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Pastor White's Weekly Notes - July 28, 2010

Posted on Jul 28, 2010

Dear Camelback church family and friends,

Here we are again at the middle of another week.  The summer is hastening by and soon we will be back in the routine of a new church and school year.  Things really begin to settle in by mid to late September.  But I don’t want to get ahead of myself or you.

This Sabbath (July 31) I will again be speaking for church.  We will be studying the parable that is known as the “Pearl of great Price” which is found in Matt. 13:45, 46.  A buyer is looking for an especially valuable pearl and finally finds it.  His response is to sell “all that he has” to purchase the pearl.  This story has a dual application.  One emphasizes Jesus and the pearl and the other applies to all who are found by Him (that includes you and me).   We will look at both interpretations with stronger emphasis on the second.  Pastor Steve and his praise band will lead songs of worship.  Please come and share not only the morning message but the whole of the worship experience.

We will also be joined this Sabbath by the teachers from our TCE school.  They will have a part in the worship service as we preview the program for the upcoming year.

                Next Sabbath August 7 I will share thoughts from two parallel stories of Jesus;  The lost coin and the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-10).  What do these parables tell us about the tenacious nature of God’s great love and compassion for us?  Is there a difference in meaning from these two stories?  What do they say to us today?

On Sabbath August 14 we had a guest speaker offered to us.  His name is Pastor Ivar Myer, and he is minister of the Templeton Hills SDA church in Central California.  Pastor Myer will speak Friday night Aug. 13 and three times Sabbath (including church).  The theme of his first three presentations is the Prayer and the Holy Spirit which he has entitled “The Oil Crisis”.  Then on Sabbath evening at 5:00 he will speak from his personal experience as a performer and participant in hip-hop, rap, and rock music.  For some time he was in that world and has developed a unique perspective and a special message regarding that genre’ and culture.  Pastor Myer has been well received wherever he speaks.  He spoke recently at a NAD prayer conference and has appeared regularly on 3ABN.  Set aside these dates (August 13, 14) and times for these inspirational and definitive presentations.

Some dates of note to put on your calendars:

                August 21 – Glendale choir  here for worship service – Second coming oratorio

                Sept. 11 – Pastor Ed Jones (pastor who built rotunda) will speak as we celebrate the use, ministry, and

                upgrading of the rotunda.  (Don’t miss this mini-homecoming Sabbath)

                Sept. 25 – Agape’ brunch and communion celebration

                                    Afternoon and Sunday – Mountain Media ministries

                Oct. 16 – Christian Edition – men's chorus group here for church

                Oct. 30 – The Maranatha ministries team from Sacramento will join us for worship and the kick-off of our

                2011 church-wide mission trip.

This Sunday (Aug.1) from 6-12 there will be a work-bee at TCE.  Your help to clean-up, trim-up, spruce-up our

School will be appreciated.

At our monthly church board meeting (this Monday July 26) we discussed and acted on several important items.  Let me give you a brief update.  It was noted that we are dangerously behind in giving to church budget.  We will write a letter to the church to raise awareness and with the intent of stimulating giving.  Several other actions will be taken to inform our church family of the immediate need.  We discussed renting the main church sanctuary to a Christian group that has requested its use (Sunday evenings for the church and Wed. evenings in the rotunda for $3,000 a month).  It was voted to explore further the actual costs, the need for sound operators and facility supervision, and the worship content of the group.  The TCE principal (Paula McElvania) reported that 73 students have pre-registered for the upcoming school year.  There are requests for student aid for TCE ($20,000) and TAA ($10,000).  We have budgeted and on hand currently $13,500.  The finance committee recommended that we use $16,500 from a CD to fund this remaining need.  It also recommended that we contribute $7,000. to Good News TV that will be matched by a sister church; and that we spend $3,000. for another camera and tripod, and a sound board to facilitate better coverage of our worship services and live telecasts.  These recommendations were voted by the church board.

If you have questions regarding any of these actions please contact the church office or one of the pastors.

Thanks again for reading this weekly information sheet.  For more see;  www.camelbackchurch.net

Hope to see you Sabbath.

With love,

Pastor Charles