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EVENTS & NEWS

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

2021 | Re-Opening Update Newsletter

    from the Desk of the Pastor

    We are planning for an in person church re-opening on Sunday August 1st. The Church Service time will be 10:00am. Church School will be at 9:00am. There will be a mailing sent to each member with details on the re-opening of the church. We will continue our live stream of the service after the re-opening.


    In person worship Services will continue to be live streamed on the Holy Light face book page at approximately 9:00am. For our current virtual services, we have incorporated a plan to check the temperature and have a health check form be completed before anyone enters the sanctuary. If you attend a worship service in person please wear a mask while in the sanctuary and please social distance during the service. We thank our Holy Light Ushers for their work in providing their services in this area.


    Please continue to pray for our members who are dealing currently with illness and health issues. The prayers of the righteous availeth much!


    Continue to pray for our nation, state and city and for the hearts of those to change their positions of authority in law enforcement. We also pray for our President and Vice President.

    Sunday Service: May 9, 2021

    Communion

    Sunday, June 6, 2021 (10:00am-12:00pm)


    Communion will be served as always in the Church Parking Lot Sunday June 6th from 10:00am to 12:00pm.

    Bible Study via Zoom

    Wednesday, May 26, June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 & July 7, 2021 (7:00pm)


    Zoom information was sent to you via email. If you haven't received it, please contact Pastor Dandridge.

    Live Stream on Facebook "Keeping it Mental 101 Workshop"

    Saturday, June 12, 2021 (12:00pm - 1:30pm)

    Keeping it Mental 101 Workshop Panel on Saturday June 12th at 12:00pm - 1:30pm at Holy Light MBC to be live streamed on Holy Light Facebook page.


    Topics to be discussed:

    • Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress

    • Current Update on Response to Pandemic

    • Vaccine Receivers vs Those who have Not received Vaccine

    • Challenges to Face Moving Forward- Controlling those Challenges

    • Assisting Children in Facing Challenges

    Church Improvement

    The church porcelain flooring will be installed in the month of June. Once that is completed then we will begin to look into replacing the church sanctuary door.



    Health & Community

    Exercise - Fitness Class

    We want to see if there is interest in losing some of those COVID pounds. Seeking to see if there is interest in taking part in a Saturday morning exercise class at Holy Light with a fitness professional. If you are interested please send an email to the church holylightmbc@gmail.com or call the church and leave a message 323 754-2885. All ages are welcome.

    Financial Assistance for Older Adults


    Home Safe helps older adults at risk of becoming homeless with:

    • Security & utility deposits

    • Rental assistance & move-in expenses

    • Backed rent & past due bills

    • Legal fees, reunification services & more

    If you got an eviction notice or are behind on your rent, call (213) 610-1589 or email APSHomesafe@wdacs.lacounty.gov by June 15th. Website: https://wdacs.lacounty.gov/stories/housing-stability-for-older-adults-at-risk-of-homelessness-through-home-safe/


    Sunday, May 23, 2021

    Sermon Subject: All For One and One For All - Christian Unity - Ephesians 4: 1-6

    A Unity of Calling


    All believers are the called of God. Our calling is our responsibility to respond to what we have become in Christ. Every believer has been called to be Jesus' disciple and to serve in the body of Christ.


    All are called of God.


    Thematically, Ephesians 4 moves from one's calling to unity to one's calling to ministry (all are called to ministry = part of the one hope of your calling). Christ has given many gifts of grace for ministry (diversity) which come together in one common goal of maturity in Christ.


    A Unity of Common Life and Source


    The unity of the Spirit is created through our union in Christ Jesus. The word "together" appears so frequently and in such innovative ways in this letter that it deserves special mention. The prefix, "with" or "together" is joined to a number of key words to express our joint life and the impossibility of life outside of this unity. This stands against the spirit of individuality so common in our country today. You know, "do your own thing, go your own way."

    A Unity of Ministry


    Our unity is a unity or oneness that exist not in spite of diversity, but because of it. It is the wonderful differences themselves which, when properly equipped, contribute to the function of the body and out of this function, attain an even deeper unity of maturity. Only as each part does its work can the body grow.


    A Unity of Purpose

    The purpose is maturity in Christ, being conformed to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The ultimate goal is Christ-likeness, or spiritual maturity according to the standard of Christ. This is the primary goal of the equipping and the unity desired. The more we possess His character and mind, the more we will experience the unity of the Spirit.

    2021 | April

      from the Desk of the Pastor

      In person worship Services continue to be temporarily cancelled. We have no definite re-opening date but it appears it will at least not be until the Summer/Fall of 2021. There will be a meeting to discuss a possible re-opening of the church next month. An update on reopening will be provided in the next newsletter.


      For our virtual services, we have incorporated a plan to check the temperature and have a health check form be completed before anyone enters the sanctuary. If you attend a worship service in person please wear a mask while in the sanctuary and please social distance during the service We thank our Holy Light Ushers for their work in providing their services in this area.

      Please note that on the Holy Light MBC Facebook account there is a live service at 9:00am every Sunday morning. The recording of the services are on the Holy Light face book page as well as the Holy Light website holylightmbc.org.


      Please continue to pray for our members who are dealing currently with illness and health issues. The prayers of the righteous availeth much!


      Continue to pray for our nation, state and city and for the hearts of those to change their positions of authority in law enforcement. We also pray for our President-Elect and Vice President-Elect as they ready themselves to take on a big challenge in our nation.

      Sunday Service: April 18, 2021


      Communion

      Sunday, May 2, 2021 (10:00am-12:00pm)


      Communion will be served as always in the Church Parking Lot Sunday May 2nd from 10:00am to 12:00pm.

      Bible Study via Zoom (8 Weeks)

      Wednesday, May 19, 26, June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, July 7, 2021 (7:00pm)


      We just finished our 8 week Bible Study/Sunday school on March 21st. We will resume our recurring bible study on Wednesday, May 19th at 7pm. We will cover our weekly Sunday school lesson and also have a weekly discussion from the book “Praying with Purpose”.


      Zoom information was sent to you via email. If you haven't received it, please contact Pastor Dandridge.


      Church Council Meeting

      May 12, 2021 (7:00 pm)

      We will have a church council meeting on May 12, 2021 at 7pm. The main discussion will be about church in person service re-opening. The state of California is having a full re-opening date of June 15, 2021. Let’s be prepared to discuss options for the church re-opening. Please contact me concerning any additional agenda items.

      Church Improvement

      We are in the process of making a vendor decision on the replacement of flooring in the church vestibule and fellowship. The work should hopefully begin prior to the summer.



      Health & Community


      Proverbs 21:15 – When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers

      Sunday April 18th

      Sermon Subject: What Happened After Midnight


      Not an Easy Road

      Perhaps it was inevitable that a man who had been zealous against Christ before his conversion would be equally zealous for Christ afterward. Armed with nothing more than the gospel of Jesus, he spearheaded the Christian movement through Turkey into Greece and on to Rome, the capital of the Empire and the greatest city in the world. He was, it seems, a force of nature. A man possessed by one great idea (“this one thing I do”), he proceeded to preach Christ wherever his name had not been preached so that those who had never heard might come to saving faith.


      When he mentions being in prison frequently, he perhaps did so with a bit of a wry smile because it was while he and Silas were in prison in Philippi that God worked a wonderful miracle on his behalf. The story told in Acts 16 goes like this. After casting an evil spirit out of a slave girl, Paul and Silas were thrown into prison for what we today would probably call disrupting the peace. The two men were beaten, thrown in jail, put under close guard, and placed in the inner cell with their feet bound in stocks.


      So what do you do when you have been arrested, beaten, imprisoned, placed under guard, with your feet bound in stocks, for nothing more than preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ?


      If you are Paul and Silas and it’s midnight, you start praying and singing hymns of praise to God. Acts 16:25 says that the other prisoners were listening to them. No doubt these two strangers looked like a mess after being severely beaten. The fact that they were in stocks and under close guard told the other prisoners that Paul and Silas were not ordinary criminals. So I ask again, what do you do at midnight?


      Go where you’re sent, Stay where you’re put, Give what you’ve got.


      I. Go Where You’re Sent.


      There was nothing easy about being accused of disturbing the peace, being publicly disgraced, derided, maligned and vilified. Nor was it pleasant to be beaten or thrown in prison alongside men who were truly criminals. Certainly having your legs in stocks not only meant you could hardly move, it also meant you would have great difficulty lying down. So what do you do in that situation?


      It all depends on your theology. If you don’t believe in the sovereignty of God, then you’ll probably be bitter and angry and very discouraged. If you don’t believe in a God who numbers the hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30), then you may think that something terrible has happened to you. But if you believe in the sovereignty of God, then you know that nothing can happen to you by accident. In that case, your reaction is likely to be quite different.


      You pray and sing hymns at midnight.


      II. Stay Where You’re Put.


      That just means that you go and serve the Lord wherever you happen to be, even though it may not have been your first choice. That’s why Paul and Silas were singing at midnight. They knew that God had sent them to the jail to bear witness for their faith. As Paul and Silas sang and the prisoners listened, they had no idea of the earthquake that was about to set them free (vv. 26-28). Nor did they know that soon they would lead the Philippian jailer and his whole family to the Lord (vv. 29-34). That was all hidden to them. As far as they knew, they would stay in prison a few days or a few weeks or a few months, and then they would go on trial. After that, no one could say what might happen.


      III. Give What You’ve Got.


      Evidently Paul and Silas weren’t trying to be quiet in the jail. Evidently they prayed and sang loud enough that a crowd of prisoners listened to them, amazed that two men in stocks, having been beaten and roughed up, no doubt a sight to behold, would seem so cheerful and full of faith. In jail!. At Midnight!


      When God calls, we can always find excuses to make: “Not me, Lord.” “Go ask someone else.” “I’m busy.” “I’m happy right where I am.” For all of us, the issue is not our personal desires but our response when the call comes. In the truly tough stuff of life, we rarely get a choice in advance, which is probably a good idea because if we did, we would be sorely tempted to run the other direction. But it is in moments like this that we discover our theology.


      I wonder what Paul and Silas prayed at midnight? I wonder if it was something like what Paul wrote several years later in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17.


      Lord, you are so good. Your mercies endure forever. We thank you that you know what you are doing in every situation. We are glad about that because many times we are clueless. We rest our weary souls on you, the Rock of Our Salvation.


      Give us confidence to believe that the God who started a good work in us will bring it to completion, and even today is bringing it to completion. Grant us grace to say “Here I am” when you call us to bear witness at midnight. Help us to stand fast, never moved, trusting in you, now and forevermore, until the day comes when we see Jesus face to face. Amen.

      Sunday School Answer


      Lesson 6 (Answer): Justification By Faith (Romans 5:1-11) - April 11, 2021



      2021 | Resurrection Sunday

        from the Desk of the Pastor

        In person worship Services continue to be temporarily cancelled. We have no definite re-opening date but it appears it will at least not be until the Summer/Fall of 2021. We are looking toward vaccines being received which will cut down the current health risk.


        For our virtual services, we have incorporated a plan to check the temperature and have a health check form be completed before anyone enters the sanctuary. This is done for the safety of our members during this period of increased cases in our city. We thank our Holy Light Ushers for their work in providing their services in this area.

        Please note that on the Holy Light MBC Facebook account there is a live service at 9:00am every Sunday morning. The recording of the services are on the Holy Light face book page as well as the Holy Light website holylightmbc.org.


        Please continue to pray for our members who are dealing currently with illness and health issues. The prayers of the righteous availeth much!


        Continue to pray for our nation, state and city and for the hearts of those to change their positions of authority in law enforcement. We also pray for our President-Elect and Vice President-Elect as they ready themselves to take on a big challenge in our nation.

        Sunday Service: March 28, 2021


        Sunday Service: March 21, 2021


        Sunday Service: March 14, 2021

        Communion

        Sunday, April 4, 2021 (10:00am-12:00pm)


        Communion will be served as always in the Church Parking Lot. Sunday, April 4th from 10:00am to 12:00pm.

        Bible Study

        Wednesday, April 7, 14, 21, 28 (7:00pm)


        Please plan on taking part in our Bible Study on each Wednesday at 7:00pm.

        *Zoom info was emailed to our members. If you haven't received it, please contact Pastor Dandridge.

        This will be a recurring weekly meeting until April 28, 2021.

        Church Improvement



        Church Property Improvement Updates – We are still in the process of receiving estimates on the replacement of flooring in the church vestibule and fellowship hall areas. We will provide an update when this work will be done in the next newsletter.

        Glorified Christian Time


        We are now members of the Glorified Christian Times Family. The link to the Christian newspaper is https://www.getglorifiedchristiannews.com


        Health & Community



        CALIFORNIA COVID‐19 RENT RELIEF

        Now Available to Income Eligible Households & Their Landlords

        If you or someone you know has fallen behind on rent or utility payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the California COVID-19 Rent Relief program that just launched on March 15 may be able to help.


        Households that have experienced a financial hardship due to COVID‐19, have past due rent or utilities, and have an income that is not more than 80% of the area median income (AMI) are eligible for emergency assistance through the Housing Is Key initiative made possible by state and federal funding.

        Landlords and renters can verify eligibility and apply immediately by visiting HousingIsKey.com or by calling 833‐430‐2122.


        Landlords that participate in the COVID‐19 Rent Relief program can receive assistance for 80% of eligible renters’ unpaid rent accrued between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, if they agree to waive the remaining 20% of unpaid rent from the same time period.


        Eligible renters can apply on their own to receive assistance for 25% of unpaid rent accrued between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, even if their landlord doesn’t agree to participate in the program.


        Renters can also apply to receive financial assistance to pay future rent, equal to 25% of monthly rent. This combined assistance can help renters stay housed once California’s eviction protections expire on June 30, 2021. Additional financial assistance available through the California COVID‐19 Rent Relief program includes help paying past due utility payments accrued from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021, as well as help paying future utility bills, both of which may be paid at 100% of cost but are limited to a total of 12 months.


        To check eligibility, review the required application items and get prepared to apply, visit HousingIsKey.com. Once an application has been processed, both the landlord and renter will receive notification of their application status and next steps.

        Resurrection Sunday


        The Uniqueness of Christ’s Resurrection


        The significance of resurrection of our Lord is first to be seen in the uniqueness of His resurrection from the dead. There are several facets of the uniquesness of the resurrection of our Lord which we shall focus on:


        (1) The resurrection of our Lord was unique because of His deity.

        The significance in the event of the resurrection is intertwined with the significance of the person who was raised. It was no mere mortal who rose from the dead on that Easter morning, it was the Son of God


        (2) The resurrection of our Lord was unique because of the death which preceded and necessitated His resurrection.


        The death of Christ was the death of one who was sinless, on behalf of those who were sinners

        The death of Christ was unique, because it was a part of God’s eternal plan that Christ would die as an innocent sacrificial lamb, as a substitute payment for the sins of men. The sacrifices of the Old Testament system anticipated Him who was to come as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29; cf. I Cor. 5:7). From eternity past, Christ was designated as the perfect sacrifice, without spot or blemish, whose death could thus atone for the sins of others (Is. 53; Heb. 9:11-14; 1 Pet. 1:18-20; 2:21-25).


        (3) The resurrection of our Lord was unique as an event which had no precedent.


        1 Never before had anyone been raised from the grave in such a way as to be completely transformed and thus beyond the icy fingers of death. Our Lord’s resurrection was the first genuine resurrection in the history of man. His resurrection is referred to as “the first fruits,” for there will be many who will follow after Him (1 Cor. 15:23).

        (1) The resurrection of Christ was necessary to prove that Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be.


        Our Lord had clearly claimed to be the son of God, which was the reason why the religious leaders conspired to kill Him (cf. John 19:7). The resurrection was God’s proof that the Lord Jesus was Who He claimed to be: the Son of God:


        (2) The resurrection of Christ was necessary to prove that Jesus Christ had accomplished what He had promised.

        The death of our Lord alone would not have sufficed, since it is by our identification with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection that we are saved.


        Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Rom. 5:9-10).


        In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, that great resurrection chapter of the New Testament, Paul argues that apart from Christ’s resurrection, we would have no hope: But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. . . . For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins (1 Cor. 15:13-14; 16-17).


        In his message at Pentecost, Peter taught that the resurrection of Christ by the Father (through the Holy Spirit) was God’s vindication of His Son, His message, and His work


        (3) The resurrection was a necessary in order to fulfill biblical prophecy.


        In Acts chapter 2 Peter argued that the resurrection was biblically necessary, citing David’s words in Psalm 16:10: “Because Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, Nor allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay” (Acts 2:27; cf. 13:33).


        Peter argued from Psalm 16 that David could not have referred to himself, but rather to his Son, Messiah, whom God would raise from the dead. The Old Testament Scriptures were understood by the apostles to foretell the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection of Christ was thus a biblical necessity.


        (4) The resurrection of Christ was also a logical necessity.


        In his message in the second chapter of Acts, Peter also contended that the resurrection of Christ, the Messiah, was a logical as well as a biblical necessity.


        “And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power” (Acts 2:24).


        Peter argued here that it is impossible for God to remain in the grave and to decay, as men do. By virtue of being God, Christ could not have been left in that tomb, dead.


        (5) The resurrection of Christ is vital because it is a necessary element of a saving faith.

        In both the Old and the New Testaments, a saving faith was a faith in a God’s who could and would raise men from the dead. A careful study of the 11th chapter of Hebrews will indicate that the faith of Old Testament saints was a resurrection faith.2


        Let;s use one Old Testament figure to demonstrate the resurrection dimension of faith, the faith of Abraham. The initial absence of this kind of faith is apparent from Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his wife’s purity in order to save his own skin. As Abram and Sarai approached Egypt, he said to her,“See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and it will come about that when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I might live on account of you” (Gen. 12:11-13)


        As God continued to work in Abraham’s life, a resurrection faith resulted. When God promised Abram and Sarai a son in their old age, Abraham believed God because he had come to possess a saving, resurrection faith. Paul writes about Abraham’s faith in his epistle to the Romans:


        And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness (Romans 4:19-20).3


        Abraham’s resurrection was put to its most crucial test, once again pertaining to his son. The writer to the Hebrews tells us,


        By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead; from which he also received him back as a type (Hebrews 11:17-19).


        Thus we can see that the faith of the Old Testament saints was a resurrection faith. So, too, the faith of the New Testament believer must be a resurrection faith. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)


        The apostle Paul wrote: . . . if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved (Rom. 10:9).


        Personal faith in the resurrection of Christ is therefore necessary because it is a vital element in a faith that leads to salvation.


        Sunday School Puzzle



        Lesson 3 (Puzzle): No One is Righteous (Romans 3:9-20) - March 21, 2021



        Lesson 4 (Puzzle): Righteousness Through Faith (Romans 3:21-31) - March 28, 2021



        Lesson 5 (Puzzle): A Promise Received By Faith (Romans 4:18-25; Luke 24:1-9) - April 4, 2021



        Lesson 6 (Puzzle): Justification By Faith (Romans 5:1-11) - April 11, 2021


        Sunday School Answer


        Lesson 1 (Answer): Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome (Romans 1:8-17) - March 7, 2021


        Lesson 2 (Answer): God’s Wrath Against Mankind (Romans 1:18-32) - March 14, 2021


        Lesson 3 (Answer): No One is Righteous (Romans 3:9-20)- March 21, 2021


        Lesson 4 (Answer): Righteousness Through Faith (Romans 3:21-31) - March 28, 2021


        Lesson 5 (Answer): A Promise Received By Faith (Romans 4:18-25; Luke 24:1-9) - April 4, 2021



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        GOD LOVES CHEERFUL GIVER

        The Bible teaches that giving financially to the work of the Lord is a vital part of being a follower of Christ. 

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