Dear Church Family,

The prophet saw “four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.” Another angel, ascending from the east, cried to them, saying, “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” This points out the work we now have to do, which is to cry to God for the angels to hold the four winds until missionaries shall be sent to all parts of the world, and shall have proclaimed the warning against disobeying the law of Jehovah.—The Review and Herald Extra, December 11, 1888. CLD 5.1

I asked my accompanying angel the meaning of what I heard, and what the four angels were about to do. He said to me that it was God that restrained the powers, and that He gave His angels charge over things on the earth; that the four angels had power from God to hold the four winds, and that they were about to let them go; but while their hands were loosening, and the four winds were about to blow, the merciful eye of Jesus gazed on the remnant that were not sealed, and He raised His hands to the Father and pleaded with Him that He had spilled His blood for them. Then another angel was commissioned to fly swiftly to the four angels and bid them hold, until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads.—Early Writings, 38. CLD 5.2

My dear brethren and sisters, let the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ be in your minds continually and let them crowd out worldly thoughts and cares. When you lie down and when you rise up, let them be your meditation. Live and act wholly in reference to the coming of the Son of man. The sealing time is very short, and will soon be over. Now is the time, while the four angels are holding the four winds, to make our calling and election sure.—Early Writings, 58. 

In the news:

1. Tonight Hope Awakens will continue with a look at the topic of Heaven.  I will be interviewed by Pastor Bradshaw briefly on tonight’s episode about our upcoming Hope Awakens Community group.  See the announcement further below.
2. Our services will proceed as such this Sabbath:
   • 9:15 a.m. – Prayer Line. Watch your email for the phone number and access code.
   • 9:45 a.m. – Sabbath School will be led by Mark Murray this Sabbath.
   • 10:45 a.m. – Church news and prayer time.
   • 11:00 a.m. – John Bradshaw will be sharing his testimony at 11 a.m. for this final presentation of Hope Awakens. We will resume our normal ZOOM schedule and worship program on Sabbath May 23.  There will be no services at the church.
3. The church board met this week and voted to continue our Sabbath school & worship services and other church-related meetings online for now.   Unless circumstances change, we will discuss this matter of when to re-open at our next board meeting on June 8.  For now, we will continue meeting on ZOOM and will provide a stream on Facebook.  A couple of you shared the following story with me which illustrates the need for real caution.
4. We laid Allen (Buck) Conner to rest this week. After being weakened by cancer, pneumonia proved too much for him and he passed away on Sunday. Please keep the family in your prayers.
5. Next Friday, Pastor Jared will lead out via ZOOM in a Hope Awakens Community group for those who attended Hope Awakens in our area. Please pray that those in our area who watched Hope Awakens will respond to the invite.   Our first meeting is Friday, May 22 at 7 p.m.
6. The Community Services Center plans to open up its clothing and other services on June 15 by just letting in a few people at a time but they plan to continue with the drive-through for food pick up as they have been doing since COVID-19 began.
7. The school will have their 8th-grade graduation this coming Wednesday and while the church and community aren’t invited due to COVID-19, they will still be able to march and have some of their family members attend along with faculty.   Senior graduation has been delayed until June  18.  Both will be live-streamed via the Greeneville Adventist Academy Facebook page.
8. Due to graduation, prayer meeting will be delayed by one week and will resume May 27 at 7 p.m. with our study on Romans.
9. I had the privilege this morning of joining in the Pasay Central church vespers program (they are 12 hours ahead of us).   This was the church we worked with a couple of years ago when we did a mission program with It Is Written.   I will be sharing their worship talk on the 29th of May. Pastor Rick Greve shared today.  The Philippine people are such a sweet people group.

Blessings as you prepare for the coming Sabbath!

In His Service,

Pastor Jeremy