Posts with the category “covid-19”

Happy Friday, Friendship Family!It has been a while since I have done a weekly update! I miss you all, and I miss this. I pray this week’s update finds each of you well! You know our weeks are often filled with highs and lows. I want to share with you my highs and lows for this week. The HIGH of my week came on Saturday, April 15th,  when I had the pleasure of attending the Changing of Command Cer...  Read More

Happy Friday Friendship Family!I trust and pray you are all doing well right where you are! I pray you are receiving everyspiritual blessing God has for you and that you are encouraged and not discouraged. I know Isaid something similiar last week but I like reiterating it!Do you know that we serve a GOOD God? Do you know we serve a GREAT God? Well, we do.We served a GREAT God who is worthy of GRE...  Read More

Hey there Friendship Family!This is a simple message this week just to get some information out to you! So there’s no long “word of encouragement” this week, but let me say this, “Be encouraged, and don’t be discouraged!” Why? Beacsue, God is on your side. Here are this week’s announcements…SIDE-BY-SIDE COUPLES MINISTRY:The next Side by Side Couples Ministry Session will occur tonight Friday, Marc...  Read More

Greetings Friendship Family!Happy Friday, Beloved! It is the first Friday of a new month! We are in the Month of March now! WOW! February was a trip with all the crazy cold weather. We have had unprecedented rain and snow in January and February of this year. It reminds me that we serve a Mighty God! Californian Leaders and Politicians have been complaining about the water shortage in our STATE! T...  Read More

Hey there Friendship Family!Greetings in the precious name of Jesus Christ!As we start 2023, I pray you are Making the Transition and Taking the Journey! Most of us see January 1st and the New Year as a chance for a new beginning. If the previous year was disappointing or they made significant mistakes, they imagine wiping the slate clean and starting over.As believers, we know that new starts are...  Read More

Happy New Year, Friendship Family! I pray this update finds you well! I greet you in the marvelous name of Jesus, and I thank God for you! Beloved, God has allowed us to see a New Year, and it is purely by His Grace. I encourage you not to be afraid to face life in this New Year. Remember what I preached this past Sunday, and let’s Make the Transition as inspired by Joshua 1:1-9. How do we do this...  Read More

PLEASE READ THOROUGHLYSOME ANNOUNCEMENTS WRITTEN HERE ARE NOT IN THE VIDEO Happy November, Friendship Family,We are in a new month—the month of gratitude. The month when the Thanksgiving Holiday falls. We are thankful for all God has done and continues to do!The Bible is filled with commands to give thanks to God ( like Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 1 Chronicle 16:34; & 1 Thessalonians 5:18). Most ve...  Read More

Type your new text here....  Read More

PLEASE READ THOROUGHLYSOME ANNOUNCEMENTS WRITTEN HERE ARE NOT IN THE VIDEO Greetings, Friendship Family,It’s the First Friday of October in the year 2022! I pray this video message finds each of you well. It’s been a busy week for me, but you know your pastor, busyness is where I thrive. So God is sustaining me this week, and I pray that He is sustaining you too! Remember, this entire month, we ar...  Read More

PLEASE READ THOROUGHLYSOME ANNOUNCEMENTS WRITTEN HERE ARE NOT IN THE VIDEOWe are now Mask Optional for worship on Sundays!!! Greetings Friendship Family, How grateful I am to God for each of you! I am grateful to be a part of the Friendship Family and to serve God with each of you. To God be the glory for all He is doing with us here at Friendship! Your outpouring of love was absolutely tremendo...  Read More

Happy Friday!  This is Pastor Jaron.  Pastor Curry asked me to step in and do the announcements this week.  Didn’t we have a wonderful day this past Sunday as we celebrated National Back to Church Sunday!  It was so good to see so many in the house of the Lord! I think out “Get in the Game” theme went over very well - It seems like every team that exists was represented at the ‘Ship!Now on to our ...  Read More

 PLEASE READ THOROUGHLYSOME ANNOUNCEMENTS WRITTEN HERE ARE NOT IN THE VIDEOWe are now Mask Optional for worship on Sundays!!! Check our information on the 2022 Pastoral Anniversary HERE Greetings Friendship Family, Thank God for another week and another day! An old song by Tessie Hill says… Just Another Day that the Lord has kept me!He has kept me from all evil with my mind stayed on Him!Just anot...  Read More

PLEASE READ THOROUGHLYSOME ANNOUNCEMENTS WRITTEN HERE ARE NOT IN THE VIDEO Happy September Friendship Family, We have made it to the ninth month of the year! That means that Sabbath Rest is officially over, and it is time to return to church and reengage in ministry! JOIN US FOR FAMILY PRAYER TONIGHTToday is the Friday before the first Sunday and first Friday of September, and TONIGHT we have our ...  Read More

Hey there, Friendship Family!Happy Friday to each of you! We are roughly halfway through August and our time of Sabbath Rest. Again, As I stated last week, I pray this rest pattern here at Friendship during August will help you establish a rest pattern in your life outside our Sabbath Rest time. I sincerely pray that you can trust God to bless you with a time of rest and make you more effective wh...  Read More

Greetings, Friendship Family!Well, I am happy to greet you this week. I have fully recovered though I did not have significant sickness. I have tested negative and am diligently working as your pastor daily! A job I am privileged to do and a job that I am happy to do! Lady Karima and I sincerely thank you for your prayers, texts, calls, and e-mails. Again, we are very grateful that we had mild Cov...  Read More

Hello, My Beloved Friendship Family! Blessings to each of you as you read this written message! Can you believe that we are at the end of July? We are over halfway through the year. AMAZING!!! August is here already.Here at Friendship, August is a time of rest and refreshing. We call this time Sabbath Rest. It’s time to pause, reset, and renew. This allows the people to rest and the campus to rese...  Read More

Greetings, Friendship Family!Happy Friday to each of you! I pray you are prosperous, in good health, and trusting in the Almighty God, the owner of everything! God is the owner of everything. That’s what we talked about this past Sunday, the first sermon of our new preaching series. Yes, God is the owner of everything. The owner of something has certain attributes, or perhaps it would be better to...  Read More

Happy Friday, Friendship!I pray this has been a wonderful week for each of you! I pray this, especially for those who have joined us this week for Discipleship Bootcamp! What a wonderful time of learning, sharing, and growing we experienced! This week we addressed the concepts of leadership, purpose, and overcoming obstacles with God as our guide! Remember, God has a purpose for everyone, and YOU ...  Read More

Hey there Friendship!How are you doing? I greet you in the Name that is above every Name—the Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, and Lord! I pray that each of you is doing well right where you are! We all recognize how blessed we are to have reached this seventh month of the year 2022. The favor and faithfulness of our God continue to astound us as He blesses our families and our fellowship.You know...  Read More

Happy Friday, Friendship Family! It is Friday, July First! So welcome to the second half of 2022. We have six months left this year; therefore, it is time to maximize the time if you haven’t already! I want to thank you, Friendship, for being a responsive congregation!✔️ Responsive to God’s Word!✔️ Responsive to God’s Holy Spirit.✔️ Responsive to Pastoral Leadership.✔️ Responsive to the needs of o...  Read More

Greetings, Friendship Family!As I announced Sunday, I am away this week on vacation, so I asked Deacon James Shelby to stand in for me, and he did an outstanding job. So make sure you check out the video announcements! Thank you, Deacon Shelby!Last week was a very busy week.  Thank you to all those that worked so hard to bring glory to God with your service!  Just like last week, there’s lots of g...  Read More

Greetings, Friendship Family! As I announced Sunday, I am away this week at the Hampton University Minister’s Conference in Hampton, Virginia, so I asked Deacon Charles “Chuckie” Owens to stand in for me, and he did a great job. So make sure you check out the video announcements! Thank you, Deacon Chuckie! Since there are so many announcements, I try to jump right in. So, let’s go! STEPPING HIGHER...  Read More

>>> PLEASE READ THOROUGHLY <<<SOME ANNOUNCEMENTS WRITTEN HERE ARE NOT IN THE VIDEO Happy June, Friendship!Yes, it is the sixth month of the year already! Time is ticking away! I trust and pray that each of you is well this Friday!I have a lot of announcements this week, so I really don’t have time for a word of encouragement! But I am an encourager in my heart, so I need to say something encouragi...  Read More

Hello Friendship Family! I pray today’s weekly update and announcements find you fairing well! I also pray that you have peace that surpasses all understanding and joy that is speakable and full of God’s great glory! I don’t know about you, but I have been caught off guard by unforeseen things lately! You know things you weren’t expecting, and they catch you by surprise? Things you did not know we...  Read More

Hey there Friendship Family! It was great seeing so many of you here this past Sunday! Exciting things are happening here at Friendship! However, we know that there are many reasons why someone may not be able to participate as an active member of the church. Still, we would like to encourage you to come experience worship here on Sundays and get involved in a Bible Study, Small Group, or attend t...  Read More

Happy Friday, Friendship Family! Today is the last Friday of April. Wow! Spring is in full swing! Just as winter symbolizes death, Spring symbolizes new life. Trees, plants, and grass are beginning to turn green, and new life emerges from the ground. The Christian faith is all about new life all year round, especially during Spring when Easter occurs — something died but now lives again. In Christ...  Read More

Greetings, Friendship Family!I am still basking in the glory of our tremendous Resurrection Sunday Services! The Lord was undoubtedly kind to us and present with us! Amen!I want to take the opportunity to thank all of our ministry teams for their hard work over the entirety of Holy Week. Thank you to our Media, Audio, Music, Hospitality, Safety, Parking Lot Team, and the Friendship Staff (both ful...  Read More

Hello Friendship Family!It’s Holy Week!  Holy Week is a string of eight days that allow us an opportunity to reflect upon the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and what it means for us individually and collectively.  Holy Week this year began on Sunday, April 10th, Palm Sunday!  Palm Sunday reflects on when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem.  The week leads us through the Last Supper, His crucifix...  Read More

Greetings & Salutation Friendship Family! Again, I greet you in the great name of Jesus! Beloved, we live in a world that constantly screams for our attention: children to raise, bills to pay, bosses to please, and issues to address. We long to fly away from all our stress and worries at such times. The antidote that cures worry today is the same as in David’s day. David, the man God used to write...  Read More

.Happy there Friendship Family!I greet you in the precious name of Jesus! It’s a glorious name!The book of Philippians contains a great passage about the name of Jesus when it says: “God exalted Jesus to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jes...  Read More

Hey there Friendship Family!What an honor a privilege for me to connect with you week after week! I am grateful for the means to update you on what’s going on here at Friendship and remind you of God’s everlasting love for you! I hope this finds you doing well this Friday and giving glory to God Almighty. God loves you, and He will never leave you nor forsake you.Always keep your focus on Jesus; r...  Read More

Well, Happy Friday, Friendship Family! Yes, it’s Friday again! I greet you today with appreciation to our GREAT GOD! Psalm 48:1 states, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness!” Our God is a GREAT God! When you get a chance, I encourage you to read Psalm 48 in its entirety! The psalm reminds us that we rejoice because God strengthens an...  Read More

Well, Happy Friday, My Beloved Friendship Family!I greet you today in the precious name of Jesus Christ, the faithful and the true Son of God! I also thank our Heavenly Father for giving us the gifts of life, living, and loving especially given the uncertainties of the days in which we live. In uncertainty, it is good to have the certainty of our faithful God!Look, I know we have had a wearisome w...  Read More

Hey there, Friendship Family! I pray your week is going well and that you remember that you are blessed and highly favored by our great God! I greet you in the saving name of Jesus Christ! Friendship, as stated on Sunday, our 2022 Church theme is United & Unashamed: God’s People United in Mission, Ministry, & Mandate. This theme is designed to remind us that here at Friendship, we come together to...  Read More

Happy New Year, Friendship Family!I pray this update finds you well! I greet you in the great name of Jesus, and I thank God for you!Well, God has allowed us to see a New Year, and it is purely by His Grace. Beloved, do not be afraid to face life in this New Year. This New Year has a lot of promises for us. Trust God, and everything will be fine. Again, Happy New Year!Thank you to everyone who joi...  Read More

Greeting Friendship Family! Well, this is the last weekly update of 2021!Yes, today, December 31, 2021. The very last day of 2021. Tonight at midnight, 2021 will be over and gone, and that is an exciting prospect for many of us! Many are looking forward to a New Year, a new season, a new opportunity, and a reset or redo.  As we look forward to 2022, may we reflect on the faithfulness of God in 202...  Read More

...  Read More

Hello Friendship! Guess what? It’s almost Christmas! The Sunday before Christmas is considered Christmas Sunday here at Friendship. It is the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, and we will celebrate Christ together! This Sunday, our Advent focus will be peace! Peace from God, biblical peace, allows us to trust in God’s promises through restful, calm faith, despite the dark, scary world around us. ...  Read More

Greetings & Salutations Friendship Family!I pray that this Advent Season is going well for each of you! You know the year is quickly coming to an end, and as it does, I pray that you will not panic or become frantic but enjoy the season.It is easy to become overwhelmed with Christmas shopping, Christmas stress, and credit card bills. But amid the busyness, be sure to reflect on the true meaning of...  Read More

Happy Friday, Friendship Family!Can you believe it is December already? That’s a rhetorical question. I already know the answer. You cannot, and neither can I. However, I can say that 2021 has gone by QUICKLY! We are in the last month of the year. Just 28 days left, and December will be over, and more than that, 2021 will be over! That is just incredible to imagine!I trust and pray that each of yo...  Read More