ALBANY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

N E W S L I N K E X P R E S S

February-March, 2012

PASTOR STEPHEN BOHR DELIVERS DISCOURSE

TO SIZABLE ASSEMBLY ~or~

CHURCH “BOHRED” MEETINGS INSPIRE FULL QUORUM

After an approximately 2 1/2 year waiting period, Pastor Stephen Bohr, speaker/director of Secrets Unsealed, and senior pastor of the Fresno Central Seventh-day Ad-ventist Church in California, held a series of meetings in the Albany Seventh-day Adventist Church. On February 3 and 4, Pastor Bohr presented five topics over the two days, and also had a question and answer period at the end of the fifth meeting. An excellent speaker, Pastor Bohr is committed to communicating the gospel mes-sage to the world, and his love for the Lord is evident.

Head-count for one meeting was 253, which nearly fills our seating capacity. The meetings were

broadcast on the web in a stream-ing format for those unable to at-tend. Childcare was provided for children 1-8 years old, and Spanish translation was offered in the win-dowed room adjacent to the sanc-tuary. For Sabbath dinner, the Kitchen Crew served up the old Adventist favorite, Haystacks, for members and guests.

The deacons would like to thank those who parked in the gravel lot so our guests could park in a dry, paved lot.

Our Audio/Visual Department has made copies of the sermons, avail-able to members and visitors for a suggestion donation of $10.00. Please contact Ray Powell (541-619-5334) for information.

Kevin Wilfley, life coach and senior pastor of the Spo-kane Linwood Seventh-day Adventist Church, will be speaking at the Albany SDA Church on February 17-18, 2012. Former pastor of the Albany SDA Church, Pastor Wilfley is known for his emphasis on prayer, the Holy Spirit, and community outreach. He is a fea-tured speaker at camp meetings, pastor’s conferences, and church meetings all over North America. Please plan to attend his inspiring sessions, as follows:

Friday Night, 7:00 pm: “It’s All In Your Head”—By understanding how God created our minds, and why we think differently from others, we may en-joy a more satisfying spiritual experience.

Sabbath Session #1, 11:00 pm: “Winning Ways”—Seven principles that will make your church more enjoyable and appealing.

ALBANY CHURCH WELCOMES KEVIN AND DOLLY WILFLEY

12:15 pm—Potluck dinner

Sabbath Session #2, 2:00 pm: “Prayer and the Holy Spirit” — How to acquire the skill of prayer, which leads to more of the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life.

Sabbath Session #3, 4:00 pm: “Recreational Evan-gelism — Proven techniques that bring people to-gether to form lasting relationships with each other and with Jesus.

Pastor Wilfley also authors a website, “Pointers for Life”, which is a collection of ideas and recommenda-tions that lead to success in your personal, family, and business life. Visit his site at www.pointersforlife.blogspot.com/.

FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF #13

Remnant and Its Mission:

The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a time of wide-spread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the com-mandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This remnant announces the arrival of the judgment hour, pro-claims salvation through Christ, and heralds the approach of His second advent. This proclamation is symbolized by the three angels of Revelation 14; it coincides with the work of judgment in heaven and results in a work of repen-tance and reform on earth. Every believer is called to have a per-sonal part in this worldwide wit-ness. (Rev. 12:17; 14:6-12; 18:1-4; 2 Cor. 5:10; Jude 3, 14; 1 Peter 1:16-19; 2 Peter 3:10-14; Rev. 21:1-14.)

In like a . . . Out like a . . .

February is a month when

minds are often turned to love, especially the love of sweet-hearts. We are proud to announce the upcoming wedding of our youngest daughter this month. She will soon vow "Before God and these witnesses" to keep herself "only unto him" as long as they both shall live. What a sol-emn and serious commit-ment. One that is very difficult to

PAGE 2 NEWSLINK EXPRESS

keep when the other person is act-ing ugly, or when we "know" the other is to blame for financial or other difficulties. UNLESS we are truly in love, these things can be annoying at best and deal-b r e a k i n g a t w o r s t . Even though we act ugly and cause God deep heartache after making a serious lifetime commitment to Him, He says "I have loved you with an everlasting love." It is so good to know that God is always faithful to us. He has been dealing with the hurt that comes with our unfaithfulness for a long time. More than that, unlike our

earthly loves, He gives us the abil-ity to become better lovers. Thank God for His forgiveness, tenderness and patience. Scrip-ture also says, "We love Him be-cause He first loved us. Thank You Lord, for creating in us clean hearts and renewing a right spirit in us. Today we want to re-spond with a renewed life love commitment to You. God Bless,

Pastor Jim & Melody

We met and married a little later in life (late 30’s) and didn’t really think having children together was in our future. However, God had other plans!

After the earthquake in Haiti, we were watching the news coverage of how many children were orphaned and left homeless. Like a lightning bolt through our hearts, we felt God spoke to us: ‘If you really want a family, here’s your opportunity.’ Despite all the rea-sons why we “couldn’t/ shouldn’t” (the expense, our ages {almost 50}, etc.), we realized that if this is what God wants for us, He would take care of the details!

So, in January 2010 we started the adoption process. Adoption from Haiti had been stopped indefinitely since the earthquake, so we de-cided to look into other countries. After much research and conver-sation with other adoptive parents, we chose Ethiopia.

There’s a lot of paperwork required and a lot of waiting, but we fi-nally received our first referral (Derartu) in November 2010, with Mitike’s referral following two months later.

After more paperwork and more waiting, we had our court date!

We travelled to Ethiopia in July 2011 and met the girls for the first

time, went to court and were granted legal custody.

FAMILY GLEANED BY DOTING PARENTS

By Debbie Kohler

We are not to trust in our faith, but in the promises of God. When we repent of our past transgressions of His law, and resolve to render obedience in the future, we should believe that God for Christ’s sake accepts us, and forgives our sins.

Darkness and discouragement will sometimes come upon the soul and threaten to overwhelm us, but we should not cast away our confi-dence. We must keep the eye fixed on Jesus, feeling or no feeling. We should seek to faithfully perform every known duty, and then calmly rest in the promises of God.

Sanctified Life, p. 89

ZINGER

NEWSLINK EXPRESS PAGE 3

PIANIST TO COME TO ALBANY

(Adapted by an article written by Jacqueline Fisher)

Mary Grace was born March 7, 1979, in Bacolod City, Philippines, with a physical disability. She was born with only a partial right arm and a right leg 8 inches shorter than the other. She experienced the cruel teasing and taunting of those who feared anything and anyone that was “different”. Even some of her own family had a difficult time coping with her unique condition. Her grandmother decided that Mary Grace should learn the piano, even if it was only with her left hand, and went through three teachers until she found one willing to teach Mary Grace. After awhile, Mary Grace decided that being able to play with her left hand was not enough and began experimenting with using her stub. Mary Grace’s God-given talents began to shine. With the encouragement, persistence, and support of her grandparents, she overcame obstacles and pursued her dream. She was able to enroll in a music school and learned the piano and organ from dedicated teachers. Mary Grace is a very humble person with a deep love for the Lord and a heart to help others. She spent only a few minutes talking about herself, as the focus of the concert was two wonderful minis-tries: Adopt a Minister International and Help the Needy, Inc.

Mary Grace will perform at the Albany Seventh-day Adventist Church on March 24, 2012, at 7:00 p.m.

Photo by Jacquelyn Fisher.

I want to thank the entire congregation for the prayers for my daughter-in-law, Tamie Spencer. She is actu-ally my ex-daughter-in-law, but I care for her and think of her as such.

Many of you may not know what her problem was. Back in December 10, 2010, she was with a friend down in Springfield, Oregon. A woman came by and grabbed her purse and ran down the street and jumped in a car by the curb. They ran after her and jumped in front of the car to keep her from getting away. She stomped on the gas and ran over them. The friend was brushed aside with no bad damage. Tamie was ran over, her head hitting the pavement, causing severe brain damage. she wasn’t supposed to make it. The top of her skull had to be removed because of the brain swelling and bleeding. She was in a coma for a couple of months, then she improved a little. They re-placed her skull and she spent time in different as-sisted living homes.

She finally was put in with her mother, who lives here in Albany, last October. Her mother says her improve-ment since then has been fantastic. I went over to their house about a week ago. I had not seen her for quite a while. I walked up and rung the doorbell. It opened and it was Tamie. She reached out and gave me a big hug. I didn’t even get to tell who I was. She is really doing fantastic. She is remembering. She un-derstands. She talks very well. Her hair has grown out. Thank the Lord for miracles.

She still needs prayer. We all do. She has amazed every one. How she has come out of it when she was-n’t supposed to be able too. I was shocked when this happened, but I had the feeling from day one that eventually she would make it back to normal. Thanks to your prayers and our Father.

The woman who did this received fifteen years in prison and an additional nine years before she can ap-ply for a driver’s license. She needs prayers too.

Your Brother,

Denny Spencer

PRAYER LIST—

THE REST OF THE STORY

By Denny Spencer

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Grace, peace and spiritual unity be unto all ye Saints of Albany. I exhort you, in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: be aware of the special em-phasis given to seeking the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with Operation Global Rain, that was featured in our congregation January 4-14, just passed. Some of you Saints studied the book 10 Days in the Upper Room, written by a previous speaker for our TV pro-gram It Is Written, Mark Finley. For Day 5, writing about seeking “Loving Unity” within our church, Finley tells of his experience conducting a Week of Spiritual Emphasis in one of our elementary schools. During that week he became quite aware of “serious conflict” between two of the teachers, to the degree “Their negative atti-tudes toward one another regu-larly boiled over in staff meet-ings.” what one suggested, the other opposed; when both were present in a meeting, “tension filled the air.” Finley, towards the end of the week preached about Christ’s great intercessory prayer (see John 17; I urge you to read and pray over it). In this Scripture, Jesus told His disciples He would soon be betrayed and put to death; He warned them He would then leave them, return to His Father, then send to them the great gift of the Holy Comforter, the Holy Spirit, that would baptize them, energizing them with great power. In order for that to happen, our Lord showed His great concern for the unity of His church, by praying for the disciples (and for we who live in this last era of time on earth), “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21). Our Lord’s desire is that dissension, jealousy, striving for supremacy, and conflict between His mem-bers cease, and unity within and between members endure. Writes Pastor Finley, “As I shared the longing of Jesus’ heart with these students and teachers, something re-markable happened. The last night of our Week of Spiritual Emphasis, we scheduled a foot-washing and

Communion service. the Holy Spirit broke through. God moved powerfully. The two teachers who experi-enced such division knelt at each other’s feet. The Spirit of God broke down the barriers. They em-braced, confessed their negative attitudes, and prayed together.” Such was the experience of the disciples who spent ten days in the upper room, preparing for their Pentecos-tal experience. Such is the experience the Saints of Albany should seek.

For Day 6, Mark Finley empha-sizes the need for “Self-Examination,” quoting Ellen White’s book Evangelism, page 698: “After Christ’s ascension, the disciples were gathered to-gether in one place to make humble supplication to God. And after ten days of heart searching and self-examination,

the way was prepared for the Holy Spirit to enter the cleansed, consecrated soul temples.” Finley posits this quotation with our brother Paul’s urging us to be dili-gent “lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.” Hebrews 12:15. Pastor Finley then warns: “Roots produce shoots and shoots produce fruits. If there is a root of bitterness in your heart, it will produce shoots of anger, criticism, or gos-sip, and will result in the tragic fruit of a broken rela-tionship. All sinful roots will eventually produce their ugly fruits.” O Saints of Albany! Take heed to our Lord’s entreaty to seek the gift of the Holy Spirit by self-examination, repentance, confessing our faults, to God and to our fellows, as appropriate, forgiving one another, and en-tering into unity through Christ. Self-examination may not be the most pleasant experience, but its necessity is an absolute, not a variable that can be set aside as unnecessary. Saints, in self-examination, according to Finley, should ask the Father, “Is there anything in my life that is not in harmony with Your will? Lord, reveal those attitudes deep within my soul that are not like Jesus.”

(Continued on page 5)

Self-examination may not be the most

pleasant experience, but its necessity is an

absolute, not a variable that can be set

aside as unnecessary.

A Letter from barnabas

PAGE 5 NEWSLINK EXPRESS

Saints of Albany! I, your brother in Christ, Barnabas, exhort you to prayerfully consider the five fun-damental principles that form the basis of Biblical unity: 1. We have a common Creator

(Acts 17:26) 2. We have a common Redeemer

(Ephesians 2:14-22) 3. We have a common heritage;

we are a part of the church, the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 18-21)

4. We have a common message (Ephesians 4:12-13; Revela-tion 14:6-12)

5. We have a common mission (Matthew 28:18-20)

O my beloved Saints of Albany, in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I exhort you now, more than ever before, to seek your own, personal “upper room experience.” Let each examine self; let each make all things right between you and your God, be-tween you and your fellow church member. Let us move forward, in the unity of the 5 principles of Bib-lical unity, that we accomplish a “finished work” in our own hearts, in our own families, in our own church, and in our own commu-nity. O, that this may be our ex-perience at our next celebration of the Ordinance of Humility and Communion service! Maranatha! Even so come, Lord Jesus. Your humble brother in Christ,

Barnabas

(Continued from page 4) SOUTH SALEM SDA CHURCH SPONSORS 10 k

RUN WALK

“Inside Out” is a ministry of the South Salem SDA Church that focuses on the physical health and spiritual needs of their community. They are sponsoring an April Fool’s Day 5 & 10 K Run Walk at Willamette Mission State Park on Sunday, April 1. They have invited members of the Albany SDA Church to join them for a day of fun and physical activity. Start Time: 10 a.m. Onsite Registration 9 a.m. Entry Fees: $25.00—deduct $5.00 for kids 17 and under. Cotton T-shirts, $10.00. Only guaranteed to pre-registered runners by 3/21/12. The Course: The staging area will be at the Filbert Grove Shelter. The course will be on the paved bike path. In the event of flooding, the staging area will be moved to the Wheatland Ferry parking area. Chip Timing: This event will be chip timed. Participants must wear their timing chip on the shoe with the provided zip tie. Timing chips will be removed at the end of the event. Non-returned chips will carry a $20.00 replacement fee. Awards: Ribbons will be presented to the top overall male and female finisher and top three in each age group. There will be random drawings for prizes during the event. Age Groups: 10 & Under, 11-15, 16-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80 & Over. Driving Directions: 1. From I-5 take exit 263 toward Brooks, turn left onto Brooklake Rd. NE

(right when exiting from I-5 south) 2. After 1.7 miles, turn right at Wheatland Rd N 3. After 2.4 miles, turn left into Willamette Mission State Park 4. As you enter the park, watch for signs directing you to the event stag-

ing area. 5. Note: The day use fee will be paid by the event sponsor. You can register online at www.EclecticEdgeRacing.com, or ask Pam Luna for a registration form to mail. Payment: By cash or check only. Please make check payable to SOUTH SALEM SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH. Mail completed entry form(s) with entry fee to: South Salem Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 6994 Sunnyside Rd SE, Salem, OR 97306. For more information: lindawalkerrn@comcast.net

PAGE 6 NEWSLINK EXPRESS

Prayer may not change things for you, but it for sure changes you for things.

~Samuel M. Shoemaker

Biblical Stewardship:

It's About Heart

By Ray Powell

Biblical stewardship calls a Chris-tian to give back to God through tithing. The word "tithe" merely means "a tenth." A Christian, therefore, ought to set aside a tenth of his or her income for God. For God, tithing is not only about a percentage. Tithing has more to do with one's heart during the act of giving then the actual amount given to God. The Bible offers this story: "As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'I tell you the truth,'

he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out her pov-erty put in all she had to live on'" (Luke 21:1-4). The woman gave two copper coins—what amounted to a fraction of a penny. This seems a trivial amount. How-ever, God viewed her trivial amount with more regard than the large offerings of the rich. Why? By giving all she had, the woman showed utter devotion to God. She was willing to offer everything she possessed to show love to God. Biblical stewardship is a giving out of devotion rather than duty. It's about the heart of the giver—the Christian willing to give out of pov-erty, not wealth. Church Budget giving for the month of January to date is $2,953.49 and even if I add the $1,000.00 that a donor prepaid for the year we are still way short of our budget. January is always a low month and I would expect February to be down as well.

The treasurer speaks ~or~

RAY SAY

Golf is a lot like taxes - you drive hard to get to the green and end up in the hole.

(Reuters) - Do you want to kill a conversation? Try saying "whatever."

Words like "you know" and "like" might be irritating to hear, but for the third year in a row, it's "whatever" that holds the most power to annoy, ac-cording to an annual survey by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.

Nearly four in ten adults named "whatever" as the most annoying verbal filler in casual conversation, while one in five adults had similar disdain for "like" and 'you know."

"Just sayin'" and "seriously" were more forgiving to the ears, though still quite irritat-ing, Marist found.

The telephone survey of 1,026

adults nationally had a margin

of error of three percentage

points.

COMMUNICATION

LEVERAGE—

TALK GOOD

PAGE 7

*Nonie Harcombe Merlin Hart Lucy Heacock Harriet Malick Dorothy, Helga & Larry Ridgley Steve Scharborough’s mom (Fracture) Alberta Shull—fall injuries *Nonie Harcombe was the driver of a car that spun, rolled, and landed in the ditch. Ted and I witnessed the accident, dialed 911 (who dis-patched our own Chris Fairchild to the scene), and proceeded to pro-vide assistance to Nonie, who suf-fered a fractured pelvis and head wound. We visited her in the hospi-tal that evening. She called our resi-dence the following day to say she was being transferred to Portland for surgery. I asked if she would like to be placed on our Church Prayer List and she was happy to know that our church family would be praying for her. She is home now and wishes to thank all of you who have prayed for her—please do continue to pray for her quick and complete healing. She is a lovely Christian lady. If you have stories of answered prayers, or a status on a person on the list, please jot it down and let me know so I can place it here.

PJL

RED BEANS & RICE

About 10 servings 1 pound dried red kidney beans 3 celery ribs 1 green bell pepper 1 red bell pepper 1 medium onion 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil *1 tablespoon Creole seasoning 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 vegetable bouillon cube 7 cups water Salt to taste 3 cups uncooked long-grain rice 1. Place beans in a Dutch oven; add water 2 inches above beans. Bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute; cover, remove from heat, and soak 1 hour. Drain. 2. Coarsely chop celery, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and onion. Sauté chopped vegetables and garlic in hot olive oil 6 to 8 minutes or until tender. Stir together vegetables, beans, Creole seasoning, smoked pa-prika, vegetable bouillon cube, and water in Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Season with salt to taste. 3. Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions. Serve with red bean mixture. Garnish with chopped green onions, if desired. *Got Creole? Make your own—

Creole Seasoning (recipe makes about 1 1/4 cup)

2 tablespoons onion powder 2 tablespoons garlic powder 2 tablespoons dried oregano 2 tablespoons dried basil 1 tablespoon dried thyme 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 tablespoon white pepper 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 5 tablespoons paprika 3 tablespoons salt Mix & store in airtight container.

FEBRUARY 2 Dwayne Jost 3 Maralee Morgan 4 Elsie Apt 9 Trenton Snyder 11 Cody Asbahr 14 Norma Burton Harriet Malick Shelly Myers 16 Prince Baker 19 Cheri (Babb) Ealy Janet Mendoza 22 Bea Bartel 23 Pat McQueen Ted Montgomery 24 Edna Chopard 25 Sue Morris Jesse Person

MARCH

4 Dick Clarke Jr. 5 Veronica Johnson 6 Cleona Bolden Kyle Carter Christ Fairchild David Person 8 Jeff Cantrell 9 LeeAnne Settlemier 11 Kacie Fairchild 12 Kong Avery 13 Ted Luna 15 Marla Edwards 16 Pauline Grizzel Josiah Carpenter 17 Richard Morris 18 Karen Baker Denny Spencer Laura Severance 19 Jack Mason 20 Dan Baldwin 21 Elaine Marshall 22 Dan Reed 23 Helga Ridgley 24 Debbie Scott 25 Jesus DeLeon Duane Maycock 26 Virgil Hanson Morgan Edwards 29 Steve Brown

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS

WE’RE ON THE WEB!

H TTP :// WWW. AL BAN YAD VEN TIS T . ORG

NEWSLINK EXPRESS

Albany sda church

3085 se grand prairie road

Albany, Oregon 97322-5805

541-928-9555

The NEWSLINK EXPRESS is published for friends and members of the Albany Seventh-day Adventist Church. Short articles and Letters to the Editor may be sent to the church via the post office to:

3085 Grand Prairie Road, SE

Albany, OR 97322 OR e-mailed to:

Pumaproper@comcast.net OR

Albanysda@alyrica.com

Copied material may be considered, but original works are preferred. No copyrighted material will be accepted.

Editor: Pam Luna, 541-928-7499

Circulation: Ted Luna & Cathy Jenson

Pastor: Jim Osborne: 541-791-1143

E-mail: circrider@q.com

Head Elder: Curtis Miller: 541-259-5661

E-mail: curtnjoy@hotmail.com

Elder, month of February: Lorance VanTassel

503-991-3421 lk-jmvt@wavecable.com

NEWSLINK deadline is the 3rd Sunday of the month.

WANDERLUST GUIDE By Pam Luna

They’re baaaack! What looks like popcorn erupting in roadside fields is actually lambs gamboling in the brisk spring air. Oregon State University has made the lambing season an event to which the public is invited—and what better way to spend an hour on Sabbath than to round up the kids after a quick dinner (the barns close at 2:00 pm) and take them to see the OS-ewes and their newborn lambs. Chances are pretty good for observing the birth of a lamb. This spectacle pairs nicely with John 1:29: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Children may always remember that text after so graphic a display.

The lambing barn will be open for self guided tours from February 20th to March 14th this year. The barn will be CLOSED Thursdays and Fridays for university classes. Daily hours are 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Admission is free; however, visitors are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item for donation to the Linn-Benton Food Share. If you go, take Hwy 34 over the Willamette River into Corvallis (you will be on Harrison Blvd). Stay on Harrison Blvd., keeping in the middle lane, until you reach the western edge of the city. Just before the intersection of Harrison Blvd. and 53rd Street, you will pass the OSU Dairy Center on the left and a large LDS church on the right. At the next intersection, there will be a stop light with the Benton County Fairgrounds just a couple of blocks to the south (left). At this intersection, Harrison Blvd. becomes Oak Creek Road (and 53rd becomes Walnut Blvd.). Proceed across the intersection, and follow Oak Creek Road 1.8 miles, until you see the OSU Sheep Center sign on your right. Turn right onto the gravel road winding uphill - you'll find the Sheep Center at the top of the hill.