2 Thessalonians 2:3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
Dear Church Family,
Yes. Lawlessness is a sign that Jesus is coming again. But instead of developing that theme, I’m going to suppose that you agree that there are signs that Jesus is Coming soon. Now what?
Jesus’ answer:
Matthew 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
1. We need to keep our love from growing cold. Or in other words, Keep your love warm (even hot).
2. “Stand firm”. I think I saw it on a Christian T-shirt, “Fight like a Man; Get on Your Knees and Pray!” This references Jesus’ admonition on ‘standing firm’ to His disciples, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation… (Matthew 26:41)
“But”, you may ask, “I want Faith in God because I’m scared. And you may add, “I don’t like my motives, why should God!?”
You might think that John the Baptist is talking about you when he said, “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? (Matthew 3:7)
Actually, reading the very next verse shows that even a brood of vipers has a clear path back to God, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”(Verse 8)
And we vipers have God’s help even with that: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
With so much attention to everybody's help; I want to make sure and keep Trusting in Jesus. How about you? How are you doing?
Blessings,
Pastor Albert
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Galatians 5:22 - 26
This will be the topic for our Prayer Meeting tomorrow evening.
Due to the contagious COVID-19, church is closed until it is safe to open.
If you need groceries, other supplies, or other types of assistance, please don't hesitate to contact your church family in regards to how we can help you.
Wasn’t this Newsletter Supposed to Come on Monday? Yes, it is our goal to get the Newsletter out on Mondays and Thursdays. But we had a special event (next), and that took some planning and time.
Community Service Event: Our event was a great success. Dr. Al Lui really made a lot of complicated things plain. He began by explaining the main theories of how the virus made the transition from animals to humans and ended up taking questions from the participants.
Yes, there were a few participants from the community. There were certainly church members and their guests. We spoke to several, who all agreed that it was a very worthwhile event.
Until we can put on another “Dinner with a Doctor”, this was a very good ‘meanwhile’ program.
Re-Gathering Plans: The leadership team and most members are patiently waiting for better conditions to resume regular worship services. The restrictions on gathering make sense, but they are still onerous. (We hope to share more on that in two days, in this newsletter.)
Those who wish to come to church will be masked and disbursed. We do not expect many at the time of this writing. There are about 4 or 5 that may be there.
We will continue with our usual online meeting. For an invitation and instructions, please see the “Ongoing” section below.
ONGOING:
Programs:
1. Daily: 100 Days of Prayer: This is a World Church call to prayer. By email, once per day, I get a reminder to pray, scripture promises to claim, a devotional thought, and the opportunity to join others in prayer and fellowship. If you are looking for a daily devotional this is a great place to start. To begin, and sign up: http://www.revivalandreformation.org/100days
2. Daily: Rolling Hills Church Prayer Call: Tuesdays – Sundays, 1:00 p.m. / Mondays 12:00 noon, we join the “Weekly SCC Prayer Call” (See the next paragraph for participation information).
3. Weekly: Mondays: “Weekly SCC Prayer Call” 12 Noonwith the Southern California Conference Prayer, Spirituality and Renewal Team. To participate call (435) 777-2200. When asked, enter the identification number: 202077# There is always a special devotional, testimonies and prayer requests are fielded. Janet Lui can answer questions: (310) 963-2578 Helpful commands:
*5 = ‘Raising your hand’ to ask permission to chime in.
*6 = To mute or unmute your phone
*86 = Increase speaking volume
*87 = Decrease speaking volume
4. Weekly: Mondays: Women’s Ministry Group: Host, Janet Lui, “Please Invite other women that you think might like this time of fellowship, devotional and prayer. Open to all women.” Mondays, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Pathfinders: Sabbaths: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Specific Zoom, or FaceTime contact information will be provided directly to the Pathfinder Parents based on individual classes.
6. Weekly: Wednesdays and Sabbaths: ‘Zoom’ Services: Our Mid-Week Bible Study is full of fellowship and prayers. Our Sabbath Morning Adult Lesson (10 a.) and Homily (11 a.) We share our highs and lows, viewpoints, scripture promises, and pray requests. Here is the connection information. Please note the password (it is our address, plus the number 7)
Topic: Rolling Hills Adventist: Mid-week Prayer Meeting Time: Wednesdays 7:00 p.m. Topic: Rolling Hills Adventist Church: Sabbath Morning Time: Sabbaths, 10 a. & 11 a. Online:https://zoom.us/j/6579293321?pwd=VksvMFFBMVQxeStjQkpDMEd5ZGR0QT09 Telephone: (253) 215-8782 or (301) 715-8592 Meeting ID: 657 929 3321 Password: 283407
Announcements:
Southern California Conference COVID 19 Relief Fund (Quoted from a Letter to Churches):
The Southern California Conference recognizes the financial strain that work restrictions have placed on many people throughout the conference as a result of COVID-19 shelter-in-place recommendations. In an effort to provide financial assistance to those most in need, the Southern California Conference would like to ask you to partner with us as, together, we grow a financial assistance fund that will help those who need it most at this critical time. This relief fund is intended to assist members who can demonstrate that, as a direct result of COVID-19, they have experienced a loss of income from the following: Job Loss; Job Furlough or Reduced Work Hours.
Contributions to this fund can be made through the Adventist Giving website (see below).
Financial Help: The Church Board has set aside funds to help those in our church family who have been financially impacted by the pandemic. If you would like to receive such help, please contact one of the Elders directly (Betsy Adams, Raymond Barnes, Janet Barnhill, Janet Lui, Dahlma Osborne), or call me, Pastor Albert, at the Church Office. There are details and a process so that this will be confidential and smooth.
Reach Your Pastor: I am forwarding the church phone (310/541-1819) to my home phone (424/206-2949) and though it often has bad reception you can call my cell phone (626/826-8448) or text me. Email works, too: albertfrederico@gmail.com
Online Giving: did you know you can return your tithes and offerings online? Adventist Giving enables us to return our tithes and offerings online easily.Go to Adventist Giving
2 Thessalonians 2:7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
