Michigan Conference Religious Liberty

Could "defending another person’s freedom to say no to God" be "the clearest sermon we ever preach?"

Religious Liberty and the Character of God A leader in the exploration of biblical truth and the creation of cutting-edge biblical and theological resources to enhance the world church’s understanding and expression of its message, mission, and unity in a globally sensitive and relevant way.

A small church in California was told it could no longer meet in a local school. A Christian student in Canada lost recognition for sharing biblical beliefs. A Seventh-day Adventist employee requested Sabbath accommodations and faced an unexpected legal battle. Most people never hear these stories, yet each one shapes the future of religious freedom for all of us.

Click the link to subscribe to our new Public Affairs and Religious Liberty newsletter!

Seventh-day Adventists have long believed that religious liberty is a biblical principle rooted in God's respect for human freedom. As society changes, understanding the issues has never been more important.

We are excited to share a new newsletter that delivers carefully selected news, legal developments, and analysis from a biblical and Adventist perspective, equipping you to thoughtfully engage the issues shaping religious freedom today.

If you'd like to receive our new Public Affairs and Religious Liberty newsletter, please sign up using the link in the comments.

Presentation schedules, titles, & speakers for Religious Liberty Summit this weekend.

CLICK THUMBNAIL below for livestream access.

------------

FRIDAY NIGHT (7:00pm)
TITLE: Is Separation of Church and State Fiction?
PRESENTER: Joe Reeves serves as assistant director of the Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Department of the General Conference.

------------

SAB SCHOOL PANEL (9:30am)
TITLE: Let’s Decode Revelation 13
PANELISTS: Cody Francis, Jennifer Woods, Matt Hill, Nathan Greene, Giancarlo de Miranda, Joe Reeves, and Andy Im.

------------

DIVINE SERVICE (10:50)
SERMON: The Great Decluttering
PRESENTER: Bettina Krause is editor of Liberty magazine and an associate director of the NAD PARL department.

------------

AFTERNOON PRESENTATION (2:00pm)
TITLE: A Wounded Christianity
PRESENTER: Joe Reeves serves as assistant director of the Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Department of the General Conference.

------------

PANEL DISCUSSION (3:00pm)
TITLE: Contours of Adventist Religious Liberty
PANELISTS: Cody Francis, Jennifer Woods, Matt Hill, Nathan Greene, Giancarlo de Miranda, Joe Reeves, Bettina Krause, and Andy Im.

------------

FINAL PRESENTATION (4:00pm)
TITLE: Christian Nationalists
PRESENTER: Cody Francis serves as Ministerial Director for the Michigan Conference.

Religious Liberty Sabbath Join us at Cedar Lake church for Religious Liberty Summit, hosted by the Michigan Conference Public Affairs & Religious Liberty department. We are...

Join us at Cedar Lake church for Religious Liberty Sabbath, hosted by the Michigan Conference Public Affairs & Religious Liberty department.

We are honored to share this Sabbath with students and staff from Great Lakes Adventist Academy, the Cedar Lake Church family, and the wider community as together we explore our uniquely Adventist understanding of religious liberty and freedom of conscience—why it remains central to our faith, and why now is the time to lift it up with clarity and conviction.

A potluck meal will be provided for attendees.

Click the link below for links to the livestream and to learn more!

https://www.misda.org/media/news/religious-liberty-sabbath

When Profession Becomes Deception

*************

The beast with lamblike horns will cloak itself in the guise of Christianity, making its deception more dangerous than the dragon that once spoke through paganism. Under this pretense of faith, it will carry out blasphemous work.

“Heathen and papists. . . were actuated by the same dragon spirit. They differed only in that the Romish apostate, making a pretense of serving God, was the more dangerous and cruel foe. . . John beheld a new power coming up to. . . carry forward the same cruel and blasphemous work.”

— EGW, Signs of the Times, Nov. 1, 1899
https://m.egwwritings.org/ro/book/820.16200

Join us at Cedar Lake church for Religious Liberty Summit, hosted by the Michigan Conference Public Affairs & Religious Liberty department.

We are honored to share this Sabbath with students and staff from Great Lakes Adventist Academy, the Cedar Lake church family, and the wider community as together we explore our uniquely Adventist understanding of religious liberty and freedom of conscience—why it remains central to our faith, and why now is the time to lift it up with clarity and conviction.

A potluck meal will be provided for attendees.

Click the link below for links to the livestream and to learn more!
https://www.misda.org/media/news/religious-liberty-sabbath

EGW’s Southern Work is especially relevant today, and every Adventist would benefit from reading it. She wrote during a time of heated racial tensions and prejudices, counseling white missionaries to be tactful and wise when entering black communities—because careless words could cost them their lives—and the reverse was also true.

Her counsel was clear: Adventists must be careful with speech, never inflame, and keep the focus on opening doors for the gospel—and keeping them open.

She urged an evangelistic mindset: winsome, intentional, and careful not to shut doors. How Adventists represent Jesus often determines whether the gospel is received or rejected. The tone, spirit, and vibe of the messenger—the packaging—can open hearts or shut them.

That challenge remains urgent. We must not view others through political lenses, but through God’s eyes—showing by our words and actions that every person bears His image and is worthy of honor, dignity, and respect.

There are no political remedies for the crises we face. The only hope is in Jesus—and in a revival and reformation within Adventism, which is our most urgent need.

When the lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Ellen White wrote:

“That our neighbor does not mean merely one of the church or faith to which we belong. It has no reference to race, color, or class distinction. . . Our neighbor is every one who is the property of God. . . . No distinction on account of nationality, race, or caste is recognized by God." (COL 376, 386)

Read Southern Work: https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/139.2

Is the notion of church-state separation blasphemous to God?

Dusty Deevers:

"[Jesus] has commissioned us to go and make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to make to all the nations or to all nations. And that means that we are His human agents for extending his dominion, His rule throughout this world. And the nations will be glad through that. So, to say that the church and the state are separate in the principle of their authority, and the principle being Jesus Christ, is, I believe, it's blasphemous to say that Jesus Christ isn't Lord of Lords and King of Kings. And that means not just over the home, not just over the church, but in every sphere. And that is to belittle the Lord Jesus, and He doesn't take it kindly when we belittle Him."

- Dusty Deevers is a state senator in Oklahoma and also pastor of the Grace Reformed Baptist Church

------------

Jesus told us to make disciples, not laws. Faith comes through conviction, never coercion—and whenever the State tries to legislate religion, the result is fear and hypocrisy, not belief.

Christ Himself said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” and history confirms that whenever church and state unite, the outcome is always tyranny and persecution—a counterfeit Christianity, not the real thing.

Separation of church and state isn’t rejecting Christ’s authority; it’s following his teaching: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”

His reign is spiritual and His dominion future, not political and now. To enlist government in His cause isn’t loyalty—it’s a betrayal of the kingdom He came to establish.

RWW News: Dusty Deevers Says The Separation Of Church And State Is 'Blasphemous' https://www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwatch/dusty-deevers-says-separation-church-and-state-blasphemousContent warning: The following scene may include dehumaniz...

"Persecution always follows favoritism in doctrine or religion on the part of secular governments." - Ellen G. White, 1899
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/14064.5641001

If EGWs statement holds true, how should we view the recent Texas bill? While the AGs news release and Senate Bill 11 doesn’t mandate participation in the Lord's Prayer, it clearly favors Christianity. Are certain biblical teachings being given preference in Texas as well?

----------------------

TEXAS BILL 11: https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-encourages-texas-schools-begin-legal-process-putting-prayer-back

"Senate Bill 11, passed by the Texas Legislature this past regular session, allows school boards to adopt policies setting aside time for voluntary prayer and the reading of the Bible or other religious texts. . . . For Texas students considering how to best utilize this time, Attorney General Paxton encourages children to begin with the Lord’s Prayer, as taught by Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13, KJV)
Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever.
Amen."