A Sabbath Blog

Standout 2010 at Andrews University

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Standout Promo Video from Deomitrus on Vimeo.

Standout is a spiritual retreat for public high school students. It will be held at Andrews University, in Berrien Springs, Michigan on April 16-18, 2010.

Learn more and register for the event at the Standout official website. http://connect.andrews.edu/standout

Christian meetings begin in Rome, opposition fails to stop event

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Photo by "bezaleel31" on Flickr under
a Creative Commons license.

A series of Christian evangelistic meetings in Rome, began tonight, Feb. 6, just four days after “high ranking authorities” managed to shut down the use of an auditorium for the meetings.

The Italian Union of Seventh-day Adventists had signed a contract with Leo the Great Auditorium for the use of their hall, but were faxed a cancellation notice from the center on Tuesday evening, Feb. 2.

“What we feared has actually come to pass,” said Pastor Shawn Boonstra, the presenter for the event and director of It Is Written. “We have a back-up plan, and nothing is going to stop the preaching of the everlasting gospel here in the city of Rome.”

Event organizers found a large church and worked to develop overflow seating. They had people stationed at the old meeting place and had busses transport attendees to the new meeting place.

After the opening meeting ended, It Is Written filmed a video update with Pastor Boonstra at the new meeting location, describing how things went that night....

“And I know what you’re wondering: Did anybody come?” said Boonstra. “Well, the auditorium here at the church was packed full, and we had an overflow room down stairs that was also full. And God has absolutely answered your prayers!”

The event gained publicity, perhaps due to recent end-of-the-world movies, such as ‘2012’. An Italian national news station, RAI TV, played video clips from popular disaster movies as they interviewed Boonstra and Daniele Benini, president of the Adventist Church in Italy.

The evangelistic series will not be broadcast on TV due to costs and complicated logistics, according to an It Is Written video update. The event takes place from Feb. 6 to March 6, 2010.

Below are the most recent video updates from Pastor Boonstra (as of writing). The videos are from It Is Written:

Opening night:

Road to Rome Video Updates
Official Evangelistic Event Website (in Italian)

Fox News Video: Church Members and Neighbors Working as a Team

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:00:00 +0000

This is really touching! A recent Fox News report highlights what an Adventist church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti is doing to survive after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the country January 12. The church members and people from the church's surrounding neighborhood are doing something very different from those fighting and looting for food across the city.

They've gathered together and are camping just outside of their destroyed church. Instead of adopting an "everyone for themselves" kind of attitude, these survivors are working together as a team. They've organized themselves and are combining their money to send a few people to buy food at a local market. Then, they bring the food back to group and share it with anyone willing to chip in!

It's so heartwarming to see people act unselfishly --even when all they have is gone.

Video: "Thank you, God, for keeping me alive"

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:32:00 +0000

Faradhia Moise was trapped in the rubble of a Haitian store for more than 2 days. After being rescued, she spoke with CNN about what helped her make it through the ordeal. Video below:

Source: CNN

Update: Damages from the Earthquake in Haiti

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:38:00 +0000

The North Pacific Union's Gleaner is reporting that the earthquake has damaged 2 of the largest Adventist Churches in Haiti. These churches housed 5 congregations. The Haitian Adventist University was also damaged but is being used to stage relief efforts. The Adventist hospital in Port-au-Prince is still up and is being used a clinical center. However, a newsletter from the Adventist Church in North America says there are "conflicting reports" and are "sketchy because of downed power lines and poor communication in Haiti."

As you may know, ADRA is providing aid in the relief effort. However, you should know that ADRA "cannot use donations to specifically target the special needs of the Adventist Church." If you want your donation to specifically help the Adventist Church in Haiti, you need to put your donation in a tithe envelope and mark it “Haiti Disaster Relief.”

Churches can include a special insert in their church bulletins for this upcoming Saturday available from the North Pacific Union Conference.

Source: Gleaner. Image Source: North Pacific Union Conference.

Haitian Earthquake: What's Happening So Far

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:08:00 +0000

The Haitian National Palace --destroyed by the earthquake. Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images. Source: CNN
In case you haven't already heard, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday, January 12. It is the strongest earthquake to hit Haiti in over 200 years.

Officials fear that tens of thousands of people may be dead, however no one knows for sure. According to the Associated Press, there are dead bodies all over the streets: from the very young next to their schools, to the older with stunned expressions frozen on their faces. Damaged roads and fallen buildings are making it difficult to send relief where most needed.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency is responding to the earthquake. Right now the most urgent needs are "water purification supplies, food, temporary shelter materials, hygiene kits, and medical assistance." ADRA says it plans on providing access to clean water to an estimated 90,000 people a day.

You can give the people the help they desperately need by donating to ADRA's Haiti Earthquake Response Fund. ADRA is needing to raise $500,000 in the next 7 days.

The Adventist Church has several institutions in Haiti. Most of the church's large institutions, such as its hospital and university, are based in Carrefour, a city on the southern outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Although Carrefour is not close to Delmas, church leaders are waiting to hear more about potential damage to those institutions as well.

Inter-American church leaders say they are hoping to have more information tomorrow. So far, the church's headquarters in Haiti have suffered no structural damages, according to local church officials.

The earthquake also delayed a volunteer project from a church in the United States that partners with a Haitian orphanage. A group of 31 church members from the New Hope Adventist Church in Fulton, Maryland last night canceled their week-long trip to the Eden Garden Orphanage, 60 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince.

Needless to say, please keep everyone in Haiti in your prayers. U.S. citizens seeking information about family members in Haiti can call the State Department Operations Center at 1-888-407-4747.

Video (below) shows the dust from destruction that hangs over Port-Au-Prince:

Sources: Adventist News Network, CNN, ADRA | Legal Info

GYC 2009 Unashamed Conference

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:03:00 +0000

Can't make it to this year's GYC conference or missed a nightly meeting? Watch it live here! Event schedule.

Below the video feed, we've also included a real-time Twitter stream from the event.

This live stream of the GYC 2009 "Unashamed" event is being streamed from the GYC's Ustream webpage available here.

Video: "Unashamed" GYC 2009 Promo

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:35:00 +0000

Generation of Youth for Christ (GYC) is an Adventist grassroots movement led by young adults and youth across the United States. Besides regional and local chapters, GYC also holds an annual nationwide conference where attendees get equipped to better share Jesus in their home towns or wherever they may be.

This year’s conference will be held in Louisville, KY and the theme is “Unashamed” based on Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…”

List of speakers, seminars, and event schedule. (PDF)

Jesus' Surprise Birthday Party

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:00:00 +0000

The Florida Hospital Church asks, "If you threw a surprise party for Jesus, what would it be like?"

By the way, we wanna wish you a very Merry Christmas! Hope it's a happy one filled with lots of warm memories!

-- The youth at A Sabbath Blog

It's True: Army of Youth 3.0 is Now Live

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:36:00 +0000

Army of Youth, a Christian social networking site geared toward Seventh-day Adventists is now up and running.

Last week, we wrote about how the website was taken down for upgrades. We speculated that major upgrades were taking place when we were able to login in to the site through one of its other webpages. As it turns out, we were right!

When you log in to the site, expect to see the changes we had written about such as new profile layouts, and a new "Command Center." Also expect to see Churches, Entities, and Youth Events with their own profiles. As we mentioned before, you'll notice the website's rebranding from "Army of Youth (AOY)" to "Army of Youth Ministires (AYM)."

Although the website is still a little buggy and some features aren't yet working, go explore the updated website for yourself at armyofyouth.org. Be sure to come back and vote in our poll (below).

Read: Is Army of Youth 3.0 on its way?

What do you think of the new Army of Youth website?(survey)

The Live Nativity

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:00:00 +0000

From the people behind "God's Chisel," this hilarious video follows a nativity scene actor who takes his role way too seriously!

Video and copyright by The Skit Guys (www.skitguys.com).

Is Army of Youth 3.0 on its way?

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:18:00 +0000

UPDATE: (12/22/09) The new Army of Youth website is up and running. Read about it ➞

Looks like the Adventist social networking website, Army of Youth might be getting a major upgrade. The website went down Monday (12/13/09) afternoon and currently displays a message saying, “Website Upgrade in Progress.” However, users were still able to login to the site through one of its other webpages. If the website really is being updated, you could expect to see a lot of changes.

Click to enlarge
➜ Please note that all the information in this article is based off what the website looked like when this article was written. We’re not saying this is what the website will finally look like and we can’t guarantee changes will actually happen. Now that we got that out of the way, here are some of the changes:

First thing we noticed was a large map and timeline in the “Command Center” (homepage when you login). It looks like it can be used to find events in your area as well other users, entities, and churches.

Another change we noticed included updated user profile layouts. Churches with accounts on the site have their own profiles. Entity profiles (now called “Ministries”) resemble user profiles as well.

Youth Conferences, Training Centers, Ministries, and Churches are now listed in their own sections on the website. The word, “Beta,” on the website logo is replaced with “Ministries,” and AOY T-shirt was for sale.

We found it interesting that Army of Youth was launched in time for one of the Generation of Youth for Christ conferences a few years back. Could there be an upgrade in time for this year’s GYC conference as well?

Either way, we can’t wait till the website opens up! It’s not too often we come across a Christian social networking website without obscene content or littered with ads!

Screenshot below:

Before and after

Click image to expand
Army of Youth official website.
Read our interview with the people behind AOY.

"The Adventists" Documentary to Air on PBS

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Image Credit: Journey Films

“The Adventists,” is a new documentary film that will air on PBS. Filmmaker Martin Doblmeier explorers the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s health care system. The film comes at a time when the United States Congress debates over health care reform in the U.S.

The documentary re-enacts important events in how the Adventist Church was founded and includes scenes about the Adventist-created Battle Creek Sanitarium. The film highlights Loma Linda University Medical Center’s Dr. Leonard Bailey, who became famous for the transplant of a baboon’s heart to “Baby Fae.” It also follows one family’s fight to keep their 5-month old son alive.

Image Credit: The Progress-Index

Doblmeier compared The Adventists to one of his previous films (The Power of Forgiveness) in which it was able to start thousand of conversations around the country on the topic of forgiveness.

“I think the same thing can happen with ‘The Adventists’ film, because it speaks to the wider community issues, it speaks to basic human issues of health and holistic living,” said Doblmeier. “Our hope is that maybe over the course of the next couple of years, plenty of conversations will happen around the film and the issues that are raised in the film.”

“The Adventists” is expected to be released on DVD in January 2010 and is scheduled to air on PBS in April 2010.

Below, you can watch the trailer and several clips of the new documentary.

Watch more clips from the film by clicking the link below.

"The Great Disappointment"

"3D Computer Images of the Body"

"3D Computer Images of the Heart"

"George Knight on John Harvey Kellogg"

"Dr. Vipul Patel in Robotic Surgery"

See the rest of the video clips on YouTube.

2014 Forever Faithful Camporee Ticket Sales Open Today

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Today (November 26), ticket sales open for the 2014 Forever Faithful International Pathfinder Camporee in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The previous international Pathfinder camporee (Courage to Stand) had over 36,000 people in attendance. Forever Faithful is expected to have over 40,000 people from over 60 countries.

Forever Faithful Website

Watch "Courage to Stand" Camporee This Week on TV

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:51:00 +0000

You can watch the Courage to Stand International Pathfinder Camporee night time programs on the Hope Channel this week.

Air times:

Hope Channel
• November 22-26 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. EST.
• November 26 from 3:00-8:00 p.m. EST
• If you are a DirecTV customer, you can view on channel 368.

Hope Channel International
• November 22-26 from 10:00-11:00 and again from 18:00-19:00

Hope Channel Europe
• November 22-26 from 23:00-00:00 (November 27)

You can also watch it online: www.hopetv.org

More posts about the 2009 Camporee.

SAU Student Missionary Murdered in Micronesia

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:01:00 +0000

Click here to jump to the latest update.

Kirsten Elisabeth Wolcott, was murdered yesterday (Nov. 18, 2009) in Yap, Micronesia. Kirsten was a student missionary from Southern Adventist Univeristy, teaching at the Yap SDA School. The American went missing after reportedly going on an early morning jog before classes. She was found dead, away from the school’s campus.

Local police have now begun an investigation. Leaders from the church's regional administrative headquarters, the Guam-Micronesia Mission, took the one-hour commercial flight from Guam to Yap Wednesday evening to assess the tragedy affecting the school and provide grief support for other teachers.

Kirsten, 20, was a junior education major from Southern Adventist University. She had taken a year off to participate in the university’s student missions program. Ten other student missionaries are also serving in Yap, Micronesia.

Southern Adventist University’s student missions program gives students the opportunity take a year off from school to be student missionary in either a foreign country or in the U.S. Job assignments are diverse such as teaching, doing construction work, working as a youth pastor, etc…

SAU has set up a memorial page about Kirsten. You can post messages of hope and memories of Kirsten on that page.

UPDATE (11/23/09): According to the university, the FBI has made an arrest in connection to the murder. Reports say that there is a lot of anger among the islanders at what happened and that they are supporting the Adventist school and the student missionaries. University administrators are on their way to Micronesia to comfort the other student missionaries.

Sources: Adventist News Network, Southern Adventist University

VIDEO: Woman falls onto subway tracks, barely survives!

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:40:00 +0000

A woman fell onto the subway tracks just as the subway was coming! The woman, who was very drunk and had been smoking, fell over the edge when she went to put out her cigarette. Bystanders waved their hands frantically as they tried to stop the subway from running over her! Thankfully, the train was able slow down and stopped just inches from her body!

Another example as to why we should never smoke or drink! It seriously messes you up both mentally and physically (as shown in the video).

You can watch the miracle in the video below. It's too bad the video doesn't show the woman's guardian angel. Now that would have been something!

If you are having trouble watching the video, try watching it here.

Finding Adventists on Twitter

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

By now, there are quite a few Seventh-day Adventists on Twitter. So we've created a list of some notable Adventist Twitter accounts. Click on the one of the categories to jump to that list.

Click to view the list
A Sabbath Blog on Twitter
View all Twitter lists by A Sabbath Blog

Taliban terrorists attacked an Adventist College

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:47:00 +0000

Six Taliban fighters have attacked the Pakistan Seventh-day Adventist Seminary and College. Thankfully, the police found out about the upcoming attack and were able to evacuate the school before the attacks occurred. The educational institution is located in Farooqabad, which is near Lahore, Pakistan. Please keep the students and staff in your prayers, since the situation is still critical.

Source: InFocus Adventist News, Network Yarmouth.

General Conference Session Theme Song

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0000

The theme song for the 2010 General Conference Session in Atlanta, Georgia will be "Proclaim His Grace" by Bruce Ashton.

The General Conference Session is an event that happens every five years, most recently in North America. People from all around the world are sent to this gathering as delegates to represent church members in their region of the world. These delegates vote and make decisions about important issues that affect the Adventist church around the world. Think of it as a gigantic meeting ...so big that it takes up a sports stadium!

Listen to the song:

Sheet Music:

(click image to enlarge sheet music)
To learn more about the event, click here.

Legal Note: Music is available as a free, legal download from the Seventh-day Adventist Church's official news agency's website. The music file was not uploaded by A Sabbath Blog. It is streaming from the linked website.

Pathfinder Parade in Antigua

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Pathfinders in Antigua from GC Communication on Vimeo.

Adventist youth parade through the city of St. Johns, Antigua.

New Video! Forever Faithful Int'l Pathfinder Camporee Promo

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:54:00 +0000

There is a new promotional video out for the 2014 Forever Faithful International Pathfinder Camporee in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Seriously, this video is amazing. It gives you a little bit of a taste of how awesome these camporees really are. Five days filled with hundreds of activities and honors, tens of thousands of other Pathfinders your age, and not to mention the powerful nightly programming! There were so many people there last time, imagine how many more there'll be next time!

This upcoming camporee's theme is "Forever Faithful" and will be centered around Daniel. You know Daniel: the dude from the Bible that chose to stick with God no matter what and lived to tell about his sleepover in the lion's den! Yeah, that Daniel... awesome guy!

You do not want to miss out! Tickets go on sale starting November 26, 2009. Remember, there are 36,000+ other people wanting to go; tickets sell pretty fast.

Click here to read more about the previous camporee (Courage to Stand) in 2009 and get a better idea of what these camporees are like!

Video from the Center for Youth Evangelism. www.adventistyouth.org

Visit the Forever Faithful Camporee's official website! www.adventistyouth.org/ff2014

If this 10-year old girl can do it, why can't you?

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Video by Adventist Mission

Why in the world is our age group so shy about sharing Christ? Why are we afraid to lead a Bible study? Why do many of us avoid eye contact with our Sabbath School teachers when they look for someone to pray in class? Why don't we talk with our friends about God when we're not in church? Maybe you do, but why don't most of us?

Are you afraid of what your friends will think of you? That you're weird or something? Are you unsure of what you believe as Christian? Do you think that maybe you won't know your Bible well enough and wouldn't know how to answer your friends' questions?

I don't know why; I'm just thinking out loud here. I mean, if you've got the answer please let us know! If this little girl living in the jungles of Brazil can take her friends and lead them in a Bible study, why can't I?

Tell us what you think!

How to contact us: Email us (asabbathblog at gmail dot com), use the contact form, drop us a comment, or message us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, theFlow, Army of Youth, or Adventist Youth Space.

Queen Esther, King Xerxes, Abigail, & Memucan Interviews

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Those of you who were at the 5-day youth event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, will remember the amazing nightly drama of Esther. PathfinderTV has been adding some really great videos they took during their time at the largest youth event in the world, including these short interviews with some of the Esther story actors. Watch them below:

Queen Esther played Jordan McKee

King Xerxes played by Daniel Cooper

Abigail played by Jadanna Huie

Prince Memucan played by William Reichart

Video interviews by PathfinderTV

God's Chisel - Masterpiece

asabbathblog@gmail.com (A Sabbath Blog) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:00:00 +0000