{"id":10653,"date":"2022-04-22T16:01:29","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T16:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/?p=10653"},"modified":"2022-04-22T16:01:29","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T16:01:29","slug":"warsaw-meetings-rediscovering-hope-in-a-troubled-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/warsaw-meetings-rediscovering-hope-in-a-troubled-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Warsaw Meetings – Rediscovering Hope in a Troubled World"},"content":{"rendered":"

22 April 2022 | Warsaw, Poland [David Neal]<\/p>\n

In a building located just a few hundred metres away from Warsaw\u2019s Old Town, with its colourful tenement houses and narrow streets, evangelist Mark Finley is bringing hope to a troubled world by reminding listeners about the promises of God. As the daily news continues to report neighbouring Ukrainian cities under attack, the message is delivered not only in close European proximity to the theatre of war, but in the evocative heart of a city once destroyed by war between 1939 and 1945.<\/p>\n

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St. Cross Church, Old Warsaw, with a recent banner quoting Luke 6:27-28. [Photos: David Neal \/ CC BY 4.0]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat do we do when crisis strikes?\u201d asked Finley at the opening night of a series of five twice-daily evangelistic presentations at Warsaw Central Church, Poland. His Christ-centred messages are being simultaneously translated into Polish and Ukrainian. \u201cHow is it possible to hope when all hope seems gone?\u201d is the guiding question of the presentations that are bringing hope to hundreds.<\/p>\n

Finely is no stranger to the mission of the church in Northern Europe. During the 1980\u2019s he served the Trans-European Division (TED) as Ministerial Secretary and lead evangelist, conducting division-wide campaigns, among them in the Polish cities of Gdansk and Katowice. 35 years later, the purpose of this visit to Poland is clear \u2013 to bring hope and spiritual encouragement to a people Finley describes as both \u2018determined\u2019 and \u2018persevering\u2019. It is a hope he wishes to share with church members, their neighbours, and guests from Ukraine of whom thousands of Polish families are hosting.<\/p>\n

In his opening remarks, Finley brought words of thanks and prayers from the General Conference President, Elder Ted Wilson to Polish members for, \u201copening their homes, opening their churches, but most of all opening their hearts to their Ukrainian neighbours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Designed to meet the spiritual needs of the moment experienced by distressed and fear-filled people, \u201cEach Christ-centred message focuses on Christ\u2019s compassion for suffering people, His divine presence in suffering, and the ultimate solution to the problem of suffering,\u201d Finely remarked.<\/p>\n

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Surrounded by uplifting music provided by Polish and Ukrainian members, the message of the first presentation left the listener with three spiritual values to hold on to because of Christ:<\/p>\n

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  1. God promises never to leave us or abandon.<\/li>\n
  2. We can have hope amidst life\u2019s conflicts with the presence of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us.<\/li>\n
  3. Our hope is not grounded our circumstances, personal strength, other people, but in the promises of God.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As a result, a final instruction followed: \u201cDon\u2019t let fear strangle your joy!\u201d<\/p>\n

    How to Watch the Presentations<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Streamed live each evening from 20 to 25 April, with themes; \u201cTo Hope, when all Hope Seems Gone\u201d, \u201cJesus: The Healer of Broken Heaths\u201d, \u201cWhy Do Innocent People Suffer?\u201d, \u201cA Touch of Faith\u201d,<\/em> the presentations can be viewed live or on demand:<\/p>\n