Month: April 2017

MESSAGE: What a difference it makes when parents can delight in the caring love of their adult children, having their needs met and enjoying regular contact. With Christ’s wisdom to guide us, and in the strength of his Spirit living in us, we can honor our parents as God calls us to. My parents provided care to both of my grandmothers when they were not able to take care of their physical needs. My Dad’s mother had cancer when she was 86 years old. My parents took her into their home where she stayed over a year before passing. My grandmother from my Mom’s side spent her last ten years in my parents’ small apartment when she died at almost 94. It was not easy for my parents, but their loving care helped me understand what honoring your parents is all about.

I pray that we learn to appreciate our parents at any age. Even if they have already passed we can honor them with Christ-like living.

Come tomorrow to Ooltewah church and we’ll study together the fifth commandment.

MINISTRY. “GCC Camporee at Cohutta Springs was once again an amazing experience for our Pathfinders. The theme this year has been DO SOMETHING and the Ooltewah kids have done just that. The Camporee time was spent participating in fun activities, learning new honors, and worshiping together at the evening meetings. Our service project was to cut up old jeans to make shoes for people in Uganda who so badly need them. Everywhere we went we were challenged to get involved and stand up for Christ and Do Something for him and for others. Sabbath afternoon we supported a member of the Collegedale club who chose to publicly commit his life to Jesus and was baptized in the lake. God kept the rain and storms from messing up our program and the weather was beautiful right up until 7pm Saturday. The rains came down and the floods came up and we made the tough decision to bus the kids home early. The end may have been damp, but the camporee was a blessed time that we will not soon forget. Thanks be to God for another amazing Pathfinder year. Thank you to all the people who help to make this ministry happen.” – Cory Goss

Men’s Ministry is mobilizing our guys to grow in spirit and in service. Here is a brief report from Edymar:

What a wonderful weekend full of God and fellowship. My cup is full. For those who were able to make it to the breakfast, thank you! I also wanted to throw out a special thank you to all those who show up early to cook. I want to thank Steve Kulik, Fred Turner and Jackie Rose for doing a bang-up job this past Sunday! We had biscuits & gravy, scrambled eggs, loaded tots, fruit with cottage cheese, yogurt, muffins and juice. A feast indeed!

In addition to feeding our bodies, Fred Turner presented food for our souls. Thank you, Fred, for a powerful devotional about seeking the will of God. I was not able to hear the devotional myself, as I was at the nominating committee meeting at that time, but I heard wonderful things from the guys.
As Christians, there is nothing more important than seeking and following the will of God. My friends, there is only one way we can make sure we are doing this daily and that is to spend time with our Lord and friend. Please make every effort to spend time with God before you start your day. For most of my life, I had not done so for various reasons. Being too busy, too tired or whatever. After about 4-5 years of doing so regularly, I realize I can not afford to neglect that precious time. I am here to talk and share if any of you have any questions on how I started and what it has done in my life. It WILL change you.
“Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Ps 119:33-35.”
As a final note, Mrs. Dominique K. Brandt from Habitat for Humanity came to share more about their organization and a new project in our area. She is currently meeting with local churches and church leaders (SDA and others) to grow participation between our organization and theirs. After the presentation, I could tell the guys were excited because of all the questions that were asked. This evening, the church finance committee and the board will be discussing and voting on our church’s involvement as there is a monetary obligation that comes with time commitment. I believe this would be a wonderful way to become more involved in our local community.”

The Reformation Today Bible seminar continues tonight and Sabbath at 7 pm. I’m very encouraged by your participation and support.

The Health Rally with EW Dempsey is tomorrow afternoon from 2 to 5 pm in the Fellowship Hall. A meal will be provided for the participants.

Blessed Sabbath day to you,

Peter

MESSAGE. “To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Savior. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt 11:28.” Desire of Ages, 289

Tomorrow morning I will continue “The Ten Commandments” sermon series. I invite you to study the eternal significance of the Sabbath day.

MINISTRY. As I took a couple of vacation days last week and did not send my weekly message here is a brief recap of some important activities that took place on April 8 and 9. Those of you who attended the communion service on April 8 remember the heavenly music presented by Brass for Worship and the church choir. Not only did they bless us in the morning, but also offered an excellent concert in the afternoon. Thank you, Larry for your leadership in the area of music and worship.

The Prayer Ministry had a Sabbath lunch at the Chilson’s house. It was good to see a solid group of our church members come together once a quarter to fine tune their responsibilities on the “prayer chain.”  Their “prayer chain” is a continues flow of praises, intercessory prayers and loving updates on our church families’ needs and situations. I’m honored to be a part of this intercessory ministry. If you are interested in joining this group of faithful prayer warriors please contact Sondra Chilson directly.

April 9, Sunday morning, started at 8 am with a business breakfast for the church building committee. The committee reviewed proposals from four bidders to fix the leaking roof above the office and Sabbath school wing of our building. The best proposal will be presented to the Finance committee and church Board this Monday night. The estimate cost of repairs is at $25,000.

That same Sunday morning continued with the first session of the nominating committee. You have selected an excellent group of people, who from the very start showed unity of spirit, much prayer and a bold vision. The committee asked pastor David Bissell to serve as chairperson and Lupina Hayne as secretary. The second meeting of this committee is planned for this Sunday morning.

While the nominating committee was in session the church parking lot filled with fire trucks. This was the last training exercise of the TriState Volunteer Fire Department before burning the parsonage structure later that afternoon. Heartfelt thank you to Steve Bremner who planned a great appreciation lunch for the fire-fighters and their families. If I’m not mistaken, close to fifty people enjoyed delicious pizza and cold drinks. Thank you Carleen, Galena, and the Rose family for your help serving lunch.

At 4 pm the OAKBOW band presented a concert on Cambridge square in Ooltewah. It was good to see parents and grandparents of our OAKS students as well as people from the community. Thank you Wes Bradford for this wonderful event.

At 6 pm still on the same day the church Board members got together to celebrate the unity of spirit in the ministry of our church. Thank you, Connect Committee, for putting together a perfect night for our church leaders and their families.

Galena and I spent last Sabbath with our daughter Stacey and her husband Javan at the Daytona Beach church. It was a communion Sabbath in their church and as parents we were especially blessed seeing our daughter and our son-in-law serving bread and juice during the service along with the other deacons and deaconesses of that congregation. Stacey and Javan are expecting a baby in mid August. We had a wonderful time rubbing Stacey’s growing tummy 😇.

This Sunday morning the Men’s Ministry is having their famous Haney’s Hungry Hombres breakfast. I’m very thankful to Edymar for inviting Dominque Brandt, from Habitat for Humanity, to share information about an upcoming multi-church project to build a home for a local family. Men of our church, I hope you will plan on attending this important breakfast.

We are just four days away from THE REFORMATION TODAY Bible seminar which will start on April 26.  I hope you will make an effort to attend all four sessions, Wednesday through Sabbath, nightly at 7 pm. Invite your friends and family members.

Tomorrow is another day of baptisms in Mariupol, Ukraine. We are gaining more brothers and sisters in that war-torn part of the world. Thank you for your financial support of the Light of Hope Ministry.

The Health Rally with EW Dempsey is on Saturday, April 29th from 2-5 pm in the Fellowship Hall. A meal will be provided for the Seminar participants. Please call the church office at (423) 238-4619 and leave a message if you are interested so that we know how much food to prepare. Please contact our Health Ministry team if you want to know more about this seminar.

Ooltewah Pathfinder Club is participating in a major conference camporee this weekend. They are all at Cohutta Springs. Pastor Aubrey is there with the club. Please, keep them in your prayers.

I’m sincerely grateful to a loving team of our church ladies who regularly visit elderly members of our church. Last week they went to visit my mom. Thank you Mary Ellen, Pat Young, and Marlene Keaton for your caring hearts.

Adventurer Club. Steve Bremner has a never ending fountain of creativity. Last week he ordered a box of frozen butterflies for the Adventure Club program. On Wednesday night the kids opened dozens of envelopes with hibernating butterflies, “brought them back to life” and released them into the wild 😁🌟  What a fun exercise! I had fun “throwing” one of the butterflies myself. Even our cat Lara was fascinated watching this miracle. I was so relieved that the butterfly flew away before Lara pounced on it 😨.

PRAYERS. Prayers are requested for the Chilson’s. They have been on the road for the last several days and Bill had to be taken to the hospital. As of this morning Bill is feeling stronger and we hope to see them back in a couple of days.

Betty Chastain is asking the church to pray for her daughter Dawn. She fell and hit the back of her head. After a couple of days in the hospital the family is hoping to see her back home over the weekend.

Prayers are needed for Dorothy Champion who has been moved to the Collegedale Life Care Center this week.

Please also pray for Gene Fowler. He is having more problems with the foot that he had surgery on a few months ago. He will be seeing his doctor next week. They will appreciate our prayer.

Our April local church budget needs a boost in contributions. Let us all pray that this Sabbath we will make it look happier. This is our church with many wonderful ministries and where we come together and contribute faithfully and generously.

RESOURCES. Need to give your tithe and offerings online? Visit our church website and click on the ONLINE GIVING link. The church site address is www.ooltewahchurch.org

Click here for the church weekly bulletin with inserts and flyers.

See you tomorrow morning,

Peter

MESSAGE. The relationship based on love and respect that we have with our parents mirrors our relationship with God, our spiritual Father. Just as our parents give us rules and obligations to follow for our benefit, so does our spiritual Father. God’s instructions are found in His Ten Commandments. These commandments teach us the proper relationship we should have toward God and our fellow human beings.

In the Third Commandment we are commanded by God to honor and respect His name: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). Would you find it offensive if others were to treat your name disrespectfully? Names identify and instruct as to what something is. We all want good and honorable things associated with our names, because our names are reflections of who we are. All agree that a strong relationship is based upon respect. One of the most important ways to respect God is by reverencing His name. He tells us to not only obey Him, but also to hold His name as holy.

This Sabbath morning we’ll look deeper into the meaning of the Third Commandment. Call upon God and His name today, and experience the power of his saving name in your own life.

MINISTRY. Our Adventurers had tons of fun spending a night at Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga. Thank you Becky Denton and your awesome team for your love to our little ones. See some pictures below. Aren’t we thankful to God for all these children that we have in our church?

Men’s Ministry. Our church is a strong group of God fearing and people men. Here is an excerpt from Edymar’s email: 

“I wanted to thank everyone that came out last Sunday (3/26) to help with the yard sale. As most of you know by now, it was a success overall with the yard sale raising north of $2000.00 towards the cost of replacing the sanctuaries HVAC unit! Not to shabby! 😉  There were a lots of guys present helping with the yard sale needs and cooking up breakfast to sell. The pancakes were a hit and brought in $145.00! Again, thank you to all those who were able to come out and help. I am already looking forward to the end of the month. 

On another note; April is the month we will be building the handicap ramp for a local family. I will be confirming which Sunday works best for the them this week. I have 3-4 guys confirmed and able to help but could use 3 to 4 more. If you posses some carpentry skills and would like to help, please get with me ASAP. The time commitment should be around 6 to 8 hours one Sunday this month. More details to come soon.”

Tomorrow is a high Sabbath at our church. Both services will take place in the Fellowship Hall. Church choir and Band will lift our hearts to heaven. I encourage everyone not to miss the service as we’ll remember Christ’s death and His resurrection, partaking of the symbols of His body and His blood. What a wonderful way to remember the price Christ paid for our salvation. What an excellent opportunity to celebrate His matchless love. Please, come prepared. Forgive those who offended you. Extend your love to those who may feel discouraged. Communion Sabbath is always my favorite. 

The Sabbath morning concert will continue in the afternoon. Sanctuary choir and Brass for worship would like to re-sing and re-play many of the songs we learned this season.  The performance is planned for tomorrow evening at 4:00-5:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Come and bring a friend. 

Full church potluck is scheduled for April 22.

PLEASE, DONT FORGET ABOUT SUNDY OAKBOW CONCERT ON CAMBRIDGE SQUARE AT 4 pm. A totally unique opportunity to bless our community with beautiful music. Wes Bradford will direct a 45 member Ensemble from OAKS and Bowman Hills schools. Spread the word! Invite your friends and neighbors. 

CONNECT. Tomorrow morning we are welcoming new members into our church family. Carl and Candy Bartlett and Louis Phillips, we are honored to have you join our church.

This afternoon our own Lupina Haney is speaking at Women’s Ministry Leaders’ training seminar meeting at Cohutta Conference Center. I feel honored to have leaders like Lupina.

Steve Bremner and Paula Wolfe are active in the prison ministry and this evening they are attending a five hour training session. Thank you, Steve and Paula for your commitment to this outreach program.

PRAYERS. Thank you, church, for your prayers for one another. This afternoon I’m inviting you to say a special prayer for Steve Bremner’s sister Christine. A couple of day’s ago she was in a very serious car accident. Here is a message from Steve: “They did a nine and a half hour operation on her, yesterday, and is scheduled for more operations today. She has both legs broken, a broken hip, broken pelvis, four broken ribs, nose broken, in two places, and damage to her spleen. Please, pray for her.”

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See you tomorrow morning,

Peter