Volume 6 Issue 6 | June 2023

The Most Powerful Man in the World

From You Have What It Takes by John Eldredge

The things these boys come up with. It cracks me up. He was dead serious, by the way.

You understand. We all — as men — pretty much want the same thing. We want power. We want to have an impact. We want to leave our mark on the world. A boy with a chain saw is a powerful thing. Just imagine all he could do. In a short time there wouldn’t be a tree left standing in the entire neighborhood. Which, of course, is why I did not give him one. A ten-year old with a chain saw is more powerful than he ought to be. But I understand the desire. It’s essential to the masculine nature.

Think of it this way: What’s your worst fear as a man? Isn’t it some version of failure? To royally blow it? To really screw things up? Lose your job. Drive your company into bankruptcy. Wind up pushing a shopping cart down the street. If you’re a doctor, you fear misdiagnosing a patient’s fatal disease. If you’re an attorney, you fear losing the big case. Because all those things in some way prove that you don’t have what it takes.

Not so for a woman. A woman’s worst fear is abandonment. Most women survive a career setback that would send men into a tailspin. Failure doesn’t seem to matter as much because a woman fears that she won’t be loved. It shouts to the world, “She wasn’t worth pursuing; she wasn’t worth fighting for.” But for men, the dog at our heals is failure. We need to know that our lives mattered. That when the time came, we had what was needed. We came through. There was something powerful about our lives.

So let me say this as clearly as I can: You, Dad, are the most powerful man in the world… at least in their world. Your children are looking for you to answer the deepest questions of their lives. How you handle their hearts will shape them for the rest of their lives. Never forget that no one is as powerful as you are in the lives of your sons and daughters. Happy Father's Day!

Why Adventists Still Hold Camp Meetings

From askanadventistfriend.com

Sometimes, the cares and frustrations and worries of life can seem overwhelming. But camp meeting offers a hiatus from all that to focus on what really matters: your spiritual life. It’s a time to rest and take in encouraging, wholesome thoughts.

But you might be thinking, I can do that at church or on my own. Why camp meeting?

Camp meeting isn’t just about individual spirituality. It’s also a huge community revival that connects the larger church body to encourage each other, build each other up, and learn together.

Friendship is a key aspect of that. At events like camp meeting, we have the chance to catch up with friends we don’t often see.

It also gives us a chance to reach out. You may run into people who aren’t Adventist—and maybe not even Christian. This is your opportunity to befriend and welcome them into the community, answering questions they might have along the way.

Allegheny West Conference Camp Meeting will be at the Beacon of Hope SDA Church (June 21-22) and First Church of God (June 23-24). The speaker for the adult meeting will be Elder Henry M. Wright. There will also be children's, youth, and young adult services running simultaneously with the adult services.

Guidelines for the Children's Storyteller

Provided by the Capital Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church, Washington D.C., quoted in Ministry Magazine

1. Use words understood by children between the ages of three and eight.
2. Do not exceed five to seven minutes in length. Time yourself as you practice.
3. Sit at the children’s level.
4. Try not to read the story from a book or other source.
5. Know the sermon topic and have your story emphasize the theme. Call the pastor for details on the topic or theme for the day.
6. Use the first minute to direct their attention toward you. This can be done using visual aids, body language, or your voice. Establish and maintain eye contact from the very beginning.
7. Avoid side comments to the adults; the story is for the children.
8. Choose stories that children can identify with. Avoid stories that are fairy tales, gruesome, or beyond their years of experience.
9. In preparing your story, decide on one thing you want the children to know and what you want to see them do about it. Focus your story to that end. While using the Bible, (a) use one key scripture, (b) use familiar versions with words the children can understand, (c) repeat the verse as often as is appropriate, and (d) encourage them to repeat it with you.
10. Use as many sensory modes as are appropriate for one story. Let them see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.
11. Do not use metaphors as some children will not understand the figurative connection between two seemingly unrelated subjects (for example, “the boy’s stomach was a bottomless pit”).
12. If you give any type of a gift to help the children remember the point of the story, keep it simple and give it at the end of the story. Never give food unless it is sealed. If it will distract them or others from the sermon, tell them not to open it until after the service.

The Children's Ministry is seeking people who are interested in giving in-person Children's Stories. If you are one of those people, contact Renee Lee at ekids@ephesus-sda.com.

6/1 Autumn Bell, 6/2 Ingrid Edwards, Rondell Gammon, LaQwonna Glaster, Shavonne Roach, Andrea Stepney 6/3 Bonnie Johnson, Jackie Parris, Dale Patterson 6/5 Nadia Jenkins, Nioma Jenkins, Samara Orr 6/6 Cealana Crockett 6/7 Joyce Gibson 6/8 Cherlo Cherestal, John Crenshaw, Sandra McGill, Laniqua Smith-Crawford 6/10 Millie Bradley, 6/11 Bryan Crowley, Therica Holland 6/12 Eliana Campbell, Thembeka Macayaia, Lisa Vannoy 6/13 Michelle Myles, Orville Williams 6/14 Natasha Gregory 6/16 Whitley Cox 6/17 Tanya Lewis 6/18 Dominique Parham, Sylvia Safford, LaTonya Truett 6/20 Tahira Ashley, 6/22 Sheila Hayes, 6/23 Jadon Nious, Christian Stepney, Janelle Williams 6/24 Colleen McClellan, Ted Thompson, Kellie Walker 6/25 Brittany Cantrell, Courtney Cantrell, Aaron Terrell 6/28 Ryan Hall, Paris Hayes, Patsy Williams 6/29 Minnie Fleming, Terrence St. Lewis 6/30 Jacques Moise

Did we miss your June birthday or anniversary? Let us know by emailing announce@ephesus-sda.com.