SABBATH ANNOUNCEMENTS & REMINDERS 

United Church of God, an International Association

North Canton & Youngstown, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; Wheeling, WV Congregations

1st DAY OF UNLEAVENED BREAD - SABBATH, APRIL 20, 2019

Church services this Sabbath:

Dear brethren,

Welcome to God’s Feast of Unleavened Bread! First we prepared for this divine festival by physically removing all leavening and leavened food products (typically bread) from our homes and diets for seven days. During this week we focus on spiritual meaning of de-leavening by consciously putting sinful thinking, sinful words and sinful actions out of our lives. God has another word for that: overcoming!

“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son” (Rev. 21:7). Take a few minutes this week to read the prophecies God addresses to the seven eras of His true Church in the second and third chapters of Revelation. Reflect on the use of the words overcome and overcoming.

This week we watched much of the famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris burn to the ground! Given current ethnic and religious tensions in France (and elsewhere) one immediately worried that the bright flames had a dark cause. Official sources seemed to indicate that was not the case in this instance. However, those plain-to-see religious tensions are obvious to those who carefully read Bible prophecy and watch world events!

Society around the world is filled with financial, political, ethical, and sexual sins, and sins of violence and destruction. “The wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23). Peace on earth is struggling to keep its head above water! Mankind is drowning in “…sin which is the transgression of the law…” (1 John 3:4). Unfortunately, the prophecies indicate that man will not fare well in the near future.

When the Days of Unleavened Bread are fulfilled in history, then good news will replace bad. There will be peace on earth, but first it will be in pieces. Look ahead. Benefit from your understanding of what God is doing here below!

Keep the true faith—and spread it,

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Randy Stiver, Pastor 

Pastor’s contact information:  PO Box 1474, Massillon, OH  44648.  Home phone: 330-809-0566, cell phone: 740-739-7248. Email addresses: randy_stiver@ucg.org  or rpstiver@gmail.com (both come to the same location). For emails regarding scheduling (church events, visits or counseling), please copy my wife Linda ldstiver@gmail.com. Announcements should be sent to my email and copied to our daughter Amanda at anstiver@gmail.com as she helps process them each week.

1.    Church Circuit Calendar :  (please note three Youngstown time changes underlined)

April 20	1st Day of Unleavened Bread	Annual Sabbath/Holyday, 2:00 p.m. service for North Canton & Youngstown combined at Global Gateway, Pittsburgh & Wheeling combined at Chartiers Township Com. Ctr.
April  26	Last Day of Unleavened Bread	North Canton & Youngstown combined at Global Gateway 10:30 & 2:30 Pittsburgh & Wheeling combined at Chartiers Township CC 10:30 & 2:30
April 27	Sabbath	North Canton – 2:00; Youngstown – 11:00; Wheeling – 11:00; Pittsburgh – 2:30
May 4	Sabbath	Services webcast at 2:30 all four areas – General Conference of Elders Sabbath service during the annual meeting in Cincinnati
May 10	Bible Study webcast	7:30 p.m. EST  –  Title to be announced  https://www.ucg.org/congregations/north-canton-oh/webcast

 

2.    LOCAL PRAYER REQUESTS: (*new or updated) – additional updates may be given during announcements at Sabbath services.

·         *Dick Walters – (North Canton):  Has made some good recovery and is presently at a rehab facility across the street from Akron City (Summa) Hospital.

·         Regina Segeti – (North Canton):  Now living at home with home nurse visits, sends her greetings and thanks for your continued prayers.

·         *Elizabeth (“Libby”) Dezso – (North Canton) Was back home, then collapsed, taking her back to the Barberton hospital Thursday. 

·         Roland Armann – a member of God’s Church in Powhatten Point, OH is at 89 recovering from a stroke, but eager to begin attending in Wheeling when strong enough.

·         Dale Harman – (North Canton):  Skin cancer and other ailments, he thanks you for your continued prayers for general health and strength for an upcoming prostate procedure.

·         Jenny Luchitz – (North Canton):  Severe bursitis and other symptoms.

·         Mitch Showers – (North Canton) Prostate cancer surgery scheduled for late this month.

3.    PASSOVER & DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD – all begins this coming week

·         First Day of Unleavened Bread – TOMORROW: Sabbath, April 20 – an annual Sabbath. Service time is 2:00 p.m. North Canton & Youngstown at Global Gateway. Pittsburgh & Wheeling at Chartiers Community Center. A single service with the holyday offering.

·         Days of Unleavened Bread – (avoid eating any leavened bread or leavening in other food products for the 7 days of the festival from sundown April 19 through sundown April 26)

·         Last Day of Unleavened Bread – Friday, April 26 – an annual Sabbath, a double service holyday with the holyday offering at the morning service. North Canton & Youngstown meet at Global Gateway. Pittsburgh & Wheeling meet at Chartiers Community Center.

4.    KINGDOM OF GOD SEMINARS 

Plans are afoot to conduct a Kingdom of God Seminar in each of our four church areas. Your fervent prayers will greatly and positively impact our effort! Our plan is to conduct the Wheeling area seminar first.

5.    NEW BIBLE READING PROGRAM planned 

Our READ THE PSALMS BY PASSOVER project is complete as of this Sabbath. We hope you found it inspiring and edifying to read your way through God’s hymnal (the entire book of Psalms).  Many brethren have commented on how much they enjoyed and benefited spiritually from the reading program. Thank you for your participation!

Your feedback on the interest and practical usefulness of the program is welcomed.

                 Starting next Sabbath we’ll commence a new project to read some key books of God’s Word leading up to the Day of Pentecost. The hope is that it will give you an in depth and immediate context for the beginning of God’s true Church.

End