Dear Church Family,

“For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing” Deuteronomy 2:7. 

When Alexander the Great was leading his victorious armies down through Asia Minor, the great leader came at last to the foothills of the mighty Himalayas, beyond which lay the Khyber Pass and India. As far as Alexander was concerned, he was standing at the end of the world. You see, up until that time, no maps had been made of the vast territory before him. As far as he knew, he was marching his soldiers off the map of the world! 

Often when ancient mapmakers reached the edge of what had been charted, they drew a line and depicted dragons and monsters beyond. You can understand why this practice didn’t exactly encourage exploration. One Roman commander in the first century had led his troops beyond the line on the map into “dragon territory.” He sent a courier back to Rome with a straightforward message: “We have just marched off the map. Please send new orders.” 

In the same way, when Columbus first sailed west in search of a shortcut to the Indies, he knew he would be essentially sailing off the map into a region that mapmakers marked with sea monsters. Moreover, because of the unknown distance ahead, he loaded his ships with as many provisions as they could carry and set sail by faith across the trackless sea, believing God was urging him forward. 

When we consider conditions in the world today, with the unprecedented change in every arena of life, it would seem we have reached a point in history where we are drifting off the map! But the good news is that nothing that happens takes God by surprise. All these things have been charted before in Bible prophecy. When Daniel was asked to interpret a strange dream of an ancient Babylonian king, he said, “But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days” (Daniel 2:28). 

Nothing is hidden from God’s eyes, not even the ends of the earth. The past, present, and future are all before the Lord.

 

 

In the news:

1. This Sabbath we will have a special guest speaker, Miller Mendes from Adventist World Radio. Brother Mendes will feature rich stories of how God is working around the world through radio. Come and be apart this wonderful event! 

2. There will be no AYA this Sabbath evening. But please mark your calendars for July 16 at 7:30 P.M. for an inspiring mission presentation from an Adventist Frontier Mission couple serving in Southeast Asia. Share in the challenges and triumphs the Gospel outreach is encountering in this closed country. 

3. Mid-Week Bible Study Prayer Meeting was cancelled due to technical difficulties with the Zoom account being locked. Next week we will go over the introduction and Chapter 1 of the book of Mark. The study will still be via ZOOM and will meet next Wednesday at 7 P.M.

4. Pastor Jeremy is on vacation from the 3rd through the 19th. His family is biking C&O Canal Trail / Great Allegheny Passage which begins in Pittsburgh & ends in Washington D.C. Let’s keep them in our prayers for a blessed trip and a safe journey home. 

5. JASPER CANYON VBS – Save the date for July 18-22, 6:00-8:00 p.m. We are excited to invite you to our Jasper Canyon VBS program. Join us as we explore important treasures Jesus has given each child and discover how uniquely special, they really are! Be watching for our registration forms in the church foyer next week. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. on July 18 or you can pre-register after worship this Sabbath. If you have any questions, please contact Emie Lopez (909) 571-1560.

6. Remember our church camp out is July 29-31. Make reservations now if you haven’t done so already.  

Blessings as you prepare for the coming Sabbath! 

In His Service,

Pastor Nate