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The Elmira Seventh-day Adventist Church October 2005 Newsletter |
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The Elmira Seventh-day Adventist Church October 2005 Newsletter |
This was given to me many years ago, thought I'd share it with you. I hope you find this helpful, as I have. GOD'S FIVE MINUTE PLAN (To eliminate any bad or limiting habit in your life)
First you must be willing to let God give you the victory over the habit, and choose to no longer do it!
Then, take 3 simple steps, based on the Bible.
Step # 1 Believe the promise: "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57).
This first step is critical, don't miss it! Victory is a gift from God. If you try to stop your bad habit you will fail, if you struggle and work at it you will fall, and become discouraged. So the first step is simple, don't try to stop or quit your habit! Sit back and relax, and accept the victory over the bad habit as a gift from God! It's that simple!!!!! Now, this is totally contrary to our natures. We feel like we have to work at it, we have to try, and give it our best shot. But how many times have you done that and failed? God's way is a lot easier. Let's say you are smoking. You simply read the promise, go to God and say, "Thank you for the victory over smoking, I accept it as a gift from you, and praise you that I am now an ex-smoker. Thank you, I no longer have to try to quit, Thank you, I no longer have to struggle, and I have the victory over it and it sure feels great!"
Step # 2. Believe the promise: "So, you also must consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11 RSV).
The second step is simple. Consider yourself dead to the sin or habit in your life. Believe you are dead to it because God said so. It's done, finished, over, Period. If you smoke, you now consider that part of you dead, and dead people don't smoke the last time I checked. If you walk into a store and are tempted to purchase a carton of cigarettes, you smile, and say, "Thank you God for the victory over smoking! I'm dead to it and it sure feels good to be dead to that nasty habit!" Again, don't try to struggle, or fight the habit, just relax, believe the promise and it is done.
Step # 3. Do your part: "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" (Romans 13:14 RSV) . The third step is something you must do. You must do away with anything that feeds the habit. If you smoke, throw away anything that has to do with smoking, - cigarettes, ash trays, lighters. When you do your part, God does the rest. Throughout the day, memorize these 3 verses, believe them, stand on them, and affirm them till they are a permanent part of your mind. Any sin or habit can be overcome by these 3 simple steps.
It's like the story of Peter in the Bible. One night on the sea, Peter saw Jesus walking on the water. He was amazed and being born a bit wild, he told Jesus he wanted to walk on the water too! Jesus smiled and spoke 2 words. "Peter, Come" That was all, 2 words! Now Peter heard it, he knew God spoke it, so it had to be true. So he steps out of the boat, and guess what? He walked on the water all the way to Jesus! You know, the last time I tried walking on water, I sunk. It's humanly impossible to walk on water! So how did Peter do it? He simply believed the 2 words, "Peter Come." And when he believed the Word, God did the miracle. It's the same for you; you may have a habit that seems humanly impossible to break, if so, quit trying, and follow the word of God in the 3 steps. And experience how easy it is when God does it for you. God Bless,
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. Revelation 14:6 “Focus on Daniel and Revelation” will be a live Evangelistic series presented by Elder Roger Curtis. Dates are: October 20 - 29, excluding October 23 & 26, 7:00 PM. This is not only a study for members, but primarily an outreach to the community. Plan to attend each evening and Bring Your Friends!
"A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work." Review and Herald, March 22, 1887 November 4 - 12 will be ‘05 Revive, a revival series by Doug Batchelor and Amazing Facts, via satellite from Dallas, TX. Meetings will be from 8:00-9:30 PM at the church.
Our “In His Steps” study series will be concluding Thursday, October 6, 7:00 with lesson 27, “The New Earth.” This is held in the adult Sabbath School room at the church.
Beginning Thursday, November 17, 7:00 PM for our Bible Study, we will be using a DVD series, “In the Footsteps of Paul.” Each presentation was filmed on location in places that the Apostle Paul lived and ministered: Tarsus, Jerusalem, Damascus, Antioch, Athens, and Rome. This series is accompanied by Study Guides which we will need to order. If you are interested in attending this series, please sign up on the sheet on the bulletin board so we will know how many study guides to order.
Our Health Seminar continues each week as we encourage a healthy lifestyle in our church and in our community. We have had a some very interesting speakers with lots of information, followed by some lively question and answer sessions. It's not too late to join in for the last three lectures. We appreciate Registered Nurses Dawn Miller and Heidy Curtis who have helped out by taking blood pressures each night.
October 4th, Tuesday @ 7:00 pm “Stress and How to Deal with It” Presented by: Kim Rosekrans, M.S.
October 11th, Tuesday @ 7:00pm “The Mind and Body Connection” Presented by: Pastor Roger Curtis
October 18th, Tuesday @ 7:00 pm “Preventing Disease” Presented by: Dr. Frank Gudas
Monday, October 10, 5:00-6:30 PM there will be a spaghetti dinner in the Church Fellowship Hall. The menu includes spaghetti with vegetarian meatballs, salad, bread, and desert.
Cost will be: Adults - $4.50, Children under 12 - $3.00 Pay at the door. This is an fund raiser for Personal Ministries.
Our speaker for the worship service on November 5 will be Howard Krug. Howard is an SDA church historian and teacher in the Rochester area, leading out in SDA History tours in the upstate New York area. He has also participated in archeological digs in the Middle East..
. . . will be Sabbath, November 12. This is a planned meal for our fellowship luncheon. You will be contacted as to what you are to bring. Everyone is invited.
Our Personal Ministries Department will be sponsoring a Red Cross blood drive in the church fellowship hall
COMING IN NOVEMBER
Our luncheons for the fourth Sabbath of each month, beginning October 22, will be Soup and Sandwiches. With the cooler weather on the way, we enjoy the large variety of homemade soups and sandwiches shared each month. Please bring your favorite!
We continue with a luncheon each Sabbath following the worship service. Everyone is invited. Please bring a dish to pass.
So far we have $56,451.02 toward our goal of paving our parking lot. The weekly Children's Offering is added to this fund. Anyone wishing to contribute to this fund, please mark your tithe envelope “Church Parking Lot.”
All church members should be receiving the Gleaner, the official publication of the Atlantic Union Conference. If you are not receiving this monthly magazine, please see Sharon.
During the fourth quarter, our lessons are on “Ephesians, the Gospel of Relationships.” Please join us as we study each Sabbath morning. Song service begins at 9:20. Classes are provided for adults and children.
Hymn biographies are being shown, one per month, during our adult Sabbath School program. Mission Spotlight is also shown once each month. This quarter the programs are from the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, including Bangladesh, Thailand, and Cambodia.
Thank you for saving your newspapers, magazines, and health food labels for Investment. See Alvin Jackson, our Investment leader. Please be sure the UPC symbol is on the food labels.
2005-2006 Fruit Sale Dates are as follows:
November 20, December 18, January 15, February 12, and March 12 in the Nature's Garden building.
November and December sales will be from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM; January through March will be 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Oranges and Pink Grapefruit are available by the full case, half or quarter. Fruit baskets are available in December. This is a fund-raiser for paving our church parking lot. To order fruit and fruit baskets or to offer your help, contact Larry or Cindy Taft, 732-0463.
Check with Larry for monthly sales on case lots. Orders go in monthly.
STORE HOURS Thursday, 4:00-7:00 p.m.