Know Jesus Fully: About Us
It's 9:00 Saturday morning and your neighbors
have just come out of their front door dressed
as though they're going to a symphony concert.
But two of them are carrying Bibles! Chances
are your neighbors are Seventh-day Adventists
on their way to Sabbath morning worship services
at their church. That means you're in for a
very special relationship, a friendship marked
by kindness, openness, and honesty--one that
could well enrich your life.
You will find your Adventist friends committed
to some very specific beliefs about God and
about God's relationships with people. They
will be genuinely concerned about the needs
of others and interested in bettering your
community. If you observe them at their workplace,
within their families, and at their church,
they will be busily involved in many activities.
Watch your neighbors closely, and you'll probably
notice (at least) the following:
* Their love for God supersedes everything
else in their lives
* They worship on Saturday instead of Friday or Sunday
* No beer cans or wine bottles dot their trash
* They value their health
* They appear upbeat and friendly
* They work hard to make the community look great
* They want to hear what makes you and your family happy
You
will soon discover that your neighbors genuinely
like you and
accept you as you are.
They share their friendship across the back
fence, in the marketplace, and at the bus stop.
You'll see smiles that come from a depth of
peace--in the midst of chaos. That's right, "chaos." Your
Adventist neighbors are just like you. They
experience the same stresses and disasters
that strike everyone else in the neighborhood.
Yet you'll notice a difference in how they
respond to the challenges. They have a deep
inner peace that allows them to look the enemy
in the eye and smile. They are looking far
beyond today's troubles to the certainties
of the future. Because they already know the
outcome, they are comfortable with final victory!
Peace,
strong inner contentment, is a personal trait
of committed
Seventh-day Adventists.
Many Allied pilots saw that peace in the lives
of the Adventist Fiji Islanders who rescued
them from the jungles during World War II.
Residents of Florida, Iran, the Philippines,
Somalia, and thousands of other places have
seen that peace. It showed up in the lives
of Adventist aid workers who helped them "dig
out and start over" after earthquakes,
tornadoes, fires, floods and other disasters.
Your
neighborhood will see this peace in the lives
of your Adventist
friends, even when
the well runs dry, a tree falls on the house,
or the car is stolen from the parking lot.
No, this peace is not a cavalier, "Oh,
whatever!" attitude. It is the intense
peace that comes from knowing that God has
already won the battle against good and evil;
that whatever happens here is as "nothing" when
compared to the joys of living forever in heaven
with God.
Sadness? Yes, that's an Adventist emotion,
but they believe God's love comforts the sorrowing.
Pain? Yes, Adventists experience pain. Their
healthy lifestyle does allow them to live longer
than others--as studies done on Adventists
in the United States have shown. But Adventists
still break limbs, contract cancer, fall off
their bikes, and lose loved ones. Yet pain,
even at its worst, is always accompanied by
the healing love of God.
Anger? Yes. Even anger shows up in the lives
of Adventists. Remember, they're normal people
trying to live with God on a chaotic earth!
But God is good enough to bring the calming
power of His love into each angry situation.
Even there the result is peace.
Praise, an intense eagerness to thank God
for all He is doing in our lives, is another
visible trait of Seventh-day Adventists. If
you stop by your neighbors' home at breakfast
time, you'll probably find someone praying
and reading a thought for the day from a book
or the Bible while the others eat their meal.
Evenings often include a time of thankfulness
to God for a good day, Bible reading, and prayer.
Many Friday and Wednesday nights your neighbors
will participate in Bible study classes, public
lectures on religion, or special activities
for youth and children at their church. Saturday
morning the whole family will join other church
members for Sabbath School and a corporate
worship service. Don't be surprised if your
neighbors invite you to join them at one or
more of these activities.
Sabbath
school is like Sunday school. It is a one-hour
time praising
God through music,
prayers, mission stories, and small group Bible
study. During the time there are separate classes
for children grouped according to their ages
and for adults with varied interests and understanding
of the Bible. Music and fellowship are central
to each Sabbath school program. You will find
Sabbath school to be a "good time" with
each other and with God.
The
corporate worship service, or "church," is
a more formal time of worship and praise. During
this hour you will hear a practical, Bible-based
sermon designed to help you see God more clearly
and to provide you with strength to live as
a Christian during the week. Church also includes
worship music, public and personal prayers,
and an opportunity to give tithe (10 percent
of one's income) and thank offerings to God.
During the prayer time, worship leaders will
give you an opportunity to share your personal
needs or requests so these can be included
in the congregational prayer.
Seventh-day Adventist worship styles differ
greatly. Some congregations conduct public
worship very formally, often singing hymns
and anthems accompanied by a pipe organ and
piano. Worship in some other congregations
is much more laid-back and features praise
music led by guitars or even a small band.
Still others reflect the cultural heritage
of the congregation and may feature exuberant
expressions of praise. Ask your neighbors to
describe how their congregation worships so
you'll know what to expect when you accept
their invitation to join them. Whatever the
worship style, all Adventist congregations
are worshiping the same eternal God who gives
us cause for praise!
Purpose, a deep commitment to accomplishing
specific goals, is also a personal trait of
Seventh-day Adventists. We are not here just
to get up, go to work, and come home. We have
accepted the challenge of Christ and so function
as ambassadors of the Creator. Our purpose
is to represent God so clearly that you will
find His love irresistible!
You'll
see that purpose when your Adventist friend
talks about his
son who is going abroad
as a student missionary to help build a church.
You'll see it on the many evenings your neighbors
go to church rather than stay home and watch
TV. You'll see it in their visible commitment
to healthful living, to protecting life, to
caring for the earth, and to building friendships
with their neighbors. Adventists are a purposeful
group of people, busy following a lifelong
mission. That mission comes from the words
of Jesus Christ Himself. "Therefore go
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew
28:19, 20 NIV).
Adventists
believe that Jesus Christ is coming soon
to take all of
His followers home to an
eternal heaven. Because Jesus has asked His
followers to "go and teach," Adventists
purposefully share the good news of Christ
with everyone they can find--especially their
neighbors!
Peace, praise, and purpose. All of these result
in a unique power for living, an internal energy
that comes from having yielded to Christ. You
will see this as a power that flows from God
through your Adventist neighbor to you. That
is our greatest hope as Adventists.
We also hope that you will see in us the power,
purpose, and peace that God offers to each
human being. Even more, we hope you will find
these to be so attractive that you will choose
to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
Won't you join us in this lifetime adventure
called Christianity?
Adapted
from General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
