ANNOUNCEMENT BULLETIN

Transcription

1 ANNOUNCEMENT BULLETIN United Church of God, an International Association NORTH CANTON and YOUNGSTOWN, OH; PITTSBURGH, PA and WHEELING, WV Sabbath, March 26, 2016 Services this Sabbath (3/26): Services next Sabbath (4/2) North Canton 1:00 p.m. North Canton 1:00 p.m. Youngstown 1:00 p.m. (N.C. webcast) Youngstown 1:00 p.m. Pittsburgh 2:30 p.m. Pittsburgh 2:30 p.m. Wheeling 10:00 a.m. Wheeling 10:00 a.m. Any last minute time changes will be verbally announced. 1. PASTOR S REPORT AND UPDATES Hope your week has been a good one. We have several local prayer requests, plus some exciting news for our Ohio circuit with some to come to the Pittsburgh Wheeling circuit later next month. I d also like to ask for your prayers. Early next week I have oral surgery to remove three teeth and swift healing will enable me to carry on with my usual sermon schedule plus the following week I must finish teaching my class at ABC. Thanks in advance. In case you don t have it readily available, our home phone is and my cell phone is Also, my addresses are randy_stiver@ucg.org or rpstiver@gmail.com, and either is fine, they both come to the same location. 2. LOCAL PRAYER REQUESTS: Victoria Banit (North Canton, but presently in California) requests prayers for a diabetic friend from her high school days and his family. His name is Terry Deaton and he woke up one day this past week and was totally blind. Carol Petit (North Canton): After experiencing some considerable pains, something showed up in the recent mammogram. The family doctor felt Carol should have an ultrasound to see if there is anything we should be concerned with. Our desire is that God would intervene and there would be nothing to be concerned about and we deeply appreciate our brethren s prayers. Louis and Carol Pettit s grandson Ian: We would also appreciate your continued prayers for Ian our 13-year-old grandson with a single kidney given to him by his mother. The latest update on Ian is his kidney is not making the blood he needs so they have started a weekly hormone shot to help build his blood as he is anemic. His kidney function is about 40% 45%. On a good note, Ian s appetite has improved which is a good thing. Diane Bailey (executive secretary at Home Office and very good friend): The test results have come in and show cancer is in Diane Bailey s lymph system and is classified as Stage 2. Surgery to remove the tumor is scheduled for Friday, April 1 with further treatment to take place in about 6 weeks. Your prayers for God s wisdom and guidance through this process and for His healing are most appreciated and for God s intervention that the cancer has not affected too many lymph nodes. She writes: "It is difficult to put into words the heartfelt gratitude I feel 1

2 for all the support the cards, s, offers to help and the many prayers have brought a sense of calm and peace I wish I could thank each of you and return the comfort and peace you have given. Thank you for praying that good will come, not just for me, but also for all who are affected by health trials. God truly is the God of mercy He knows exactly what we need and when we need it! Knowing that God is with me makes all the difference no matter what the trial may be." Diane Bailey, PO Box 504, Milford, OH ANNUAL CALENDAR OF LOCAL CHURCH EVENTS Extra copies of our Annual Calendar of Events for our four churches are on the information table. 4. PASSOVER & NIGHT TO BE MUCH OBSERVED We re a mere 3½ weeks away from the Passover, Night to Be Much Observed (Ex. 12:40-42, KJV) and the Days of Unleavened Bread! The Passover service for our baptized brethren will be held at our regular meeting halls just after sundown on April 21. All baptized members need to be seated by 8:00 p.m. just before sundown so whatever appropriate announcements are necessary may be given. The service will actually begin just at sundown. That of course is the beginning of the Passover Day according to God s calendar which is when Christ and the twelve disciples kept the first Passover of the New Testament era (which was also the last one of the Old Testament era for God s called out ones). However, plans for the Night to Be Much Observed (Friday evening, April 22) are already underway. We want everyone to, if at all possible, be with other brethren for this wonderful evening which commemorates Israel s exodus from Egypt and our own calling to come out of this present, evil world and its ways. If you don t yet have a place to be for the NTBMO, please contact one of the deacons or elders and they ll help get you situated. 5. FEAST / DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD The great spring Feast in God s annual holyday plan pictures putting sin out of our lives and coming out of this present, evil world to follow and obey Christ and the Father. And, we ll have much loved guests for the two spring holydays: the Cambridge brethren! Here are our planned meeting times thus far: Pittsburgh, Wheeling and the south and east sections of Cambridge: First Day of Unleavened Bread will be held at the 4th Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 1000 Jefferson Ave., Washington, Pennsylvania with the service beginning at 2:00p.m. Last (7 th ) Day of Unleavened Bread will be held at Chartiers Township Community Center, 2013 Community Center Drive, Houston, Pennsylvania with the morning service beginning at 10:30 and the afternoon service at 2:30. North Canton and Youngstown and the northern section of Cambridge: First Day of Unleavened Bread will be held at our regular hall, the Gateway Event & Conference Center, 5441 Global Gateway, North Canton, Ohio with the service beginning at 2:00 p.m. The Last (7 th ) Day of Unleavened Bread will be held at Quality Inn (at the Arlington exit off I-77), 3970 Convenience Circle NW, Canton, Ohio with the morning service beginning at 10:30 and the afternoon service at 2:30. The Cleveland congregation will be joining us for the final Day of Unleavened Bread. 6. LOCAL AREA BIBLE STUDIES If you would like to host one, please contact Mr. Stiver. 2

3 7. KINGDOM OF GOD SEMINAR SERIES Please remember to pray about these evangelistic meetings to which the Beyond Today/Good News subscribers will be invited to hear about the topic: Meet the Jesus Christ You Never Knew. 8. NEWS OF THE WORK Other than the annual meeting for the General Conference of Elders set for May 14-16, we have no other news this Sabbath. During the GCE the usual three new Council members will be selected by the eldership, and the Council of Elders quarterly meeting will take place immediately following the General Conference. Please pray for God s inspiration and specific direction of the decisions to be made. 9. CHALLENGER EAST YOUNG ADULT CAMP We are in the planning stages of Challenger East This program is for our young adults, age 18-30ish. The dates for the program are Tuesday afternoon of August 10 through Sunday noon of August 14. Our venue is in the group campground along the river in Beaver Creek State Park near Liverpool, OH. In addition to a core curriculum of truly challenging, life-skills classes from the Bible, the participants will learn a variety of primitive and pioneering skills, nature identification and appreciation of the history of the Ohio valley. Please pass the word to young adults in God s Church who might be interested in and benefit from the program. More information is available from Mr. Stiver at or online (next week) at ucg.uyc.org 10. DINNER DANCE AT BETHLEHEM, PA You are invited to our annual Bethlehem dinner dance. The event will take place at the EconoLodge and Conference Center in Allentown (same as last year) on March 26th. Sabbath services will begin at 3 PM, then a Dinner Buffet at 6:00PM. Dance will start at 7:30PM We've reserved Kutztown University's field house for Sunday March 27th (the day after the dinner dance). Come join us from 11AM-3PM for free basketball and volleyball. Kids are welcomed too! They can play ball and we will have a parachute there for parachute games too! Unfortunately there is absolutely no food or drink allowed in the building so bring your own food/drink to be eaten outside or in your car. Or there are places to eat within 5-10 mins of the University. Let me know if you or anyone else you know plan on coming so we have an idea of how to divide up the courts. Please contact Rachel Massie by willow527@yahoo.com phone: , or address: 528 Kemp Street, Kutztown, PA There also is a Facebook page: Annual Bethlehem Dinner Dance or you can visit the Bethlehem website: UNITED YOUTH CAMPS REGISTRATION HAS BEGUN Online registration for the teen camps starts Tuesday, March 1. We encourage both campers and staff to register as soon as possible at Camper scholarships are available; if one is needed, please see your pastor for details. 12. SPRING FAMILY WEEKEND: May The Wheeling and Cambridge congregations are planning the 2 nd annual Spring Family Weekend for May at Epworth Park in Bethesda, OH (that s halfway between Wheeling and Cambridge). There will be special Bible Studies for all ages before Sabbath services, reasonably priced housing and free tent camping at the park. Check out our colorful flyer. More details coming. 3

4 13. ABC CONTINUING EDUCATION SEMINAR AT HOME OFFICE: June The Ambassador Bible College faculty will host its continuing education program for the coming summer. In addition to several on-the-road weekend seminars, the main one-week program will be held at the home office in Milford, Ohio, from Monday, June 20, through Friday, June 24. As in recent years, the fee is $65 per person or $85 per couple. The fee includes a continental breakfast and lunch each day, along with a group dinner on Thursday evening. Those interested in participating should contact Kathy de Campos (kathy_decampos@ucg.org). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Sabbath Focus WHY EASTER? March 25, 2016 by Randy Stiver Why is traditional Christianity observing Easter this Sunday? Why are they celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ then? Why is the origin of the day claimed to come from the Bible? And, why do they call it Easter? That s a lot of whys. However, when it comes to worshiping the true God of the Bible, shouldn t we be able to correctly answer the question why?! Why is why important? Here s the story. Jesus Christ was waiting for His disciples by Jacob s well at the city of Samaria (see John 4:5-26) which in His day was inhabited by Samaritans. However, prior to 720 B.C. that city was capital of the Kingdom of Israel. Then they were conquered by the much more powerful Assyrian Empire who deported them wholesale to the northern and eastern borders of their empire (see 2 Kings 17:1-23). Those scattered Israelites were thenceforth known as the Lost 10 Tribes of Israel (however, you can know where they are now!). They were not the Jews whose capital was Jerusalem and who were comprised of the Israelite tribes of Judah and Benjamin plus a considerable portion of the priestly tribe of Levi. Getting back to the story the Samaritans were the descendants of a Babylonian tribe who had been similarly conquered by the Assyrians and then deported to the ruins of Samaria (see 2 Kings 17:24-41) where they had lived for 700 years. So, this Samaritan woman struck up a conversation with Christ at the community well. She soon perceived that this Jesus of Nazareth was not the average person He knew far more than anyone else could possibly know. She then commented on how her people believed that they, the Samaritans, were the true descendants of Moses and that the Jews in Jerusalem were imposters. Jesus explained that in fact she was wrong, because salvation is of the Jews (verse 22) in the sense that the Jews wrote and faithfully preserved the Word of God (see Romans 3:1-2) and because the Savior of all mankind, the true Messiah meaning Christ Himself would humanly come from the tribe of Judah. However, He continued and including all mankind of whatever tribal or national heritage said, the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him 4

5 (John 4:23, emphasis added throughout). In fact, He categorically stated, God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (verse 24). Is Easter the truth? Let s go back to the whys. Easter is the largely kept as a celebration of Christ s resurrection. But the Bible says For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). The true Passover commemorates Christ s sacrifice for the sins of all people as the fulfillment of the prophetic offering of the Passover lambs of the Exodus. Although He did institute a wave sheaf offering that foreshadowed Jesus as the first of the firstfruits (see Leviticus 23:10-11) God assigned no holy day to celebrate Christ s resurrection. If He didn t, then why should we? Jesus Christ, the Apostles and the biblical church of God kept the Passover of the New Testament on the 14 th day of Nissan, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. That was the same day of the year that Christ died for our sins and that God had designated for the original Passover in Egypt (see Exodus 12). By a Christianity other than that which Jesus Christ Himself built, the tradition of Easter Sunday was a departure from the true, biblical teaching to embrace a pagan celebration by giving it a Christian label. That practice began in the mid-second century and was enforced upon the Roman Empire at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 when that Christianity became the Empire s official religion. Although the Easter celebrations in the 2 nd and 3 rd centuries were often mis-labeled with the title of Passover (in whichever local language), by about the 8 th century the day began to be called Easter a variation of the Anglo-Saxon Ostara or Eastre. This was none other than the pagan, fertility goddess of spring found in most ancient and modern pagan cultures. Easter goes back directly to the goddess Ashtoreth worshipped by disobedient Israelites in the Old Testament. This was the classic goddess counterpart to Baal, the primary, ancient, pagan god. She was known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and the Assyrians as Ishtar. The final question Is your goal in life to worship the true God of the Bible in spirit and truth? If so, then one big question to ask is simply: Why Easter? Have a restful but exciting Sabbath, Randy Stiver, pastor 5