For the members, family and friends of the Downey Adventist Church
Preparation for Worship
Growing Up by Cary Fisher
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h, the joy of childhood! Do you ever miss the life of being a child? A time when you were endlessly in play without much of a care in the world. As years start to add up, we’ve become more and more burdened by the responsibilities of life. While growing up is part of life, some want to deny nature. We live in a world where it is too common to see adults act like their maturity level is stuck in neutral with little chance of them acting their age.
Paul wrote, “when I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me” (I Corinthians 13:11). The Christian life is about putting into perspective what is truly important. Christ came to show us the truth, the way and the life, and it is the essence of our journey to follow His way. When Paul was writing to “put the ways of childhood behind me”, he is basically saying that the closer he
comes to God the more he realizes that his ways are childish. He needed to let them go so he could fully grow to be the person God had called him to be. What was interesting about Paul’s admission for himself to grow up was the context when he wrote that verse. 1 Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter in the Bible. The chapter starts with, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resoundcontinued on page 2
INSIDE
Agape Small Groups
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ur new six weeks small group series is titled Agape. During this time, we will be studying certain Bible chapters in order to gain the deepest understanding possible of God’s love. Our goal will be for us to have a greater comprehension of how much God loves us, why He loves us, and what are we to do with
If we are spiritually blind, Lord, open our spiritual eyes. If we are deaf to your voice, keep speaking until we hear you. If our hearts and mouths do not properly praise you, be patient with us until we get it right. Amen.
His love. If you are interested in hosting a group or joining a group, please talk to Pastor or Bill.
The small groups start on Feb. 6th and run through Mar. 12th. Celebration Sabbath will be on Mar. 19th. The small group’s outreach will be Feb. 27th. =
Agape Feast Pics page 3 Why I Love this Church page 4 Taste & Inspiration on page 5 What’s happening? see pages 6 & 9 Our Church Family page 7 Kid’s Page on page 9
THE LATEST WORD Growing Up (cont. from page 1) ups in the Christian faith. However, if we are learning these things and lacking in love for God and His children, Paul would
we deserve the mercy and love that God gives us, but Paul writes, “Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6) This message will reveal God’s love for us even when we have done nothing that makes us worthy for it.
We as Christians have it backwards.
February 26th - With All Your Heart - Jesus was once asked what were the most important commandments, and he said to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. This Sabbath, we will attempt to figure out how to make that even possible
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We as Christians often have it backwards. We believe that the meat of Scripture is based on topics such as prophecy, wisdom, etc. We think that when we fully comprehend these parts of the Bible then we become grown-
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that growing up in Christ is simply done by learning the deepest meanings of God’s words which are centered around God’s character of love. He allowed it to transform his life to where he desired to often love as Christ loved him.
” say it is time to put childlike ways behind us and it is time to grow up. Paul was one of the greatest minds of all of our faith. He understood all aspects of Christianity in such a way that his letters helped defined Christian theology as we know it. With all his knowledge, he realized
Sermon Schedule
February 6th Nothing is Greater - This Sabbath, we are starting a new small group series called Agape. For our first message, we will follow 1 Corinthians 13. The theme of the chapter is that without love everything that we do for God is meaningless. February 12th - Know God, Know Love - This message basically answers the question why nothing is greater than love as I John 3:7 says “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” The core of God’s character is love and as we seek to understand God, we will ultimately understand the deepest meanings of love. February 19th Undeserving - One of the harshest realities in life is to come to grips with our sinful nature. During those times, we realize how little
See you when the church gathers. = The Latest Word V 28 N 02 BILL AUMACK
WE DID IT
ing gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1). He makes the point that everything without love is meaningless. He later talks about how prophecy and knowledge will pass but love will never fail. His point is that putting childish things behind is defined by the ability to comprehend and allow our lives to be motivated by the power that comes from love.
responsible for this
LINDA AUMACK copy editor
ALEX AUMACK 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
distributed monthly issue date: Feb. 2016 copyright 1992-2015
February 2016
Agape Feast Communion
Worship Schedule Feb. 6 Cary Fisher
Feb. 19 Cary Fisher
Feb. 12 Cary Fisher
Feb. 26 Cary Fisher
Nothing is Greater
Know God, Know Love
Undeserving
With All Your Heart
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THE LATEST WORD Why I Love Our Church by Bill Aumack
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“All, everything that I understand, I only understand because I love.” — Leo Tolstoy
ebruary is a time when we think about love, so I thought I would contemplate on the reasons I love our church. I suppose many of us love the church for different reasons. Maybe next year I’ll have a different list. But here are the reasons I love our church, in no particular order. 1. I love our continued focus on following God’s leading. God comes before the building, the budget, the programs, etc. 2. I love our friendship evangelism. Our church encourages us to make friends for God and provides programs that we can invite our friends to attend. That’s so awesome.
“I have decided to stick to love; hate is too great a burden to bear.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
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3. I love the simplicity of our worship. No huge productions. Just honest worship. 4. I love that we care about each other. You can’t just slip out the backdoor and not be missed. 5. I love the safety net of being part of a church family. I know that if some tragedy struck my family, my church family would be there. 6. I love that we focus
on prayer. Before the service. During the service. After the service. God’s house is a house of prayer. 7. I love the way we focus on God’s word. We learn the scriptures. Our pastor presents the scriptures each week for us. 8. I love the way we sing during worship. It’s encouraging to be around people who aren’t afraid to worship God and give their all during worship. 9. I love that we have good songs that direct our thoughts toward God. 10. I love the way our church is based on spiritual gifts. When we are serving the way God has gifted us, service is pure joy. 11. I love the Youth of this church. 12. I love our Pathfinders and the leaders who work so tirelessly with them. It’s quite a ministry. 13. I love the way the children stay in the main worship during the service. Sometimes they get restless, that’s ok. They are learning
along with the rest of us. 14. I love that we don’t have a bunch of programs going on that distract us from our main goal. We have time to be with our families and share our faith with our friends. 15. I love our Downey Praise Band. The amount of effort and work they put in each week to help lead the service is inspiring. 16. I love that our little church continues to be financially viable. We are faithful in our giving and we have enough. 17. I love that we are a friendly group. We welcome guests and invite them back. 18. I love that when people are gone for a trip they come back and tell us “there’s no place like home.” 19. I love that we come from many varied backgrounds, countries and customs, but we all come together to encourage each other and worship. That’s so cool! 20. I love that the women in our church are so involved. Without the ladies of this church, continued on page 5
February 2016 Taste & Inspiration Mushroom Masala Ingredients
spoon garlic minced
1 cup red onions finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup tomato puree
to taste cilantro as optional garnish
1/2 lb mushrooms sliced 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions
2 cloves
Heat the oil in a pan and add the cloves and
1 cinnamon sticks 1 teaspoon chili powder heat to taste 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 table-
Love Church (continued) I don’t know where we’d be. 21. I love that we understand how God has led in the past and that we anxiously await to see how he will lead in the future. There are more reasons that I love this church, but I guess that’s enough for now. Why do you love this church? =
Pilar & Phillip cinnamon stick. Fry for a few seconds, add the onions and sauté for a few more minutes. Add the chili powder, coriander, garlic and turmeric along with just a little bit of water and sauté until the onions soften.
mushrooms and salt and simmer for 5-8 minutes on low heat. Serve hot. Great with rice!
Enjoy! =
Add the tomato puree,
February 27 at 5:30 pm will be our Small Group Outreach event. We will have a dinner and a talent show. Watch for more details on getting tickets to this event. If you’d like to showcase your talents, let us know! Bring a friend or two.
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Downey Adventist Church Sunday
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Wednesday
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Saturday
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5:26 pm sunset
6 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary SG #1
7 pm Band Practice
7 pm Wed. Fellowship 9 am Pathfinders
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2 pm Pathfinders
12 5:32 pm sunset
13 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary SG #2
7 pm Wed. Fellowship
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7 pm Band Practice
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1 pm Outreach Team
19 5:39 pm sunset
20 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary SG #3
7 pm Band Practice
7 pm Wed. Fellowship
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2 pm Pathfinders
26 5:45 pm sunset
27 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary SG #4
7 pm Wed. Fellowship
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7 pm Band Practice
5:30pm Talent Show
29 Visit www.downeychurch.org S.S. – Sabbath School
February 2016
Upcoming Events February Birthdays David Martinez – 2 Issac Diaz – 5 Akeem Meade – 7 Jasmine Huinquez – 9 Irene Garcia – 11 Victoria Zamora – 11 Sheila Bathgate – 13 Maggie Zamora – 15 Ellis Perry – 19 Graciela Elva Lopez - 21 Teresa Miranda – 22 Donna Morgan – 24 Armando Cabrera – 26 Letty Duran – 29 Susie Duran – 29
Wednesday - 7 p.m. Wed. Fellowship Friday - 7:00 p.m. Band Practice Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb.
If your birthday is left out in the monthly newsletter, please contact the church office so we can put it in.
6 - Pathfinders @ 2pm 7 - Pathfinders @ 9am 14 - Valentine’s Day 15 - Presidents Day 20 - Pathfinders @ 2pm 27 - Dinner and Talent Show 5:30pm
The Latest Word deadline is the 5th of the month.
Coming Soon 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.
March 19 - Celebration Sabbath March 26 - Easter April 16 - SGA Chorale
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THE LATEST WORD The Latest About
Our Church Family We sorrowfully report the passing of Raymond Fernandez on Dec. 18th after a battle with cancer. While cancer won this battle, we know that Ray is on the winning team and we will see him again!
Congratulations to Victor Acuna and Ale Hoyos Marquez. They were recently married. Remember them in prayer as they enter the next phase of their lives.
If you have any Church Family news, please contact the church office so we can get it into the newsletter. =
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! =
What Defines Us
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hen their minivan was hit by a drunk driver, Gerald Sittser lost his mother, wife and daughter all at one time. Sittser, a religion professor, escaped without physical injury but was then forced to navigate his extreme loss. Eventually he concluded that “the experience of loss does not need to be the defining moment of our story” (quoted in AHA, by Kyle Idleman). Instead, “the defining moment can be our response to the loss,” Sittser says.
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“In this world you will have trouble,” Jesus warns in John 16:33 (NIV) — no sugar-coating or pretending there. But then he says, “Take heart!” Jesus doesn’t want our troubles to define us; he wants to define us! The defining truth of our story is that Jesus has “overcome the world” — even at its worst. He’s stronger than our struggles and sorrows. And in him, so are we. —Heidi Mann =
Valentine’s Day
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n the early Christian church, there were three priests named Valentine or Valentinus. Though they didn’t live at the same time, each was said to be holy and each had been martyred for his faith. All three priests were designated as saints. Around the year A.D. 498, Pope Gelasius declared February 14 as St. Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day came to be associated with love,
romance and marriage. The day is now so popular that only during the Christmas season do people mail more greeting cards. No matter how many cards, flowers or sweets you receive this Valentine’s Day, be assured that God loves you with an “everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3, NRSV). =
February 2016
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February 2016
Ponder This... = “They lose nothing who gain Christ.” —Samuel Rutherford = “Christians are not men and women who are hoping for salvation, but those who have experienced it.” —Martyn Lloyd-Jones = “They who love are but one step from heaven.” —James Russell Lowell
Downey-Florence Seventh-day Adventist Church 9820 Lakewood Blvd., Downey CA 90240
DATED MATERIAL Return Service Requested
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