MESSAGE. In the seventh commandment God reveals his plan for the family He intended from the creation of the world: “Do not commit adultery.” Unfaithfulness destroyes marriages, hurts the spouse, cripples children, but mostly it distorts the Gospel. As good as marriage is, it is not an end in itself. God created marriage to show us–and His angels–what Christ’s love for His Church looks like in the visible world. To betray your spouse, therefore, is to make Jesus look like a traitor to His Bride, which He is not! “And Jesus, having loved His own who were in the world, loved them to the end.” Not until He got tired of them or bored with them or until they hurt Him. He loved and loves His Church to the end of His love, which has no end!
Marriage based on God’s eternal principles should be the reflection of Christ’s selfless Agape love. Only this kind of a relationship can secure our true marital joy.
My Sabbath morning study of the seventh commandment coincided with the celebration of Mother’s Day. I’m grateful to God for giving me a wonderful Mom, who was a loving and faithful wife to my father. I am also thankful to God for my caring and faithful wife who is a true inspiration to our daughters. They are still learning from her how to build a happy Christian home based on Christ’s spirit of loving care.
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MINISTRY. Last Sabbath our service was beautified by Lenea’s baptism. It was sweet to see pastor David Bissell baptizing his granddaughter. This is actually not the first time pastor David has baptized his family members. What a great way to be a missionary in your own home and to pass on the torch of faith to a younger generation.
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Thank you, Connie Reynolds, for bringing your class for the praise service. It was truly inspiring.
Thank you, pastor Aubrey, for leading out in the Youth church which met in the Fellowship hall during our second service. We have a vibrant Youth group. They are searching for creative and innovative ways of serving the community and preaching the Second coming of Jesus. We are praying for you guys.
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Sunday morning our Nominating committee met again to work on its immense task. We have a wonderful group of people selected for this job. They go through the process prayerfully and responsibly. Once in a while they get passionate and excited, but for me this is a clear indication of their immense love to this church family. If you are contacted by one of the committee members asking you to be a part of one of our church ministries please don’t say no 😁. This church needs you.
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On Monday we celebrated Ed and Heidy’s wedding. It was a beautiful day for a perfect ceremony. Congratulations Ed and Heidy. I’m not sure they’ll see this message as they are far away on their honeymoon ❤️ trip.
The day before his wedding Ed celebrated his graduation from SAU. Good job, Ed. Great start for a big future ahead of you.
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That same Sunday our family celebrated graduation of our “little” Dasha Victoria. She happened to be the 125th on the list of graduates and received 125 one dollar bills in honor of the 125th SAU anniversary 😄🌟 She definitely looked confused and at the same time excited when the ceremony was paused and this award was granted. Imagine our joy. She’s the last one out of four to graduate from Southern. No more tuition money 😃 no wonder we finally started building a house.
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Ooltewah prayer warriors are calling out for a prayer Vigil tonight, May 12, for Jerilyn Faulkner. Jerilyn was diagnosed with cancer in January. She has steadily grown weaker and has recently been hospitalized. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with her medical expenses: https://www.gofundme.com/jerilyns-medical-expense-fund. A food train is also helping by providing meals for the family. Our sanctuary will open at 7pm for intercessory prayer. Please keep Jerilyn and her family in your prayers.
Tomorrow afternoon, after the second service, I invite the church to join a baptismal service at the lake. The service will take place at 1:30 at Harrison Bay. Ben Thompson and Nathan Schwark (re-baptism) will celebrate their commitment to Jesus.
Next Sunday the Men’s Ministry will work on a wheelchair ramp for the Price family. Here is a message from Edymar: “Please mark your calendars, 5/21 @ 7am. We will be at the Price’s home ready to knock out this ramp. Please pray that by this act of love, Dwayne Price will be given hope in life. And with that revived hope, he will desire to seek and grow a relationship with our savior and friend, Jesus Christ. Lets remember, this is not about us. This is all for the glory of our God and for the eternal salvation of Mr. Price and his family.”
The Cereal Barrel needs more cereal 😊. Without your consistent support the barrel will get empty soon. Not everyone can travel overseas to help build a church or feed the hungry. There is a way to do it right here in our own community.
John Garvin is our next missionary. He is on a mission trip to Argentina. See his brief update below:
“Hi Pastor Peter, I am excited to inform you that I am currently on my way to Argentina with a mission trip through SAU! I am currently in the Miami airport waiting to go through security, they open at 5am. … Thank you for reading, and I will be out of service until May 26. I may have WiFi. Tomorrow we will be heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and from there to Iguazu, Argentina to where we will take a 3 hour bus ride to our location. We will be having church with the locals there and also helping build their next classroom building at their missionary school that they are starting. If you could please keep our group in your prayers, I will be preaching with a translator this coming Sabbath so if I could have some extra prayers sent my way a little bit this week that would be greatly appreciated.”
PRAYERS. Jerilyn Faulkner needs our intersessory prayers. Her Mom Treva has been here helping Jerilyn for the last several weeks. Her Dad, Ed Sharpe, is flying today from Canada to support his daughter and her son Joshua.
RESOURCES. Church bulletin and inserts are available on the church website http://www.ooltewahchurch.org
Online giving is also available on our site under the “online giving” button.
See you tomorrow,
Peter
Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church 