It is a well-known story from the Old Testament. King Saul was commanded by the prophet Samuel to gather an army and destroy the Amalekites, whose cup of iniquity had reached its limit (I Sam. 15:2). This was not to be an ordinary war of plunder and conquest, by a divine punishment on account of sin. No spoil of any kind was to be taken. Nothing was to be spared, not even the animals.
Read MoreUpdates from Annual Council
Pastor Larry Kirkpatrick will be tweeting live updates from Fall Annual Council of 2017. You can follow his feed here.
Read MoreMaking a Difference
On the weekend of September 22-24, hundreds of Seventh-day Adventist adults and young adults converged on the Little York Spanish SDA Church in Houston, Texas. Initially it was planned as a Master Guide camping, but was transformed into a relief effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Texas Conference Youth Director Paulo Tenorio led the effort.
Read MoreAndrews Professor Part of Nobel Prize Winning Research
Andrews University is excited to announce and congratulate our colleague, Tiffany Summerscales, professor of physics, for her part in the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory(LIGO) Scientific Collaboration recognized today with a Nobel Prize in Physics for its discoveries of gravitational waves.
Read MoreNehemiah's Reformation and Adventism Today
As the Annual Council of 2017 approaches, and the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church confront challenges to both Biblical and structural integrity, more than one story from sacred history offers guidance and encouragement. The story of Nehemiah's reformation in post-exilic Judah is one such example.
Read MoreYouth Call for Church Unity
Adventist young adults are calling for greater church unity during this time. As our world hurls even faster toward the finish line, more and more distractions are thrown our way. Young people are recognizing the importance of unity. In truth, they merely want to reemphasize the counsel of inspiration:
Read MoreWorld Church Affirmation Sabbath Holds Third Quarter Session
The World Church Affirmation Sabbath Committee is now holding their Third Quarter session to discuss issues affecting church unity in light of ongoing controversial issues. The session will be livestreamed, and links will be provided below.
Read MoreDon’t Judge Me, Restore Me
Currently our church leaders are in the process of seeking to bring about reconciliation between certain church entities and voted church policy. This is a work we all ought to assist through our prayers and vocal support.
Read MoreWhat "Faith Alone" Really Means
As the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation approaches, the spotlight of interest in Bible-believing circles is focusing on the principal teachings of the Reformers, particularly regarding Biblical authority and the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith.
Read MoreThe Two Fates: Facing the Reality (Dan 3:16-18)
There are two sides of the Christian’s fate with regards to persecution (i.e. tribulation or trial). Anyone who endeavors to be true to principle will surely face one of these. The Bible has already admonished us to be faithful till death, and that we should not count it strange when we suffer as if some strange thing happened to us, but should rejoice because great is our reward in heaven.
Read MoreAbraham, Legalism and Grace
Abraham is often called the “father of the faithful.” As he is introduced to the Bible story, Abraham’s faith is demonstrated by his obedience to God’s call to leave the thriving metropolis that was Ur of the Chaldees and travel toward an unknown destination. We read of this demonstrative faith on Abraham’s part in both the Old and the New Testaments:
Read MoreWise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves
There is no doubt about it. We are headed towards an ever-spiraling era in history that edges us closer to the end of the world than ever before. More than ever are we seeing natural disasters pile up, causing more than a million deaths in a single event.
Read MoreA Call to Atonement
During the past few days, America and the world have shuddered in revulsion at the recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia. This graphic and perverse eruption of racial hostility, one among many that our country has witnessed in recent times, forces to the surface a cluster of painful and unpalatable issues for Christians in general and Seventh-day Adventists in particular.
Read MoreA Response to AToday's Article on the Unity Symposium
On August 4, 2017, AToday published a review of the Scripture, Church Structure and the Path to Unity symposium. Hosted by the supporting ministry Secrets Unsealed, the symposium dealt with the issue of Church unity in the face of the ongoing crisis regarding Women's Ordination in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Read MoreFrom Gilboa to Louisiana
Much of First World Adventism, in modern and postmodern times, has been obsessed with the fear of legalism. Admonitions and tirades against “legalists” and “Pharisees” in the church have long been the daily meat and drink of the denomination’s fashionable circles of thought and devotion. Contemporary trends and their impact on the church might offer glaring evidence of a...
Read MoreThe Trinity: A Historical Analysis of the Trinity in Seventh-day Adventism
We will be doing a historical analysis of the question of trinitarianism and anti-trinitarianism in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in response to a growing movement within the church that is challenging No. 2 of our 28 Fundamental Beliefs, which states:
“There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three coeternal Persons. God is...
Read MoreTelltale Signs of Doctrinal Error
The ultimate measure of truth and error for classic Seventh-day Adventism is found in such Bible verses as the following:To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them (Isa. 8:20).
Read MoreSecrets Unsealed Symposium
Secrets Unsealed's August symposium, Scripture, Church Structure, and the Path to Unity, will take place from Tuesday, August 1, to Thursday, August 3. Go to http://www.secretsunsealed.org/ or to youtube.com/secretsunsealed to watch the presentations.
Read More“Alternative Facts,” Seventh-Day Adventists, And The Truth
The late U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously stated, “You are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not entitled to your own facts.” Living in a world of alternative reality may be nothing new in the human experience, but it seems we presently find ourselves at a point in history where the capacity to live in a world of false assumptions and selective perception is uniquely possible, due in large measure to the cyber world and its unprecedented means of transmitting, blocking, and altering information.
Read MoreRecycled Myths about Youth and the Church
Some might wonder, aloud or otherwise, what business a man in his fifties has writing about youth-related issues. The answer may lie in the timeless wisdom of Solomon’s pronouncement that “the thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9).
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