Weekly Bulletins

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

December 14, 2024 • Pastor Benji Ferguson • Galatians 4:4–7

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

December 7, 2024 • Pastor Marvin Wray • Psalm 8:3–4

Take the time for a few minutes to put away the hustle and bustle of preparations and navigating the highways and the aisles and just consider the vastness of God and all of his creation! Where does God dwell? How does he occupy his time? It is so hard to imagine that God could actually be interested in my small broken life...but he is! God sent his Son to rescue me from this dark world and then to literally live within my heart...and your heart...all at the same time. That is pretty hard to wrap my poor addled brain around. This Christmas, as we encircle the tree with our gifts, may we unwrap the Gift with the tag that reads, "From God, with Love"! And, even more, may we open the gift and wear the covering with joy, and then find someone who needs to know that the same gift is waiting for them to open. Merry Christmas!

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

November 30, 2024 • Pastor Marvin Wray • John 1:1–3, John 1:14

As we turn the corner from the simplicity of Thanksgiving and head toward the often chaotic preparations for Christmas, can we just stop for a bit and take a breath? Ahhhh, yes, not just a breath of air, but a breath of God...the Spirit of God and His real presence among us rather than the presents around us. Over the remaining weeks before Christmas I'm going to focus on celebrating the very basic reality of the incarnation...the birth of the Christ...the ultimate Gift of God. You are going to hear me refer to the simplicity of the message and the simple testimony we can share with those we interact with on a daily basis. I'll explain more about the concept of simply sharing what God has revealed to us as individuals in my message this Sabbath. I am praying that as a church and as individuals we might deliberately make time to center our minds on what Jesus might want to say to us this Christmas.

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

November 23, 2024 • Pastor Marvin Wray • Esther 4:14–16

 We are certainly living in a time of political uncertainty not only on a national level, but as we look at the global picture as well. I'm writing this a week before our national elections. Obviously, at this time I have no idea how things are going to have turned out on November 5 or whenever they get it settled. Additionally I read of North Korean soldiers in Russian uniforms heading toward Ukraine. Add to that the continually unsettled drama in the Middle East and we have plenty to be concerned about if we choose to focus on that. As a Christian I don't feel that I am called to weigh in with opinions regarding any of these issues. I would ask that we simply be a people of prayer, even to the point of fasting, and speak up with a confident message of hope...hope that leads to assurance...based on the promises that we have in God's Word. I believe with all my heart that God has given us a Messiah and a message for such a time as this!

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

November 16, 2024 • Pastor Marvin Wray • Luke 22:31–32

I have shared with you before the beautiful prayer of Jesus found in John, chapter 17, where He prays for those who would follow in the centuries after the disciples. Today I want to follow up on that and look at when Jesus shared with Peter that He had prayed for him. Jesus knew what lay ahead for Peter that dark night of the arrest. He knew that Peter would fall and fail, but He prayed that Peter would not lose his faith in Christ's power to deliver him. How many times have you failed in your spiritual journey? How many times and how many ways have you denied Him? But Christ's prayer is that you would hold on to Him and trust in Him and renew your mind in Him through faith. As we look ahead to Thanksgiving this week, may we be thankful most of all for Christ's grace and mercy that never fails. Have faith, my friend, in Christ!

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

November 9, 2024 • Pastor Pedro M Trinidad • Luke 19:5–6

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

November 2, 2024 • Pastor Marvin Wray • Revelation 22:16–17

As I am preparing this final message in this series I am singing along with Etta James, "At Last"!!! We have made it through all the weaknesses of the seven churches. We have made it through the seals, the trumpets, the plagues, the destruction and all of the futile attacks by Satan on the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And, through it all, we were given repeated assurance after each onslaught, that victory was ours if we would just put our hands in the hands of the Man who stilled the water! We have heard, and echoed ourselves, the cry from those under the altar as they call out, "How Long O Lord?" But, at last, Satan is no more. His angels are toast! Those who chose to give in to their temptations and distrust of God are gone with them. And now we see the glorious city of our God in all it's glory. And even better, we not only get to see it, but we get to inhabit it! But, what does it mean for today...for us? Well, we have heard the words. We are told they are trustworthy and true. We have been promised that He is coming soon. Yes, the Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!" But, let the ones who hear also say, "Come!" We are invited to come, and we are also commissioned to share the invitation while there is still time. But, as we do, let's make sure that we share the gospel of His revelation!

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

October 26, 2024 • Pastor Marvin Wray • Revelation 19:7–9

I have done so many weddings over the past 50 years. I love watching the eyes of the groom as he first sees the bride walking down the aisle. That moment is the highlight of the whole service to me. Can you imagine...no, you can't, but try...try to imagine the eyes of Jesus as He welcomes His bride...the church...you and me...to our forever home with Him! I am reminded of the chorus of an old hymn: "It is joy unspeakable and full of glory, O' the half has never yet been told!" However, there is another "great supper" where the final destruction of the beast and the false prophet and those who participated with them is acted out. We're almost done my friends. Those of us who are still alive when Christ comes will be caught up together with those raised in the first resurrection and we will be "priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years!" May God give us the faith to hold fast to what we have and keep our eyes on Jesus alone!

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

October 19, 2024 • Pastor Marvin Wray • Psalm 51:15–17

Having looked last week at the final judgment upon those who turned away from God's love, mercy and grace, we now witness the final judgment on the power responsible for luring them away. When we think of Babylon, let's not think of just one power. The ultimate responsibility rests on that great serpent, the devil, or Satan who is the one true deceiver. Babylon represents every entity that has led men and women to believe that they could earn, or achieve, heaven and God's approval by their own works. The simple message of the gospel, shared once again in this final book, is that we can never be good enough, we can never do enough, we can never achieve righteousness on our own. However, God is to forever be praised because by the blood of the Lamb our sins have been blotted out as a free gift and we are declared righteous by His grace alone. There will be great wailing and mourning as those who allowed themselves to be duped by the false teachings of the false church, but as always, there will also be great praise and thanksgiving by those who followed the Lamb!

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

October 12, 2024 • Pastor Marvin Wray • Revelation 15:1–4

Seven last plagues! Sounds extremely ominous doesn't it? And it is indeed...unless...unless you are securely sealed and protected by the hand of God! As we watch this outpouring of God's wrath I pray that we will observe it objectively. First of all, don't think of God looking down with hatred in His eyes as He "gets even" with those who chose to ignore Him. Rather than "wrath" I always thing of this as the inevitable consequences of disconnecting with a God of love. If we choose to not embrace life, what is left? What I love most about this week's message is the conclusiveness of it. These are the seven LAST plagues. What is their purpose? Probation may have closed. I'll leave that in God's hands, but the universe is clearly able to see the determined hatred that the lost have for God. He must be weeping as He sees their torment and pain, but evil must be ended, and if it cannot be ended by our surrender then it must be ended by His divine act. The bottom line is that as painful as this is to watch, it is good news. I can't wait to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb!

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

October 5, 2024 • Pastor Marvin Wray • Revelation 14:6–7

We certainly have entered into the heart of what Bible readers love to focus on in the epic message. Everyone wants to talk about the beast and what represents the image of the beast, and who is represented as the lamb-like beast. I don't think it is all that difficult to assign identities here, but what I want to emphasize is that while we can see what is transpiring with a comfortable amount of confidence in our understanding, let's look again at the big picture. Having seen these beast powers we are given the messages of three angels sent from God. We are given the absolute assurance that these earthly powers that have blasphemed God will be struck down. Babylon is fallen! Those who oppose God, or fail to accept His gift of life are toast! Those who remain in Jesus by faith will find eternal rest! This is the message of all these three angels. It is the everlasting gospel! What a revelation!

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

September 28, 2024 • Ivan Williams • Luke 22:31–34

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

September 21, 2024 • Pastor Pedro M Trinidad

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

September 14, 2024 • Pastor Marvin Wray • Revelation 10:5–7

We have previously looked at the perfectly sealed scroll which no one could open other than the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world. And now we see a little scroll lying open in the hand of an angel and John is instructed to take it and eat it. At first it is as sweet as honey, but then it turns bitter and makes his stomach sour. We are reminded of the long history of persecution of God's people, but how they stood fast and prevailed and just when we think victory is ours we find that we must continue to preach and that persecution will only get worse. God in His mercy does warn us, again and again, of the trials we will face, but every time He also promises His protection and reminds us that the final victory is His. I love how God never lets us suffer more than we can bear and that the promise of His deliverance is given again and again. Hold fast to what you have been given so that no power can take your crown!

Carmichael SDA Church Bulletin

September 7, 2024 • Pastor Marvin Wray • Revelation 8:3–4

We are really getting into never before seen territory now as we hear the trumpets sounding and see the results of God's wrath as a third of everything on earth is destroyed. This image would be paralyzing were it not for the context in which we find it. The trumpets sound as a result of the prayers of ALL of God's children being flung upon the earth. We have just heard the cry from under the altar, "How long, O Lord?" and now we see God's response to the evil in the world, but we see it given only in the measure of one third. This portion of God's wrath is still a warning, and thus an invitation to change, but the majority would not. My friends, we do, today, live in a world with increasing destruction, hatred, and immorality, but it is a time of warning if we have ears to hear and eyes to see and will take the message to heart. God hears our cries...our prayers...and He will answer with a final judgment, but the time is not yet.