EAST HILLS CONNECTION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Think About It... From Pastor Mark
Charles Allen was a pastor in Houston for many years. In one of his books of sermons, he told the story of a Norwegian fisherman, his wife, and two young sons who lived in a delightful cottage on a cliff overlooking the North Sea. Each morning, his wife, Ingrid, watched from the cottage as her husband and their sons they took their fishing boat into the fog. Fishing was how they made their living.
 
But one day the man and his sons went out too far. A storm came up and the waves were crashing over their little boat. The men were sure that they were going to drown. And somehow in the storm, their compass had broken too. As nightfall came, it was so dark that they could not tell whether they were going out to sea or back to land. The father and his sons were desperately lost!
 
Then, suddenly in the storm there was a glow in the distance. The man and his sons aimed their boat toward the light. The father and his sons were overjoyed when they found that the glow was from the cliff above the sea. God, in His mercy, had saved their lives! 
 
When they arrived, Ingrid met them at the dock. But instead of being happy, she was in despair. The same storm that had nearly drowned them was the same storm that had sent lightning to their cottage on the cliffs. Their home had burned to the ground. Ingrid was devastated with the loss and angry at God. 
 
But then, her husband told her his side of the story. He told Ingrid how they were grateful for the fire because it guided them to shore in the fog. He summarized it this way: “My dear wife, what you thought was a tragedy was God’s rescue for us. The lightning was a blessing from God. It saved my life and it saved our sons’ lives! Thank God for the fire!” When Ingrid heard this, she joined her husband in gratitude to God for the fire.
 
Folks, this is the wonderful thing about God. Hard things turn out to be good things when God is working in our lives. What we think of as tragedy is the very thing that God uses for good! God uses our heartaches and hurts for a greater good. Some of us are out of work or out of money or both. Some of us have a wayward child, a problem person, a disease, an illness, some tragedy, an injustice, or the death of a loved one that is hard to take. All of us in one way or another are dealing with this Covid-19 thing, the politics, the nation, the cities, and the world. It can feel like the everything is a mess. Well, it is not! God is in control! He has not forsaken us! 
 
It is vital that we remember one important and familiar verse. It is Romans 8:28 which says: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” When you know that God is sovereign, you will believe that He knows what is best in “all things.”
 
When God is in charge of your life, nothing is an accident! You will believe that God has a purpose in everything. Worry wastes energy on the things you can't control. Peace comes when you leave everything in God's hands.  Remember that quite often, the best lessons that we can learn are on the road to a place we never intended to go but God in His sovereignty meant it to be. 
 
My dad had a poem he often recited about the sovereignty of God. It says:
God is on the throne
And He takes care of His own.
Though problems beset us and trials distress us,
He never will leave us alone!!
 
A.W. Tozer put it this way: “God dwells in eternity, but time dwells in God. He has already lived all our tomorrows as He has lived all our yesterdays."
 
So trust in God’s eternal purpose. He is weaving the events of your life into a gorgeous tapestry. Rest in His sovereignty and trust in His control!
 
One of my favorite verses that has helped me in my walk with Christ in the last few years is Psalm 18:30. It says:
"As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him."
 
Whatever you are facing, God is always working in them. God knows about your hurts, disappointments, tragedies, and problems. You may not see God and He may not be moving as fast as you would like but He is working even now. There is no need to despair because God is at work right now in your life. He has not abandoned you and He never will. He knows what the ideal way is for us. Our heartaches are His highways and our trials are His trails to peace, fulfillment, and blessing. He works things together for our good and His glory. So, dear friend, trust in God’s sovereign will for your life. He always has your best interest in His heart. God’s way for you is perfect! It may not seem like it all the time, but it is!
 
And God’s way for East Hills Community Church is perfect too. He has just the right pastor coming. We don’t know his name yet or what he looks like. And we don’t know how long it will take to find him. But we know that God has His hand on our future. Believe it and trust Him. We know that God is working because He has done it in the past. We must believe that He is doing it again. God’s way is perfect!
 
So, we can rest in the sovereignty of God on this too. God has a perfect plan and a purpose for our church, our nation, and our lives. We just need to trust the Lord for the road ahead. God will supply all our needs. God will guide us!
 
Psalm 48:14 says: “For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide …”

I love being your pastor!
Pastor Mark Platt
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This Sunday's Message
Our sermon series, “Psalms for Your Summer” continues with a study of Psalm 73. Do you struggle with the meanness of the world, the injustice of trying to be godly, and why the godless seem to prosper? God inspired a musician named Asaph to write Psalm 73 about this very thing. God showed him to see “Life from Another Perspective.”  

On Sunday morning, go to www.easthillscc.org on your smartphone or computer. On the first page of our web-page, choose one of the links to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and our own TruthCasting. If you go to the www.easthillscc.org, and go to the “Messages” tab, you can download a printed copy of sermon outline as well as hear messages from the past.

Also, if you are non-technical, you can simply call (510) 210-9117 and hear the Sunday service on your phone.
Announcements
No Public Services Yet

Alameda County and Governor Newsom have locked things up again. So, we are prohibited from re-opening again. Praise the Lord that we can meet online!
Invite Your Friends and Family to East Hills! 

In these crazy times, people are more open to the Good News. Inviting them to listen to our online services is a non-threatening way to tell them about new life in Christ. You can forward an invitation from your Facebook or Instagram pages. Also, you can send them an email or text and direct them to www.easthillscc.org. where you can click on "Watch This Week's Sermon."
Our New Electrical Panel

The panel's repairs are made, and protective bollards replaced! Your faithfulness made this possible! We are relieved to have this work done to prevent outages, sparks and fires. If you want to help our church with this project, designate your gift for “Electrical Panel.” Thank you.
Facelift underway for EHCC!

Our painter has done much-needed preparation work on the front of our buildings. And has progressed much on the project! The building is looking great! We hope to have the rest our facilities “spic and span” for our first Sunday when we re-open. If you want to help our church with this project, designate your gift for “Painting.”
Women's Bible Study

Held on Thursday nights with Evie Berg on Zoom. Right now, the group is studying Philip Yancey's book, "Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?" This book is an invitation to communicate with God the Father who invites us into an eternal partnership through prayer. The study will explore very heartbeat--the most fundamental, challenging, perplexing, and deeply rewarding aspect--of our relationship with God: prayer. The goal is to help believers more fully consider, experience, and cherish the priceless gift of prayer in a fresh, new approach to this timeless topic.

Whether you are in Kentucky, Arizona, or right here in the East Bay, you can enjoy studying the Bible with other women. Call June Peterson at (510) 604-4277 for more information. All women are invited to enjoy the fellowship and the fun of Bible study!
Support God's Work at EHCC

All bills are paid again this month! Grateful thanks for your stewardship, generosity and faithfulness. We continue to depend on your regular and sacrificial financial support of God’s work. We need to fully support our staff and pay our utilities and other bills. We have missionary support to send. We want to continue our “online” presence during this time and that requires money. Please intensify your financial support of East Hills during this time.

There are 4 ways to give:
Option 1: Mail checks to East Hills at 12000 Campus Drive, Oakland, CA 94519
Option 2: Text "Give" to 510-800-7175
Option 4: Set up online banking with your bank and list East Hills as a payee

Thank you and God bless!
Submit Your Prayer Requests on our Website
"Need Prayer"
As we weather this storm together, we are trying to keep the lines of communication open, especially for prayer. If you have a prayer need, please click the button and submit your prayer. We have a dedicated team who will pray for your request. Prayers can be marked "confidential" for Pastor Mark. If not marked, the information will go to the prayer team.
Corporate Prayer
Join with other East Hills people for prayer each night at 7 PM. This is not online or formal. Just find a quiet place in your home to pray. You can ask your spouse and/or your family members to join you in prayer too.
Please pray for seven specific things:

1. Pray for protection and for containment of the Coronavirus.
2. Pray for wisdom for our leaders as they deal with the virus.
3. Pray for God's protection and guidance for our medical professionals as they treat those affected.
4. Pray for those whose businesses, jobs, and incomes are affected.
5. Pray for those who are the most vulnerable to the attack of this virus.
6. Pray that God will use this time to bring our nation to repent, trust Christ, and bring spiritual change to our prodigal nation.
7. Pray for the ministry of East Hills with our online Sunday service, our devotionals on Facebook, our phone conversations, our witness in our neighborhoods, and with each other.
Videos
Sermon Video
Gentle Shepherd
Games
Writer's Block
Answer these questions about the people who kept themselves busy writing different Bible books.
  1. Who wrote the majority of the Psalms?
  2. Who wrote the book of Proverbs?
  3. What Prophet wrote the book of Isaiah?
  4. Who wrote 1 and 2 Timothy?
  5. Who wrote the last book of the Bible, Revelation?
Current Sermon Series
Psalms is a book for people in all kinds of life-situations. Many of the Psalms were “songs of accent” that the people of God sang as traveled up to Mount Zion for Hebrew holy days. Since our church is in the hills, we hope to take our own “accent” in our walk with God. This summer, Pastor Mark taking up to some powerful Psalms to help you travel with God. As we study 11 Psalms we will be looking for “lessons for your life from God’s songbook.”

August 23 – Psalm 90 – Life As God Meant It to Be
August 30 – Psalm 121 – Real Security in an Insecure World
September 4 – Psalm 139 – Where Is God When I Need Him Now?
September 13 – Psalm 150 – The Song of the Saved
In The Bible (Reading Plan)
Weekly Through the Bible Readings
Join us as we read through the Bible in 2020. Here are the readings for the next few weeks:

August 9-15        Psalms 126-150; Romans 13-16
August 16-22      Proverbs 1-10; 1 Corinthians 1-6
August 23-29      Proverbs 11-21; 1 Corinthians 7-11
August 30-Sept 5     Proverbs 22-31; 1 Corinthians 12-16
September 6-12       Ecclesiastes; 2 Corinthians 1-4
September 13-19     Song of Solomon; 2 Corinthians 5-9
September 20-26     Isaiah 1-23; 2 Corinthians 10-13
September 27-Oct 3 Isaiah 24-45; Galatians, Ephesians
Answers to "Writer's Block":
  1. David
  2. Solomon (Proverbs 1:1)
  3. Isaiah (Isaiah 1:1)
  4. Paul (1 Timothy 1:1)
  5. John (Revelation 1:1)
We Need Your Help
Text Give to 510-800-7175
12000 Campus Drive,
Oakland, CA 94619
(510) 531-7100