2014 - 2013 2/3

EVENTS & NEWS

From the desk of Pastor Rev. William "Bill" Dandridge

June 2014 Newsletter

We Have Come This Far by Faith-Celebrating 55 Years

I remember this song being sung at many a church anniversary. So what does it mean coming this far by faith.

II Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by Faith and not by Sight

"So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight". Other versions other than KJV use the word live, rather than walk. The "walk" here is a metaphorical reference to the way a person conducts his or her life. We still use the phrase "all walks of life" to mean a variety of lifestyles or cultures.

Walking by faith means living life in light of eternal consequences. To walk by faith is to fear God more than man; to obey the Bible even when it conflicts with man’s commands; to choose righteousness over sin, no matter what the cost; to trust God in every circumstance; and to believe God rewards those who seek Him, regardless of who says otherwise (Hebrews 11:6).

Rather than loving the things of this world (1 John 2:15–16), Christians should spend their lives glorifying God in everything they do (1 Corinthians 10:31). It requires faith to live this way because we cannot see, hear, or touch anything spiritual. When we base our lives on the truth of God’s Word, rather than on the popular philosophy of our day, we are going against our natural inclinations. Our natural instincts may be to horde money, but walking by faith says we should "give to those in need" (Luke 11:41; Ephesians 4:28). Society may say that sexual immorality is acceptable, but those who walk by faith base their standards on the unchangeable nature of God’s Word, which says any sex outside of marriage is sin (1 Corinthians 6:18;Ephesians 5:3; Galatians 5:19). To walk by faith requires that we tune our hearts to the voice of the Holy Spirit and the truth of His Word (John 10:27; 16:13). We choose to live according to what God reveals to us, rather than trust our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5–6).

Let’s Celebrate How Far we Have Come By Faith in the month of July.

UPCOMING EVENTS

07/10 (Thu) - 07/13 (Sun):

55th Church Anniversary Services - Theme: God is Doing a New Thing Isaiah 43:18-19

We are celebrating the second week of July our 55th Church Anniversary at Holy Light. This year we are blessed to have the Rev. Darrell Armstrong, Pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, New Jersey again come out and be our speaker for these services.

07/27 (Sun):

The 1st Holy Light MBC Friends and Family Day 2014

Holy Light is inviting all former members and for members to invite their friends and family to this service. We will instead of our usual two services have for this day have one service at 10:00am featuring all our ministries in the church. Please come and be part of this celebration and let’s have an old fashioned family reunion “church style” on the corner of 96th and Normandie.

#sermon

April 2014 Newsletter

Resurrection Day – Why is it Significant?

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the foundation of the Christian faith ( 1 Corinthians 15:14ff). If there was no resurrection, Christianity is a hoax, and we are wasting our time. But the truth is, the event of Jesus’ resurrection is incontrovertible. Professor Thomas Arnold of Rugby, a world-renowned historian, once said that Christ’s resurrection from the dead is the “best-attested fact in human history” Professor Thomas Arnold, for 14 years a headmaster of Rugby, author of the famous, History of Rome, and appointed to the chair of modern history at Oxford, was well acquainted with the value of evidence in determining historical facts. This great scholar said: "I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead First, the resurrection is one of the major evidences that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Paul affirmed that Christ is “declared to be the Son of God with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). Second, Jesus’ resurrection represents an assurance that we can have forgiveness from our sins. Paul contended: “If Christ hath not been raised, our faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). The reverse of the apostle’s affirmation would be this: if Jesus was raised, sins will be forgiven when we obey the gospel (Acts 2:38; 22:16). Third, the resurrection tells the world that the kingdom of God is ruled by a living sovereign. The founder of Islam is dead and his bones lie dormant in the earth. But the founder of Christianity—sixty years after his death—appeared to John on the island of Patmos and said: “I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:17-18). Fourth, Jesus’ resurrection proves that physical death is not the termination of human existence. God, who is the giver of life (1 Timothy 6:13), has the power to reanimate the human body. Christ’s triumph over the grave is Heaven’s pledge to us that we too shall be raised. This is why Jesus is referred to as the “first fruits of them that are asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20,23). Fifth, the Lord’s resurrection previewed the ultimate victory of Christianity over all its enemies. In the book of Revelation, Jesus is depicted as a lamb that had been slain, but was standing again (5:6). This same Lord was “the lion of the tribe of Judah” that had overcome his foes (5:5). Christians too will overcome as a result of the Lamb’s sacrifice and victory over death (cf. Revelation 12:11). The resurrection of the Son of God should be a constant reminder to us of these wonderful biblical truths. We honor our Master’s victory over death—not once a year, but every day!

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 18th:

Good Friday Services

Please come out and see the presentation of the play Nails on the Cross featuring our Drama, Music and Dance ministries.

April 19th:

Annual Easter Egg Hunt - Jesse Owens Park

Come out for fun food and fellowship!

April 20th:

Resurrection Day Services

Please come out and attend our Resurrection Day Services on Sunday. Pastor Antione Garrett of the Love of God Missionary Baptist Church will be speaking at 6:30am and Associate Pastor Dandridge at the 11:00am service.

April 26th:

Totally Committed to Christ Program

Please come out and support our Praise dancers on Saturday the 26th. The service will feature praise dancers from other churches throughout the city.

April 27th:

Spring Musical at Holy Light

The Music Ministry of Holy Light will have the annual Spring musical. Please come out and support our Music ministry dept.

#Resurrection

March 2014 Newsletter

The Gospel message for the first Sunday came from 2 Chronicles 7:14 with the subject of “A Revived Church”

In this great verse If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

In this verse there are four demands that must be met by God’s people before revival can begin.

1. There must be Preparation first HUMILITY. When we humble ourselves to the lord , we are acknowledging that God is Lord and head of our lives. In other words he comes first in our lives.

It is as simple as saying I can’t and you can. God when he moved on the lives of Moses and Joshua made them remove their shoes and let them know that they were on Holy ground. The shoes representing materialism and letting those two leaders know that to be successful and be revived that they needed to realize God is to be their guide.

2. It is clear here that the second process in revival is to PRAY. Praying without being humble won’t have any results. Jesus in his parable of the Pharisee and the Publican makes it clear that a prayer submitted humbly will be exalted. In prayer we simply come before to seek his help and we recognize God’s ability and our inability to fix a situation

3. The third step is to seek his face which expresses an inward DEVOTION and DESIRE to do God’s will. Here we realize that nothing is more important than God. Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

4. Finally the fourth step is REPENTANCE. To put it bluntly we need to stop sinning.

There is nothing like a spiritual examination. An thorough examination of our lives will make us able to identify things that are not pleasing to God and do not line up with God’s word.

Once we begin to do this 1. God Will Hear Us (hear from heaven), 2. God Will Help Us (forgive our sin) and 3. God will Heal Us (heal our Land).