Told by Rosemary Lethbridge

Out of the blue I received an email saying “We would like to give you some money, when can we meet?”  This doesn’t happen often!

The e-mailer was Councillor Mike Reid who represents North Totton on the New Forest District Council. He had been told about us by the Chairperson of our local Community Association who
praised our commitment to our work for and with the local community.

Most times when money is handed over it is tightly ring-fenced.
However, on this occasion the Councillor said, “We value what you do for this community, use it for whatever you want.” So a cheque for £250 [approximately US$458.00] was presented to ‘The Watering Hole’ on Saturday, 8 May at the Calmore Community Centre.

We have benefited from the generosity and support of several superstores.  Comet and Curry’s
gave significant discounts enabling us to buy computers, cameras, printers etc. for community
projects. Recently the food store, Waitrose presented us with a cheque for £200 to help with
‘Frontline’ - our debt advice service. It’s not just money we are receiving from community sources.
At our Easter Egg hunt the Divisional Police Inspector gave permission for one of his Constables to be available to deter any troublemakers who were out to spoil a great community event. This
policeman’s wife later commented that, “Since getting involved with ‘The Watering Hole’ our family is happier than we have ever been.”

Every time we receive comments, money or help it encourages us to keep bringing the kingdom of God into lives now, as well as sharing with them the Good news of the Kingdom to come.

Rosemary Lethbridge receiving the cheque for £250

The days of ambivalence in the Christian life are drawing to an end. Having one foot in the world and the other in the church has caused only pain and imbalance. It is time for us to stop walking along the shore, dreaming of the other side but staying put. It is time to act on our faith—come what may.
Fear of sharing our faith, except for those with the unstoppable sanguine temperament, causes many of us to experience faith-sharing paralysis. We just can’t do it. And since we can’t, we don’t. So another chance to trust in Jesus may have evaporated into thin air. When Christ told us to proclaim forgiveness of sins to all (Luke 24:46-48), He did not discriminate:
• He did not isolate His command to Peter, James, and John, the big three.
• He did not exclude the women in the room.
He did not pass over timid Thomas a week later (John 20:24-29).
Jesus saw a mighty army eager to share what they had learned from Him. He included everyone in His band of witnesses to the good news. Let’s follow His lead, shall we?
The first time I gave a gospel presentation to someone I didn’t do a very good job. And the second time I didn’t do much better. But I kept presenting. I kept focusing on those wonderful words of life in Scripture, and people began to listen and surrender to the love of God in Christ. Now the verses, illustrations, and analogies come to me naturally—awake or asleep.
Practice does make perfect. Let’s practice giving away our faith, and God will take our humble efforts and one day show us on the Sea of Glass the fruit of this wonderful labor.
Remember: “Perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).
Again it’s time to act on our faith—come what may.

Ron E. M. Clouzet, D.Min., is ministerial secretary and director of the North American Division Evangelism Institute (NADEI). He is also professor of Christian ministry and practical theology in Andrews University Theological Seminary.

No. church is not on my to-do list. In August 2009 I stopped going to church after doing so since age 10. Indeed.
I had arrived at the annual family reunion meet-and-greet on Friday evening expecting to have an entire meal of salad. I discovered that the hostess who in previous years had decided such fare to be sufficient  for vegetarian Adventists had prepared a well-rounded meal with tasty vegetable protein. I rejoiced and chewed with gusto.
Then on Saturday morning while passing through the lobby I was called to explain to new-to-me relatives that I wasn’t going to the family picnic wearing a suit and heels. Taking a deep breath, I prepared to tell those family saints that I am a Seventh-day Adventist going to Sabbath School and church, etc., etc., etc.
But although the mouth was surely mine, the words were clearly His: “I’m going to worship God.”  Period.  That explanation received affirmations wafting on an air of respect. So I added, “I look forward to chatting with you when I get back and change my clothes.” And I did.
So I don’t go to church any more in favor of going to worship the God whose love for me is apparent in His constant and creative handling of my challenges.
Early on Saturday mornings I still pass people engaged in their passions apparent by the crowded parking lots in the strip mall, the beauty shop, the bowling alley, and the yards of yard-sale merchandise.   But now  sail by them all on my way to worship God—at church for sure, but there is an entirely different ring to the experience and the explanation.
Paul talks about the difference between babes in Christ and the spiritually mature. I’ve finally gotten his message. So the change is more than vocabulary, embracing my attitude and my wardrobe. The spirit wrapped in “worship” overpowers any negatives I encounter within the building called church or any of the people therein who may rain on my parade. So church is not on my to-do list. I go to worship God with the spiritual grownups.

How’s your worship experience?

LEAD gets to local churches up to six months ahead of local Sabbath School programming, so we are giving local leaders a few file cards of information that can be used for VBS for two reasons:

• First, as the old proverb confesses, “The best laid plans of mice and men have often gone astray.” Unforseen difficulties arise. Plans change. Leaders get stressed.
• Some churches have not had VBS for a number of years. These programs offer hope and direction for  starting again, starting where you are, and starting now.

1. The central theme for Vacation Bible School at the Cloverdale church in Boise, Idaho, led children to investigate “My Community.”
The information and activities revolved around how children can serve and witness for Jesus within their home, school, church, country—and their community. The children enjoyed (A) singing songs, (B) reciting memory verses, (C) hearing interesting Bible lessons and stories, (D) assembling unique crafts, (E) indulging in tasty treats, and (F) unveiling amazing discoveries in nature.
The attendance was consistent throughout the week: 35 children.
Watching a child’s eyes and face light up because they learned something new about Jesus is a heartwarming feeling that cannot be described.
And that was the purpose of this year’s Vacation Bible School at Cloverdale.

Story by Gerry Eslink, a Vacation Bible School volunteer for Cloverdale church.

In-a-minute Resources
• Sabbath School lesson materials.
• Guide magazine nature facts.
• Children’s devotional nature stories:

2. In the long, hot, lazy days of summer, Vacation Bible School provides children with a fun, faith-based environment to learn about Jesus and build friendships.
Wilma Bing, Washington Conference family ministries director, says that local church volunteers have two purposes to fulfill with “Vacation Bible School programs:
1. To reach out to children and their parents.
2. To brings the entire church together for a common evangelistic goal.”
Through the years, Vacation Bible School has emerged as an effective way to bring Adventist and community children together for child-friendly evangelism.
“When I first got involved with VBS about 12 years ago, the majority of the kids were Adventist with only a handful of kids from the neighborhood,” says Linda Burman, VBS director fot the church in Auburn City, Washington. “Initially we found the process of integrating the neighborhood kids into our programs very difficult, as they were basically outnumbered. However, in the last couple years, the majority of kids attending VBS are from the surrounding neighborhood.”
Children in Kirkland (Wash.), Bellevue (Wash.), and Auburn City explored facing fears at Crocodile Dock, while children at Shelton Valley’s (Wash.) summer daycare camp discovered Bible royalty in Castles and Crowns. Graham (Wash.) children explored creation, while children at Auburn Academy Church visited “Rome” and the underground church in the church’s “Journey to Bethlehem” facility.
The Crocodile Dock theme, about not being afraid, was particularly relevant for a young boy with leukemia who attended the Bellevue VBS. The staff and children prayed for him to not be afraid of his treatment. When he came back, he said because of God, he hadn’t been afraid.
“VBS benefits our church,” says Dixie Robinson, Bellevue VBS leader, “because such a large percentage of people work together as a team to put on this evangelistic effort, which has a great impact on our community.”

Story by Heidi Martell, Washington Conference associate communication director

In-a-minute Resources
• Your local Sabbath School and Children’s Ministries directors.
• Candy DeVore, Children’s Ministries director, Review and Herald Publishing Association

Cindy Chamberlin, Gleaner managing editor, shared Vacation Bible School reports for 2009.

Jesus would have them understand that authority in His kingdom is not hierarchical but finds expression in one getting immersed in the needs of others.

Knowledge:
By Kwabena Donkor

Kwabena Donkor is an associate director for the General Conference Biblical Research Institute.

While Jesus Christ was on earth, He set in motion a movement that would eventually become the Christian Church. Obviously, He knew what the church would become, but He did not provide any detailed prescriptions for church governance. Still, He knew that issues of authority would arise in the church and He provided principles that should guide its exercise. Such is the passage we will be looking at today.

The Context
Jesus took three of His disciples through the Transfiguration experience while they were in Caesarea Philippi (Mark 9:2). In Mark 9:30 we are told that He left the place and took a course that would eventually see Him in Jerusalem. He led the disciples through Galilee purposely to keep them from the crowds so that He would have quality time to instruct them particularly concerning His death and resurrection (Mark 9:31). Jesus had told the disciples about His death before, at which time Peter came in for rebuke (Mark 8:32, 33). In this latest instruction on His passion, however, Jesus added the additional detail that the Son of Man would be delivered into the hands of men. Jesus may have meant this to be an action of God, or He may have had Judas’s betrayal in view. The word translated “delivered” or “betrayed” allows both possibilities. In any case, this instruction was exclusively intended for the disciples who did not grasp it. And they were afraid to ask Him for clarification! Were they being careful because of the earlier incident with Peter?

And how was it that Jesus’ second prediction of His death could provoke a debate on rank among them (Mark 9:34)? Could Jesus’ prediction about His death have been overshadowed by His earlier promise of the kingdom coming in power (Mark 9:1)? Or even the prediction of His “quick” resurrection? Anyhow, they did not grasp it, and Jesus instructed them on ambition, power, and authority as far as the kingdom is concerned.

The Text
Jesus and His disciples finally arrived in Capernaum and entered a certain house. Jesus, who had been aware of their debate about rank while they were in “the way,” saw this as the appropriate time to address the matter (Mark 9:33). He asked them what they were disputing. There was silence, because the disciples seemed to have realized that the subject of their disputation on the way was shameful and embarrassing.

Jesus instructed them pointedly that the one who desires to be first in His kingdom must be last, and servant of all (Mark 9:35). In saying that the one who wishes to be first must be servant of all, Mark uses a future tense that could work as an imperative, thereby laying it down as a principle that spiritual greatness necessarily requires service to others. Jesus would have them understand that authority in His kingdom is not hierarchical but finds expression in one getting immersed in the needs of others. Authority does not sit high and look down but stoops low in service, sacrifice, and sympathy. Christ’s impending death that He announced to them was going to be the supreme model of service and sacrifice. How contrary to the principles of His kingdom was the response of the disciples in quibbling about rank at such a time!

Application
The fact that the disciples could contend about power in the light of Jesus’ announcement of His death should warn us about the potency of the desire for supremacy, power, and control. Their insensitiveness was rooted in self-seeking. Ellen White writes: “Among the followers of our Lord today, as of old, how widespread is this subtle, deceptive sin! How often our service to Christ, our communion with one another, is marred by the secret desire to exalt self! How ready the thought of self-gratulation, and the longing for human approval!” (The Desire of Ages, p. 409).

Today we should especially mark the subtlety and deceptiveness of the desire for greatness because of the irony of the fact that although the disciples had left all for Christ’s sake, a corner of their hearts still cherished human greatness for themselves! Thank God that His power is able to banish such self-seeking!

I just received another e-mail promoting an atheist author’s book for Christian readers. There’s been a splash of books by atheists with directions for how Christians should handle their faith. But I’m asking myself and you, “Why would Christians follow blind ’swimmers’, so to speak, when they can dive deeply into the treasure house of God’s Word with our own Christian leaders?”

I’m all for respectfully listening to what atheists and other non-believers have to say, but when it’s my time to speak in the conversation cycle, I want to be sure to reach their heart as well as their ears—and definitely influence their thinking. That’s why I’m so happy to have the Exegesis pages in LEAD that take me to depths I would not reach alone in my Sabbath School lesson study. Also the Exegesis and Hermaneutics section of LEAD teaches me how to troll the depths of Scripture in general. Authors for these sections, Dr. Ekkehardt Mueller and Dr. Kwabena Donkor not only know the fine points of theology, they are active in the “real world” so their answers connect with real questions.

Ekkehardt Mueller playing the harpsichord on a Sabbath afternoon

Lesson 9: Believing in the Son of God

D T H V R K T P O X Y X K K H Q J M T E S R X Y V
Q E Z Z N E J R G H C K W I E T I O M N P O T M E
K K T E M H T K T R F O Y I J U A O H J I T I E Z
U P E N P P C A Q R R N N A T X C E T T R A E S U
E L B A I L E R W T U F H T A R W N D S I E V S H
L Z D I I O W Y H G M T N U E O O I O N T R R I S
U N V E K M N Y H E M P H V F N B G I W U C E A E
I O U W N I M N Z L P K O H F L L A U U A C S H L
X E L Y B Y U O A O T O Y N A Y T G I Z L B U V F
J C K S X B W J R Y C L S C M N G U N R A M S B F
M Z R J K U B C T T U V L S U W E X C P P N P V E
S P O L I T I C S N A N B O Z G H W T L O K J Z H
Y L H T R A E M L K E L F G Z A S I P B P I C G C
P I D L D D L L H I R M I T S G S R E T E R N A L
U C A Y S L Z A J S M S G T N M X D T P W Y P M G
C Y S E R E H N V A P I J D Y R I H L V O E P F G
H P P R B E L I E V E H L G U E Y R A U T C N A S
A F R F I B W G T Y V Y U I N J E T P C G T X C E
R E V O L U T I O N A R Y C T V X I I F H F U E S
I A U I M B B R D O V E E D I A H U Z N H R T T S
S S S I Z I S O T F I G O D X S R Z L H I D I S E
M T R U S T S J M N P O E K R O G Y E X G R E S N
A X V P G D S E J Z L N B O Y A W A X Z N L T Y T
H I G T A V S T J B C C W E S M R B Z Q B Z V R I
P G A R C E X D Q E A F Y J W Z A D Q A R C U J W

ABLE
ANNOINTED
BAPTISM
BELIEVE
BLOOD
CHARISMA
CHRIST
CREATOR
DEATH
DENY
DOVE
EARTHLY
ETERNAL
EVIDENCE
FACETS
FEAST
FLESH
FOUNTAIN
GIFT
HEAR
HERESY
IMMORTALITY
JUDGMENT
KNEEL
MESSIAH
MILITARY
OBEDIENCE
ONLY
ORIGINAL
OVERCOME
POLITICS
PROMISE
RELIABLE
REVOLUTIONARY
SANCTUARY
SERVE
SPIRITUAL
TRINITY
TRUST
TRUTH
WATER
WITNESSES
WON
WORSHIP
WORTHY
WRATH

Wikipedia Report: “Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways‘ third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London’s Heathrow Airport to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. On Wednesday 21 December 1988, the aircraft flying this route—a Boeing 747-121 named Clipper Maid of the Seas—was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members.^[1] Eleven people in Lockerbie, southern Scotland, were killed as large sections of the plane fell in and around the town, bringing total fatalities to 270. As a result, the event has been named by the media as the Lockerbie Bombing.

“In 2001, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, a Libyan, was convicted of involvement in the bombing and sentenced to life imprisonment. On 20 August 2009, the Scottish Government released him on compassionate grounds to return to Libya as he was suffering from terminal prostate cancer and had a life expectancy of less than 3 months.”

How has the Sabbath School lessons Loved and Loving: John’s Epistles, especially Lesson 8, impacted your response—emotional and visible—to the freeing of the convicted bomber and Libya’s response? How does the thought that “love costs and pays” in response to Lesson 8 direct your witness about this world news media blitz?

Reading Marcia Conner’s article in Training and Development confirmed my thoughts that Tweeting could benefit Sabbath School leaders in local churches. Here are some possibilities:

• Supplement your training programs and those provided by conference leaders. Tweeting could enable you to follow up with workshop facilitators to sharpen skills that you had only limited time to internalize in a meeting filled with other sharp learners.

• Only so much can be said during the time allocated for a Sabbath School class strategy session. Tweeting can enable the planning—plus discussion and fellowship—to continue.

• Leaders who twitter can follow up the limited time for fellowshipping at training events, connecting more firmly with other workshop attendees who have similar challenges. You could also be affirmed for your successes.

• Sabbath School members can become better acquainted. Shut-ins who can twitter have another pipeline through which to share their thoughts and insights about the Sabbath School lesson.

• Although tweeting tutorials are readily available via blogs, online courses, in-person workshops, and video instructions on YouTube, perhaps “Tweeting” would be a valuable workshop to host for Sabbath School leaders (including class facilitators) and the Sabbath School Council in your local church.

• Need facilitators? Chat with your communication leaders—and all those savvy youth and young adults in your church and area churches. Hosting tweeting tutorials could provide that teachable format for enabling members to see their Adventist education dollars paying off—invite the staff of your school, academy, or university to come in and share their tweeting abilities.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver was the sister of President John F. Kennedy and a champion of the disabled. She founded the Special Olympics, died Tuesday, August 11, 2009.

The Special Olympics, which started as summer camps held in the Shrivers’ backyard, now serves about 2.5 million mentally disabled people in 190 countries, according to the Special Olympics website. And today, 3.1 million people with mental disabilities participate in 228 programs in 170 nations, according to the Special Olympics.

For many mentally challenged adults, Sabbath School is an oasis, a bright spot, a warm and welcoming place. LEAD magazine helps members and their friends who want to study the Word of God do so by providing volunteer class facilitators practical tips and lesson activities on the same subjects that the rest of the adult division Bible students are enjoying—and growing with.

Helene Hubbard, PhD, MD prepares the Bible study materials for this special needs group in her section of The Bridge called Emmaus Eyes. She has won an award for her work with this population in Florida.

You will want to make sure that your church provides this option for your Sabbath School discipleship and evangelism. And then share the experience.