Adventist Podcast Network

Pastor Willis shares how he was inspired to create the Northeast Stingers basketball club through his church in North Carolina, and how it’s grown to include multiple age groups and out-of-state tournaments. Head Coach Reggie Todd shares how they fill their schedule, some of the challegnges of coaching a club, and how the experience has benefitted the kids as athletes and young men. They share their 2025 experience at the Newmyer Classic at Andrews University, how they’ve secured funding for their travels, and advice for others out there who see a need to give Adventist kids more experience.

Reggie also shares his experience as a top prospect in South Carolina as a Sabbath-observing Adventist. He went on to play Division 1 basketball for East Tennessee State University, in a program that was supportive of his beliefs.

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Have you ever been so sure about something, only to be proven wrong. It can be humbling. This week we close out this series by learning to read the Bible with an open heart and mind, guided by the Holy Spirit.

Downey Adventist Church Sermon

Reading the Bible with Purpose series - week 4

With Open Hearts & Open Minds

Chris Famisaran

07 June 2025

www.downeychurch.org

The central message revolves around the concept that God has a deliberate and specific plan, or "blueprint," for every individual's life. This plan is not merely a vague destiny but a detailed design that individuals are called to discover and fulfill.

Allusions Images Symbols: How to Study Prophecy — Ruth and Esther — Famine in “The House of Bread”

Join us as we study the Bible Study Guide for the second quarter of 2025 called Allusions Images Symbols: How to Study Prophecy. We are studying the lesson for week 11 called Ruth and Esther.    

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Critics of the Christian faith have often pointed to the brutal reality of living in this world as evidence that: (a) God does not exist, (b) He is powerless to intervene when bad things happen, or (c) He doesn’t care when we hurt. Many of the stories of the Bible, however, provide abundant evidence that none of these assumptions are correct. True, God is allowing the human race to reap the consequences of rebellion against Him. But without violating our free will, He is always present, always working in human history, always moving us toward the ultimate resolution of the problems of sin and suffering. The story of Ruth provides one such example.

Read Ruth 1:1–5. What hardships fell on Naomi and Ruth, and what caused them? How does this reflect the situation that the entire human race now faces?

There is irony to be found in the opening statement of this story: there was a famine that affected Bethlehem, a town whose name means “house of bread.” One is reminded of the abundance of Eden, where God told Adam and Eve, “ ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat’ ” (Gen. 2:16, NKJV). The human race began its existence in abundance, under the care of a generous Creator, but then exchanged its role as caretakers of creation for the slavery of sin. “ ‘In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground,’ ” God told Adam (Gen. 3:19, NKJV).

Like Naomi, we have been dispossessed from the inheritance that God originally planned for us to have, and our lives have become a hardship. Eden was given as a gift, but not unconditionally: humans were free to rebel, but that would mean they would have to take responsibility for their own well-being. Originally, we were meant to “subdue” the whole unfallen world under God’s blessing, but now we are faced with the task of subduing a fallen one. Selfish human beings competing for scarce resources leads to much heartache and suffering.

The tragedy is unspeakable: the earth still produces abundantly, a powerful testimony to God’s love. But between human greed and the ravages of sin, the world at times seems to subdue us more than we subdue it. One day, however, all this will end.

Even after six thousand years of sin and death, how does the earth still reveal the wonders of God’s love and creative power?