Inviting God: Making the Home a Place of Worship

Inviting God to your home and making it a place of worship, was the topic of speech 15th Nov. 2024 by Rev. Guk Hwangbo

A speech given by Guk Hwangbo, President of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in South Korea, at a prayer meeting for leaders and members in Gapyeong, South Korea 15^th November 2024. Translated from Korean.

Sun Myung Moon — *Father Moon speaking in Japan 14th Oct. 1972. Photo: FFWPU*

I will first read the True Parents‘ words,

“God instructs us to establish homes that He will long for and return to, even if He is far away. Just as parents comfortably visit their children’s homes, we are to prepare homes where God can freely come and go. This is the life of living with God. In such homes, we witness the fulfillment of the four realms of love – parental love, conjugal love, filial love, and sibling love – thus completing the four realms of heart.” (Sun Myung Moon, Collected Works, vol. 421, p 22)

Today, the True Parents convey through their main teachings that we live in an era where our Heavenly Parent visits our families.

Beloved members, our Heavenly Parent has through countless ages longed to visit the homes where His/Her children reside. This yearning is expressed in the Old and the New Testament – through the songs, poetry, and literature of the scriptures – revealing the heart of Heaven. Especially in the Song of Songs and the Book of Revelation, Heavenly Parent’s heart is vividly depicted.

For example, in the Old Testament, in Song of Songs 5:2, it says:

“The one I love was at the door, knocking and saying, ‘My darling, my very own, my flawless dove, open the door for me! My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.’” (Contemporary English Version Interconfessional Edition)

Similarly, in Revelation 3:20, it states:

“Look, I’m standing at the door and knocking. If any hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to be with them, and will have dinner with them, and they will have dinner with me. ” (Common English Bible)

Inviting God to your family — *Family praying together. Illustration* *used by Rev. Guk Hwangbo 15th Nov. 2024. Photo: FFWPU*

We must listen to the knocking of our Heavenly Parent at the door of our homes. The one who knocks and seeks to visit is our Heavenly Father/Mother, our Heavenly Parent.

Our Heavenly Parent has endured through long, sleepless nights, knocking at the door of our homes. Those nights were not ordinary nights – they encompassed thousands and tens of thousands of years caused by the Fall of the first ancestors of humankind.

Through this deep darkness, our Heavenly Parent has borne unspeakable pain and sorrow and endured the cold nights while waiting for us. We must deeply feel from the depths of our hearts the pitiful and sorrowful heart of our Heavenly Parent, who has been waiting outside our door yet unable to enter.

With this anguished heart of Heaven in mind, we must prepare true families where Heavenly Parent can freely enter, embrace us, and shower us with love. Now, we live in the era where our Heavenly Parent comes to visit our families. During such visits, in His/Her presence, what kind of faith should we uphold?

I believe we must first become true worshippers before Heaven. Worship is the highest expression of reverence offered to Heaven. It is said that in the last days, Heaven seeks those who worship in spirit and truth. While there are many members, the fact remains that there are not many true worshippers.

Our Heavenly Parent has always emphasized the importance of the home as a place of worship. Heavenly Parent has said that we can encounter Him/Her by making our home a place of worship. The purpose of such homes is to bring God into our families.

To achieve this, worship must first and foremost be established at home, because worship together as a family is the starting point and foundation of such a home.

Family worship involves reading our Heavenly Parent’s words, offering prayers to comfort Him/Her, and engaging in sharing and fellowship centered on His/Her love.

The time of family worship becomes an opportunity to share the love of parents, spouses, children, and siblings centered on our Heavenly Parent, healing the four realms of heart.

The Family Federation for a Heavenly Korea aims to give each family the mandate to worship as a family. An official notice regarding this will be issued next week. Of course, public worship services centered on regional churches will also be strengthened.

Only when we are reborn as worshippers in the presence of our Heavenly Parent visiting us can we truly be called citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven (“Cheonilguk” in Korean).

I believe that worship must be restored both in church and at home.

Respected blessed families, True Parents have endured a bloody and sacrificial course, overcoming countless challenges, in order to make the day dawn when our Heavenly Parent will be able to visit humankind.

In particular, True Mother, the Only-begotten Daughter, is devoting her whole self to the completion of the final providence. She is preparing with a heart full of excitement and anticipation for the day when our Heavenly Parent will come to earth and personally govern humanity.

On the day of the entrance ceremony at the Cheonwon Temple, the True Parents will remove the deep night that has separated our Heavenly Parent from humankind, opening a radiant era of glory and hope.

Bedtime prayers — *Praying together before bed. Illustration: Microsoft Designer Image Creator, 5th November 2024.*

Our Heavenly Parent will open wide the door that He/She has knocked on throughout the long night of human history. He/She will open wide the way for Him/Her to come to our families. We must prepare our families so that our Heavenly Parent can say when He/She comes to our homes,

“Your family is what I have been looking for for ‘6,000 years’.”

Through family worship, let us strive together to make every relationship – between spouses, siblings, and parents and children – reflect the true families that our Heavenly Parent has longed for.

Let us all be reborn as worshippers who can truly bring joy to Heaven.

Thank you.

Translated from the Korean transcript. The English may not render fully the intended meaning of the Korean text, and inaccuracies may occur. The text should not be taken as an official version.

Featured image above: Rev. Guk Hwangbo delivering a speech in Gapyeong, South Korea 30th August 2024. Photo: Screenshot from live transmission by FFWPU.

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