Sept 25 Worship service photo gallery

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“Let go of your suitcases”

This Sabbath morning I am starting a new series of sermons called “The Eight Beatitudes of Jesus”. It is in these precepts Christ shows the true spiritual platform for the successful Christian life leading us into the Kingdom of God. I see this series as a natural transition from our study of the 10 Commandments. God revealed to us His will in the eternal principles of His Law, but how can I be sure that I have them written in my heart? In the next few weeks we’ll learn about the radical steps that the Lord expects us to take in order to make us “blessed” or “happy”.

The first step is taking us to spiritual poverty. Not a popular step at all. Have you experienced recent changes on a baggage allowance on the major  airlines? You want to take with you all those “important” items, making your suitcases too heavy, and at the ticket counter you have to make some tough choice of what actually indispensable for the trip… These are the same choices we need to make when we hear the words of Jesus: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God”.   How can I be ready to let go of my suitcases? Want to know the answer? Come and let us find it out together this Sabbath at 11 AM.

Church Family Life

I was very pleased to see our church busy as a beehive last Sunday morning. Oville and several other Pathfinder leaders spent the night at the church with over 45 children. On Sabbath night they had games, pizzas and other fun activities. By 1 AM they were ready to sleep. I am not sure the club leaders had much time to sleep, but in spite of that at 11 AM sharp they started their regular club activities on a church parking lot.

Sieg and Ben were busy with the church grounds since 7 AM. They were so carried away with the project that I almost issued them a speeding ticket for running to fast on their tractor . Thank you, Sieg and Ben!

Lindsay and her team put together a beautiful Baby Shower for Heather Nudd. It was a blessing to see Heather radiating with excitement of a soon to arrive second son. I trust that this is just a beginning for the Nudds The true blessing comes with many daughters ! Thank you Lindsay and many others who put this party together.

At the same time Rodney M had his Men’s Ministry meeting in the Board room. It was a blessing to listen to their passionate discussions of the Word of God and their prayers. I have no doubts that there will be many more men who will want to be a part of this ministry. Talk to Rodney this Sabbath about the plans for the future.

Our head deaconess, Monica, asked me to share with the church that there is another Baby Shower planned for this week; this time it is for Hernande Augustin. It will take place immediately after the Divine worship on Sabbath. Everyone is invited.

Sabbath school developments

Last Sunday David Esterline mobilized his team to implement the Board decision regarding the Kindergarten class. A wall separating the Juniors and the Earlyteen classes was successfully demolished. The two rooms are now turned into a one spacious class for the Kindergarten class. It has already been freshly painted. There is still work needs to be finished with the flooring and trimming, but at this pace it should not take too long. Special thank you to David, Monte, Tabor, Allen Jr., Alvin, Joseph C. and Rusty W.

This new class will be also used for the Children’s church during the 11 AM Worship hour. You’ll be hearing more from Marla M. our Children’s Ministries director on this matter in the next few weeks.

The Board has also approved a purchase of a tailor that will be installed behind the church and used for the Lower Divisions needs. It may take two or three weeks before the it will be ready for the SS use.

Please, watch for a special announcement from the SS leaders regarding the room assignments as there will be some major transitioning to due to these changes. Thank you for your support, patience and understanding.

SOS

Our Lakeview church family has always been faithful in taking care of the monthly operating expenses. This is probably the reason you do not often hear my sermons on Stewardship . Do you know that every month we are paying our mortgage in the amount of minimum 5,000? Our electric bill is above 1,000 during the summer months. Property and liability expenses, grounds maintenance and church cleaning, bulletin printing… these are just some of the monthly expenses that we need to cover before we could allocate some money to the church departments and ministries. We cannot use “tithe” money for these expenses, but only the offerings marked “church budget”. We have just one Sabbath left in September and I pray that we make an extra effort this week to support the local church budget. This is our church and we want to see it grow. Our ministry will continue to be vibrant and healthy if we all realize not just the privileges of being a part of the Lord’s church, but also our responsibilities.  Let us all make a difference this week! God bless you for your faithfulness to His church.

September 11 2010 Worship hour photos

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I Feel Ashamed

Theophan the Recluse writes:  “boasting and judging are the two most commonly found faults in man.”  Judging is indeed a sin which is very widespread.  This is partly explained by the fact that it is so easy to fall into this sin.  Judging occurs without any particular effort and even affords a certain satisfaction.  In judging someone, a person at once justifies himself, lulling his conscience with the self-assured opinion that he is not really indulging in this sin, but merely justly censuring the vices of the offender.  While failing to notice our own shortcomings and weaknesses – which we so readily excuse in ourselves, we nevertheless sternly judge others for the same offenses. “Whatever sins we blame our neighbor for, whether bodily or spiritual, we shall fall into them ourselves. That is certain” (John Climacus).

I feel ashamed when I hear about Pastor Jones’ plan to burn Qurans. This is not a Christian answer to the violence of the 9/11 event. A Christian, according to the teaching of God himself, can act only peaceably toward all men, and therefore there can be no authority able to force the Christian to act in opposition to the teaching of God and to the principal virtue of the Christian in his relation with his neighbors.

I feel ashamed that a Christian pastor forgot the words of Jesus who said that the judgment belongs to Him only (John 5:22). Our human judgment is clouded with selfishness and motivated by the desire to justify our own imperfection. Jesus is saying again, “You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. (John 8:15-16).

I invite you to pray that we as Christians show to the world the true spirit of Christian humility. Let us not repeat Peter’s ambitious mistake of taking the sword to defend Jesus. Jesus has the power to defend Himself and also to protect His faithful children. Today I want to say along with David, “I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” (Ps. 91:2)

I WANT MORE!

Our consumer culture with its omnipresent advertising pitches is designed to make us always want something more, better, or different. Even in times of national emergency, we are told to go out and shop, as if that will make us feel better. The inspired authors advised just the opposite. Mr. William Penn observed: “Seek not to be rich, but happy. Riches lie in bags, happiness in contentment.” In Philippians 4:11-12, St. Paul writes: “I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.” We should grasp, desire and seek after the fruits of the Spirit and not after the earthly possessions that belong to our neighbor.

September 11 I invite you to study with me the profound meaning of the 10-th Commandment. The Lord says: “You shall not covet… ” Is there a cure from this decease? I found one in the book of Philippians. If you need one don’t miss our worship service tomorrow morning.

Sabbath Rest for Weary Russia

Five hundred years ago horrific fires in Moscow  signaled the death of the fifteenth-century Russian Reformation – a Reformation characterized by its emphasis on observing Saturday – the seventh day – as the Sabbath.

Ivan Kuritsin a prominent Russian theologian, and a leader of the religious uprising was arrested and locked in a cage. The tsar – Ivan the Great – found this movement already well established in Novgorod when he seized control of that city around 1480.  Gennadii, Russian Orthodox archbishop of Novgorod was a zealous, even fanatical, enemy of the Sabbath-keeping reformers.  He calls for extreme measures. In some of his letters addressed to the Russian tsar, Gennadii venerates the methods of Spanish Inquisition and insisted that the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian state should apply these methods towards the Russian Sabbath-keeping movement. Russian Orthodox church leaders met at the Council of Moscow and condemned the reformers as heretics.  The Sentence of the Council details the charges: “… some of you said blasphemy against many holy icons, and some of you cut the holy icons and burned them with fire… And you have all honored the Sabbath more than the Resurrection Day of Christ.” Council of Moscow, 1490. The Council of Moscow was the beginning of the end for the Sabbath-keeping movement in Russia.  It eventually died in the flames of Red Square.

The Light of Hope Ministry in cooperation with the Euro-Asia Division is launching a “Sabbath Rest for Weary Russia” rally. The Sabbath message is practically unknown in Russia and the rest of the Eastern Europe. We are launching this initiative on October 15 with a series of meetings in the heart of Moscow. These meetings will be backed up by millions of brochures presenting the Sabbath message. After the October meetings thousands of the DVD sets with the Sabbath message will be available to the lay evangelists across the Euro-Asia Division. In December hundreds of cable TV networks and two satellite channels will re-broadcast 12 half-hour shows on the biblical Sabbath. We are praying that this initiative will help millions of physically and spiritually weary Russians to find the true meaning of the Sabbath rest.

Once again I seek your support in this international outreach for the salvation of millions of souls who went through the dark valley of atheism. The same Orthodox church that burned Kuritsin 500 years ago for observing the Sabbath Day keeps the Sabbath message away from the dear souls that live in the countries of Eastern Europe. They need to find true Rest. Whatever your contribution may be it will be used to illuminate the beauty and the power of the Sabbath Day.

Please mark your donation: “Light of Hope Ministry”

New Kindergarten Class

I am very pleased to share with you that the Church Board has voted to make some structural changes in the Sabbath school rooms layout to accommodate the growing needs of the Lower Divisions. A wall separating the Junior and the Earlyteen classes will be demolished and these two rooms will be combined into one big class. That classroom will be used for the Kindergarten division and for the Children’s Church during the 11 AM worship service. The Children church program will help us to keep the older kids away from the Cradle Roll class that will be used exclusively for the nursing mothers with little babies during the worship hour.

To accommodate the needs of the Earlyteen and the Junior classes the Church Board will consider purchasing a classroom trailer. The Cobb county school district has some very good quality trailers at a very affordable price. If approved by the Board this coming Thursday the trailer will be installed right next to the gym in the next couple of weeks. Please, keep these important decisions in your prayers. We are blessed to have so many children who need to grow in their understanding of the biblical truth!