Jesus promised to come again. His words are thrustful and trustworthy. The day will come when we’ll see our Savior come back. However, God desires to live with us today. He wants to walk with us daily the same way as He walked with Enoch. The “coming of the Lord” can actually be our daily experience. Let Him in. Talk to Him today. Accept His Spirit now. Reflect His glory in your relationships and your attitude now, not only in the future when you hear the “trumpet sound.” If we live with God in our heart today, we’ll have no problem meeting Him at His second coming. “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20
_______
This morning I received a picture from our school principle, Shelly Caswel, with a simple, but powerful caption: “Full church.” This was a photo of OAKS weekly Chapel in our sanctuary. Praise God for the successful ministry of our church school.
We prayed for our teachers and staff last week. Let these prayers continue daily.
________
Our Women’s Sabbath school class continues its vibrant ministry and fellowship. Jen Dempsey told me that last Sabbath they had 18 ladies in their class. This week they had their night out at Cracker Barrel. How fun!
_______
Our church is getting ready for the Feed My Starving Children program which was postponed because of the Pandemic in 2020. Here is an update from Lucas Patterson:
On October 1, our church will be involved in a special project with the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children. We are part of three-church team in the region, working alongside Ooltewah United Methodist Church and ChristWay Church, packing emergency rations to be sent all over the world to schools, orphanages, and other partner locations. Will you consider helping? Our church is responsible for providing 150 volunteers at the event. The jobs are really simple (watch this video to see), and it’s a fun activity for people of all ages. Invite your neighbor or co-worker to join you. Together, we’ll make a huge impact!
We’ve already raised the necessary funds for this project, and Feed My Starving Children brings the food … so all we need now is your participation. We will be packing the food just steps from our church campus at the neighboring Ooltewah United Methodist Church, and there are three sessions that day to accommodate your Sabbath schedule: 9-11 a.m., 12:30-2:30 p.m., and 3:30-5:30 p.m. OSDA has 50 volunteer spots reserved in each session, so pick whichever time works best for you and sign up online using those links.
If you would rather sign up in person, we will have a table in the church lobby for both services this week. Questions? Please reach out to Lucas Patterson, our project coordinator: (423) 582-1678 or lucaspatterson@southern.edu.
_______
Please continue to pray for our updated goal of raising an additional $65,000 by September 1. If we all contribute we’ll certainly reach this amount. God bless you for your faithfulness.
________
This Sabbath afternoon you are invited to join a seminar on mental health presented by David Sherwood. The seminar starts at 4 P.M.
_______
This week I’d like to say a special THANK YOU to the leaders of the Cradle Roll class. Their program is spiritual, engaging and fun. Every day through out the week I hear my 3 year old granddaughter singing the songs from the SS class. What a blessing. You are making a lasting impact on these precious little lives.
_________
Hugs,
pastor Peter
Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church 