Participants:
Series Code: PME
Program Code: PME230819S
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00:01 ♪♪
00:14 >> It's a joy to be returning here to Andrews University. 00:17 So many faculty and families are coming back after being away 00:23 perhaps for the summer. 00:25 And as we are turning our attention, our hearts, our minds, our syllabi to the 00:35 future semester that's coming, I just thought it would be a great idea 00:40 if we sing together songs that affirm the way that Jesus leads in our lives. 00:46 I just ask that each of us would make it our own personal statement 00:50 of testimony this morning that not only does Jesus lead, but that we will follow. 00:58 Let's sing together. 04:05 Let's sing it again. 05:02 Let's stand together for this. 06:08 Sing that again. 06:43 We'll stay standing for the reading of God's Word. 06:50 >> Our Scripture reading today is found in Psalms 98:1-3. 06:55 "Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous 06:59 things. His right hand and His holy arm 07:03 have worked salvation for him. 07:05 The Lord has made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations. 07:12 He has remembered His love and His faithfulness to Israel. All the ends of the Earth have 07:18 seen the salvation of our God." >> Amen. 07:24 ♪♪ 09:16 >> Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. 09:23 And speaking of, I'd like to invite 09:26 all of our Pioneer elders that are currently serving 09:29 to come and join me here in a semicircle behind me. 09:33 Pastoral staff, those that are here, if you would come and do the same. 09:36 Go ahead and come and join me right now at this time. I'd also like to invite a 09:43 very important group of people. If you are a teacher at Andrews University, 09:50 would you please come and join me behind the stage? And there's going to be a few 09:53 more of us here at second service than at first. Would you please 09:56 move to the middle? We can go ahead and do several layers deep. 09:59 If you are an educator, if you are part of the staff, the support staff 10:04 at Andrews University, would you, too, please come and join us here? 10:09 If you are faculty or staff at Ruth Murdoch or Andrews Academy, would you also please come 10:16 and join us here on the stage? And if you are a teacher or support staff 10:25 at a public high school or a public institution not affiliated with our church, 10:30 please come and join us. If you are a homeschool teacher, if you are teaching your 10:37 children at home, would you, too, please come and join us? 10:45 We are going to test the structural limits of this platform this morning. 10:51 Amen. Amen. Yes. And if you were on the balcony, we'll wait. 10:57 Come on down. 11:07 Gather into the middle. If we need to spill out down the steps here, that's fine. 11:25 Plenty of room. Plenty of room. Move towards the middle. 11:46 Feel free to move on up. ♪♪ 12:07 And all God's people said... >> Amen! >> This is quite a group, isn't 12:11 it? Teachers, staff, administrators, those of you that are engaged in 12:18 the education of young people, I want to say two things to you this morning before I offer 12:24 a prayer of dedication. Number one, I want you to know how much 12:29 I admire what it is that you do. I am not a professional educator. 12:35 I have taught a class or two over the years. I once substituted for 12:39 a few weeks at Andrews Academy, even, back in the day. And it was experiences like 12:44 that that assured me I was in the right profession. [ Laughter ] 12:49 I have deep appreciation for what you as educators and support staff do. 12:54 You have my undying sympathy at times, because I know, 12:58 too, some of the students that are in your classes. I rejoice with you when you meet 13:04 great success in helping students attain their goals. And at the end of a school year, 13:09 I breathe a sigh of relief with you, as well, as another good deed has been done over 13:16 the previous academic calendar. Thank you for your ministry and your dedication 13:21 to helping our children become all that they can be. And, secondly, while it is true 13:27 that I am going to pray in just a moment here, I want you to be assured 13:31 that this is not the only time you will be prayed for. We understand clearly what 13:35 the stakes are in what you do. And so I think I can safely say, on behalf of the entire 13:42 Pioneer family and those that are watching us online, will we be praying for these people? 13:47 Amen and amen. Amen, amen. You will need all the help that heaven can offer, 13:53 and we want to begin today. Would you bow your heads, please, with me? 13:56 Elders, if you'd find a shoulder. Pastors, find a shoulder, 13:58 place a hand. And, congregation, please bow your heads as we 14:02 offer a prayer of dedication. 14:09 Father in heaven, this group of people -- what an august group. 14:14 These are the ones that have said they will dedicate themselves to your service, 14:18 that they will get up each morning, that they will rejoice or mourn, regardless, 14:23 Lord, they will serve you at the end of each day that your children 14:27 might be closer to You, that they might become better people, Lord, fitted for this world, 14:32 yes, and even more importantly, Lord, for service in your world to come. 14:38 Lord, I want to ask for several things for this group. First, Lord, I ask for safety. 14:43 I pray that this would be a physically safe year. We learned all too well, Lord, 14:47 in 2020 and following that, sometimes, physical health has an immense difference 14:52 in how we are able to perform our duties. Please, Lord, may this be 14:56 a healthy and a safe year for each person, Lord, here gathered on this stage. 15:02 But I also want to ask for a blessing, Lord, on their homes. Lord, what happens 15:07 in the classroom obviously is of great importance. But every person up here, 15:11 every staff member, every teacher can honestly say if things are not well at home, 15:16 it will be reflected in what happens in the classroom. So, Lord, I pray. 15:20 I pray for your deep and abiding blessing on each marriage that is represented here. 15:26 I pray that you would bless their children, bless them as parents, Lord. 15:29 If they are grandparents, bless them, Lord, and their family relationships. 15:32 I pray that each home represented here would, indeed, be strong in You. 15:39 And Lord, lastly and most importantly, I pray, Lord, for the filling 15:44 of Your Holy Spirit for each person that is here. Please, Lord, send the former 15:48 and the latter rains of your Holy Spirit to fill them to overflowing. 15:53 Lord, this is a job that cannot be done on our own. This is not 15:57 a human-strength equation. This is one where, yes, we are willing, but You are the power. 16:02 You are the strength. You are the passion that can burn inside of us, 16:05 that must burn inside of us, if we are to succeed for you. So please pour out Your spirit, 16:11 Lord, generously, in great abundance. Fill each person, 16:14 Lord, that is here, and may their ministry for You be one that truly makes heaven 16:20 a bigger and a better place. We thank You for this and we dedicate them to You 16:25 and to Your service. And all God's people said... >> Amen. 16:31 >> Thank you, educators and staff. ♪♪ 17:01 >> For most of his working life, my father was a university 17:07 professor specializing in curriculum development 17:10 for vocational programs. He worked 17:13 at various universities, public universities, 17:15 across the country. But earlier in his life, 17:19 he had some interesting jobs. Not that being a university 17:22 professor isn't interesting, but you'll see what I'm meaning 17:25 here in just a moment. One day, he was -- While working 17:29 as a parts manager at a Ferrari dealership 17:31 on the West Coast, his boss came to him and said, 17:35 Hey, would you like to buy a car?" 17:39 Now, you may rightly ask, "What car was it?" Let me just put an example here 17:43 up on the screen. There we go. Yes. Now, for those of you 17:49 that don't know, this is an Aston Martin DBR1. And back in the day, 17:54 in the 1950s, from 1956 to 1959, these were made by Aston Martin. There was not 18:00 very many of them made. They were purely for sports racing 18:04 and they were fairly successful. One of them, in 1959, actually won the 24 hours of Le Mans, 18:10 which even today -- It's a race in France. It's considered to be one of 18:13 the most arduous and prestigious races to win. Now, they were not offering 18:18 my father the Le Mans winner, but it was one of the line, the few of the DBR1s. 18:24 And my dad, being into racing himself, said, "Well, how much do you want?" 18:30 His boss said, "$5,000." Now, $5,000 today will get you a broken tricycle 18:38 with no front wheel, okay? But in those days, if you account for inflation, 18:45 I believe it works out to about $36,000 in today's money, okay? So, you know, not chump change, 18:52 but not stratospheric either. In fact, last year, at the end of last year, 2022, 18:56 the average selling price of the mainstream-market car, so not luxury cars, 19:01 but in the United States, the average price of a new car paid was $48,000. 19:08 I know. Crazy, isn't it? Yeah. But what that means is, is that, basically, his boss 19:13 was offering him a relatively storied racecar for used-car money -- $5,000. 19:21 This is in the early '70s. And my dad thought about it, thought, "Okay, 19:26 how could I make that work? Maybe, you know, I call a friend. 19:28 I could sell this. I could do this. You know, second mortgage on the 19:31 house, something like this." And, finally, he decided not to buy the car, because, 19:39 as he told me many years later, it was just an old racecar. 19:50 Some of you know what I'm going to say next, don't you? [ Laughter ] 19:54 Yeah, yeah. So, indeed, years later at auction -- in fact, not too long 19:59 ago. It was August of 2017. One of these DBR1s sold at 20:06 auction not for 1 million, not for 2 million, not for 5, not for 10, not for $20 million. 20:21 It set a record, actually, for a British-made car. $22.5 million, meaning that 20:29 my dad's initial investment of $5,000 would have been multiplied 625 times. 20:38 I mean, my college would have been paid for if my dad had bought that car. 20:42 I mean, we would have -- We all would have had great houses. I mean, life would have been 20:46 very, very different if my dad had just spent used-car money on that Aston Martin. 20:55 Isn't it remarkable how even moderate investments now can sometimes yield 21:06 huge returns later? And, as it turns out, what's true in the automotive world is 21:14 even more true in the spiritual. Turn your Bibles, please, to Luke chapter 24. 21:23 Luke 24:13. While you're turning there to Luke 24:13, let me remind you 21:30 of where we have been. This is Part 2 of a very short series entitled 21:33 "Great Teachers." And in Part 1, we were reminded by the story 21:38 of the calling of Levi/Matthew that our mission is the same as Christ. 21:43 Christ called Levi/Matthew to follow him. Jesus invites us to follow Him 21:47 and, in turn, that we would invite others to follow Christ, as well. 21:51 "May the chain be unbroken," Jesus is saying. "Keep inviting 21:54 people to follow me." We also did this thought experiment. 21:58 In the spirit of reaching others for Jesus, we said, "What if 500 guests 22:04 were here the first Sabbath of January 2024, guests that did not know Jesus, 22:08 they were not yet ready for Jesus to come, what would we do?" 22:12 And then, of course, we discovered that it wasn't so much a thought experiment 22:15 as it is reality. We do, indeed, have hundreds of students that are about 22:20 to descend on our campus, many of which are not yet ready for Jesus to come. 22:25 Maybe they made a decision for Him and they've fallen away. Maybe they've 22:27 never made a decision for Him. And they are going to be here on our campus, in our sanctuary. 22:32 What a privilege we have. And so we said, "Well, what do we need to do 22:36 to prepare for that?" We talked about Madam Hawk. We don't we don't want 22:40 Madame Hawk in our lobbies. We talked about 1 Corinthians 13. 22:43 We need to have the love of Jesus for our students. And then I very cruelly left you 22:48 on a cliff hanging and said, "What is it that we need to do to reach our students? 22:52 I'll give you some practical things. Then I said, 22:54 "We'll talk about it in Part 2." Well, true to my word, we are going to do that this morning. 22:59 With Christ's love firmly in our hearts, what specific things can we do 23:05 to help our students to know Christ as their personal friend and savior? 23:12 To get at that, Luke Chapter 24, begin with Verse 13. This is one of my -- You're 23:17 going to hear this many a time -- favorite stories in the Bible. 23:21 How do you -- I mean, if somebody asked you, "Which one of your kids do you love the 23:24 most?" -- I mean, this is -- You can't -- There's just so many good stories here. 23:28 This is a very rare story, in that it happens post-Resurrection 23:34 and Jesus is in it. There's very few stories like that in the Gospels. 23:38 You know, John has Jesus at the Sea of Galilee, a second miraculous 23:41 catch of fish, et cetera. This is Jesus. It's actually the same day 23:45 as the Resurrection. This is Sunday. And He meets some people. 23:50 Let's see what happens. Verse 13, Luke 24. "Now, that same day, two of them 23:55 were going to a village called Emmaus, about 7 miles from Jerusalem. 24:00 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 24:03 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up 24:08 and walked along with them. But they were kept from recognizing Him." 24:13 Hmm. "He asked them, 'What are you discussing together 24:18 as you walk along?' They stood still, their faces downcast. 24:22 One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, 'Are you only a visitor 24:25 to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?' 24:30 'What things?', He asked. 'About Jesus of Nazareth,' they replied. 24:35 'He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 24:39 The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death 24:42 and they crucified Him. But we had hoped that He was the one 24:47 who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day 24:52 since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. 24:55 They went to the tomb early this morning, but didn't find His body. 24:58 They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. 25:02 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, 25:06 but Him they did not see.'" Pause for just a moment. If all you read are the words 25:15 on paper of what comes next, it can sound a little cruel, okay? I just want to remind you 25:22 that the cross is now in the rear-view mirror. Jesus is not looking to make 25:27 someone's day worse. This is the joyful risen savior now, 25:31 and He is with two disciples that He knows their hearts. He knows their sincerity. 25:35 He knows they're looking for good things. He's not going 25:37 to disappoint them. This is not a cruel rebuke that is coming. 25:40 This is an invitation. Here's what He says. Verse 25. "He said to them, 'How foolish 25:45 you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. 25:49 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?'" 25:56 Pause again, please, because we need to note something very important. 26:01 I'm gonna put it on the screen here for you. 26:13 Let that sink in. 26:21 Now, to be fair to the story, earlier, we just read -- it says that they were kept 26:26 from recognizing Him, right? So there is a divine element to this lack 26:30 of apprehension on their part. So we're not going to completely blame Cleopas 26:34 and his companion there. But, by the same token, we must immediately confess 26:42 that there are many other reasons besides divine blinders that keep us from recognizing 26:48 the presence of God, even when He is right there. You know, I think we could 26:55 safely say -- I mean, I don't have a poll that tells me this for sure, 26:59 but I'm fairly certain that the majority of the world is in this camp. 27:04 And I know for certain that high-handed sinners would be in this camp. 27:08 You know what I mean. People who know what is wrong and they rejoice in it. 27:11 They're going to keep on doing their thing. Yes, if Jesus walked through 27:14 their living room, they probably would not understand that this was God himself, okay? 27:20 But let's just -- Let's bring it right down here. Right here on this campus. 27:29 There's a lot of pastors and teachers on this campus. We are blessed. 27:36 And we must readily admit, if we are honest, that sometimes, we can become 27:41 so used to dealing with that which is holy that it becomes commonplace to us. 27:48 You know, one of the great blessings, as I mentioned with our Faculty Institute 27:52 earlier this week, one of the great blessings of working for the Lord 27:55 is that you get to deal with the things of the Lord all the time. One of the greatest risks 27:59 of working for the Lord is that you deal with things of the Lord all the time, 28:03 and that which is holy can become mundane. It is possible to be 28:08 in the presence of God and not even know it. Many of our students that are 28:18 about to arrive on our campus will be in this category. You know, 28:24 a tiny minority of them will be high-handed sinners. You know, they're doing 28:27 what's wrong, and they like it and they know it, so they're not going to see it. 28:30 But perhaps there will be many, many, many more others that, for whatever reason, 28:34 because they're distracted, maybe the world has made inroads into their life, 28:37 for whatever reason, when they come onto this campus in, we pray, the presence 28:42 of the Lord, it is possible that they will not recognize it right away, 28:50 which leads me to ask what I think is a very important question. 28:54 How can we fix that? How can we help whatever blinders 28:59 are on their eyes to come off that they may see Jesus? We want them to know Jesus. 29:04 Amen? And you cannot know Jesus unless you somehow see Him. 29:08 You must apprehend Him and His presence, His work. So how do we fix that? 29:12 How do we help them to see the Jesus that is here? Well, blessedly, 29:20 we can look at what Jesus did. What did Jesus do to help take the blinders off of Cleopas 29:29 and his companion's spiritual eyes? Hmm. Let's check it out. 29:35 Verse 27, it says, "And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, 29:43 He explained to them what was said in all the --" What's the next word there? 29:47 Scriptures. "All the scriptures concerning Himself. 29:50 Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm. Let's keep going here. "As they approached the village 29:54 to which they were going, Jesus acted as if He were going further. 29:57 But they urged Him strongly, 'Stay with us, for it is nearly evening. 30:01 The day is almost over.' So He went in to stay with them. When He was at the table 30:06 with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and began to give it to them. 30:11 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight." 30:17 Just like that, vanished. "They asked each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within 30:23 us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?'" 30:32 How is it that Jesus wakes up these two spiritual seekers to the reality of His presence? 30:39 Clearly, the first answer is through the word. It was through the Scriptures. 30:44 That is what Jesus used to bring Cleopas and his friend to their senses. 30:49 Obviously, the Scriptures played heavily in that, and the same is to be true for us. 30:53 If we are to successfully help our students to see Jesus, we must be people of the word. 31:00 We must be people of this book. We must know it. We must live it. 31:03 We must study it each day. We must incorporate it into our lives that we can 31:07 honestly say, "We know Jesus. Come and follow us as we follow him." 31:13 This word is crucial to the revival that we are looking for. 31:24 And...and... did you notice what this gift of the word 31:35 was wrapped up in? Did you see the circumstances under which Jesus used the word 31:44 to help them recognize Him? 31:51 This is really important. Please listen carefully. The gift that this revelation 31:57 of Jesus Christ to Cleopas, his companion, and to us and to our students, 32:03 the gift that this is wrapped up in is the gift of time. 32:14 Time. Time. The gift that Jesus gave us 32:24 was first and foremost His life on the cross. That story is most securely 32:30 found in His word, this book, the Bible. No question about that. 32:35 But part and parcel of that gift is the profound gift of time. Follow me closely here. 32:41 In the Garden of Eden, what did God do in the cool of the evening? 32:48 He came and walked with Adam and Eve, didn't he? He came -- Now, think about 32:52 that. God, who knows everything, who knew Adam and Eve's thoughts 32:56 could have just, you know, communicated and, "I hear you. I hear you through my brain." 33:00 God instead said, "I need to be with you. I need to spend time with you." 33:05 And so he walks with them in the cool of the evening. Now, God walked 33:08 and talked with Enoch. He spent time with him. We know how that story ended, 33:12 don't we? Enoch went to heaven. God spent time with Abraham, 33:17 with the Jews as a nation in general, with Daniel, with Isaiah, with the other prophets. 33:21 When Jesus comes, when the Messiah comes, they call Him, among 33:26 other names, Emmanuel, which means..."God with us, God spending time with us." 33:34 And Jesus spent time -- Oh, did he spend time with his 12 Disciples. 33:38 You know, the stories that we have written in the Gospels are obviously very good stories, 33:44 but it doesn't cover all that Jesus did. In fact, John even confesses 33:48 this, doesn't he? Towards the end of his Gospel. If all the stories 33:50 were written down about Jesus, the whole world would not have room enough to hold them 33:54 because Jesus spent so much time with people. He spent time 33:59 with his disciples. They went to synagogue. He spent time 34:01 walking back from synagogue. He spent time in debate with the Pharisees 34:04 and the scribes in the presence. He spent time with the disciples almost -- all across Judea. 34:12 And, yes, on the road to Emmaus, Jesus spent significant time with Cleopas and his companion. 34:19 How long does it take you to walk 7 miles? You know, I've been 34:23 to that part of the world. It's not exactly all paved and straight, okay? 34:26 There's not rest areas you can pull off, like, on the turnpike or something. 34:29 It's rough territory. So, figure about two hours, if they're walking. 34:33 For two hours, Jesus opens their eyes 34:37 through the Scripture. He spent time with them 34:38 going over hill, over dale, starting with -- you know, it 34:41 says -- It goes with Moses, so the first five books 34:43 of the Bible. Then He goes through 34:44 the prophets, and that covers most of the rest of it. 34:46 And He shares all of these things 34:47 in the space of two hours. He invested serious 34:50 time with them. And even when Jesus 34:52 left this Earth, He soon sent his Holy Spirit 34:55 so that we could quite literally spend all time with Him. 35:01 And someday soon, Jesus is going to return to this Earth 35:06 so that we can spend time with Him for eternity. 35:11 In fact, the very concept of atonement -- you know, 35:14 it's not strictly correct, but if you break the word down 35:16 into three parts -- "at-one-ment" -- God with us. 35:20 The very notion of atonement shouts at the top of its lungs that God longs to be with us, 35:26 to spend time with us. So, until Jesus comes back, God knows something. 35:37 He knows that to save us, He must spend time with us. And, thus, it should come 35:42 as no surprise that the same is true for those of us who would sign up to help 35:46 God in this great work of helping our students to be ready for heaven, as well. 35:50 Many of them will not come to know Jesus as we do unless we give them our...time. 36:01 You want to know how to reach our students for Christ? You want to be 36:05 a great teacher for them, one who shows them clearly the love of Jesus? 36:08 Then give them the gift of your time, and let me now show you some very specific 36:14 and practical ways to do that. If you have your bulletin, take a look there at the insert. 36:20 There's a Connect Card that's in there. If you have your smartphone, 36:23 go ahead and scan the QR code that is in the bulletin there. If you are online 36:29 and watching us, we're going to put up a number on the screen that you can text a single word 36:33 to. Text the word "engage" -- E-N-G-A-G-E. 36:38 "Engage." Text that word, and you will be sent a link to what it is that we're going 36:42 to be looking at. I want to share with you a number of ways 36:45 that we can engage with our university students. Now, very quickly, 36:49 some of you have asked, "Can we do something similar to what you're suggesting 36:53 for our elementary-school and our high-school students?" And the answer 36:56 is a resounding yes. Yes, yes, yes. There are some legalities 37:00 involved for minors. And so I do not sit here prepared today 37:05 to give you what we're planning for our younger students at Ruth Murdoch and public high 37:11 schools and Andrews Academy. That is in the works. We're coming to that. 37:15 We'll share it with you at a later date. For today, let's take a peek 37:19 at some things that we can do to spend important time with our university students. 37:23 There's three levels of engagement, investment that I'm asking that you would make. 37:28 The first one -- hardly any time at all. The second one -- a little bit 37:31 more time. The third one -- yes, even more time still. 37:34 But great return over time on investment. Let's take a look at this. 37:38 If you're looking at this Connect Card here, at the very top, 37:41 there's a place for your name and your contact information. Please don't forget that. 37:44 We really do want to get that information from you. In the first category, 37:48 it says, "Great teachers for great students, ways to engage our students 37:52 for Christ." Level 1 -- simple and powerful. First thing there -- pray daily 37:56 for our students. There's a reason this is number one. 38:02 Would you like to see revival in the worldwide Seventh Day Adventist Church? 38:07 Alright, the tepidness of that response proves why exactly we need revival in the 38:11 Seventh Day Adventist Church. I'm going to give you one more chance. 38:14 Would you like to see revival in the worldwide Seventh Day Adventist Church? 38:17 >> Yes! >> Yeah, amen, amen. Let it begin here. 38:21 Praise the Lord. And we are told very clearly that a revival need only 38:25 be expected in answer to prayer. So this is serious business, and it's the lowest-hanging 38:31 fruit for any of us. You don't have to go anywhere. You don't have to be any special 38:34 place. Anywhere you are, you can pray for our student body, 38:36 pray for our new students that are coming, pray for our students that are returning, 38:40 pray for our faculty and for our staff, pray for me, pray for our pastoral staff 38:43 here at Pioneer, pray for all of us that there will be God's 38:47 will done on this campus. Secondly, greet them warmly. Greet students warmly at church 38:53 on Sabbath. This is a huge thing. When you 38:55 see somebody who even remotely looks like they're a student -- Check for bags under their eyes, 38:59 okay? This will help you to see, alright? 39:01 And they look -- Just welcome them. "Hi, there. I'm so-and-so. 39:03 I'm a member here at Pioneer. I'm so glad that you're here this morning. 39:06 Thank you for coming." Just do it. Everyone that looks 39:09 like a student, invite them. Welcome them here. That'd be excellent. 39:12 Learn their names, number three, and use them when you see them. Now, some of you have been 39:17 amazed when I have remembered your name. And many of you have been 39:24 gracious when I did not. Thank you. That's kind of you. I understand that not everybody 39:29 can memorize 2,000 names, but you can remember five. You can learn five 39:34 over the course of a year. My baseline challenge to you, if you check this box -- and I 39:38 hope you do -- learn at least five names, and when you see them 39:40 on a Sabbath morning, greet them by their name and tell them that you're glad 39:44 that they're here. Few -- You know, our names are important, right? 39:46 Our names are important. When you call somebody by name, it means that you remember 39:50 that they're important, and if they're important to you as a member of Pioneer, 39:53 they're also important to... Exactly. To God, as well. Be that reflection. 39:57 Simple thing. And, lastly, love them. Do what Jesus would do 40:00 if He were in your shoes, whatever situation you're in with a university student. 40:03 That's the first level. Level number two -- a little more time required -- 40:06 invite students home for Sabbath lunch. But you say 40:09 Pastor Shane, "I can't cook." Do you have a Costco membership? [ Laughter ] 40:16 Okay, if you're an Adventist, you know, you get your baptismal certificate and a Costco card. 40:20 They go right together, okay? Right? Because we're cheap and we like a good deal 40:25 and we know where to find those, and that's at Costco, okay? So if you've got your Costco 40:28 card, buy lasagna, right? Just get a tray of lasagna. You can buy everything prefab. 40:33 The students will know that it's Costco because their parents do the 40:36 same thing back home, alright? But it's good food, and they'll be there for lunch, 40:40 and you can get to know people, but it gives you the time that you can invest in them. 40:44 Now, secondly, make extra food and invite students to potluck with you. 40:49 Now, if there are any university students here, let me just tell you a little secret. 40:53 Some adults are scared of you. They don't know what to say, right? 40:59 It's been a long time since they were cool, and they know it, okay? 41:04 So, back to the adults now. If you go to potluck, there's other people to carry 41:08 the conversation, right? Okay, so, you make extra food. We don't want to take the food 41:13 from other people, so make extra food, invite students to potluck. 41:15 There will be lots of people. You can have good conversations together. 41:18 Next there -- attend student events, concerts, games, club events 41:22 where appropriate, et cetera. You know, doing this type of thing is a great thing to do. 41:26 If you start to go, for instance, to the Howard or to other places where there 41:30 are students that are performing and you learn names, it's actually easy to do 41:33 because you can look at the printed program. You kind of cheat, right? 41:36 You learn the name there. And then, afterwards, you go up and say, "Hi, you're so-and-so, 41:39 aren't you? I'm so-and-so. I'm a member at Pioneer. 41:41 I just want to say I really appreciated the music that you just shared with us." 41:45 They will remember. [ Laughs ] They will remember that. 41:49 I'm going to tell you a secret now. University students, just 41:52 kind of close your ears here. University students do miss home. 41:57 Almost all of them do miss home. Their parents aren't here to come to their concerts or to 42:01 their games most of the time. You can be their spiritual parents in the absence 42:05 of their biological parents. Next one there -- help students unload 42:10 belongings into the dormitory and/or bring them food. This starts tomorrow. 42:15 As Pastor Prescott said in the Pioneer Post, tomorrow morning is when our freshmen are 42:19 arriving. Many of them are already here, but tomorrow morning, 42:21 they're going to be moving into the dormitory. I think 8:30 is their first stop 42:24 at Howard, and then, after that, they're going to be moving into the dorm. 42:27 If you've got a strong back, you can go over there to the dorm parking lots 42:32 and you can help people move in. Just look for people that are sweating, okay? 42:37 And you can help carry 150 pounds of bottled water up to the top 42:40 floor into the dormitory, right? Students, we do sell bottled water in this area. 42:45 You don't have to bring it from home. It's okay. 42:48 We'll supply you here. And if you don't have a strong back, 42:52 but you've got a good menu, bake some cookies and bring it to the families 42:56 moving into the dorm. You know, they will not turn you away. 42:59 I guarantee you. If you say, "Hi, there, I'm so-and-so, and I'm 43:02 a Pioneer Memorial Church member and I have cookies for you," they will welcome you in. 43:06 You will be an instant friend, just like that, okay? And while you do that, I would 43:10 like you to do something. We have here this year's bookmark. 43:15 This is PMC's, Pioneer's, bookmark. On the back of it, 43:19 it has contact information for the church. There's going to be a stack 43:22 of these on the front pews. There's going to be stacks of them 43:24 next to the offering baskets at the doors when you go out. If you don't see them 43:28 there, check another location, because we would like to have each freshman and their families 43:31 be able to have one of these bookmarks. You go and you say, 43:34 "Hi, I'm so-and-so. I'm from Pioneer Memorial Church. 43:37 I'm so glad that you're here. Can we help you move in? Would you like a cookie? 43:41 Please, take this bookmark. This will let you know how to get in touch with us. 43:45 Come and join us for worship next Sabbath. You can sit with me." 43:50 Okay? Use this card. We want to pass these all out. We're going to make more. 43:53 There's going to be more for next weekend, as well, because one week from tomorrow, 43:55 all returning students are coming back. You can go over 43:58 to the dormitories and help them move in. Now, Jim would want me 44:02 to mention this. Tomorrow also happens to be our church Work Bee. 44:07 You know, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there are enough people 44:11 in this church that we can do two things at once, okay? So, those of you that 44:16 you know God has called you to pull weeds, we need you tomorrow morning 44:18 right here, 8:30 to 12:30, okay? Those of you that God is pushing towards the dormitories 44:22 and there, please be there. We can do both of these things at once. 44:25 Let's let our students know that they are welcome here. Third level -- a little more 44:29 time, major rewards. First one there -- Friday or Saturday, vespers at your house. 44:33 This is great if you can do it. You know, we have good vespers office here on campus. 44:38 If you can have a group of students that begin to form at your house there, wonderful, 44:42 wonderful. Wouldn't it be great if your home became a discipleship 44:45 center for students on this campus? I think 44:47 that would be a great thing. Next one there, Sabbath lunch, followed by a hike 44:51 or some other activity. So not just food, but you're going to make 44:54 an afternoon of it. You can go out to the beach here. 44:56 You can go to the lake. You can go to other places, as weather provides. 44:59 Next one there -- a Sunday outing that you sponsor. You know, the weather here 45:04 is warm almost all year long... [ Laughter ] ...if you're a polar bear, okay? 45:13 So I realize you may have to adjust the activities, but if you can do something 45:17 on a Sunday -- I realize, you know, students are very busy. They're studying hard, 45:20 all of this, but if there is a space, they'll go for it, especially if you're buying, 45:23 okay? And if you can provide these opportunities 45:26 to do things off campus, you know, special events in the community -- 45:28 There's lots of cultural events that happen within half an hour or 45 minutes of here, lots 45:32 of students with varied taste. You can make a trip of it on a Sunday. 45:35 Now, shut-in visitation. I've seen this do really, really good things 45:39 as far as bonding members and students together. You and a student can go 45:42 together to visit people at a hospital or a care facility or something. 45:45 They'll be tickled pink to see you, and you will help to disciple 45:48 a student in the process. Adopt a student. This one goes all year. 45:53 This is pray for and supply a student with gifts from home for a school year. 45:57 Now, "gifts from home." What does that mean? You know, 46:00 when you're away from home, there's few things as good as chocolate, as fresh bread. 46:04 You know, if you bring a fresh loaf of bread and you give it to a dorm student -- You know, 46:08 if you go to the guys' dorm, they won't have any utensils or anything, 46:10 but they'll just tear off hunks and start eating it, alright? Because it tastes like home. 46:14 It smells like home. Do this for an entire year. Send them notes on occasion. 46:18 Send them an e-mail. Say, "Hey, just praying for you. You know, finals are coming up. 46:21 I want you to know that we're praying for you." What a great way to make 46:24 a friend and to love people as Jesus loves them. Volunteer to help sponsor 46:28 or put on school events. There's all kinds of things that are already happening 46:31 on Andrews' campus. We're going to make ways for you to get involved with the 46:34 chaplain's office, student life, et cetera, that, if you wish to, you can become part of the crew 46:38 that put those events on. Adopt a school. This is cool. Adopt a school. 46:43 I don't mean the entire university. I do mean something like this. 46:48 What if you and perhaps some other families decided you were going to adopt, say, 46:52 the School of Architecture, and we would arrange for a meeting with you and the department 46:57 head. And you would arrange to do certain things throughout 47:00 the school year. Those families would come. You provide refreshments 47:02 at testing time. You come and pray with students. You'd be able to maybe hold 47:07 a year-end picnic or something just outside the front of their building. 47:10 Maybe they have a special chapel for their department, and you could help be a part of that 47:14 as a member of the Pioneer Memorial Church. I think this would be a great 47:17 thing if every department on campus had somebody that was adopting them, 47:20 praying for them, and seeking to serve them as Jesus would. We have a slot here for other. 47:25 There's things I'm sure that we haven't thought about, but that you have. 47:27 Please don't hesitate to write that idea down. And the last one here, 47:31 at least on your printed copy -- There's actually one last after the last. 47:34 I'll tell you that in just a moment. But on the printed copy here, 47:37 "Assist with any of the above." You're not open to leading the above activities, 47:40 but would be open to helping others carry them out. Maybe your home isn't going 47:44 to be the home for Friday night vespers, but you would like to help somebody to do that 47:48 in their home. Put that down. We will make sure 47:50 that you get connected. And there is one last thing. Those of you that are looking at 47:56 the online version, you already see it. Those of you 47:58 that have the printed copy, let me tell you what's missing. We are essentially starting 48:04 a new ministry right now during this sermon. Portions of this have been done 48:09 in the past and been done very well. COVID came. 48:12 It knocked the wind out of our sails. It's time 48:14 to start blowing again. We want to get this -- We don't want this just to be a 2023, 48:19 2024 burst of energy. We want to see this continue until Jesus comes back. 48:25 And, so, to make that happen, I am announcing the beginning of a brand-new ministry right now. 48:29 You've just heard what we're doing at the outset. It doesn't have a leader, 48:33 it doesn't have a name, and it doesn't have a support team. Someone say "amen." 48:36 >> Amen! >> And now we're going to see if we can fix that. 48:39 The last box -- those of you online, you already see it. There's a space there 48:44 at the bottom of your card if you have the printed copy. If you would like 48:48 to be considered to be part of the leadership team -- Probably going to have one or 48:54 more pastors that are assigned to help give some guidance and supervision, 48:57 but we do need a leadership team that will oversee the outreach to our university students. 49:04 If you are gifted in that way and you would like to be a part of that ministry team, 49:09 would you just check that box, if you're online. If you're here in person 49:12 and you're writing on the card, just put "leadership team." Write that in the blank 49:16 towards the bottom there, "leadership team," those two words. 49:19 And even if you're not an up-front person, even if you're not 49:22 someone that -- maybe you're not the, you know, major leader with the big vision or whatnot, 49:27 but you know how to make a vision happen. You are good 49:30 with infrastructure. You can set places up. You know how to call people 49:33 and gather people together to put events on. If you're that kind of person, 49:36 please also check that box or write "leadership team" in that blank. 49:41 We're building the plane while we're flying it. I just got here. 49:45 Cut me a little slack. We're going to put this thing together. 49:47 I think we stand on the cusp of great things between Pioneer and our university students. 49:55 How do you turn the cards in? Electronically, obviously, you just hit "submit," and 49:59 we'll take care of it. For those of you that have the cards, 50:02 if you can put them in the offering baskets as you exit, just make sure 50:04 they get in the offering basket. The deacons will collect them, and they will make their way to 50:08 me and we will get started. Now, I leave you with this. Having lived 50:22 a life of adventure, many of the stories from my life have broken bones, 50:27 car chases, and blood. But the best stories of my life are the stories of when other 50:39 people invested time in me. You know, I think of Bert Kurtz, my fifth- and sixth-grade 50:46 teacher at Valley View Adventist Academy in Arroyo Grande, California. 50:51 He was a World War II veteran. He told all kinds of stories, great stories. 50:54 We learned all kinds of things, not just about history, but about life. 50:57 I mean, talk about a life lesson, World War II. I mean, there were all kinds 51:00 of things that happened. He would tell us these stories. He took us to outdoor school. 51:04 We'd go up in the mountains there in Central California, and he taught the guys, you 51:08 know, how to whittle a stick, okay? And he taught us how to identify 51:12 things like poison oak before you step in it, that kind of stuff. 51:16 I think of Mark Lovejoy. He was my seventh- and eighth-grade 51:18 teacher in the same school. And he not only spent time with us in the classroom, 51:23 but he also took us on a whole bunch of trips. We'd go on class trip 51:25 and other -- you know, these enrichment trips that he would take us on. 51:29 He would always tell us -- He had this famous phrase. Anybody that ever had 51:31 Mark Lovejoy as a teacher, you know this phrase. "Go for the gold." 51:35 He would say, "Go for the gold." Don't settle for second place. Don't be mediocre. 51:40 Be all that God has called you to be. Go for the gold. 51:42 He invested serious time in me. I think of Bob and Glenda Marshall. 51:47 You know, technically, they were my parents' friends. You know what I mean by that. 51:51 They were my parents' friends. But we would go out on Sabbath afternoons to beautiful places 51:56 on the Central California coast, and when they weren't taking care of their kids, 52:00 they would turn to me and my sister and they would teach us about, 52:03 "Okay, this is what's in this tidal pool here," or "These are the birds, 52:06 and this is about the ocean." They would teach us things. They invested time in me. 52:11 I think of Steve Fuller. He was the friend of my friend -- He was the father of 52:15 my friend Brian. And he would come on Sundays and play basketball with us. 52:19 Now, Steve Fuller was absolutely ancient. I mean, 52:25 I think he was 45 years old. [ Laughter ] 52:28 I was astonished that anybody his age could still move 52:31 on a basketball court, right? Okay? But he was using 52:34 whatever few breaths he had left to play basketball 52:38 with us on the court. I mean, it's astonishing. 52:40 I'll never forget it. And there was Pastor Ferguson 52:43 in Oklahoma. You know, this was when I was 52:46 just starting out in college. I initially thought he was 52:48 a nice guy, but somewhat stodgy and unapproachable. 52:51 And then he came to camp meeting and he played softball 52:54 with the young adults that were playing softball there. 52:57 I can still see him. He was always well-dressed. 52:59 He was out there playing shortstop -- dress shoes, 53:02 dress slacks, a very nice dress shirt, tie had been taken 53:05 off, top button unbuttoned, with a glove on his hand. 53:09 He was awesome on a softball field. 53:12 I mean, I thought Superman had stepped into a phone booth 53:14 and come out and played on our team. 53:15 It was amazing! 53:17 I listened to everything Pastor Ferguson said after that. Because he invested time in me. 53:30 You know, the list could go on and on of people that did that. They invested time in me, 53:37 and to me, they became some of the greatest teachers that I have ever known. 53:44 Ladies and gentlemen, that can be you. You can be a great teacher 53:51 who loves our students and teaches them about the Savior. You can be a teacher 53:55 who doesn't only talk about God and His love, but, rather, one that also 53:58 shows it, that lives it out. And the time -- the time that you invest 54:02 in our students will not be like some exotic sports car that merely returns 54:06 a financial reward. It can instead result in something far more 54:11 valuable -- eternity. Eternity spent with Christ and each other. 54:16 You see, as it turns out, love really is a matter of time. And those that we are pledged 54:25 to love, our students, they will be here starting tomorrow, and in earnest, 54:29 two Sabbaths from now, may every one of us think prayerfully 54:34 how we can take the time to truly be a great teacher for our students. 54:42 >> Amen! [ Applause ] 54:54 ♪♪ 56:17 Jesus, we long for the light of Your love to shine clearly 56:21 from Pioneer and, Lord, particularly to our returning 56:24 students. Bless us, 56:26 fill us with your love, fill us with your spirit, 56:28 and may we truly become people that spend eternal time, Lord, 56:33 eternal kind of time with our students. 56:37 Bless us in this way, for we ask it in Your name. 56:40 Amen. ♪♪ 56:53 >> Hi, I'm Shane Anderson, lead pastor at 56:55 Pioneer Memorial Church. It's no news flash to say 56:59 that social media has become an integral part 57:01 of our daily lives. And here at Pioneer, we want 57:04 to use it to enrich our lives. I invite you to connect with us 57:08 online by visiting the links that are shown on the screen. 57:12 We are constantly sharing inspiring content 57:15 that we believe can make a real and positive difference 57:18 in your life. So if you haven't already, 57:21 I encourage you to follow and subscribe 57:23 to our social-media platforms. Not only will you stay up 57:26 to date with our latest news and events, 57:28 but you will also be able to engage with an online community 57:31 that shares a common belief, experience, 57:34 and care for your well-being. And by sharing our content, 57:38 you can help us reach even more people with our message of hope 57:42 and love in Jesus. Join us by creating a positive 57:45 impact online and making a difference in the world. 57:49 Thank you, and we look forward to connecting with you online. 58:00 ♪♪ |
Revised 2023-10-18