MESSAGE. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” Romans 1:16 “The everlasting Gospel, the power of God unto salvation, has been the point of controversy since the days of Eden. This is the same everlasting Gospel, which was covered up by the corruption of the antediluvians. The earth was destroyed, and the gospel promises were renewed to Noah and his sons, the bow in the clouds being the token of the everlasting covenant. In the time of Babylonian supremacy it was the avowed object of Satan to hide the everlasting Gospel beneath a flood of false worship; and thus through all time and all powers, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been trampled down, and man alone exalted. (SSP 253.1)
The power of the Everlasting Gospel is the central theme of my sermon tomorrow morning. Want to hear a report from Siberia and to see pictures of our mission to the far away part of the world? Be sure you are in church tomorrow.
The Everlasting Gospel leads people to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior not only in Siberia, but also in Ooltewah. Tomorrow we’ll celebrate four baptisms. Two baptisms at each one of the services. What an exciting Sabbath day to look forward to!
MISSION. Christ is sending us as His deciples to far away countries as well as to our own neighborhoods. April is a busy month for our church. This Sunday morning we’ll see lots of people from our community visiting our spring Yard Sale. What an excellent way to greet them and to invite them to our Bible Seminar. The seminar is starting on April 22 and will go for 8 nights till April 30. There are two other major community events taking place before the seminar. April 9 is Brass for Worship, an outdoor concert on Cambrige Square, and April 17 is the Gardening Seminar.
Your help is needed tomorrow at the Bridge at Ooltewah from 2 to 3 pm for a Sabbath afternoon spiritual visit/devotion with the Bridge residents. Please, call or email me if you could lead just once tomorrow.
CHURCH LIFE. What a pleasant surprise it was for Galina and me to see our church property beautifully dressed up with new plants, shrubs, and evergreens. Especially after a few weeks of cold weather and snow in Siberia our church looked like a colorful corner of Paradise. Heartfelt words of appreciation to everyone who worked on making this happen. Thank you for your love to God and to His church.
This week a special THANK YOU to Steve Bremner for his 24/7 work and attention to the operations of our church. Last night the fire sprinkler system failed in our church building. The security system started calling closer to 11 pm. Jet lag knocked me down and I did not even hear all these calls coming to my cell phone. Steve and Evan came to the office with no delay and addressed the problem, staying there till midnight. To fix the problem with the sprinklers we needed a new compressor for $700. Instead, Steve offered to take it to the welding shop at Southern and to fix it with his own hands 💪 God bless you, Steve and Evan for your hard work!
More news and updates tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to seeing y’all for the worship service and giving you a real Siberian bear hug after that 🐻
With Christian love,
Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church 