Astoria SDA Church

Here we have the essence of Mark’s story. Though Jesus is indeed the mighty Messiah and Son of God, his role is not to conquer the Romans. It is to suffer and die as a ransom payment for sins. This is a far greater achievement than physical conquest. He will provide victory over humanity’s ultimate enemies: Satan, sin, and death. Those who would be his disciples must follow his path, taking up their own cross and following him in a life of self-sacrificial service—living for the kingdom and for others rather than for themselves.

Strauss, Mark L. (2014-10-05T23:58:59.000). Mark (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) . Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.

https://www.youtube.com/live/qerlOF2-3_Q?si=dfhCyqgBlhQPUm0d

GNYC English Camp Meeting. Welcome to the Greater New York Conference English Camp Meeting

To every man God has given a work to do in connection with His kingdom. Everyone who professes the name of Christ is to be an earnest, disinterested worker, ready to defend the principles of righteousness. Every soul should take an active part in advancing the cause of God. Whatever our calling, as Christians we have a work to do in making Christ known to the world. We are to be missionaries, having for our chief aim the winning of souls to Christ.

To His church God has committed the work of diffusing light and bearing the message of His love. Our work is not to condemn, not to denounce, but to draw with Christ, beseeching men to be recon­ciled to God. We are to encourage souls, to attract them, and thus win them to the Saviour. If this is not our interest, if we withhold from God the service of heart and life, we are robbing Him of in­fluence, of time, of money and effort. In failing to benefit our fellow men, we rob God of the glory that should flow to Him through the conversion of souls. . . .

Let those who desire to work for God begin at home, in their own household, in their own neighborhood, among their own friends. Here they will find a favorable missionary field. This home mis­sionary work is a test, revealing their ability or inability for service in a wider field.—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, pp. 427, 428.

https://vimeo.com/951754599

Pentecost 2025 - A First Look Short To kickoff Pentecost 2025, leaders from the North American Division describe many of the aspects of the initiative, which centers on calling upon the Holy Spirit…

https://www.nadadventist.org/pentecost2025
https://www.nadadventist.org/pentecost2025
https://www.nadadventist.org/pentecost2025

Pentecost 2025 | North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists The Pentecost serves as a reminder of the call to engage in mission and evangelism. As our time on earth draws to a close, the Spirit of God will again be manifested in a similar way. The time is now — emboldened to share the good news, we are commissioned to be ambassadors of hope, compassion, an...

The Authority of Truth

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8

It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual—you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. It is the apparent folly of the truth that stands in the way of hundreds who have been convicted by the Spirit of God. Once I press myself into action, I immediately begin to live. Anything less is merely existing. The moments I truly live are the moments when I act with my entire will. When a truth of God is brought home to your soul, never allow it to pass without acting on it internally in your will, not necessarily externally in your physical life. Record it with ink and with blood—work it into your life. The weakest saint who transacts business with Jesus Christ is liberated the second he acts and God’s almighty power is available on his behalf. We come up to the truth of God, confess we are wrong, but go back again. Then we approach it again and turn back, until we finally learn we have no business going back. When we are confronted with such a word of truth from our redeeming Lord, we must move directly to transact business with Him. “Come to Me” (Matthew 11:28). His word come means “to act.” Yet the last thing we want to do is come. But everyone who does come knows that, at that very moment, the supernatural power of the life of God invades him. The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is now paralyzed; not by your act, but because your act has joined you to God and tapped you in to His redemptive power.

Submitting to God’s Purpose

“I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:22

A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, “If only I were somewhere else!” All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very quickly be diverted from being useful to God. We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. We must continually confront ourselves with one central fact—“Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). “I chose you” (John 15:16). Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose—that He may be able to say, “This is My man, and this is My woman.” We have to be in God’s hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us. Never choose to be a worker, but once God has placed His call upon you, woe be to you if you “turn aside . . . to the right or the left” (Deuteronomy 28:14). He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way.