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Tuesday 6pm - 8pm Saturday 9:15am - 12pm

http://grants22.adventistchurchconnect.org/

Grants Seventh-day Adventist Church, 701 E Sage Street, Grants, NM (2026)

06/04/2022

Join us 06/04/22 at 9:15 am for Sabbath School
and at 11:00 am for the second session with Dr. David Merling on Discovering Revelation: Jesus Is the Key.

Pastor's Page
Let Jesus Be the Judge
Soon after Jesus was baptized by His cousin John the Baptist, He was challenged by the “tempter” (Matthew 4:3). The setting of these temptations was melodramatic to say the least. Jesus had spent 40 days and nights fasting and praying in, as it were, a kind of self-preparatory initiation for His coming ministry. This conclusion can be reached by the nature of the “tempter’s” challenges and Jesus’ answers. The first two of the temptations began with a straightforward accusatory intro: “If You are the Son of God. . .” (Matthew 4:3, 6). The last one was more circuitous, but still to the point of the conflict. The devil offered to gift Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, if Jesus would but “fall down and worship me” (the devil) (Matthew 4:9). The issue was, Satan’s claim on planet Earth and Jesus’ status as the “beloved Son of God” (Matthew 3:17). It is worth noting that what the devil offered was “kingdoms and glory,” while the point of Jesus, even in the selection of His name, was to save people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The conflict between the devil and Jesus ended by Jesus’ declarations that His strength and life came from God, His Father (Matthew 4:4), Unlike the Old Testament Israelites, Jesus was not going to insult God carelessly, but trust God’s plan (Matthew 4:7). Even if it seemed like the devil was offering an easy way to avoid the trials to come, Jesus was going to remain faithful to the Word of God (Matthew 4:8).
John the Baptist’s introduction of Jesus set Jesus in juxtaposition with himself, as the baptizer. John said to his audience: "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11). Rightly so, we often think of Jesus, as the gentle Babe and rarely as Jesus, the Judge. On the other hand, John’s introduction of Jesus, highlights Jesus’ ultimate place in God’s plan to rid this planet of sin, and, to do so, Jesus must act as Judge.

06/03/2022

We hope that you can join us for Discovering Revelation, Jesus is the Key 🔑
with speaker Dr. David Merling.

A free archeology and cultural background study Bible will be given away each evening!

Friday, June 3rd at 7:00 pm!

05/28/2022

Pastor’s Page 5/28/2022
One of the most dramatic stories of the New Testament is the story of Jesus and His
disciples who came from the temple and saw a man born blind. What sets this story apart is the
question posed by His disciples: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be
born blind?" (John 9:2).
The title “Rabbi” was a common among the Jews. Its meaning was, more or less,
equivalent to the title “teacher” (John 1:38). In the gospel of Matthew, the title Rabbi is used
only four times: twice from the mouth of Judas in his plot to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:25, 49);
once to describe the title as something the Pharisees preferred (Matthew 23:7); and once by
Jesus to tell His disciples not to use this title among themselves (Matthew 23:8). Mark, the
supposed mouthpiece of the Apostle Peter, uses the title “Rabbi” three times: twice by Peter
(Mark 9:5; 11:21) and once by Judas in his betrayal of Jesus (Mark 14:45). Luke, the Gentile
gospel writer, never uses the title in his gospel. The gospel writer John demonstrates his Jewish
heritage by using the title Rabbi eight times, including in this story.
Seventh-day Adventists have always had an uneasiness about titles for their clergy. For
example, we have never used the title “the Reverend,” because it seemed sacrilegious to attach
any man’s name to Reverend, which means “deserving reverence” (Psalm 2:11; 5:7). No human
does.
Happily Seventh-day Adventist church leaders from local pastors, to conference
presidents, to the world church leaders are most often identified as “Pastor _______,” which I
think measures to the teachings of Jesus. All Christian teachers/preachers should get their
authority from the Scriptures, not from ostentatious titles or pronouncements.

05/20/2022

Pastor’s Page 5/21/2022
The Bible most often describes people in a dualistic way. By dualistic I mean it views us
in two parts: body and breath (or life). For example, when Jesus speaks of “fear,” He points out
the importance of respect, explaining who truly deserves respect—God. Jesus said: "Do not
fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). Those who can kill the body are, as Jesus
had previously stated, governors and kings (Matthew 10:18). On the contrary, God, of course, is
the final Judge of all, and it is He who grants, or denies, eternal life.
At the same time, when the Apostle Paul was encouraging the Thessalonian church
members to celebrate the completeness of the promised resurrection, he said "may your spirit
and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ"
(1 Thessalonians 5:23). To the body, he included the spirit (intelligence and thoughts); and soul
by which he meant instinct, emotions and desires. In other words, praise God, at the
resurrection we will become completely restored, better than brand new.
As Paul said to the Corinthians: "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a
perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is
sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If
there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). What a grand
day the Resurrection will be!

05/13/2022

Pastor’s Page 5/14/2022
The Apostle Paul wrote his young assistant TItus: "Looking for the blessed hope and the
appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to
redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession,
zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:11-14). I especially like the characterization of Jesus’ return as,
“the blessed hope” and “the appearing of the glory” (not to mention Jesus being called “our great
God and Savior”).
From the moment Jesus returned to the Father, which is recorded in Acts 1:9-11, His
disciples were waiting impatiently for His return. It is helpful to remember how the angels
described His leaving: "He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him
out of their sight" (Acts 1:9). Clouds should remind us of the persona Jesus used, while He was
teaching here—“Son of Man.” Jesus took this name from the “Son of Man” mentioned in Daniel
7:13: "I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of
Man was coming" (Daniel 7:13).
Clouds and the Second Coming of Jesus are ubiquitous (Matthew 24:30; 26:64; Mark
13:26; 14:62; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; Revelation 1:7). That is why, when we hear people talking
about the Secret Rapture, it should give us pause, because the Scriptures used to argue for the
Secret Rapture never mention “clouds.” Clouds are a significant sign of Jesus’ return. As Paul
wrote to the Thessalonian church: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). There
will be nothing secret about Jesus’ Second Coming. Do not be misled (Matthew 24:4)!

05/07/2022

Pastor’s Page 05/07/2022
When the Israelites were first redeemed from Egypt, God provided an architectural
design for a moveable worship center. He stated its purpose was so He could live physically
among them: "Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus
25:8. cf. verse 9). Tragically, before Moses could share these drawings with the Israelites, the
Israelites, led by Aaron, Moses’ brother, crafted an idol of gold, and proclaimed their creation:
“This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt “ (Exodus 32:4-6). Three
thousand people died because of their false worship (Exodus 32:28). This was only the first of
three sad events associated with the tabernacle, which was intended to bring the people close to
their God.
Secondly, almost inexplicably, the oldest sons of Aaron thought that God’s commands
were suggestions, and they brought something the Bible calls “strange fire before the LORD”
and they were consumed by fire (Leviticus 10:1). In their worship, they had been told to get fire
from the altar of burnt offering, Instead they chose what was more convenient, fire from nearby
campfires (cf. Exodus 16:12-13). And, Aaron’s sons died.
Thirdly, the Israelites had been instructed not to touch the ark of the covenant. When it
was moved, the Levities were supposed to carry it on poles (Exodus 25:14; 1 Chronicles 15:13).
After it had been captured by the Philistines, they ignorantly ignored these instructions (1 Samuel
6:11-14). Later the Israelites followed the example of the Philistines and carried it on a cart until
one of the Israelites, Uzzah by name, reached out to steady the ark, when it looked like it might
fall, and the LORD struck him dead (2 Samuel 6:7; 2 Chronicles 6:3). The lesson we can learn
from these stories is, it is never safe to disregard what God says (Leviticus 10:3). On the other
hand, God says to His faithful: "The LORD bless you, and keep you; the LORD make His face
shine on you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you
peace'" (Numbers 6:24-26).

04/30/2022

Pastor’s Page 4/30/2022
Sometimes there are hidden meanings in the biblical text. They are not hidden because
of any secret codes planted by nefarious ancient evil men, but these subtle meanings are
planted by the biblical writers to create awareness and expand our understanding of God and
our relationship to Him. John 1:14, speaking of Jesus, says : "And the Word became flesh, and
dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace
and truth" (NASB). John’s choice of the word “dwelt” (Greek, σκηνο'ω; English skēnoō) is its
only use among the gospels. In fact, this word is used in the Greek Old Testament (LXX) and it
is used here in John and only three times and only four times in the book of Revelation
(Revelation 7:15; 12:12; 13:6; 21:3). Needless to say, this is a rare word.
In the LXX passages which use σκηνο'ω (English skēnoō) (Genesis 13:12; Judges 5:17;
8:11), it has the meaning of “to live or camp in a tent” which shares this meaning with non-
biblical writings. Because of its rarity, it seems best to try to gain its intended meaning from how
John uses this word in his gospel and his use of the word in the book of Revelation.
In the book of Revelation σκηνο'ω (English skēnoō) is used to say that the 144,000 are
“sheltered” by God (Revelation 7:15); that those σκηνο'ω (English skēnoō) are the inhabitants of
heaven (Revelation 12:12: 13:6), and that this is how God will live among the redeemed
(Revelation 21:3). He will encamp with us.
In John 1:14 John declares that Jesus didn’t just come to live among us, but by His
incarnation He chose to elevate us to the status of being His children.

04/23/2022

Pastor’s Page 4/23/2022
The last evening before Jesus went to the cross He and His disciples gathered to celebrate
the feast of the Passover. Jesus was desirous for His disciples to gain a Spiritual gift they had yet
to receive. The gift the Holy Spirit wanted to bestow on them was humility. Had He chosen to
try to teach them “humility” by word, He could hardly have used better Old Testament stories
than those of Jonathan (1 Samuel 16-19). 1 Samuel 18: 1 says about Jonathan “the soul of
Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself" (1 Samuel 18:1; cf.
Levities 19:18).
David was known to Jonathan by his defeat of Goliath. For forty days Goliath had been
challenging the entire Israelite army to one-on-one combat (1 Samuel 17:16). He shouted at the
Israelite army: “Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight
with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him,
then you shall become our servants and serve us.” And, he continued, "I defy the ranks of Israel
this day; give me a man that we may fight together" (1 Samuel 17:8-10). As we know, the story
ends well. David’s firing stone stunned Goliath, and David cut off Goliath’s head with Goliath’s
own sword (1 Samuel 17:51).
While Saul, Jonathan’s father, was more than pleased with David’s triumph over Goliath,
he was distressed with Jonathan, because Saul coveted the Israelite throne for his son. As a true
friend Jonathan did all he could to support David. Jonathan’s father bellowed at him: "For as
long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established.
Therefore now, send and bring him to me, for he must surely die" (1 Samuel 20:31). Jonathan
had the genuine gift of love (1 Samuel 18:1), and he demonstrated it through his humility. True
love is based in humility, because love is the Siamese twin of humility.

04/15/2022

Please join us for services 04/16/2022.
Sabbath school beginning at 9:15 am.

Pastor’s Page 4/16/2022
Spring is a beautiful time of the year. Lifeless trees have begun pushing buds like
children in classrooms raising their hands. Birds have begun singing hymns again. Neighbors,
who have been hidden behind coats, scarfs, and hats, have magically reappeared attacking the
ravages of winter’s worst and launching chores that assure us that there is life in our community.
And, many of these neighbors will be in church this weekend celebrating the hope of all
Christians—the resurrection of Jesus.
Unfortunately, early Church leaders encouraged their followers to focus on fancy dress,
Easter eggs, bunny rabbits, and chocolate, which has resulted in a public holiday. I say, let’s
focus on the five blessings we can still enjoy this weekend. First, we can rejoice that we live in a
free country, where we can choose to honor Jesus death, burial and resurrection anyway we like.
Secondly, as an extension of number one, on this weekend we can join our fellow Christians and
worship the great God who created us and sent His Son to recreate us by His sacrifice and
victory over death. Third, we can invite our family and friends to join us in the celebration of
God’s love for us and our love for Him. Fourth, during our worship services, or even as you read
this short message, we can, again, rededicate our hearts to God and lives in service for God.
Five, we can put our recommitment into practice by habitually telling our neighbors about God’s
love and doing good by faithfully, financially, supporting charitable causes and serving God in our
community.
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through
us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to
God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing" (2 Corinthians
2:14-15).

04/09/2022

Greetings!

We hope to see you all for Sabbath School tomorrow 04/09 at 9:15 am and our church service at 11:00 am.

Join us for potluck after services!

Pastor’s Page 4/09/2022
For months on end, the media seems exuberant to report our corporate suffering from
COVID 19. Usually, we suffer alone. The other day on my walk, I found a 10 mm wrench. I
went twice to the closest store to report my find, but no one ever reported their loss. From the
days of Adam and Eve, finding and losing are part of life, as are peace and conflict.
The Apostle Paul opened his second letter to the Corinthian church members: "Grace to
you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:2). “Grace” is a
sense of well-being that comes from being in divine favor. That is why he connected “grace”
with “peace.” When we are right with God, we have peace.
Currently many of us are praying for the people of Ukraine. Many have been fleeing their
homeland looking for peace. Likewise many are praying for peace, while others are experiencing
it, both here and in the Ukraine. No one can buy peace. It is not something that can be bought;
neither can it be given. When the hostilities in the Ukraine cease, some will be just as disturbed
as they are with the Russians, now. “Comfort,” like peace, is something that comes from God.
The Apostle explains as he continues: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will
be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are
comforted by God" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
Paul cannot help himself. He reminds us that when we get “peace” and “comfort,” which
only comes with a relationship with God, we can’t help ourselves but to share those joys with
others, by telling everyone how they can find peace and comfort with a personal relationship with
God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

04/02/2022

Pastor’s Page 4/02/2022
The Apostle Paul’s description of love begins like this: If we know all mysteries and
knowledge and have all faith, but do not have love, we are nothing. Nothing is a stark word:
nothing rhymes with zip, nada, zilch.
Stephanie and I returned from preaching at Pie Town and Reserve a few weeks ago. As
we were driving out of Soccorro, Stephanie noted that our gas gauge was pretty low. I replied
with too much bravado that this was my usually habit. I would buy $10 of gas at Belen to get us
home. A few miles later we watched our gas estimator slip to zero. I expected our Honda to slow
to a stop, so I said:” It won’t take me long to walk the ten miles, buy gas, and hitch a ride back.”
I was glad she didn’t say anything, because I wouldn’t have had a good answer for why I had not
been more considerate and bought the $10 of gas in Soccorro. Thankfully, God worked a miracle
and we drove ten miles on zero and fortunately, Honda’s definition of “nothing” is different than
God’s is, because even a Rolls-Royce doesn’t ride any better than a Honda without gas.
To paraphrase the Apostle, we can have the nicest building in Gallup or Grants, believe
the purest Bible doctrines, and have the best fellowship meal in New Mexico, but if love is not
found in our church, we aren’t really a church. because church is where those who have
experienced the love Jesus gather to celebrate with fellow sinners the graciousness of God. Of
course, love is not a tonic, which comes in a bottle; it is not a cream you can rub on. Love is an
experience that emanates from spending time with Jesus and the Holy Spirit in prayer and with
the Scriptures.

03/25/2022

You are invited to join us for Sabbath services 03/26/2022 at 9:15 am.
701 E Sage in Grants
We hope to see you there!

Pastor’s Page 3/26/2022

One of my favorite Bible verses is 1 Corinthians 10:13; "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." My favorite part, even though it sometimes gives me pause, is “God is faithful.” It makes me think, I woke this morning, because God is faithful. We have food in our pantry, because God is faithful. And, most significant of all is, we have the hope of living on a new earth, where there will be no longer, sin, suffering, or death, because God was faithful to share His Son with us, His unfaithful children.
Thinking of the faithfulness of God, of course, brings to me the question, “How faithful to God, am I.?” . When you read carefully the Ten Commandments, God doesn’t ask us to climb Mount Everest or swim the English Channel. Those “Commandments” only ask us to love and respect Him, and no other god and to love and respect our neighbors as ourselves (cf. Exodus 20:2-17; Matthew 22:36-40).
Contemplating those commandments, it seems that His prescription of loving Him and our neighbors, if accepted as the guide for everyone, would create a heaven on earth now. And, ignoring those commandments is what produces the miseries we live among.
Jesus talked about a faithful slave in Matthew 25: "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master’" (Matthew 25:21). Of course, God is faithful; the question is, how faithful am I?

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