February 2014 Newsletter

The Gospel message for the first Sunday came from I Kings 20:22-28 with the subject of “He’s God Even In the Valley”

God is bigger than your lowest valley. It is much easier to serve the Lord when we are on the mountain top. It is much easier when we are excited about the Lord and his work. However all of us have had and are currently dealing with some valley experiences of life.. When we enter the valley of physical pain, HE IS STILL GOD!. When we enter the valley of spiritual discouragement, HE IS STILL GOD!. Even when we enter the valley of sorrow, HE IS STILL GOD!. Regardless of the valley we are forced to enter we will find out that HE IS STILL GOD. This is true in every stage of our life. II Corinthians 4:17 states it clearly That our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; and others let us know that our God is determined to prove that HE IS GOD in every circumstance we face. There is Biblical Support that he is GOD even in the Valley

1. In the Valley of Elah – I Samuel 17- There was a young shepherd boy by the name of David who came up against a great Philistine giant by the name of Goliath. In the Valley of Elah “Giants” can be defeated.

2. In the Valley of the Shadow of Death- Psalms 23:4 In the most read of biblical passages we find the same David now having a death warrant on his head from the now envious and jealous King Saul who David had served faithfully. Now King Saul wants David killed but in the Valley of the Shadow of Death David recognizes that GOD art with me and thy rod and staff comfort me.

3. In the Valley Of Baca- Psalms 84: 5-6 Also known as the Valley of Tears or Weeping. We all have spent some time in this valley where we have lost loved ones, dealing with medical issues or financial burdens have reduced us to tears. GOD is still there in this valley. As the psalmist writes that there is a well of refreshment in this valley.

Finally the Valley of Berachah 2 Chronicles 20:26- In this valley all you can do is just bless and praise the LORD for all that he is done. This incident started with prayer and ended with praise. We can see this picture of the valley of Berachah, the intervention of the God of the valley, Jehoshaphat the king of Israel, no doubt having a picture of One greater than he, in the temple leading the praise, the song going up to the God who has blessed His people in valley conditions. If we just persevere and let go and let GOD we can all have a Valley of Berachah experience.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

February 9th:

BLACK HISTORY DAY

All members are asked to bring a dish to be served after 11:00am service to celebrate Black History Day. There will be a 3:00pm service following the meal in the Fellowship Hall. Please contact Sister Michelle Davis for details. Members also are encouraged to wear African American attire in February.

February 16th:

ASSOCIATE PASTOR APPRECIATION SERVICES ~ "HONORING REV. WILLIAM H. DANDRIDGE"

Services at 8am, 11am, 3pm - Rev. Dr Gentre Adkins, pastor of the Faithful St. Mark Baptist Church will bring the message at 8:00am, Holy Light Associate minister Rev. Cornelius Crandall will bring the message at 11am and Rev. Joe Haywood Jr., Executive Pastor of the New Visions Christian Fellowship will speak at 3pm.

February 18th:

PRAISE & WORSHIP TEAM

All members (both men and women) interested in being a part of the Holy Light Praise and Worship Team are encouraged to take part in the initial planning meeting and rehearsal on Tuesday February 18th at 8pm (immediately following bible class) Rehearsal time is 45-60 minutes.

February 23rd:

PASTOR APPRECIATION SERVICES FOR PASTOR WALTER RILEY

Pastor Appreciation Services for Pastor Walter Riley at Greater New Morning Star Baptist Church at 3:00pm. Pastor Riley is retiring so let’s have as many as possible come out and support him at his final appreciation service.

CHURCH BASKETBALL TEAM

Anyone interested in being part of the Holy Light Church Basketball team please see Brother Darius Crockett for information and additional information on practice time.

The games will begin the first Saturday in March 1, 2014 . There is no age limitation but proceed at your own risk!!

FUNDRAISING FOR TELEVISION FOR THE FELLOWSHIP HALL

We are asking all members to contribute a donation of at least $10.00 that will go toward the purchase of a television for the Inez Berry Fellowship Hall.

The TV will allow us to have church fellowships (bring back Fellowship Fridays!!) in the fellowship hall, be able to show Christian videos and have Christian DVD’s played as part of future training and seminars we may have.

It also will allow us to eventually have the sanctuary services shown in the fellowship hall and be an asset with our children’s ministry. Also be available for viewing between services for members that stay at the Church between services. We have collected almost $400.00 already and we are on our way to moving forward with this project.

March 12th-17th:

NEW JERSEY TRIP INFORMATION

Here is the latest update for the trip to New Jersey to celebrate the anniversary of Rev. Darrell Armstrong. The current lowest RT non-stop flight is flying from LA to Philadelphia. The cost is right now $358.00. More details on the trip will be coming soon. Please see Associate Pastor Dandridge for details and provide him with who will be sharing rooms in New Jersey so that information can be given to the Shiloh administration to make the reservations. Room cost is $85.00 per room.

#gospel

December 2013 Newsletter

The Sermon that the Lord put on my heart to deliver was “Where Are the Nine” on this past first Sunday Scripture Text Luke 17:10-17

The Bible says, “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed”. The Bible says that he saw he was healed. Now the others no doubt knew that they were healed, but there was something different here. The Greek word used is the word eido, and it means to know, see, or perceive. He took the time to note that he had been blessed. He realized that something wonderful had happened to him. He was sensitive to the power of Christ working in his life.

Do we really perceive the ways that God has blessed us? Not a one of us is hungry, not a one of us is naked, but most importantly, if you are a Christian, you have been given everything through Christ Jesus our Lord. The devil will do his best to keep your mind off the blessings of God. He will constantly tell you how bad you have it, of how everything is wrong in your life. You see, it’s when you begin to realize how much you have in the Lord, that you will truly begin to be thankful, and when you are thankful, your heart will abound with love for the Lord that has so graciously given all to you.

I told this story as part of the message: There is an old story that illustrates this point. There is a man who goes to the rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week." A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy." The rabbi then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week." A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there’s no goat -- only the nine of us." The situation was the same as at first, but now his perception had changed. He realized that he was blessed to begin with.

An unthankful Christian is a defeated Christian for he/she has lost their joy.When he saw that he was healed, he turned around. Now the Lord had given the command to all 10 to go to the priest but he delayed, he turned around and went back to the Lord. Why didn’t the Lord rebuke him for this? The reason is because this man realized the priority of gratitude and worship. I believe that this man fully intended to obey what the Lord had told him to do, but he realized that he had a higher calling that must come first. If you don’t give God thanks, it won’t be long until your obedience just becomes a job to do, you lose the meaning of what God is wanting you to do. You become unthankful. It is fitting and proper to give thanks and praise to the Lord for what He has done in your life. As he drew near to where the Lord was, he glorified God. The Greek means that he made the Lord glorious, he manifested the worth of the Lord. He came to Jesus and fell down before Him in perfect submission and gave Him thanks. The Lord asked the question, Were there not ten cleansed? Where are the Nine? Then note what He told this man, “Arise, go thy way, thy faith has made thee whole.” This was something that the others did not receive. He had faith, not just to be healed, but many commentaries state that he had the faith to follow Christ. All people are blessed of God, but not all follow Christ. This man’s thankful heart responded in faith and he was perfected as a disciple of the Lord.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

December 7th:

SICK AND SHUT IN VISITATION

A group of Holy Light ministers, deacons, deaconess and mothers will be going out on Saturday to visit in home a number of our members who are sick and shut in to fellowship and also serve communion.

December 14th:

HOLY LIGHT CONVALESCENT HOMES OUTREACH MINISTRY NEWS

Everyone is cordially invited to share the Gospel Message and true spirit of Christmas with the Convalescent Homes Outreach Ministry as we make our final visits with patients for this year. Additionally, we will visit a few of our home-bound members. Please feel free to meet us at any one or more facilities that you can attend. It will be deeply appreciated. Gifts will be distributed to patients at the following facilities.

December 15th:

ANNUAL CANDLE LIGHT SERVICE

Service will be at 4:30pm on Sunday December 15th. It will feature the Children’s Drama Department and the Music Ministry Departments.

January 25th:

HOLY LIGHT COMMUNITY BLOCK PARTY

Anyone interested in volunteering or providing donations or support please contact Sis. Stephanie Hicks.

#gospel

54th Annual Church Anniversary Newsletter

Our celebration of our 54th annual anniversary will begin on two nights of revival on Thursday July 11th and Friday July 12th at 7:30pm.

Our dynamic speaker will be Rev. Darrell Armstrong, Pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, New Jersey

The Rev. Darrell L. Armstrong is a native of South (Central) Los Angeles, California where he was born and raised. He is married to the former Melanie L. Pinkney, Esq., who is the Executive Director of the Division of Civil Rights and Affirmative Action for the NJ-Department of Transportation. They are the proud parents of Amaris Kayla (7-years) and Daniel LaRue (5-years).

The Rev. Armstrong is in his 12th year of service as the pastor of the historic Shiloh Baptist Church of Trenton, NJ. Shiloh is a thriving community of faith rooted in a worship tradition which represents the richness of the African diaspora. He is only the church's third pastor in the last 108 years!!! Under his leadership, Shiloh has more than tripled its budget to $1.7M and nearly tripled its membership to 2,200+ (approximately 500+families).

His policy training at Stanford University (BA in Public Policy), theological training at Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and therapeutic/clinical training at The College of New Jersey (Ed.S. in marriage & family therapy) have uniquely prepared the Rev. Armstrong to be a respected voice in the national and international child welfare/family strengthening communities.

In May of 2010, he was chosen to be the 1st non-Presbyterian member of the Princeton Seminary Board of Trustees in its 200-year history (1812-2012).

Most recently, in January, 2012, he was chosen by Black Village Magazine as one of NJ's "50 Most Powerful Blacks!"

Our anniversary will culminate with a full day of services of Sunday July 14th with dynamic speakers and our culmination service at 3:30pm

Sunday, July 14, 2012

8:00am: Our speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Gentre Adkins, Pastor of the Faithful St. Mark Baptist Church in Los Angeles

11:00am: Rev. Darrell Armstrong, Pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, New Jersey will be the messenger

3:30pm: Bishop Henry W. Hearns, Pastor of the Living Stone Cathedral of Worship in Little Rock, California will bring the gospel message.

3:30pm: The gospel singing group the Men of Vision will be here to minister in music.

Please come join us as we celebrate what God has done in this part of the vineyard

We Have Come this Far By Faith