by Carmen and Loren Seibold | 25 November 2019 | Dr. Tihomir Lazic. Newbold College “Truth as Koinonia: The Essential Role of the Church in God’s Self-Revelation” This paper suggests the Trinity as a way of modeling the discovery of truth in the church. While Adventists are proud of themselves for having such a dynamic […] Source: https://atoday.org/the-2019-asrs-conference-part-2/
Sharing Scripture for November 24 – 30
This is a tool for you to use if you lead a Sabbath School (SS) class or small group. It is keyed to the Bible texts used in the current week’s Adult SS Lesson and includes a brief story from current news you can use to introduce the discussion and then a series of discussion […] Source: https://atoday.org/sharing-scripture-for-november-24-30/
Learning to Love My Body
By Lindsey Abston Painter “Love yourself!” is a constant, cliche refrain that we repeat over and over to one another. But loving your body isn’t always easy. Nearly every woman I know has a love-hate relationship with her body. I read in a book once that nearly half of all women have stayed home from […] Source: https://atoday.org/learning-to-love-my-body/
iServe Kelowna Helps Hurricane Dorian Victims
Frantically,
Mike Carter, a Kelowna chef, called all his former employees in the Bahamas
after he heard about the devastating hurricane. However, only one person was
able to answer the phone; it would be a lifesaving call for Dexter Ferguson and
his family.
Ferguson told Carter that he had lost
everything in the hurricane, and asked if there was any possible way his former
employer could get him and his family to Canada. Without hesitation Carter said,
“Sure,” and then the enormity of this nearly impossible request dawned on
Carter. However, with God all things are possible, and Carter, driven by what
he called a Higher Power urging him on, went to work the next five days making
the impossible happen. Truly, it was a miracle and answer to a desperate prayer
from the young Bahamian Christian family.
Amazingly, the Ferguson family
survived in their flooded house by standing on top of the kitchen counter for
48 hours while hurricane Dorian hovered and the relentless waters rose. Tragically,
many friends and relatives weren’t as fortunate.
The congregation at the Rutland
Seventh-day Adventist Church was riveted listening to Dexter telling his
family’s story on the Sabbath morning of Sept. 14, 2019. Dexter’s wife,
Bridgenna, stifled a sob while Dexter recounted their horrific experiences
throughout the storm and the harrowing and dangerous exodus from the Bahamas.
Boats were available for the
desperate Bahamians, but at exorbitant prices for those urgently trying to flee,
and getting the whole family to Canada would take at least $25,000 total. In
the meantime, pandemonium ensued with huge numbers of people trying to get onto
ferries to escape. To add to their misery, the water table was poisoned from
the flooding, so there wasn’t safe water to drink or shower with, and food was
scarce, and the lineups to obtain these necessities lasted hours.
Mike Carter started a GoFundMe
Campaign, and complete strangers along with some generous friends assisted
financially. One such big-hearted friend spent her life savings on the boat
ride for them, and she has since been paid back. The family got off the island
and then eventually made their way to Canada. Dexter’s sister, Amanda, and two-month-old
son Maverick soon followed suit and found their way to Kelowna too, and the
siblings were reunited thanks to Carter as well. They have a 90-day visa to
stay in Canada, but have nothing to go home to, and Carter is working on trying
to get them emergency refugee status.
Kelowna citizens and businesses are
rallying to help the family, and the Manteo Resort Waterfront Hotel in Kelowna is
currently putting up the families in the interim until they find more permanent
housing, while Hotel Eldorado in Kelowna is accepting clothing donations.
The Rutland church’s iServe team has
also contributed by giving the families a handmade quilt and a Bag of Love to
Dexter Jr. In addition, iServe is in it for the long haul, with leaders Dwight
and Donna Rose coordinating various efforts to meet the family’s day-to-day
needs. The Fergusons are very touched by Canadians kindness and how safe it is
compared to where they recently left. They feel at home at the Rutland church
and have been attending there the past few weeks since arriving in Kelowna and
plan on continuing to do so, while the church, through the iServe team, are
doing all they can to help this Bahamian family.
–Doreen Zyderveld-Hagel, Communications Secretary, Rutland Seventh-day Adventist Church
Source: https://adventistmessenger.ca/features/iserve-kelowna-helps-hurricane-dorian-victims
Tuesday: Where are the Priests?
No question — as we saw yesterday, it was an amazing fulfillment of prophecy that brought the Jews back from Babylon.
But as with anything that involves humans, problems existed. And one of the big problems was that, despite all the wonderful promises of restoration after the exile, many of the Jews did not want to return to the land of their ancestors. That is, they preferred to stay in Babylon.
Why would that be?
Read Ezra 8:1-15. Focus specifically on verse 15. What was the big concern here, and why would it be a concern for someone who wanted to re-establish the nation of Israel in its former homeland?
Image © Jeff Preston from GoodSalt.com
The fact is, not all the Jews in Babylon, including some Levites, wanted to return. Several factors could have been involved. Many of them had been born and brought up in the new land, and that was all they knew. Many might not have wanted to make the long and unquestionably dangerous trip back to a land that they had never known to begin with. Eventually, though, we know that they brought along enough Levites to minister in the Temple (see Thursday’s lesson), despite the challenges.
“By now, the Jews who remained in the land of exile had been there for almost a century and a half. Excavations of Nippur have brought to light numerous documents that show that many wealthy Jews lived in that region of Mesopotamia during the reign of Artaxerxes I. Hence, it may have been a difficult task for Ezra and his fellow leaders to convince as many to return as did accompany him. These returning colonists could expect only a hard pioneering life in the old homeland, with far fewer comforts than in Babylonia. In view of these considerations it is surprising to find that Ezra succeeded in persuading almost 2,000 families to cast in their lot with their brethren in the old homeland” – The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 3, p. 376.
| “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22, NKJV). What does this tell us about the reality of trials and hardships for those who want to serve the Lord faithfully? |
Amen!
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