September 2019
"Even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” Isaiah 56:7
August Sermons

Please visit this link for the audio sermons: www.park22.adventistchurchconnect.org/sermons


August 3 - Elder Mark McDonald
Sermon title: The One

How did Israel get from the point of theocracy to autocracy (kings)? Follow Israel from Moses and the Exodus from Egypt, through the time of the Judges, to the age of the kings. Examine the contrast between Saul (God provided a king for the people) and David (God provided a king for Himself). Both were flawed individuals, but what made them different, and why did God call David a man after His own heart? Delve into the life of Samuel, who served as priest, prophet, and judge. Listen to this comprehensive study in the online audio sermons. Sermon takeaway: "God doesn't need your abilities, He needs your availability."
August 10 - Pastor Adrian Valcin
Sermon title: God Loves You

We overlook the magnitude of John 3:16. Why does God love us so much, no matter what?

In Psalms 34:8 David invites us to "...taste and see that the Lord is good..." and extends a personal invitation to experience God's goodness for ourselves. The entire Word of God speaks of God's goodness and love for us.

Takeaway thought: The words "taste" and "test" have the same meaning in Hebrew.
August 17 - Rojan Mathew
Sermon title: One Who is Sent

Mission work is never ending, and one of the challenges today is the lack of missionaries. It is a calling by God to any individual for an exceptional purpose. Everyone is gifted with the call, but do we recognize it? The definition of a missionary is "One Who is Sent." It conveys both action and the authority of the One who sent.
August 24 - Pastor Scott Christiansen
Sermon title: A Kingdom of Love

Pastor Scott Christiansen, Director of Evangelism and Communications, Northern New England Conference, author of "Planet in Distress", and former country Director of ADRA in Mongolia and China, gave a three part presentation of current environmental issues and their ties to end-time events.

On Sabbath, Pastor Christiansen's sermon gave evidence of how end-point prophecy is being fulfilled in the accelerated decline of the society and the planet.

All three presentations are available in audio at the online sermon page.
August 31 - Pastor Greg Carlson
Sermon title: Bookends

There are two communities, one at the beginning and one at the end of life on earth-- The Remnant and the rebellious.

The Remnant has never been large or perfect, but it is a calling, the chosen of God. It stands as bookends in the sweep of history, to preserve and promote God's salvation.
August Album
Bonfire at Assateague National Park
The event was coordinated by Grace & Jerry Wilson. Pictures courtesy of Kathy Hackley.
Kathy Hackley shared photos of a recent hike to Humpback Rock in the Blue Ridge Mountains, with her brother Mark and family, as well as student friends visiting Park Church from Romania.

Hannah's Journal
News from Hannah Wilson



What comes first in a relationship love or time?

Continued from the August issue:
 
How can one put in the time— the type of time that matters—if you don’t already love them, at least a little, with the kind of love that God has? I have been kidding myself that love like that will come with time without God’s help.
So, I try to pray like I mean it. I prayer journal with complements, I pray touching on their characteristics, I pray about what I saw in them that day, I prayer journal slaughtering the spellings of names and I pray smiling with God at their beauty.
Some past prayer journals:

“We don't fall in love because we memorize or study You, not necessarily, it takes firsthand experience to "taste and see that the Lord is good". But the romantic in me can’t help but admit when I like someone, I stare from afar. I memorize certain gestures, I can reference a specific kind of laugh or tone of voice, because I've been watching. God, I didn't fall in love with You through facts, but now that I have, I swoon over facts about You. I like to sit and watch Your glory bounding across the sky when you coax the sun from its sleeping chambers. I love to memorize things about you because I love the way saying it back makes me feel! I look for You everywhere, trying to chart Your every move because whenever I see evidence of You my heart skips a beat and I feel Your love’s intentionality with me! I do stalkerish things toward You all the time but it doesn't feel like it because with every fact swooned over, every action I stop and stare at, every time I see You working, I see Your vastly larger love for me—it’s loud and proud and presence all around me. And it just feels like a romance. And I am brought to my knees humbled by just how much more You love me, and how holy You truly are.”
I challenge you not to just spend time hoping that love will come in your relationships, but to spend time praying to God about those relationships, knowing that He is the only one who can grant the kind of love you should be giving.

Let us bring before the Lord our prayers of thanksgiving, petitions, and intercession. God is faithful in hearing the prayers of an obedient people. We gather together in unity and love, raising our voices before the throne of grace.