MESSAGE.
Faith is the answer to fear. Moses was paralyzed by fear (Exodus 2:14), but it is by faith that he made the bold decision to walk away from a life of fear. His decision to leave the pharaoh’s palace did not make sense. He had power, prestige and security of material provisions. All that was right in from of his eyes, but he chose to “leave behind” Egypt (Her. 11:27) for the sake of the “invisible.” This was an act of faith. Blessings are not an outcome of our calculations and logical formulas, but of our boldness in “leaving behind” our Egypt.
MINISTRY.
Building Hope. School is out for summer break, and the Building Hope project is going full speed! Not a day is wasted. Workers are crawling all over the roof. Please pray for their safety. More funds came in in the last two weeks. We are still short about $20,000. Let us all get on board and contribute to this awesome project. Thank you, church!
Last Sunday our men came together early morning for breakfast and fellowship. Marty Miller of Blueprint for Men presented “Marriage Tune-Up for Men,” practical tips for keeping a marriage healthy and running strong. Here are a few photos from the event:
Community Services. Here is an appeal forwarded to me by Lucas Patterson from the Samaritan Center: “I know this is last minute but we are needing help this Saturday night on the dock bringing in donations. They will begin at 9:30. Those who come do not have to stay the whole time. If you could spread the word that would be great. Our normal people will be out of town and we are just trying to get anyone who would be willing to come. A quick makeshift group.” Bethany Hills, Volunteer Coordinator
Have you met our summer intern pastor? She is already actively engaged in the ministry of our church. I do not want any of you to be surprised if you see this young lady knock on the door of your home or if she gives you a friendly pastoral phone call. I asked Jaude to write a short paragraph about her ministry, and I am attaching her picture to this blog.
“My name is Jaudé Barboza (pronounced Jaw-day with a soft J). I am a senior in the Theology program at Southern Adventist University. My husband, Jaime, and I met there, where he is a junior in the Pastoral Care program. I am from Washington State (the southwestern part) and he is from Washington D.C., but of course Southern brought us together. We both have testimonies that we hope to share over the course of our time at Ooltewah SDA because they are too long to tell here, but I can say that God has led us miraculously thus far and we are excited to see where He will continue to lead us, especially as we help at Ooltewah SDA Church. I enjoy cooking, hiking, reading, hanging out with kids and animals, organizing, and laughing hard with friends and family. In doing the Lord’s work I want to show the hope that I have found in the gospel—how God is for us and not against us—in the midst of a world that is quickly fading and desperately needs Him.”
This is Georgia-Cumberland camp meeting week. Pastor Matthew is in the Juniors division team, and I’m in the Security ministry. A lot of people from our conference churches are there to be spiritually energized by the offered seminars, messages and simple christian fellowship. I was glad to see many of our church members at the nightly programs. The Conference offered me an eight minute slot at evening meetings to talk about the miracles of the evangelistic work in Eastern Europe. I feel humbled by this invitation, but excited to share the miracles of God’s work through the Light of Hope ministry.
This Sabbath we will have both worship services in our church at regular times. We are offering you the option of attending one of the services at your home church as well as participating in the camp meeting program. I hope you know that there will also be Sabbath afternoon seminars, a 4pm Concert, and a 7 pm worship service.
See you tomorrow,
Peter
Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church 