February 26, 2026 From Jackie Payne This has been a particularly hard week. Not only have there been extra struggles this week in our family, but I have heard of so many of you who are struggling, dealing with pain, grief and the unknown. It is a test in my prayer life to have so much to pray for. It occurred to me this week, that yes, there is a lot happening right now in the lives of the people I care for, BUT I have people I care for…I have a beautiful church and school co

February 17, 2026 From Pastor Joseph Wamack A young man, longing to serve God, decided to join a monastery and become a monk. When he joined the monastery, he had to take a vow of silence, where he could only speak once every ten years. During these ten years, he was supposed to focus on reading the Bible and praying. After the first ten years his superior called him in and asked, "Do you have anything to say?" The young monk replied, "Food bad." Another ten years passed and

February 11, 2026 From Pastor Eileen States Yesterday I registered with my husband for a 10-day hike around Mont Blanc, where we will be hiking close to 100 miles through France, Italy and Switzerland. Yes, we love to hike. Yes, we absolutely enjoy the beauty of the mountains. There is, however, some valid concern in my heart about whether I will be able to make it all the way around!  Anyone getting ready for a multi-day trek knows you don’t just show up at the trailhead and

February 2, 2026 From Pastor Joseph Wamack When I was young, growing up in Ohio, I was a precocious little boy, getting into mischief, but smarter than I realized, because no one ever had challenged me to reach for my potential. That changed when I entered 4th grade. My teacher that year was Miss Linda Lucks. Of course I called her Miss Lucks, but I thought it was cool to find out what a teacher’s first name was, like I had discovered some hidden treasure. And I was doubly fo

January 22, 2026 From Pastor Joseph Wamack A New Jersey restaurant server picked up the breakfast check for two firefighters after they had spent all night putting out a warehouse fire, and then the firefighters stepped up to return the favor to the server in a huge way. Server Liz Woodward was talking to the firefighters about the blaze they had spent their night putting out when she waited on their table early one Thursday morning. She told them she had seen the story about

January 14, 2026 From Jackie Payne I’m reading through the book of Ephesians right now, and what has me pondering is how hard it must have been to accept that Jesus took down the wall between Jew and Gentile. For hundreds of years, the Jewish people had been told they were the special ones, they were the apple of God’s eye. Jesus’ death and resurrection gave salvation for ALL. How hard must that have been to swallow that your identity wasn’t what was going to save you after a

January 5, 2026 From Pastor Eileen States Psalm 1:1–3 A new year invites us to think about beginnings. Fresh calendars. Fresh plans. Fresh hopes. We talk about what we want to change, improve, or leave behind. Psalm 1 does not begin with a list of resolutions, but with a picture - a tree planted by streams of water. “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” The strength of this tree isn’t found i

December 31, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack A man, driving down the road sees a sign in front of a house: " Talking Dog for Sale-CHEAP!" He stops the car, gets out and rings the doorbell. A gentleman answers and says the dog for sale is in the backyard. The man goes into the backyard and there is a large black dog. He doesn’t look special or unusual. The man says, “Are you the talking dog?” "Why yes I am," the dog says in perfect English. The man is stunned but continues, "S

December 24, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack Hello MAC Family, I hope you had a good Christmas. Now we live in the mysterious week between Christmas and New Years where it is hard to remember what day it is or what we should be doing. It all seems like holiday time. Looking ahead to 2026-I am reminded of a Scripture which helps me to focus. It is from Psalm 27, written by King David. He was fully human in all his ways. But in this psalm, he seems to be able to voice the one th

December 18, 2025 From Jeff Freeman How many packages have you had delivered to your home during the month of December?  How many delivery trucks have you seen drive past you either at your home or while you are in your car?  None of these trucks or deliveries could register as “The Perfect Gift”.  Sometimes the packages are never delivered.  Sometimes the packages get delivered to a wrong address.  Sometimes the packages are delivered but without anything in the package. Dur

December 10, 2025 From Pastor Eileen States There’s something quiet about the Christmas story that’s easy to overlook. Jesus didn’t arrive with fanfare. No trumpets. No crowds. No royal welcome. God chose a small, out-of-the-way spot - a stable hardly anyone noticed. The greatest miracle in history came wrapped in silence. We tend to picture God working in big, dramatic moments, but Luke reminds us that Jesus’ birth didn’t happen that way. There wasn’t even space for Him in t

December 4, 2025 From Joseph Wamack Anne Frank was a Jewish girl born in 1929 in Frankfurt Germany. In 1933, her family immigrated to Amsterdam to escape the Nazis. She lived with her parents and sister and led a normal life, until the Netherlands were invaded by the Nazis. Then her family found themselves caught in the horror of the Holocaust. As persecutions against Jews increased, the family went into hiding in July 1942 in secret rooms above her father Otto’s office. They

November 26, 2025 From Jackie Payne I just finished reading the book of John. So much of it is very familiar, verses that I’ve been reading and rereading most of my life. It’s hard sometimes to reread something with fresh eyes, to see what Jesus still has to teach me. And then something jumps off the page. The Holy Spirit has gone to work! Today it was in John 18. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be better for one man to die for the people. John 18:

November 21, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack A slow driving man was being tailgated on a busy road by a fast driving, stressed out woman. She couldn’t get around him, so she was honking for him to speed up. And so when he stopped for a yellow light, rather than speed through the intersection, she lost her cool. The woman pounded on the horn, screaming inside her car, as she had missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she let loose a stream of profanities and hand

November 12, 2025 From Pastor Eileen States This past week, I asked my children to sing a song at church that has been very special to me: Find Us Faithful   by Steve Green. I remember attending one of his concerts in the 1980s and hearing this song for the first time. Even as a young child, the lyrics left a lasting impression on my heart. I was blessed to grow up surrounded by people who guided me toward Jesus, helping me fall in love with Him and ultimately make the decisi

November 5, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack A story is told about Albert Einstein, the great physicist who once was traveling by train from Princeton. The conductor was going up and down the aisle, punching the tickets of passengers. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still

October 30, 2025 From Jeff Freeman I am preparing for the worship to kick off the MAC/Carman Fall Festival on November 1 (it all kicks off at 6:30 in the church sanctuary, don’t miss it), and I read an interesting statement in “Our History” that was written up for MAC’s 70 Year anniversary celebration. The statement reads, “The school (now called Carman) had always been the life-blood of the church”.  What does that phrase mean to you?  This is what I understand that statemen

October 20, 2025 From Pastor Eileen States I am a doer. I see things that need to be done and I jump in to assist or take on the task myself. That’s not all bad, but all too often I find myself needing to take a step back to reorient myself with where God is and where He wants me to be. When I was in college, my roommate wrote on our mirror the words of Psalm 46:10 -  “Be still, and know that I am God.”  In her quiet unassuming way, she was reminding me that God was in contro

October 15, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack Hello MAC Family, One of the aspects of the Christian walk I ponder and reflect on, and have changed my view and perspective on at different times in my life is-how much does God expect us to “do” versus how much can we pray, and He does the work for us? I personally think God asks us to be more active and more involved in our own Christian walk and journey than we might assume. Maybe that is what Paul meant when he said, “ Work out

October 9, 2025 From Jackie Payne For the last five weeks, a small group of about ten have been going through a women’s Bible study...

October 1, 2025 From Pastor Eileen States This Sabbath we pause as a community of believers to celebrate 70 years of God’s faithfulness...

September 24, 2025 From Jeff Freeman When the school year begins, there are times when students cry when they are on their way into the...

September 17, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack Have you ever blown up a balloon, and you keep adding more and more air to it? It expands...

September 10, 2025 From Pastor Eileen States A new season is upon us. I know that Fall is seen as a time where things begin to change...

September 4, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack My parents and us 3 kids moved into the house I call home in 1963, right after JFK was...

August 28, 2025 From Jackie Payne On the last day of 2024, we replaced my 20-year-old Honda Odyssey. It was time to let it rest and to...

August 21, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack This is a true story and happened to me once a few years ago: I had to make a dreaded trip to...

August 14, 2025 From Jeff Freeman My mother was an RN when she was working.  One of her jobs I remember her having a few years ago, was...

August 7, 2025 From Pastor Eileen States My dad was an amazing gardener. I remember as a child being given a small plot of land just to...

July 29, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack “Hot town-summer in the city. Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty .” Such memorable lyrics...

July 23, 2025 From Jackie Payne Last week as I was bringing up the trash can from the road, I glanced down to see the tiniest baby bird,...

July 17, 2025 From Pastor Eileen States The story is told of a great actor offering to do recitations for his audience. The crowd called...

July 8, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack I have always had a “love/hate relationship” with food. It has been my closest friend and my worst...

July 2, 2025 From Jeff Freeman Do you ever ponder how blessed you are?  I am blessed because my wife and I are in our 30th year of...

June 23, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack Have you noticed the only time in our lives when we want to be old is when we're young? If you're...

June 5, 2025 From Jackie Payne Today has been an exciting day in the Payne household. Lucas got his official acceptance letter from...

May 27, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack St Francis of Assisi was a Catholic preacher and leader from the 1200s. He is known as the patron...

May 20, 2025 From Jackie Payne The last couple of weeks have been hectic and celebratory. Greg graduated with his bachelor’s degree...

May 15, 2025 From Jeff Freeman As I look around the campus, I see the fence is built. The poles are in the ground. The chainlink portion...

May 8, 2025 From Pastor Eileen States God is at work! I recently had a conversation with a young student here at Carman Adventist school...

April 29, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack I have been blessed to have “friends for a lifetime.” I have 4 lifelong friends I have known for...

April 24, 2025 From Jackie Payne Have you ever received a text or call or note from someone saying that they are praying for you? Maybe...

April 17, 2025 From Pastor Eileen States She doesn't have a name in the Gospel account. No title. No backstory. No direct words recorded...

April 9, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack Some things seem very easy for some people-much easier than they do for me. Sometimes it feels...

April 3, 2025 From Jeff Freeman This time of year, everyone begins to think about the sacrifice that Jesus and the Father were willing to...

March 24, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack A week from today-April 4th is the anniversary date of the assassination of Martin Luther King...

March 17, 2025 From Pastor Eileen From severe flooding, to devastating fires, to horrific storms from just recent days, this country and...

March 10, 2025 From Pastor Joseph Wamack There was once a Christian man who was very devout and disciplined in his Bible study and prayer...

March 6, 2025 From Jeff Freeman This week I drove my daughter to the airport, where she got out of my car and headed in to travel to...

February 27, 2025 From Jackie Payne We started the women’s Bible study on Tuesday night and are doing Jennifer Rothschild’s “Take...