MBA Church Newsletter
June 26, 2003

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Monterey Bay Academy Church Newsbreak - June 26, 2003
A Weekly Communication for the Church Family & Friends
http://www.mbachurch.org
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Contents
1. Pastor Update
2. June 27 & July 4- Friday Sundown & Sabbath Offering
3. Goodbye & Thank you!
4. Church e-Newsletter Ministry
5. God Is Love
6. Prayer Requests

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1. Pastor Update

Namaste!

One of the most basic, and yet the most important, elements of our faith is our devotion to God, or to put it another way, our devotional life with God.

In my own life I have stopped measuring that in terms of how much time I spend doing my devotions or how many days a week I read my Bible and such. Those are details. The issue is my devotedness to, and my devotional passion for God.

The question is not just what I do to walk with God (devotional readings, prayer, small group fellowship, fasting, etc), but more importantly how desirous (or not) am I to walk with God.

Sometimes my problem is not that I?m not reading enough or praying enough or listening enough, it?s just that I?ve got some other burning interests. And until I detach myself from things that are temporal I cannot expect to gain interest in the Eternal.

So the real issue (at least with me) is the purification of my own heart. Until then I don?t have the desire of devotion to God. And unless I have a desire for God, all my readings, fasting, and prayers are in vain (except that sometimes they may be instrumental in invoking desire).

I want to invite us to ask ourselves these three simple questions:

1. Where is my heart these days?
2. Where do I want it? (Very important)
3. How can I redirect my passion (devotion) to the Eternal One?

Lord Jesus said, in Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."


Love
Samuel

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2. June 27 & July 4- Friday Sundown & Sabbath Offering

June 27 - Friday sundown will be at 8:31 p.m. and the offering this Sabbath will be for Conference Advance.

July 4 - Friday sundown will be at 8:30 p.m., and the offering on July 5 will be for the Local Church Budget.

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3. Goodbye & Thank you!

We have had a wonderful 18 years at MBA, so it is with sadness that we say goodbye. Thank you all for being such good friends and for giving us so many great memories. We will now become a part of the MBA Church extended family! We hope you all will have a happy and rejuvenating summer!

--Love, Gary and Marilyn Eggers

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4. Church e-Newsletter Ministry

This is the last church e-newsletter from Marilyn Eggers. If you are interested in taking over the new church e-newsletter ministry, please contact Sam Kaligithi <samk@mbachurch.org> or Dave Kaplan
<davek@mbachurch.org>. If you can type and send email, you have the necessary technical skills! :-)

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5. God Is Love

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him."

1 John 4:7-9 New International Version (NIV)

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6. Prayer Requests

There are several church prayer requests this week. Please remember Esther Castellanos <ecastellanos@earthlink.net> as she goes to surgery on tomorrow, June 27. Also, remember Lisa Lara who is recovering from heart surgery. And pray that we all will be drawn closer to God this week in a wonderful personal relationship with Him.

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© 2003 Monterey Bay Academy Seventh-day Adventist Church. All rights reserved.