testament Fulfillment): "Then he said to me, 'Write: "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!"' And he said to me, 'These are the true sayings of God.'"

Matthew 8:11 (The Heavenly Table): "And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven."

Revelation 7:16–17 (End of Suffering): " 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to [c]living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” "

Rejoicing at the Feast means stepping out of the daily grind to look back at God’s deliverance, look around at your Church community with generosity, and look forward with confidence in His continued care.

Brethren, it is vitally important that we start the Feast off correctly, as well as all of God's Holy Days, certainly, in a Godly manner.

I pray that we all have an outstanding Fall Holy Day season and experience the Christian growth that we all need.

Tomorrow, Paintsville will be joining us in Portsmouth for services at 1:00 PM. Have a wonderful evening.

Take Care,

Kevin D. Call
-Pastor-
United Church of God-IA
Portsmouth, Oh - Paintsville, Ky

08/21/2026

Hello Brethren,
I trust you are well. Time keeps flying by. I hope that you are able to take some time to reflect and prepare for the upcoming Holy Days!

This week we are on the seventh statement found in Proverbs 6:16-19. A person who sows discord among brothers: Stirring up fights, trouble, and division in a family or community

This leads off with the Farming Metaphor: "Sowing"
Planting Seeds: Just as a farmer scatters seeds in a field to harvest a crop later, a person who sows discord scatters subtle seeds of doubt, bitterness, and mistrust.

Delayed Impact: The damage isn't always immediate. The "seeds" grow quietly over time until a full harvest of conflict, offense, and division erupts.

How Discord Is Sown

A person acting this way rarely causes open damage all at once. Instead, they typically use covert behaviors:

Gossip and Whispering: Sharing negative information or private matters behind people's backs (Proverbs 16:28: "A whisperer separates the best of friends").

Half-Truths and Insinuations: Distorting facts to make one person look bad to another, fueling suspicion.

Playing Sides: Telling one person, "I can't believe what they said about you," while telling the other person something similar to manufacture friction.

Flattery and Manipulation: Pretending to be a loyal friend to everyone while secretly undermining each person's trust in the others.

Why It Is So Destructive:

Family and community structures depend on trust and unity. When an outside enemy attacks, a strong group stands together. But when discord is sown from within, it turns allies into adversaries. It destroys the mutual support system, leaving everyone isolated, hurt, and unable to work together toward a shared goal.

I hope this short study over the past 7 weeks has been beneficial and helped to give a little deeper insight to what God hates. May we never fall to these issues.

Tomorrow, Mr. Sipes and Mr. Toler will be in Paintsville, while we will have Youth Day in Portsmouth. I hope that you all have a wonderful Sabbath, and will look forward to seeing most of you tomorrow.

Take Care,

Kevin D. Call
-Pastor-
United Church of God-IA
Portsmouth, Oh - Paintsville, Ky

08/14/2026

Hello Brethren,

We had another beautiful Friday today. There were certainly some serious storms this past week, and possibly some more coming, but today was very nice. I hope that you all were able to enjoy it and get your Sabbath preparations done.

We are looking at the 6th element in Proverbs 6:16-19 today, which is: A false witness: Lying in testimony to hurt others.
What does this mean to us?

When Proverbs 6 lists "a false witness who speaks lies" among the things God despises, it addresses a specific sin that carries profound personal, community, and spiritual consequences.

Let's see a breakdown of what lying in testimony to hurt others means for us practically and spiritually:

1. Breakdown of the Meaning

The Action (Lying in Testimony): This is perjury or misrepresenting the facts—whether in an official legal setting, a formal investigation, or an informal dispute (like in a workplace, family, or church community). It means using truth as a weapon by twisting or fabricating evidence.

The Intent (To Hurt Others): This isn't just a slip of the tongue or an innocent mistake; it is premeditated deception with malice. The primary goal is to ruin someone else's reputation, freedom, livelihood, or relationship to protect oneself or gain an unfair advantage.

2. What It Means to Us Practically & Spiritually

A. It Destroys Social Trust & Justice

Human relationships, justice systems, and communities cannot function without trust. When testimony is falsified, innocent people are punished while the guilty go free.

A lie told against someone else rarely hurts only that person—it destroys their family's peace, taints an entire community's sense of fairness, and breeds cynicism.

B. It Violates the Ninth Commandment

In Exodus 20:16, God commands: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

To bear false witness is to directly defy God's character. Jesus declared Himself to be "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), while Satan is described as "a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44). When we fabricate testimony to harm someone, we align ourselves with deception rather than truth.

C. Modern "False Witnessing" Goes Beyond Courtrooms

While the biblical term often refers to legal courts, modern life gives us many subtle ways to "bear false witness":

Gossip & Slander: Spreading unverified rumors or exaggerated stories about someone to ruin their reputation.
Character Assassination: Omitting crucial facts when describing an altercation so that the other person looks entirely at fault.
Online Defamation: Posting false reviews, misleading social media posts, or biased accounts to harm a person or business out of spite or anger.

D. It Carries Spiritual Consequences

Scripture is remarkably blunt about the outcome of this sin:

"A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies will not escape." — Proverbs 19:5

God views lying to harm others as a direct attack on His justice and image bearers.

For us today, avoiding being a "false witness" means protecting the truth even when it’s uncomfortable or inconvenient. It calls us to:

Refuse to participate in character assassination or gossip.
Be scrupulously honest in our professional, legal, and personal accounts of events.
Defend the innocent when others are spreading false accusations against them.

Tomorrow, Debbie and I will be in Paintsville while Mr. Labissonaire and Wally B. will be in Portsmouth. I hope you all have a wonderful Sabbath.

Take Care,

Kevin D. Call
-Pastor-
United Church of God-IA
Portsmouth, Oh - Paintsville, Ky

07/17/2026

Hello Brethren,

I hope all is well with you. It's been another warm week. I hope you all are dealing well with it.

I wanted to continue the series of Proverbs 6:16-19 in talking about what the Lord hates and calls an abomination.
We are to the third one, which is Hands that shed innocent blood: Violence, murder, or harming the helpless

To understand the weight of this phrase, we have to look at what it reveals about God’s heart, how it defines violence, and what it looks like in our world today.

1. The Value of the Victim ("Innocent Blood")
In the ancient Hebrew context, "innocent" (naqiy) doesn't mean a person has never sinned or made a mistake. It means they are completely defenseless and blameless in the context of the harm being done to them. They have done nothing to provoke or justify an attack.

The Bible highlights specific groups who fall under this category of the helpless:

The orphan and the widow.
The poor and the marginalized
The unborn and children
When violence is committed against these groups, they have no societal power, wealth, or physical strength to defend themselves or fight back.

2. The Sacredness of Life
Why does God detest the shedding of innocent blood so deeply? We get an answer from the very first book of the Bible:
Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

Every human being carries the Imago Dei—the image of God. And so, human life is sacred. When a person uses their hands to crush, abuse, or kill an innocent person, they aren't just breaking a human law; they are assaulting an image-bearer of the Creator. It is an act of defiance against God Himself.

3. The Broadening of the Verse: Heart vs. Hands
While the verse literally describes physical murder and violence, the Bible expands this concept to include the intent of the heart.
Centuries after Proverbs was written, Jesus sat on a mountainside and explained that God's law goes much deeper than the physical action of the hands:

Matthew 5:21–22 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment..."

The Apostle John took it a step further in his letters: 1 John 3:15 "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."

According to scripture, physical violence is just the final, outward fruit of an inward root: hatred, malice, and a contempt for the value of another human life. You can "shed blood" metaphorically by destroying someone's reputation, character, or spirit through malicious words and deep-seated hatred.

4. The Biblical Response: Seeking Justice
God does not just look away from the helpless. The scriptures reveal that the blood of the innocent cries out to God for justice (Genesis 4:10), and He expects His people to actively use their hands to protect, rather than harm:

Isaiah 1:17 "Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause."

Ultimately, "hands that shed innocent blood" represents the ultimate abuse of power—using your strength to crush someone who cannot fight back. The gospel stands as the absolute opposite: Jesus, the only truly innocent one, allowed His own blood to be shed by violent hands so that the helpless and the broken could be rescued and healed.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Sabbath. Tomorrow, services will begin at 11:00 AM in Paintsville and at 1:00 PM in Portsmouth. Have a great evening!

Take Care,

Kevin D. Call,
-Pastor-
United Church of God-IA
Portsmouth, Oh - Paintsville, Ky

06/05/2026

Hello Brethren,

I hope you are doing well this evening. This week seems to have flown by, at least for me.
I thought that we might have a little fun with cliches in the bible tonight.

There are several that we could look at, but I thought I would just mention four of them.
Enjoy!
1. "The writing on the wall"
Daniel 5:25
The Context: King Belshazzar of Babylon threw a massive, decadent banquet and drank from sacred vessels stolen from the Temple in Jerusalem. Suddenly, a disembodied human hand appeared and began writing mysterious words on the palace wall ("Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin"). The prophet Daniel was brought in to translate it. He told the king it meant God had weighed his kingdom, found it wanting, and that Babylon’s destruction was imminent. That very night, the city was overthrown.
Modern Meaning: A clear sign of an approaching disaster, failure, or end.
2. "A drop in the bucket.
Isaiah 40:15
The Context: The prophet Isaiah was describing the immense, overwhelming power and scale of God compared to the nations of the earth. The KJV text reads: "Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance...
Modern Meaning: Something so tiny and insignificant that it makes absolutely no difference to the overall outcome.
3. "Fly in the ointment"
Ecclesiastes 10:1
The Context: King Solomon used this vivid chemical analogy to explain how a small mistake can ruin an otherwise great reputation. The verse states: "Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour."
Perfumed oils and ointments were incredibly valuable in the ancient world, and a single rotting insect would spoil the whole batch.
Modern Meaning: A minor drawback or small annoyance that spoils an otherwise excellent situation.
4. "Bite the dust."
Psalm 72:9
The Context: This Psalm is a prayer for a reigning king, asking that his rule be successful and absolute. It says: "They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust." While the KJV says "lick the dust," the literal imagery of defeated enemies falling face-first into the dirt eventually evolved into the exact phrase "bite the dust" in later English literature and translations.
Modern Meaning: To fall defeated, fail spectacularly, or cease to function.
Sometimes it kind of neat to look at the language of the bible and see how it relates to our language today. Even though we are years apart from the bible times, we certainly can understand what people were thinking and saying all down through time, as God inspires!

I hope you all get some rest and look forward to seeing most of you tomorrow.

Take Care,

Kevin D. Call,
-Pastor-
United Church of God-IA
Portsmouth, Oh - Paintsville, Ky

06/01/2026

https://youtu.be/U2B56gqSBYg?si=XGA4qWVa3d8SC9xr

Life can be incredibly exhausting at times. Dealing with anxiety and feeling overwhelmed is sometimes all that we experience. We fall into times of our lives...