The Laurelbrook Seventh-day Adventist Church service on November 10, 2018 began with Rich Sutton welcoming everyone and making a few announcements. Richie Perez has been doing a small group meeting in Dunlap. As a result, there will be a baptism at the Spanish church in Dunlap at 3:00 p.m. Two academy girls will be having the sermon this morning.
Leilani (junior) played an introit. The congregation had a silent invocation and then sang “Safely Through Another Week”. Rich Sutton had the main prayer; the congregation responded with “Hear Our Prayer, O Lord”.
Michael (senior) then called for the offering. John Ellis and Felix (junior) then collected the morning offerings; the loose offering went to the world budget, the annual sacrifice offering. The congregation sang the doxology, and Rich Sutton prayed for the offering.
Scott Sterling told the children a story about a disappearing dog named Buster. Her parents reluctantly let their girl accept the dog as a birthday present. She at first enjoyed playing with the dog until he started to bite. Then she got busy and started forgetting to feed the dog and taking the dog for a walk. Then the dog dug a hole under the fence to play with the dog next door and eventually dug a hole under the fence and disappeared. The girl wanted the chance to do things over properly. Five days went by; then a phone call announced that Buster had been found. Her second chance had arrived.
Michael read Isaiah 66:23 “And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.” Gabriel (elementary) and Leilani played an instrumental duet for special music.
Mahary and Dafne (juniors) discussed the topic “Which Day Should We Keep?” The congregation sang “Don’t Forget the Sabbath”. Rich Sutton had the closing prayer.
Personnel Other Than Students:
John Ellis - retired mechanic and former Laurelbrook staff member living nearby / local church deacon
Rich Sutton – Laurelbrook president
Following are some notes on the sermon by the two students:
- Which day should we keep?
- Genesis 2:1-3 “1 ¶ Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”
- God instituted the Sabbath on the final day of Creation Week.
- Jesus died on Friday, rested on Sabbath, and was resurrected on Sunday (Luke 23). The Bible never indicates that we must keep Sunday due to the resurrection.
- God rested on the Sabbath and made it holy. He also made it part of the Ten Commandments.
- Luke 4:16 “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” Jesus kept the 7th day Sabbath.
- John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
- Who tried to change the day of worship? Malachi 3:6 “For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Not God or Jesus.
- Constantine on March 7, 321 decreed that all worship on the day of the sun – Sunday.
- Daniel 7:25 “And he shall speak [great] words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”
- Romans 1:25 “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”
- Not a line in the Bible says that we must worship on Sunday?
- Exodus 16:23 “And he said unto them, This [is that] which the LORD hath said, To morrow [is] the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake [that] which ye will bake [to day], and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.”
- Preparations for the Sabbath should be made on Friday just prior to the Sabbath, including all cooking or getting clothes ready. Parents should explain to their children why they are doing this.
- At sundown the family should gather to sing and pray.
- We must follow through with our convictions of the 7th day Sabbath and how it is to be kept.
- Isaiah 66:22-23 “22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.”
- God has not changed the day of worship.