Dear Church Family,

As some may have heard already, Mike Carducci is presenting with Wayne Blakely in Pasadena, California this Sabbath at the Adventist church.  They will be sharing their testimonies and also screening their film, “Journey Interrupted.”  However there has been a real backlash evidently from some in the LGBT community with promises to picket and the like.  Mike has real concerns about what the weekend could hold but is confident in the Lord.  He shared with me this quote that a friend passed on to him that I think sums up his mission well:

When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when His law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage and firmness the most unflinching. To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few—this will be our test. At this time we must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason.—Testimonies for the Church 5:136 (1882). {LDE 180.4}”

I assured him we would be praying so please put this Sabbath’s program to serious prayer.  I believe they have invited police presence and have notified the conference as well.  You can read about it here and visit their Facebook page here.

In the news:

1. I will be sharing the message tomorrow morning for the worship hour.
2. There will be a fellowship lunch tomorrow with the Reese/Chalfant team leading out.
3. Katherine Small passed away yesterday at 2:30 a.m.  Her arrangements are as follows:  Visitation will be from 1:30-2:30pm at Kiser-Rose Hill Funeral Home.  The Funeral will be at 2:30 p.m. with graveside to follow.  There will be time to share memories at the service.  I enjoyed a nice visit with Katherine Tuesday night.  She recognized me and was very precious.  She clearly was ready and desiring of that peaceful sleep that is granted the saints until Jesus comes.
4. The local Mennonite a cappella choir Inspirations of Peace, under direction of Dan Smucker will present an inspirational Christmas vesper program, Here Comes The Light, at 5 p.m. tomorrow night for AYA.   They have been here before and hope many can make it to this festive sacred concert.
5. The second reading for the nominating committee will be voted on this Sabbath.  We made some corrections and will have an updated list.  Please note that as we enter the new year, the church board will serve as the interim nominating committee and will address needs as they arise on an ongoing basis with regards to church ministry needs and officer placements.
6. This Monday the newly elected SS council for 2017-2018 will meet at 6pmbefore the church business meeting to discuss important matters.  If you are a leader of a division or one of the superintendents for the new year, please plan to attend this meeting at the church.
7. The church business meeting is scheduled for this Monday evening at 7:15pm in the church fellowship hall.  All members are encouraged to attend as we vote on the new budget and look at other important matters.
8. Our prayer meeting series on Revelation will conclude this coming Wednesday with classes at 10:30am and 6:30pm.  Then we will resume in the new year with a look at another Bible book.
9. I have noticed recently that many members are not taking advantage of our new online church directory.  Please take a moment and download the app or log in via the website.  Simply register by using the email you’ve shared with the church and the system will recognize you and issue a password to you.  It’s so helpful. It even has our new associate pastor listed in it.  I personally have found the app to be very useful on my phone as I can call people by pressing their number from within the app itself.
10. Next Sabbath we will celebrate the Lord’s supper during the worship hour.  We will also have the orchestra with us on the 17^th as well.
11. The school Christmas program is scheduled for this coming Thursday at 6:30pm at the church.  All are invited to come and enjoy the special program the kids have put together.
12. Last night at the school board we reviewed the Iowa Assessment Test scores from our kids at GAA.  It was a might impressive record.  Our kids surpassed the national average in most categories in their testing, in some cases by a quite a significant margin.  We were reminded again of the statistic that says that as kids remain in our Adventist schools, the margin between their score and that of the national average will increase with their numbers coming out on top.  It simply shows the wisdom in putting God first.
13. I appreciated this reminder from the Adventist Review regarding FAKE NEWS.

Blessings as you prepare for the coming Sabbath!

In His Service,
Pastor Jeremy