Friday, May 26, 2017

Dear Church Family,

In light of current events this week, I felt this quote from the Great Controversy to be most relevant:

A prayerful study of the Bible would show Protestants the real character of the papacy and would cause them to abhor and to shun it; but many are so wise in their own conceit that they feel no need of humbly seeking God that they may be led into the truth. Although priding themselves on their enlightenment, they are ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. They must have some means of quieting their consciences, and they seek that which is least spiritual and humiliating. What they desire is a method of forgetting God which shall pass as a method of remembering Him. The papacy is well adapted to meet the wants of all these. It is prepared for two classes of mankind, embracing nearly the whole world—those who would be saved by their merits, and those who would be saved in their sins. Here is the secret of its power.

A day of great intellectual darkness has been shown to be favorable to the success of the papacy. It will yet be demonstrated that a day of great intellectual light is equally favorable for its success. In past ages, when men were without God’s word and without the knowledge of the truth, their eyes were blindfolded, and thousands were ensnared, not seeing the net spread for their feet. In this generation there are many whose eyes become dazzled by the glare of human speculations, “science falsely so called;” they discern not the net, and walk into it as readily as if blindfolded. God designed that man’s intellectual powers should be held as a gift from his Maker and should be employed in the service of truth and righteousness; but when pride and ambition are cherished, and men exalt their own theories above the word of God, then intelligence can accomplish greater harm than ignorance. Thus the false science of the present day, which undermines faith in the Bible, will prove as successful in preparing the way for the acceptance of the papacy, with its pleasing forms, as did the withholding of knowledge in opening the way for its aggrandizement in the Dark Ages. GC 572-573

So it is today that men treat the Word of God as containing the Word of God rather than being the Word of God. I would encourage you to check out this sermon by my friend, Dr. Norman McNulty. It’s well worth your time.

In the news:

This Friday night the families and youth from imitators will be gathering for vespers and fellowship at Pastor Alex & Suranny’s home. The gathering will be at 7pm and feel free to bring snacks to contribute if you like. Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend. Their home is at 245 Walnut Grove Road in Greeneville.
This Sabbath we will be sharing in the Lord’s supper together. I will be sharing the message which is entitled, ‘Taking it Personally.”
Note that there will only be one adult SS class this week which will meet in the Sanctuary due to the rooms being set up for foot washing.
There will be no fellowship lunch this week.
Pastor Alex has a picnic and hike planned for this Sabbath afternoon. Here are the details: We will meet at 1:30 PM @ paint creek recreation/corridor area for the picnic. You should bring something to share for the meal. After our meal, we will have a hike and it will only last about an hour. We shouldn’t be later than 3:30. It seems the weather will be worse after 3 pm. Everyone is invited.
AYA will be at 7:30pm and will feature Gary and Toni Lewis who will present an up-date on their aviation mission in Papua New Guinea. Share the joy of what God is doing in the jungles of PNG and plan on a love offering to support it.
Our THUNDER DINNER was a big success last night in spite of the inclement weather and some cancellations. We had 8 guests in addition to members who attended. Plans are now being developed to continue the Thunder Bible study series in personal Bible studies and a small group. We would like to do this again in the fall but are hopeful we will have greater participation. This is a very simple and easy manner in which to find Bible study interest through an easy to use series. Please be praying who you can invite to our next dinner this fall.
We met with our awesome team of teachers and staff on Tuesday for a time of food, fellowship and to plan the spiritual initiatives for the school next year. Some great plans are being developed as we look by God’s grace to have another great year at GAA. I am personally thankful for a staff that is desiring to adhere as closely as possible to the counsel found in the Spirit of Prophecy and to continually grow and improve the spiritual tone of our school We are blessed.
Our Wednesday Bible class on Ezekiel will not meet for the next four weeks. We will resume class on Wednesday, June 28. We are currently in chapter 22.
The follow-up school constituency meeting took place this past Monday evening and many questions surrounding the new 11th-grade program were addressed. I am attaching the FAQ sheet here for those who would like to review some of what was discussed that night.
Last Friday night, Pastor Alex had families with children from grades K-6 out to his place for vespers and food. They had a great time as you can see from the pictures. Here are a few pictures from their time together.
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Last Sabbath Pastor Alex and a group of volunteers went to Wal-Mart to hand out Glow Tracts. I am thankful for the regular opportunities shared at Greeneville for sharing our faith.
I wanted to share for those who hadn’t heard the sad news that Carlton Walton passed away on the 16^th of this month. He and his wife were members of our church for many years and recently moved to Texas to be with Carlyle & Astrid Walton. (Carlyle used to be our CEO at Tacoma.) The Walton’s were much loved.
Pastor Alex & I will be away to serve at the Georgia-Cumberland Campmeeting next week. We will return Sunday evening.