Dear Church Family,
Satan seeks to bring us into temptation, that the evil of our characters may be revealed before men and angels, that he may claim us as his own. In the symbolic prophecy of Zechariah, Satan is seen standing at the right hand of the Angel of the Lord, accusing Joshua, the high priest, who is clothed in filthy garments, and resisting the work that the Angel desires to do for him. This represents the attitude of Satan toward every soul whom Christ is seeking to draw unto Himself. The enemy leads us into sin, and then he accuses us before the heavenly universe as unworthy of the love of God. But “the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” And unto Joshua He said, “Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.” Zechariah 3:1–4 . . .
It is not safe for us to linger to contemplate the advantages to be reaped through yielding to Satan’s suggestions. Sin means dishonor and disaster to every soul that indulges in it; but it is blinding and deceiving in its nature, and it will entice us with flattering presentations. If we venture on Satan’s ground we have no assurance of protection from his power. So far as in us lies, we should close every avenue by which the tempter may find access to us.
White, E. G. (1896). Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing (p. 116-118). Pacific Press Publishing Association.
In the news:
- Tonight we begin our retreat at the Oaks at 7 P.M. with Melody Mason presenting. Her message tonight is entitled, “Our Greatest Need.”
2. Sabbath School will begin at 10 A.M. at the Oaks with the children’s divisions location listed in the Oaks Bulletin. Church will begin at 11:30 and Melody will be sharing a message entitled, “Growing Faith for the Final Conflict: My Story / Your Story!”
3. Remember that the potluck will be on the front porch at the Oaks. Please bring a dish remembering that the facility doesn’t have the means of keeping your dish cool or warm. So prepare accordingly.
4. Our afternoon meeting will be at 3 P.M. with Melody presenting. Her message will be “Living, Loving, & Dying for the Word?”
5. Supper will be at 5 P.M. and will be provided by the church. Carolyn needs volunteers to help her with putting the food out and with cleaning up after the meal.
6. We will have vespers at 7 P.M. Sabbath evening with Melody sharing her final message, “Growing as a Family in Prayer!”
7. The ABC Bookmobile will be here this Sunday, April 17 in the church parking lot from 10-11 A.M.
8. Remember our mission team as they begin to wrap up their efforts this weekend. They have worked hard this week with construction, vision clinic, VBS, and evangelistic meetings. They will give a report on Friday, April 29.
9. Remember that opening night for the Serpentine Prophecy series is this coming Thursday at 7 P.M. Note that this series will not be streamed!! We are depending on our church family to invite their friends and neighbors as we are doing minimal public advertising. This series on the occult & the danger of the deception this creates is very relevant and needed right now. So please take an invite card which we will have available at the Oaks for you to pick up and invite or share the image below along with the website, www.serpentineprophecy.com with your friends.
9. We will have our mid-week Bible study this Wednesday at 7 P.M. via ZOOM. We will be studying Zechariah chapter 4.
10. Brainerd Chapel Seventh-day Adventist Church recently opened back up and is needing pianists. If you are interested in helping out some, please contact Pastor Aaron Mills Jr. at 256-541-8942
11. We are thankful to report that the shipping container that was shipped on Dec 15, finally reached Jonathan Dietrich in Chad on Tuesday and nothing was damaged. Thank you for all the prayers.
12. As you likely saw in last Sunday’s email from Pastor Jared, he has elected to take a job with the prison system as a chaplain. This new ministry direction means he will not serve in Rogersville but instead will move to West Virginia. As we have witnessed, Pastor Jared has a real gift in interpersonal ministry and we affirm him in this new ministry field he is entering. He will be a part of the NAD chaplaincy program but will be hired by the federal government. We will miss him and are grateful for his time with us. He will actually remain employed by Georgia-Cumberland until May 15 and will be on staff here at the church during that time. However, he is on vacation this weekend and will be on vacation the second half of next week as well.
13. Pastor Nate Nelson was interviewed by our church board this past Monday evening and it was voted to affirm his coming to Greeneville as our new Associate Pastor. He will begin ministry here on Monday, June 6. He comes to us from Southern Adventist University with a degree in theology. He served in the army for 8 years and was baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist back in 2017. In time he will share his story with us. He has a wife named Jennifer and a 4-year-old daughter named, Evelyn. Jennifer has a background in business but is a full-time mom at the moment.
- LOOKING AHEAD:
- Sunday, May 1 – GCC Constituency Session
- Sunday, May 1 – Men’s Ministry Breakfast / Bible Study
- Sabbath, May 7 – International Sabbath
- Sabbath, May 14 – Youth Sabbath (Jenna Felan preaching)
- Wednesday, May 18 -8th Grade Graduation
- Thursday, May 19 – Senior Graduation
- Sabbath, May 21 – Baccalaureate
- Sunday, May 22 – Live Stream (50-69 yr olds)
- May 29-June 4 – Carolina Camp Meeting
- June 1-June 4 – Georgia-Cumberland Camp Meeting
- Sunday, June 5 – Men’s Ministry Breakfast / Bible Study
- Sabbath, June 11 – Pastor Nate’s first Sabbath
- Sunday, June 12 – Live Stream (70+ yr olds)
- Tuesday, June 14 – Dinner with the Doctor
- Sunday, June 26 – GAA Yard Sale
- Sunday, July 3 – Men’s Ministry Breakfast / Bible Study
- July 18-22 – VBS
- July 29-31 – Church Camp Out
- Sabbath, August 6 – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
In His Service,
Pastor Jeremy
The Greeneville Grapevine 