Plant-Strong & Lifestyle Medicine Seminar

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Everyone Welcome

Sabbath School and Church

Church In Person or On-Line

Everyone is welcome to attend the worship hour. It starts at 10:45 a.m.  

We broadcast Church live on youtube.com. Church will start at 10:45 AM.  Go to youtube.com and search for "greeley sda".  Click on the circle with the church picture.  You may need to choose the "Videos" tab.

OR click on the "Sermons" link in the menu selections above to access the services. (On a phone or tablet the menu selections will be in a button that looks like three bars at the top of the screen.)

Weekly Church Meetings

Monday - 4:00 p.m.  Bible Study on Doctrines

Wednesday - 1:30 p.m.  Midweek study 

Sabbath 4:00 - p.m.  End Time Events with Shawn Korgan

Food for Thought

Intrusions - “And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’” Luke 10:41,42

Another school shooting. As I write this, the latest shooting was on a university campus in North Carolina where a faculty member was shot and killed. Maybe I watch the news coverage for these school shootings with more than the average interest. I have practiced Campus Intruder Drills many times in the public school system and watched and tried to comfort somewhat frightened children who weren’t convinced it was just a drill. Only once was I in a classroom where two students brought a gun to school. Another student overheard them talking, the principal was informed and found the gun in their locker before anything happened. I never learned their intentions, and they were dismissed from the school campus permanently.

Another form of the word “intruder” is “intrusion.” We have all encountered intrusions – something that comes into our lives unwelcome or uninvited, at least at a certain time. For this devotional I am thinking of all the things that can intrude into our lives when we want to spend time with Jesus. There is a story in 1 Kings 20 about a prophet confronting King Ahab. As I read through this story, there was just one phrase that caught my attention. “While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” (verse 40)  It is so easy to be busy here and there with things – maybe important things – and time with Jesus is gone.

Martha had to learn this. She was a busy lady – fixing meals for Jesus and His disciples, serving at Simon’s feast. But when she asked Jesus to tell her sister Mary, who had been listening to Jesus, to come and help her, Jesus gently reproved Martha. He wanted to make certain she had her priorities straight.

I once heard a paramedic say: “We are only called when someone is in trouble.” We don’t want to call to Jesus only when we are in trouble. We need to spend daily time with Jesus before anything else intrudes. Years ago when Jerry was pastoring in the Kansas Conference, a pastor’s wife wrote a poem and shared it with all of us. I would just like to share a few verses of it because it goes so well with what I have said here.

     I met God in the morning,

When my day was at its best,

     And His presence came like sunshine

With a glory in my breast.

     All day long the presence lingered,

All day long He stayed with me,

     And we sailed in perfect calmness

O’er many a troubled sea.

     So I think I know the secret

Learned by many a troubled way:

     You must seek Him in the morning

If you want Him through the day.

Sharon Oster

Learning From a Child -  “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14 (NIV)

When I was a student at Union College, I worked for a teacher in the English Department. She had three small children and occasionally she had me go to her home and grade papers while babysitting her kids. I remember walking into her house one day with an armload of themes to grade and was confronted with a living room floor filled with toys, making it hard to walk. “Michael,” I said somewhat irritably, “your toys are in my road!” With the innocence of a four-year old he looked at me and said, “Sharon, do you have your own road?” (As I recall, my irritation suddenly dissolved into laughter as I explained his toys were in my WAY.)

No wonder Jesus loved children! Mrs. White says, “Jesus was ever a lover of children.” (Desire of Ages, p. 511) When the disciples thought Jesus was too busy to be bothered with children, He rebuked the disciples and welcomed the children with open arms. “He took the children in His arms, He laid His hands upon them, and gave them the blessing for which they came.” (DA. p. 512)

I recently read a story about a pastor who had asked his congregation to think about some special gift they could give on the Sabbath before Thanksgiving in addition to their usual monetary gift. He had suggested home-canned fruit, a household item, or a special treasure. That Sabbath morning at the appropriate time the members began bringing their gifts and leaving them down front.

Soon one six-year- old girl walked down and with tears streaming down her face laid her doll down with the other gifts. The pastor, choking back tears as well, wanted to say, “No, Jennifer, you don’t have to do that.” But then he thought, “Maybe she will learn a good lesson in stewardship from this.” But then the real truth dawned on him. Jennifer already understood stewardship. It was everyone else who needed to learn what stewardship is all about from a child’s simple act of love and devotion.

“And He [Jesus] said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’” Matthew 18:3 (NIV)

Sharon Oster

The Most Important Question - “The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:29, 30.  

I was listening to a baccalaureate sermon by Pastor Randy Roberts at the Loma Linda University Church in California. He had just one question for the graduates: “What is the most important question anyone asked you?” He had a list of questions for them such as: What college will you attend? What will your major be? What will your lifework be?  And so on.

The one question that came instantly to my mind was one Jerry asked me about 57 years ago: “Will you marry me?” It did make me think of different questions people asked Jesus in the Bible.

Nicodemus one night came to Jesus thinking to enter into a discussion with Him. But Jesus got right to the heart of the matter by saying no one can see God’s kingdom unless he is born again. And then the question from Nicodemus – “How can a man be born when he is old?” (John 3:4) As Jesus continued explaining the way of salvation, Nicodemus again asked, “How can this be?” (John 3:9) In spite of his faith-less questions, Nicodemus was being drawn to Jesus. Mrs. White says, “The light from that secret interview illumined the cross upon calvary, and Nicodemus saw in Jesus the world’s Redeemer.” (Desire of Ages, P. 176-177) 

The Samaritan woman at the well also had some questions for Jesus. “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (John 4:9) And then more importantly: “Where can you get this living water?” (John 4: 11) As Jesus continued talking with her, Mrs. White says, “It was the earnest desire of her soul to obtain the living water.” (DA, P. 190-191)

The rich young ruler came to Jesus one day with some important questions. “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (Matt. 19:16) He said he had kept all the commandments. “What do I still lack?” (Matt 19:20) He was not pleased with Jesus’ answer, and he went away very sad. (Matt. 19:22)

There was a time in Jesus’ ministry when many people were unable to accept His teachings and “turned back and were no longer following Him.” (John 6:66) Then Jesus had a question for His disciples: “You do not want to leave, too, do you?” (John 6:67) Peter, always ready with an answer, asked the most important question anyone can ask: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

The most important questions Jesus asks each one of us: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26 NIV) Our eternal destiny rests on the answer to those questions.

Sharon Oster

Almost There - “When you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.” Matthew 24:33

Our children and grandchildren were home for a few days in July. While home they wanted to take a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and drive to the top of Trail Ridge Road. We needed three cars to transport all of us, and I decided to ride with our younger daughter and her two boys. (My Senior Pass would get her car in free – an advantage to being old!)

The boys, ages 4 and almost 3 years were happy and content during the ride from Greeley to the Park. (Mom had promised some ice cream when we reached the Gift Shop/restaurant at the top.) But once inside the Park, Jackson, the older one, was just ready to be there. The inevitable questions began: “Mommy, are we almost there?” “Not yet, Jackson.” A few minutes later: “Mommy, are we almost there?” “Jackson, see how big and tall the trees are? When the trees are shorter and not so close together, we are getting closer.” A short time later: “Mommy, are we almost there?” “Watch the trees, Jackson. There aren’t very many and soon there won’t be any at all.” Soon: “Mommy, are we almost there?” “Look, Jackson, no trees! Now I see a parking lot with cars and some buildings. We are there!”

As I listened to this conversation, it made me think of our journey to heaven. In 1844 the Adventist believers were beginning the journey. They thought they were almost there, but the “trees were still tall.” As time continued there were “wars and rumors of wars . . . famines and earthquakes in various places.” (Matthew 24:6, 7) The “trees were getting smaller and not so abundant.”

The nightly news tells me disasters are rapidly increasing. War, unprecedented rainfall and floods, massive tornadoes, raging wildfires, and soaring heat temperatures never before recorded, and soaring ocean temps threatening coral reefs and possibly increasing hurricanes. I think we have reached the “tundra” – no trees - part of the journey. We are almost there!

This reminded me of a song in our hymnal: “Look for the Waymarks”:

“Look for the waymarks as you journey on, Look for the waymarks, passing one by one;  

Down through the ages, past the kingdoms four – Where are we standing? Look the waymarks o’er . . . Look for the waymarks, the great prophetic waymarks; The journey’s almost o’er.”

Sharon Oster