Seventh-day Adventist Church President Ted N. C. Wilson delivers the Sabbath sermon at the denomination's world headquarters on October 12 during the opening weekend of Annual Council.
Speaking to a capacity crowd of more than 450 in the General Conference auditorium, General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson emphasized a call to “communicate God’s truth in love and illuminate the earth with God’s glory.”
He noted the pressures of the age that tempt Christians to abandon Bible teaching.
“There are those in the church and outside the church who wish to change the very beliefs we have held sacred and change the character of the Seventh-day Adventist Church itself – people who want to turn the grace of God into something vile thus denying Jesus Himself, even though they pretend to lift up His name,” Wilson warned. “As we communicate truth to those who do not know Christ, we must guard against the world entering the church, [and] neutralizing its mission.”
Wilson pointed to changing social attitudes toward homosexuality as an illustration of the abandonment of Biblical teaching: “The acquiescence to homosexuality that is pervading so many societies today is nothing more than the old immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah that is in complete opposition to God’s Holy Word and, according to the Bible, will result in not receiving eternal life for those who reject God’s loving and saving efforts to turn them away from sinful behavior.”
Wilson also urged Adventists to examine the integrity of their witness: “Are we communicating to the world a different message than we intend by how we personally use the Internet, by what we watch on television, by what we wear, by how we use our time, by what kind of music we listen to or by our worship style?”
Wilson appealed to members and leaders to adopt thoughtful, reflective elements in worship: “Recognizing the world is full of various cultures, let’s worship in simplicity and in truth using the Word of God and aligning ourselves with the culture of heaven.”
As members and leaders of the world church paired off two-by-two for prayer, Wilson challenged his hearers to rededicate themselves to Christian service and proclamation: “As we come to the end of time, realizing the devil is making every effort to confuse our message and mission, let us rest firmly on God’s Word and promises to make us truly His messengers.”
--Excerpt from Adventist News Network