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

“No Charge” - “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9 NIV

A number of years ago when we lived in St. Louis, MO, we needed to make a three-month move to Loma Linda, California. Jerry had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and he had chosen the proton treatment at the Medical Center there. Fortunately, our church members were very understanding and very helpful as we had to rent an apartment there for three months. We had a daughter living there at the time working as a nurse at the Medical Center so we got to see her often. I also had an aunt living there so every afternoon I would go visit her for a couple hours.  

Another thing I did was to have some rather extensive dental work done. I have forgotten exactly how many trips I made to the dentist, but I know there were several. When I was finished, I went to the office to pay the bill. The receptionist gave me a questioning look and handed me the bill. Across the bottom it said, “NO CHARGE.” To answer her questioning look, I said simply, “The dentist is my cousin.” “Oh,” she said, “I guess it pays to have connections!”

When the prophet Nathan came to David to confront him with his sin with Bathsheba, David confessed saying he had sinned. Nathan immediately told David, “The Lord has taken away your sin.” 2 Samuel 12:13 God had forgiven him. In other words, written across David’s “bill” was “No Charge.” Jesus would pay the price on Calvary.

Jesus began His public ministry by cleansing the temple. When He entered the temple, it looked more like a marketplace with animals being bought and sold. Morris Venden says, “Jesus wanted His church to be a gift shop – not the kind of place where you buy gifts, but where you receive gifts.” (How Jesus Treated People, p. 8) In other words, a “No Charge” gift shop.

The thief on the cross was hanging there for all the things he had done wrong. But as the hours went by and he continued to watch Jesus, his heart was changed. Finally, he acknowledged Jesus by saying, “Lord, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” Luke 23:42 Once again, instant forgiveness. Jesus reassured him he would be with Him in paradise. In other words, “No Charge.” I am paying the price right now on this cross.

We need to spend daily time with Jesus (Bible study and prayer) learning to know Him as our 

Friend and Savior. That is what entrance to heaven is all about—knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ whom he has sent (John 17:3)  Then when Jesus comes, He’ll say, “Let’s go home. Since I know you, there’s no charge. I’ve paid the bill.”

Sharon Oster

The Need for More Abigails - “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9 NIV

While listening to the national news the other evening Jerry turned to me and said, “It is just one negative story after another. Our world seems to be getting worse and worse.” (Probably an understatement!) The majority of the national news recently has been dominated by the assassination of Charlie Kirk. I was interested to read something written by the Seventh-day Adventist President of the Central States Conference. He had a slightly different take on the story of this controversial person. Our local news has given more coverage to the Evergreen School shooting and the tragedy of that event. That shooting along with the Charlie Kirk shooting at about the same time has made for a difficult week in America.

I probably have more interest in school shootings than the average person because I worked in the public school system in St. Louis, MO, where we regularly practiced the Campus Intruder Drill. As we practiced the drill, we would huddle in the corner of the classroom, waiting for the “all clear.” I have had young children look at me with fear in their eyes, not understanding it was just a drill. “Mrs. Oster,” they would ask, “Is there really someone in our school with a gun who wants to hurt us?” Fortunately, I could always reassure them it was just a drill.

While thinking about all of this I happened to read the story of Abigail in the Bible. (1 Samuel 25) Her husband, Nabal, was a very wealthy and a very foolish man. He thought only of himself so when David sent some men to Nabal desperately seeking provisions and help, Nabal refused. Unfortunately, David responded with anger and revenge. (Sounds like our world right now!) Then Abigail, Nabal’s wife, came on the scene and intervened. She humbly met David with food and supplies and asked for his forgiveness for her husband. She was a true peacemaker. David realized what a terrible mistake he was about to make and thanked Abigail for her good judgment. How our world needs more “Abigails” right now!

The national news did end that evening with a “feel good” type of story. A dad along with his two young boys had called a mechanic to replace a dead battery in their car. As this very busy mechanic began to work on the car, he involved the two little boys. He not only showed them what needed to be done, he actually had them do some of the work themselves. Of course, it took much more of his time, but he had chosen kindness over his busyness.

In our messed up world, full of violence, wars, school shootings, and loss of life, let’s remember Abigail and choose to be peacemakers.

Sharon Oster

“Unusual Gifts” - Jerry and I had driven to Estes Park one Sabbath afternoon this past summer hoping for a cooler place than Greeley to go for a walk. We stopped at the Visitor Center where there are sidewalks to walk in different directions. Since Jerry can walk considerably faster than I can with my walker, he was some distance ahead of me. The sidewalk we were on goes through a walkway underground. I was walking through when I noticed one woman had slowed her pace to walk with me. Soon she asked, “How are you doing?” I smiled and told her I was fine and then asked her the same question. She hesitated but did say she was okay.  

She then walked on but stopped near the exit. On the wall was a grouping of mosaic tiles – maybe 4 inches square – with different pictures painted on them. When I caught up with her, she had another question for me. “Have you ever really looked at all those tiles?” When I said that I hadn’t, she had one more question: “Do you see the one with the Bible verse on it?” When I wasn’t immediately seeing it, she walked over and pointed to it. I read the verse aloud and said, “That is a really nice verse. Thank you for sharing that with me.” She said, “Thank you for letting me share with you. I really needed that today.” She started to walk away, then turned and said, “I know the Holy Spirit helped me see that verse today.” She then walked on and was lost in the crowd.

I decided that my needing to walk more slowly because of MS (Multiple Sclerosis) perhaps had some advantages. It has given me some interesting encounters with people. In addition to the one I just wrote about, there was the time I was walking in a park and a college girl stopped me and wanted to pray for me. There was also the time I was struggling to walk into the grocery store and a lady stopped me and prayed for me right in front of the store with people coming and going all around us.

It reminds me of something I had read recently written by a lady with MS. She had titled it “The Gift of MS.” She began by saying what MS had taken from her: dreams, careers, physical and cognitive abilities, pride, self-esteem. Then she had an equally long list of all the things the disease had given her: listening skills, ability to express empathy, adaptation to changing circumstances, and letting go of perfectionism. She said it was a gift she never expected to open, but yet a gift to be thankful for in many ways.

Perhaps that is what Paul meant when he said, “There was given me a thorn in my flesh.” (2 Cor. 12:7) He had asked God to take it away, but God had said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9) Thinking of all this has helped me to better understand what Paul said in 1 Thess. 5:18: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Sharon Oster