Laurelbrook Academy SDA Church

The church service in the Laurelbrook Seventh-day Adventist Church on January 27, 2018 began with Angela Volpe leading the congregation in singing “My Hope Is Built” before and after the announcements. Rodney Hera welcomed everyone and making one announcement. Vespers will be in the auditorium at 5:00.

Mark Kent played an introit. The congregation had a silent invocation.  The congregation led by Angela Volpe then sang “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”. Rich Sutton then had the Morning Prayer; the congregation sang “Hear Our Prayer”. 

Sarah (senior) then called for the offering.  Josia (senior) and John Ellis then collected the morning offerings; the loose offering went to the religious liberty.  The congregation sang the doxology, and Sarah prayed for the offering.  

Lesha Westcott then told the children a story about keys. A father allowed his little boy to play with keys. Unfortunately, the baby of the family got hold of one of the keys and swallowed it.  The father couldn’t get the key but prayed. The thought came to him to turn the baby upside down.  The key came out.  Lesha Westcott was that baby.

Dyaine (senior) then read Genesis 8:15-18 “15 ¶ And God spake unto Noah, saying, 16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. 17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that [is] with thee, of all flesh, [both] of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. 18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:”

Rich Sutton discussed the topic “Why Didn’t They Go In?” The congregation sang “How Far From Home”.   Rich Sutton had the closing prayer. 

Personnel Other Than Students:

Lesha Westcott – wife of Jeremy Westcott, one of the academy teachers / Laurelbrook Elementary School teacher
Mark Kent – Laurelbrook IT person
Rich Sutton – Laurelbrook president
Rodney Herra – works with the auto body and farm programs / local church treasurer

Following are some notes on the sermon by Rich Sutton:

1. Rich introduced a former colporteur who came to know Rich’s older brother. Rich requested the Bible story set; it set him back $400. Pam accepted the Sabbath, Rich a week later. Church members invited Rich and Pam over to their houses every Sabbath.
2. Rich’s father and family were Catholics and hated the people who brought the truth to Rich and Pam. Rich eventually became a colporteur, too. This former colporteur left the church, stayed out for 23 years, but finally returned. He was a truck driver at the time. 
3. The school usually rents the lodge at Falls Creek Falls State Park, but this year the lodge hadn’t been reserved. So Rich and the school officials decided to take students and staff to the replica of Noah’s Ark in northern Kentucky.
4. The problem was a place to stay. The church nearby decided to allow them to stay, the students put on a music program, and the place was left clean.
5. The Ark Encounter Park allowed them to eat their own lunches after Pam distributed copies of The Great Controversy.
6. Noah and his relatives were in the Ark 40 days and 40 nights.  The grounds let its water out, and the atmosphere itself gave its water.
7. Satan himself feared for his life.
8. Cultures around the world have different types of boats, but only one would survive.  
9. The Ark –we only have the dimensions, but someone figured out that these dimensions were the only ones that gave a comfortable ride.
10. The museum figured out that the animals alone would number 7000 or 8000.  Every human present would have had to feed 850 animals per day, consuming huge containers of food during the year the Ark was operatively.
11. It is believed that some greens that could be grown quickly were grown in the upper sections of the Ark.
12. All of the smaller cages had a grate on the bottom with a ramp taking away the waste. The waste was taken by a conveyer belt to a tank the ocean would continually clean.
13. All these designs are what people think that Noah and family did.
14. Only eight people went into the Ark. Methuselah died the year of the Flood sealed in Jesus Christ. 
15. Dyaine said that the animals impressed her.  Sarah noted that God specifically planned every little detail. It took a week for the animals to come into the Ark.
16. An angel shut the door, a week intervened with no rain, and then the skies opened up with rain, rain, rain, and more rain.
17.  What hindered people from going into the Ark?  Possessions, friends, unconverted, unusual lifestyle.
18. Then during that the week after the Ark’s door was shut people banged on the door trying to get in.
19. Scott Sterling went to a special Marine school after Naval Academy.  He had a roommate living in the house with him while Scott attended flight school. This roommate was a Seventh-day Adventist.
20. Noah sacrificed one each of the clean animals after Noah had fed these animals for a year.
21. Sin started immediately after possibly five years when Noah got drunk. The family had to give their mistakes back to Jesus.
22. Jacob’s family numbered 70 when they went into Egypt. 400 years later a huge multitude came out.  But eight came out of the Ark.
23. 2/5ths of the world’s population are Christians today. The SDA church is the fastest growing church in the world. 
24. How many of you would get into the Ark today? What would it have been like if everyone had gotten into the Ark?