Dear Church Family,

Are we striving with all our God-given powers to reach the measure of the stature of men and women in Christ? Are we seeking for His fullness, ever reaching higher and higher, trying to attain to the perfection of His character? When God’s servants reach this point, they will be sealed in their foreheads. The recording angel will declare, “It is done.” They will be complete in Him whose they are by creation and by redemption.—Selected Messages 3:427 (1899).

In the news:

1. Darrel & Joyce Stills’ son’s memorial is today at 1:30 p.m at Kiser Rose Funeral home. All are welcome to attend.  I will be officiating for the service.  Please keep them in your prayers.
2. I know the live streaming has been hard to hear lately due to the inability to stream using our upstairs equipment. The good news is that we are told that it should work this Sabbath so we should be able to stream as we used to with similar quality audio as we used to have online.  Please check our youtube page to watch the service via live stream.  The link should be available via our church homepage as well.  Just in case this doesn’t work, here is a link to our Facebook page which you can check out if need be.
3. This Sabbath at the church, we will have Chuck Reese sharing the morning message. There will also be a service at Cades Cove for those participating in the church camp out. Elder Carl Ashlock will speak at the service at Cades Cove.
4. Sabbath School UPDATE: With regards to Sabbath school, please note that Cradle Roll will resume it’s class this weekend and Siepman and Mathews will not be teaching so their classes will gather in the sanctuary for lesson study.
5. There will be no AYA this Sabbath.
6. CADES COVE SCHEDULE: The church buildings at CADES COVE ARE CLOSED to please read below pertinent announcements pertaining to the campout.
   • FRIDAY NIGHT: We will all set up camp and if possible have a worship time together at the pavilion near the camp store if it is available at 8 P.M. We could not reserve in advance.  If you are planning to camp, please email or text me your name and your site number so we can keep you posted of any changes.  Note I don’t think we have cell coverage at the campground.
   • SABBATH MORNING: For those who would like to join us, some of us plan to bike the loop beginning at sunrise on Sabbath morning. We will gather at the entrance gate to the loop and depart at 6:45 a.m.  Please note that the loop is open to cars this year on Sabbath morning.  ☹
   • Everyone is on their own for meals though sometimes families gather together for mealtime.
   • Sabbath School will gather at 10 a.m. and we hope to meet at the pavilion next to the camp store. If this doesn’t work out, we will try and get the word out as to the new location.  I will seek to send out a phone cast for those coming for the day so you know where to meet.  Ken Mathews will be leading out for Sabbath School.
   • Church will be at 11 a.m. at the same location as Sabbath School and Elder Carl Ashlock will be sharing the message with us.
   • Sabbath afternoon is free time for hiking, biking, relaxing, and visiting. Enjoy!
   • Sabbath evening we will gather for worship at 8 p.m. We will announce the location at worship time on Sabbath morning.  Pastor Jared will lead out in the evening worship.
   • Sunday, depart after breakfast and an early morning bike ride if you are up to it.
7. The Explore the Future prophecy series for kids​ began Monday, ​July 27​. Go to the website, aplacetodosomething.com/explore​ to register so that you can download the worksheets and printables to make this a fun and interactive experience! You can watch archived presentations via the website. The series runs nightly through August 12.   We had over 600 partipate opening night and I haven’t heard numbers since then.  I heard an exciting story of a lawyer in NC who heard about it and shared how he wouldn’t go to a meeting but this he liked.  So hopefully he will continue the series even though it’s technically designed for kids. Help us get the word out.
   Explore the Future | Episode 1 – Daniel 1 & 3 from Rachel Nelson on Vimeo.
8. Monday, August 10, we will have a one agenda item church business meeting at 6:30 p.m., prior to church board. You may join in person at the church or via ZOOM.  The school expects that it’s worthy student needs may surpass our current budgeted commitment.  We will gather to review our current policy and commitment and either affirm or make adjustments as is deemed best by the church body.
9. We will continue our study in Romans this Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. via ZOOM with a look at the 2^nd half of Romans 6.

Blessings as you prepare for the coming Sabbath!

In His Service,

Pastor Jeremy