Dear Church Family,
Notice these powerful two paragraphs taken from the book Messages to Young People:
Beware how you neglect secret prayer and a study of God’s word. These are your weapons against him who is striving to hinder your progress heavenward. The first neglect of prayer and Bible study makes easier the second neglect. The first resistance to the Spirit’s pleading prepares the way for the second resistance. Thus the heart is hardened, and the conscience seared.
On the other hand, every resistance of temptation makes resistance more easy. Every denial of self makes self-denial easier. Every victory gained prepares the way for a fresh victory. Each resistance of temptation, each self-denial, each triumph over sin, is a seed sown unto eternal life. Every unselfish action gives new strength to spirituality. No one can try to be like Christ without growing more noble and more true. MYP 96
By God’s grace, may we resolve to spend more time in prayer and study. For me personally, I have begun prayer journaling again. What might you do to invigorate your time with Jesus! Let us draw closer to our precious Savior as we anticipate His soon return.
In the news:
- Pastor Alex will be sharing the message tomorrow. We are excited to finally have our new associate here with us along with his wife Suranny.
- There will be a fellowship dinner this Sabbath following the service. We are inviting the whole church to participate as we welcome Pastor Alex & Suranny to Greeneville.
- Due to the threat of bad eather, the afternoon children’s seminar and AYA programs have been canceled. Lynn Carpenter lives in Chattanooga and thus we felt it best to not ask her to come under such conditions. We will seek a date to reschedule.
- Regarding the weather, should things get bad in the morning, I will send out a church cast to notify everyone if church is canceled. If it is, we will reschedule Pastor Alex and the dinner for next week instead.
- Please note that the sanctuary classes will be combined into one class beginning tomorrow. The SS council met and voted to do this so as to allow for the use of a mic so that everyone can hear and participate better. If you prefer a smaller more intimate class setting, there are several classes around the church to choose from.
- Beginning Monday, January 16 at 6am, we will begin a 40 days of prayer initiative via the telephone. You can learn more by watching the video below:
- Notice that the school fruit order deadline is coming up on January 9. Contact Debbie Christensen soon to place your order.
- We began our study in Ezekiel this week at prayer meeting. We will be looking at chapters 2 & 3 next week at 10:30am or 6:30pm on Wednesday. We also tried streaming the evening meeting to FACEBOOK for those who couldn’t make it. Interestingly enough we had several view it online including a lady from Jonesborough who stated she was glad we were streaming. Pretty exciting given it was our first try at it.
- This Monday we will have finance committee at 6pm and church board at 7:15pm. Board members should have received an email on Thursday with the agenda and reports.
- An update on Tom Culler – I just spoke with TJ a few minutes ago and he said Tom was headed to surgery around 1pm today. The oncologist shared some more with them and has some real concerns based on their review of the MRI results. But we still are in the dark as to what Tom has. A pathology report should hopefully come back in 48 hours or so after the surgery that will help them make a more accurate assessment. I visited with Tom last night and he was very positive and trusts God implicitly.
- While I was visiting with Tom last night, we got word that Chuck Reese was at the VA and learned that he had a large blood clot in his leg. Spoke with him just now on the phone and he is going to be in the hospital for a while until the clot is under control. Let’s remember these two men as they receive treatment.
- Finally I wanted to share this video with you as I believe it contains some helpful insight relevant to all of us.
Blessings as you prepare for the coming Sabbath!
In His Service,
Pastor Jeremy
The Greeneville Grapevine 