MESSAGE.
“In the manifestation of God to His people, light had ever been a symbol of His presence. At the creative word in the beginning, light had shone out of darkness. Light had been enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, leading the vast armies of Israel. Light blazed with awful grandeur about the Lord on Mount Sinai. Light rested over the mercy seat in the tabernacle. Light filled the temple of Solomon at its dedication. Light shone on the hills of Bethlehem when the angels brought the message of redemption to the watching shepherds.
God is light; and in the words, “I am the light of the world,” Christ declared His oneness with God, and His relation to the whole human family. It was He who at the beginning had caused “the light to shine out of darkness.” 2 Cor. 4:6. He is the light of sun and moon and star. He was the spiritual light that in symbol and type and prophecy had shone upon Israel. But not to the Jewish nation alone was the light given. As the sunbeams penetrate to the remotest corners of the earth, so does the light of the Sun of Righteousness shine upon every soul.” (DA, 464)
As we decorate our homes with lights to celebrate Christmas let us remember that the only true Light is Jesus Himself. Let the rays of His shining glory illuminate our souls and bring us hope.
MINISTRY. We are called to serve. Jesus Himself is our great example. His whole life on this 
earth was a life of service. This week I’d like to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to our deacons and deaconesses. Their life is not always an easy one. Our active church often overwhelms them with many functions and events. They come early to prepare our church for worship services. They are the ones to leave last checking on the doors, lights, AC units, etc. Some of them are being asked to come to church on week days helping with various programs. I hope we make them feel appreciated. This last week our head deaconess, Nancy Smiley, was decorating our church with beautiful poinsettias. I’m glad Vlad was there to help Nancy. Mike Haughee is the first one I see every Sabbath morning as I come to church at 8 am. I still have not yet come once before Mike. I wonder if he stays there Friday night :-). Thank you, Nancy and Mike, for your commitment, hard work, and wonderful leadership. We appreciate you and your teams of dedicated deacons and deaconesses.
OAKS. At our last board meeting in November we agreed to dedicate our Special Christmas offerings 
to some urgent repairs needed on our school and church campus. The first phase of the repairs will be primarily concentrated on OAKS needs. The music room needs a complete make over. Several other surrounding rooms will be a part of this renovation. AC ducts need professional cleaning and insulation. The estimated cost of all this work is at $50,000. Josiah will be our inspiration in this project. As a young king he saw the need to restore the temple. God blessed his efforts and the work was done. I believe that the Lord will also bless our efforts and we’ll see our school’s needs taken care of. Donations to this (tax deductible) fund should be marked as JOSIAH’S RESTORATION Fund. God bless you as you generously support this project.
I pray that bringing our Special Christmas offerings we’ll also remember our Local Church Budget contributions.
YOUTH. Tomorrow our young people are invited to join the Youth Church service with Pastor Aubrey in the Fellowship Hall at 11:25. How wonderful it is that once a month they can have their own service meeting their needs.
SINGSPIRATION is at 4:30 pm in the Sanctuary followed by the Youth Vespers also in the Sanctuary. After the Youth Vespers everyone is invited to join a Farewell Party for Lewis Bertus and Vlad Zubkos at 6:00 pm in the Fellowship hall. When the party is over Pathfinders will start their lock-in. WOW! I know, that’s a lot for one day. (Board members, please join me tomorrow night for a 30 minute special meeting in the Earliteen room at 5:30 🙂 )
PRAYERS. Please, uplift in your prayers Celeste Crosby who is in Chattanooga hospice and Opal Vega who’ll need surgery early next week.
RESOURCES. The full church bulletin is available here.
Online tithe and offering envelope is also available on our church website.
Happy Sabbath, church!
Peter
Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church 
I would like to thank the church for the 200 lbs of canned goods and other foods they sent home in my trunk (except for the carrying of it into the garage. One box had to be broken up to carry). Most of it was given to those in the community through Judy Healey. you don’t know how far your blessings reach. Thank you for the other food the church members have brought. You have directly been Jesus to us. Thanks most of all for the prayers for Celeste and our family. Pray that God’s will be done, no matter how painful to our sinful hearts. He’s forming diamonds to reflect His marvelous love to the universe, not coal.
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