twentieth century catacombs

UTLOOK
Nevada, Iowa
Volume 31
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me: because He hath annointed Me to preach
good tidings .....Isaiah 61:1.
January 26, 1968
Number 38
TWENTIETH CENTURY CATACOMBS
BY ANTONIO BUENO,
The majority of our brethren
would be surprised if they should
visit the first Seventh-day Adventist
Church of Madrid. There is nothing,
absolutely nothing, to denote the
existence of a place of worship. The
shape of the building and its doors
and windows correspond rather to
an industrial building.
In the interior of the edifice, in
what used to be a furniture workshop, is located the members' dear
"temple" — a catacomb-like structure, but of the twentieth century.
It has, like the catacombs of old,
very little natural light and very little
ventilation. The former shop had to
be transformed into a church without modifying the structure of the
industrial building. In order to make
it more like a place of religious
worship, the only possibility was to
decorate the interior with new ornaments of plaster of Paris.
For the last twenty years meetings
have been held in this place under
trying conditions. Even though the
authorities knew it existed, they never answered the request for official
permission to conduct meetings until
1965. We greatly appreciate the relaxation of restrictions by our national government.
These were heroic years, with tremendous difficulties, but also of
Pastor of Madrid, Spain, Church
great spiritual blessing. The faithfulness and the missionary zeal of
the church was purified by the trials
and produced miracles in evangelism, for it is a miracle to have had
40 baptisms a year in this church
alone, without being able to hold
public evangelistic meetings nor use
any kind of publicity.
Thank God, after so many years
of asphyxia, in Spain one can begin
to breathe the fresh air of a new
breeze of religious liberty. Now the
door is open and the moment is
arriving when the church will be
able to leave its catacomb-like
place.
The old building has resisted the
vicissitudes of the years, but now
just this week (when this article
was written), due to heavy rains,
not only great portions of the plaster
of Paris decorations came down but
tiles crashed down also, leaving
three large holes in the roof. One
went through the chair in which the
director of our Seminary, Elder Isidor
Aguilar, was sitting the Sabbath before.
This now demands not only repair, but the rest of the building
along with the ceiling is crumbling
and requires total reconstruction.
More than that, it is far too small
for the needs. There are 400 members, but the building has a capacity
for only 300. What about visitors
and friends of the faith? What about
the children and unbaptized youth?
Up to now the problem has been
solved with chairs in the aisles and
in every corner, but this is no longer sufficient. Also, it would have
been most dangerous to vacate the
premises in case of an emergency.
Now it is imperative to build a
larger church. Truly, the brethren in
Madrid, that large capital city, merit
a real church building—simple but
in harmony with true worship, well
lighted and well ventilated so no
one faints for lack of air, as has
happened repeatedly.
The nearly three million inhabitants in Madrid are a tremendous
challenge for the church of that
metropolis. There is a need of a
center where evangelistic campaigns
can be held, and where many souls
may surrender to the cross of Christ.
We trust that the newly-proclaimed
religious liberty will be interpreted
generously and it is for this reason
that we await the help of our brethren around the world in a liberal
offering this quarter in order to be
able to build a modern temple and
to forget the catacomb-like structure
of the twentieth century.
2
NORTHERN UNION OUTL 0 0 K
Former P.U.C. Students
Notice
Any Pacific Union College
S graduates or former students
S who are not now on the Alumni
mailing list or who do not re-
S ceive the Alumni News are
urged to send your name, address, and years of attendance
to the Alumni Secretary, Pacific
Union College Alumni Association, Box 412, Angwin, California 94508.
On April 21, 1968, a citywide Faith for Today evangelistic campaign will be conducted in Indianapolis, Indiana. We would like to get
every interest name we possibly can for the area. Send
the names of interested friends,
relatives, or neighbors to Faith
for Today, 200 Stonehinge
Lane, Carle Place, N. Y. 11514.
EXPLORING
the Sabbath School Lesson
for Feb. 3
The apostle Paul attempted to
bring Christ to the thought leaders
of his day—and found that their
hearts may be responsive to the
Spirit of God.
I Became a Seventh-Day Adventist
recounts the background and experiences of several prominent professional people who have chosen to
follow Christ in our day. An informative gift at 300, paperback. Available at the Book & Bible House.
degree of interest and plans are being formulated to hold two additional meetings.
The daily broadcast of the Voice
of Prophecy began Monday, January 15, at 5:30 p.m. over radio station KBJM in Lemmon. This is sowing seed and we will definitely work
for a large harvest.
God has called us to finish the
work, not just live here, and our
courage is good as we see the various soul-winning programs, such as
Bible Speaks, reaching the people.
Will you not pray, as you have
never prayed before, that God will
finish the work in South Dakota?
E. L. CALKINS
Sioux Falls Youth
And Ingathering
Sioux Falls Celebrates
Ingathering Victory
Children of the Sioux Falls Church
participated very actively in the recent World Service Appeal Campaign. It was reported at a recent
victory banquet that on some nights
the program would have come to a
standstill had it not been for the
faithfulness of the children.
Two juniors who did exceptionally
well were Ranae Lemcke and Judy
Anderson. At the close of the campaign Ranae had $75.00 credit and
$50.00 for Judy.
May God bless all of our children
as they participate in the church
program. Their dedication is greatly appreciated.
JAMES B. GRAY, PR Secretary
Over 100 happy members of the
Sioux Falls Church celebrated their
World Service Appeal Victory with
a church dinner and program. A
large percentage of those in attendance received awards presented by
the Conference Lay Activities Director.
Local Church Lay Activities Leader, Harry Kamben, expressed his
personal appreciation for the loyal
cooperation of church members in
going over the $3380.00 goal. The
Sioux Falls Church has, for a number of years, very successfully used
the small caroling group to reach
their Ingathering objective.
NORTHERN UNION OUTLOOK
Editorial Office
400 North Lilac Drive
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55422
Editor
L. H. Netteburg
Assistant Editor
Lorna McConchie
Volume 31 January 26, 1968 Number 38
Published weekly by the Northern
Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 400 North Lilac Drive, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55422, and printed at
the Oak Park Press, Nevada, Iowa 50201,
50 issues a year.
Entered as second class matter June
2, 1937, at the post office at Nevada,
Iowa, 50201, under the act of March 3,
1879. Make all checks and money orders
payable to the Northern Union Outlook.
Subscription price—$1.00 per year.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
217 North Grand
Pierre, South Dakota 57501
F. W. Bieber, President
M. L. Hale, Secretary
Make wills and legacies to
South Dakota Conference Association
of Seventh-day Adventists
Lemmon District Reports
The Lemmon District feels humble as we look at the record of the
past year and forward to this New
Year. We thank God for the three
baptisms and one profession of faith.
Two efforts were conducted with a
(L ti R) Tom Robinson, W K. Mansker,
and Harry Kamben show pleasure over
job well done.
a
Ranae Lemcke and Judy Anderson find
real joy while working in the annual
Ingathering program.
Northern Union Conference Directory
Office-400 North Lilac Drive
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55422
Telephone-612-545-0471
J. L. Dittberner
President
L. H. Netteburg
Sec.-Treas., Auditor
C. M. Willison
Ed., MV., Temp. Sec.
P. F. Pedersen
H.M., S.S., Radio
Charles Barnes
Pub. Dept. Sec.
L H. Netteburg
Transp. Agt.
R. W. Belmont
H.H.E S. Manager
L. W. Hallsted
Field Secretary
NORTHERN UNION OUTLOOK
District pastor, W. K. Mansker,
and associate, Tom Robinson, have
been responsible for raising 27 per
cent of the conference $23,500.00
goal.
JAMES B. GRAY, PR Secretary
all day almost every day sorting
them."
The cards will be sent to the mission fields where they will be used
in Vacation Bible School work.
BRUCE A. BARNETT, District Pastor
Ottumwa Dorcas
Hurley Children's Division
Look Forward to
13th Sabbath
The children's division of the Hurley Church, under the leadership of
Mrs. Don Wait, is looking forward
to the 13th Sabbath when they can
give an extra generous offering to
help provide churches for Spain.
Prominent in the front of the division is a colorful well-made map
of Spain. Felt figures dot the map
to show the dress of Spain. There
is also a felt church and letters that
read, "Please give generously to help
build more churches in Spain - 13th
Sabbath offering, March 30, 1968."
This division also has a very attractive birthday offering device. A
chart, made like a calendar, shows
the birthday of each child for the
year. Each child brings a card for
the one having the birthday and
places it in a mailbox. The leader
also provides a small gift that is
attached to the mail box. The birthday offering is placed in a church
and a streamer attached from the
church to a world globe. Behind the
church and globe is a sign - "Happy
Birthday. Let your life shine like a
light till the love of Jesus Christ
lights the nations near and far."
JAMES B. GRAY, PR Secretary
IOWA
Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
P. 0. Box 1475 (540 42nd Street)
Des Moines, Iowa 50306
K. D. Johnson, President
J. 0. McLeod, Secretary
Make wills and legacies to
Iowa Seventh-day Adventist Association
Christmas Cards
With the passing of the Christmas
season most postmen are able to
give a sigh of relief, but at least
two in Fort Dodge, and some in Humboldt and Lake City, are probably
wondering why some are still getting
many packages.
The Christmas card campaign in
Fort Dodge began with an article
3
A front-page news story in Centerville has resulted in over 6,000
Christmas cards being sent to the
Centerville church for shipment to
the Philippines.
In the photo Mrs. Don Fowler,
Donna McNalley, and Mrs. Easter
Ray are shown processing the cards
before shipment.
F. J. Kinsey
The Ottumwa Dorcas Health and
Welfare Society distributed 58 food
boxes to needy families at Christmastime. A local bakery gave 100
loaves of bread to the project, the
dairy supplied 100 quarts of milk,
and nine different food stores contributed nuts, fresh fruit, and vegetables. These, along with cookies
baked by the church ladies, several
hundred cans of food collected by
the children at Halloween, and cash
donations which were used to buy
more food, made very nice gift baskets.
As an "extra" the society delivered
12 fruit plates to invalids, spreading the sunshine of God's love.
More Adventist
Physicians and Dentists
WAUKON CHURCH SIGN
An attractive stone sign has been
built to identify Iowa's oldest
church. Other improvements are also being made inside. The basement will soon be made attractive
with interior finish and new lights.
We offer congratulations to Elder
Sales and his faithful members.
F. J. Kinsey
in the Fort Dodge Messenger the
day after Christmas. That evening
the pastor received a phone call from
one of the local radio stations, inviting him in for an interview the
next morning. Three days later the
church editor of the Messenger ran
a follow-up article. Since then people have been delivering, mailing, or
phoning to tell us we can come and
pick up Christmas cards. Mrs. Florence Nordgren, being more centrally
located in Fort Dodge, estimates that
she has received about 10,000 cards
suitable for use overseas. The pastor
has about 5,000, with many more
to pick up. Says Mrs. Nordgren, "I've
received so many that I have spent
Is it possible to get more of the
graduates who are finishing in medicine and dentistry at Loma Linda to
settle in the Northern Union? The
Adventist physicians and dentists
who are now serving in the Northern Union are working with the conference officers trying to inform students concerning Northern Union
opportunities.
Back in December several conference officers and several Adventist
physicians spent three days at Loma
Linda interviewing students.
The financial support, the soul-
Dr. Gordon Arnott of Knoxville is pictured telling Richard Lester Yukl about
I )wa opportunities. Richard is from
Iowa. He is now a medical student at
Loma Linda.
4
NORTHERN UNION OUTLOOK
funds this year. Half of this amount
would go into the emergency fund.
Half stays in the local church. The
money is needed now! Another truckload of clothing will soon be ready
to ship.
(Continued on page 5)
DES MOINES NEW YEAR
Youth of the Des Moines church, supervised by parents and other
church members, met in the youth center to enjoy games, popcorn, pizza,
and a New Year's gift exchange. (Everyone brought something he did not
want.)
Keen excitement was enjoyed as the unwanted items were opened.
Roger Wiese, home from Union College for the holidays, is shown opening his "gift."
winning support, and the leadership
support given by the physicians and
dentists of Iowa are so very, very
much appreciated.
K. D. JOHNSON
Clothing — Help — Money
Clothing is needed: Clean, serviceable, properly-packed clothing is
urgently needed by the New York
warehouse. The last communication
we had from the warehouse was that
the only thing in the warehouse was
dust, and yet there were urgent calls
from many parts of the world for
warm, serviceable clothing.
Now, we know that some shipments of clothing have been sent to
the warehouse since this appeal was
made, but the need is still urgent.
We have almost a truckload at Nevada now, but more will be needed
soon. Every church is urged to conduct some kind of a crusade to get
used clothing from the public. One
of the best ways to do this is to get
about 100 shopping bags, properly
identified and leave them at homes
on a certain street and then go back
a few days later and pick up the
bags. If this is done in a few areas,
a church will have all the clothing
that they can handle.
Help is needed: Clothing solicited
from the public does not automatically find itself in boxes and flying
to New York; it takes work by members. Help is needed to repair clothing. Help is needed to wash clothing.
Help is needed to make new children's clothing. Help is needed to
properly pack clothing. Help is needed to transport the clothing to the
depot at Nevada. Go to your Dorcas
leader and ask for a work assignment.
Money is needed: It costs about
$500 for each truckload of clothing
that is shipped to New York. Half
of this cost is paid from conference
welfare funds, half of it is paid
from Health and Welfare emergency
funds. The Health and Welfare
emergency fund in most of the Federations is too low, for it was seriously depleted with the Belmond tornado expense, and most local societies have not yet responded to replace the money spent.
Provision is made in the Health
and Welfare constitution for the
members of the Dorcas Society in
each church to make a person-toperson solicitation once each year
from the other members, asking for
a contribution to Health and Welfare. The hope is that these contributions will average at least $1.00
per member. If this were done now,
and every member gave a reasonable
amount, at least $3,000 should be
added to the Health and Welfare
CHEROKEE PER CAPITA
Mrs. W. H. Marshall, Lay Activities leader of the Cherokee church,
points to the $30 per capita objective of the Cherokee church
for Ingathering. They not only
reached this high goal, but also
boast 100 per cent participation
by members.
F. J. Kinsey cooked the traditional spaghetti dinner for outstanding
Ingathering victory churches on December 10.
CHEROKEE REMODELING
Visitors to the Cherokee church
will be greeted with a new look
as they enter the sanctuary. New
carpet, wall paneling, and paint
have made it very attractive. Certainly God is pleased when we
make the house where He is worshiped beautiful "in accordance
with His glory and majesty."
F. J. Kinsey
NORTHERN UNION OUTLOOK
5
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Notice
Office hours for Minnesota Conference and Book and Bible House.
Monday through Thursday — 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Friday
8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Book and Bible House telephone number: 612 545-8411
Minnesota Conference telephone number: 612 545-8894
•••
F. J. Kinsey serves spaghetti to G.
C. Hoskin at the Cherokee Ingathering victory dinner.
Why not go to your Dorcas leader
(instead of waiting for the Dorcas
leader to come to you) and volunteer
to give from $1.00 to $10.00 to this
solicitation? You will receive a receipt from the Dorcas secretarytreasurer that can be used to deduct
from your income tax.
The Bible places emphasis on
faith, hope and charity, but this
article is placing emphasis on clothing, help and money. May it be that
our mutual faith and hope and love
will provide the needed clothing,
help and money. To assure each of
you in Iowa that I practice what I
preach, I am writing a check at
this moment to the Des Moines Dorcas Society for the 1968 solicitation.
F. J. KINSEY
Please join me.
Council Bluffs Ingathering
Hope reigns and enthusiasm prevails in the Council Bluffs church
as Ingathering comes to a close.
Prayers were answered as angels
prepared the way and touched the
hearts of the people. Not only were
the people receptive to the caroling
and the literature distributed, but
they also proved themselves by their
munificent, unstinted contributions.
The desire for something more edifying, more enduring was apparent in
many homes.
Grateful recognition and thanks
must be given to the faithful students from Union College who helped
so much.
Thirty or more cards requesting
Gift Bibles were sent in as a result
of Ingathering. The people who sent
in these cards are being visited and
they are studying the message. That
the Lord led throughout the venture
cannot be denied. Even the weather
was a benediction.
MINNESOTA
Conference of Seventh-day. Adventists
1100 Fcrd Road at Highway 12
Minnetonka, Minnesota 55343
Arthur Kiesz, President
H. W. Pritchard, Secretary
Make wills ai.d legaciep to
Minnesota Conference Association
of Seventh-day Adventists
Red Wing Has
Successful Investment
Members of the Red Wing Sabbath School worked enthusiastically
for their individual Investment goals
during 1967.
The girls had a great time competing against the boys, and the
children's projects in raising the
money were varied.
Four boys helped their father to
raise a special calf which netted
each boy $12.00 after their father's
equal share had been deducted. One
of the brothers, age 9, was even
more ambitious, so he sold greeting
cards and gave of his own allowance besides.
One 7-year old boy picked corn,
and the little girls sold greeting
cards and pumpkins, collected health
food labels, and two sisters gave
some of their allowances until they
had passed their goal and then began helping their 1-year-old sister.
Some of the projects in the adult
division proved quite interesting and
brought in large sums. One man
pledged $1.00 per pound for a 50pound weight loss. Another gave a
percentage of the sale price of his
home. A sister pledged an amount
based on the gain in weight of three
new babies during the year and another gave all coins in each of her
weekly pay checks.
Others had many and varied projects, and still others made pledges.
One man more than doubled the
amount of his pledge.
The total amount of Investment
turned in amounted to $497.75
MRS. FRED CARLSON
Red Wing PR Secretary
NORTH DAKOTA
Conference of Seventi-day Adventists
Box 1491
Jamestown, North Dakota 58401
Ben Trout, President
Reuben Beck, Secretary
Make wills and .egacies to
Ncrth Dakota Conference Association
of Seventh-day Adventists
The Great Supper
From left to right: Beth Ann Che.stiansen; Teddy Beyer; Candy Vincent, Conrad Christiansen; and Mrs. Kenneth
Eaton, Assistant superintendent of primary division in Red Wing Sabbath
school.
Luke 14:16-24 is the parable of
the Great Supper. The invitations
were sent out and the guests accepted the invitations. Just prior to
the feast a servant was sent out to
remind the guests of their appointment and it was then that the guests
gave their excuses of which none
were truly legitimate.
The first guest had to go and see
his newly-purchased piece of land.
Remember, a person carefully examines whatever he is to buy before
he makes a purchase. The second
guest had to test his oxen. Remember, before a prospective buyer purcha-ses a tractor or car, he has care-
6
NORTHERN UNION OUTLOOK
fully checked to see if it is sufficient to do the job. The third guest
had just married and said, "I cannot come." What he really was saying, "I don't care to come."
When we examine such feeble
excuses, we wonder what these
guests were really saying. The invitation extends to us today. The
guests had no time to attend the
feast. Will we be too involved in
temporal interests to have time for
things of eternal worth?
Keep this parable in mind when
you are asked to help out in church.
When you are tempted to excuse
yourself from accepting responsibilities in the church, ask yourself.
"Are these excuses really valid, really legitimate, really necessary?
EMIL KAHLER, Pastor
Sheyenne River Academy Church
What We Saw At SRA
The very familiar name — Sheyenne River Academy—sounds good
and awakens memories of precious
experiences and rich blessings in
the minds of those who, during the
years, have been studying, teaching,
or bearing heavy burdens there. It
is a precious place.
It was a very refreshing experience to spend a weekend with the
SRA family on December 16, 1967.
We were surprised to see so much
progress in so short a time and with
so little money spent there. There
are some nice-looking, respectable
new buildings, and also the older
buildings look better and more pleasing. Inside and outside, everything
was clean and orderly.
But above everything else, our attention was attracted to the wonderful spirit and mutual understanding among the students and the
teachers. We enjoyed seeing their
mutual kindness and respect in the
dining room, in the dormitories, and
in the chapel. It seemed that they
had a feeling of mutual belonging,
and the spirit of responsibility of
making the life of others lighter and
happier. Conversing with them, and
watching their activities and attitudes, we remembered the truth and
the promise, "That our sons may be
as plants grown up in their youth;
that our daughters may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace." "The angel of the
Lord encampeth round about them
that fear him, and delivereth them."
It seemed that the protecting and
guiding angels were guiding and
teaching them as a special treasure
of the Lord.
During the vesper service I re-
DAKOTA YOUTH IN ACTION
NORTH DAKOTA
Shown above are some of the children of the Beach Church School practicing for their annual Christmas program.
M. D. Gordon, Educational Secretary
North Dakota Conference
membered that it was on December
16, 1924, now forty-three years ago,
when I, still as an atheist, stepped
for the first time through the doors
of an Adventist college in Europe
with the purpose to find out if there
is a God. And also I remembered
how, that during the following
months, I met a tremendous saving
influence in that institution, which
changed my life from earthly objectives to serve the interests of the
Kingdom of God.
God's plan is still the same for
young people. Happy are the parents
who choose to send their children to
SRA. Surely, blessed are the young
people who have the privilege of
studying and living in God's own
school, where holy angels are their
daily visitors and companions.
ELDER & MRS. EDVARD J. KANNA
Gachle District
Activities of the Ellendale
Health and Welfare
Society During 1967
Another year has passed and we
are thankful for the many blessings
bestowed upon us. We are especially
thankful for a new church with a
large and well-arranged Dorcas room
with a special room for clothing of
all sizes for children, men, and women, as well as other supplies in case
of disaster.
A family of five in the LaMoure
area near Ellendale and a family of
four in the Ellendale vicinity had
the misfortune of losing their homes
and belongings by fire. The Dorcas
ladies were thankful to be equipped
to supply these families with clothing, bedding, dishes and canned food.
The Dorcas ladies packed and
shipped six boxes of clothing and
sheeting for bandages to the Doss
family who are doing missionary
work in Africa. Elder and Mrs. Doss
are formerly from Ellendale where
Elder Doss served as pastor.
We made it known publicly that
we would appreciate donations of
clothing to send overseas to the
needy of all denominations. We were
grateful to the many people who donated clothes from time to time; and
in October, we were able to pack
1,550 articles of clothing weighing
600 lbs., which were shipped overseas. 147 articles of clothing were
given locally.
We felt need to raise money to
NORTHERN UNION OUTLOOK
buy bedding, layettes and other supplies to have on hand . when necessary. We had a solicitation among
church members and took in $140.
The Elizabeth Brost family donated
$25.00 to the Dorcas in memory of
their mother who passed away recently at the age of 86. Mrs. Brost,
a pioneer, was a faithful member of
the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Since the demand for vegetarian
food is increasing, we decided to
start a separate fund to be used only
in the purchasing of vegetarian
products. A family of the church
who lives in town has a little store
in their home where anyone can go
to buy these products. The Dorcas
leader keeps the store stocked. In order to raise money for this fund, the
ladies had a food sale. We took in
$234.70, or a profit of $206.70.
At Christmas time some of the ladies made up twelve food baskets
and gave them to the aged and the
sick. During the year a number of
pieces of literature was given and
twenty-six get well and sympathy
cards were sent.
We are praying for a blessed,
healthful and prosperous 1968.
MRS. WILLIAM GULKE,
Dorcas Secretary
MRS. DAN TESKE,
Dorcas Leader
Ellendale Health and
Welfare Society
Farewell
We wish to say farewell to all
our wonderful friends in North Dakota. We consider it a real privilege
and joy to have worked in North
Dakota the past seven years. We are
most thankful for the many fine
experiences and for the wonderful
way that the Lord has blessed the
The Gienger Family
work there. Continue to move forward in love for Jesus Christ. We
shall remember you in our prayers
and especially the new converts to
the faith, and it is our prayer that
very soon we shall all be re-united
in the "earth made new." The welcome mat is always out, so do stop
by whenever you come to Spokane.
Our new address is: 1321 N. Wilbur.
Spokane, Washington 99206.
PASTOR & MRS. E. R. GIENGER
How Will It End?
A noble monarch of Persia, riding out one day with a number of
his state officials, met a dervish, or
Mohammedan priest, who was proclaiming at the top of his voice,
"Pay me a hundred dinars, and you
will receive good advice in exchange." The monarch stopped, and
calling the dervish to him, asked
him what good advice he had to
give. "That I shall tell you," said
the dervish, "as soon as you pay
me the hundred dinars." The money
was paid, and then the dervish said,
"My advice, sire, is this—Begin
nothing without first considering
what the end may be."
The courtiers laughed heartily at
what they thought a clever roguery;
but the king reproved them, saying
the advice was well worth what he
paid for it. He then had the words
engraved on the walls of his palace,
and on his gold 'Ind silver plate,
and many other places. Some years
afterward one of the noblemen
formed a conspiracy with his friends
to put the king out of the way, that
he himself might be king. He bribed
the royal surgeon to bleed the king
with a poisoned scalpel; but when
he was about to make the incision,
the surgeon's eye caught the words
engraved on the bottom of the dish
which was to receive the blood, "Begin nothing without first considering
what the end may be."
He was startled and confusedly
changed the scalpel he had in his
hand for another. The king observed
his agitation and demanded an explanation, and under the promise of
forgiveness, the surgeon revealed
the wicked plot, but added that if
he had not seen the inscription on
the bottom of the silver vessel, he
would have used the poisoned instrument.
7
"Begin nothing without first considering the end!" How many are
saying to themselves, "Sometime, before I die, I will make my peace
with God." How foolish and misleading! It is not how people end
their lives that generally determines
how they will spend eternity, but
how they begin their lives. After
you begin a course of conduct, it is
hard to change. Hence Christ says,
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God."
We have all begun a journey:
which way are you going? You have
begun to store up for the future; is
it a treasure in heaven, or "wrath
against the day of wrath?" You have
begun to find life's structure; is it
founded on the rock or on the sand?
"Begin nothing without first considering what the end may be."
R. E. JANSSEN, Pastor
Harvey District
SUNSET CALENDAR
January 26
5:21
Des Moines, Iowa
5:11
St. Paul, Minnesota
5:36
Bismarck, North Dakota
5:35
Huron, South Dakota
4:53
Rapid City, South Dakota
February 2
5:30
Des Moines, Iowa
5:21
St. Paul, Minnesota
5:47
Bismarck, North Dakota
5:45
Huron, South Dakota
Rapid City, South Dakota 5:03
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Home in the country for two or three
elderly cr retired Adventists. Excellent
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Call 254-5357, Area Code 218, or write
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x1-26-68
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Seeking the Lost in the Northern Union
BY J. L. DITTBERNER, President, Northern Union Conference
Christ's own testimony regarding the purpose
of His coming to earth was, "The Son of man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Luke 19:10. When we think of the word "lost"
we usually picture some person or object which
is out of its regular place and its location unknown
to others. The person himself may not even be
aware of his whereabouts. One definition of lost
is: "Having wandered from, or unable to find the
way; parted with; gone out of one's possession."
Jesus came to save the lost world which includes anyone who would accept Him. However,
in His personal ministry He gave first attention
to those of His people who had wandered away
from God. His instruction to His disciples, also,
was that they should go first "to the lost sheep
of the House of Israel." Our Lord's first concern
was for those who once knew the way of God but
had become careless in their relationship to Him.
I am impressed that we as a church, and as
individual members, ought to show a greater concern for the lost among us. Surely we have an
interest in giving the gospel to all the world, but
should not our first concern be for those who once
knew the way and stood with us, but through discouragement or carelessness are now away and
lost? It seems that a special effort should be made
to seek these people out, to find them, and bring
them back into the church. Also, we ought to give
greater attention to the membership of our churches and watch that no one wanders away and gets
lost.
Each church has a wonderful organization to
keep its members from becoming lost and to find
those who may have wandered away in the past.
The organization I speak of is the Sabbath School.
If every church member's name would be on the
class record card, and if every teacher would call
every name on his card on every Sabbath, think of
what it would do! First of all it would mean that
every member in the Northern Union would be
noticed, whether he was in Sabbath School or not.
Then if the teachers would see to it that every absent member was contacted either by the teacher
or an assigned class member, every missing member living in the Northern Union would be visited,
or called, or written to every week. Just think of
what such a simple and easy program would do!
Many of the lost would be found! Many who
are becoming discouraged and staying away from
church would be saved! A wonderful blessing
would come to the members of the Sabbath School
classes who went out to find the lost. Really, I
cannot think of any one thing that would bring a
greater blessing to the churches in the Northern
Union than a concerted action on the part of our
Sabbath Schools to "seek and to save the lost"
members.
I would like to appeal to every Sabbath School
leader and teacher in the Northern Union to be
keenly aware of the missing members and determine to do something about it. I believe the
class members will cooperate and many of the
lost will be saved.