AUDIO
The Laurelbrook Seventh-day Adventist Church service on June 2, 2018 began with Ricardo Reid welcoming everyone and making a few announcements. All are invited to the academy cafeteria for lunch. Prayer meeting will be at 7:00 in the church on Wednesday evening. He then prayed for the prayer list on the back of the church bulletin.
Samantha (junior) played an introit. The congregation had a silent invocation and then sang “Take My Life and Let It Be”. Ricardo Reid had the main prayer; the congregation responded with “Hear Our Prayer, O Lord”.
Jester Felarca then called for the offering. Seniors Hiram and Eric then collected the morning offerings; the loose offering went to the local church budget. The congregation sang the doxology, and Jester Felarca prayed for the offering.
Ginny Arce told the children a story about a missionary who went to work with cannibals in New Guinea. He wanted to taste some of the pineapple grown in the country. His hired workers planned the plants, but the pineapples were disappearing, taken by the tribal people. He got upset and started yelling at them. They then told the missionary that they felt he had lost his Christianity. How should a person respond to this? Pray and think how Jesus would handle the problem. The people felt that since they had planted the pineapples the fruit really should be theirs.
Jester Felarca read Philippians 3:7-8 “7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may win Christ.”
Ricardo Reid discussed the topic “I Surrender All”. The congregation sang “All to Jesus I Surrender”. Ricardo Reid had the closing prayer.
Personnel Other Than Students:
Ginny Arce - wife of music administrator Pedro Arce / directs the Bell Choir / works with disposing of surplus items on campus
Jester Felarca – works as a C.N.A. in the Laurelbrook Nursing Home
Ricardo Reid – local head church elder / works in the Laurelbrook Nursing Home
Following are some notes on the sermon by Ricardo Reid:
- The book of Philippines is encouragement amidst surrounding problems. Paul appeals to his readers to have the knowledge and peace of Christ.
- Philippines 1:21 “For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain.”
- As a follower of Christ, concentrate on Christ.
- Philippines 3:8 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may win Christ,”
- Philippines 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
- Chapter 2 concentrates on the humility in Christ a Christian needs.
- Philippines 3:5-6 “5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, [of] the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”
- Paul surrendered all possible worldly prospects to accept Christ.
- Philippines 3:8-11 “8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may win Christ, 9 ¶ And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”
- Everything Paul had – circumcision, family connects, zeal, love of his peers – he counted as “slop”.
- Ellen White says that Christ came to restore in man the image of His maker and bring him back to the original perfection in which man was created.
- Those who work with unselfish motives will not exalt themselves.
- The pineapple missionary (continuation of the children’s story) closed the medical clinic and his small store. Then he heard a sermon and changed tactics, giving his pineapple field to God. The people stopped stealing the pineapples because the missionary surrendered the field to God. The people could see that he was putting God first.
- All Christians will be tested like Christ but shouldn’t yield to spiteful feelings and should suffer with kindness. Ellen White says that two wrongs don’t make a right.
- Paul says that everything that made him a somebody counted as nothing when he met Christ.
- Then he counted it a blessing to do good for others or give others something.
- Make Jesus everything to you.
- Paul became the greatest of all New Testament scholars when he gave everything to Jesus.