Thursday, February 23, 2012

Questions About Seventh-day Adventists

     Occasionally, people confuse us with other religious groups. Or they hear things about us that are inaccurate, Earlier in this booklet, we addressed two such misconceptions: that Adventists believe we alone will be saved and that we believe in salvation through our good works (legalism).
     Now we'd like to answer a few more questions people sometimes ask us.


     Q. Are you the church that does not believe in blood transfusions?
     A. No. you may be confusing us with the Jehovah's Witnesses.


     Q. Don't you have a lot of churches in Utah?
     A. We do have a number of churches in the state of Utah. But you may be confusing us with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), headquartered in Salt Lake City. a possible source f the confusion may be that the Mormons abbreviate their church as the LDS church---and we often abbreviate ours as SDA church.


     Q. Aren't Seventh-day Adventists a cult?
     A. Most cults can be identified by their non biblical doctrines as well as by their use o psychological coercion in attempting to control the thinking and behavior of their adherents. Many cults also deny the deity of Jesus Christ.
     We Adventists base all of our doctrines firmly upon the Bible, and we believe fervently in the divinity of Jesus. we reject as incompatible with true Christianity any form of force or pressure in gaining or retaining converts.


     Q. Do Adventists speak in tongues?
     A. As noted in the section on what we believe, we most certainly believe in gifts of the Spirit, including the gift of tongues. However, we believe that when Paul discusses this gift in 1 Corinthians 14, his clear emphasis iis on the communication of an intelligible message. He speaks against the use of a meaningless gibberish. we believe that the gift of tongues at Pentecost gave the disciples a miraculous ability to speak languages they had never learned before so that they could witness to those from other countries who were visiting Jerusalem.


     Q. Do Adventists have women pastors?
     A. A few women currently serve as Adventist pastors, though the church has not yet ordained and women to the gospel ministry (at least not at the writing of this book. unsure about now). The possibility of ordaining women to the ministry is being carefully studied by the church.


     Q. Hasn't the Adventist Church a number of times set a date for the second coming of Christ?
     A. Though William Miller's movement (see the section on how Adventists began) did set a time for the return of Christ---and while it is true that some who joined Miller in looking for Christ to return in the year 1844 later helped establish the Seventh-day Adventist Church---the church itself has never set a date for the second coming. We hold to the Bible teaching that no one can know the exact date of Christ's return. (see Mark 13:32.)

The Primary Activities of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

     Adventists are busy, active, involved Christians. This activity takes many forms---chief among them the following:
     WORSHIP---Most congregations begin their Sabbath (Saturday) services at 9:30 a.m. with Sabbath School (similar to the Sunday Schools of other denominations). Sabbath School members engage in group Bible study, outreach, and worship of God through music. 
     At about 11 a.m., the worship hour begins. The order of service is similar to that in other Protestant churches and culminates with the preaching of the Word. 
     Most Adventist churches also hold a midweek prayer meeting (often on Wednesday evening), and many hold other meetings for youth, for children, and for those who wish to do community service work. 
     EVANGELISM---Winning others to Jesus Christ and His truth is the single greatest desire and effort of Seventh-day Adventists. Through public crusades, personal Bible studies, literature distribution, radio and television broadcasts, and other avenues, we reach out to our neighbors and friends to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
     EDUCATION---Adventists believe firmly in the clear advantages of Christian education. We operate approximately 5,500 elementary and secondary schools worldwide---and nearly 90 colleges and universities (as of the writing of this book in 1987). In an age when so much of public education seems to be adopting the philosophy of secular humanism,we believe that it is vital to provide students with an education that upholds the spiritual dimension.
     HEALTH AND MEDICAL---Because we Adventists are interested in the whole person---body included---we place great emphasis on health. Over 500 Adventists hospitals, sanitariums, clinics, and dispensaries are scattered around the globe (as of the writing of this book in 1987). The Adventist Church offers stop-smoking and weight-loss classes, vegetarian cooking schools, and stress-reduction programs to the general public. Our medical school, hospital, and research center at Loma Linda University in southern California are at the forefront of research and innovation in health and medicine.
     DISASTER AND FAMINE RELIEF---Through the efforts of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), our church is able to respond quickly to disasters anywhere in the world with food, clothing, and medical supplies. In addition, ADRA carries a continuous program of famine relief in drought-stricken areas of the world.
     COMMUNITY SERVICES---Many local Seventh-day Adventist churches operate Community Service Centers, staffed with church volunteers who assist the needy and homeless in their communities. Most of these centers keep in stock clothing, bedding, and a limited supply of canned food for those most in need.
     PUBLISHING---With nearly 60 publishing houses around the world, (at the writing of this book in 1987)Seventh-day Adventists are totally committed to sharing God;s good news with the world through the printed page. Each year, scores of periodicals, hundreds of books, and thousands of small tracts are published and sold or given away worldwide. In the Untied States, the church operates tow large publishing houses---Pacific Press Publishing Association near Boise, Idaho, in the West and the Review and Herald Publishing Association at Hagerstown, Maryland, in the East.
     COMMUNICATIONS---Adventists were among the first to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to both radio and television. The "Voice of Prophecy" radio broadcast began in 1930 with H.M.S. Richards as its founding speaker/director. That responsibility is carried forward today (1987) by Lonnie Melashenko. The speaker director of VOP today is Fred Kinsey Voice of Prophecy
     "Faith For Today"  the oldest denominationally sponsored religious broadcast on television, first aired in 1950, with William A. Fagel as speaker-director. Later developments have included Faith for Today's popular "Lifestyle Magazine." 
     The "It is Written" telecast, with George E. Vandeman as speaker director (in 1987) began in 1955. It is Written's speaker/director is now Pastor John Bradshaw. This program is still on the air today, and applies Bible counsel to contemporary issues and human needs.
     In 1974 "Breath of Life," a national television broadcast, began reaching out to the black population of North america with C.D Brooks as speaker/director. Charles D. Brooks serving as the original speaker from 1975 through 1998. Brooks retired in 1998, recommending Walter L. Pearson, Jr., as his replacement. Pearson has been the speaker for the broadcast since 1998, and has focused heavily on public evangelism. In 2004, Pearson was the speaker for Breath of Life's first live broadcast evangelistic series, Experience the Power. This series was uplinked via satellite to hundreds of churches across North America and around the world. 

Breath of Life is no longer an independent ministry, but is an official media ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. They have offices in the Adventist Media Center in California, and in the office of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists located in Silver Spring, MD. 

In 2010, Dr. Carlton P. Byrd, senior pastor of the Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church in Atlanta, Ga., became the Speaker/Director for Breath of Life.

All of these broadcasts  Ministeries. Live broadcasts featuring Dr. Byrd were filmed at his church in October, and will air in January of 2011.


Click on any of the links for the current information on these Media outlets. 

How Seventh-day Adventist Church Is Organized.


Well, we are almost done with this book about who your friends the Seventh-day Adventists are and what we believe and why. This blog also provides many resources to learn more about who we are. We are not a crazy cult of any type. SDA Has so many good things out there for people. We have Hospitals and Universities, and outreach and several types of ministries for every possible situation out there. We base all we do solely on the Bible. Ellen White's writings never stray from the bible either. She is NOT our leader as some like to say. We do NOT follow her. We follow Jesus Christ and His word. If you do an honest study and research you will learn the truth about us. Stop believing the lies Satan has put out there. He hates us and is very afraid of us, because we do follow His commandments and we have the Testimony of Jesus.
Revelation 12:17 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Now on to the next section of getting acquainted....
   
     Much like America's democracy, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has from the beginning chosen a representative form of government. The key unit of its organization is the local congregation.
     The congregation in a given geographical area such as a state or province make up a local conference In the United States, populous states may be divided into more than one conferences (California, for example, has four conferences), while in less populated areas, a conference may include tow states (North and South Dakota are a single conference).
     The local conference appoints ministers for individual congregations. Adventist ministers are all paid from the tithes sent to the local conference by the members of its individual congregations---and all the ministers receive the same salary whether their congregation is large or small.
     A number of local conferences together form a union conference. Nine union conferences, for example, cover the United States and Canada. The entire world is divided in to eleven divisions---each composed of several union conferences. together, these divisions make up the world wide level of church government called the General Conference.
     The world headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church---its General Conference---is located in Silver Spring, Maryland. The chief executive of the church is its president, who is elected (or reelected) every five years at a General Conference session. Delegates from each level of church government convene for this quinquennial session to hear reports and transact business that relates to the world church.

Next post will be The primary activities of the SDA Church. Stayed tuned! :)

Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Second Advent of Christ.. Lets Get Acquainted Continued...

     One of the clearest teachings and most glorious promises of all the Bible is that Jesus Christ will soon return in person to this earth. As the Adventist half of our denominational name indicates, we eagerly look forward to the return of our Saviour, King, and best Friend.
     When Jesus left this earth not long after His resurrection, He promised to return again and take His followers to be with Him. Earlier, He had provided several key signs that would indicate when His return was drawing near. One of the chief signs, rapidly being fulfilled today, was the preaching of the gospel---the good news about Jesus---to the whole world.
     The Bible says that Jesus will not return secretly, but that everyone on earth will see and hear his coming. he will arrive in kingly glory on a great cloud, with all His angels. He will call to life again His followers who have fallen asleep in death. Then His followers who are alive when He returns, will be caught up with the resurrected ones into the great cloud to be with Him.
     The wicked of all ages who sleep in death will sleep on when Jesus comes. and the wicked who are alive to see Him return will be destroyed by the intense glory of their rejected Saviour.
     The Bible says that Christ will return to heaven with His followers for 1,000 years (sometimes called a millennium). During this time the earth lies desolate and unpopulated except by Satan and His angels. At the end of the 1,000 years, Christ and His followers will return to this earth, and the holy city, New Jerusalem, will come down from heaven. The wicked of all ages will be resurrected to see Christ return. The wicked, led by Satan and his fallen angels, are about to storm the New Jerusalem to take it by force, when they will be destroyed by a fire that cleanses the earth of every trace of sin. this is the true hell of the Bible.
     The God will create the earth anew, and this new earth will become the joyous, sinless home of Christ;s redeemed for all eternity. The great controversy will be ended---and peace will reign forever.

Please remember to click on the versus' :)

     Acts 1:9-11          Rev. 1:7                  Rev. 20:1-10
     John 14:1-3         Matt. 16:27             Rev. 21:1---22:5          
     Matt. 24:14         1 Thess. 4:11-18     Matt. 24:42-44
     Ps. 50:3               1 Cor. 15:51-55      Titus 2:11-13










Sunday, January 29, 2012

What Happens When We Die... Let's get Acquainted Continued....

     What happens to us when we die? Do we ever live again? Do we go to heaven or to hell as soon as we die? 
     Fortunately, the Bible gives us clear answers to these questions. According to God's word, we human beings do not have souls---we are souls. At creation, God breathed the gift of life into the body He had formed for Adam, and Adam became a living soul, or person. At death, the gift of life returns to God who gave it, and our bodies return to the dust from which God first made them.
     But the gift of life that returns to God at death is not a conscious "soul," fully aware of what is happening around it. The Bible says that death is a time of unconscious oblivion---that the dead are totally unaware of what is taking place around them. The bible also  makes it clear that at death we do not go directly to heaven or to hell, but to the grave---there to remain until resurrected later by Christ.
     Most of the world and many Christians today believe that human beings are immortal---that though our bodies may die, our "souls" live forever. but the Bible teaches otherwise. It clearly states that human beings are mortal and that only God is immortal.  But it does say that at the second coming of Christ, He will give the gift of immortality to all His true followers.
     When Jesus was here on earth, His preferred term for death was sleep. Sleep usually implies waking up again. And since, in God's reckoning, we were all included in Christ as our representative Man when He rose from the dead, He has broken the power of death for all of us. Some of us may "sleep" for a while before Christ returns, but death has been defeated, and if faithful, we will awaken again someday.


Please remember to click on the verses :) 

     Gen. 2:7               Eccl. 9:4, 5          Job 7:9, 10
     Eccl. 12:7             Ps. 146:3, 4         Job 14:12
     Psa. 104:29          Ps. 6:5                 1 Tim. 6;15, 16
     John 11:11-14     Ps. 115:17           1 Cor. 15:51-55

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Sanctuary... Let's Get Acquainted continued.

     In both the Old and New testaments, the sanctuary is the name given to the place where God lives. God asked His old testament church in the wilderness---the people of Israel---to actually build a literal sanctuary . He gave them the plans for it patterned after the sanctuary in heaven where His throne is.
     This Old Testament sanctuary---and the temple that later succeeded it ---illustrated how God saves us and deals with the problem of sin. In its architecture, sacrifices, and services, it pointed to Christ's work as our Saviour. 
     The priests of the Old testament sanctuary carried forward their work on Israel's behalf each day in the first room---called the holy place. But once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the second room of the sanctuary---the most holy place---carrying the blood of a goat with which he symbolically cleansed the sanctuary of its accumulation of sins. this represented the work Jesus would do in reality.
     On the basis of the Bible prophecies in Daniel 8 and 9, Seventh-day Adventists believe that in the year 1844 Christ entered the most holy place of the real sanctuary in heaven and began there a special "Day of Atonement" ministry for us. This work is going on now and will continue until shortly before His second coming.
     Because Satan accuses Christ's followers of being great sinners who shouldn't be saved, Christ---before the whole universe---must defend not only His followers, but His right to save them. As both our Sacrifice and our high Priest, He is able to point out that the sins of His followers  are covered by His blood---that they are to be saved not because of their goodness, but His.
     Understanding the lessons of the heavenly sanctuary is by no means impossible, but it does require earnest study---particularly of  Bible prophecy. In this brief description, we can only touch the surface of this great truth---a truth which provides unparalleled views of Christ's work and character.


Please remember to click on the Verses below;

Exod. 25:8              Heb. 10:9-13        Rev. 14:6, 7
Exod. 29:38, 39      Dan. 7:9, 10         Rev. 22:11, 12
Heb. 8:1-13            Dan. 8:14             Lev. 16:1-34
Heb. 9:1-28            Dan. 9:24-27        Lev. 23:26-28



Friday, January 13, 2012

Christian Lifestyle.. Let's Get Acquainted Continued...

     When we turn our backs on self and the world to follow Jesus, the Bible says, we become altogether new in Him. We no longer enjoy what the world enjoys. We experience a radical change in our thoughts, desires, and behavior. This change extends to every area of life.
     Seventh-day Adventists have found that the Bible has much to say in describing how true Christians live. Because the Bible teaches that the human body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, Adventists strive to avoid anything that would weaken or endanger their bodies.
     Thus we steer clear of alcohol, tobacco in all its forms, recreational drugs, and caffeinated beverages, We also avoid using the flesh of animals which the Bible identifies as unclean. In fact, many Adventists have adopted a vegetarian diet as most conducive to excellent health. The Adventist commitment to health may also be seen in our many hospitals and clinics, in our stop-smoking and weight-loss programs, and in our community cooking schools. 
     We also believe that the Bible teaches that Christians should concentrate more on beautifying their characters than on decorating their bodies. Therefore we believe in dressing modestly and simply, relying not on jewelry and ornaments, but on good health, for a winsome appearance. 
     Because the Bible counsels Christians to guard their thoughts and to live exemplary lives, we Adventists are careful in what we view and do in our leisure time. We avoid those forms of entertainment that would undermine our relationship with Christ.
     Finally, Adventists believe that true conversion reaches even to our possessions. We believe in tithing our income for the support of God's ministry---and in giving generous offerings to advance God's work in the world.


Remember to please click on the Verses below to read.  

     2 Cor. 6:14-18      1 Cor, 6:19, 20      1 Pet. 3:3, 4
     1 John 2:15-17      Lev. 11:1-47          1 Tim. 2:9, 10       
     2 Cor. 5:17            Rom. 8:5                Mal. 3:8-12
     1 Cor. 3:16, 17      Phil. 4:8                 Lev. 27:30, 32