In this episode, Pastor Ted Wilson tackles the eleventh fundamental belief of the Seventh-day Adventists—growing in Christ. Growth takes time. For instance, planting a garden requires a lot of work and care before the plants get mature. Similarly, raising a child takes years of nurturing before he becomes a full-grown adult. Even friendship takes time and commitment for the relationship to grow. Growing in Christ is a wonderful privilege to have once we accept God’s gift of salvation through Jesus. It begins with His death on the cross that redeemed us from sin. In Colossians 1:13 and 14, God "has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." In connection, Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." However, to “walk in the Spirit” requires death to self. "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). The closer we get to Christ, the more we love Him, and the more we become like Him. "When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven. No one sees the hand that lifts the burden or beholds the light descend from the courts above. The blessing comes when by faith the soul surrenders itself to God. Then that power which no human eye can see creates a new being in the image of God" (The Desire of Ages, p. 173). This concept of growing in Christ is echoed in our eleventh fundamental belief. It states, "By His death on the cross, Jesus triumphed over the forces of evil. He Who subjugated the demonic spirits during His earthly ministry has broken their power and made certain their ultimate doom. Jesus’ victory gives us victory over the evil forces that still seek to control us, as we walk with Him in peace, joy, and assurance of His love. Now the Holy Spirit dwells within us and empowers us. Continually committed to Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, we are set free from the burden of our past deeds. No longer do we live in the darkness, fear of evil powers, ignorance, and meaninglessness of our former way of life.” To read more about this fundamental belief, you may visit www.adventist.org/growing-in-christ/. In closing, Pastor Wilson shares these four essential, practical building blocks for growing in Christ: Prayer Through prayer, we connect with God. Colossians 4:2 reminds us to "continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving." Reading the Bible The Bible is our faithful guide. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." Applying what we’ve learned We must not only read the Bible but also do what it says. As stated in James 1:22, "But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." Meeting with other believers God wants us to encourage and strengthen our fellow believers for we are one family and one body of Christ. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:23-25). As you grow in Christ, remember that He loves and cares for you. He died to redeem you from sin and give you eternal life. He dwells within you through the Holy Spirit, speaking to you in prayer and guiding you through His Word. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJNZ__dWTrY

Habits can be hard to make. We know we want to live healthier, happier lives but sometimes we’re not sure where to start and we’re disappointed when we fail. How do we create healthy habits? How do we prioritize what is important to us and what boundaries we need to create? This week, Sam and Jennifer talk to Dr. Dee Knight about how to create and stick to our healthy habits. ___
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This week on ANN Adventist Mission has sent emergency funds to Ukraine to help feed and shelter anxious crowds who have sought refuge in Seventh-day Adventist churches. In response to an appeal from the Adventist Church in Ukraine, Adventist Mission sent 15,500 dollars from its Hope in Crisis initiative to support Ukrainian churches this week. Since the armed conflict erupted on February 24, Adventist churches have been swamped with as many as 50 to 100 people arriving every night seeking food and shelter. More than 3 million people have fled the country but many others have been unable to leave. For the past nine years, Global Youth Day (GYD) has touched thousands of lives around the world for Christ—including young people who participate. On March 19 youth in every conference, union, and division of the Adventist World Church, chose to “be the sermon.” Young people from more than 180 countries actively shared their GYD activities through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and YouTube using the hashtags #GYD22, #BeTheSermon, #LovingTheForgotten and others. Together they reached more than 30 million individuals by posting or sharing each other’s Global Youth Day activities. In recognition of the humanitarian work carried out by Adventist youth on “Global Youth Day,” the City Council of Araçoiaba, a municipality in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, instituted the “Municipal Young Adventist Day.” The bill that was voted and approved, was authored by Councilor Erison Silva Pereira. The date was incorporated into the official calendar of events in this city of northeastern Brazil. From now on, the “Municipal Young Adventist Day” will be celebrated every third Saturday of March and will feature events and social actions throughout the city. More than 15,000 Seventh-day Adventists in Chiapas, Mexico, took to the streets, parks, and public spaces to clean up and inspire others to join their efforts. According to local church leaders, the church’s state-wide initiative, called “Clean Your City,” was created three years ago by a youth ministry in Chiapas to motivate both young and old to care for their environment as God’s stewards. Another missionary campaign called “The Final Hope” calls for three million missionary books titled, “The Final Hope,” authored by Clifford Goldstein, to be distributed. More than 800,000 young Adventists in Mexico have helped to distribute the books on Global Youth Day. After six weeks of online spiritual meetings hosted by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica, a total of 4,213 persons joined the church through baptism. This happened during the Footprints of Hope Online Evangelistic Series. Driven by Glen O. Samuels, the series became a reality through coordinated efforts by the Seventh-day Adventist Church administrative offices of Jamaica, the Caribbean, Atlantic Caribbean, Dutch Caribbean, and Belize. Thousands of people from across the Caribbean, Central America, North America, Asia, Europe, and other parts of the world watched and listened via several media platforms including social media, Free-to-Air Television, cable, radio, and HopeBeyond.net. Developed by the global Adventist Church’s communications department in partnership with Hope Channel, “Heroes: The Bible Trivia Game” celebrates its one-year anniversary on March 25th. Since its release, the game has not only improved the biblical knowledge of more than 120,000 people, mostly between 18 and 24 years old, but it has also inspired many to take Bible studies and be baptized. In its continued effort to improve the app’s features and reach, Hope Channel plans to make the game available in Hindi, Chinese, and Tagalog by its upcoming one-year anniversary. Roller Peps, a children’s series produced by the streaming platform Feliz7Play, of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America, recently won an international award. Roller Peps won the Bronze Crown in the Best Children’s Production category at the 49th edition of the International Christian Visual Media Crown Awards. The annual award recognizes the best audiovisual content with a Christian theme. On the Peps screen, the characters live through everyday situations that teach lessons in civics, respect, good habits, love for God and each other. Available in Portuguese, Spanish, English, and Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), the series strives to be inclusive. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Eurasia region has issued a special call to prayer for the conflict in Eastern Europe. Prayer every evening at 7 p.m. is our humble position before the Lord, and may your hands not weaken in this holy vigil, and in works of mercy, as we give people all kinds of support. The complete “Call for Prayer” is on the website: esd.adventist.org. To know more news and current affairs within the Adventist community, visit (https://adventist.news/news) Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAvnUoqG9ac

Have you ever wondered how evil people become good? For instance, those enslaved by drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and other vices become free. Do they try hard to simply become good? The truth is, trying to be "good" apart from Christ can be discouraging because we can never be good enough to be saved from sin. In this episode, Pastor Ted Wilson discusses the tenth fundamental belief of the Seventh-day Adventists—the experience of salvation. The experience of salvation that reaches deep into the souls comes from God alone. "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:3, 5). Only through Jesus Christ can we experience salvation. "There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). Our tenth fundamental belief states: "In infinite love and mercy God made Christ, Who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might be made the righteousness of God. Led by the Holy Spirit, we sense our need, acknowledge our sinfulness, repent of our transgressions, and exercise faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord, Substitute and Example. This saving faith comes through the divine power of the Word and is the gift of God's grace. Through Christ, we are justified, adopted as God's sons and daughters, and delivered from the lordship of sin. Through the Spirit, we are born again and sanctified; the Spirit renews our minds, writes God's law of love in our hearts, and we are given the power to live a holy life. Abiding in Him, we become partakers of the divine nature and have the assurance of salvation now and in the judgment." Jesus freely offers us the gift of salvation from sin. All we have to do is accept it. "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation" (Romans 10, 9-10). Once we accept this gift, He forgives our past sins and looks at us as if we've never sinned. He then helps us overcome sin. As said in Jude 24 and 25, "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." After accepting Jesus, He calls us to "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). He wants us to have a better, happier way to live. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you" (Ezekiel 36:26). Jesus meets us where we are and delights in saving us from our lost condition. There is no sinfulness His grace and forgiveness cannot redeem. In response to His great love, we follow God's law and teachings. "If ye love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). But if we make mistakes, God is still there to rescue us. Before He was crucified, He warned His disciples, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mark 14:38). Though we've chosen Jesus, we will still be tempted to sin. But He promises in Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Finally, Steps to Christ p. 70 explains what it truly means to experience salvation in Christ: "A life in Christ is a life of restfulness. There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but there should be an abiding, peaceful trust. Your hope is not in yourself; it is in Christ. Your weakness is united to His strength, your ignorance to His wisdom, your frailty to His enduring might. So you are not to look to yourself, not to let the mind dwell upon self, but look to Christ. Let the mind dwell upon His love, upon the beauty, the perfection, of His character. Christ in His self-denial, Christ in His humiliation, Christ in His purity and holiness, Christ in His matchless love—this is the subject for the soul's contemplation. It is by loving Him, copying Him, depending wholly upon Him, that you are to be transformed into His likeness." As an appeal, Pastor Ted invites you to come to God now and experience this gift of salvation today! Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfNxAPiqtcg

After a whole day of wonderful reports, let's go through what our young people have done all around the world. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qpr3jlIA28