Laurelbrook Academy



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David de Rose Discusses Heroism and Life
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Go to Mission story, Church, Pictures, Sermon Notes

Sabbath services at the Laurelbrook Seventh-day Adventist Church on April 28, 2012 began with a Sabbath School song service led by Jennita Smith and her friend Esther Morris and Morris’ daughter, accompanied by Donna Kanna on the piano.   The opening song was “Just When I Need Him Most”.

Wanda Sarr had prayer, welcomed everyone, and read John 15:1-5 “1 ¶ I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

Charles Sarr told a mission story about a man who asked the mission president several times to come to speak to his people. The only one who could go was Harry Skinner, exhausted as he was from his previous mission work. So a team of workers went to the man’s area with Harry Skinner as translator despite his exhaustion. 

The man woke Harry up during one night and took him over to the village spirit shrine. From the shrine, the man took out some Burmese language tracts, one of which talked about the Sabbath. The second piece of paper talked about Christ’s Second Coming. The third was an advertisement for soap with a picture of the king of England. The man said he would wear a crown when he came back.

Harry had to go back home as a result of malaria and black water fever.  But then he learned there had been quite a number of baptisms as a result of the man whose mind wasn’t quite all there.  God uses everyone to spread His word, including those of us here at Laurelbrook.

Andrew and Enrique, both juniors, collected the Laurelbrook Missions Offering, which helps with the expenses of those who go on Laurelbrook mission trips. Sonya de Rose sang a vocal solo for special music, accompanied by Donna Kanna on the piano.  Alistair Huong had a few superintendent’s remarks on the concept of abiding.  Alistair Huong had the closing prayer.

Following are notes on Alistair Huong’s remarks:
  1. Abiding sounds so passive and boring.
  2. John 15:8 “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”
  3. God wants us to bear much fruit.
  4. John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
  5. Bearing fruit requires us to abide in Christ.
  6. John 15:2 “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
  7. Note the two types of branches – the non-fruit bearing branches are taken away, the fruitful ones are pruned.
  8. Every believer must endure pruning. Abiding, therefore, includes pruning.
  9. Abiding is not just an existence.
  10. When you bear fruit, there is a process of refining, times of pain and difficult and trials and suffering.
  11. When we are refined, there are growing pains.
  12. When we have trials, we must remember to abide and remember that these trials are part of the refining process.
  13. Christ never severs the connection with us.
  14. Remember to abide so you can bear much fruit to glorify God.
The group then split up into two Sabbath School classes to study a lesson on lifestyle in witnessing and evangelism.  David Armstrong taught the Sabbath School lesson in the church sanctuary.

Following are notes from the lesson study in the main sanctuary:
  1. Witnessing is sharing what you love whether it be cars or products or Jesus.
  2. In the health work, as Adventists we advise people to completely and permanently change their lifestyles for optimal health. The same hold true for witnessing.
  3. A lot of atheists are simply acting out self-preservation possibly due to some problems in the past.
  4. Actions often speak louder than words.
  5. Every person has his/her own testimony – it may be in actions, words, looks, or acted-out thoughts.
  6. In order to have the right testimony, we need to spend quality time with Jesus.
  7. Ephesians 3:8 “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”
  8. Philippines 1:21 “For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain.”
  9. To have the right testimony, we need to resemble Christ in our lifestyle. If we look at other people, we only achieve no higher than the person we are looking at.
  10. John the Baptist mingled with people and awakened sympathy for his message by doing so.
The church service began with an introit by Donna Kanna. David de Rose had the opening prayer. Clifton Brandt welcomed everyone and then made a few announcements.  Please remember the juniors on their campout and other students going on outings.  There will be a music program at 5:00 in the church and AY in the auditorium at 7:00.

Clifton Brandt announced the opening hymn - “I’m But a Stranger Here”. Clifton Brandt then had the Morning Prayer. Charles Sarr called for the offering.  Daryll Ellis and Anthony (9th grader) collected the church offerings. After the congregation sang the doxology, Charles Sarr prayed for the offering.

Charles Sarr then read Revelation 19:6-8 “6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

Clifton Brandt talked to the children about a family that settled on the prairie some years ago.  The father tied a rope high in a cottonwood tree so the children could swing on the rope. The rope broke when the mother tried the rope; she lost the child she was bearing.  The father was trying to plant so the family would have food and feeling overwhelmed. The mother was in tremendous pain. Eventually the father cried out to God, asking for someone to help (no neighbors were even close). A woman came to the door, came in, and started helping the family with cooking and laundry and cleaning. She stayed for six or eight weeks with the family. Finally, the woman left.  The father took her for a short distance, the woman got out of the wagon, and the father couldn’t see the lady even though there was no place to hide. God had answered his prayer.

Karina (sophomore) played a clarinet solo for special music, accompanied by Donna Kanna on the piano.  David de Rose discussed the topic “Heroes”. The congregation sang “Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary”.  Charles Sarr closed the service with prayer.

Personnel Other Than Students:

Alistair Huong – former student teacher at Laurelbrook, theology student at Southern Adventist University
Charles Sarr – local head elder, assistant academy principal, campus tech person
Clifton Brandt – local elder, works with Laurelbrook’s sewer, water, and boiler systems
Daryll Ellis – son of John and Barbara Ellis, local church deacon, works at nearby Majestic Stone Company
David Armstrong – Kristi Brandt’s soon-to-be husband, has worked in Nepal
David de Rose - doctor in health evangelism work at Weimar
Donna Kanna – director of the Laurelbrook Band, teaches music lessons to Laurelbrook students and staff members
Sonya de Rose – sister to Clifton and Clayton Brandt, doctor in health evangelism work at Weimar


 
Following are notes from the sermon:
  1. Weimar is now separate from Amazing Facts again although the two ministries work together.
  2. Heroes are a much-discussed topic in the United States, but foolishness is very close to heroism.
  3. Heroism is heroic conduct if fulfilling a high purpose or noble end.
  4. There must be a risk involved if some action is heroic.
  5. Think of World War II.  As the war closed, President Truman had to make a decision – this might have moral or political consequences.
  6. Luke 12:16 “And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:”  Riches are a sign of God’s blessing – a financial hero.
  7. Luke 12:17-19 “17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, [and] be merry.”
  8. Most people in the USA today want to do just this for their retirement years.
  9. God says to this man – you are a fool.
  10. Luke 12:20-21 “20 But God said unto him, [Thou] fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So [is] he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
  11. What about the social realm?  For example, a doctor in the prison system spoke out about prison conditions.
  12. A pastor was impressed to preach straight messages – some left the church after calling him a fool.
  13. Psalm 73:1-3 “1 ¶ «A Psalm of Asaph.» Truly God [is] good to Israel, [even] to such as are of a clean heart. 2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. 3 For I was envious at the foolish, [when] I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”
  14. Note the author saw a problem – those who were foolish from a spiritual standpoint were heroes from worldly perspectives.
  15. Psalm 73:4-12 “4 For [there are] no bands in their death: but their strength [is] firm. 5 They [are] not in trouble [as other] men; neither are they plagued like [other] men. 6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them [as] a garment. 7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. 8 They are corrupt, and speak wickedly [concerning] oppression: they speak loftily. 9 They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. 10 Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full [cup] are wrung out to them. 11 And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? 12 Behold, these [are] the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase [in] riches.”
  16. Psalm 73:13-14 “13 Verily I have cleansed my heart [in] vain, and washed my hands in innocency. 14 For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.”
  17. People leave Jesus over this issue – the wicked are doing well and the righteous aren’t.
  18. Psalm 73:15-16 “15 ¶ If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend [against] the generation of thy children. 16 When I thought to know this, it [was] too painful for me;”
  19. Christians will have trials like Asaph.
  20. The turning point is Psalm 73:17 “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; [then] understood I their end.”
  21. We cannot rely on our human wisdom to judge how successful a person is.
  22. We don’t call people heroes on these social consequences.
  23. Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4 says that the way people enter into marriage is a sign of the last days.
  24. People often comment on the foolishness people exhibit on getting married, but never do people call people heroes for marrying certain people.
  25. Jesus sent out His disciples two by two, but in marriage a person should not try to convert someone else by marriage. God Himself helps us to rise above humanity, but God usually doesn’t convert a person by marriage.
  26. We are not to see if we can forget God’s counsel and live a long time.
  27. In the Bible, there are many references to marriage in every issue of life.
  28. The sanctuary answered the beliefs of the early Adventist church.
  29. Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
  30. God in these verses is plural.  God created because He wanted to share His love with other created beings.
  31. Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
  32. God can be represented only in plural relationships such as marriage.
  33. Creation is paralleled in redemption – God saves His people because He loved them.
  34. Exodus 25:8 “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”
  35. This is redemption recreated from a people in the dust of Egypt.
  36. Genesis 1:29 “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”
  37. None of the other ancient peoples had a vegetarian diet.
  38. Genesis 2:15 “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”  No one in antiquity who had authority did labor like this.
  39. Adam doesn’t have a helpmate.
  40. Genesis 2:18-20 “18 ¶ And the LORD God said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought [them] unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that [was] the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”
  41. Genesis 2:21-22 “21 ¶ And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”
  42. God was present with the Israelites before the sanctuary.
  43. The sanctuary shows us our identity.
  44. Christ on the cross was the greatest act of heroism in history. It looked like foolishness.  Luke 27: “27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. 28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.”
  45. Some were probably thinking Christ was foolish.
  46. John 11:16  “Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
  47. It looked foolish even to the disciples.
  48. You may not feel that Jesus is close, but the sanctuary message shows us that He is.
  49. 1 Peter 1:18-20 “18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold, from your vain conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,”
  50. The earthly sanctuary sacrifices indicate that Jesus makes us complete in Him.
  51. The sanctuary tells you about your occupation – what you are going to do in life.
  52. 1 Peter 2:9 “But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”
  53. We are priests, individuals commissioned to reveal Jesus (teaching, preaching, healing).
  54. Every commission of the disciples always includes these three activities.
  55. The sanctuary shows us about the social sphere.
  56. Ephesians – these people had lost their relationship with Jesus.
  57. Ephesians 2:4-10 “4 ¶ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
  58. Ephesians 2:12 “12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 ¶ For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us];”
  59. Revelation 19:6-9 shows the great marriage feast. Revelation 19:6-9 “6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”
  60. God takes a group and makes them into a church – witness the twelve tribes and the twelve disciples. This was a human disaster, but God worked with everyone in the group.
  61. In marriage, a man and woman are different but then united into one.
  62. The sanctuary speaks to us about financial security.
  63. Revelation 21:12 “And had a wall great and high, [and] had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are [the names] of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:”
  64. These names are not from perfect people.
  65. Revelation 22:3-5 “3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name [shall be] in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
  66. The saints have a place to live, garments to wear, and a way to get around.
  67. Open God’s Word and see God’s pictures of the Heavenly Sanctuary. This shows you the specifics of what our lives should be.
  68. Financial security is in heaven.