The Armor of God – Pastor Alex Harter
Document Title: Briefing: Spring Meadows Church Service and World Adventurer Day Review
Date: May 17, 2025
Source: Excerpts from “2025-05-17 – World Adventurer Day” Recording
Subject: Review of Key Themes and Events from the Spring Meadows Church Service on World Adventurer Day.
Overview: This document provides a review of the Spring Meadows Church service on May 17, 2025, which was also recognized as World Adventurer Day. The service included a welcome and announcements, testimonies of recent baptisms, the introduction and dedication of a summer intern, a praise and worship segment led by the Adventurers, a sermon focusing on the Armor of God, and concluding prayers and songs. A significant portion of the service was dedicated to highlighting the Adventurer program’s teachings on the Armor of God through interactive demonstrations with different age groups.
Key Themes and Ideas:
- World Adventurer Day and Youth Ministry: The service prominently featured the Adventurer program, acknowledging the day as “World Adventurer Day.” The Adventurers actively participated in leading praise and worship and demonstrating key concepts from their year’s study. This highlights the church’s emphasis on youth involvement and spiritual development within its community. The Adventurer and Pathfinder Investiture ceremony was also announced for later that day.
- Baptism as a Public Declaration and Beginning: The service included heartfelt testimonies and a vote of welcome for two young ladies, Emma Drake and Christy Homidas, who were recently baptized at the beach. Their letters expressing their reasons for baptism emphasized it as a public declaration of love for Jesus and the beginning of a personal relationship with God, rather than the end of a journey.
- Emma Drake’s letter: “We get to be baptized to show our love for you It’s not the end it’s the beginning That’s why I wanted to get baptized to show I love you and you love me.”
- Christy Homidas’s letter: “When I am baptized I will show that I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior… When I get baptized I want to walk in the newness of life and be a new creation in Christ.”
- The pastor highlighted the miraculous weather window that allowed the beach baptisms to occur despite initial forecasts of pouring rain and lightning.
- Supporting and Nurturing Young Leaders: The service included the introduction and dedication of Sydney White as the summer intern. Sydney was described as a “homegrown Spring Meadows/ Winter Springs product” who grew up in the church and is currently studying for the gospel ministry at Southern Adventist University. Pastors and the church family expressed strong support and praise for her dedication, positivity, energy, love for Jesus, and willingness to serve. Her placement as an intern is seen as an exception to the idea that a gospel worker is “rarely honored in their home churches and town.” A special prayer of dedication was offered for her summer ministry.
- Praise and Worship: A significant segment of the service was dedicated to praise and worship, with the Adventurers taking a leading role in singing songs they had learned throughout the year. The songs included themes of praising God in all circumstances (“I’ll praise in the valley I’ll praise on the mountain”), gratitude, finding rest in Jesus, and the goodness and love of God. The song “Oh How He Loves Us” was particularly moving, especially following a personal testimony shared later in the service.
- The Armor of God as a Framework for Christian Living: The central theme of the sermon, linked to the Adventurer’s year-long study, was the Armor of God (Ephesians 6). Different parts of the armor were explained and demonstrated through interactive activities with various Adventurer age groups:
- The Belt of Truth: Demonstrated by identifying real vs. fake food items and animals. The message was that spending time in God’s Word helps discern truth from falsehood. “The more you taste and see who God is the more you taste and see the word of God the easier it will be for you to know the difference between what is real and what is fake.”
- The Breastplate of Righteousness: Illustrated by crumpling and tearing paper to represent the messiness of sin, followed by showing a clean sheet to symbolize God’s perfect righteousness given through Jesus. The message emphasized asking Jesus into our hearts to have His righteousness. “We want to have the breastplate of righteousness where we have Jesus in our hearts and we don’t want the bad things of this world or our choices to make us a mess.”
- Shoes of the Gospel of Peace: Demonstrated with various types of shoes. The point was that regardless of location or activity, Christians can always share the good news of Jesus. “it doesn’t matter what shoe you have on your feet you can always in every circumstance tell people about Jesus about the love that God has for you.”
- Shield of Faith: Illustrated using a dartboard and foam balls labeled as “doubts.” Without the shield (faith), the doubts stick. With the shield, they are extinguished. The message is that faith helps overcome the doubts thrown by the enemy.
- Helmet of Salvation: Demonstrated by showing how an unprotected egg (representing the mind) is easily broken by a hammer (representing enemy attacks), while a protected egg remains intact. This emphasized the importance of protecting the mind with the hope of salvation.
- Sword of the Spirit (Word of God): Adventurers held swords inscribed with Bible verses and used them to answer scenarios representing challenges. The message was that the Bible is the best defense and weapon against the enemy’s attacks. Jesus’ example in Matthew 4 (“It is written”) was cited.
- Prayer: Presented as the element that holds the entire armor together and prevents sinking when attacked by the enemy. Prayer is an intentional choice to put on the armor daily and ask for God’s help and peace. “The prayer puts keeps this armor on It keeps it on us all the time… And without prayer it all falls apart.”
- Personal Testimony of God’s Love and Peace: Lumen, one of the Adventurer directors, shared a powerful personal testimony about being diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2011. He described the initial fear and uncertainty but highlighted how he learned to rely completely on God for peace during that time. A concert and a specific song (“Oh How He Loves Us”) led him to a moment of profound realization of God’s beautiful nature and great affection for him, overshadowing his afflictions. This testimony reinforced the themes of faith, peace, and God’s unwavering love.
Key Facts:
- The service took place on May 17, 2025, designated as World Adventurer Day.
- Location: Spring Meadows Church.
- Welcome by the Enlo family (Adelaide, Elon, and Danford).
- Announcements included:
- VBS design and construction team help needed on Saturday morning (8:00 a.m.) – moving sets, need strong backs, bring electric drills and hand tools. Contact Miss Deanna.
- Donations of Christmas trees for VBS – bring Saturday or contact Vanessa Osorio or Miss Diana Trimatchi.
- Pathfinder and Adventurer Investiture at 2:00 p.m. today.
- Young Adults Lake Day by Florida Conference at Bay Lake, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday.
- Two young ladies, Christy Homidas and Emma Drake, were presented to the church after being baptized the previous week. They were voted into membership.
- Sydney White, a student at Southern Adventist University studying Theology with a minor in Business Administration, was introduced and dedicated as the church’s summer intern.
- The Adventurers (Little Lambs, Eager Beavers, Busy Bees, Sunbeams, Builders, Helping Hands) led praise and worship and participated in sermon demonstrations.
- The sermon focused on the Armor of God from Ephesians 6.
- Prayer request cards were placed in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 18.
- Lumen, an Adventurer director, shared a personal story about his experience with a brain tumor diagnosis in 2011 and finding peace and reliance on God.
Conclusion: The Spring Meadows Church service on World Adventurer Day was a vibrant event celebrating youth ministry, spiritual commitment through baptism, and community support for budding leaders. The interactive sermon on the Armor of God, presented by the Adventurer groups, effectively conveyed key biblical principles for navigating life’s challenges with faith and reliance on God. The personal testimony shared reinforced the power of God’s love and peace in times of adversity. The service highlighted the importance of youth development, biblical truth, personal faith, and the collective strength found in the church family.
Other Sermons In This Series
Rooted in the Word – Pastor Alex Harter
January 04, 2025
Beginnings Matter – Pastor Jonathan Osorio
January 18, 2025