Welcome to the website of the Anaheim Seventh-day Adventist Church. If you are looking for a place to worship, we would be honored to have you join us. We are very close to Disneyland and the surrounding hotels.
We are located at 900 Sunkist St., Anaheim, CA 92806. Our main worship service is on Saturdays at 11:00 AM. We also offer Sabbath School classes for all ages beginning at 9:30 AM. In addition, we offer a Spanish speaking Sabbath School and Devotional service that begins at 9:00 AM. You can go here to see recent bulletins from our worship services.
Our office hours are Tuesday – Thursday, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. For more information, you may contact us via phone at 714.635.0990, or via email at anaheimsda@gmail.com.
Recent Sermons
Pastor’s Update
“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts from every nation those who fear him and do what is right.” Acts 10:34-35
For the most part, we tend to accept the reality we’re born into. I’m sure that for newborn babies, the coldness, the brightness, the loudness of the world seems very strange and frightening! But we accommodate to our surroundings quickly, soon thinking nothing special of them.
Beyond the physical world, we also tend to accept the social reality we’re born into. For me, being born into the diverse and equal environment of Southern California, racial equality and economic opportunity for all seem self-evident. But as we’ve just observed the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, we are reminded that remarkably recently it wasn’t so.
This is due, in part, to the social realities that prior generations were born into: for people born centuries ago into the slavery reality of the south, it surely seemed to them ‘self-evident’ that one race should rule over another. Even after the Civil War and the liberation of the slaves, those born into the Jim Crow south also thought it was ‘self-evident’ that the races should be kept separate. To suggest differently was offensive to their sensibilities!
This is why we must honor and be grateful to those who looked at their societies and were dissatisfied with the realities that permeated all. They bravely fought against inertia and ‘status quo’ for real equality! How easy it is to accept social norms: how hard it is to move the needle! At great risk to ridicule, abuse, imprisonment, and public shaming, peaceful protesters stood up for rights that, though described in our country’s founding documents, were not granted by their society. Though it seems a foregone conclusion now that they would be successful and gain equal rights, it was not so clear during those times. People fought back vociferously! Peaceful protesters faced police dogs, fire-hoses, brick-throwings and lynchings designed to instigate fear (a motive we now call ‘terrorism’, which it surely was).
I praise the Lord for Dr. King and others who stood firm to bring about equal rights in their era. Our generation benefits now for their hardship the endured decades ago. Are we done? Are opportunities equal for all? The data shows that, no: “white privilege” is still very real. My mom told me just two weeks ago that the reason we are middle class is because both of my grandfathers who served in World War II came back on the G.I. bill, which got them a college education and money to buy a house. Apparently black soldiers who served right beside them didn’t get such privileges upon returning! This hurt and angered me, that our society, so recently, would still participate in blatant inequality based on race.
All this makes me long for God’s kingdom, in which we are told that people of every nation, language, tribe and tongue will worship before God’s throne, standing shoulder to shoulder as equals. (Revelation 7:9). May it come quickly, Lord Jesus!
While we still yearn for heaven, let us remember that we have not made it on earth yet. There is still much to do in the areas of social justice and equal opportunities. Too often a zip code will still determine a student’s quality of education. Too often skin color still determines frequency of traffic stops.
Let us remember that it’s never time to rest on our laurels until we come into the Kingdom! Jesus exemplified it in his interactions with Samaritans, and it goes out much more broadly in the Spirit-empowered book of Acts. Let’s make our lives a continuation of “Acts”, done by people, empowered through the Spirit! Until Jesus comes, and for His glory.
May God bless you and your loved ones this week.
Sincerely,
Pastor Mark Tatum