TIME TO LEARN ABOUT THE TESTIMONIES
BY: Evelyn C. Pointer, Church Elder
Every Sabbath we say the testimonies and light the candles. The testimonies tell us what type of person we must be. It is our characteristics. It tells us how we must think and how we must obey God.
God sent his son Jesus to the earth a long, long time ago as a tiny baby. He grew up and began to teach us how to obey God and how to be good people. He showed us how to be good like him.
We can read all about Jesus in the bible. Jesus was perfect. He never did anything bad. He never sinned.
He taught people to obey God, he fed people that were hungry, he healed people that were sick. He showed them that if they were good and obedient to God that they would be saved. He said that he would return one day to earth and would save all of his righteous children. He taught us to love God and to love each other.
God is our heavenly Father. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is also God. It was Jesus who created us. He created Adam and Eve and he made the earth. Jesus is also our Father.
We have parents on earth. We have teachers and adults that love us and care for us. When we do well they are happy and pleased with you. They may smile at you, or clap their hands. Sometimes they say “well done!” or “good job!” They may give you a hug or kiss, or give you a gift or a treat when you have done something special that really pleases them.
When we obey God, God is pleased with us too! When he is pleased with us he blesses us. He gives us everything that we need, like our homes and families, our life and health, and the church. He will give us special things too. God loves us. We want him to be happy with us and to bless us. His blessings are his goodness.
The testimonies that we recite every Sabbath begins with “Blessed are”. We find it in Matthew chapter five. We say them every Sabbath to remind us how to be like God and to be like Jesus. We light seven candles on each altar table. The seven candles represent the seven spirits of God. God’s seven spirits are his power and his goodness. These are the seven ways that God wants us to be.
They are the spirit of
1. Poorness
2. Mourning
3.Meekness
4. Hunger and Thirst
5. Mercy
6. Pureness
7. Peace.
When you are like that it pleases God and God loves you. But there are a lot of bad and wicked people in the world. Sometimes they may make fun of you, say mean things to you or hurt you even though you are a good and nice person. But the Lord will bless you even if bad people are angry with you.
A long time ago, when the bible was written, only the priests could light the candles. Today we teach our children to light the candles, but you have to understand that it is a holy thing to do. The seven candles all together is a sign that we have God’s seven spirits and that we are a true church of God. Remember that God is always looking at you to see if you are being good or bad. This is especially important in church.
QUESTIONS?
•Where are the testimonies written in the sanctuary?
•When do we say the testimonies during worship?