Emmanuel Seventh-day Church Ministries

"As the gospel message spread in Pisidia, the unbelieving Jews of Antioch in their blind prejudice stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from that district. The apostles were not discouraged by this treatment; they remembered the words of their Master: Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for ...My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matthew 5:11, 12.)' - Acts of the Apostles p.176 Satan, the enemy of God, seeks to discourage and wound God's cause but we have a work to do. We cannot allow the wicked to deter us from our mission, to seek and save those in need of a Savior. His greatest tool is discouragement, but great is our reward in heaven when we stay within the arms of our heavenly Father and daily seek his strength to carry on. Happy Sabbath! See more

In today's message, the speaker spoke on the shepherd of Psalm 23 and he focused on the last verse that says, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.." Goodness means God gives me what I don't deserve and Mercy means God's protection from what I do deserve. Wherever we go in life God's goodness and mercy pursues us because God loves us and wants to help us be saved. An old penny and a new penny hold the same value regardless of the condition they'r...e in. The effectiveness of the penny is dependent on how it is used. God wants to use us for his glory but our effectiveness is contingent on our willingness to live for Him. God is our creator and because he formed us he has put a value on us that we ourselves cannot change. You are special, unique, and most valuable to Our Heavenly Father. Don't allow his ultimate sacrifice to be made in vain. See more

Be the change you want to see in the world. People respond to authenticity. We can't talk of Christ to others and not know Him for ourselves. Be honest, be genuine and the love of God with shine through you to those around you.

"Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it." - (Steps to Christ p. 23) "Real sorrow for sin is the result of the working of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit reveals the ingratitude of the heart that has slighted and grieved the Saviour, and brings us in contrition to the foot of the cross." - (Desire of Ages p. 300) True repentance is shown in the life by one's actions. There is no repentance without humility. When true humility comes into play our hearts are softened and we make wrongs right with our fellow men and our Lord, so that we my be one as he and the Father are one. (John 10:30)

"A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish.... But this union costs us something.... There must be a painful work of detachment, as well as a work of attachment. Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldlinesssin in all its formsmust be overcome, if we would enter into a union with Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is, they try to attach themselves to Christ without detac...hing themselves from these cherished idols." - The Faith I Live By, pg.221 God has placed various situations in our path to remind us that the idols we hold dear are meaningless in comparison to him. A church building means nothing, positions of leadership mean nothing, degrees, fame, money all are meaningless and can easily be taken away. In the end the only thing that matters is us and our connection with our God. We the people are his church, not a building, our mindset must change. Our other attachments must wither away so we can shine forth in the light of truth carrying on the mission we were set here to do in faith. Have a blessed Sabbath dear friend! See more

"True humility will lead a man to exalt Christ and the truth, and to realize his utter dependence upon the God of truth. It is painful to learn lessons of humility, yet nothing is more beneficial in the end. The pain attendant upon learning lessons of humility is in consequence of our being elated by a false estimate of ourselves, so that we are unable to see our great need." - Testimonies for the Church Vol.4, pg. 378 John said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Today is another opportunity to let Christ take charge of your heart and lead in your life. Another chance to renounce self and grow in spiritual grace. Each day we make choices that will decide our eternal destiny. Where will your choices lead you today?

Our world needs people like this again. Men and women of a true and upright character.

"New Year, New Me" is a common theme during this season. Many resolutions are made, many commitments decided, and sometimes we follow through and stick with them, but most times not so much. The Bible says in Isaiah 1:16, "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,". The power to become a new person starts with us accepting Jesus Christ into our lives as our Master and Savior. Choosing each day to do as HE desi...res and HE wishes us to live and as time goes on we become new creatures through change of thought, habit and lifestyle! We cannot change morally and become new on our own. "God's plan with you is to begin at the very seat of all difficulties, the heart," which is your mind, "and then from out of the heart will issue the principles of righteousness; the reformation will be outward as well as inward." (E.G. White-Counsels on Diet and Food, pg.35) God has given us a new year and this is a new opportunity, to turn the page on the old you and allow God to create a new you, sanctified by the blood of Jesus! Happy New Year! See more

When a tree is grown and mature it has the deepest roots, it endures storms but isn't uprooted nor does it easily shift from it's foundation, it may loose a few leaves here and there or maybe have a broken branch, but it continues to grow, repair and expand, providing shade for the surrounding area. Jesus said in Mark 4:16-17, "And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root... in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended." This made me think of the many times when, a person said something offensive and did things that were unkind to me and I think was I root-less? Am I hurt because I have no depth with My Lord? Do I cry and give up because I'm shallow and self raises up? Jesus also said in Matthew 5:10-12, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Be a mature tree my dear friend, don't let anything move you from your foundation. Say as David, "He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved." - Psalm 62:6 See more

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 or older, 18% of the population. Why is this? Because as humans we take upon ourselves and worry over the things that we cannot control. The Bible says, in Philippians 4:6-7 (kjv) "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unt...o God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Jesus himself told us in Matthew 6:25, "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on..." And in verse 34, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself..." Our Father wants us to trust in his power and ability to do all things. "Casting all care upon Him for he careth for you." (1 Peter 5:7) Because he cares, let God carry your burden. See more