MARCH 14, 2020

Bible Study: 9:30 a.m. to 10:35 a.m.

Classes in the West Wing: CANCELED - CRADLEROLL ~ Ages Birth-4

PRIMARY/KINDERGARTEN ~ Ages 5-9 JUNIORS ~ Ages 10-12 TEENS ~ Ages 13-16

Classes in the School: YOUNG ADULTS ~ Grades 3-5 Classroom ~ Ages 17+

ADULT JAPANESE ~ Grades 6-8 Classroom ADULT REVELATION ~ Grades 9-10 Classroom (1st Sabbaths)

Adult Classes in the Church: ADULT QUARTERLY ~ Sanctuary

ADULT QUARTERLY ~ Fellowship Hall ADULT QUARTERLY ~ Classroom 6 (Back Hallway)

CHRISTIAN CONNECTIONS ~ Chapel (Back Hallway)

Month-to-date Goal $4,810 Collected 1 of 4 wks $4,576 Over/(Under) for Mar.7th: ($234)

YTD Over/(Under) as of Mar. 7th: ($4,402)

Please make checks to “Metro SDA Church.”

Undesignated or “Loose” offerings go towards the offering of the day.

4 Weeks-March

Year-to-date Goal $14,416 Collected to date $13,486 Over/(Under) ($931)

Sunset Today: 7:40 p.m. Sunset Next Sabbath: 7:47 p.m.

STUDYING TOGETHER

CHURCH BUDGET

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WORTHY STUDENT FUNDS

United Prayer Time is each Sabbath morning at 9 a.m. in the sanctuary. It is a sacred time to come before the Lord as we begin Sabbath services together. Everyone is invited and encouraged to pray, but you are welcome to simply come and listen in. March Potluck Canceled. Ladies’ Crafting – Crochet 101: Canceled – We will reschedule to another date once things settle down. Pastoral Travel: Please be advised that Pr. Bentley will be gone from March 8-22 leading a Quiet Hour/Michigan Conference mission trip to Cuba. While away, he will not be reachable by phone. However, you may email, iMessage, or WhatsApp him. If there is an emergency, please contact our head elder, Nick Conner, or our church secretary, Ginger Bentley. Please pray for our pastor and the team he will be leading. Metro Mid-week Service will continue with our presentations on “Forgiveness: God Style” while Pr. Bentley is away. Please plan to come out and enjoy the discussion and fellowship as our elders lead out. Camp Meeting Registration: The dates for the 2020 Cedar Lake Camp Meeting are June 12-20. Registration is March 1-15 ONLY. During those dates you may register online at http://bit.ly/CM2020-Registration. There will also be a paper application in the March Michigan Memo. Paper applications MUST be postmarked by March 15 to be included in the random selection process. Just a reminder, only ONE application per household. Our 13th Sabbath Closing Program will take place on March 28th at 10:30 am. Sabbath School Classes will close at 10:25 am. We will have a special program from our Kindergarten / Primary Class. During this time we will collect our special 13th Sabbath Mission Offering. All are invited to our Deeper Dive Afternoon Sabbath School coming up on March 28th! Immediately following church service we’ll have a “Brown Bag Lunch” (which means: bring your own food this time) in the fellowship room followed by an open discussion facilitated by our very own Pastor Bentley! If you have questions or topics you’d like to discuss during our Deeper Dive, please write them down and place them in the Deeper Dive Box located in the church office.

WORSHIPPING TOGETHER

RENOVATION NEEDS

— $20,000 — $18,752 — $14,064 — $ 9,376 — $ 4,688 — $ 0

Monthly Loan Payment of $1,508 Month-to-date collected is $1,605 Remaining loan balance is $98,732

Praise Sing Camille Aragonés - Chorister Benjamin Gittens – Pianist

Welcome & Announcements Nick Conner

Prelude “Andante” Volckmar

Introit* “Spirit of the Living God” Iverson/West

Hymn of Praise* “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less” No. 522

Worship in Prayer** Dolly Dimond

Prayer Response** Amen West

Children’s Worship

Worship in Giving “Adventist World

Radio/Hope Channel”

Nick Conner

Scripture Reading* “Genesis 2:18-21” Roy Coleman

Musical Meditation Marco Chen

Worship in the Spoken Word

“The Faith of Adam” Andrew Bailey

Hymn of Response* “I Will Sing of My Redeemer” No. 343

Benediction* Andrew Bailey

Benediction Response* “God Be With You” Williams

Postlude “Fughetta in G Minor” Rembt

Worship Organist Marjorie Good

please stand*/please kneel**

Offering will be collected at the door as you exit.

STAFF DIRECTORY

Today: 9 a.m. Metro Prayer Time 9:30 a.m. Sabbath School; 10:45 a.m. Worship Service

11 a.m. Japanese Service

Wednesday, March 18: 7 p.m. Metro Mid-week Forgiveness: God Style

Sabbath, March 21: 9 a.m. Metro Prayer Time

9:30 a.m. Sabbath School; 10:45 a.m. Worship Service

www.metrosdachurch.org/calendar

Today’s Offering Appeal and Focus…

Adventist World Radio/Hope Channel Maria had hit rock bottom. After escaping an abusive marriage, she eventually found love again with a kind policeman. But then the unthinkable happened and she and her husband were ambushed during a drive-by shooting. Her husband shielded her with his body. She survived; he didn’t. Her anguish became unbearable. She succumbed to depression and even turned to séances. One day, her sister forwarded her an AWR360° cell phone sermon about the state of the dead. She became convicted about the Bible truth and prayed for forgiveness. That Sabbath, she walked into an Adventist church with her children, and has attended ever since. But the Lord wasn’t done with her. She wanted to reach others with the Three Angels’ Messages. Incredibly, she forgave both her abusive first husband, and her second husband’s killers, and started sending them cell phone sermons. They now listen every week. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of thousands of people are regularly listening to AWR360° cell phone sermons, and that number continues to grow worldwide. The offering today goes to support Adventist World Radio and Hope Channel Ministries. Both are transforming lives for eternity

COMING EVENTS

Church & School Address 15585 N. Haggerty Road, Plymouth, MI 48170 www.metrosdachurch.org Pastor Darryl Bentley 248-767-2730 cell pastorbentley@gmail.com First Elder

248-207-3160 cell Nick Conner

nsconner@aol.com 248-207-3160 cell nsconner@aol.com Head Deacon Jeff Baxter

248-396-3213 cell jeffreybaxtersr@gmail.com Head Deaconess Julie Verhelle

248-701-0165 cell julieverhelle@gmail.com Treasurer Miriam Schmidt

734-262-0303 cell treasurer@metrosdachurch.org A.V. Coordinator Rick Rosekrans 586-495-2713 cell rrosekra@aol.com Church/Bulletin Secretary Ginger Bentley

734-420-3131 office info@metrosdachurch.org bulletin@metrosdachurch.org

(Bulletin Deadline: Wednesday by 6 p.m.)

Metropolitan SDA Junior Academy

www.metrosdaschool.org Principal Jill Simon 810-623-2545 cell jsimon@misda.org School Board Chair 248-207-3160 cell

Nick Conner nsconner@aol.com 248-207-3160 cell nsconner@aol.com

School Secretary Kathi Ingleby 734-420-4044 office metroschooloffice@yahoo.com 734-420-3710 fax

Metro Food Store Hours store.metrosdachurch.org

Hours for March:

Sunday 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday & Thursday 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Wednesday, March 11th & 25th 3 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Metro

Messenger

Metropolitan

SDA Junior

Academy

Announcements

March 13, 2020

There will be no school next week, March 16-20 for our regularly scheduled Spring Break. Students have been asked to take home all their textbooks in the event our break is “extended”. If that is the case, steps will be taken to provide online instructions. We will be monitoring the situation on a daily basis over the break.

As Mrs. Simon mentioned in her “One Call Now” message today, the Michigan Confer-ence has cancelled all Field Trips and any that would involve school/church gather-ings. This includes the Outdoor Education session that was scheduled for grades 5 & 6 at Camp AuSable, March 24-26. It also includes our annual Christian Educa-tion Sabbath that was scheduled for April 4.

We will have to await further updates to see if these events can be rescheduled. The annual Jump Rope for Heart sched-uled for Friday, March 27 is still on the calendar. Unfortunately our sister schools, Oakwood and Troy will not be able to join us since this is considered a “Field Trip”.

Please, please, please - - if your student is showing symptoms of a possible flu-like illness, do not send them to school. We will just be phoning and ask you to pick them up. Also, if they are diagnosed with COVID-19, please let us know by leaving a message on the office phone.

We are aware that we are living in perilous times. We hope that, in spite of all that is going on around us, each of you will remain healthy and be able to enjoy your Spring Break!

We owe a BIG Thank You to all who came out to the Work Bee last Sunday. Our school was clean and well organized for the Evaluation that took place on Wednesday. The Team that inspected gave a positive final report and granted 6 years before another full Evaluation. For this we are indeed thankful! Below is a list of those who helped make this possible. If we missed a name, please let us know. We tried to include everyone:

Conner, Nick

Good, Barry

Henderson, Matthew

Higgins, Ellen

McFadden, Kim

Mitchell, Lea

Mitchell, Matt

Nwankpah, Margarett

Nwankpah, Emeka

Simon, Matt

Skoretz, Frank

Stanton, David

Stanton, Leona

Toppenberg, David

Toppenberg, Duane

van der Velde, Martina

Senior Citizens Questionnaire Dear Senior Member of Metro. You are loved and appreciated and the deacons of Metro would like to buddy-up with you to help you with the “extras” around your home. Please take a moment to answer the following questions and return this form to Head Deacon Jeff Baxter, Church Secretary Ginger Bentley, Elder Richard Lane or place in the offering plate. Place an “X” in the box next to the areas YOU would like a buddy’s help.

� Lawn Trimming

� Leaf Pick-up

� Snow Removal

� Kitchen Organization

� Handyman Repairs

� House Cleaning

� Moving � Weekly/Monthly Visits

Senior Citizens Questionnaire Dear Senior Member of Metro. You are loved and appreciated and the deacons of Metro would like to buddy-up with you to help you with the “extras” around your home. Please take a moment to answer the following questions and return this form to Head Deacon Jeff Baxter, Church Secretary Ginger Bentley, Elder Richard Lane or place in the offering plate. Place an “X” in the box next to the areas YOU would like a buddy’s help.

� Lawn Trimming

� Leaf Pick-up

� Snow Removal

� Kitchen Organization

� Handyman Repairs

� House Cleaning

� Moving � Weekly/Monthly Visits

� Other – Please list an area of help that would be helpful for you:

Print Your Name:

� Other – Please list an area of help that would be helpful for you:

Print Your Name & Phone #:

a p o t p o u r r i o f p r a c t i c a l i d e a s to help you become a better steward

TheStewpot

Stewardship is a total lifestyle. It involves our health, time, talents,environment, relationships, spirituality, and finances.

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 • V O L U M E 2 5 , I S S U E 1

YoungSTEWARDS

Does a commitment to stewardship hold true for young adults in 2020—or is it a relic from a bygone era? As young people raised in the church, my friends and I were always told: “You are the future.” With each passing year, more

of the church’s youth grow into young adults, taking on many responsibilities and challenges. We have to deal with a number of financial stresses like medical insurance, rent, and student loans. All of these monetary obligations that the world has set up for us can make it easy to forget the stewardship responsibilities we owe to God. Caught up in the crazy rat race of adulthood, young adults find themselves giving any number of excuses for neglecting their role as stewards of God’s kingdom. However, if we study Scripture, we’ll find some practical reminders that we can use in our everyday lives to help us be better stewards.

Distributed by:Michigan Conference

Stewardship Ministries Director: Joel Nephew

Produced by:Pacific Union Conference

Stewardship Ministries Assistant Editor: Bernard Castillo

Sources1sfgov.org/scorecards/

safety-net/homeless-population

2www.cnbc.com/2019/10/26/only-

24percent-of-young-adults-are-financially-

independent-by-22-per-pew.html

demonstration of the giver’s commitment to God. These patriarchs recognized that it was only through God’s power that they were sustained, and the least they could do was give some portion of their gain back to Him. In the same way, when young adults pay tithe, it is a tangible show of gratefulness and commitment to God—a small bit of gratitude for the wondrous things He has done.

DON’T OVERLOOK OFFERINGS. Offerings can be a very easy part of stewardship to overlook for young people. After already paying tithe, some might feel tempted to pinch pennies when the plate is passed down the pew. Haven’t we already given enough? What about all the other things we need to pay for? Will we have enough money to buy the luxuries that we want?

Contrary to popular belief, it is not God’s desire that His people be in poverty. The plans that God has for His children are those that would give them hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). It is also God’s will, however, that His stewards be aware of the need of others. Not all have received the many blessings that the youth of the church now enjoy. Much of the world is suffering from the effects of sin without the hope and knowledge of a Savior. A 2019 Point-in-Time homeless count found that

San Francisco had more than 8,000 homeless residents, more than half of whom were unsheltered.1 Christ said, “The poor will always be with you” (Matthew 26:11, NIV). God has not only entrusted His stewards with His money, but with His people. Giving offerings in church is not the only way young people can help those in need. There are many different ways: giving someone spare change or buying him food, volunteering at a soup kitchen, donating old clothes to a Goodwill, etc. When we give to those less fortunate than us, the Lord sees and blesses us more than we could have ever imagined (Malachi 3:10). If the youth are to be the future of stewardship, then it is important to understand the purpose of God’s money and His vision for its use.

The plans that God has for His children

are those that would give them hope

and a future (Jeremiah

29:11).

B Y J O R D A N G R E E N E

ABOUT THE AUTHORJordan Greene is a graduate of Southwestern Adventist University with a BS in communication: journalism. His passion for Christ and love for examining Scripture has led him to preach all over the Bay Area, sharing the truth of the Bible to all who would listen.

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YOUR MONEY IS NOT YOUR OWN. We live in world built on the idea of ownership. Material things have worth, and therefore we place our value on how much stuff we have. This desire to own things is even further enhanced by the fast-paced nature of our society, where something new turns into something old in a matter of months. Young adults often find themselves attributing their success, possessions, and money to their own hard work or skill: “I earned this. I pulled myself up by my bootstraps. I deserve this money!” As Christian stewards, it is important to remember that nothing that we have has been earned on our own. Our successes are due in part to the many hours put in by parents, teachers, pastors, and others who have made sure we received education and guidance. Of course, everything we have is due in whole to the sustaining power of God. John the Baptist said, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven” (John 3:27, English Standard Version), and Solomon wrote: “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9, ESV). In the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, the two faithful servants used the money their master gave them to increase the master’s wealth, while the wicked servant hid and hoarded his portion. When receiving a paycheck, young adults should understand that the reason for making money is not solely for personal enrichment. God gives His stewards wealth and success so that they can further advance His kingdom and cause. This can be done by supporting

our pastors through tithes, by donating to Adventist schools and universities, and by giving to programs such as Adventist Community Services and Pathfinders.

GIVE GOD WHAT’S HIS. Very few people enjoy paying bills. When we pay for heating, electricity, cable, and rent, we do so because we expect those services in exchange for our money. If we stop paying, the benefits stop as well. Thankfully, we serve a God who does not force us to pay for His blessings. Young stewards should understand, however, the role they play in helping to finance the church and its mission. Christ put it simply: “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God” (Mark 12:17, New Living Translation). As we learned, all things in heaven and on earth belong to God and come from Him. He does not need our money. So why should we pay tithe? The first mention of tithing in the Bible can be found in Genesis 14:20. After defeating many pagan kings and rescuing his nephew Lot, Abram is blessed by the priest Melchizedek, who praised God for delivering Abram’s enemies into his hands. Abram then gives Melchizedek a tenth of the plunder that he had taken. Another instance of tithing comes in Genesis 28:20-22, when Jacob makes a covenant of safety and protection with the Lord. “And this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give

you a tenth” (Genesis 28:22, New International Version).

In both stories, tithe was given not as

the response to a command, but as gift—a physical

As Christian stewards, it

is important to remember that nothing that we have

has been earned on our

own.

Young stewards should understand, however, the role they play in helping to finance the church and its mission.

Did you know?

A study done by the Pew

Research Center found

that, while the majority

of Americans believe a

young adult should be

financially independent

by age 22, only about 24

percent of young adults

that age actually are.2

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