May 2014 The Latest Word by Downey Church

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

Children of God

Mr Rogers on Parenting

by Cary Fisher

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He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:11-12). As we read the first chapter of John he identifies that the coming of Jesus was the incarnation of God being with us, and for those that believed in this incarnation, he gives them the right to call themselves the “children of God.”

When you are describing a person, you could describe them by a person’s appearance such as their height, their weight, or the color of their hair and skin. You could also describe a person based on their culture, interests, occupation or personality. There are so many ways to define an individual, but hopefully, our identity as a child of God supersedes any other characteristic that may define us. Certainly, our walk with the Lord will

affect the way we live and treat others to where the people around us can truly see where we came from. For the Month of May, I am starting a sermon series that will help us understand who we really are. It’s important to know that our identity is not only based upon our belief in God, but also, our understanding of God’s character and His will for His people. I believe that the Seventhday Adventist Church is continued on page 1

INSIDE

Victorian Tea Party

ou are invited to a Victorian Tea Party for the benefit of the Downey Pathfinder Club trip to the International Camporee. As you know the Pathfinders are raising funds to travel to Oshkosh Wisconsin this summer for the Pathfinder Camporee. This is an opportunity to help and have a nice after-

One of the most important gifts a parent can give a child is the gift of that child’s uniqueness. Children’s parents are the very best people to let them know that they are different, that there are no others in the whole world who are exactly like them, and that their differences are part of what makes them special and lovable. When parents value their child’s uniqueness, that child can learn self-worth and the worth of others as well. - Presbyterian minister, Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

noon tea. The tickets are $10 per person. The Pathfinders are also accepting donations. There will be a special speaker and then the tea party. Come out and support the Pathfinders on May 4th at 1pm. =

Good and Faithful page 3 Food for Thought 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 Children of God (cont. from page 1)

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May 24th - Who Are We #4: “Humanity” - The fourth installment of this sermon series will expound on the belief that our origin came from God and how we were formed in His image. This will also lead us to how sin has affected the nature of our existence and the relationship with the One that created us.

May 31st - The San Gabriel Academy Choir - For this worship service, we will have a special musical concert by the talented youth from SGA. This Sabbath will sure to be a spiritual blessing for all of us. See you when the church gathers. =

The Latest Word V 26 N 05 BILL AUMACK

WE DID IT

built on beliefs founded in that is centered around “in the beginning God crescripture to give us clarity love. There is no greater ated the heavens and the of what exactly is God’s understanding that shapes earth.” Believing that we character and His will for us more than knowing that weren’t randomly placed us. Therefore, we here shapes the way will spend some time we view ourselves understanding these and the way we see belief and hopefully, hopefully, our identity the world around us. it will challenge us as a child of God For this Sabbath, to develop a deeper we will also honor supersedes any other commitment to them our other creator to where our identity characteristic that being our mothis shaped more to ers with a pancake reflect that we are breakfast @ 8:30 truly God’s children. am. Since it’s Mother’s we truly have a God that Day weekend, moms can is intimately active in our May’s Sermon leave the cooking to us. lives. Calendar May 17th - Who Are May 10th - Who Are We #3: “Word” - We May 3rd - Who Are We #2: “Creation” - My believe that all things We #1: “God” - We will message for this Sabbath about God are understood start our sermon series on will be a reminder of through the Bible, and if the fundamental belief that where we come from. we are applying the wisthere is a God that is all After all, the very first dom from it, we will live powerful with a character words of scripture writes, in a way that is congruent to God’s will for us. After all the psalmist writes, ”Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalms 119:105)

responsible for this

LINDA AUMACK copy editor

LAURA LUNA

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

May 2014 The Word & You by Linda Bewley

od’s word says, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15.) About a month ago, I shared an issue with a friend of mine. She listened and, since I needed an extra pair of eyes and ears, she promised to keep hers open. Every few days since then, I’ve gotten an email from her revealing that she is keeping her promise. When I checked my email this morning and found two more emails from her, my first thought was, “what a good and

Good and Faithful faithful friend she is!” One of the best and sweetest blessings is that of a true friend. What are the qualities of a good friend? Is it that the person is kind and patient? A good listener? Some friends may cause us to break out of our shell and experience adventurous activities and make us laugh. Another friend may share a hobby or interest. Friendships are unique, to say the least. Perhaps one of the very best qualities a friend can possess is that of faithfulness. He or she cares about what you care about. When the words “good and faithful” came to my thoughts, it reminded me of one of the parables. So I read the story of the three servants in Matthew 25. You remember the

Worship Schedule May 3 Cary Fisher

Who We Are #1 God

May 10 Cary Fisher

Who We Are #2 Creation

May 17 Cary Fisher

Who We Are #3 Word

May 24 Cary Fisher

Who We Are #4 Humanity

May 31 San Gabriel Academy Chorale

story, don’t you? A man was going on a journey and entrusted three of his servants with varying amounts of gold. When the man returned, he found that two of them had been wise and trustworthy. They

King of kings and Lord of lords? Yes again. But serving God is like being a good, faithful friend. We care about what He cares about. And, simply put, God cares about people. Whatever the job, service

had taken the gold, put it to good use and multiplied it for their master. Even though they were servants of the master and not his friends, they revealed their devotion to him by caring for the gold left in their care. They knew that would make their master happy and chose to work for him. And they were rewarded when the master returned. The third servant was not so wise, but I guess that’s a subject for another time.

or function available at church, it all boils down to one thing--working hard so that other people may know about the salvation found in Christ. It’s easy to forget that sometimes. Juggling life’s responsibilities, it’s possible to view our service at church as just another obligation. But if some day we’re to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” it will be because we’ve shared a deep relationship and friendship with God which enabled us to work on His behalf for the salvation of others and multiplied people for His kingdom. What do you think? =

In a sense, serving God is the same to me. Do we serve God because he is the Creator of the universe and entitled to our devotion? Yes. Do we serve God because He is

THE LATEST WORD by Bill Aumack

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Cor. 13:1-3

Food For Thought

omeone once wrote a letter to the local newspaper that said, “Ministers seem to feel their sermons are very important, so they spend a great deal of time preparing them. I’ve been attending church regularly for over 30 years, and I’ve probably heard about 1,500 sermons. The awful truth is that I can’t remember a single one! I wonder if a minister’s time might be better spent on something else.” That week, a minister read the letter to his congregation and said he’d be interested in any replies the congregation might wish to send to him. The following week, the minister reported that he’d received many responses, most of them expressions of indignation aimed at the anonymous letter writer. He thanked the church members for the responses but said he was most thankful for one in particular, which he then read to the gathering. “I have been married for 30 years. During that time, I have eaten well over 32,000 meals — mostly my wife’s cooking — but I can’t remember the menu of a single meal. Of course I can recall some of my favorite dishes, but not the menus. And yet, I received the nourishment from every

single one of them. I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago.” Oh, how true that is. We often expect much more from church and our church family than we do anything else. Have you ever heard anyone say, “I’m not going to go to the game. There are people there who aren’t really true fans”? Me neither. But I’ve heard people complain about the hypocrites in church. I’ve heard people complain about the pastor’s sermon, the music, the temperature, nearly every aspect of the church experience. I remember one individual who complained about the carpet. We live in a society of choices. Here in America there are nearly an unlimited number of choices for everything; TV channels, music styles, cars, clothes, food and on and on it goes. This has undoubtedly affected our experience at church during worship. We compare the experience to some ideal we have in our head, or something we’ve seen on TV or the internet, and sometimes the little local church can’t compare. The budgets aren’t as big, the number of staff

isn’t as high, the volunteers don’t do everything perfectly. We can make lots of excuses. But it is not really about blame, or excuses, or even taste (things we do and don’t like). I think the core issue is really our own hearts. We don’t really understand love. No that’s not quite right, we don’t really understand unconditional love. The kind of love a good mother has for a child. The kind of love a true friend has for friend. The kind of love an awesome God has for one of children. When we don’t understand that and when we don’t have that kind of love in our lives, it’s a whole lot easier to be critical, mean, and unforgiving. When you have that unconditional love, it’s much easier to be supportive and understanding. Do you have a working understanding of unconditional love? That’s worth pondering about... =

May 1, 2014

May 2014 Taste & Inspiration Mushroom, Corn & Poblano Tacos

s we conclude in 1 Samuel 17, David has made his way to the front lines of the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines to deliver nourishment in the way of food to his brothers and hopeful to hear good news of his 3 brothers’ well being to take back to his father. He hears Goliath taunting the Israelites, the armies of the living God. Upon learning that the king will give great wealth, a family tax exemption AND his daughter in marriage to the man who kills Goliath and removes this disgrace from Israel, David was overheard to have volunteered. When his own brother heard him speak, he got very angry with David because he assumed David’s only purpose for being there was just to watch the battle. Burning with anger, his brother Eliab asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” “Now what have I done?, David asked. “Can’t I even speak?” King Saul sent for David after hearing he’d volunteer to kill Goliath. When he saw David, like Eliab and David’s two

other brothers, King Saul said, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him. You are only a young man. He has been a warrior from his youth.” After hearing this, David shares his experiences with Saul of staving off lions and bears with the help of the Lord, while tending to his flock. King Saul was either convinced of this by David or maybe he just thought, what the heck, no one else is willing. So Saul says, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” After trying on a coat of armor, a bronze helmet and a sword for battle, David wasn’t comfortable wearing all that metal. Too heavy. So he grabbed his staff, and put 5 smooth stones along with his sling into his shepherds purse or pouch and approached Goliath. Upon seeing David, Goliath started taunting him. He felt it was an unfair fight. David said to him, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord with deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very

Pilar & Phillip day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” So David reaches into his pouch, pulls out one of his stones, puts it into the sling and sank it right into the forehead of Goliath. BULLSEYE!!! Today’s recipe is mushroom, corn and poblano tacos.

Ingredients: 2 TBLS Extra virgin olive oil 1/2 lb. sliced mushroom 1 cup diced onion 1 poblano chili (seeded & stemmed) dice into 1/2 inch pieces 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp minced garlic 3/4 tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp cumin 1 1/2 cup corn kernels 1 1/2 cup black beans 1/4 cup salsa verde 1 TBLS lime juice 1 tsp salt 6-7 good shakes of hot sauce. preferably Tapatio or Cholula Rough chop 1 bunch fresh cilantro Crumbled cotija cheese

Procedure: Add oil to hot non-stick skillet. Sautee onions & mushrooms until tender and translucent. Add poblano chili, oregano, garlic, chili powder & cumin. Sauté on high for 2-3 minutes constantly stirring. Next add corn, beans and sauté about 4 minutes. Then add salsa, lime juice salt and hot sauce. Sauté another minute. Heat up taco size corn or flour tortillas and stuff with mix. Garnish with cilantro and cotija cheese. Enjoy! =

Downey Adventist Church Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

7:39 pm sunset Visit www.downeychurch.org S.S. – Sabbath School C.S. – Community Service

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

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group 1pm Victorian Tea Party

3 pm Pathfinders/ Adventures

7 pm Band Practice

9 7:44 pm sunset

10 8:30 am Breakfast 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

16 7:49 pm sunset

17 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

3 pm Pathfinders

23 7:54 pm sunset

24 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

3 pm Youth Outing Griffith Park

30 7:59 pm sunset

31 9:30 am S.S. 10:50 am Worship SGA Chorale

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

May 2014

Upcoming Events May Birthdays Chris Martin – 1 Dudley Meade – 1 Victor Zamora – 4 Linda Aumack – 6 Michael Fernandez – 6 Kaye Navarro – 10 Grace Huinquez – 10 Byron Molina Jr. – 11 Vanity Duarte – 12 Justine Amezaga – 13 Bill Aumack – 17 Ray Munguia – 18 Frank Duran – 23 Mimi Gonzalez – 26 Michael Parras – 27 Alex Aumack – 28 Phillip Mondragon - 28

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

3 - Pathfinders / Adventurers @ 3pm 4 - Women’s Tea @ 1pm 10 - Mother’s Day Breakfast 11 - Mother’s Day 17 - Pathfinders @ 3pm 18 - Pathfinders @ 9am 24 - Youth to Griffith Park 26 - Memorial Day - Office Closed 31 - SGA Chorale

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

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

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.

July 21-25 - Vacation Bible School

THE LATEST WORD The Latest About

Our Church Family Graduates Needed. If you know someone who is graduating from Kindergarten, 8th grade, High School, or College - please let us know. We’d love to recognize them and celebrate with them. Be sure to ask Victoria Zamora and Ethan Morales about their recent mission trip. They helped build a church.

If you have any Church Family news, please contact the church office so we can get it into the newsletter. =

efore the gifted Polish pianist, Ignace Jan Paderewski, died in 1941, he often played concerts in the United States. Once, when he was here, he was invited by a friend to attend a piano recital where the friend’s young daughter was to play. It was a disaster. The child had not gotten far into playing her piece when her mind went blank and in embarrassment she broke down in tears. Paderewski

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 Kiss of Love

Help us find everyone who is graduating this year!

Be sure to welcome Sebastian and Matthew Ramirez to the church family. They were baptized on April 19th.

quickly went up to the piano bench, leaned down and kissed the child on the forehead. Of course, she would never forget the occasion, yet if she had not made a mistake, she would not have received a kiss of love and encouragement. =

A Safe Haven

on’t ride in automobiles; they cause 20 percent of all fatal accidents. Don’t stay at home; 17 percent of all accidents occur in the home. Don’t walk on the street or the sidewalk; 14 percent of all accidents happen to pedestrians. Don’t travel by air, rail or water; 16 percent of all accidents happen on these.

However, only 0.001 percent of all deaths reported occur in worship services. Therefore, the safest place for you to be is in church. Sabbath School is also relatively safe. =

May 2014

Ponder This... = “It is not enough to be busy … The question is: ‘What are we busy about?’” —Henry David Thoreau = “A child needs your love most when he deserves it least.” —Erma Bombeck = “[A mother] never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn’t take them along.” —Margaret Culkin Banning

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

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