The essence of the Sabbath day can be found only in Jesus. If Jesus is not in the very heart of the Sabbath observance it turns into a legalistic ritual. This is the reason Christ calls Himself the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8). This truth is fully proclaimed in His invitation: “ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28). Sabbath observance serves as a passage into the presence of Christ where we find rest from the burdens of sin and guilt.
I invite you to study this important truth this Sabbath morning during our worship service times.
Last Monday we had a very good participation at our monthly church Board meeting. I was impressed with the spirit of unity among our church leaders. I have no doubts that the Holy Spirit will help us to see healing of the wounds of 2020 and equip us for even stronger service to the needs of our church family and our community. It was good to hear encouraging reports from several of our ministries’ leaders. The pandemic is still here, but they are finding creative ways to lead our church forward. Among many other agenda items church board members agreed to start exploring ways to turn our church into a ‘living body’ consisting of active and growing ‘cells’. You’ll be hearing more about it in the next few weeks as this concept is being fine-tuned by various ministries.
Here is a report from the last week’s Men’s breakfast:
As we discussed in our quick Bible study; we want to remain focused on building a more “David-esque” like faith, always relying on God’s strength rather than our own. We also want to be wary of the traps and snares that often follow close behind, when we serve “self” and forget to humble ourselves to God.
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, we learned that we are not here to run the race of life to get earthly prizes…For they all fade! And let’s be honest, most of us have enough faded stuff in the closet or garage as it is! Our prize is not found here, but rather it is a reservation in Heaven! where we can again Thank & Praise the Lord for all He has done for us. I pray that we are all training in a manner to be able to stand at the end of the race and be found to have won. Let’s also be found willing to help others train as well.
In that vein, I’d like to remind everyone that the small group classes will be starting in the not too distant future. If you are interested in signing up for either of the classes we are working towards (or know someone who may be), please do not hesitate to contact Edymar for more details. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind slotting you into one of the groups.
Finally, we heard from our brother and friend Marty Miller of the Blue Print For Men Ministry. Let me just say, something quick about what they do. Last fall I attended their “Ignite the Fire” men’s retreat, my first men’s retreat ever. It was, simply put. Awesome! I had a great experience and was able to bond with like minded Men in Nature. I made new friends, experienced new things (Warning Hammock camping is pretty cool!) and had some amazing personal time with GOD in His Creation. Please feel free to contact them for questions regarding any of their events, they come highly recommended. https://blueprintformen.org/
Lastly, I wanted to say thanks again to all of you who came out and made this first Breakfast a great success. As the Bible says “though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12. Imagine what we can do when we weave 30 men together around the braided center of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit! Matt Geraghty
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Next Friday, February 5, we’ll have a Memorial service for Dale Smith, who passed away in December. The service is scheduled for 4 PM in the Fellowship Hall. All are welcome to attend.
Our head deaconess, Dina Cole and her team did a great job cleaning the church kitchen. It looks fully transformed! Thank you, ladies. Your hard work is sincerely appreciated.
Please continue your prayers for Steven Bremner and his family. Steve had surgery two weeks ago. This coming Monday he’ll have another big surgery. Presently Steve is on a paid sick leave. I would be grateful if you keep this in mind and try not to contact Steve with any questions related to church business. He needs some quiet time during the next few weeks. Summer Bradford will be our interim church office secretary effective immediately. Please continue to use the regular church office phone number and church office email address as Summer will be the one answering the phone and email messages.
Pastor Matthew and Emmalee are grateful for your prayers for Malachi. Here is the latest update: “The growth they removed was Langerhans cell histiocytosis. We don’t know much more right now, other than that Malachi will likely have more MRIs in the future to monitor his condition. We have an appointment with the neurosurgeon next week, and I assume at some point we’ll be meeting with the oncologist too, but he hasn’t called us yet. “
If you are watching regularly please don’t forget to subscribe to this YouTube channel. This will help your pastors to see the level of engagement.
Our church website address is http://www.ooltewahchurch.org . Here you can find helpful links including the weekly church bulletin, online giving and Wednesday night online prayer meetings.
Happy Sabbath! I’ll see you tomorrow.
pastor Peter
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Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church 