Seminary Worship, occurring on Tuesday mornings (10:30-11:20am) during fall and spring semesters and on Wednesday mornings (9:30-10:20am) during summer semester, is an important part of life at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. Our mission statement describes us as "a learning and worshiping community," and our weekly Worship is one central strategy for implementing that mission. This page provides access to Worship resources including sound files and readings related to the services.
Fall Semester 2005 Seminary Worships & Assembly
Note: Please click on the worship service or sermon title to access the MP3 sound file (right click and select "save target" to download the file. Given the size of these files, it is best to work with them when you are on campus or using a high speed Internet connection elsewhere). Similarly, click on any active link beside "reading" to access that segment on-line.
August 30
Speaker and Sermon Title: Ricardo Norton, "Growing Like Trees" (Psalm 1:1-3)
Reading: Ricardo Norton, "Growing Churches is Like Growing Trees," Ministry, April, 1998, 14-15; James R. Barnette, "A Time to Laugh: Principles of Good Pulpit Humor," Preaching, March/April 1996, 5-11.
Reaction Question: How do you see Barnette's "principles of good pulpit humor" reflected in Dr. Norton's sermon?
September 6
Worship Service Theme: "A Time to Weep: Raising the Lament for the Gulf Coast" (Homily by John McVay, "Reading the Headlines with Jesus: Hurricane Katrina and the Tower of Siloam" (Luke 13:1-9)) [Note: You need to listen and react to the entire worship service, not just the brief homily]
Reading: Please read the following two selections--Charles W. Hedrick, "An Unfinished Story about a Fig Tree in a Vineyard (Luke 13:6-9)," Perspectives in Religious Studies 26 (1999): 176-192; Adrian Dieleman, "Luke 13:1-5: Repent or Perish" (http://www.trinitycrc.org/sermons/lk13v01-05.html) A sermon preached on Sept. 23, 2001, in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center and other U.S. sites) [Notes: The Hedrick article begins on p. 169 but you do not need to read the first few pages; It is available in full-text format through ATLA. Search for author "Hedrick, Charles W." and title, "An Unfinished Story" and click on the link to the full-text article]
Reaction Question: What did you learn about crafting a special event worship service and, especially, one lamenting a tragedy?
September 13
Speaker and Sermon Title: Dwight Nelson, "Bridegroom of Blood: A Challenge to the Seminary Family"
Reading: Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 241-256 and Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 159-176
Reaction Question: What is most challenging, personally, for you about Dr. Nelson's impassioned plea for fidelity to God and His Word?
September 20
Speaker and Sermon Title: Andreas Mellas (MDiv student), "Last Call"
Reading: Please read one of the following treatments of Revelation chapter 18, which you have not read recently: 1) Ranko Stefanovic, Revelation of Jesus Christ: Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Berrien Springs, MI: AU Press, 2002), pp. 523-538; 2) Hans K. LaRondelle, "Babylon: Anti-Christian Empire," in Frank B. Holbrook, ed., Symposium on Revelation--Book II (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 1992), pp. 151-176 (Neither of these is available on-line).
Reaction Question: In the light of the reading you chose and your own study of Revelation 18, offer comment on Pastor Mellas's treatment of the passage. In what ways do you believe his sermon resonates well with the themes of the passage? How might you adjust his arguments to align more closely with the concerns of Revelation 18 itself?
September 27
Speaker and Sermon Title: Oliver Archer, "211 Degrees Fahrenheit"
Note: This presentation is not available on-line.
October 4
Speaker and Sermon Title: Roy Gane, "Strange Faces on Mt. Rushmore"
Reading: John C. Hutchison, “Women, Gentiles, and the Messianic Mission in Matthew's Genealogy,” Bibliotheca sacra 158 (2001): 152-64 (Full-text available on ATLA; see instructions under the Sept 6 entry, above).
Reaction Question: In the light of Dr. Gane's sermon and the reading, how should the genealogies of Jesus inform the work of the pastor-teacher?
October 11
Speaker and Sermon Title: James North, "As for Me and My House"
Reading: Ellen White, Patriarchs & Prophets, ch. 33 (pp. 374-386), ch. 34 (pp. 387-394), and ch. 49 (pp. 521-524).
Reaction Question: What have you learned about making firm commitments to God in advance? How should these lessons inform ministry?
October 13 (Thursday Assembly)
Speaker and Sermon Title: Lonnie Melashenko, "Five Smooth Stones"
Reading: Elder Melshenko encouraged us to slay the giants of "isolation," "mediocrity," "hypocrisy," "extremes," and "pride." Please read section 17 of Ellen White's Testimonies to Ministers (pp. 457-476), with Melachenko's sermon in mind.
Reaction Question: Which of Melashenko's giants is most challenging for you? Why? Whay synergy do you see between Melashenko's warnings and Ellen White's exhortation?
October 18
Speaker and Sermon Title: Ron Knott, "Jephthah and October 22"
Reading: Please read 30pp. from Roy Gane, God's Faulty Heroes (Review & Herald, 1996; JWL Call no. BS1305.2 .G35, in the Center for Adventist Research) or read Ellen White, Patriarchs & Prophets, pp. 543-568 (ch. 53 and ch. 54).
Reaction Question: In the light of Ron Knott's sermon and the reading selection you chose, what do you think we should learn today from the period of the Judges? October 25
Speaker and Sermon Title: Wagner Kuhn, "Crossing Boundaries"
Reading: Amy Glassner Gordon, “The First Protestant Missionary Effort : Why Did It Fail?” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 8 Ja 1984, pp. 12-14,16-18 (Full-text available on ATLA; see instructions under the Sept 6 entry, above).
Reaction Question: In the light of Dr. Kuhn's sermon and the article, what boundaries do you thing pastor-teachers most need to cross today? How can they be more successful at doing so?
November 1
Speaker and Sermon Title: R. Clifford Jones, "When You've Had Enough." To access the sound file for the sermon, click here.
Reading: Ellen White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 155-176 (Chapter 12, "From Jezreel to Horeb," pp. 155-66 and chapter 13, "'What Doest Thou Here?'", pp. 167-76)
Reaction Question: With what dynamics in the story of Elijah do you most identify? Why?
November 8
Speaker and Sermon Title: The November 8 Seminary Worship featured a variety of speakers sharing stories from Seminary Field Schools of Evangelism. To access the sound file for the service, click here.
Reading: None.
Reaction Question: What did you find particularly inspiring about the Field School of Evangelism Reports? Which of the Field Schools would you most have liked to participate in and why?
November 15
Speaker and Sermon Title: Dr. Steve Moyise, "Are We Like Grass?" To access the sound file for the service, click here (You only need to listen to the sermon/homily though the sound file contains the entire service).
Reading: Jerry M. Davis, "The 'Baby Fae' Memorial Service," Journal of Pastoral Care 39 (Spring 1985), 213-216; Thomas G. Long, "Telling the Truth about Death and Life: Preaching at Funerals," Journal for Preachers 20:3 (1997), 3-12. [Notes: The Davis & Long articles are available in full-text format through ATLA. Search for author (e.g. "Davis, Jerry M.") and title (e.g., "Baby Fae Memorial Service") and, when you locate the bibliographic record, click on the link to the full-text article]
Reaction Question: React to the ways in which Dr. Moyise treats the tensions inherent in Psalm 103. Do you find them helpful, satisfying, etc.? In what ways? Using Dr. Moyise's report of a funeral sermon as a model and reflecting on the reading assignments, what did you learn about preaching funeral sermons that you judge to be of value?
November 29
Speaker and Sermon Title: Peter Swanson, "Fools and Foolishness." To access the sound file for the service, click here.
Reading: Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 142-173 (ch. 5, "A Solemn Appeal to Ministers" and ch. 6, "Human Needs and Divine Supply").
Reaction Question: What did you most appreciate about both the style and the content of Dr. Swanson's creative sermon?
December 6
Speaker and Sermon Title: Seminary Dedication Service. Barry Gane & George Knight. To access the sound file for the service, click here.
Reading: Eugene Peterson, "'The best life': Eugene Peterson on Pastoral Ministry," Christian Century 119, no. 6 (March 13-20, 2002), pp. 18-25; Mark Galli & Eugene Peterson, "Spirituality for All the Wrong Reasons: Eugene Peterson Talks about Lies and Illusions that Destroy the Church," Christianity Today 49, no. 3 (March 2005), pp. 42-28. [Both of the articles are available on-line through ATLA; see the instructions under the Sept 8 entry, above]
Reaction Question: Pretend that you were asked, as the student representative, to respond to the exhortations by Drs. Gane and Knight. What would you say? How do Peterson's insights relate to the exhortations?
Other Worship Services
Sabbath, August 27, Seminary New Student Orientation Church Service
Speaker and Sermon Title: John McVay, "When Jesus Calls Your Name (Acts 9:1-19)"
Click here to go to the Spring 2006 Semester Seminary Worship Page
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