Equipped by the Spirit

Greetings, my friends.

The current events in our nation and around the globe teach us to trust our Creator even more. He is the only One who can resolve political battles and bring healing into this world plagued with a pandemic. Satan sows seeds of hatred and dissension but the Spirit of God brings peace and unity.  Allow the Spirit to control your mind and your heart. Look into the future with confidence. This is God’s world and He will not leave us as orphans. (John 14:18)

As His church we have a mission to share the Good News of the coming King. To fulfill this mission we need to be equipped by the Holy Spirit. We’ll learn what this equipping is all about on Sabbath morning. If you cannot attend church in person you can still worship with your church in virtual reality. The Spirit of God keeps us together.

Together – this should be the most frequently used word of this year. Every member of our church needs to feel that she or he is prayed over, appreciated and needed for the ministry. Together we’ll be strong in the battles with illnesses and in social and political struggles. Please, be intentional in reaching out to a small circle of church members who need to feel the warmth of our Christian community. Use your phones, text messages, email or post cards. Let me know if you need addresses of those who are lonely. If you are willing to prepare a dish and deliver it to the front door of a church family ask one of our elders and they will give you the name and the address.

At the last church board meeting we talked about a new vision for our church building project. The pandemic of 2020 made us all aware of the fragility of this world. Does it mean that we need to stop all projects and shelter in place? Certainly not. God is in charge of the events in the history of this world and He will come at the appointed time. Meanwhile, we need to do everything possible for the growth of God’s church. The Board discussed an alternative plan where the existing Fellowship Hall will be remodeled and converted into a larger size Worship Hall allowing up to 350 seats. To meet the social needs of the church, as well as to create space for big church/school events (like graduations or concerts), it was proposed to build a new Fellowship Hall which will include Sabbath school classes, a new bigger kitchen and church offices. Currently the building committee is gathering information on this new approach to the building project. The expectation is that this approach will make the whole project considerably less costly and more manageable for our church. Please, keep this project in your prayers. You’ll be hearing more in the next few weeks. The new concept will be presented to the business meeting by early March as it was agreed at the last business meeting in February of 2020.

Men’s Ministry highlights: Men’s Breakfast 1/24/21: Attention Haney’s Hungry Hombres! Plan to join us for some great food and company next Sunday. In addition to some great food, we will have a short devotional on the importance of walking together with God.

If you would like to help prepare the food (we always have too much fun doing so), plan to meet in the fellowship hall at 7:30am. Otherwise, we will start grubbing at 8:30am sharp. Please note: we will follow all social distancing guidelines but masks will not be required.

Men’s Sabbath School class, every sabbath:  We are currently studying last day event prophecies  while learning how to live during them.

Prayers. Please continue to pray for our church members who are struggling with various health concerns. Special prayers are needed for a. Malachi, pastor Matthew’s and Emmalee’s son; b. for Steve Bremner’s recovery after surgery and his future treatments. c. David Love, who is dealing with serious health issues.

With prayers for all of you,

pastor Peter