Pastor’s New Year’s Message by Christopher Mighty Inside this issue:

Pastor’s New Year’s Message 1

Thanksgiving Service 2018 1-2

The Struggle is Real… But God 2

Dead and Still giving Trouble 3

All Night Prayer Session 2-3

Youth Corner 3-4

Did You Know? 4

Volume 10 No. 4 Fourth Quarter 2018

Published February 2, 2019

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH Braeton

Thanksgiving Service 2018 by Deneve Sweeney

new year at the stroke of mid-

night, the Seventh-day Adventist

Church believes that it is at

sunset that a new day begins

(Genesis 1: 5). With testimo-

nies, a presentation on the

highlights of the past year and a

powerful charge, 2019 was

ushered in.

The testimonies reflected

the hand of God in the lives of

His people throughout the year.

For some individuals there were

financial increases, job promo-

tions, healing from the Great

Physician, whereas for others

there was spiritual growth.

The Year in Review Report

was done by Sis. Cheryl Green

and First Elder, Ricardo Kerr.

They highlighted the work done in

various areas such as Outreach,

Evangelism, Youth, Children and

Family Ministries. One of the

main highpoints of the year was

the activities of the Community

Services Department being fea-

tured on TVJ’s Ray of Hope pro-

gramme. The report reflected the

cohesiveness of the church in

“Thanks to Thee, O holy Father,

For the mercies of the year;

May each heart, as here we

gather, Swell with gratitude sin-

cere.” Wake the Song, Hymn 34,

S.D.A Hymnal

At the set of sun on Monday,

December 31, 2018, at approxi-

mately 5:42 p.m., the Braeton

Church welcomed the New Year

in fine style giving praises to God

for His protection, providence

and blessings throughout 2018.

Although the rest of the world

celebrate the beginning of the

Hello Braeton family! Hap-

py New Year to you all! It is with

gratitude and excitement that I

greet you on behalf of my wife

Nadean, our children; Olivia,

Chrissan, and Nikolay,.

The year 2018 started out

like a sprint, and oh what a jour-

ney it had been! The last sunset

in 2017 was our cue that the

2018 race had begun and the

energies for the race were at

high levels. There were difficul-

ties along the way that made

portions of the journey more like

an obstacle challenge, never-

theless our mission was in our

minds and the Lord has been

our Guide. Now, as a new year

dawns, I believe we can all say

like Samuel; "Hitherto hath the

Lord helped us."

As we begin our run on the

2019 leg of our race, many

persons as they did in previous

years, are seeking for new op-

portunities and may even de-

clare that it is their year for a

breakthrough. While I embrace

the setting of goals and charting

of paths for accomplishments, I

also implore you to seek for

God's will to be done. The disci-

ples had asked Jesus if He

would, “at this time restore the

kingdom to Israel?” His res-

ponse, was, “It is not for you to

know times or seasons which the

Father has put in His own au-

thority. But you shall receive

power when the Holy Spirit has

come upon you; and you shall be

witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,

and in all Judea and Samaria,

and to the end of the earth.” Acts

1: 6 - 8.

I therefore challenge us that

when we confine ourselves to

own limited imaginations, we rob

ourselves of God's bounties, but

when God empowers us, the

possibilities are endless!

One thing we should not miss

is that we are primarily God's

witnesses and no matter what

profession we lend ourselves to,

we must witness to His loving

salvation.

Let me hasten to admonish

you that while the world will

choose to embrace immorality,

wickedness and injustices of all

sorts, the church must adopt and

promulgate God's instructions

to "do justly and to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with thy

God" Micah 6:8. The path before

us will get bumpy at times, but

keep running! Our reward is sure!

I look forward to running the

2019 leg of the race with you. I

pray for the church family, com-

munity and the wider field. Let us

hold fast, Jesus is coming soon!

I leave with you an advice

from the Apostle Paul: "Therefore

we also, since we are surround-

ed by so great a cloud of witness-

es, let us lay aside every weight,

and the sin which so easily en-

snares us, and let us run with

endurance the race that is set

before us. Looking unto Jesus,

the author and finisher of our

faith, who for the joy that was set

before Him endured the cross,

despising the shame, and has

sat down at the right hand of the

throne of God." Heb. 12:1, 2.

May the God of Heaven fortify

your 2019 with abundant bless-

ings.

Christopher Mighty, Pastor of the Braeton

Seventh-day Adventist Church

Thanksgiving Service 2018 Cont. by Deneve Sweeney

Page 2 Braeton Voice Newsletter

Pastor Barrington McLean doing the “appeal”

after his sermon ‘But God’ on Music Day

providing services designed to

seek and save the lost while

pointing them the Saviour of

souls. It was a year of joys and

sorrows. While we saw babies

added to families of the church,

members committed their lives

to each other in marriage, per-

sons added to the fold through

baptism and transferal of mem-

bership; we also lost members

through death and migration. Church Pastor, Christopher

Mighty encouraged the church

with a sermon entitled “It’s My

Time Now”. He reminded us to

reflect on how the hand of God

had led us through the year and

that His will for our lives will be

manifested regardless of our

plans. God’s best is always the

best for us even when we do

not understand it. He encour-

aged the congregation to hold

on to God through the year,

2019 and to allow Him to work

wonders beyond what our

minds could even imagine or

fathom.

Musical items were ren-

dered by Arpeggio Singers and

the Combined Choir. The ser-

vice culminated with a baptism

that saw many individuals start-

ing the year with a commitment

to the Almighty.

The congregation was treat-

ed to a delightful meal and

treats prepared by the ever

efficient Community Services

Team.

“And I said unto him, Sir,

thou knowest. And he said to

me, These are they which came

out of great tribulation, and

have washed their robes, and

made them white in the blood

of the Lamb.” Revelation 7: 14 In recent years, the term

“the struggle is real” had been

coined to describe the notion

that the trials faced are not a

figment of the imagination but

is indeed reality. Likewise there

is a struggle between the forces

good and evil, the Great Contro-

versy. This controversy includes

all of us; it is a battle for our

souls which brings moments of

turmoil for the Christian. As we

go through this fight, at the

forefront of our minds, should

be God’s promise that He will

deliver us from all evil.

December 1, 2018 saw the

Braeton Church lifting praises

unto the Almighty through the

heavenly gift of music. Under

the theme, “The Struggle is

Real ... but God Delivers”, Mu-

sic Day 2018 reflected the trials

that we currently face and the

ones to come as we draw near-

er to close of earth’s history,

through music, dramatization

and the spoken word. The three

segments of the day’s proceed-

ings were Sabbath School, Di-

The Struggle is Real… But God Delivers by Deneve Sweeney

vine Service and the Adventist

Youth programme.

“Peace when trouble blows,

Jehovah sees, Jehovah knows;

He is my peace, when sorrow

nears, Jehovah sees, Jehovah

knows”. These words were

sung by the Braeton Mass Choir

which echoed the central theme

for the day. It allowed our minds

to at ease and reminded us of

God’s constant hand in our

lives. Sabbath School chroni-

cled the journey of a family that

was experiencing many difficul-

ties that may seem familiar to

the struggles of a Christian.

There, a daughter with depres-

sion, a mother with cancer, a

wayward son and family separa-

tion as a result of infidelity on

the part of a husband. Through

various songs, the mother was

encouraged to leave it all to the

Almighty God and trust Him with

the outcome of all these situa-

tions.

Divine Service saw the fami-

ly, earlier presented, as they

went through the rigors of being

tested in the last hours of

earth’s history. The enactment

depicted the merger of church

and state to institute Sunday as

the day of worship, as Apostate

Protestantism took over, the

family went through a time of

turmoil as they stood for God

and His precepts. They were

imprisoned for their faith, be-

trayed by their first elder and

killed as they refused to forsake

the Almighty's law. The songs

presented at this juncture re-

flected a sombre mood as the

church pondered their relation-

ship with God and how they

would stand in that time of trou-

ble.

Pastor Barrington McLean,

Director of Personal Ministries

at the Central Jamaica Confer-

ence brought the session to a

close with a sermonette entitled

“But God” that reminded us

that when the challenges and

problems come, God always

delivers on time.

The Adventist Youth pro-

gramme revisited the family as

they arrived in heaven and the

mother learnt the fate of each

of her children and celebrated

and gave thanks to God for

deliverance.

The day featured music

ministers from across the coun-

try including Fervent, ACTS,

Sounds of Colour, Melody Sis-

ters and H.U.M.B.L.E, Kencot

S.D.A Youth Choir, Lisa Sterling,

RSKS, Heaven’s Direction and

Arpeggio Singers among others.

Want to be a part of an exciting and innovative team? Do you have the passion and skill in graphic arts, sound engineering and social media? Well the Communication Department is for you! Contact Elder Allman Brown or Sis. Denesha Weir for further details TODAY!

Page 3 Braeton Voice Newsletter

“Becoming True Stewards of Our

Estates”

Countless times as Jamai-

cans we have been told by our

great grannies that “every mickle

make a muckle; and one one

coco full basket”. Yet so often we

treat our houses, our finances

and all of our estates as dead

letters which regrettably, often

become unavailable after our

death! This is mostly because we

fail to plan for our estate by pre-

paring wills in the event that we

die. We fail to use the gifts that

God has given us to bless our

families and friends and our

churches. Know ye not that our

wealth is not our own— they are

gifts from God for His service and

His glory? Rather we die and

leave the heavy burden on our

love ones to sort it out.

Are you failing to properly put

your house in order?! Are you

leaving the concerns of your en-

tire estate to be burdensome on

your family?! The Bible states

that a ’good man leaves an in-

heritance to his children's chil-

dren...' (Proverbs 13: 22). This

means he does not merely leave

his estate, but leaves it as an

inheritance to his children's chil-

dren (emphasis added). That

right! There is a generational

plan designed by God which re-

quires total submission to the will

of God, listening to his voice, and

allowing him to lead through true

self-denial and a benevolent

heart. Submit your plans to the

Lord and he will establish them

says the Word of God.

Clearly, it is impossible to

submit that which does not exist.

To properly do so you need to

plan for your Estate. Do you have

a will or are you planning to be

dead and cause double trouble?

Here are a few difficulties you

may pose when you fail to

properly plan for your Estate, that

is, you have died intestate:

1. Financial Strain. Without a will

there is no Executor to handle

your estate and as such someone

would have to be appointed to act

as an Administrator of your estate.

To accomplish this can be quite

costly; which could have been

avoided had a legally satisfying

will been made. Therefore, plan

for your Estate!

2. Unexpected Contesting Heirs.

From time to time when a person

dies without a will, claims to the

Estate are made by persons who

were at no point in time present in

your life but bear some relation to

you. It would be quite unfortunate

to know that your assets were

distributed to further a cause that

is neither promoted nor encour-

aged by you or God. Plan for your

Estate!

3. Fabrication of Wills. We are well

aware that we do not live in a

perfect world. Where one dies

without leaving a will, a person

may falsely create one to obtain

your assets and deprive your fami-

ly of the privilege to inherit from

your Estate or any contributions

for the furtherance of God’s work.

Plan for your Estate!

4. Unnecessary Discord between

Family Members. This is known

all too well in Jamaica, that family

members fight and create unnec-

essary drama or trauma over

properties. Avoid this. Plan for

your Estate!

5. Where children or the mentally

challenged are involved, Improper

Guardianship and Use of Re-

sources for their benefit may be

forth coming. Wills may include

the appointment of guardians for

minors/mentally disabled and

also the holding of properties on

trust for the betterment of their

children/the mentally challenged,

in the event of unfortunate cir-

cumstances. It could also include

money for university, other poten-

tial needs your child has or pay-

ments for medical treatments,

among other things. Dying without

a will does not secure these

amenities for your child/the men-

tally challenged. Plan for your

Estate!

It should be noted that the law

makes provisions for those who

have died intestate but while the

law does so why leave the distri-

bution of your blessings to

chance? Plan for the distribution

of your Estate!

Ellen G. White encourages us

in Counsels on Stewardship to

take the duty of preparing our

wills and planning our legacy just

as sacred as the duty to preach

the word to save souls. My en-

couragement is that we look to

the Word of God as a light to our

path as it holds many examples

of becoming true stewards of our

estates. Abraham for example,

was promised that he would be-

come the Father of a great nation

and through his faith and belief in

our Heavenly Father, he was skill-

ful in his distribution of his estate

amongst his children- securing

the inheritance of Isaac from that

of his other children. How have

you, through your estate plan-

ning, claiming the promises that

God has for your generation? Let

us not leave it to mere chance!

As the saying goes, ' if you fail to

plan, you must plan to fail'. Let us

no longer settle for mediocrity,

but become the true royalties of

God.

At another time, I hope to

share with you some of the most

interesting and creative items you

could incorporate in your will,

including continuous contribu-

tions to the cause of Christ.

Please consult an Attorney-at-

Law for any legal advice on this

matter or any further concerns

you may have. This is an encour-

agement for improvement in our

lives by being good stewards.

“Dying without a will does not secure these amenities for your child/the mentally challenged. Plan for your Estate!”

Dead and Still Giving Trouble by Sonja Morris, Attorney-at-Law, LEC, LLB

Want to be a part of an exciting and innovative team? Do you have the passion and skill in graphic arts, sound engineering and social media? Well the Communication Department is for you! Contact Elder Allman Brown or Sis. Denesha Weir for further details TODAY!

Address: Corner of Marlin Avenue & Hellshire

Main Road, Portmore, St. Catherine

Tel./Fax: (876) 998-0306

Email: braetonannouncements@yahoo.com

Website: www.braetonsda.org

Follow us: www.facebook.com/

braetonsda.church

Mobile App: play.google.com/store/apps/

details?id=com.braetonsda.bsda

Worship Services:

Sunday Nights @ 7:00 pm

Wednesday Nights @ 7:00 pm

Sabbaths @ 9:15 am

Church office opens Wednesdays

@ 1:00 pm — 7:00 pm

Seventh-day Adventist Church Braeton

“Voicing through the art of writing”

The voice is the official newsletter of the Braeton S.D.A Church.

It is published quarterly and distributed to the members and the

church community.

STAFF

Executive Publisher Denesha Weir

Editors Cheryl Green

Writers Christopher Mighty

Deneve Sweeney

Sonja Morris

Photographer Ian McKenzie

Graphic Designer Denesha Weir

EVENTS