Jesus Knows How It Works

MESSAGE. The presence of Christ in our life brings bountiful blessings. Without Christ we get exhausted and frustrated. We lose heart, give up on our dreams, and eventually fail. Jesus has the most fascinated answers to our needs. Just ask Him and follow His instructions.  “During that sad night on the lake, when they were separated from Christ, the disciples were pressed hard by unbelief, and weary with fruitless toil. But His presence kindled their faith, and brought them joy and success. So it is with us; apart from Christ, our work is fruitless, and it is easy to distrust and murmur. But when He is near, and we labor under His direction, we rejoice in the evidence of His power. It is Satan’s work to discourage the soul; it is Christ’s work to inspire with faith and hope.” EGW, DA p. 249

This Sabbath I’ll continue my “Seven Miracles of Jesus” sermon series. Please read Luke 5:1-11.

MINISTRY. Every year we pick a project for our December Special offering. This year the church Board recommended to support our school’s major repairs. Every Sabbath through this month you’ll be seeing special red color envelopes which you could use for this offering. Below is a message from Shelly Turkenkopf, our school principle:

“Our students at OAKS benefit in many ways from the support of the members of our church. Donations have been made to provide playground equipment, hot lunch kitchen supplies, PE equipment, and even our new musical addition, our hand bells set. OAKS would not exist without the prayers, hard work, and dedication of our local church community.

 In response to our appeal on OAKS Sabbath about leaks in the school roof, a donation was made to temporarily patch the cracks in the roof. Praise the Lord, the work done was successful in stopping all the leaks. Even with this temporary fix, a new roof is still badly needed.  Currently we have more than $86,000 donated for our capital improvement drive named “Building Hope”. This fund will be used to replace the roof and other upgrades needed to make OAKS safe and leak free. Our students are actively fundraising with a Christmas season sales campaign, and we are looking to host a family fun-run in the spring. (Stay tuned for more details on that fun event).

Because $86,000 is only a little more than half of what is needed for the roof, the church board recently chose the “Building Hope” campaign to be the focus of our church’s end-of-year giving.  Special offerings may be made using the provided red envelop printed with the Building Hope logo. The staff and students at OAKS believe that God will bless our efforts to raise the funding needed for such a large project. Thank you for your commitment to pray for OAKS, and for your willingness to support the replacement of the roof on the school.”

PRAYERS.

Bobby Boles – health concerns. (Bobby is currently at Ooltewah LifeCare Center)

Shirley Schlender’s mother, Mrs. Brown, passed away today. The church is extending sincere condolences to the whole family.

Eileen Lezeau is still at the hospital after a major surgery. She is very grateful for your prayers and cards.

Herb Weise fell and fractured his pelvis. He is at Memorial hospital.

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all” 1 Chron. 29:11.