Christmas: Love Came Down

2020: A Year in Review

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Summary

Looking back over 2020, we have had challenges that we’ll all share and remember, but we have even more stories of how God has provided, sustained, and blessed His children and His Church. We wanted to spend our final service of 2020 reflecting on the different challenges we faced this year and praising God for how He has moved and how we, as Rolling Hills, have learned and grown together.

Content

2020: A Year in Review

Looking back over 2020, we have had challenges that we’ll all share and remember, but we have even more stories of how God has provided, sustained, and blessed His children and His Church. We wanted to spend our final service of 2020 reflecting on the different challenges we faced this year and praising God for how He has moved and how we, as Rolling Hills, have learned and grown together.

Tornado Disaster & Relief // Jason Hale

In March 2020, when the tornados hit the city of Nashville, Rolling Hills had the opportunity to help those in extreme need due to the destruction that it caused. When difficult times occurred, we knew that it was not the time to retreat or pull back. Our responsibility was to go forward, as the hands and feet of Jesus, to help those in need. It was incredible to be a part of helping in the areas of Nashville that faced such loss and tragedy.

COVID-19 Pandemic // Kelly Minter

When the pandemic and shutdown hit in March, the idols that we each had came to light in an extreme way. Our idols, the things we trusted in most, failed us; even when the economy, our health systems, and other systems and powers in our world and country have failed us, it’s been a time where we’ve run and clung to the Lord and been able to push others towards Him, too. We can trust Him even in the midst of loss, hurt, brokenness, and sickness because the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).

Racial Reconciliation // Connia Nelson

In the wake of the tragedy of George Floyd’s passing, it was amazing to see that people stood up and spoke out, which doesn’t always happen. Leaders, and the Church, stood up and said that they wanted to understand and learn more about these issues that we continue to face, even in 2020. This is a heart issue. We must love each other as Christ calls us to do.

As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” This is the moment that we have to speak up. It’s when the Church gets the opportunity to be the Church.

2020 Presidential Election // Nic Allen

One of our biggest idols in the U.S. is democracy and its narrative, as many of us witnessed during the Election of 2020. We experience freedom and each have our thoughts and opinions of what that should look like. However, with everything else that had happened this year, we were given a chance to listen to others. Though this election was pivotal and polarizing, we had the chance, as Christ-followers, to listen.

Even when things or outcomes seem uncertain to us, they’re not uncertain to God. None of this was a surprise to God. God can, will, and is moving, even in our uncertainty. Ultimately, it’s about our response, as the Church. There will still be uncertainty, but we must trust that God is in control, even as we move into an unsure future and a new year.

What have we learned from 2020? How do we move forward despite the difficulties we faced this year?

In Psalm 34:19, we are reminded that God does not promise us that we’re going to be completely protected from adversity. Difficult seasons can be a part of God’s plan, but He delivers us from the challenges. God has a plan. God has got this. He’s just as in control now as He was when we were in a more “comfortable” season. None of this has taken Him by surprise, and this should lead us into a deeper sense of hope, peace, and security in who our God is.

God is still here, even in the darkness. It’s in the brokenness when God has visited us, and He calls us to go out and visit others. We may not be able to visit people in their homes right now or go overseas to visit those people, but we can pray for people, we can reach out to people, and we can love others. We are called to bless others, even when we are in moments of challenges and pain and loss.

“The Church has the opportunity and capability today of showing the world how God loves.” - Connia Nelson

Learning from 2020

2020 was an unprecedented year to say the least. As a city, we faced a devastating natural disaster, a global pandemic, extreme racial tension, and a polarizing election. We faced loss, tragedy, fear, uncertainty, and drastic change. Through all of this, one thing did not change: God is on the throne! Even throughout the difficulties of this year, as a church we were able to witness lives be changed eternally, to see people be baptized, to stand alongside those who were hurting, and to be a part of God’s greater story.

Now, we look forward to what God will continue to do as we move into this new year. It’s a new beginning – a new year – which we expectantly and prayerfully move ahead towards. But, no matter the year or the circumstances, God is, always has been, and always will be on the throne.

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