Everyone Welcome

Sabbath School and Church

Church In Person or On-Line

Everyone is welcome to attend the worship hour. It starts at 10:45 a.m.  

We broadcast Church live on youtube.com. Church will start at 10:45 AM.  Go to youtube.com and search for "greeley sda".  Click on the circle with the church picture.  You may need to choose the "Live" tab.

OR click on the "Sermons" link in the menu selections above to access the services. (On a phone or tablet the menu selections will be in a button that looks like three bars at the top of the screen.) Select "Live" in the tabs.

Weekly Church Meetings

Wednesday - 1:30 p.m.  Midweek study 

Sabbath 4:00 - p.m.  End Time Events with Shawn Korgan

Food for Thought

“Sunshine, Sunflowers, and the SON” - “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV)

On a recent Sabbath afternoon Jerry and I had gone to Sanborn Park to walk around the lake. Jerry can circle the lake twice to my once so he was quite some distance ahead of me. I came to a group of young people gathered around a picnic table except for one girl who was standing close to the sidewalk. She stopped me and asked my name and if I could make it around the lake. I said, “Yes, but slowly.” She then said she was there with a church youth group, and she wanted to pray for me. She first asked if I had had a nice day. So I shared with her that we were Seventh-day Adventists and had spent the morning in church. In fact, I told her my husband was a retired pastor so he had preached that morning as well as the two previous Sabbaths (one in Estes Park) and would be preaching the following week, too. She laughed and said, “It doesn’t sound to me like he is really retired!” She then had the nicest prayer for me. It was a warm day and the sun was shining brightly, but this young girl – high school/college age – had brought a different kind of sunshine into my day!

I was recently reading in the Kid’s View section of the Adventist Review about sunflowers. Maybe it caught my attention because I am from Kansas – the Sunflower State. It said sunflowers like to gaze directly at the brightest spot in the sky – the sun. Only the buds move throughout the day to gaze at the sun. Once they actually bloom, they only face East, ready for the rising sun each day. The article went on to talk about what amazing plants they are. They are planted as a crop for the seeds and oil they produce. They also have the power to clean the soil by extracting harmful materials from the soil.

I thought if sunflowers know where to look every morning for precious light, we need to do the same. Our day should always begin with Jesus, and as the article said, “That is a SON worth looking at!”

When King Jehoshaphat was facing a formidable army, he was very alarmed and “resolved to inquire of the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 20:3) In his prayer he said simply, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” (2 Chron. 20:12) Just like Jehoshaphat and just like the sunflower, we need to begin our day looking to the SON.

Sharon Oster

Our Eyes - “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2 NIV

When we lived in Abilene, TX, our two older children were in our two-teacher church school. One of the teachers was especially good in music and she grouped the children into an excellent choir. She even had them singing different parts, and they were really quite good. They would sing at the mall at Christmastime and attract a sizable crowd.

One year they were the special music for camp meeting. The teacher had them grouped up on stage according to the different parts they would sing. She was very strict and would not start until every eye was focused on her. The teacher was poised and all ready to direct, but one little boy was not looking at her. His eyes were looking at the large crowd of people gathered in that auditorium, all waiting expectantly. Finally, he turned his attention and his eyes to the teacher and only then did they begin. (After their performance, they received a standing ovation, and the little boy with the “eye problem” went on to become a professional singer!)

That little boy needed to keep his eyes on the director in the same way we need to keep our eyes on Jesus. There is a story in the Bible about some Greek people who came to Philip and said, “We would see Jesus.” (John 12: 20-21) These Greeks wanted to know the truth of Christ’s mission so they said simply, “We would see Jesus.” Their request was granted. Jesus went to the outer court to meet and talk with them. He wanted to make his mission plain to them. While talking with them Jesus said, “Father glorify Thy name.” A response came that said, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” The Greeks heard the voice and knew Jesus was indeed the Sent of God. “We would see Jesus” --- I read once that should be engraved on every pulpit.

W. W. Prescott wrote “When I fix my eyes upon the enemy, or upon the difficulties, or upon myself and my past failures, I lose heart, and fail to receive the victory. Therefore, ‘Looking Unto Jesus,’ is my motto.” (Victory in Christ, page 27)  

Even Jesus had something to say about our eyes. He said if our eye causes us to sin, we “should gouge it out and throw it away.” (Matthew 5:29)  It sounds a bit drastic! We are told it is a parable about surrender. Ellen White says that the surrender of the will is represented as plucking out the eye; in other words, it is being willing to surrender anything that would come between us and Jesus.  (Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 61) She also says that “if the eye is kept fixed on Christ, the work of the Spirit ceases not until the soul is conformed to His image.” ( The Desire of Ages, page 302).

Morris Venden says, “Plucking out the eye is God’s work. But remember, He is a gentle surgeon, and we can trust Him.” (Wonderful Words of Life, p. 35)

Sharon Oster

“Come and See” - “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV

The other day I noticed in a little devotional book put out by Guidepost Magazine a picture of three little owls peering out from a cavity in a tree trunk. The Bible text was from the English Standard Version and it said: “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.” Proverbs 4:25  I guess I took special note of that text because it reminded me so much of what I had been hearing lately: “Keep looking straight ahead, keep your eyes right on that light, don’t look right or left, look only directly over my ear.” The eye doctor was preparing me for eye surgery. 

The Bible also has instruction for our eyes. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1) Paul tells us: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” ( Hebrews 12:2)

In the first chapter of John Jesus is calling some of His first disciples. He called Philip who immediately responded. Philip went to find his friend Nathanuel and said, “We have found the One the prophets wrote about – Jesus of Nazareth.” But Nathanuel was very skeptical. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip had a very simple response: “Come and see.” “Come and see” -- something we all need to respond to. COME to Jesus daily to accept His grace and power and salvation and to SEE what a friend we have in Jesus. How thankful we can be that “He (Jesus) does not take His eyes off the righteous.” (Job 36: 7)  We are told “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” (2 Chron. 16:9)

As my eyes began to heal from the surgery, I could see so much better than I had seen in a very long time. Not only had the cataracts been removed, but in the process my distance vision had greatly improved. (Something I still don’t fully understand.) It made me think of some promises in the Bible about how Jesus will one day “correct” our eyesight. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)  We will see things we can’t even imagine, and most of all, we will see Jesus, our forever Friend and Savior.

Sharon Oster 

The Golden Rule - “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Luke 6:31

I was talking to our daughter the other day who sounded rather discouraged with her two little boys – ages four years and six years. She said they fight and argue all the time over toys. Maybe that is why I took special notice of a news story. A clinical psychologist was talking about sibling rivalry and she has written a book about it – a children’s book to be read to children. The book shows two little boys on the front cover and is titled “That’s MY Truck!” (Not only can our daughter’s family maybe benefit from this book, I think many adults could as well as leaders of world nations!)

David and his men were in need of food and supplies. They were in the vicinity of a very wealthy man named Nabal. They had been very good to Nabal’s shepherds, not mistreating them or taking anything that belonged to them. So, when David sent men to ask Nabal for food, they expected the favor to be returned. But the Bible says Nabal was “surly and mean in his dealings,” and he had no intention of supplying David and his men with food.

David and about four hundred of his men put on their swords and were ready to retaliate. (The adult version of “That’s MY Truck”) Before they reached Nabal, one of his servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail about the encounter, adding “They were a wall of protection around us the whole time we were herding sheep.” Abigail immediately got together many supplies and went to meet David and his men. When she met David, she actually took the blame and pleaded with David not to have “on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed.” Suddenly David realized what a mistake he was making. He thanked her for the gift, for her good judgment, and for keeping him from retaliating with bloodshed. (1 Samuel 25)

Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem. On their way they were going to pass through a village in Samaria. Some messengers went on ahead to get things ready, but the Samaritans did not welcome them. James and John were instantly ready to retaliate. (Again, the adult version of you mistreat me, I’ll mistreat you.) “Lord,” they said, “do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus rebuked James and John! In other words, “No! That is not my way. We’ll just go to another village.” (Luke 9:51-56)

Then we read about the closing scenes of Jesus’ life on this earth – insults, beatings, cruel trials, and finally nailed to a cross. And Jesus’ response: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) Oh, to be more like Jesus! How our world would change!

Sharon Oster