On what do we place the highest value? Do friends, family, possessions, or anything else take the place of God’s kingdom in our hearts? Christ is challenging us to show faith and to invest our whole life into just one stock, the Heavenly Kingdom stock. ““Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:45-46. This stock will never fail.
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Open Gym and Ice-cream social. Staci Rivera, the Adventurer’s club leader planned a great event for the children a couple of weeks ago. It was so good to see many families having a great time together.
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Women’s Sabbath school event. Ladies of our church regularly get together not only on Sabbath mornings, but also on some week nights. This time they had an art class. I wish I had enough space in this blog post to share more photos.
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Children’s Pool Party.
Last Sunday the weather turned out to not be as bad as was forecasted. Lots of children had a ton of fun at the pool social. Thank you, everyone who helped plan this activity for our church children. This Sunday we’ll have another party for the younger children. Bring your kids if they are 0-to 10 years old. 🙂 Contact Earl Sigsworth, Connie Reynolds, your SS teacher or one of the pastors if you have questions about joining this event.
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Chattanooga Community Kitchen.
On Sabbath morning, as we were preparing to start the communion service, a team of our church members were preparing breakfast and providing food for almost 150 dear souls downtown Chattanooga. Richard shared with me many photos. I am posting just a few here. Thank you, Richard and every member of your team for showing the caring spirit of our church in practical terms.
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Church Vespers, Social and a Business meeting.
Last Sabbath night members of our church came together for a business meeting. We had a good time signing hymns, sharing testimonies and praying about the future ministry of our church. After a brief update on the Cornerstone Fundraising the church voted on two important items:
A. To celebrate the already reached quarterly amount by setting the September 1st goal to $1,750,000.
B. To be better prepared for the potential increase of construction cost in a hyperinflation environment by setting the overall fundraising goal to 3.3 mil. (The fundraising goal represents 50% of the expected building cost.)
Thank you for your faithful and generous support of the church building project. We need to be prepared to meet the growing needs of our community.
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Summer Potluck tomorrow.
Everyone is invited to stay for the Summer Potluck this Sabbath after the second service. This time it will be just salad, sandwiches, fruit and cookies. This is always a great time to connect with church members and to make new friends. Don’t feel shy. Join your church family for a Sabbath lunch.
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See you.
Pastor Peter
Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church 