Friday, September 21, 2018

Dear Church Family,

We believe without a doubt that Christ is soon coming. This is not a fable to us; it is a reality. We have no doubt, neither have we had a doubt for years, that the doctrines we hold today are present truth, and that we are nearing the judgment. We are preparing to meet Him who, escorted by a retinue of holy angels, is to appear in the clouds of heaven to give the faithful and the just the finishing touch of immortality. When He comes He is not to cleanse us of our sins, to remove from us the defects in our character, or to cure us of the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us at all, this work will all be accomplished before that time. When the Lord comes, those who are holy will be holy still. Those who have preserved their bodies and spirits in holiness, in sanctification and honor, will then receive the finishing touch of immortality. But those who are unjust, unsanctified, and filthy, will remain so forever. No work will then be done for them to remove their defects, and give them holy characters. The Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation. It is now that this work is to be accomplished for us.…

White, E. G. (1923). Counsels on Health (pp. 43–44). Pacific Press Publishing Association.

In the news:

Monday, Pastor Alex & I left for a two night trip with grades 5 through 8 for an Outdoor Education adventure at Doe River Gorge retreat center. I have included several pictures (Thanks Kim for the photos) and a couple of videos.
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The trip involved a lot of activities encouraging us to face our fears and the importance of building trust. I was impressed by the good nature of our youth and the cheerful manner in which they conducted themselves. The first video here involved one of the challenges they had for us which was to climb a tall pole and jump off the top in faith that the rope would hold. Randy & I did it together and honestly, I couldn’t get myself to stand as bravely as he did. I am very much afraid of heights so I remained seated.
The other video involved a game of musical chairs on Monday night which we played since our night hike had to be delayed due to the rainy weather. Randy sang acapella and while the clip only catches a glimpse of his musical talent, you can see he did quite the rendition of Ole MacDonald! Everyone loved it!
Tonight marks the beginning of our NE TN camp meeting at the Oaks retreat center. Directions and schedules can all be accessed by clicking here. The GAA Band will be playing tonight so you may wish to come a little early. The program tonight begins at 7:30 P.M.
Sabbath School begins at 10 A.M. tomorrow at the Oaks. Dress tomorrow is more relaxed and nice casual.
Remember there is a big fellowship dinner tomorrow on the porch and everyone is invited to bring enough food for themselves and another family of like size.
The conference will provide a haystack supper tomorrow so you can plan to spend the whole day at camp meeting.
Earlier this week Pastor Alex & I joined the 5^th through 8^th graders at GAA in their Outdoor Education experience over at Doe River Gorge retreat center. The experience began on Monday and ended on Wednesday. We had a wonderful time sharing meals together, going on a night hike, participating in various games and trust activities together. What a great bunch of youth!
Nominating committee will met this Sunday evening at 6 P.M. at the church. Please keep this important work in your prayers.
Just a reminder that the church directory photo shoot is coming up in the first part of October. Every family/couple/person will receive free digital copies of their photos. Please help us by contacting the church office next week to schedule your appointment if you haven’t already.
Remember that due to scheduling conflicts, the midweek study on the Parables of Christ will not meet again this coming week. However, there is an evening meeting this coming Wednesday at 6:30pm at the church with Kretschmar’s leading out for prayer meeting. All are invited to attend.
There is a new family moving to our area that will need some help unloading their truck. They will have the truck at their home near Kingsport on Friday Oct. the 5th and ready to start the unloading by 8am. They are looking for 2-3 people to help them for 3-4 hours for $50 (lunch included). If you are interested please call John Hawkins at 423.316.1544.
Please call Ruth K at 813-395-1804 if you are interested in taking care of elderly lady. Must be female and able to do activities of daily living.
With regards to Religious Liberty news the signs of the times news, here are a couple of links related to Sunday Laws in Italy and protesters in TX demanding a mega-church leave over its stance on LGBT issues.