MESSAGE. Praying for the Showers of Blessings, “I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. … They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.” (Ezekiel 34:26-27 NKJV). We have had plenty of rain in the last couple of days. There is more coming over the weekend. God is blessing our land with the “showers that come down in their season”.
Today I invite you to pray for the showers of spiritual blessings. Our people of our nation need to feel “safe in their land”. The promise is given to us, but we still remain in the “hands of those who enslaved” us. News reports and photos of the shooting in Oregon should make us realize that we are becoming more and more enslaved by the powers of evil. As Christians we are giving up on our higher calling to be a light to this world. We should not be turning our eyes away from the photos of dying students. It is our sacred responsibility to make our communities realize that God is the only answer to the problem of evil. Governments or politicians will not lead us to safety. The “showers of blessing” are ready to pour out into this world, but only if we acknowledge that Yahweh is the Lord our God.
When you are tempted to think that the world is too big and we are too small to make a difference remember about Gideon and the 300 men, Daniel and his three friends, Jesus and a handful of followers. Our victory is not in numbers, but in full submission to God’s power. Let His transforming light shine though each one of us in the Ooltewah community.
ON A PERSONAL NOTE. I am taking four days of my vacation time. Galena and I will visit our daughter Stacey and her husband Javan. Stacey is turning 30. It will be a long drive to Florida for a very short visit, but it’s definitely worth it. This is my first day…this is what I do when I am on vacation ;-). Working on my weekly pastoral message. To make it different and not to overburden you with reading my long encyclical I’ll communicate in pictures.
HEALTH MINISTRY. The Health Ministries Team of the Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church and staff at Ooltewah Medical Services (OMS) hosted a free Stroke Awareness Health Fair on Sunday, Sept 27th, 2015 in the church fellowship hall. Local physician, Dr. Obadias Marquez, gave presentations in English and Spanish regarding the risk of having a stroke and measures for stroke prevention. Guests were able to go through a variety of health screening stations including blood pressure, blood glucose, and BMI calculation and receive physician and provider consults, healthy snacks, and more. We appreciate the Health Ministries Team and staff at OMS for their efforts to be a blessing to the Ooltewah and surrounding communities. (Written by Molly Recchia). To read more about the Health Fair click here.
OAKS. Not real fire. Just learning about safety.
PATHFINDER CLUB. Induction service. To read more about the previous weekend click here.
NEHEMIAH PROJECT. New pews!
PRAYER MEETING. There will be an Archeology Seminar on Wednesday, October 7 at 7:00 pm at the ICCM Center. The speaker is Dr. Michael Hasel from Southern Adventist University. Everyone is invited. However, if this is too far for you to drive, I’ll present a final session of the Revelation study right at our own church at the same time. We’ll also be praying about the upcoming It Is Written meetings and our personal needs.
SABBATH SERVICE. Tomorrow morning our own Youth Pastor Aubrey will preach her first sermon during both services. Let the Lord bless her and our congregation with a wonderful spiritual experience. I’ll be watching online from Florida.
YARD SALE. Remember? It is this Sunday! If it rains it will take place inside the Fellowship Hall.
LIGHT OF HOPE MINISTRY. Need your prayers. Read more here.
It still turned out to be long. Sorry.
Be blessed. See you in a few days.
Peter
Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church 