Tithes & Offerings
5783 North Ronald Reagan Blvd
Sanford, FL, 32773
407-327-1190
office@springmeadows.org

Stand in the Gap – Jeff Crain


Full Service


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Spring Meadows Seventh-Day Adventist Church Briefing Document – August 9, 2025

This briefing document summarizes the key themes, announcements, and messages from the Spring Meadows Seventh-Day Adventist Church service on August 9, 2025, with excerpts from the sermon and the church bulletin.

I. Main Themes of the Service

The overarching themes of the service emphasize God’s unwavering goodness, the importance of prayer and intercession, the concept of “standing in the gap” for spiritual responsibility, and living with integrity and courage.

A. God’s Goodness and Faithfulness

  • God’s Goodness is Ever-Present: The service begins with a strong affirmation of God’s goodness, highlighted by the song “Your Goodness is Running After Me.” The speaker, Ben Muscleman, reiterates, “God is good when all the time and all the time God is good.” This goodness is portrayed as actively pursuing believers: “God is literally running after us, he is running after us because he’s goodness he is love.”
  • Constant Presence and Support: The congregational singing reinforces God’s continuous presence and support. Lyrics like “Oh your mercy never fails me all my days I’ve been held in your hands” and “you have led me through the fire in darkest night you are close like no other” underscore His faithfulness.
  • God is Always On Time: A recurring musical theme is “You were always on time,” emphasizing God’s perfect timing in difficult situations, whether “lost in the water” or “through the fire.”

B. The Power and Priority of Prayer

  • Desperation for God: The sermon emphasizes a deep need for God, quoting Psalm 63:1: “Oh God you are my God early in the morning do I seek after you in a dry and willed weary land do I thirst for you.”
  • Access to God’s Grace: A central message of the prayer segment, led by Norman, is the accessibility of God through Jesus Christ. Drawing on Hebrews 4:15-16, it is stated: “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but he was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin… Let us therefore become boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace in time of need.” This highlights that Jesus understands human suffering and intercedes for believers.
  • Prayer as a Powerful Gift: Prayer is described as “a gift, it is a power Lord God that has subdued kingdoms has changed hearts has closed the mouth of lions Lord God and Lord it has changed the face of history.”
  • Intercession as a First Priority: Pastor Jeff Crane, the main speaker, stresses that “interceding in prayer is not an option for us it is a first priority to pray on behalf of others.” He shares a personal testimony of how the church’s prayers brought him back to faith, stating, “Thank God brothers and sisters the church never stopped praying for me and my wife amen because I’m only here today because the church prayed for me and prayed for my wife.”
  • Prayer is the Battle: Crane asserts, “prayer is not preparation for the battle prayer is the battle brothers and sisters.” This applies to homes, churches, schools, and marriages, urging a “lifestyle of prayer.”

C. “Standing in the Gap”: Spiritual Responsibility, Integrity, and Courage

The sermon’s core message, delivered by Pastor Jeff Crane, is the call to “Stand in the Gap,” drawing from Ezekiel 22:30. This involves three key aspects:

  1. Taking Spiritual Responsibility:
  • Leadership in the Home and Beyond: Quoting Joshua 24:15 (“Choose today whom you will serve… As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”), Crane calls for individuals, particularly men, to take initiative in leading their families and spheres of influence spiritually. This includes maintaining family worship, having a visible devotional life, and being spiritually engaged with family.
  • Active Church Involvement: Members are encouraged to “be active in church, volunteer at church brothers and sisters encourage each other… serve in your church be part of your church because as the Bible says it takes all of us to make church happen.”
  • Representing Christ in the Community: This involves living one’s faith in the workplace and allowing neighbors to see Jesus as the Lord of their life.
  1. Interceding in Prayer:
  • Praying for Others: Based on 1 Timothy 2:1, the call is to “pray for all people ask God to help them intercede on their behalf and give thanks for them.”
  • Specific Prayer Targets: Believers are urged to pray daily for their families (children by name, for purity, decisions, salvation), spouses, church (pastors, leaders, revival, wayward members), and community (lost, broken, addicted, co-workers, neighbors, and civic leaders).
  • Refusing Gossip: A direct challenge is given: “Don’t just gossip about them don’t just what I tell my church let’s not P R E Y on each other let’s P R A Y for each other.”
  1. Living with Integrity and Courage:
  • Integrity: Defined as “completeness, wholeness, moral innocence,” and “doing what’s right even when it’s costly.” Joseph is presented as a biblical example of integrity, “being the same person in private as you are in public.” The question posed is, “What do you like when no one is watching?” especially in the context of online behavior.
  • Courage: Defined not as the “absence of fear” but “being bold and being strong even when you are afraid.” Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego serve as biblical examples of courage rooted in their relationship with God, standing firm even under threat.
  • Practical Application: This means refusing dishonest practices, keeping one’s word, being reliable, truthful, and loving. It also emphasizes the need for community: “Don’t do it alone though find someone to walk with you because as Christians we’re not called to be an island of ourselves we need each other.”

D. The Impossibility Made Possible by God

  • “With God All Things Are Possible”: Olivia Gold’s children’s story powerfully illustrates this biblical principle. Through the anecdote of making a friend despite shyness and physically “walking through” a piece of paper (demonstrating a trick), the message conveyed is that “sometimes things that seem impossible with God really aren’t impossible at all.” This applies to challenges like learning, chores, or even emotional states.

E. Trusting God with Tithes and Offerings

  • Testing God’s Faithfulness: Norman Phelps shares an anecdote (referencing “Borman Helps”) about someone who initially “borrowed” from his tithe and struggled, but found breakthrough and abundance after faithfully returning his tithe. This illustrates the principle from Malachi 3:8-12.
  • God Cannot Be Outgiven: The message encourages generosity and trust, stating, “you cannot beat God’s giving the Bible tells that that if you give it will be given unto you good measure pressed down shaken together and running over.” The bulletin notes that “Unmarked offerings go to our church budget,” while “Tithe is sent to the Florida Conference.” The current church budget is operating at a deficit: “$Needed $83,025, $Received $9,781, $Over/short -$73,244, Year to Date -$90,318.”

II. Key Announcements and Events

The service included several significant announcements and upcoming events:

  • Church Retreat: November 7th-9th, with an August 31st sign-up deadline. Information and registration are available in the newsletter, at the front desk, and online (springmeadows.org).
  • Young Adult Home Gatherings: Today, after church (see Renee Fog to register). The bulletin specifies “YA Gatherings – SMC Family Homes” at 1:00 pm.
  • JOY Event (Just Older Youth 55+): Tomorrow, Sunday, August 10th, at Blue Springs State Park. Arrival time is 9:30 am for a River Boat Tour and potluck picnic.
  • Food Pantry: Started this past Thursday, serving “39 cars, 52 families and a total of 197 people.” Community members are invited to serve and donate items (collection bin in the Narthex).
  • Men’s Ministry Rally: This specific Sabbath service is the “second year” for the Florida Conference Orlando Area Men’s Ministry Rally. It features Pastor Jeff Crane.
  • Post-Service Activities: After the service, there will be a fellowship dinner, followed by three informative seminars: “toxic masculinity,” “men’s mental health,” and a general education seminar. Special gifts will be given to men who stay until the end.
  • Sabbath School Classes: All classes begin at 9:30 AM, with various adult, parent, and children’s/youth classes in different locations (Multi-purpose room, Education Wing, Boggess Chapel, Sanctuary).
  • Upcoming Youth/Young Adult Events:YA & Youth Busch Gardens: Sunday, August 17 (Contact Pastor Oso).
  • Youth Family Beach Vespers: Sabbath, August 23, at Ponce Inlet (Contact Pr. Oso).
  • Ministry Fair: Sabbaths, August 23rd and August 30th, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in the Narthex, for members to connect and find opportunities to get involved.
  • Memorial Service: For John Rauch, on Sabbath, August 30th, at 4:00 pm at Spring Meadows Church.
  • Mindfit: A four-part conversational docuseries on mental health on Friday, September 12th (6:00 pm) and Saturday, September 13th (1:00 pm), created by Voice of Prophecy.
  • Adventurers and Pathfinder Registration: Open for 2025-2026, with online registration links provided in the bulletin.
  • Church Staff: The bulletin lists key church staff, including Senior Pastor Brian Cassell, Associate Pastors Shane Davis (Mission and Discipleship), Alex Harter (Family and Children), Jonathan Osorio (Middle School, High School and Young Adult), Head Elder Michael Fogg, Finance Committee Chairman Brad Hillmon, Treasurer Berkley Moss, and Church Administrator Miriam Cassell.
  • Contact Information: The church office hours are Tuesday-Friday, 9 AM – 3 PM. Updates to family contact information can be emailed to office@springmeadows.org or by calling (407) 327-1190.
  • Location: 5783 N. Ronald Reagan Blvd. Sanford, FL 32773.

III. Sermon Details and Speaker Background

  • Sermon Title: “Stand in the Gap”
  • Speaker: Pastor Jeff Crane, Senior Pastor of the Tampa First 7th Day Adventist Church.
  • Speaker Background: Served 8 years in the military (where he met his wife, Tara), felt called to ministry, attended Southern Adventist University, served in Upper Columbia conference and Raleigh church (North Carolina), and has been at Tampa First for the last three years. He has two children and two grandchildren. He previously worked with Dan Schiffower (Men’s Ministry Director) in Ocala around 2002-2003 during a field school of evangelism. Pastor Crane and his wife celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary yesterday (August 8th).

IV. Call to Action/Dismissal

The service concludes with a powerful call for men (and the church as a whole) to “answer God’s call to be that man in your home in your church and in your community who will stand in the gap even if you stand alone.” The final prayer asks God to “guide us into those gaps Father help us to stand there help us to stay there help us to expand your kingdom until that day when we see Jesus Christ face to face.” A fellowship meal and gifts for men are offered in the fellowship hall.

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