The Value of the Kingdom of God

MESSAGE.

“The kingdom of God begins at the heart. Look not here or there for manifestations of earthly power to mark its coming. The works of Christ not only declared Him to be the Messiah, but showed in what manner His kingdom was to be established…. It comes through the gentleness of the inspiration of His word, through the inward working of His Spirit, the fellowship of the soul with Him who is its life. The greatest manifestation of its power is seen in human nature brought to the perfection of the character of Christ…. ” OFC, 225

MINISTRY.

A heartfelt Thank You to all who came to help at the Samaritan Center last Sabbath night! I couldn’t join the team, but I heard from Pastor Matthew that a good number of our church volunteers participated in this important community project. Please, make plans in advance for the first Sabbath of November.  If you have questions about this or other community projects contact Lucas Patterson.

Last week I was happy to see that some of our church members who didn’t feel safe attending the morning services since March, joined our first-ever Sabbath Evening Worship Service where face coverings were a requirement for all who wanted to attend.  Our church will continue with the Sabbath Evening service weekly through the month of October. 

“Our theme this year at OAKS is “HOPE,” focusing on the hope that we can have not only through all of life’s circumstances and challenges, but ultimately the hope we have in Jesus’ second coming. The text that guided the selection of our theme is Jeremiah 29:11-14. This week was our Fall Week of Prayer and we were blessed to have former Ooltewah SDA Associate Pastor, Aubrey Toup as our speaker. Our students were blessed by her daily stories and practical tips for how they, too, can have hope. Thank you, Pastor Aubrey, for making the time to connect with us throughout this week. You were a blessing!” – Aaron Hall

This Sabbath evening all Sabbath school leaders and teachers are invited to attend the Sabbath School council at 6 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Connie Reynolds, the SS Superintendent will chair the meeting. She has a lot to share. I hope you’ll make an effort to attend. Here is a link to the ZOOM option of the meeting: Topic: Sabbath School Council Meeting Time: Oct 10, 2020 06:00 PM  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84436928528?pwd=MVdVYkU0U2NCMVFNNzFkNmRiS2xxUT09 Meeting ID: 844 3692 8528 Passcode: 7fMLDL

In my previous blog I promised to post a few photos from Julianne Palmer’s baptism. Please see below:

PRAYERS. 

I was very grateful to the administration of Morning Point for allowing me to visit Barbara Kraner. She is feeling weak but her spirit is strong. She loves her church and she is very grateful for your prayers.

Prayers for Julia Easter (health related concerns).

Sharon Harrell is going through some serious tests and needs our prayers. 

This week was a tough one for Galena and me. We lost our close friend and partner in ministry who died of COVID19 in Russia. Here is a link to the tribute posted by Elder Ted Wilson on his Facebook page. The second link is from the Adventist World site . For the last thirty years we worked together sharing the Gospel over radio, TV, local and satellite evangelistic meetings in hundreds of cities across Eastern Europe. Pastor Daniel Reband was 67. Two weeks ago he was asked to lead at the communion service in a local church. It was there that he was infected with COVID19. Five days later his lungs were fully destroyed by the virus. I was on the phone with him last Sabbath afternoon. He could barely talk, but still sounded positive. He died the next day. Please, pray for his dear wife Luda, his children and precious grand-children. 

As I am grieving Daniel’s death I feel the burden to ask all of you to be extremely cautious with this virus. I don’t want to lose another person I love. Please, know that I love you; you are my special friends. Let’s do all we can to keep one another safe. 

RESOURCES.