Central Jamaica Conference St Johns' Zoom Meeting Sabbath School/Divine Service/ Bible Class/AY

victory when the trumpet of the lord shall sound and time shall be no more and the morning breaks eternal bright and fair when the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore and the roll is wonderful and is morning when the dead and christ shall rise and the glory of his resurrection when his chosen one shall gather to their is let us talk of all his wondrous love and is is is is i'll be there when you are discouraged thinking all is lost count your many blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the lord has done count your blessings name them one by one count your blessing see what god has blessings name them one by one count your many blessings see what god has you ever burdened with a load of care does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear your many blessings every doubt will fly and you will be singing us the days see what god has your blessings name them one by one count your many blessings see what god has done so on me the conflict whether great many blessings angels fill up count your blessings name them one by count your blessings name them one by one god your many blessings see what god has done count your blessings name them one body one count your blessing see what god name has one by one count your many blessings see what god has done blizzard assurance jesus is mine for what a four days of glory divine heir of salvation of god born of his spirit washed in his blood this is my story this is my song praising my savior this is my story this is my song praising my savior all the day visions of rapture mercy i watching and waiting looking about filled with this is my story this is my song praising my savior oh danger interposed his precious thy goodness lord i feel here's my heart above to see thy grace my i am happy was it for crimes that i had done he grew is i am happy all the days my i all the am i am happy hey and trust him in his surrender all forsaken take me jesus take me i surrendered i surrendered make me save your holy know i give myself blessings fall jesus hiking heaven thou heaven's bright sun oh grant me its choice after the is oh still my be by helping those who are in need the best i can life's evening sun is a sinking more days and i must go to meet the needs that i have done where there will be no settings to be a child of god each day my life must shine along the way i'll sing his praise while he just wrote and strive to help some troubled soul life's evening sun is sinking where there will be and is and pure and so for god i'll take my stand each day i'll land a helping hand lives evening sun is sinking low a few more days and i must go to meet the heat then i am done where there will be and journey evening sun is sinking low a few more days and i must go to meet the where there deeds be no setting sun life's evening sun is sinking low a few more days and i must go where there will be no settings songs all hail the power of jesus and he blew oh who saves you by his grace who saves you by his grace of god me to him he lord the darkness lord with me little day memories oh with me lord with me with me with me hey we will remain standing for a scriptural reading which will be done by mrs sister joan fullwood brown happy supper everyone our scripture reading comes to us from the book of romans chapter 8 reading from verses 18 and 19 and it reads us for i consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us for the earnest expectation of creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of god hear and let a portion of god's holy word we'll now have prayer offered by mrs jennifer mccann let us pray our god and our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy holy and honorable name lord this morning we want to give you thanks we want to give you praise we want to honor you and magnify your name because you are a wonderful god to us we thank you dear god for taking us here safe we thank you for everyone that is present we ask their god to bless this morning and bless every thing that will be done and said in to your honor and to your glory continue to be with those who are on the zoom platform and on the youtube youtube channel help us lord to receive the blessing that is in store these another mercies we under ask in jesus wonderful and precious name i pray amen you may be seated this morning as i said earlier is our community guest day and we have some special community guests here with us today and i will just force to acknowledge all our community health heads who are here worshiping with us today members could you give them a wave of hand show them a wave yes i'm sorry you're not here when we have full compliments but our hearts are with you all thank you for coming come let us reason together live out thy life within me reminds us that we are beacon to a world in need of light and hope what does the word live in means according to the oxford dictionary living means the pursuit of a lifestyle or specific style in context to a theme it is a lifestyle of christ living a christ a christian lifestyle requires having the character of christ within and without when we practice christian living as we should our hearts and attitude matches or action in romans 8 verses 18 to 28 the apostle paul declares that the suffering of this present time is not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us if we trust in god and live according to his plan our salvation is secure and it's just a matter of hope verse 28 admonishes that we are more than conquerors as all things work together for good to them that love god to them who are called according to his purpose when the grace of god is evident in our lives we will exuberate the joy peace and love to those around us telling of the good news of salvation and bringing hope according to the book selected messages page 91 god has entrusted means and capabilities to his servants for the doing of a work far higher than that which today he looks upon this is to offer salvation to perishing souls by witnessing and spreading the gospel we shall have that due we all have that duty to witness in our own small way the gospel of christ is likened to that of salt which can transform the world by adding flavor at this time i will invite elder giles to come as he shares the gospel of christ and as he conducts our lesser study while he's coming i just want to remind us persons who wish to contribute to or quarterly fund and also to give their offering can we do that by dropping in the dropbox provided thank you happy sabbath brother sisters it indeed a joy and a privilege for us to be in the house of the lord fewer number but we are gathered to worship the name of the lord online youtube and zoom and we are delighted to share today as brothers and sisters as co-workers in the cause of christ and it's such a beautiful day in spite of everything in spite of all that is happening around us it's a beautiful day to worship in the beauty of holiness i want to also welcome those of visiting with us today and i'm sure they'll be highlighted later on in the program today we'll be engaging in a discourse and for those who are not aware as seventh-day adventists every quarter we follow what is called a bible study guide and for this quarter which is about to end we are looking at rest in jesus christ and we have been studying some powerful lessons and this morning we are at lesson number 12 the restless prophet let us bow heads for prayer almighty father we thank you so much for your leading in our lives and we thank you for the opportunity we have to serve you today in the beauty of holiness may you come divinely near unto us and may we experience your power like never before hasten those who are on their way who may be participating and may we all fellowship in your name amen the restless prophet and it's interesting that we are studying about a prophet that we know so well one who from as a little boy we have been hearing about him in bible stories that is jonah and from what we know about jonah from the little we know jonah embodies a mix of personalities that even is among us today just how we interact how we behave towards the cause of christ and it's interesting how the story unfolds what we know about jonah's stories that he was given a task he tried to run away from god but god used different ways one specific ways through the storm and his sudden in the belly of a fish the bible says and god still fulfilled his purpose in jonah our memory text today is found in jonah 4 verse 11 and i'll read it for you jonah 4 verse 11 says and should i not pity nineveh that great city in which are more than 120 000 persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left and much livestock jonah 4 verse 11. now this this may seem like a simple verse but this is god talking to jonah after the fact after all jonah went through all the trials he went through to reach to this place we he was set with god he was upset that god would have basically gone back on his plan for the city of nineveh and so god tried to teach jonah listen and what i get from this memory text is that god is trying to help jonah to understand who he really is and i'm sorry we can't take many comments this morning because of how we are situated but those online feel free to say something in the chat and you can interact accordingly but god was trying to show jonah that it's not all about him it's not just about a set of wicked people god was trying to teach jonah a lesson in this process and we'll see it unfolding as we go through the lesson and so sunday's lesson speaks to running away and we knew that after jonah god spoke to jonah god gave him his mandate he was supposed to go to the city of nineveh and preach to them let them know that destruction would have come upon them if they did not repent and turn from their wicked ways but in spite of doing what god said jonah decided to run away from god but what did he expect to achieve from all of this what what did he expect to achieve the background to to to what jonah to why we believe jonah ran away from god speaks to the historical nature of the city of nineveh now nina was one of the strongholds of the assyrian people and it is said it is believed and history speaks about it it is believed that assyrians were very wicked people i want to have a better word they were tyrants when they went to war they didn't just have the war and move on they destroyed everything in their path they were murderers they would murder the people they would do wicked things to the people they would take away the young ones and take them away as slaves so these people were terrible people and it is said that the assyrians of course dominated dominated the world during that time of history as it was it is said to have been one of the strongholds of king hezekiah's reign so it was a powerful city right a city it is said that had over a hundred and twenty 000 people in terms of population and so looking back at jonah and this task that god gave him to do he probably was saying to himself but is god real how could god and we in your in your spirit time i'd like you to go and read jonah one the entire book of jonah four chapters pretty easy to read and look at the entire story and jonah probably was saying how could god consider me at this time to do such a thing these wicked people god wanted me to go and preach to these wicked people and so jonah the lesson revealed that jonah was basically afraid jonah was timid jonah was scared if i wanted a better word and so he decided to run away instead of doing god's purpose but one of the things that grabs me in sunday's lesson is that wherever we are whatever we are doing god can call you at any time god can god can call you it is said that jonah was an amazing missionary at the same time he also was a reluctant one but god's call interrupted his life in a big way so god can interrupt our life at any time and ask us to go anywhere our sole purpose should be to follow him at this point jonah lost sight of the god he served god never gives us a task without giving us the ability to accomplish that task so jonah lost sight of the god he served and the god he knew to be the true and living god the the spirit of prophecy says as the will of man cooperates with the will of god it becomes omnipotent which means that if god gives us a task we shouldn't we shouldn't shirk we should push ahead because god knows the end from the beginning god is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond our thought and imagination so we should trust god it says whatever is to be done at his command may be accomplished in his strength so it's nothing our strength that we do the will of god but in his strength and just like when uh god gave moses the the task to go to lead the children of israel and moses said to god listen i can't speak i'm i'm i am i'm not the one you want to give this mission but god said listen i will give you the words to say so you need not worry about that it says all his biddings and this is god now all his biddings are enabling so god gives you a task and he will enable you to do the task well so jonah ran away jonah was timid god stopped him in his tracks and we know the story very well he decided to go to the city to run away to a city called tarshish and the the history his the the background to this the commentary says that tarshish was about 2 200 miles away from joppa which is where close to where um jonah lived so jonah was willing to travel over 2200 miles to another city to run away from god rather than doing his duty it says nineveh on the other hand was located about 700 miles northeast of joppa so nineveh was basically down the road but jonah went through our lengths to go as far away as possible to run from god and to run from what god was trying to do through him and monday's lesson speaks to the three-day rest when we consider rest in jesus we have to recognize that rest comes in various ways sometimes god stops us in our tracks to help us to rest the focus on him that's exactly what happened in the case of jonah jonah was given the mandate he decided to run away to nineveh on the way to nineveh what happened she became stormy and it is said that god was still pursuing jonah god was still pursuing him in spite of his stubbornness in spite of his reluctance it was god through nature was showing proving to jonah listen this is what i want you to do and by all means this is what you will do right exactly so this and even the men so look at this whole scenery jonah was on the ship he went to sleep and the storm came upon the men they sought to do all they can they saw to off-load the ship so that it could be lighter so that they could navigate the sea a little better these men it is said were pagans men who worshipped other gods right yet in all of this and after they acknowledge our jonah knowledge to them that listen this is god trying to teach me a lesson this is god trying to send me a message because i'm trying to run away from him after jonah would have not acknowledged that god spoke to the men that is how i put it god spoke to the men and in that very moment they prayed to god to say listen let let release me from this release me from any ill that we would have done and innocent blood and tell us what to do exactly thank you thank you they saw no jonah so in the moment jonah was sleeping right and the men had the faith to say listen we have been praying to our guys you get up on pray to your god too right pray to your god so that he can help us through this prayer adventure he may be able to help us through this and joanna recognized that god was speaking to him and the long and short we can read the story the men threw him overboard and the storm went away the sea became calm so brethren we see here that in spite of god's force in spite of god's pushing to work with jonah to catch him he still he would rather lose his life than go down there to the people to preach the word of god and so the bible says god spoke to a fish and the fish swallowed him up god prepared a fish the bible says and in the commentary which it it speaks about it it is the biggest mystery about jonah's story is that how could a fish swallow a person now we get into that later but during these three days as it it may not have been three literal days it may be may have been two and a half but it was counted in those days as three days in these three days in the belly of the whale jonah was nudged back into reality was brought god used that opportunity to bring back jonah to his purpose to his reality and join jonah prayed but what did jonah pray about jonah did not focus mostly on the circumstance he was in but he focused on god and the sanctuary and the light that god would have provided to him jonah saw the situation as an inspiration to come back to jesus christ so the heavenly sanctuary is where you find peace and light you can read jonah 2 verse 1 to 9 which speaks about the prayer that jonah prayed sometimes god has to knock us down for us to see the light right for us to see that his way is the best way and so jonah's prayer reflected on the sanctuary reflected on on on the temple of god and the temple signified peace signified solace signified rest signified hope and love and strength and so in that moment of trial and tribulation locked away as it were in the belly of the whale jonathan found comfort in the fact that god was still wanted to work through him and for him to accomplish his stuff ldt we don't have a mic but yes all right so so so just just to highlight what you have said that god god uses nature to accomplish his mission so even when we decide that we want to go a particular way when god asks us to go that way god will use it we'll use um nature to accomplish his mission the commentary says and and and this is coming from a scientist i don't know if he is christian or not but the commentary says that john d morris who is a phd scientist from the institute for creation and research explains that the possibility of jonas being swallowed by a large fish he explains it this way there are several species of whale and of sharks alive today with gullets or throats large enough to swallow manhole among extinct animals like the placeros and some could say that perhaps it is an unknown fish as ella was saying so god could have we we don't know if those if that fish still exists today it may just have been an act of nature on behalf of god but the point is that the story is not impossible so many think that it's a mythical thing that a fish could swallow a man but the story is not impossible he went on to say that the lord prepared well the bible says it rather in jonah 1 17 however we want to look at it it says the lord had prepared a great fish to swallow jonah so god could have created that miracle in the moment just to speak to how powerful he can be to allow his purpose to be fulfilled and what he said after all of this is that we believe in the miraculous so if we believe in the bible and we speak about the bible and how god work then we should understand and accept what the bible has said to us that this is possible so god will knock us down if he must to accomplish his purpose and to help us to understand his purpose in us we continue to choose this lesson which speaks about the mission and the accomplishment of the mission and so we know jonah went to nineveh and he preached and it was so amazing ella i'm sorry you had a point yes um okay shows the power of god the power of god indeed so we look at the mission and and jonah went and preached to the people but what was was their response to jonah their response was immediate prayer and fasting the bible says they went down into an immediate fasting and prayer when the king learned of what jonah preached about he took off his kingly robe he came off his throne and went down into sacrament and ashes and he made a decree to the entire city that neither man nor animal should worship they should not rather should do any work should eat rather but they should pray fast and pray because at that point they recognized their wicked way the holy spirit came upon them and allowed them to recognize they were going in a terrible way and so they went into fasting and prayer they went into repentance we know not the outcome of witnessing efforts but only god so we know not so this is speaking to us no we don't know what our efforts will do so jonah he was upset he was angry he was even surprised as it were that the people repented we know not what the effort our efforts can do but we must leave the rest to god we must do the work and leave the rest to god because only god can accomplish his work in us yes um amen and so the king moved in sincerity the the people moved in sincerity swift action of the king to a decree for the whole city and they acknowledged their wrong and believe they had belief and trust in god because the bible says says that the king moved in this way it says let's throw ourselves on god's mercy this is from the king let's throw ourselves on god's mercy not on our own accomplishments let's rely completely on his goodness and grace because perhaps he would have forgiven them their sins so they recognized their foolish way and repented and moved in the way of fasting and prayer now when we look at jonah's reaction to all of this and i'm i'll wrap up very shortly jonah's reaction in wednesday's lesson was that of disappointment that of anger and it says jonah said he would rather die than see the people speared right he would rather die can you imagine god give you a task you in you your purpose is to help the people to understand that if they didn't turn away from their wicked way then god would destroy them and know that the people repented you're hungry it's as though you didn't believe that the people could could change right so the intent jonah's intent was for the people today jonah's intent was for the people today he was so that's why he was angry and in this whole thing jonas jonah's main concern was his image was his image and how he looked in front of the people because no that god would have would have would have accepted their worship would have accepted their repentance and they turned back no it's almost like jonah looked like a false prophet yes and they repented he said 40 days and the city shall be destroyed but i repented within two or three days right because the holy spirit spoke to them and they accepted they accepted the message of repentance right and so jonah was upset he was angry and he he was more intent and the embarrassment god caused and this whole thing in the beginning he that is the reason he didn't want to go in because he knew god to be a merciful merciful god and that god was swift to to to forgive right and so know that god proved himself to be right he's proven to be right he's saying but god me tell you me tell you said that's why i never wanted to go i did not want to go because of this reason no you make me look like me a fool no you make me look like may have no stains what what i say no gossip so instead of looking at the flip side instead of looking at the fact that our people were saved because of the message he brought he was more intent on looking at himself but sinners to repentance and he forget forgot that as well run down so we see here that god is ever loving god is slow to anger god is always ready to forgive in spite of our waywardness jonah forgot that well he didn't forget it but he was more looking at self and so when we come down to we're coming to a close and we look at this thing being a two-way street god's intent was to both help jonah and help the people of nineveh but if you think about it jonah as you say elder was the weak link jonah was the weakling sometimes we stand in our own way sometimes we stand in our own way for god to fulfill his purpose in us that is one of the lessons we are to learn we need to and this is teaching us so jonah it was a two-way street god start to teach jonah a lesson because he saw that jonah's mind wasn't right but in the process also wanted to send the message to the people so in all of this on june 2 we i encourage you to read jude 2. in all of this we need to know god for ourselves one we need to know god for ourselves we need to remain constant in prayer and we need to study the word for ourselves because sometimes we believe that in our own strength we can do all but it proved jonah proved us proof that god was right jonah couldn't do this in his own strength he was focusing on himself and what he could accomplish but it's important that we need to step back sometimes and recognize that it is only by god's strength that we can do his work yes yes and so i close with this thought and it's crucial that we get this eg word christ of the object lessons page 2 232 says thousands can be reached in the most simple and humble way the most intellectual those who are looked upon as the world's most gifted men and women are often refreshed by the simple words of one who loves god and who can speak of the love as naturally as the whirling speaks of the things that interest him most deeply she also says that in the charge given him jonah had been entrusted with a heavy responsibility yet he who had hidden him or rather beaten him go was able to sustain his servant and grant him success even though jonah didn't think it was successful he grant him success had the prophet obeyed unquestioningly he would have been speared all the bitter experiences he endured and would have been blessed abundantly yet in the of jonah's despair the lord did not desert him through a series of trials and strange providences the prophet's confidence in god and his infinite power to save was to be revived brothers and sisters let us trust in jesus let us trust in god as our supreme guide let us not think about what we can do enough in our own strength let us remember that is by daily supplication prayer and story of the word that we can gain strength to do the will of god and let us use jonah's story as an example that we must trust god and trust his leading may god bless you richly as you worship through the remaining portion of today we want to thank elder giles for taking us through lesson study and just being mindful that on zoomlan or youtube we might have our children as i sat there i thought about the jonah song and for those who know it you can sing along god sent jonah to neverland anybody knows that song well i'm feeling very old today but we would sing the song god sent jonah to nineveh land to warn the people of that wicked land jonah got angry and he didn't want to go he took a ship and he went away god blew a mighty wind and storm god blew a mighty wind and storm god blew a mighty wind and storm and he troubled everybody's mind wake up sleeper what's your name my name is jonah where are you from all the trouble is because of me throw me overboard and let the ship go free god blew a mighty wind and storm god blew a mighty wind and storm god blew a mighty wind and storm and he troubled everybody's mind that was for children no paul in his writing states that the human body has many parts but many parts make up one body so it is with the body of christ he compares the human body to the body of christ with three principles one each part of the body has a vital role to play two every part of the body needs to function as intended for the body to stay healthy and principle number three every part of the body needs to appreciate every other part of the body at this time i will invite sister angela bennett to demonstrate principle number three as we continue to live in our communities up is so happy sabbath church i am angela bennett and with me is sister michelle roh and we're tasked to introduce to you some special guests among us today from the healthcare system we see them dressed up in their blue uniforms traversing our communities on a daily basis i speak of no other than our community health is their main functions are to motivate educate care for and offered advice to citizens pregnant women post natal mothers babies and introduce pap smear and family planning to citizens they ensure mothers know how to care for their babies such as preparing meals and hygiene they also assist at the health centers they do surveillances from host house when there is an outbreak of malaria dengue and kovid 19 just to name a few brethren it is with this knowledge that the saint john's sda summer school department have decided to appreciate these nurses on this or community guest day under the theme are we living christ in our communities i can assure you that these ladies are going above and beyond to represent christ in what they do these frontline workers they not only serve the communities in which they are assigned but wherever the need is they pick up medications for shotings and elderlies and their offer their skills in communities or to anyone who are in need once you are in need they are at your service we appreciate you in our communities at always community health aides to receive tokens of appreciation today are from the following health centers in our very own church families and our very own church families live and attend these health centers health centers are kitson town sydenham cumberland road and the san diego health centers persons to be appreciated are mrs lewis thomas carter okay she's unavoidable absent she's not feeling well her token will be collected and and over next we have mrs sharon graham obsted mrs veronica jones martin mrs donnett grant spencer mrs carol bailey all right she's not here mrs jean braced collier mrs jones followed brown mrs marva redwood mrs jones partisan davis and she is from the waterford health center mrs margaret spence sorry sims mrs margaret sims on our very own mrs jennifer mcgann all right and we have mrs evan gordon pinock and miss marjorite who are unavoidable absent okay brethren it is with this knowledge that the saint john's sorry brethren we continue to pray for these community health aides as they risk their lives and their lives of their families and themselves on a daily basis to ensure that we are taken care of ladies may the lord be with you and grant you strength from d2d i will now invite mr rosen while we're we don't have a full church we want to show our guests how we welcome our visitors on a regular basis over and over and over is praise the lord praise the lord you may be seated as christians it is our expectation to walk as christ walked talk as he did and work fervently while looking to him as we live but how can we bring others if or we ourselves luck be comforted brethren that god reminds us in his words be imperfect even as your father which is heaven is perfect he calls upon each of us to put self aside study his words and grow in the fear of the lord our christians responsibilities are outlined in the following scriptures ephesians 4 verse 32 and be kind one to another tenderhearted forgiving one another even as christ gave you hebrews 13 verse 2 be not forget full to entertain strangers for thereby some of entertained angels unaware romans 12 17 recompense no to no man evil for evil provide things honest in the sight of all men luke 6 35 but love your neighbors and do good and the land hoping for nothing again and your rewards shall be great mark 11 25 and when he stand praying forgive if we have ought against anyone that your father also which is in heaven may forgive your trespasses philippians 4 6 be careful for nothing but in everything by apparent supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known unto god ii corinthians 9 verse 7 god loves the cheerful giver as we live in our communities let us lead by example as we draw others to christ in closing i will leave this poem with us i was shocked confused and bewildered as i entered heaven's door not by the beauty of it all nor the lights or its decor but it was the folks in heaven who made me sputter and gasp the thieves the liars the sinners the alcoholics and the trash there stood the kid from seventh grade who swiped my lunch money twice next to him was my old neighbor who never said anything nice bob who i always thought was rotting away in hell was sitting pretty on cloud nine looking rather well i'm not jesus what's the deal i would love to hear your take hold all these sinners get up here could god have made a mistake and why is everyone so quiet so somber give me a clue hush child he said they're all in shock no one thought they'd see you let this not be a thought for us this is food for thought this is food for thought let us continue to live in our communities bringing god's love and hope to all those who come in contact as we as christians as we impact it's goodbye from sabbath school our sister swearing will close with a musical selection thank you all for sharing in our service today is greater far than tongue or pain can ever tell it goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest the guilty pear but done with care god gave his son to win is oh love of god or rich and pure how many foreign could we within the ocean feel and where the skies of parchment made where every stalk on earth and every man asks cry by trade to rise our love of god above would trade the all shall dry nor could oh our reach and pure a major lesson and destroy one the family life director would like to thank all members who participated and support the family togetherness week and it was a blessing to the blessing and we wanted to continue to support the church programs or wherever possible do your best this morning we want to use our present ministry um section to encourage us as members that we must come closer to the members those who are members of the church and those who are on the outside because our purpose is not like jonathan are we able to come closer and bring us one to one another to god because only so when we bring each other to god then we ourself will be blessed there is a need of coming close to the people by personal efforts it is less time if less time was given to sermonizing and more time were spent in personal ministry greater results would be seen ministry of healing page 143 the lord desire that his words of grace shall be brought home to every soul to a great degree this must be accomplished by personal labor this was christ method quest object lesson page two to nine those who have been more successful in soul winning were men and women who did not pride themselves on their ability who in humanity and humility and faith sought to develop themselves who sought to help themselves about jesus did not jesus did this very work he came close to those who he desire to teach gospel worker page 194 in christ like sympathy we should come close to men and women individually and to seek to await in their interests in the great things of eternal life their heart may be as hard as a beaten highway and apparently it may be a useless effort to present the savior to them but while logic may fail to move and argument the powerless to convince the love of christ revealed in ministry personal ministry may soften the stone heart so that the seed of truth can take root christ object lesson page 57 by personal labor each reach those who around you so we are to reach those among us by personal labor not a group thing individual become acquainted with them preaching will not do the work that need to be done angel of god attend you to the to the dwelling of those who you visit this work cannot be done by taxi money lengths are given will never accomplish it sermon will not do it by visiting the people talking praying and sympathizing with them you will win their heart this is the highest missionary work you can do to do it you will need resolute perseverant faith and waving patience and a deep love for the soul volume 9 testimony page 41 may we continue to bless and to be individual in our task yes thank you the holy tales hello my name is tubby i live here in this wonderful library and i love to eat books i live here with my friends gumbo and freckles gumbo freckles come out come out wherever you are over there on that great book is grand old holy she is really old and wise and tells us wonderful stories when she is awake that is i have already thought about the story that i'm going to tell you today yes please go on once upon a time jesus told the story of the good samaritan there was a man who was traveling from jerusalem to jericho on his way he was robbed and beaten up by a few bad men the poor traveller lay on the ground hurt and wounded when a priest walked right past him the priest saw the man but he did not help him soon after the priest passed by there was a levite who walked by him he too saw the man lying on the ground but he did not go to help him either some time later a samaritan went right by the wounded man and he felt sad for him the man was miserable and hurt and no one was there to help him so he washed and bandaged the traveler's wounds and carried him to a nearby inn the samaritan then paid the innkeeper some money and said please take good care of this poor wounded man for me saying this he left jesus then asked the people so who was the good neighbor in the story of course it was a samaritan because he helped a man in need so did you like today's story what did you learn from it shall we did we learned um the moral of the story is that we should always help people when they need it good i hope you will all remember this but holy what is today's question today's question is who did not help the wounded traveler the priest and also the levite excellent now go so that you can come back tomorrow let me sleep and don't be naughty holy tales happy sabbath again brothers and sisters we invite you to join us in the singing of songs of praise unto god but before we do we'll ask you to bow your heads for prayer almighty father we thank you so much for taking us into your courts today to worship and praise your holy name as we are about to sing songs onto your name we act that you will prepare our hearts for worship today through these songs and may your name be lifted high and glorified in your son's name amen set me in your anointing saturate me in your presence one more time in your presence i've got to have more of your anointing in my life saturate me o lord today give myself away i give myself away so you can use me i give myself away i give myself away so you can use me right is we away so you can use me give myself away lord prepare tried and true me for you one more time lord tried and true now we're going to sing that's a god who's you are god alone who's in your god alone and i invite you all to sing with us because this song is very dear to me and i hope it will touch your hearts as well amen okay you are not a partner by human hands you are not a god dependent anything we can give by your plan that's just the way it is anything we can give by your plans that's just the way it is you are god alone from before time began you are on your throne you are god alone and right now and right now you are god alone right one more time from before time began you are on your throne you are god alone you are amen amen see the lord while he may be found call upon him while he's near let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts let him turn to the lord and he will have mercy on him and our god for he will freely pardon the church is now called to worship amen behind on this day we've come to give you praise is on this day amen amen let us pray almighty god into your courts we have come with hearts of thanksgiving and praise you are worthy of our worship you alone o god is worthy of our praise and so we bow in your presence and ask oh god that you will condescend that you will teach us as we confess our sins to you lead us we pray in jesus name amen our aim of praise is number 15. my maker and my king is my grace is foreign let every word you is be seated episode everyone god is good all the time it's a privilege for us to be here alive and well isn't it and i just want to say it's good to be together don't it we feel so out of place you know i don't used to send jeans like this ladies in blue welcome we are not used to it like this we are we always have a house full but you know as time goes by we'll have to adapt to whatever situation is i just want to say to you this morning for those of us who are here for those who are on youtube and on our zoom platform my name is sister jennifer blackstock i just want to say on behalf of pastors roy dennis and kevin richards the privilege is mind to welcome you to our community guest day today i want to say welcome to our community health aides i want to say to our community visitors who might be on zoom and on youtube to our friends and to our neighbors the pleasure is mine to extend to you a warm and cheerful welcome give me a smile well i know you can't smile the mouse is a barrier but i can see the eyes okay system again i can see the eyes i want to say welcome to you all to this beautiful sabbath day where we have come to give god the praise is not what we are here for yes and to give him honor and glory again i say to you all and also to our president of the jamaica union conference welcome welcome welcome to saint john's everything else depend on jesus i depend on jesus if i trust him amen at this time we'll have our our song of praise or offerterry father we know understand so cheer up my understanding when we see jesus when he home in the sky then we shall meet him in that right oh so cheer up my god and we understand and we understand oh by and by oh to prepare our cells to give back to the lord i read for you first chronicles 29 verse 11 to 13 says yours oh lord is the greatness the power and the glory and majesty and the splendor for everything in heaven and earth is yours yours oh lord is the kingdom you are exalted as head over all wealth and honor come from you you are the ruler of all things in your hands our strength and power to exalt and give strength to all know or god we give you thanks and praise your glorious name as we reflect on the power of god and the ability of god to provide for us and to give us all that we have may we allow the lord to lead us you know in our giving that we may give back to him what is his the furtherance of his cause and just to remind those online that you may feel free you you are not exempt at this time from giving you may feel free to utilize our dropbox provided at the church during the hours of 9 a.m and 10 years on sabbath morning and if you desire for someone to collect shame from your host wherever you are you may contact any one of the elders or in a particular way elder astrica thompson whose number is 391 three nine one seven you may also utilize transfer services and the account information is displayed on the screen for those who are desirous of transferring directly into the saint john's bank account and that is displayed on the screen and please remember after transferring those funds you may email your receipt and breakdown to st john's surgery 2021 yahoo.com may you maybe borrow heads for prayer as we give god thanks for what you will receive almighty father we thank you so much for preserving our lives to see today we thank you for your leading and for your direction and for providing so many things to us for pouring out your blessing upon all of us may you allow us to remember what is yours and give back to you and may we remain faithful to this cause so that your work can be full can be completed and you're coming fulfilled may you bless all those online and those within the hearing of my voice so that they may give and give abundantly in your son's name we pray amen please prepare yourselves those in-house for the collection of our tithe and offering please turn for me our kneel if you can let us pray safely through another week god has brought us on our way let us know a blessing seek waiting in his courts today almighty father and o god working heaven i just want to give a thanks for this grand privilege that we can gather together to harsh the lord's blessing we prayed this morning o god and ask you lord forgive me where i have sinned and come short through the course of the week and help me lord to turn from my sinful ways and turn to you whom it is life eternal father we are here lord to lift you up and to praise thy name the only name that given to men unheard whereby we can be saved we pray holy god that he will just help us oh god to do your will we pray this morning oh god for these eld workers oh god are on the front line duty they are doing a heavy task dear jesus but help them not to give up have them to trust you with all their heart and not to lead on their own understanding but in always lord help them to acknowledge you and you shall direct their path i'm asking you to over them each day with your holy spirit lord to guide them to protect them and to lead them to your dear jesus we pray for unity in our church this morning oh god father we pray oh god you'll bind us and unite us together as one let us live as a people of god knowing that lord your covenant is at hand and you will give every man according at his work shall be what they have done in their lives this morning oh god you're afraid of our word for us you have prepared your man's servant pastor brown from the union conference by name lord i pray oh god that you just hold him into the aloe palm of your hand let ready come dear lord he will not speak word of himself but the holy spirit will lead him and guide man of holy more god and he will preach thus saith the lord i'm asking the country to be with him guide him dear jesus and protect him from arms and danger be with his families also o god and i pray o god that when you come to give us a word give us a receptive heart and mind when we respond to your lord and who have not given their life to you will come to know your whom which is life eternal and they will turn over their life to you thank you for what you will do in advance oh god bless this program bless every heart lord and when we shall live here we can say lord it was good for us to be here save us when you shall come is your prayers and our asking in the precious name of jesus christ let everyone say amen is foreign participating in our worship today we have sister jennifer blackstock who did a welcome we had a song of praise by brother robert bailey our offertory was done by elder don mayne giles scripture reading was done by sister tomica powwell our pastoral purr was done by brother wilbert harris we want to say a special thanks to sister allen for music and brother rowe for technical support closing our benediction will be done by sister sheldon gordon and our vote of thanks will be done by sister michelle roe at this time to introduce our guest speaker we call our call upon our associate pastor pastor kevin richards thank you i am sister marian marshall happy sabbath everyone happy salvation life congregation and happy service to the online congregation it is my privilege and joy on behalf of dr roy dennis our senior pastor to greet you especially on this or community guest day for 2021 we're moving under the theme are we living christ in our community and i pray that if you get nothing else from today's session that that question will truly pierce your heart not only as community aids not only as seventh-day adventist christians but every single person especially our visiting friends in this pandemic especially are you in company with jesus are you living for him and reflecting him to others let that be the thought that will guide you i would like to register on behalf of dr denise's sincere greetings not only to our community aides and to our members here but also especially to our guests we know our senior pastor wears many different cups he's the family life and counseling director for the central jamaica conference and as a result he's on another duty but i'm thankful to represent him i'm pleased this morning to introduce to you the one who will speak to us on this or very special unique and unprecedented community yesterday 2021. the one who will speak to us is the pastor of the jamaica union conference of seventh-day adventists which means he lead the church here in jamaica he is the husband of sister lana brown he is the father of jonathan and matthew and i know that saint john's is pleased to hear this he is our former pastor he meant somebody so he would have served us well and i heard faster than his doctor dennis would have been sharing that he has been in the district conducted the funeral service for sister phillips and later on today he will be conducting another spiritual funeral as he buries two candidates in the water grave of baptism i'm pleased to introduce to you today our president pastor everett brown but just before he comes we'll be favored with melodious music by our own praise team after which we'll hear from god's messenger pastor brown hear ye him we're an anchor for those who are hurting we're not but for those who are lost but sometimes it's not always easy bear in colour's crust we've been ridiculed by those who don't know him and mock by those who don't believe still i love standing up for my jesus for all that he's done for me that's why i am not ashamed of the gospel the gospel of jesus christ no i am not ashamed to be counted but i'm willing to give my life see i'm ready to be all he wants me to be of the gospel no i am not ashamed of the gospel of jesus christ for every moment his hands have held a mercy for all the love he showed all my life a simple thanks doesn't say how i'm feeling i've got tears in my eyes but as for me i keep on believing in the one who's been faithful to me i'm not about to please this whole world around me cause my mind's only turned nerdy that's why i am not ashamed of the gospel the gospel of jesus but i'm willing to give gave up the wrath for the right no i am not ashamed of that am god ashamed of the gospel i got too much behind me to let this world blind me i am not ashamed of the gospel too much behind me to let i am not ashamed no i am not ashamed of this gospel of jesus christ is amen amen so happy for that powerful message in song not ashamed the gospel of jesus christ thank you pastor dennis dr dennis for and pastor richards for giving me this opportunity to stand before your members to fellowship and to worship i'm delighted to be in the house of god and to share with your leadership team pastor dennis and pastor richards the wider membership of the church as we worship god today i want to share special words of greetings with sister keisha dennis and the the children and sister richards because of the restrictions we i'm fortunate to be here today and so i just want to greet all those persons who would have loved to be here today members of the church but you are worshiping with us online as my wife and family are doing also thank you elder giles for being a good ambassador of saint john's sister syd energized sister giles when when your husband called me on the phone and mentioned saint john's and he was extending the invitation to say pastor brown if you are available sister we would be happy to have you little didn't know that i was just waiting for that kind of invitation and i said yes i am so happy to be with you today can i share a secret with you when i spoke with pastor richards last evening and i said to him pastor the service would be virtual so that means i could preach from home and he said he said yes you could pass the bro we are having a group of community health workers in the morning and then after that we will segue into and if you are timing me this is not the time to tiny uh so he said a group of community health workers will be worshipping a church today and i in my mind he told me about samasha you will be superintendent and in my mind i knew i'd be seeing brother roe and i wondered whether or not i'd be seeing the fitness i wonder whether or not i'd be seen to submarine attempts i wonder elder thompson whether or not i'll be seeing brothers and sisters i wondered whether or not i'd been seeing clark and clark i would wonder whether or not i would be seen amongst the other 19 persons my extended saint john's family and i said you know what pastor richards if dr dennis will allow me to be in church church i would be and so i joined the the church in extending welcome to our community health workers and to extend our hearts congratulations to you for the work you do uh sometimes i and if she's here and she knows this sometimes when i'm going out to do a funeral service no you improve it or i'm going out to pray for a sick my wife would say to me everett are you sure because she's concerned about my health and my safety and you are at the front line going out into the communities risking your health to preserve our health we owe you a debt of gratitude and we pray that god will continue to protect you as you serve him as you serve us and as you serve your country i didn't plan for this you know sometimes some things happen you want to do something because you've messed up badly and you you don't know that you ask god for a second chance and god has given me a second chance this morning i'm gonna ask rosen allen to join me here please roseanne please join me please join me on the platform you see brethren thank you just stand right there yes you see brethren i chaired the board of the university and at our last graduation i because it was virtual most of the graduates were not present and so they were calling names and calling names and i i i didn't have a chance to go through all the other names and so one of the graduates was a member of this church sister rosen allen graduated on that day and i mentioned at the graduate at the graduation that two or four workers children were graduated and i mentioned them and i did not mention rosanne rosen i want you to know that we we love you we appreciate you and we want to congratulate you on achieving this milestone in your academic pursuit you're going to do well as a teacher you're going to make us proud you're going to make your parents proud and you're going to make god proud god bless you congratulations and soar rosa thank you thank you thank you thank you know that i've gotten off my head i can preach now we have come today as the body of christ to fellowship and to worship the one who is above all of the name and as we worship we worship against the backdrop that there are number of persons who are grieving last yesterday morning i i called sister clay gone and i i called her the evening before prayed with her and i called her yesterday morning and i felt the pain as she tried to deal with the loss of her husband and as they make plans for the memorial service on the 28th i think next tuesday but not only she a number of persons are grieving the last of a loved one this morning a number of our members from the church and citizens of this country are sick and disheartened and we want them to to know that god still cares in the moment of bereavement in their moments of grief as they grapple with hopelessness i want them to remember the god of hope the god of peace the god of comfort the god who promises will one day fulfill his promise to his people we pray for the their healing we pray for the protection of this nation but we urge you my brothers and sisters those of you who are here and those of you who are listening and watching virtually i urge you to anchor your faith not in the science anchor your faith not in man but to anchor your faith in the blessed hope that we have in jesus christ david in his worship of god said let us come before him let us come before his presence with thanksgiving let us shout joyfully to the god of all gods so we have come today to worship to feast at his table and the portion of the written word that god has laid on my heart that i wish to share with you comes from colossians chapter 3 and verse 12 through to verse 17. i want to read it again for emphasis colossians chapter 3 verse 12 through to 70. therefore as the elect of god holy and beloved put on tender mercies kindness humility meekness long suffering verse 30 bearing with one another and forgiving one another even as christ forgave you so you must also do but above all these things above all these things put on love which is the bond of perfection verse 15 and let the peace of god rule in your hearts to which also you were called in one body and be thankful let the world of christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in sounds and hymns and spiritual son singing with grace in your heart for the honor and glory of the lord verse 17 says and this is important and whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the lord jesus giving thanks to god the father through him this is the word of god wrote to the church recorded here in colossians chapter 3 and paul describes the believers here in colossians chapter 3 paul is giving a description paul is putting forth how the christians the believers present in the body of christ then or to live in a world of sin paul called the members of the church elect of god therefore you the elect of god the elect of god according to paul are expected to relate to one another differently and our relationship with each other in the body of christ and in the community or to be motivated by the love that god has placed in our heart the transforming power of god's love in our heart should motivate us to forgive one another should motivate us to be patient with each other should influence us to be caring paul says because of god's love in your heart in your life whatever you do in words and deeds should bring honor and glory not to an organization honor and glory not to any man but honor and glory to god so the frame of reference for your action is because god lives in you and your wishes to please god and hence that which is in you influences you to do that which brings honor and glory to the name of god hence your theme for this community guest day are we living christ in the community saint john's this theme has challenged me let me say that again this theme condemns me but praise god there is hope in jesus praise god i am coming on the rough side of the mountain and god is not finished with me yet but this theme also gives me hope my brothers and sisters the we in your theme is not some fictitious idea the we in your theme refers to you and refers to me are we living christ in the community and paul was talking about the community of faith but i suspect that your theme is not speaking primarily of the community of faith if your theme is saying are we as a called out community of faith living our faith in the community we are the elect of god the church in the community let us pray heavenly father use me today o god to share a message of hope a message that will transform a message that will settle us as members of your church a message that will draw men and women to you i pray in jesus name there are two main points that i'd like to share with you and i asked the pastor already and he has given me 45 minutes and after that 45 minutes it's finished so let me use my time wisely and i just started 45 minutes now because all of that was the introduction there are two main points that i'd like two main points that the holy spirit has laid on my heart as i wrestle with this text and as i ask the holy spirit to guide me in sharing with you today too one or the first one i would like us to in worship today have a clear understanding a clear definition of who the church is or what the church is i want us to leave here i want you in your home to understand to develop a definition an understanding clearly of what the churches are who the church is and secondly what is the work our purpose our mission our roles our role our function of the church in the community that she serves let me begin my exaltation by asking some very pertinent questions how would you define the church what does the bible have to say about the church jesus says in matthew speaking to peter upon this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it if your neighbor asks you this afternoon or tomorrow to describe your church or define the church what would be your response what is the church are more appropriate who is the church should the church or how should the church function in the community what is the purpose yes the mission of the church in the community if you were to paint a picture of the church what picture would you paint watch me now and i'm not afraid to say this because this is public news during the week the gleaner paints a picture of the sin they have been discharged i won't repeat it but during the week the cleaner paints an unfavorable picture of the seventh-day adventist church in my opinion a false picture but that's the impression that some people gave this news reporter watch me i'm going somewhere for me my brothers and sisters the church in the community could be compared with a hospital the church in the community is a hospital for sinners this is awesome this is awesome i say the church in the community is a hospital for sinners the church building is not the church i will i i want you to see that there are times that our concept of the church is that the church building is so holy that we are afraid to allow sinners to come into the building lest the sinners tarnish the holy building watch me i'm going somewhere we're talking about are we living christ in the community and i'm saying that the church building is not the church the church in the community the church of the living god in the community could be compared with the hospital and so i'm saying the church in the community is a hospital for sinners sinners who are dying and sinners without any hope but for the grace of almighty god building is just a building furthermore since the onset of the pandemic i have come to appreciate more fully that the church is not the building because if the church where the building when the building is locked up the church will be locked up but the bible says not even the gates of hell can lock up the church we are not constrained by four walls god's church god's is dynamic god's church is alive god's church is the apple of his eye and so the building beside the gas station on bed lane is not the saint john's church what is the church or who is the church the scripture describes the church as the body of christ the bride of christ the church of the living god again i asked how would you describe your church what picture would you paint of your church i am the church you are the church the church is god's called out body of people god calls out his church empowers his church and places this church in the community to bring honor and glory to his name point number two the second point that i wish to make today is that the church has a unique role to play in the community amen and that's where your theme comes in are we fulfilling our role as a church in the community the bible says in matthew chapter 5 and verse 16 let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works that they may see your good works and big up the church know that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven so the church should be reflecting the light of jesus christ and as we reflect the light of jesus christ through our words and through our deeds our good works and our good deeds bring honor and glory to the name of jesus christ can i hear you say amen the church must by words and deeds lead sinners in the community to jesus and by her good works bring honor and glory to the name of god we today as god's remnant church have been called out of the community to serve and to save the community you know sometimes we fail to recognize that we have been called to to serve the community pastor brown is not the ideal example of the church pastor richards a handsome pudding pasta is not your frame of reference when it comes to the church jesus christ is and jesus in his parabolic teaching method outlined to his disciples then and his church today our pastoral and prophetic roles in the community yes we have a pastoral role and we have a prophetic role the church the question are we living christ in the community this story is stolen and jesus saw in the pharisees where the leaders leadership group of the church and he saw through their hypocrisy and veneer when it came to true worship and he told the story of the man who was traveling from one town to another a treacherous pathway and robbers almost robbed him and killed him and he was there dying and the priest came by and because he was going to worship he did not want to tame himself with condescending to help a dying person the other came and walked by on the other side but someone whom your least expect would show kindness to this man went over took him cared for him and jesus asked who is this man's neighbor if you are the church or since we are the church what does the church look like on a monday morning in the community what does the church looks like on a sabbath evening what does the church looks like on a sabbath morning the apostle in his letter to the church wrote therefore as elect of god holy and beloved is illite drawn from the world drawn out of the crucibles of trials and problems and pain and hopelessness and anchored in the body of christ paul says his healing is a holy and beloved group and his elect his church out of the bowels of their compassion should exercise tender mercies kindness and humility and meekness so that god's name can be glorified amongst the gentiles but more than that peter's description of the church is worth noting not only poor peter describes the church he says for you are a royal priesthood a holy nation god's special people hold on hold on hold on we were talking at the office yes you know we talk at the office yes so we were talking at the office and we were talking about the sabbath and i said you know because the sabbath is holy and because i'm going into the presence of god the shirts that i were to work are where to the market i don't wear it to church i don't wear the church special shirt to to to go to god god doesn't concern about your shirt what he's constant about your heart and if your heart is dirty in the market when you go to church and stuff about your heart is going to be dirty also your white shirt can wash it only the blood of jesus christ can cleanse the heart of sin oh how did i get into that the bible says we are a royal priesthood church in the community a holy nation gods special people and because we are god's special people because we are gods the conduit the repository the channel of god's grace because god floods his grace in our life we should show forth the praises of him who has done this thing in us by proclaiming his love oh that's not what the bible is the bible says we should proclaim his praises the church therefore should look like jesus say amen the church in the community should function like jesus sister jasmine 40 minutes come just wave your hand the church should look like jesus function like jesus in the community if we are the church if i am the church i should not only look like jesus but i should what live like jesus i should act like jesus the jacket don't make don't bring honor and glory to god it is the life that i live in the community that will draw men and women to jesus cannot be a repository of any grace or goodness but as i mentioned how we live let me share this story i've shared it so many times so that if you ever heard it before just say yes pastor don't have any more illustration i'm using it i was those days some time ago when you could travel from jamaica on an airplane and you could sit in the plane without any mask so because god has endured me with long long things long legs i usually try to get her i'll see it and so i broke my i'll seat and play the extra dollars manipulate the church pay the extra dollars for for the aisle seat so i went in and when i went in i saw two persons sitting sitting in a b c and i was a d and when i sat down the lady at sea was restless she said me no no with him we didn't put in place johnny we don't know where they never placed him beside and she continued and she continued and she continued and i said lord you mean i have to bear this from miami to jamaica and i said ma'am would you prefer johnny to come and sit here and i go down and sit and you know what johnny was sitting not a not d but johnny was sitting way down at 20 b in the middle of the worst seat i was at 50d and she was making so much noise watch me know that when i go down to 20 and sit in 20b the man beside me says boy if you never leave that seat i don't know how you would survive it and he said it in an and he's an american and we started to talk and he says who are you and i said i am at brett brown he says what do you do i say my past in jamaica and he says now i know what is your church and i started to tell him about my church and we chatted from miami to jamaica about my church and he said he was doing special security work at the u.s embassy and i said i'm going to church tomorrow and he says you go to church in kingston and i said no but i could go to church in kingston if you want me to go to church in kingston and he said yes i'd love to come to church with you and he says this church i said i'm going to go to andrews he says tell me about andrews and i said andrews is a church where a lot of the professionals go it's the hospital et cetera et cetera et cetera and i said but there's another church out harbour view that i could take it to he says take me to half of you and we went to harborview i preached made an appeal and he came forward and we can we continue to to pray and to talk for almost a year i don't know what effect that meeting had on his life what can you but imagine didn't get up out of my seat that this man would not know and hear about god save being great of god we are imitators of god in the community imitating jesus we are not called to imitate unrulyness we are not called to imitate mr goulding we are not called to imitate donald trump as a matter of fact we are not even called to imitate pastor brown we are called to be imitators of jesus christ listen i am i am i'm going to wrap this up but you need to if you get find this book courageous leadership build high bills after visiting ground zero that's the place where the world trade center were and so after the destruction and a lot of agencies and government people went into there to handle things and to do all kinds of things and blah blah blah he went down there um after and he said this in his book courageous leadership this is what he says there is nothing like the local church when it is working right its beauty is indescribable its power is breathtaking its potential unlimited it confronts the grieving and heals the broken it builds bridges to seekers and offers truth to the confused it provides resources for those in need and opens its arms to the forgotten the downtrodden the disillusion it breaks the chains of addiction frees the oppressed and offers belonging to the marginalized of the world he further stated whatever the capacity for human suffering the church has a greater capacity for healing and wholeness and i say that the church is you and what he's describing is you when i the church sees a grieving neighbor and reach out to that grieving neighbor the church is living christ in the community when i as a church share my bread with the hungry and see the joy of being fed on his face i am living christ in the community what if i hoard my food if i keep myself to myself and come into the building talk about how great the world god says that is not true religion true religion is to share your bread with the hungry to share your to share your clothing with the naked to help those who are need yes finally the work and role and purpose and mission of the church is incomplete watch me know if she feeds the hungry clothe the naked provide shelter to the homeless and leave the hopeless in their sins you didn't hear that if the church goes out and feed all the hungry people in jamaica clothe all people who need clothing and give houses to poor people all over jamaica and leave them in their sin and they die in their sin they will die a rich sin they will die a healthy sinner this church not only have a pastoral role to pay the church of the living god has a prophetic role to play the bible says we must show forth the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light and hence the church must not only feed as jesus paid the church was not only clothed as jesus chloe for the church in the community as it imitates jesus must proclaim the everlasting gospel the everlasting gospel of jesus christ the church must lead men and women to christ prepare men and women to experience the saving grace in their lives today if we have failed today if we have compromised our calling god who is rich in mercy god who is full of grace god who is forgiving will forgive us the god who took the hand of a failed leader like david in his sin and touch his heart so that david says o god renew your spirit in me change my heart oh god that god is willing to change your heart today and to fill us with his rich grace to empower us so that we can live that which christ wants us to live in the community so that our lives can draw men and women to him we are called to proclaim the goodness of salvation we are called as a church to share the everlasting gospel as reflected in revelation chapter 14 the three angels message call men and women to come out of falls satanic worship to worship the true and living god we are called to do that and if we do not do that as god's healing if we do not feed the poor if we do not exercise mercy if we fail to share the love of jesus with our neighbor god is going to hold us accountable today as i reflect on your theme i sense that a gracious god wants me today to recommit my life to him to recommit my resources to him to recommit my time my mind my life to him as a church are you willing to recommit your life to jesus to place your ministry in his hands to place your resources in his hands oh i'm not digressing now i'm just being practical and current even if the virus should take your life if you remain faithful to god pardon me that is inconsequential to the ultimate outcome because the outcome is already assured death will not hold us back death will not rob us of that which god has provided for us the hope that burns within our heart will become a reality on that day when jesus comes he says today oh my church i am not slow as men count slowness i am long suffering not willing not any should perish i want my church to live for me so that men and women can see me so that men and women will be drawn to me so that men and women will surrender their lives to me is there someone today not yet a member of the church who wants to say jesus take my life and let it be i'm consecrating my life to you if you're here and you want christ to live in you to use you in the community i want you to raise your hand if you are at home and you want to recommit yourself to god bow your heads with me gracious god loving father forgive us cleanse us empower us use us as lights in this dark world save us now and keep us so that when you come we all will go home with you we all will be with those you have led us to lead to you this is our prayer this is our commandment we pray in jesus name amen after such a powerful and a very soul-searching sermon let us stand to our feet as we sing the m 330 take my life and let it be always only for my take my will and make it shall be no longer take myself thee the lord bless you and keep you the lord make his face shine upon you and be and be gracious unto you the lord turn his face towards you and give you peace amen amen you may be seated the privilege is mine this afternoon on behalf of our church pastor dr roy dennis and our associate pastor kevon richards pastor kevin richards to extend a very special thanks to each and everyone who participated in our service today i want to extend a special thanks to our community health aides i know that you could have found other things to do today working so hard during the week but we're so grateful that you actually accepted our invitation and you're here with us today so thank you very much for coming i also want to say a very special thanks to sister i was at a meeting yesterday and when i heard how many things she had to do in the position the capacity that she holds i thought i never know she would make it this morning but i give god thanks sister candy stamps and i asked virgin that you pray for her and the team because trust me the work is is great um my husband is saying that i'm a nurse deputy nature and candice thompson pastor pastor brown oh pastor looking because he know he made a mistake yes man it was it was jails no it's our sister so we'll forgive you is our sister close resemblance pastor ron we are really happy to have you today we have truly been blessed by your message we have been blessed by your presence today and we continue to pray that the lord will bless you and your family and we want to say a very special thanks once again thank you and on behalf of all of us the church especially our sabbath school department i want to present this token of our appreciation too okay have a good rest of the day everyone and thanks again for coming is is with you oh brothers and sisters may the peace of the lord go with you and we do a virtual wave god bless you have a happy rest of the sabbath and please remember our bible class or district district bible class this evening beginning at 4 00 and we'll rejoin our our church platform at five o'clock for a y and then vespers to close and remember sunday and wednesday keep me is god is is forever save your love is is yes he's mighty he's great he's great he's so great he's great deliberately is my we praise you we praise you we praise you he can move keep me in the valley and hide me from the rain my guardians also use me when i'm broken strength is holy

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Length: 235min 28sec (14128 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 18 2021