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 Southern Group Organized Spiritual Series  Sabbath services at the Laurelbrook Seventh-day Adventist Church on February 6, 2010 beganwith Donna Kanna playing the organ. The song service led by two young ladies from the Preach the Word group, accompanied by Donna Kanna on the piano. The opening song was “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name”. One of the young ladies had prayer.A young man from Preach the Word gave his testimony of how he came to the Lord and what God can do with a young person. He was a rebellious 15-year-old teenager rebelling against the Adventist lifestyle. Then he went to a GYC meeting in Chattanooga. God gave him a passion for His work. He still has his struggles and doubles at age 19. One of his friends got in a car accident that should have paralyzed him, but God straightened out his friend’s spine. He is walking today.
Another time he and a friend were conducting meetings when a lady came up to him and told them she had a dream of the team with a book answering all her questions. Another team member brought that exact book that night. God can work through you like that.
Another lady who was addicted to drinking blood came to one of their meetings. She didn’t come forward that night, but that meeting started her on the right path. He challenged the young people to get involved in evangelism. All of us want to be a part of something big. God is looking for superstars to be evangelists and preachers for him even if you are young. In Mexico, the top evangelistic team is all under age 14. Get involved in some way in evangelism.
Matthew 28:18-20 “18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Notice there is no age requirement in the Great Commission. God promises He will be with you telling you what to say. Get involved in evangelism. Young people are leaving the church because they feel they are not included. Evangelism is a way to fire up your Christian experience.
 Two young ladies from the group sang “In the Morning When I Arise” without accompaniment. Another young man had closing prayer. The congregation then broke up into several Sabbath School classes to study the week’s lessons.The church service proper began with an organ introit by Donna Kanna. Laura Mae Zollinger had a presentation about religious liberty – religious liberty is being restricted worldwide. In four different areas of the campus are four jars collecting money for religious liberty. A young man from the Preach the Word group had the invocation. Ron Oxentenko welcomed everyone and made the necessary announcements. Communion next Sabbath has been postponed until possibly after Spiritual Retreat.
 The congregation sang “Trust and Obey”. Allison, a member of the Preach the Word group, had the Morning Prayer. Clayton Brandt called for the offering. Gregory Anderson and Roger Westfall collected the morning offerings. The congregation sang the doxology; Clayton Brandt had a prayer for the offering. Robin Hughes then told the children about a little girl – Ellen White - who made a difference.
Maureen (9th grader) read Hebrews 12:1-3 KJV “1 ¶ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set
 before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” A young lady from the group sang a solo, accompanied by another member of the group playing the guitar. A member of the group then talked about looking to Jesus, he made an appeal to the young people present, the congregation sang “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”, and Clayton Brandt had the benediction.
Personnel Other Than Students:
Clayton Brandt – one of Laurelbrook’s maintenance men assigned to the vehicle shop and heavy equipment, local church elder.
Gregory Anderson – maintenance man for the Laurelbrook Nursing Home
Laura Mae Zollinger – retired nurse living with her husband Glenn on the edge of the Laurelbrook property, religious liberty secretary for the Laurelbrook church
Preach the Word – group of students from Southern Adventist University
Robin Hughes – C.N.A. at the Laurelbrook Nursing Home
Roger Westfall – Laurelbrook’s vice-president for personnel, head of housekeeping for Laurelbrook Nursing Home
Ron Oxentenko – Laurelbrook’s president
Notes on the sermon:
1. Our message is what unites us.
2. In 2008, a man went to a starting position in a full station. He ran so fast that he was in front of everyone. Then he slowed down at the finish line, making his time a very poor timing. Because of distraction, he didn’t get the time he wanted.
3. Hebrews 12:1-3 “1 ¶ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
4. Ellen White says Paul was writing to the Jewish Christians who were enduring persecution led by the Emperor Nero. These Christians were thinking of leaving Christianity.
5. Verse 1 – witnesses refers to the people who did things by faith mentioned in Chapter 11, the faith chapter.
6. Paul then says to get rid of every weight. In the ancient Olympics, people would put weights on various parts of the body for up to two years ahead of the race. Then at the starting line they removed the weights.
7. The weights are anything that can get between you and God. It could be friends, job, movies, books, video games.
8. Secondly, Paul tells us to get rid of the sin that ensnares us. If we sin, we need to pick ourselves up and go forward. Paul challenges us to get rid of that persistent sin that attacks us.
9. Thirdly, Paul tells us to be patient when running our races. In the Olympics, those who step out of the lines may be disqualified. We need to focus on our own race, not those of others.
10. The words “patience” and “endurance” implies this won’t be easy.
11. Verse 2 talks about another Witness who hasn’t fallen and who accomplished the race. Watch Jesus, who is our example.
12. What makes Jesus so special? Jesus has placed faith in our hearts in the first place. Jesus is Perfecter of our faith. But it can be hard to do this because we stumble over and over again and darkness envelopes us.
13. “The just shall live by faith”. Sometimes you don’t feel like praying or reading the Bible or saying kind words. But then we have to live by faith.
14. We get the idea that our spirituality is determined by our feelings. But faith or trust or belief or reliance is not like that. Jesus is saying to have faith in Him, doing what we should in spite of our feelings.
15. Verse 3 - What did Jesus do for us to have this faith? He endured the cross - the spitting, the enduring, death itself, the nakedness, the severe beatings, the insides of the body pouring out.
16. Jesus despised the shame of the cross. Back then it could take days to die on the cross. Yet He didn’t lose faith.
17. I would have given up when going through what Jesus had to endure. But Jesus didn’t lose faith.
18. Why did Jesus go through this? Verse 2 tells us He did all this to secure the joy of seeing you saved. Angels could have delivered Jesus from the cruelty He endured on the cross.
19. We are told to look to Jesus – Jesus endured this for you.
20. Hebrews 11:15 “And truly, if they had been mindful of that [country] from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.”
21. Jesus endured to see you in heaven. His sufferings would give you a chance to be in heaven.
22. Our goal is heaven. All of the people in Chapter 11 finished the race because they had the heavenly goal in mind – Abraham, Sarah, David, Joseph, Samson, the prophets and later Luther, Calvin, Westley, Ellen and James White.
23. That Olympics runner ran because he wanted to be the fastest runner in the world. But someone will run faster years later. But no one can take the crown Jesus offers each of us.
24. We should not worry about our salvation. This shows a lack of faith in God.
25. So continue running and getting back up.
26. To run this race we need to get rid of all that hinders us and to look to Jesus.
27. We have problems with sin because we don’t look to Jesus and resist sin in our own poor power.
28. All we have to do is take the crown Jesus offers us. Jesus will overcome our sins for us.
29. Yielding to Christ is the essence of the Christian life.
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