Dear Church Family,

Such crucial warning given here:

Those who exercise but little faith now, are in the greatest danger of falling under the power of satanic delusions and the decree to compel the conscience. And even if they endure the test they will be plunged into deeper distress and anguish in the time of trouble, because they have never made it a habit to trust in God. The lessons of faith which they have neglected they will be forced to learn under a terrible pressure of discouragement. . . .

We should now acquaint ourselves with God by proving His promises. Angels record every prayer that is earnest and sincere. We should rather dispense with selfish gratifications than neglect communion with God. The deepest poverty, the greatest self-denial, with His approval, is better than riches, honors, ease, and friendship without it. We must take time to pray. If we allow our minds to be absorbed by worldly interests, the Lord may give us time by removing from us our idols of gold, of houses, or of fertile lands.

The young would not be seduced into sin if they would refuse to enter any path save that upon which they could ask God’s blessing. . . .

The “time of trouble, such as never was,” is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. GC 622

These words call for much reflection.  How many times do we engage in an activity or discussion or meal or some form of entertainment or game without asking the question, can I ask Jesus to bless this? 

Notice she says that many will not make it in the last days or if they do it will be with much anguish because they never fully embraced by earnest prayer the promises of God.  May we take to heart the warning given.

In the news:

1. This Sabbath we will resume our series on John with a message entitled, “More than Enough.”  
2. The church had its business meeting this past Tuesday and voted to proceed with the board’s recommendation to construct a pavilion behind the church.  Even though this had already been discussed at our last business meeting, we wanted to affirm the decision again due to changes that had arisen.   It was voted to proceed with  $70,000 being allotted for the project. It was voted to seek to raise some more funds to get us to the $30,000 dollar figure that had been mentioned last year and the remaining balance will be taken from the church capital fund.  So we have nearly $5000 left to raise though additional funds are appreciated to help offset the amount taken from capital.    The location of the new pavilion will be at the bottom of the hill behind the church along the right side of the rear parking lot.  It will be offset from the parking lot by around 10 feet.  The structure will be 100 x 40 feet.   
3. This Sunday, there will be another afternoon of fellowship and games in the fellowship hall for folks of all ages.  Bring your favorite board game and join in the fun from 3-5 p.m.
4. There will be a Sabbath School council meeting via ZOOM this Monday at 7 p.m.  All leaders and superintendents are asked to attend.
5. I learned this week that we should begin receiving our leads sometime in early March and will continue to see them coming in over the course of two months.  We had around 4 or 5 individuals respond to the appeal Sabbath but we could still use more as once Bible studies begin, we will need many to help share in the work.  This is a great opportunity to engage in front line ministry and there is no cost to you.  So please send us an email if you are interested in following up on leads with the hopes of eventually entering into a Bible study with someone.  The more studies we establish over the next 6 months, the better as we prepare for Randy Skeete’s series this coming October/November. 
6. If you are feeling ill prepared to give Bible studies or follow up on interests, please know that we have a special FREE resource for you from Southern Adventist University’s SALT program.  Here is the brochure with all the details and here is the link to register. Note the registration deadline is March 5 so PLEASE register today.  Note that this training is via ZOOM and will go over how to share evangelistic messages, how to deal with objections, how to do visitation and more.  This is a wonderful training opportunity that will equip you to work with our leads more effectively.
7. Please keep Holly Carter, Irene Swatzell and Priscilla Clark in your prayers as they lost their brother Paul this week.  He had pancreatic cancer but they didn’t expect him to go so quickly. 
8. Our church Facebook page is seeing an increase in “likes’ now that we are regularly posting a video each week.  We have been featuring a series with Walt Cross that highlights the 8 laws of health.  We are also beginning a new “How to” series on gardening with Elder Carl Ashlock.  Our evangelism subcommittee discussed ramping up our online presence with outreach efforts and so this year we are working to post more and also revamp our church web page in the coming weeks.  Here is the first installment of the Gardening series.  Additional topics and Bible presentations will be coming soon. Please help us share these videos by subscribing and sharing the videos via social media.

In His Service,

Pastor Jeremy