Dear Church Family,

Fear is on the hearts of many right now.  Inspiration speaks of a proper and improper fear.  Here are a couple of helpful statements as they pertain to fear and the faithful. 

The Lord would have his people trust in him and abide in his love, but that does not mean that we shall have no fear or misgivings. Some seem to think that if a man has a wholesome fear of the judgments of God, it is a proof that he is destitute of faith; but this is not so.

A proper fear of God, in believing his threatenings, works the peaceable fruits of righteousness, by causing the trembling soul to flee to Jesus. Many ought to have this spirit today, and turn to the Lord with humble contrition, for the Lord has not given so many terrible threatenings, pronounced so severe judgments in his word, simply to have them recorded, but he means what he says. One says, “Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.” Paul says, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”  RH Oct 21, 1890

And then she writes:

The shortness of time is urged as an incentive for us to seek righteousness and to make Christ our friend. This is not the great motive. It savors of selfishness. Is it necessary that the terrors of the day of God be held before us to compel us through fear to right action? This ought not to be. Jesus is attractive. He is full of love, mercy, and compassion. He proposes to be our friend, to walk with us through all the rough pathways of life.  RH Aug 2, 1881

Let the heart that is fearful run to Jesus.  Let us spend these hours of social distancing and sheltering in place in beholding more of Jesus and less of the news.  Let us behold His grace and beauty that it might provide hope and comfort and security amidst the chaos and fear.

In the news:

1. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, all services continue to be provided online only. See below for more details or visit the church website where you can access all the links and materials.
2. Pastor Jared has a Family worship talk prepared for your family for this Sabbath.  You can find that devotional by clicking here.
3. PRAYER SESSION: This Sabbath morning, there will be a prayer session via a telephone conference at 9:30 a.m. for the church family. I will lead out in this time of prayer.  Please note that you should call in a minute or two prior to 9:30 a.m. and identify yourself when welcomed.  However, if you join at 9:30 a.m. or later, please listen in to see what is being discussed and join in as prompted.  Lastly, one item that makes this run smoothly is to mute your phone until you are ready to speak and then resume mute after speaking.
4. SABBATH SCHOOL will begin at 10 a.m. with a look at Daniel chapter 12. Ken Mathews will lead in this study and discussion via ZOOM.   Online the church website, you will find a whole list of resources for your family that are accessible online.  There are also some personal messages from some of the Sabbath School leaders for their students.  These can be found on our church website later this evening or in the morning.
5. THE WORSHIP SERVICE will begin this Sabbath at 11 a.m. following the Sabbath School program.  Pastor Jared will be sharing the morning message with a look at Romans 1:18-20 and Les & Ann Andrus will be sharing the music.  Glenda Dale also has a special story for the children.
6. MID-WEEK STUDY: Our Bible study series began on Romans this with week via ZOOM. We had a nice group gather for this past Wednesday for our first study.  We left off at verse 7 of chapter 1 so we will pick up from there beginning next Wednesday at 7 p.m. via ZOOM.
7. I wanted to share what looks like a useful tool for families trying to distribute equitably the chores in the home.  It’s called Chorebuster and this free online application allows you to list your chores and then assign chores or have it divide up the chores for you based on the level of difficulty that you assign them.   This way the computer can determine who does what on any particular day and yet it keeps things fair for everyone by rotating assignments if you ask it to.  It’s pretty sophisticated yet simple to use. We had a family discussion about it the other night and are looking to give it a try.
8. NEWSTART has a lot of good material coming out daily on how to build your immune system. I highly encourage you to keep checking their site daily for ways to build your immunity during this Pandemic.  Here are some of the recent videos that have come out.
9. Pastor Don Macintosh gave a helpful sermon last Sabbath that included an interesting look at the Spanish influenza and how the Adventists responded and the way in which God blessed their efforts. You can watch it below or listen via audio verse.
10. You may also like to listen to this COVID-19 presentation with Dr. Roger Seheult on Audioverse.  Dr. Eric Nelson did a ZOOM presentation this week as well on the topic of protecting yourself from COVID-19 and his presentation can be accessed by clicking here.
11. This was an interesting news piece that stated that due to “grave necessity,” the Pope says that followers can, if unable to go to a priest, go directly to God with their sins. I am thankful I don’t need a pandemic to have permission to go to God but I am free to approach him anytime and anywhere.
12. The school will begin online learning this coming Monday and this will continue through April 24. Please keep the school in your prayers.

Blessings as you prepare for the coming Sabbath!

In His Service,

Pastor Jeremy