by Raj Attiken | 23 July 2021 | Two churches I am very familiar with, each with its own junior academy, decided to merge their schools following long and serious consultations. To avoid the appearance of one school shutting down and sending its students to the other (which might have been perceived as a “win-lose” […] Source: https://atoday.org/are-leaders-sometimes-the-problem/
Adventists in Germany and Belgium respond to devastating flood in the region; and other world news
This week on ANN. The Adventist Church in the Franco-Belgian Union is responding after devastating floods in Germany and Belgium. More than 160 people are dead, and hundreds more remain missing after catastrophic flooding hit large parts of Western Europe. At least 133 people died in Germany due to the heavy floods across its western states. In Belgium, 24 were confirmed dead. Authorities warn the number could go up. Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands have also been affected by the extreme rainfall but have not reported any fatalities. According to reports, Belgium received extreme rainfall from July 12 through 15, which left a train of devastation to populated areas. At least 31 people died in the floods and 163 are reported missing. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Belgium has deployed volunteers from the Adventist churches to assist survivors in the most affected areas. ADRA worked with local authorities and social services to assess needs. Adventists in the Columbia Union Conference, located in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, are mourning the death of the president of the Allegheny East Conference, Henry J. Fordham III, and his wife, Sharon. They passed away early in the morning on July 18 due to a fire in their home in Douglassville, Pennsylvania. Their son, Shawn Fordham, was with them at the time of the fire, sustained minor injuries, and was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for smoke inhalation. He is in stable condition and is expected to be released soon. The cause of the fire has not been determined and is still under investigation. The Allegheny East Conference is located within the Columbia Union territory. President of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church, Ted N.C. Wilson also released a statement of condolence on Facebook. [Our hearts go out to the grieving family members of the Allegheny East Conference. May the Holy Spirit comfort each of you, and may the Lord come soon!] In Canada, the Adventist Church, along with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), is stepping in to provide aid after a devastating wildfire destroyed the town of Lytton in British Columbia. Following the evacuation order, the Adventist Church in British Columbia, local church members, and leadership, in partnership with ADRA Canada, sprang into action. Lytton went on to set an all-time high of 121.3 on June 30. The excessive heat jeopardized the lives of those in the area; then the fire came. News of climate change becomes more dominant and widespread today, such as the flooding in Germany. ANN sat down with head science for the GeoScience Research Institute, Timothy Standish, to discuss how Seventh-day Adventist Christians should view differing opinions on climate change. Be in the know of the current events in the Adventist community, visit News | Adventist News Network Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3VwaVV8GCg
Who are the Seventh-day Adventists?
We live in a day where there are literally thousands of Christian movements out there, so what makes Seventh-day Adventists different? And are the different beliefs or practices of Seventh-day Adventism different in an odd way, or perhaps in a good way? While this video won’t do that justice, we invite you to explore just some of the awesome things Adventists get up to when it comes to serving creation, people, and God. For more information on the beliefs or practices of Adventism, head to [https://www.adventist.org/who-are-seventh-day-adventists/]. To follow our official social media accounts, just follow the links below:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAdventistChurch
Twitter: https://twitter.com/adventistchurch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adventistchurch/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdventistOrgChurch #christianity #seventhdayadventist #adventism Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CwVPt6r7pY
In Trinidad, Adventist University Dedicates New Auditorium and School of Nursing
La Sierra University Students Experiment with Hydroponic Farming In Shipping Container
23 July 2021 | Students at Riverside, California-based La Sierra University are growing produce in a shipping container using hydroponic farming. Hydroponic farming involves growing plants in nutrient-rich water instead of soil and uses artificial light instead of sunlight. This form of farming uses dramatically less water than traditional farming as the water can be […] Source: https://atoday.org/la-sierra-university-students-experiment-with-hydroponic-farming-in-shipping-container/
Sabbath: “Come to Me. . .”
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Matthew 11:20-30, Matthew 5:5, Deuteronomy 18:15, Galatians 5:1, Exodus 18:13-22, Galatians 6:2.
Memory Text: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
What a wonderful promise we have been given here by Jesus. After all, who among us at times hasn’t felt heavy-laden, if not so much with work itself (though that can often be the case) but with the labor and heavy-ladenness that life itself brings? And Jesus here is telling us that, yes, He knows what we are going through, and yes, He can help us — that is, if we let Him.
And then, after telling us to bear His yoke, Jesus says, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). In other words, Get rid of the yokes and burdens that you are carrying (give them to Me) and take Mine upon yourself instead, for Mine are easier to bear.
How can we experience the rest that Jesus is talking about? After all, we live in a world where, after sin, the Lord said to Adam “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). Thus, we have known what it is like to labor and to be carrying burdens that can seem way too hard to bear, at least by ourselves alone.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 31.
The post Sabbath: “Come to Me. . .” first appeared on Sabbath School Net.
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We Will Give Ourselves to Prayer
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. Acts 6:4.
Pray, yes, pray as you have never prayed before, that you may not be deluded by Satan’s devices, that you may not be given up to a heedless, careless, vain spirit, and attend to religious duties to quiet your own conscience. It is inappropriate for Christians in any age of the world to be lovers of pleasure, but how much more so now when the scenes of this earth’s history are so soon to close.
Surely the foundation of your hope of everlasting life cannot be laid too sure. The welfare of your soul, and your eternal happiness depend upon whether your foundation is built upon Christ. While others are panting after earthly enjoyments, be ye panting after the unmistakable assurance of the love of God, earnestly, fervently crying, Who will show me how to make my calling and election sure?—Testimonies for the Church 2:144.
The darkness of the evil one encloses those who neglect to pray. The whispered temptations of the enemy entice them to sin; and it is all because they do not make use of the privileges that God has given them in the divine appointment of prayer. Why should the sons and daughters of God be reluctant to pray, when prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse, where are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence? Without unceasing prayer and diligent watching, we are in danger of growing careless and of deviating from the right path. The adversary seeks continually to obstruct the way to the mercy-seat, that we may not by earnest supplication and faith obtain grace and power to resist temptation.—Steps to Christ, 94.
With God at Dawn p. 206
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Prayer Requests
—-Please be praying for Maya. They’ve finally got all the paperwork ready for submission to the insurance company for her medical bed. There’s a high chance they will deny, but we have a miracle-working God that can push it through. Prayers for divine favor so Maya can get the bed she needs so she can be safe when she sleeps and to give mom Jenny some peace of mind. Jennifer
—-Please pray that David will get the mental help that he needs. Pray also for his family whom he verbally and emotionally abuses. Buck
—-My only brother was on a tall ladder trimming branches from a tree. He fell yesterday. He was life flighted to _____ Hospital in _____. He had a brain bleed which required brain surgery. He had a big blood clot about 1″ thick in some places. It covered the whole left side of his brain. They drained the blood. They had to do a craniotomy to reach the brain for surgery. He has a broken back at L1 vertebra. And a broken ankle. They are waiting for him to wake up from his sedation. The Lord answers prayer. I am believing for a good report in Jesus name. Thank God for the privilege of prayer. Nancy
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Dear Friends,
Some years ago, we went over to some friend’s house for Bible study. During the course of the conversation, I was asked to give my testimony. That brought back many memories of long-ago years. My grandparents had adopted me shortly after I was born to keep me from my alcoholic father and raised me until I was ten. Although they were Adventists, their religion seemed to consist of just going to church. The rest of the week, there was no mention of Heavenly things. I went to Sabbath School occasionally whenever my mother didn’t take me shopping or to a movie.
Just before my tenth birthday, my mother married a man who was an alcoholic and I went to live with them. My grandparents moved to Florida. My life became almost unbearable. After nearly four years, he left in the middle of the night taking everything of value in the house except my mother’s guitar and amplifier. Things went from bad to worse. My mother had to sell her guitar and amp just so we could have food. Our landlord would not wait for the rent until my mother found a job, so we had to find a very cheap apartment over a music store on the corner of Main and Westnedge. Life was very difficult.
Even though we were far from Jesus, He was near to us. I had been taught to pray the “Now I lay me down to sleep….” prayer and as I got older, I added my own words, and had a sort of faith in Him because of the times I had gone to church. He accepted the tiny spark of faith as the best I knew. There were many times that He protected us in that crummy apartment. He helped my mother find work, even though she did not recognize it as a blessing from Him. Finally we were able to move into a one room apartment in a better part of town. Life was still a struggle, and there were many times there was nothing to eat in the apartment except a little flour and some sugar, but through it all, God was there protecting us and longing for the time when we would come to Him. Finally we were able to move a couple of blocks away into a three room apartment. We felt like we were in a mansion. It was in that apartment that I began to have the desire to start going to church and asked God to lead me to the right one. Praise God! He did!
Jesus, speaking of His Heavenly Father said, “for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matt 5:45 God loves each person in this world whether they love Him back or not. His Spirit draws them, leading them into circumstances that will give them an opportunity to choose His way. He showers His blessings upon them even though they don’t know the Source of all blessings. He assures us, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jer 31:3
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” 1 John 3:1-3 How loving and kind He is to us! He not only makes us His sons, but He changes us into His image as we meditate upon His Word. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 1 Cor 3:18 May we allow Him to change us into His likeness is my prayer.
Rose
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/297VkuxcOn0/we-will-give-ourselves-to-prayer.html
North Pacific Union Academy Students Hunt for Dinosaur Bones
23 July 2021 | Academy students from four Adventist Schools in the North Pacific Union recently went on Southwestern Adventist University’s annual DinoDig in Newcastle, Wyoming. Sponsored by the North Pacific Union Conference (NPUC), the group of 27 (including teachers) were directed by Stan Hudson and Marella Rudebaugh from the NPUC Creation Study Center. The […] Source: https://atoday.org/north-pacific-union-academy-students-hunt-for-dinosaur-bones/
Leader Profile: Larry R Evans, Assistant to the President for Adventist Possibility Ministries
There are some people who really seem to get the heart of God and employ that mindset into everything they do. Larry Evans is one of those people. With a strong belief that God never gave up on him …… Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ann-en/~3/bVoQhKgtKQg/leader-profile-larry-r-evans-assistant-to-the-president-for-adventist-possibility-ministries
UK-Based Adventist Care Worker Makes News for Refusing COVID-19 Vaccination, Threatens to Leave Country
23 July 2021 | An Adventist care worker in the United Kingdom (UK) has made local news for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Przemyslaw Boloz lives in Worcester, in the West Midlands, and Worcester News says his refusal is based on his religious views. Government legislation will now require double vaccinations for care staff […] Source: https://atoday.org/uk-based-adventist-care-worker-makes-news-for-refusing-covid-vaccination-threatens-to-leave-country/