As Seventh-Day Adventists, the everlasting gospel summons us to fear God and give glory to Him (Rev. 14:6-7). Abraham feared God (Gen. 22:12) and “he was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom. 4:20). Speakers are requested to consider Abraham’s example and to follow in his footsteps by glorifying God with their messages. You are welcome to share about your ministry, but please make sure God is the one being glorified. Always remember: the most important thing is not what you are doing for God, but what God has done for you.
Speakers and visitors are requested to prayerfully prepare themselves in the fear of God, to deal with any unconfessed and unforsaken sins before the meeting, and to ask for the blessing and anointing of the Holy Spirit by faith in the promises of God, so that we, like Abraham, may be blessed of God in order to be a blessing.
“And I will bless thee… and thou shalt be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2-3).
“And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” (Galatians 3:8)
“So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” (Galatians 3:9)
“That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:14).
Speakers are cordially requested to choose a topic that fits in with the theme of the meeting, or any of the related themes below:
end-time preparation: “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Heb. 11:10)
country living: “Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.” (Genesis 13:12)
off-grid living: Abraham “pitched his tent” and lived off-grid (Genesis 12:8). Unlike Lot, he did not become financially dependent upon Sodom and Gomorrah (cf. Gen. 14:21-24).
organic farming / biological gardening: Abraham was not a husbandman, but a shepherd, but just as sheep and goats belong to the farm and country living, so do fruits and vegetables.
Character building and righteous living: “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Galatians 3:6; cf. James 2:23)
Personal testimony: What practical and spiritual lessons has God taught you that might be of help to others?
Blueprint evangelism: Abraham lived outside the city, but his testimony concerning God reached even the king of Sodom (cf. Genesis 14:
Speakers are free to prepare their message or workshop as the Spirit of God leads them.
The message should ideally contain both spiritual wisdom and practical counsel. The idea is not just to sermonize people “out of the cities,” or to urge them to make ill-advised and hasty decisions which they may later regret, but rather to encourage the hearers, by personal testimony and godly advise, to consider the benefits of country living as it relates to our spiritual lives, the development of a godly character, the well-being of our families, our personal walk with God, and our mission as Seventh-Day Adventists to warn the cities of this world that the hour of God’s judgment is come.
The allotted time for the messages will be limited to 40 minutes, including translation. Due to the limited time allotted, speakers are requested to keep messages short, lively, interesting and to the point. Quotes from the Bible and SOP are more than welcome, but please adjust the number and length of the passages quoted to the time allotted.
Visitors are asked to keep both organizers and speakers in their prayers.
Recommended reading:
Ellen G. White, Country Living
Vance Ferrell, The Broken Blueprint
W.D. Frazee, Another Ark to Build
Ira Gish, Harry Christman, Madison - God's Beautiful Farm: The E. A. Sutherland Story