Dec 2013 The Latest Word by Downey Church

For the members, family and friends of the Downey Adventist Church

Keeping Christmas

Wrapped Up in Christmas by Cary Fisher

ave you ever seen a little child open their Christmas presents to find that the child seems more interested in the shiny, colorful wrappings than the gift itself? Certainly, we all can laugh and smile at the cuteness of those memorable moments. In a way, doesn’t the world do the same thing as we celebrates God’s unfathomable gift to us? Christmas is filled with festive decorations, delicious delicacies, gatherings with family and friends, and

wonderful presents that fulfill your latest wish list, but these things are nothing but wrappings that cover up the true meaning of Christmas. When a little child thinks the wrappings is more interesting than his/ her gift, we understand their delight. When our attention has been diverted from God’s gift to us do to all the trimmings that go along with Christmas, it is not so innocent. “‘The virgin will be with child and give

birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ which means ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23). The gift of Christmas is obviously God coming to be with us in the form of Jesus. While it is certainly okay to enjoy the wrappings that surround Christmas, our challenge is to not let these things consume us. May we always stay focused on the true meaning of what God has done for us. For this month, my sercontinued on page 2

See Maggie or Evelyn for tickets. All funds will go

—Henry Van Dyke

INSIDE

Winter Formal Music Concert he Pathfinders are hosting the Winter Formal Music Concert on Saturday, December 14th, at 4:30 pm in the sanctuary. This concert will feature music by the Pathfinders, along with a few special guests. There will be a dinner following the concert.

Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world — stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death — and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem [two thousand] years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas. And if you can keep it for a day, why not always? But you can never keep it alone.

The Perfect Gift page 3

to helping our Pathfinder club go to Oskosh next summer for the world-wide Pathfinder Camporee. See Maggie or Evelyn for tickets. =

Immeasurable Love page 4 Taste & Inspiration on page 5 What’s happening? see pages 6 & 9 Thanks for Friends on page 7 Our Church Family page 10 Kid’s Page on page 11

THE LATEST WORD Wrapped Up in Christmas (cont. from pg 1)

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For December’s calendar of events, remember that Pathfinders are hosting the Winter Formal Music Concert on December 14th. We are also having a New Year’s Agape feast and communion service. This special church family gathering will be on

Friday Night, December 27th. The night will be an opportunity to spiritually reflect on how God has led during the past year, and to start the 2014 year with a renewing experience as we accept God’s sacrifice through the Lord’s supper. See you when the church gathers. =

The Latest Word V 25 N 12 BILL AUMACK

WE DID IT

mons will be on trying to Have No Room.” We all worship service. We keep us focusing on the know the Biblical story of should all enjoy this year’s birth of Christ. December Mary and Joseph traveling program as we celebrate 7th, my title will be to Bethlehem seeking for a Christmas as a church “Holiday Stress”. family. Our service This time of year, is will be filled with it is possible to have music for the seapeace in a shopping son with a unique mall? Remember the drama provided by Is is possible to have Bible story of when our young adults peace in a shopping mall? Jesus approved of that should certainly Mary over Martha. put us in the holiday Mary chose to sit at spirit. the feet of Jesus and The message on Martha was busy December 28th will be doing all the chores that place to give birth to Jesus. titled “Continuing On”. needed to get done. Let Unfortunately, no one had Paul writes, “not that I us all be more like Mary room for them which set have already obtained and sit at the feet of Jesus, the stage for a humble all this, or have already and spend less time getting beginning for our Savior. arrived at my goal, but caught up in the chaos of In our hearts, how can we I press on to take hold the season. make room for Jesus? of that for which Christ On December 14th, December 21st will Jesus took hold of me” my sermon is called “We be our annual Christmas (Philippians 3:12). A new year comes and certainly, we all focus on having a fresh start in life, but my message is about learning to persevere through our current situations.

responsible for this

LINDA AUMACK copy editor

HATZUKO AISPURO paper distribution

CARY FISHER pastor

address mail to: Downey Seventh-day Adventist Church 9820 Lakewood Blvd. Downey, CA 90240 office: 562.869.6013 fax: 562.622.1691

downeychurch@gmail.com www.downeychurch.com

December 2013 The Word & You by Linda Bewley

od’s word says, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:3-5 NIV)

I have a piece of software on my computer that syncs with a web page I use for research. I decided one morning recently to sync the two, but I got a big surprise: an error message that said, “The application has failed to initialize.” Great. The

The Perfect Gift message also prompted me to make one of two choices. I could simply close the program or I could click the option that said, “Click here for Windows to find a solution online.” Yay, Windows to the rescue! Unfortunately I got another surprise. Although Windows kept chugging away, promising it was looking for a solution, none was found. Thanks so much Microsoft! You promised hope and help, but left me on my own. That experience is a reminder to me that we always have a choice to make. That is particularly true in our spiritual lives. Sometimes we may choose to look to ourselves for solutions. We may keep searching and searching

Worship Schedule December 7 Pastor Cary

December 21 Pastor Cary

Holiday Stress

Community Christmas Program

December 14 Pastor Cary

December 28 Pastor Cary

We Have No Room

Continuing On

for answers and fulfillment while leaving God out of the equation. And strangely enough, we’re surprised when that avenue ends in emptiness and hopelessness. But God offers another option. The Apostle John tells us that when Jesus came to earth, His own people rejected Him, “but to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God” (John 1:12-13 NLT). A birth that comes from God adds purpose and fulfillment to an otherwise lost soul. So why do we ever choose to leave Him out of the equation of life?! Perhaps, for lots of people, the reason is simple. Maybe they just do not know there is a choice to be made. Maybe they’ve never heard that God offers something better than the life we know here on earth. I’d have to say that pretty much describes me for the first half of my life. It took a lot of years and many poor choices before God was able to make that clear to me. I well recall the people, events and timing that changed my mind, all of which culminated in December one year when lo and behold people from

the Downey church were Ingathering and knocked on my door. Of course, none of them could have known what had been going on with me or the ways in which God was drawing me to Him. But that one visit, maybe not the result of human planning but of God’s, tipped the scales in God’s favor and enabled me to see clearly that I needed to go church and seek God. The very next week I was at the Downey church, not exactly understanding why but knowing that’s what I needed to do. And I am still here, almost 30 years later! I’m reminded of the many intangible gifts I’ve received by knowing Christ: forgiveness, faith, eternal life, a friendship with Jesus, and so much more. And I’m reminded that God would have me give those things away to others who do not know Him. He would like to use me to tip the scales in His favor by helping others become His children. This is the season when much of the world may be thinking about the birth of Christ. Maybe it’s the perfect time to share the rest of the story with people we know. Maybe it’s the perfect gift for someone on our gift list this year! =

THE LATEST WORD by Bill Aumack

Immeasurable Love Before the Father is on hiatus while Linda fights cancer. Your prayers on her behalf are appreciated.

If you think about the first Christmas, there were angels singing as God’s immeasurable love invaded our dark world.

ave you noticed that some people love to complain at Christmas time? How many of these have you heard? • The stores are so busy. • There’s no parking at the mall. • Everything is so expensive. • I don’t know what to get for so-and-so. The list goes on and on. As Christians, we can also have our favorite things to complain about at Christmas too.

What if we tried to follow Jesus’ example and be obscenely generous in our love toward others?

• X-mas takes Christ out of Christmas (the “X” comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός which comes into English as “Christ”). • December 25th isn’t Jesus birthday, so why bother. • It was originally a pagan holiday, so we shouldn’t take part in the celebration. • Christmas is too commercial and we’ve lost the religious meaning.

What kind of thought process are we using when we take a joyful, happy, sacred event and decide to complain about it? Certainly there are things about the modern Christmas celebration that are not ideal, but maybe there’s a better way to deal with the issue. If you think about the first Christmas, there were angels singing as God’s immeasurable love invaded our dark world. It doesn’t seem like we should be complaining about that! Maybe instead of complaining, we should be looking for ways to let God’s immeasurable love to shine in today’s dark world. What a difference that could make! Instead of complaining about all the things that are wrong, what if we tried to follow Jesus’ example and be obscenely generous

in our love toward others? And not just our family members and our good friends. We should include the people that can be challenging for us to love. Maybe we should include people who are less fortunate than we are. Instead of just buying gifts for our children who already have more than they could ever possibly need, what if we used that money to show God’s love to someone who wasn’t sure that anyone, let alone God, loved them? What a difference that immeasurable love could make! I’d like to challenge us all to think about ways we can be obscenely generous in showing God’s love. Showing that love, and not just talking about it, will make this a Christmas to remember. =

December 2013 Taste & Inspiration Pistachio Crusted Eggplant

nce again, in Genesis 43:11 Israel sent his sons back to Egypt for the purchase of more food due to the existing famine. But more importantly, he was desperately hoping for the safe return of the son being held captive. He felt gifts to pharaoh would help matters, so he sent his sons off with almonds, pistachios and a lot of other good stuff. It just so happens that our recipe for this month contains one those food gifts, pistachios. They are a tasty nut that’s nutritious and fun to eat as a snack. Our recipe is a simple, tasty and healthy one containing pistachios.

Ingredients 1 cup shelled pistachios 6 oz oil-packed sun dried tomato (drained) 2 roasted, red peppers 2 med eggplant peeled and cut lengthwise in 1.4 inch thick slices (6 to 8) 2 cloves garlic

Instructions Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat baking sheet with olive oil. Blend pistachios in a blender or food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl.

Be sure to keep up with the latest news by signing up for the Wednesday email. You can sign up here www.downeychurch.org/Signups.html or send us an email at DowneyChurch at gmail dot com and we’ll add you.

Pilar & Phillip Add sun-dried tomato, peppers and garlic to blender, puree till smooth. Lightly coat eggplant slices with olive oil on both sides. Place on baking sheet. Spread tomato mixture on each slice. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on each one then a tablespoon of pistachios to cover each slice.

has browned and it’s a bit crispy.

Enjoy! =

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until tender and topping

Downey Adventist Church Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

4:43 pm sunset

9 am Hanging the Greens

7 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary

3 pm Pathfinders Adventurers Campout

7 pm Women’s 7 pm Band Prayer Group Practice

13 4:44 pm sunset

14 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary

9 am Pathfinders Adventurers Campout

7pm AUS Christmas Program

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

4:30 pm Winter Formal Music Concert

20 4:47 pm sunset

21 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary Christmas Program

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

27 4:50 pm sunset

9 am Pathfinders

3 pm Pathfinders

28 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship

7 pm Agape Communion

Pastor Cary

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

31 Visit www.downeychurch.org S.S. – Sabbath School C.S. – Community Service

December 2013 Merry Christmas! This Christmas Season you can help spread the Good News of Jesus. So many people need to hear some Good News. Invite them to join us for a special Christmas worship service on Dec. 21st. May God’s blessing be on you and yours this Christmas Season.

A Mighty Message

hen Charles Wesley wrote “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” in 1739, he had the angels proclaim: “Glory to the newborn King; peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!” And what did Wesley think should be the consequences of that message? “Joyful, all ye nations, rise.” The Prince of Peace had come. “Light and life to all he

brings.” “Born that we no more may die; born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth. Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to

the newborn King!” When Wesley wrote that hymn, England was going through a desperate, hopeless time. Unemployment, poverty, illness, alcoholism and

crime were widespread. Wesley and his brother, John, believed the answer for their nation was Christ’s life-changing message. Changed lives would bring a changed nation. Wesley’s Christmas song rang true: “Light and life to all he brings.” Some historians have written that England didn’t have a revolution (as did France) mainly because of the message the Wesleys preached and sang. =

THE LATEST WORD

Holiday helpS

Help us help our neighbors this holiday season We will be collecting non-perishable food (cans or dried) AND gifts for children

Adventist Union School Christmas Program Dec. 10 @ 7p.m.

Suggestions for gifts: O sports items, balls P lip gloss O watches O electronic games P hair products P board games

Downey Adventist Church 9820 Lakewood Blvd. Downey, CA 90240

The food and unwrapped gifts should be brought by

Please join us for an evening of music, joy and worship.

Saturday, December 14th.

Everything goes to benefit needy families in our area.

Lessons from the Angels

o frightened shepherds on the first Christmas Eve, a host of angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14, KJV). Nineteenth-century minister Charles Kingsley explained how these key words tell the meaning of Jesus’ birth and give meaning to our lives.

• Glory. “That little babe, lying in the manger among the cattle, was showing the very highest glory of the great God who had made heaven and earth. To stoop, to condescend, to have mercy, to forgive — that is the

highest glory of God.” • Peace. “God is not selfish. He sacrificed himself for us. Sacrifice yourselves then for each other! Give up your own pride, your own selfishness, your own interest for each other, and you will be all at peace.” • Good will. “God loves you, and he wills to raise you out of this selfish, quarrelsome life of sin, into a loving, brotherly, peaceful life of righteousness. That babe in the manger at Bethlehem is a sign to you and me that God will freely give us that spirit of love if we ask for it.” =

December 2013

Upcoming Events December Birthdays Brenda Guillen – 2 Von Pond – 5 Yesenia Molina – 8 Ray Fernandez – 10 Johnny Macias,III – 12 Alonso Ortega – 16 Genesis Huinquez – 16 Eduardo Lozano – 17 Lourdes Centeno – 17 Eddie Rivas – 18 Ricky Gonzalez – 19 Jocelyn Huinquez – 20 Claudia Aponte – 23

Thursdays - 7 p.m. Women’s Prayer Group Fridays - 7:00 p.m. Band Practice Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec

7 - Pathfinders & Adventurers 3pm 8 - Pathfinders & Adventurers 9am 7-8 - Adventurer Campout 10 - AUS Christmas Program 7pm 14 - Formal Winter Music Concert 4:30pm 14 - Christmas Gifts/Food deadline 21 - Community Christmas Program 22 - Pathfinders 9am 25 - Christmas Day

If your birthday is left out in the monthly newsletter, please contact the church office so we can put it in.

The Latest Word deadline is the 5th of the month.

Coming Soon Feb 15 - Kids Sabbath March - Small Groups April 19 - Easter Sabbath

THE LATEST WORD The Latest About

Our Church Family Congratulations to Sebastian Zegarra who was on Honor Roll at AUS.

church office so we can get it into the newsletter. =

Congratulations to Sammy and Cindy! They are expecting a baby.

Thank you to everyone who has been saving Box Tops for Education. That is greatly appreciated. For the Box Tops for Education, please save the Box Tops coupon. Please give your labels to Linda Aumack. Thank you for your support! =

If you have any Church Family news, please contact the

Start the New Year Right

oin us for a New Year’s Agape feast and communion service. This special church family gathering will be on Friday Night, December 27th. The night will be an opportunity to spiritually reflect on how God has led during the past year, and to start the 2014 year with a renewing experience as we accept God’s sacrifice through the Lord’s supper. Don’t miss it. =

Join us for Communion on Friday, Dec. 27

December 2013

Ponder This... = “I have a better Caretaker than you and all the angels. He it is who lies in a manger, but at the same time sits at the right hand of God, the almighty Father. Therefore be at rest.” —Martin Luther = “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” —Calvin Coolidge = “Life is like a camera: Focus on what’s important, capture the good times, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t work out, take another shot.” —Source unknown

Downey-Florence Seventh-day Adventist Church 9820 Lakewood Blvd., Downey CA 90240

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