From:
Date: March 20, 2021
Subject: It's March 20: Good Morning Union Special Sabbath Edition
Here’s what we have to help your rejoicing:
And that, my friends, is God’s Sabbath that I offer to you. including…
The Well- @ 10:40am in the Young Adult room at the Church. Join us as we fellowship, worship, and spend time in God’s word.
CVC- 9:15 and Noon. Pastor Harold ends his series called “Kaleo” and will summarize the journey we have been on for the past 11 weeks on the theme of righteousness in Jesus ALONE. Join us across the street or at one of the 6 other Adventist churches in the Lincoln area. Community is still a crucial part of the spiritual journey!
V2 @ 7:30pm in Woods Auditorium. Join us for 30 minutes as we bid farewell to the Sabbath with a few songs and a testimony. Health and Human Performance Club will be hosting this week and Ysabelle Fernando will be sharing.
Have a blessed Sabbath doing good to all people because you spent time with God,
Pastor Rich
Quote for the day: "As tensions continue to mount in contemporary society, the traditional Sabbath that requires an all-but-total separation from work-a-day tasks and concerns and worry, becomes a precious resource for life." —Daniel Gordis
A music video for your blessing shared with me by a recent graduate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1srs1YoTVzs&ab_channel=zachwilliamsVEVO
“Fear is a Liar” by Zach Williams
And now my blog from the week:
There tends to be an overwhelming loudness that comes with uncertainty. A powerful pull towards fear and worry. We live in a world where it is common to look forward in wonder while feeling an uncertain tightness build in our hearts. We also live in a world where we are not alone in these moments or feelings. Turning inward with love, patience, and hope is a quiet rebellion.
Every time we look into the storm and hope for a rainbow is a quiet rebellion. Moments of solidarity, moments of laughter, moments of togetherness, each their own quiet rebellion. There is power in looking towards the unknown with a heavy heart and choosing to focus on the possibility of joy. Each time we choose hope over fear we are making a choice that allows life to be lived. For more moments, for more laughter, for more wonder.
These past few months have been a challenge to this process. My mind, body, and soul have been put to the test. Much has come and gone but the focus has always been on what remains. I’m learning to treat uncertainty as its own form of hope. As a reminder that there is more to life, more to love, and more to who I am. When each of us believes in what the future has to offer, we rise to the uncertainty in a quiet rebellion.
I sit here on a day where the sunrise led to a gray haze of a sky. On days where sunshine is hard to come by, I often look for the beauty that remains. The flowers that bloom despite the darkness. The birds that fly because their freedom persists. The water that flows through or past every obstacle. Reminders that the little things can help keep hope alive. The hope for a sunrise that leads to blue skies and a sunset so colorful you wonder if anything could be more beautiful.
The sun is an example to follow. A glimmer of hope that each day brings a new opportunity to find our inner light and shine. The possibility to become new and surprise ourselves with hope in the midst of uncertainty.
I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know that it is worth fighting for. Each morning we make the choice to fight for our stories and remind those around us to fight for theirs.
We were not meant to face uncertain times alone. We were not meant to do any of this alone. My hope is that together, we learn to view uncertainty as a reminder that everything is possible. When we trust in the unknowns, we create a freedom to grow, change, and live.
There is so much more to come and our fears do not define us. You have so many more chapters in your irreplaceable story. Now is a great time to take a deep breath, look up, slow down, and embrace the uncertainty. Keep fighting for the endless possibilities of joy and the power that comes with a quiet rebellion.