Dying to Live

MESSAGE.

A grain of wheat that is harvested, remains hard and has no growth until buried in the soil. Our natural heart is hard and selfish. When we surrender our mind into Christ’s hands, soft blades of kindness and care begin to sprout. Anger and evil die; gentleness and love break through the concrete layer of egotism. I invite you to pray for our nation. It will not overcome its hardness until we all individually die to selfishness “so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:11)

MINISTRY.

On Sunday, May 24, a group of our church volunteers went out to Art and Heidi Lopez’ property to help with cleaning after the tornado damage. Thank you, Kevin and Rhonda Hicks, Aaron Brewer, David Reynolds, Kent and Seth Robertson, Laura Herren. I know I am missing one more name… Very sorry 😦 God bless you for your love in action ministry!

SACK LUNCHES FOR HOMELESS. Our church is volunteering on the first and third Mondays of May, June and July to purchase supplies and pack sack lunches for the homeless. We’ll assemble 150 lunches during each shift in our church social hall and deliver them to staff at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen who then pass the lunches out at various homeless encampments around town. This project is directly connected to COVID-19; the homeless would normally come to the Chattanooga Community Kitchen for meals in its dining hall, but the dining hall is closed to encourage social distancing for this highly vulnerable population. Our next packing session is Monday, June 1, at 8 a.m. Volunteers are needed. To sign up, contact Lucas Patterson: 423-582-1678, lucaspatterson@southern.edu.

On Wednesday, May 27, Ken LuePhang’s family gathered at our church for a small memorial service. Elder Edwin Reynolds officiated the service. Below is a photo shared with me by Connie Reynolds and her comments. Please continue to remember Julia (Ken’s wife) and her children as they are grieving the loss. “Thank you for providing the food. It was the exact number of boxes for everyone there including Kent & Marlene.  Julia was so thankful it worked out to be indoors. There was a nice, cozy environment for the family. They stayed afterwards to visit and eat together. Bradley & Sylvia Hyde had cleaned, set up tables & chairs, and decorated a bit along with Steve. Julia expressed her gratitude several times for what the church had done. We came home after 7:00 feeling happy & blessed for having served a hurting family.“

OAKS graduation on Tuesday night was one I will never forget. Due to COVID19 restrictions the ceremony took place on the church lawn. The weather was just perfect. Graduates were beaming with happiness. Thank you, Shelly Turkenkopf, for the excellent school year in spite of the unprecedented challenges. Thank you, OAKS staff and teachers for navigating our students through the rough waters of the distance learning process. You are our heroes. Here are a few photos taken by the OAKS excellent Vice-Principle, Aaron Hall:

Our office staff and the worship team are actively preparing for the first official in-person worship Sabbath on June 6. We would appreciate it if you familiarize yourself with the GUIDELINES approved by the church board.

This Sabbath, May 30, you are invited to join a Sabbath morning service on the church lawn. The service will start at 9AM and will also be streamed online. If you choose to come, bring your lawn chair, your Bible and a bottle of water.  The weather forecast is gorgeous. This is not our formal “church reopening”, but it is planned as an informal step bringing us closer to our dear church and to one another. 

PRAYERS.

Bettie Chastain is at LifeCare of Ooltewah. She appreciates your prayers.

Prayers for Howard Kennedy Sr, please. 

Kim Patton is on hospice care. 

Eva Scott feels a bit stronger. The family is grateful for the prayers.

Carol Darmody is recovering after a bad fall. Needs our prayers. 

RESOURCES.

Sabbath School classes:

Men’s sabbath school class this Saturday: Please read the last chapter of James (5) and be ready to share your thoughts. Since we are having an outdoor service at church this sabbath, the plan is to have our class under a tree afterwards. Service will start at 9am and should end at 10am. If you have access to Wright Now Media, Francis Chan has a series on James that I have found to provide some helpful insight.  Sabbath school class will start at 10:15-30 a.m. and run for 60 minutes. The plan is to wrap up James this week and then in June (6/6/2020), we will start the 33 series. (Edymar Penagos) 

Health Ministry info shared by Diana Dodd: Stress is a killer. We’ve all heard that. But did you know studies have actually found stress to be even more damaging to your health than smoking?!  Considering the ongoing concerns regarding the coronavirus, this is a critical time to keep our bodies as strong and healthy as possible. With this in mind, we are all invited to a live meeting this Sabbath on biblical ways to reduce stress!  

---

Collegedale Online Camp meeting continues on Friday night and Sabbath night. The program starts at 6:45 PM. Follow this link to access the schedule and the live stream:

Collegedale Online Camp meeting

Let this be a peaceful and a blessed Sabbath day for all of you. Please accept my virtual hugs.

Peter