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

The Off-Key Symphony and Apple of His Eye – Pastor Shane Davis


Full Service


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Spring Meadows SDA Church Briefing Document – July 5, 2025 Service

I. Overview of Service and Welcome

The Spring Meadows Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church held its Sabbath service on July 5, 2025, welcoming both in-person attendees and a significant online audience. The service included praise and worship, a children’s story, testimonials from a recent mission trip to Dominica, a baptism, an offering appeal, and a sermon by Pastor Shane Davis. Kurt Musselman and his wife Donna, long-time members who raised their five children in the church, offered a warm welcome, noting that the physical church “looking a little empty” was likely due to the July 4th weekend celebrations (18:38).

II. Key Announcements and Upcoming Events

The church announced several community and fellowship events:

  • Food Pantry Interest Potluck: Starting a food pantry for those in need, with an interest potluck next Sabbath (July 12th) (20:13-20:22).
  • Young Adult Vespers: Friday, July 11, at 8:00 pm in the Boggess Chapel.
  • Church-Wide Beach Vespers: Saturday, July 12, from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm at New Smyrna Beach (20:29-20:38).
  • iRecite: Friday, July 18, at 7:30 pm in the Boggess Chapel.
  • YA Beach Day: Sunday, July 20.
  • High School Lake Day: Sunday, July 27.
  • Family Sunday Beach Day: Sunday, August 3, at Ormond Beach Park.
  • Church Orchestra: Invitation to join the SMC Orchestra, practicing on the 2nd and 4th Sabbaths of the month (2:00 pm in the Music Room).
  • Camp Kulaqua Church Retreat 2025: November 7-9, with registration available online and at the welcome desk.
  • Monthly Church Potluck: Immediately following the service (Bulletin).
  • Communion Sabbath: Next Sabbath, July 12, with Pastor Brian Cassell.
  • Blood Drive Bus: Scheduled for July 5th, 9:00 am in the SMC Parking Lot.

III. Worship and Spiritual Themes

The service heavily emphasized praise, trust in God, and the concept of the “church” as God’s beloved people rather than just a physical building or institution.

  • Praise and Music: The service featured vibrant praise and worship, including songs like “Lion and the Lamb” (23:00) and “Worthy of every song we could ever sing” (2:00:34). Congregants were encouraged to “Lift up your song, You got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and pray in the world” (30:09-30:21). Sydney White was recognized as the Praise Team Leader (1:22:58).
  • Trust in God: A recurring theme was the unwavering trust in God, with a speaker testifying, “I trust in God, my say you’re alone who will never fail, he will never fail” (1:19:33-1:19:47). This was also echoed in the children’s song, “Trust in Jesus Christ… wherever he leads the world. Trust in Jesus” (41:34-41:50).
  • Biblical Foundation for Trust: The message referenced Malachi chapter 3, verses 8-12, encouraging tithing and offering, stating, “test me and see if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that you will not have enough room to receive it” (1:16:06-1:16:13). A speaker testified to never being “without food, without money” since starting to tithe over 30 years ago (1:16:18-1:16:28).
  • God’s Provision and Strength: A testimony highlighted God’s provision for a medical issue during a mission trip, enabling the speaker to lift heavy cinder blocks despite shoulder pain: “every time I lifted one up, I was like, this is a miracle, Thank you Jesus” (33:26-33:32). The speaker affirmed, “God is good and what he sends you, he will give you the strength” (33:37-33:40).

IV. Mission and Outreach Focus

The service prominently featured the church’s commitment to mission work and outreach, particularly through recent and upcoming mission trips.

  • Dominica Mission Trip: A group of 31 individuals from five different states recently returned from a mission trip to Dominica (52:15-52:26). Testimonies from this trip were shared, highlighting various aspects:
  • Radio Ministry: Roshani shared a powerful story of how radio messages spread hope and care, leading a woman to seek help at their clinic (55:46-56:18).
  • Construction Team: Sammy and Pat were part of the construction team, experiencing and radiating joy despite physically demanding work (56:20-58:30). Sammy emphasized that the “source of joy is God” (58:13).
  • Personal Connections: Testimonies included a young woman finding hope and comfort, and engaging in prayer with Sister Pat (1:01:40-1:03:25). Doris received phone calls from two women from Dominica, expressing gratitude for the mission team’s impact, including one who reported her abusive husband leaving (1:04:16-1:06:20).
  • Impact and Encouragement: Doris emphasized, “If I only made an impact… on one or two people, that trip was worth it because God would have died for the one” (1:07:10-1:07:16), encouraging everyone to participate in missions.
  • Belize Mission Trip: A new group of youth and parents are departing for a mission trip to Belize this upcoming week (1:07:27-1:07:30). The Dominica team laid hands on them, and Pastor Shane Davis offered a “prayer of dedication,” asking for “a double portion of that which was given to the Dominica team” (1:08:19-1:09:21).

V. The Church as God’s “Apple of His Eye” (Sermon by Pastor Shane Davis)

Pastor Shane Davis’s sermon, part of the “Rooted in Christ, New Life in Jesus” series, focused on God’s perception of the church, defining it not as a building or institution, but as “the people in whom God’s true love is perpetuated” (1:27:55).

  • God’s View of the Church: The sermon highlighted that the church’s “true beauty is not in their appearance, but rather in the eye of the ultimate beholder” (1:27:11-1:27:19). God “find[s] them as beautiful” despite their flaws (1:27:51-1:27:55).
  • Zechariah 2:8 – “Apple of His Eye”: The core biblical reference was Zechariah chapter 2, verse 8: “for this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘After the Lord Almighty has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye'” (1:31:03-1:31:16). This idiom signifies someone “cherished above all others, someone who’s very precious or loved or special to you” (1:33:36-1:33:43). Other biblical examples, Deuteronomy 32:9-10 and Psalm 17:8, were cited to further illustrate this deep intimacy and protection (1:33:53-1:34:53).
  • The Church as a Spiritual Building/Temple: The sermon traced the concept of God’s dwelling, from the wilderness sanctuary to the temple, and finally to the New Testament concept of the church as a “spiritual building that would change the world” (1:40:40-1:40:41). It emphasizes that “God’s people, the church, we aren’t just some passive body floating through history. You and I, we have heaven backed authority to declare to the world good news” (1:50:40-1:50:56).
  • Jesus as the Cornerstone: Drawing from Matthew 16:13-19 and 1 Peter 2:4-6, Pastor Davis affirmed Jesus as the “living stone, rejected by humans, but a stone chosen by God and precious to God” (1:46:24-1:46:37). The church is “being built into a spiritual house, that 4th and final temple, a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices” through Jesus Christ (1:46:41-1:47:13). The church is not built on Peter’s perfection, but on his confession of Jesus as the Christ (1:45:56-1:46:04).
  • The Keys of the Kingdom: Jesus giving the “keys of the Kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 16:19) to the church signifies “authority, not just access, but also stewardship” (1:50:37-1:50:40). This power allows the church to “bind people to Jesus so he can loose them from their sin” (1:51:02-1:51:12).
  • God’s Transforming Love: The sermon concluded by reiterating that despite the world’s perception of the church as “outdated or off key,” to Jesus, “They’re beautiful. They’re absolutely beautiful. And not even the gates of hell can stop what I’m building” (1:51:31-1:51:49). The church is “the bride of Jesus Christ, held together not by our personal perfection, but bound by and binding others still to the rock of Revelation, the revelation that Jesus, Jesus alone, has done everything needed to get us into heaven” (1:58:57-1:59:20).

VI. Individual Testimonies and Personal Growth

The service included personal testimonies highlighting God’s direct impact on individuals’ lives:

  • Ian’s Baptism: A young man named Ian, who has been attending the church since he was seven, chose to be baptized at 17, stating, “it’s time for me to be able to give my life and give my heart to Jesus” (38:10-38:25). His letter to God expressed gratitude for “this blessing of baptism,” God’s “grace, your mercy, and your love,” and His promise “that you will never leave me and that you were ever present help” (38:35-39:01). The baptism was described as “not the end, but only the beginning of a walk with Jesus” (40:43-40:49).
  • The “Bag of Bones” Experiment: Miss Doris conducted a children’s experiment demonstrating the perfect proportionality of the human body, from height matching wingspan to specific bone measurements. This served to illustrate that “God made us unique and he made us differently” (44:23-44:29) and that “science prove what God has done for us” (44:53-45:00), underscoring a “loving creator” (44:02-44:07).
  • Miraculous Healing during Mission Trip: A speaker (Kurt Musselman) shared a personal experience of God healing his medical issues, allowing him to lift cinder blocks on the Dominica mission trip despite sharp shoulder pains, calling it a “miracle” (33:06-33:32).

VII. Leadership and Staff Recognition

The service acknowledged several key individuals:

  • Pastoral Team: Pastor Shane Davis was the main speaker. Pastor Oso was thanked for his work with youth and young adults, specifically his guidance of Ian (1:23:46-1:23:58). Pastor Alex Harter was mentioned for the Family Sunday Beach Day.
  • Welcome and Announcements: Kurt and Donna Musselman provided the welcome and announcements (1:24:07-1:24:13).
  • Praise Team Leader: Sydney White was recognized (1:22:58).
  • AV Team: Val, Eric, Caitlin, and Emily were thanked for their contributions to sight and sound (1:24:13-1:24:24).
  • Deacons and Deaconesses: Ronald Skipper, Bella Valentin, and Marisol Soeharsono were listed as leads for the Sabbath.
  • Worship Coordinator/Tech Director: Valarie Prusia and Eric Prusia (Bulletin).

VIII. Financial Stewardship

The church provided an update on its budget, noting a shortfall for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, with $80,848 received against $83,025 needed monthly (Bulletin). The importance of tithes and offerings was reiterated, with a personal testimony of God’s blessing and provision since faithfully practicing tithing (1:15:22-1:16:28).

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