March 2015 The Latest Word by Downey Church

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

New Spring

Let’s Talk About Jesus by Cary Fisher

ow often would you say that you talk to others about Jesus? Is it every day, once a week, once a month, or do you remember the last time you had a conversation with someone about God? Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, he said that we will be witnesses to the ends of the earth. We have all been commissioned to share God’s love with others, so how can we be more intentional in telling the

people in our lives about Jesus? According to Acts 1:8, Jesus said that we will be witnesses to the world when we receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us. The first part of witnessing starts by even having a desire to share. The reasons we don’t could be that we are afraid of being rejected, our lives could also be overloaded with problems that keep us from being a proper witness, or maybe

we are just too overly concerned about what others might think of us if we start spouting off about God. The fact is that all of these reasons come from a continuous focus on self, and it keeps us from being the light of the world that God has called us to be. The Holy Spirit is what ignites a passion for us to love others in ways we could never before. By allowing the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives, the focus on continued on page 2

On March 21, the Youth will be leading out in our worship service. Keith

—Jane Truax

INSIDE

Youth Sabbath t’s been said that the Youth are our future. That statement is not correct. It is true that our Youth will have an enormous impact on our future. But they also have potential to have an enormous impact on the present, if we will just let them be involved.

Botanists say that trees need the powerful March winds to flex their trunks and main branches, so that the sap is drawn up to nourish the budding leaves. Perhaps we need the gales of life in the same way, though we dislike enduring them. A blustery period in our fortunes is often the prelude to a new spring of life and health, success and happiness, when we keep steadfast in faith and look to the good in spite of appearances.

Teele will be our speaker. His message will encourage our youth and be a blessing to everyone present. Invite a young person in your life to join us on March 21. If you’d like to take part in the service, talk to Pastor Cary, Bill A. or Alberto M. =

Environmental Stewardship page 3 Taste & Inspiration on page 5 What’s happening? see pages 6 & 9 Our Church Family page 7 The Source page 8 Kid’s Page on page 9

THE LATEST WORD Let’s Talk About Jesus (cont. from page 1) place to be a life changing witness to some precious child of God. Think of what it would be like to be in Heaven and somebody

ited ways, it is promised that the Holy Spirit can be upon us at anytime. All we have to do is ask and it will be given to us. My prayer for us is to be people driven by God’s spirit and as our lives are changed by his presence, so will the lives of others.

“ We have all been

The Holy Spirit also brings gifts and talents that allow us to connect with others in ways that cannot be manufactured by ourselves alone, and he enables us to have a godlike temperament called the fruit of the spirit. This allows us to be witnesses by our actions that can have a far greater impact than any words that we speak. Finally, the Holy Spirit will create what can be called “divine appointments” which are opportunities for us to be in the right time and

commissioned to share God’s love to others

”

comes to you and says the reason why I am here is because of you. With the Holy Spirit, that thought could become the mission in how you live your life. The last thing to know is that while it seems that our lives are impacted by the Holy Spirit in such lim-

March’s Sermon Calendar March 7th - Bill Aumack will be sharing the message Does It Really Say That? In our short sound-byte world, we can shorten God’s word to say something it was never meant to say. March 14th - Consider the Source - Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5) This sermon will remind us of our need to stay connected to the source of life. March 21st is Youth Sabbath. Our young people will be leading out in the service. Keith Teele will be presenting the message Tired of Being Weird. The message will focus on Paul’s teaching regard-

ing being a “peculiar” people. What does that verse mean? What did God mean by that? March 28th - On this Sabbath, we will have our communion service. This is a time to reflect on what Jesus did for us as he said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).” See you when the church gathers. =

The Latest Word V 27 N 03 BILL AUMACK

WE DID IT

self will slowly disappear and we will become constantly concerned for the spiritual well being pf every person that crosses our path.

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

March 2015 The Stewpot by Jo Ann Davidson, PhD Introduction by Dr. Gordon Botting: The media bombard us with daily news on environmental challenges. Various pollutions and unwanted chemicals are found in our homes and vehicles that affect each of us, whether we live in the country or in the city. Currently, there is a new push among Christians entitled Creation Care, which is an ecology movement that sees the guardianship of our earth as part of the Great Commission. As Seventhday Adventists, we are also concerned about environmental stewardship. We believe that the world has an exalted standing by being divinely created. Yet, we often have been slow to connect the two and

Environmental Stewardship Part 1

acknowledge that stewardship involves more than our money and time. In a two-part series, Dr. Jo Ann Davidson, Professor of Systematic Theology at Andrews University Theological Seminary, will present an impressive environmental linkage from the first chapter of Scripture to the end of the book of Revelation.

Environmental Stewardship Part 1

s Genesis opens, God exuberantly endorses everything He makes as “good/very good!” Both animals and human beings are created by God’s hands from the “dust of the earth,” given the “breath of life” (Gen. 2:7, 19; cf.

Worship Schedule March 7 Bill Aumack

Does it Really Say That?

March 14 Cary Fisher

Consider the Source

March 21 Keith Teele

Tired of Being Weird Youth Sabbath

March 28 Cary Fisher Communion

Eccl. 3:19-20), a violentfree diet, and identical blessings (Gen. 1:22, 28). This implies, at the very least, divine appreciation of them all.

Later, Noah is told by God to take his family and animals into the ark “to keep this kind alive upon the face of all the earth” during a global catastrophe (Gen. 7:3). In the midst of the deluge, “God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark” (Gen. 8:1). After exiting the ark, the animals are explicitly included by God in the covenant: Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. Thus I establish My covenant with you . . . This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set

My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth” (emphasis added; four times God links Noah and animals in this covenant) (Gen. 9:810, 12, 15, 17)! The Pentateuch reveals close ties between humans

and animals: animals and humans have blood in their veins (Gen. 9:4-6); they both could be responsible for murder (Gen. 9:5; Exod. 21:28-32); both animals and human beings are given Sabbath rest (Exod. 20:8-10; Deut. 5:14; Lev. 23:10-12). In the Old Testament patriarchal period, needs of animals are tended to first after traveling. For example, Rebecca waters the camels of Abraham’s servant before inviting him to her house (Gen. 24). In His longest speech in Scripture, God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind. The magnificent, four-chapter address starting in chapter 38 urges continued on page 4

THE LATEST WORD Environmental Stewardship (cont.) Part 1

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” —John Muir

“A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children .” —John James Audubon

Job to contemplate several animals: a lioness, a mountain goat, a stallion, a hawk, an eagle, and a raven; also the behemoth and the mighty leviathan: “Look not at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox. . . . His bones are like beams of bronze, His ribs like bars of iron, He is the first of the ways of God; . . . [and the leviathan] I will not keep silence concerning its limbs, or its mighty strength, or its splendid frame” (Job 40:15-19; 41:1-12). Later the children of Israel are brought to the “Promised Land,” rich with “milk and honey” (Exod. 3:8; Lev. 20:24). Moses describes God’s affection for it: “The land into which you are about to cross to possess. . . . drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares” (Deut. 11:1112). The Israelites were obligated to be kind to animals. Creation care included instructions such as helping a donkey when it has fallen under a heavy load, even if the animal belongs to an enemy (Exod. 23:4-5; Deut. 22:14). Large work animals

were not to be muzzled so they could eat while doing the heavy work involved in agriculture (Deut. 25:4). Mosaic laws protected nature, outlawing destruction of fruit trees in military campaigns

(Deut. 20:19). Humans, animals, and the land were all included in the stipulations for the weekly Sabbath and the Sabbatic year: “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove. Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your maidservant and the stranger may be refreshed” (Exod. 23:10-12, emphasis added; cf. Exod. 20:8-11; Lev. 25:6-7; Deut. 5:1215).1

Three of the annual festivals (Passover, Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles) commemorated both redemption from bondage and Divine providence during their wilderness wandering. Significantly, these feasts also marked three different harvests. Israel was taught to celebrate Yahweh both as God of creation and salvation (Deut. 26:1-11). Through many biblical writers, God traces the severe consequences of human sin on nature. Again and again He laments the broken ecosystems of creation (See Hos. 4:1-3; Joel 1:15-20; Zech. 7:8-14; 11:1-3). In the last verse of the book of Jonah, God strikingly expresses His mercy for the city of Nineveh: “And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also many animals?” (Jon. 4:11). The book concludes with God’s intriguing reminder that He cares not only for the wicked Ninevites, but also the anicontinued on page 5

March 2015 Taste & Inspiration Tabbouleh-Style Amaranth Salad Ingredients 1 1/2 cups cold water 1/2 cup uncooked wholegrain amaranth (such as Arrowhead Mills) 2 cups diced unpeeled English cucumber 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/2 cup drained no-saltadded canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) 1 cup (4 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled lemon wedges (optional)

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Pilar & Phillip

Preparation 1. Bring 1 1/2 cups cold water and amaranth to a boil in a medium saucepan; reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes or until water is almost absorbed (it will have the appearance of mush). 2. While amaranth cooks, combine cucumber and next 11 ingredients in a large bowl.

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3. Place amaranth in a sieve, and rinse under cold running water until room temperature; drain well, pressing with the back of

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

a spoon. Add to cucumber mixture; toss to blend. Add cheese; toss gently. Garnish with lemon wedges, if desired. Note: It’s important that the amaranth is placed in a fine mesh sieve. The grain is so tiny that it will slip through a traditional strainer. If one is not available, place the cooked amaranth on a large baking sheet, and spread it in a thin layer so it will cool without clumping together. Enjoy! =

Environmental Stewardship (cont.) Part 1 mals. The psalmist already expressed the same sentiment: “Your righteousness is like the great mountains. . . . O LORD, You preserve man and beast . . . The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Ps. 36:6; 145:9, emphasis

added). In language remarkably similar to Noah’s Covenant, Hosea promises that ultimately, creation’s original perfection will be restored. “In that day I will make a covenant for them, with the beasts of the field, with the birds of

the air, and with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, to make them lie down safely” (Hos. 2:18). (To be continued next month)

Reference: 1“Sabbath observance has the potential to release the depth and meaning of God’s many blessings at work within creation ...” Norman Wirzba, Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight, p. 15. =

Downey Adventist Church Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

5:54 pm sunset

7 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Bill Aumack

9 am Pathfinders

2 pm Pathfinders 4 pm Bible Study

7 pm Band Practice

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

13 6:59 pm sunset

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

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

7 pm Band Practice

4 pm Bible Study

20 7:05 pm sunset

21 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Youth Sabbath

7 pm Church Board

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

7 pm Band Practice

2 pm Pathfinders 4 pm Bible Study

27 7:10 pm sunset

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

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

7 pm Band Practice

4 pm Bible Study

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

March 2015

Upcoming Events March Birthdays Tomas Aispuro – 6 Hatzuko Aispuro – 6 Erlinda Garcia – 13 Doris Ramirez - 15 Linda Bewley – 20 Natalia Ramirez - 20 Humberto Michel – 25 Joel Huinquez, Jr – 26 If your birthday is left out in the monthly newsletter, please contact the church office so we can put it in.

Wednesday - 7 p.m. Wed. Fellowship Fridays - 7:00 p.m. Band Practice Saturday - 4:00 p.m. Bible Study Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar.

7 - Pathfinders @ 2pm 8 - Daylight Saving Time begins 8 - Pathfinders @ 9am 12 - Celebration Sabbath 19 - Church Board @ 7pm 20 - Spring Begins 21 - Youth Sabbath 21 - Pathfinders @ 2pm 28 - Communion

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.

April 5 - Easter April 11 - 6 Weeks of Ephesians - Alive in Christ May 2 - Small Group Outreach May 10 - Mother’s Day

THE LATEST WORD The Latest About

Our Church Family We’d like to extend our thanks to Laura Luna. She has been our church secretary. However, she has decided to step down from that position. Alex Aumack is currently serving in the office. Ask Rick and Kelly Gonzalez about their

recent vacation to El Salvador. We sorrowfully report the passing of Roschelle’s father, John Lu. Remember the family in your prayers. Gustavo Ortega is a celebrity. Ask him about

his recent appearances on TV. 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! =

The Source by Ethan Morales

M March 28

Invite a friend to this renewing service!

ost of you out there have been broken hearted right? Don’t lie, I know you have and you were probably hurt because of someone else right? Whether it be a friend who doesn’t want to be friends anymore, your parents, or maybe your girlfriend or boyfriend. In my life time I have been hurt a lot. Nothing major, now that I look back at it, but at the time it truly did hurt. Well, let me tell you this, you are going to be hurt some

more. But I’m here to tell you the secret on making the pain a little bit more avoidable. Are you ready? Don’t go to people for your only source of happiness. Next to God relationships with people are heathy and important to life. What I’m trying to say is don’t go to a person or a group of people for your happiness that will only last for who knows how long. Go to God, He is the one that will bring you true and genuine happiness. =

March 2015

Ponder This... = “Faith is not believing that God can, but that God will.” —Abraham Lincoln = “We must not wish for the disappearance of our troubles but for the grace to transform them.” —Simone Weil = “Satan does not care how many people read about prayer if only he can keep them from praying.” —Paul E. Billheimer

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

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