Tag / tampa first seventh-day adventist church

by In Light Of The Cross

Proverbs in Light of The Cross; God’s Word Proves True Every Time

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Every word of God proves true…Proverbs 30:5 NLT

God’s Word said “if you eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you will die.” The serpent said, “No way! Look. I ate and not only did I not die but I can even talk now.”  Eve believed in what she heard and saw from the serpent instead of believing God’s Word. Turns out God’s Word was true. She died.

God told us through the prophet Daniel that Europe would never be reunited into a one world empire after Rome fell. In World War 2 Arthur Maxwell’s superiors were so afraid Hitler would take over Europe that they asked him not to publish his article claiming, according to Daniel 2, that there was no way Hitler could win and take over Europe. Maxwell published his article anyways. Good thing he did, because it turned out God’s Word was true. Hitler lost. Europe has never been reunited into a one world empire.

In the wilderness Satan wanted to tempt Jesus and make Him doubt He was the Son of God. After all He probably did not look the best after 40 days of fasting. Jesus said He did not need any signs, like turning stones to bread to prove He was God’s Son. He had already heard God call Him Son at His baptism. Jesus put His faith in God’s Word instead of appearances. Turns out God’s Word is true. Even the centurion knew Jesus was God’s Son.

A boy told a story about dying and going to heaven. The Bible says when you die you remain in your grave, unconscious until Jesus comes and resurrects us. Like Eve, many people put their faith in what they saw and heard instead of God’s Word. The boy later recanted his story. Turns out the Bible is true. Those who die sleep until Jesus comes. 

The moral of my story is, whenever appearances, sight, sound and feeling all contradict God’s Word, God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures will prove true every time. Trust God. Trust His Word above anything you see, feel, or hear.

by In Light Of The Cross

Proverbs in Light of The Cross; Emotional Healing

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble. For the Lord will be displeased with you  and will turn his anger away from them. Proverbs 24:17-18 NLT

In the sports world we celebrate when our team eliminates another team in the playoffs and we see them fall. In the corporate world people celebrate when another company closes doors enabling their company to create a monopoly on the market. Love triangles have created even more sinister  behavior, even bloodshed, when someone comes between them and the one they have a crush on. Its almost as if people think their healing has to come from  someone else’s downfall.

Christian’s don’t celebrate the downfall of their enemy. Christians do not derive any “healing” from the disaster of their enemies. Christians find their healing in Jesus.

He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. Isaiah 53:5 NLT

Jesus did not only suffer the punishment we deserve. He also suffered the punishment our enemy deserves. We are not healed by our enemy being beaten and whipped. We are healed by Jesus being beaten and whipped.

Studies have shown that many people return from war with PTSD and emotional scars from the pain and violence they inflicted on others. Hurting your enemy will not bring you healing. It will bring you trauma. Instead of healing, the act or revenge is trauma to your own soul.

Jesus was beaten and whipped for your enemy. Is that not enough? it is insane to believe that seeing our enemy fall, could bring us any healing or make us whole.

Jesus went to the cross to heal us and make us whole. Look to Jesus and not your enemy for healing.

He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. Isaiah 53:5 NLT

Thinking we need to see our enemy suffer in order to be healed and made whole, is saying Jesus did not suffer enough on the cross to heal and make me whole.

by In Light Of The Cross

Proverbs in Light of The Cross; Purpose For Living

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

When I was a little kid I had the most strangest and wildest imagination. I would lie awake at night wondering how I got to be me. Why was I not a dinner table chair instead? (Which only freaked me out even more thinking about the possibility of being something that doesn’t even know it exists. How do you exist without knowing you exist? Freaky!) Why was I not a bear in Alaska? How did I get to be born in my little home town in the United States instead of to a family in  Australia? Its not that I wanted to be something else, it just freaked me out wondering, how I got to be me, and why am I me here, and now?  I get the whole genes and chromosomes thing now, but those do not make a soul.

As I got older I realized just how close I came to never being born. My mother only wanted two children, a boy and a girl. Before I was born, my mother had a girl and sadly, two miscarriages. If one of those had survived they would not have had me. Then you also have the extreme small chance that I would even be the sperm that survives. So why am I me? Why was I born a little baby brother in my small speck of the planet around the mid to late 20th century? I found the answer this week in Proverbs.

A friend is always loyal,and a brother is born to help in time of need. Proverbs 17:17 NLT

Ah! So simple. I was born me to my family in my time and place, so I could help my family in time of need and be a loyal friend to others. Who knew?

Actually it’s a lot like why Jesus was born.

 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 NLT

So now as an old grown up I lie in bed awake thinking about how I got to be me. Out of all the things I could have been (if anything at all) and all the times and places I could have been born, I was born to my family and community here and now. God placed me here by some miraculous design that even genes and chromosomes can’t fully explain.

And yet, if I fail to help my family and friends in their time of need, then this great miracle of my existence is all about nothing!

by In Light Of The Cross

Proverbs in Light of The Cross; Teaching the Wise

Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more. Proverbs 9:9 NLT
As we cherish and obey the promptings of the Spirit, our hearts are enlarged to receive more and more of His power, and to do more and better work. Dormant energies are aroused, and palsied faculties receive new life.
The humble worker who obediently responds to the call of God may be sure of receiving divine assistance. To accept so great and holy a responsibility is itself elevating to the character. It calls into action the highest mental and spiritual powers, and strengthens and purifies the mind and heart. Through faith in the power of God, it is wonderful how strong a weak man may become, how decided his efforts, how prolific of great results.
He who begins with a little knowledge, in a humble way, and tells what he knows, while seeking diligently for further knowledge, will find the whole heavenly treasure awaiting his demand. The more he seeks to impart light, the more light he will receive. The more one tries to explain the Word of God to others, with a love for souls, the plainer it becomes to himself. The more we use our knowledge and exercise our powers, the more knowledge and power we shall have.
Every effort made for Christ will react in blessing upon ourselves. If we use our means for His glory, He will give us more. As we seek to win others to Christ, bearing the burden of souls in our prayers, our own hearts will throb with the quickening influence of God’s grace; our own affections will glow with more divine fervor; our whole Christian life will be more of a reality, more earnest, more prayerful.
The value of man is estimated in heaven according to the capacity of the heart to know God. This knowledge is the spring from which flows all power. God created man that every faculty might be the faculty of the divine mind; and He is ever seeking to bring the human mind into association with the divine. He offers us the privilege of cooperation with Christ in revealing His grace to the world, that we may receive increased knowledge of heavenly things.
Looking unto Jesus we obtain brighter and more distinct views of God, and by beholding we become changed. Goodness, love for our fellow men, becomes our natural instinct. We develop a character which is the counterpart of the divine character. Growing into His likeness, we enlarge our capacity for knowing God. More and more we enter into fellowship with the heavenly world, and we have continually increasing power to receive the riches of the knowledge and wisdom of eternity. —Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 354-355. 

by In Light Of The Cross

Proverbs in Light of The Cross; The Harvest is Great

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area, where each one is reaching one in 2015.

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area, where each one is reaching one in 2015.

Early this morning before I even got out of bed, I was reading my Proverbs reading plan on my YouVersion Bible app. I ran across this passage:

A wise youth harvests in the summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace. Proverbs 10:5 NLT 

When I read that I immediately remembered reading about Jesus ministering to the crowds, and then telling His disciples,

 The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Matthew 9:37-38 NLT

Are we sleeping through the harvest? If you don’t believe the harvest is great wake up! Look around you! I currently have a small group Bible study every week where 8-12 non-churched friends attend every week. When I got back from vacation last week they were just as excited to be back into God’s Word as I was. A church member put me in contact with her co-worker who has never attended church. We started Bible studies and now the co-worker’s daughter-in-law, who never attended church, has asked to join our Bible study. The list goes on of similar stories. At the church school where I help out, students who are not taken to church by family are asking questions and looking forward to learning about Jesus every day.

The Harvest is great! If you need to, ask Jesus to wake you up and send you into the harvest, so we each can reach one (or two or three or four…) in 2015!

Don’t get caught sleeping during the harvest. Solomon says that would be a disgrace!

by In Light Of The Cross

Proverbs in Light of the Cross: Co-Signing For A Friend’s Debt

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger— if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said— follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased.  Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do. Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net. Proverbs 6:1-5 NLT

A friend encouraged me to share his story as a warning for others. His son had bought a nice new sports car. His son got his grand parents to co-sign for the loan which was several thousands of dollars. However the grand parents did not have the money for the debt, but were quite sure their grandson would be able to pay it on his own and establish his own credit. He was a very responsible young man.

Tragically, my friend’s son was hit and killed while riding a motorcycle, when he stopped by the side of the road. Not only did the family have a terrible tragedy to deal with emotionally, but the grandparents who co signed for the loan, were now in dire straits as they had to take over a car loan they had no money for. When they co-signed for their young grandson they never imagined this would happen!

Fortunately God provided. Another family member stepped forward  (Hurray for family!) and covered the loan and saved the grand parents.  My friend, who also happens to be one of my first Bible study students who I am still friends with today, wants to share his story as a warning to others who are tempted to co-sign for some one else’s debt. There are many reasons why Solomon said what he said, and this is one of them. Thank God for saving the dear grand parents from this terrible ordeal.

by In Light Of The Cross

Proverbs in Light of the Cross; The Perils of Being a Creative Thinker

 

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.Proverbs 2:2 NLT

In grade school, my teacher was talking about the possibility of solar powered cars. A sincere question came to my mind. I raised my hand and asked, “How would these cars run in the dark?” My teacher was angered by my question. I can’t recall if she actually called it a stupid question, but she sure made me feel stupid! She told me that, obviously, there was a battery that stored power for night time, and then said I should stop thinking of stupid questions.

I was hurt. I thought I had asked a good question. (I just now took a moment to Google it, and it appears I am not the only person who has ever asked that question.) Tuning your ears to wisdom and concentrating on understanding can take you outside of the box. I have learned a lot of people don’t like to think outside the box.

I have had several people over the years tell me that they love my sermons and writings because I make them think of things they have never thought of before and see things in a different light. People call that creative thinking. It’s a good thing, but it comes with risks. When some people say, “I never thought of it that way before” they mean that is brilliant. When others say, “I never thought of it that way before” they mean that is stupid!

My grade school teacher is not the only one who has ever treated me that way. I have paid people what I thought were sincere compliments, only to have them snap back and call me a smart aleck or worse. I felt stunned, wondering how in the world did they turn that into an insult? I have raised ideas in church meetings only to have people laugh at me.

I first served as a head elder of a church when I was 22, and some people thought I was too immature to be a head elder. I probably was. Probably still am. Some of my ideas they thought were silly. For example, I started prayer meetings at 7:23. Why such an odd time? Because that way people would not have a hard time remembering if it was 7:00 or 7:30. 7:23 sticks out in the brain. Plus who says you have to start at 7:00, 7:15 or 7:30? Since then I have noticed how many sporting events and things start at 7:07 and other “odd” times.

My point is that a lot of ideas some people find laughable, others find brilliant. So I am happy when people tell me I make them think outside the box. I think the box should be thrown away.

I am not comparing myself to Jesus, but He lived outside the box Himself. Off-beat ideas like praying for God to bless your enemies, going the extra mile, and a little child being the greatest, really had people thinking in ways they never had before. But with a little wisdom and understanding, people realized He was not so crazy after all.

I’m writing this just to let those who think outside the box know they are not so crazy. God created us in His creative image. We see His creative thinking both in creation and in the plan of redemption. Therefore when we “let this mind be in us, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5) we will have minds that think creatively like Jesus.

So, no matter how stupid a teacher may have made you feel, keep up the creative thinking. Keep asking creative questions. I have learned that when some people are asked a good question they can’t answer, pride won’t let them say they don’t know. Instead they try to minimize the question, and make it look like a silly question that should not be asked, when in reality it is was a great question that warrants an answer, maybe even a creative answer.

Keep up the creative out-of-the box thinking. People loved Jesus for it. People have told me they love me for it, and they will love you too!

you may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

What’s So Different About a New Believer’s Sabbath School Class?

I am writing from the beautiful Tampa Bay area, where my New Believers Sabbath School class loves to have class at parks near the beach sometimes.

I am writing from the beautiful Tampa Bay area, where my New Believers Sabbath School class loves to have class at parks near the beach sometimes.

 The Sabbath school should be one of the greatest instrumentalities, and the most effectual, in bringing souls to Christ.-Ellen White, Counsels on Sabbath School Works, Page 10

A few seasoned Adventists think of Sabbath School as a place where they like to “spar” and debate with their fellow seasoned Adventist friends about the 144,000 being a symbolic or literal number, or whether Jesus came with a prelapsarian nature or postlapsarian nature. Surprisingly enough, that is not the purpose of Sabbath School. The purpose of Sabbath school is to introduce people to Jesus who do not know Him.

While the worship service is orientated for believers, the Sabbath School is designed for evangelism. There were no Sabbath Schools as such in Bible times. Seventh-day Adventists got the idea for Sabbath School from the protestant Sunday Schools which began in Great Britain in the 1780’s as a way to teach poor children to read and learn the Bible.*  As the Bible Worker for the Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church, I lead out in our New Believer’s Sabbath School class. The sole purpose of this class is to lead new believer’s or seekers to Jesus.

What Makes a New Believer’s SS Class Different From All The Rest?

1. Curriculum: While we have at times used the regular SS quarterly, when it is based on themes for evangelism, we mostly use lessons to help introduce people to Jesus and basic Bible teachings. our class has enjoyed the In Light of the Cross Study Guides, which are also available with the New Living Translation and inSpanish. These lessons present our basic Bible teachings in the light of the cross, and avoid legalism while preserving Bible standards. I have heard from other churches in Florida as well as a few around the world telling me these lessons have been greatly appreciated in their classes for new believers. I developed the New Living Translation edition, when I realized how many of my immigrant Bible students were having trouble reading English, let alone 17th century English. We have also used the Growth Group Dialogues by Pastor Denis Sand.

2. Setting: While Sabbath Schools are not found in the Bible home churches are. We try to give our classroom a home feeling, with comfortable chairs or couches. We sit in a circle, which encourages members to feel comfortable sharing questions related to the study. When you sit in rows with the speaker up front, it makes people feel like they are in the worship service, and should not talk or ask questions. I have visited churches where the Sabbath School was is the sanctuary, and I left feeling like I heard two sermons and had no Sabbath School.

3. Conversation: We begin each class with the members sharing one high, which is something good that happened that week, and one low, which is something not so good that happened that week. Or we just ask for praise reports and prayer requests. I have assigned a member to write down the prayer requests and e-mail them to the class in the middle of the week to remind us to keep praying for them. At one time we had a praise team leader who led out in a couple of songs before our study time, but they left us to start their own young adult class which is growing by leaps and bounds. Often times we will use ice breaker questions to lead into the study. This does not detract from the study time. People learn more from a study when they feel like they are a part of it, and have invested themselves into the lesson. Conversation time is important to the study. Jesus did not learn about His interests while He was lecturing them, but rather while He was visiting with them. Earlier this year I was holding a prophecy seminar, which was basically a lecture. I invited my prophecy seminar members to join a Bible study growth group I was starting, and am I glad I did! The prophecy members mentioned how much better we were all getting to know and understand each other in the Bible study group. That never would have happened in the prophecy class where I lecture, and yet it’s very important to understand people’s backgrounds and ways of thinking when discussing something as crucial as Prophecy. So now you can see why conversation time is so important in a new believer’s Sabbath School class. So what happens when a new believer becomes a seasoned believer? We have a spiritual gifts Sabbath school class where the teacher gives my new members an invite when they are not so new anymore. This helps them find where they are best orientated to serve in the church. I like the teacher of the next class inviting them instead of me, as I could never ask someone to leave my class. I love them too much and of course we always remain friends! Now some take the invite, others, after baptism go looking for a new class on their own. Still others remain in my class as mentors and even co-facilitators. I think it is important to keep some seasoned members in my new believer’s class to help mentor the new ones.

4. Social: The new believer’s class is a family. We study together, pray together, and socialize together. The New Believer’s class is for all ages. We have socials where teens and senior citizens are playing games together and forming friendships that flow over into Bible study. One week, when I was preaching elsewhere and no adults would volunteer to teach the class, I had a middle school girl lead out. When I came back the next week, I found out that she had brought muffins for everyone and led out in a tremendous Bible study presentation. Suddenly I was not the most popular teacher anymore as she could teach and bake! Outside of class we go to classical concerts together, ball games and enjoy lunches and get togethers in each others homes.

If your church does not already have a class for new believers or seekers, you may ask God if He wants you to start one. Why not talk to your pastor and Sabbath School superintendent about it today? But remember, all Sabbath Schools are intended to be used to win souls for Jesus. Are you making sure your class is seeker friendly and winning souls for Jesus?

*http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/asktheexpert/whendidsundayschoolstart.html

by In Light Of The Cross

Each one Reach one in 2015 at Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church

This Sabbath, December 20th the Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church will collect our Christmas offering.
Remember that this is not about money, but about the people that will be forever touched by it.  There are people inside and outside our church that need to know there is a loving Savior that longs to give meaning, purpose and forgiveness to their lives.
Our goal is to raise funds to continue to change lives through Bible studies, literature, training and the preaching of God’s Word.  We are praying to raise $20,000 for Evangelism for 2015.  Remember to bring your offering this Sabbath.  If you did not get an envelop in the mail we will have some available in the lobby.
You can also give online by Clicking here.
by In Light Of The Cross

When Job Prayed for his Friends

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.James 5:10-11 NLT

You know how you can read the same Bible story a hundred times, and then one day something in that story jumps out at you that you had never seen before? James acknowledges that we all know the story of Job, and how he was faithful in suffering, and in the end God restored to him what he lost. Of course the children could not be replaced, but thank God they too will be restored one day. See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. While I knew the story well, it wasn’t till just a few months ago that something jumped out at me.

When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!” Job 42:10 NLT

What jumped out at me, was that, all this happened, “When Job prayed for his friends,” who were not exactly the best sources of comfort and encouragement. Still, praying for his friends is what improved Job’s own life.

Ironically Moses, who wrote the book of Job, had his own run in with those who were less than comforting and encouraging. In Numbers 12, Moses’ own sister Miriam rebels against Moses’ leadership instead of encouraging him. She is struck with leprosy and immediately Moses cries,

“O God, I beg you, please heal her!” Numbers 12:13 NLT

God healed her when Moses prayed for her. I wonder if Moses remembered Job’s life turning around for the better when he prayed for his friends, when he prayed for his sister? Either way the outcome is the same. There are wonderful blessings in store for those who pray for others, and especially when we pray for those who have been less than comforting and encouraging to us.

Remember, not only did God turn Job’s life around for the better, but He did it when Job prayed for his friends.

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.