dec 09 latest word

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

MMeerrrryyCChhrriissttmmaass!!

DDuurriinngg tthhiiss CChhrriissttmmaasssseeaassoonn,, bbee ssuurree ttoo ttaakkeessoommee ttiimmee ttoo wwoorrsshhiipptthhee KKiinngg.. JJooiinn uuss ffoorrtthhee CCoommmmuunniittyyCChhrriissttmmaass PPrrooggrraamm oonnDDeecceemmbbeerr 1199tthh.. PPlleeaassee bbrriinngg aa ffrriieennddttoo tthhiiss uupplliiffttiinngg sseerrvviiccee..

In his late teens, Tim was one ofthe leaders of a growing church. Hisleadership skills grew out of on-the-job training. His Holy Spirit led lifeengaged the cooperation of thosemuch older in years. As the timepassed, his name became synony-mous with the famous. The ApostlePaul wrote that Timothy was “mytrue son in the faith” (1Timothy1:2). Moreover, Timothy is men-tioned as the “co-sender” of six NewTestament books.

Whether the first century ortoday, kids whose hearts are ready toserve the Lord have a mentor theyemulate. For example, there is a par-ent or grandparent who lives theirfaith in God and intentionally passesthat faith along. We know thatTimothy grew-up in such a home forPaul wrote, “I have been remindedof your sincere faith, which first

lived in your grandmother Lois andin your mother Eunice and, I ampersuaded, now lives in you also” (2Tim 1:5, NIV).

Some years later, Paul wrote toencourage Timothy in the service ofGod. He desired Timothy to thinkback on those who meant so muchto him and taught him God’s word.Paul wrote: “But as for you, contin-ue in what you have learned andhave become convinced of, becauseyou know those from whom youlearned it, and how from infancyyou have known the holy Scriptures,which are able to make you wise forsalvation through faith in ChristJesus” (2 Tim 3:14-16, NIV).

Disciple making of our youngpeople continues here at the DowneyAdventist Church. Almost everyweek, we include young people’s

THE LATEST WORDTHE LATEST WORD

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participation in the worship service.In addition, there are several ser-vices entirely led by them. OnDecember 5, is one such service wecall Kids’ Sabbath. We’ve invitedDavid & Elora Chavez to open theservice with a welcome, announce-ments and a Bible reading. EthanMorales is set to lead us during theintercessory prayer. Evan Aumack ispreaching. Alex Chavez is callingfor the offering. Throughout theservice other young people will singand play to God’s glory. Also,Adventist Union School will bring afew of their students to join in theservice. This is the service to bringall the young people in the neigh-borhood.

Through the story of Joseph andMary a clear message of God’sblessing and peace unfolds for thosewho rearrange their lives When GodLeads . . . . On December 12, themessage that day is called When

continued on page 5

IINNSSIIDDEE

The Invitation is on page 3

The Greatest Gift is onpage 4

Ginny’s Kitchen onpage 5

What’s happening?see pages 6 & 9

They are Just Kids on page 7

Kid’s Page on page 8

Our Church Familypage 10

Training Our Kids to Leadby Pastor Mitch

December 2009December 2009

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WWebster says “fire” means “thephenomenon of combustion

manifested in light, flame and heat .. . fuel in a state of combustion . . . adestructive burning . . . severe trialor ordeal” (Webster’s Ninth NewCollegiate Dictionary).

GGod says,”When you walkthrough the fire, you will not be

burned; the flames will not set youablaze (Isaiah 43:2 NIV).

Babylon.

Three men walked out of a blaz-ing fire today here in Babylon. Wearrived on the scene just in time towatch them walk out of the flamescompletely unharmed. We were ableto interview those involved.Apparently the whole thing startedwhen King Nebuchadnezzar madean image of gold. It was ninety feethigh and nine feet wide. The kinginstructed all people in his kingdomto fall down and worship this image.“I warned all the people that if theyrefused to worship the image, they

would be thrown into a blazing fur-nace,” the king told us. Yet therewere three men who refused.Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,or Hannaniah, Mishael and Azariah,as they were known at birth. Thesethree men are Jews who were takencaptive when King Nebuchadnezzarbesieged Jerusalem.

“We told the king that we believein the one true God of heaven andthat the king could do whatever hewanted to us, because we wouldnever serve his gods or worship theimage of gold,” said Shadrach. Themen were convinced that their Godwas able to rescue them from thefire. “But we were determined tostand our ground even if God did notsave us,” added Abednego. “Theking then became furious with usand ordered that we be bound andthrown into the fire which was seventimes hotter than normal,” saidMeshach. An eyewitness told usthat the soldiers who took the menup to the furnace were killed,because the flames were so hot.

When asked how they survivedthe fire, Shadrach gave us thisaccount. “Well, we were actuallythrown into the fire, but once wewere inside, our Lord was there withus. We then heard KingNebuchadnezzar saying that hecould see four men inside the flamesand of course we knew who thefourth person was. We then heardhim calling us to come out. Wewere no longer bound, and wewalked out of the fire unharmed andnone of our clothing or hair wasburned whatsoever.”

Truly a miracle has happenedhere in Babylon today. The threemen do not talk much about what itwas like inside the fire. They preferto talk about the outcome. Meshachtold us that he was happy because“the king acknowledged and praisedthe true God of heaven and realized

Dec. 5Mitch Williams

Kids’ Sabbath

Dec. 12Mitch WilliamsWhen God Leads

Dec. 19Mitch Williams

Community Christmas Celebration

Dec. 26Bill Aumack

Left Out At Christmas

Worship Schedule

God, Webster & You

by Linda BewleyThe Invitation

continued on page 4

WEDIDIT

The Latest WordV 21 N 12

BILL AUMACKeditor

BILL AUMACKlayout

LINDA AUMACKproof reading

LETTY DURANdistribution

MITCH WILLIAMSpastor

address mail to: (we like letters!)Downey-Florence Seventh-dayAdventist Church9820 Lakewood Blvd.Downey, CA 90240office: 562.869.6013fax: [email protected]

distributed monthlyissue date: December 2009copyright 1992-2009


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“Blessed be the God and Father ofour Lord Jesus Christ, who hasblessed us with every spiritual

blessing in the heavenly places inChrist.” Ephesians 1:3

There is no doubt this will be avery different holiday season formany, believers and unbelieversalike. We live in challenging timesand are being forced to checkour priorities at every turnand with every decision.

As we think upon thepromises of God, welook around and seeearthly promises madeand continually broken.Thankfully, we can besure the promises ofGod are trustworthyand powerful. Wemay look to the pastwith a certain longingin our hearts for theway things used to be,but that does us no good. Rather, letus look toward the future with hopeand certainty, even in these uncertaintimes.

The road ahead may not be clear-ly defined and may contain manycrossroads. Even in good times,life is full of unanswered questions.Will I have a job in the near future?Will we be able to make the nextmortgage payment? Will my healthcontinue to be good? As we lookback on the year as it is passing usby, let us check again for the gifts

we may have over-looked. The joy ofbeing present when

a great-grandchild isborn. Somehowfinding a way tofinance one more

college semester forour child. Celebratinganother weddinganniversary when so

many are calling itquits.

These aretruly wonderfulgifts, but let us

turn our mindsnow to the greatest gift we couldever hope for or receive: the gift ofeternal life through our Lord andSavior, Jesus Christ. According to

the apostle Paul, eternal life is butone of the wonders we receive whenwe choose to live in Christ. InEphesians, he reminds us that wehave been blessed with redemption,forgiveness of sin, spiritual wisdom,grace and peace, purpose in life, rev-elation, understanding, and strength.If that were not enough, we alsoreceive lowliness, gentleness, unityand spiritual gifts, change of direc-tion in our lives and the armor nec-essary to protect us against the spiri-tual attacks which come our wayevery day.

As we consider what we can giveto others during this holiday season,why not share these gifts with thosewho wonder at our peace and joy aswe too face uncertainty, loss andhardship. Now may be the time toremind ourselves as well that……

JESUS IS THE REASONFOR THE SEASON

Father, give us the courage toshare with others the wonderfulpromises you have given and thepeace they provide. =

Before the Father

by Linda FernandezThe Greatest Gift

that no other god would have beenable to save us from the fire. Andhe made that proclamation in frontof all people. That’s the real mira-cle.”

I asked Abednego what happenedto the fourth person in the fire. Iwanted to find him for an interview.Abednego told me, “Well, sir, I donot believe you will be able to inter-view him. He is the Lord our God,

the Holy One of Israel, ourSavior. If you’d like, pleasecome home and break breadwith us, and we will tell youall we know about the Lordwho is able to do abundantlymore than we could everimagine.”

That was an invitation Ijust could not pass up. =

The Invitation Cont. from pg. 3

Christmas Brittle


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With Love From the Kitchenof Ginny Williams

1/3 c. roasted almonds (roast in theoven 8 to l0 minutes at 350)½ c. Fiber-One cereal1 c. quick oatmeal1/3 c. oil-roasted peanuts (availableat Trader Joe’s)Pam spray ½ c. blue raw Agave1/8 c. maple Agave2 T. lemon juice 1 t. grated lemon peel¼ t. salt1 T. butter

DIRECTIONS:Mix together the almonds, Fiber-One cereal, quick oatmeal and oil-roasted peanuts. Lightly spray Pamon baking sheet. Spread mix onto

baking sheet. Bake 12 minutes andstir twice. Bake until oatmeal isgolden-brown evenly, but be carefulnot to burn.MEANWHILE: In a pot, add blueAgave, maple Agave, lemon juice,grated lemon peel, salt and butter.Heat and stir and bring to a boil.Cook about 8 to 9 minutes. Checkwith a candy thermometer for 325degrees. Remove pot from heat andstir in butter until melted and blend-ed. COMBINE: nuts/oat/cereal/peanutsinto pot of liquid-syrup-mixture andstir and blend all together until all istotally coated.SPREAD a sheet large sheet ofwaxed or parchment paper that has

been sprayed slightly with Pam.Spread entire mixture over paper andtop with waxed paper or parchmentpaper. Flatten or use a rolling pin toroll out thin. Cool for 45 minutes. STORE in refrigerator in a coveredTupperware casserole dish with lid.After it has cooled and set-up, cutinto pieces with a pizza cutter. =

God Leads . . . . Be sure to haveyour Bible handy to follow the storyof our Lord’s earthly parents as theyadjust their lives to follow God’splan. For example, the Bible tells usthat Joseph planned to quietly breakoff his engagement when he learnedMary was pregnant. However, whenGod is allowed to lead his life anddecisions, he changes his mind andtook Mary as his wife (Matthew1:18-25). There are many other“Christmas” examples of When GodLeads . . . and how we can learn tolisten and follow Him.

Jesus said: “I am the light of theworld. Whoever follows me will

never walk in darkness, but will havethe light of life” (John 8:12). TheCommunity Christmas Service isDecember 19. This year’s servicefeatures seasonal hymns and read-ings of the birth of our Savior. Wehave several specials from the chil-dren’s choir and individuals pointingto the birth of Lord Jesus. Thetheme is Jesus is the light of theworld and each family will place alighted candle on the altar.Following the service, the familieswill take their candle home to use asa reminder that Christ is the light intheir homes and in their hearts.Bring family and neighbors to thisservice.

We’re all familiar with theNativity story. We know all the play-ers and their parts. From the shep-herds, to the wisemen, to angels, toMary, to baby Jesus, they all seem toplay a part. One person in the storyis strangely silent. Yet there is muchto be learned from the character inthe story. Join us on December 26thas Bill Aumack brings a sermon enti-tled, “Left Out at Christmas.”

See you when the church gathers. =

Training Our Kids to Lead... (cont. from page 2)

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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6 8 9 11 12

14 15 16 17 18 19

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27 28 29 30 31

4:44 pm sunset

4:46 pm sunset

4:49 pm sunset

9:30 AM S.S.

9:30 AM S.S.

9:30 AM S.S.10:50 AM Worship Mitch WilliamsCommunity ChristmasCelebration

9:30 AM S.S.10:50 AM Worship Bill Aumack

Visit www.downeychurch.orgC.S. - Community Service

S.S. - Sabbath School

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10:50 AM WorshipMitch Williams

10:50 AM Worship Mitch Williams

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10 AM C.S.

6:30 pm BandPractice


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Downey Adventist ChurDowney Adventist Chur ch ch

7 pm Women’sPrayer Group


4:43 pm sunset



7 pm AUSChristmasProgram @Downey

Dr. Tony Campolo, well-knownauthor and sociologist, recalls thispersonal story. One day while visit-ing downtown Philadelphia, he gotthe idea to visit his old boyhoodchurch. Since the time when he wasa small lad, he knew the demograph-ics of his sub-urb hadchanged a num-ber of timesfrom Caucasianto African-American to Asian and now to noth-ing in particular.

He drove to what had once beena familiar site but was now a deteri-orating building with plywood cov-ering the once picturesque windowsof his boyhood house of worship.This current condition saddenedhim, but he was also curious and, asa sociologist, he began to mull overthe questions: What destroys a con-gregation? What makes a once thriv-ing church slowly die?

He decided to make his boyhoodchurch a special case study. Byinquiring with past leaders, he foundthat the old church records could befound in the basement of the sanctu-ary, and using a crowbar to open thebolted down door and dusting off thecobwebs of the filing cabinets, helocated past annual reports.

“Where do I begin?” he said tohimself. “I know—I’ll start with theyear I gave my life to Jesus Christ.”He opened the pages and began toread. It was not a particularly greatyear for the church—the attendancewas down, offerings were in declineand mission activities were dismal.Then he noticed this comment:“There were only three conversions

in the previous twelve months andthey were only children (italics pro-vided).”

Campolo stared at that remarkwith disbelief and exasperation andthought, Wait just a moment, I wasone of those three kids! And further,

I know the lifecareers of all three—one spent years as amissionary in Africa,the other became a

seminary president and I personallygave my life to Christian higher edu-cation. What do they mean, justthree children!? He felt he had hisanswer as to why that church died:because they had the mindset thatthose newmembers“were justchildren.”

Beginningin 1954,November 20is designatedas “UniversalChildren’sDay” by theUnitedNations.1Jesus, too, wasa true believerin the valueand impor-tance of chil-dren. You willremember thisdeclarationfrom Him, “Let the little childrencome to me, and do not hinder them,for the kingdom of God belongs tosuch as these” (Mark 10:14 NIV).Three of the synoptic Gospel writersincluded this account. Luke, being aphysician, called them babies (Greek

brephos), whereas the other twowriters used the Greek word foryoung children (Greek paidion).What makes this incident so impor-tant is that in the over one thousanddays of Jesus ministry, this singlegesture and those few words fromHis mouth were powerful enough tobe included in the few illustrationsof our Master’s life here on earth.

Although this incident has beenused as a sermon or presentation bypastors, Sabbath School teachersand TV and radio speakers, few havecaptured the real essence of whattook place that day. Few spend evena moment on the intense expressionin Mark’s account which says that,as the disciples began to push aside

thoseyoungsters,“Jesus wasindignant”(Mark10:14 NIV,italics pro-vided).After all,thePhariseesand otherreligiousleaders atthatmomentwere in adeep dis-cussion onthe impor-

tant issue of divorce. We are not toldhow long our Lord tolerated His dis-ciples as they tried to control thecrowd and especially the children.

What caused our Savior’s reac-tion? Was it the hurt expressions on


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They Are Just KidsStewpot

by Gordon Botting, DrPH, CHES

continued on page 11

“Our children are the onlypossessions we cantake to heaven.” — anonymous


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Dec. Birthdays

Adam Lunetta - 4 Laurel Haglund - 8Yesenia Molina - 8 Michelle Lunetta - 9 Ray Fernandez - 10 Johnny Macias,III - 12 Briana Chavez - 15 Alonso Ortega - 16 Lourdes Centeno - 17 Cheryl Gilbert - 17 Tim Beckmann - 26

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


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UpcUpcomingomingEEvvenentsts

2nd Sunday - 10 a.m. Community Service3rd Saturday - Adventurer ClubThursdays - 7 p.m. Women’s Prayer GroupFridays - 6:30 p.m. Band Practice

Dec. 6 - Kids SabbathDec. 10 - AUS Christmas ProgramDec. 19 - Community ChristmasDec. 25 - Christmas Day

The Latest Worddeadline is the 5thof the month.

Coming Soon

Jan. 15 - AGAPE FeastJan. 23 - Living with Hope Small GroupSeries begins (Bible Marking Series)Mar. 20 - Celebration Sabbath

this month

If you are looking for a new, fun way toread The Latest Word online, be sure tocheck out the newest format athttp://issuu.com/downeychurch. Samegreat content in a richer environment. Besure to check out all the reading modes.As usual, you can still get read it at ourwebsite at www.downeychurch.org.


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The Latest About

Our Church FamilyCongratulations to Eddie and

Sarah Rivas. They were married onNov. 8th at DowneyChurch. Be sure totell them congratula-tions.

Congratulations toEddie Rivas andByron and IsabelMolina. They were allbaptized on Oct. 31 atthe Downey Church.Be sure to warmlywelcome them into the family.

Congratulations to EvanAumack who made honor roll atSan Gabriel Academy and to KevinTorres who made honor roll at

Adventist Union School. If youknow of a student who has been on

honor roll or otherwiserecognized, please let usknow.

Be sure to sign thecards of appreciation forour church staff at church.If you wish to donatetowards a gift, Bill’s pock-et is available for dona-tions.

If you have any Church Familynews, please contact the churchoffice so we can get it into thenewsletter. =

Thank you to everyone who hasbeen saving Campbell Soup Labelsfor education and Box Tops forEducation. That is greatly appreci-ated.

On the Campbell Soup labels, allthat is really need is the UPC (thebar code). You don’t have to savethe entire label, just the UPC barcode.

For the Box Tops for Education,please save the Box Tops coupon.

Please give your labels to LindaAumack. Thank you for your sup-port! =

Community Christmas ProgramThe Community Christmas Program is

December 19th. This program is a perfectopportunity to bring a friend to experienceJesus.

Jesus said: “I am the light of the world.Whoever follows me will never walk indarkness, but will have the light of life”(John 8:12). The theme is Jesus is the lightof the world and each family will place alighted candle on the altar. Following theservice, the families will take their candlehome to use as a reminder that Christ is thelight in their homes and in their hearts.

Bring a friend or two and experience thelight that is Jesus this Christmas. =


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the children’s faces or their expres-sions of sadness? Whatever it was,suddenly Jesus stopped in the middleof the debate and declared, withemotion and fiery passion, theseparaphrasedwords, Let thelittle childrencome to me.Don’t you darehinder them!My kingdom belongs to such asthese!

In writing of this experience,Wess Stafford has written, “WhatJesus did and said that day wereextraordinary. After all, He wasn’t apolitical candidate out on the stump,kissing babies for the televisioncameras. He had no ulterior motivefor his action. He simply reached outto children for their own worth, andit no doubt startled everyone.”2

On another occasion, our Lordreminds us yet again that childrenare significant when the mother ofZebedee’s sons (Matthew 20:20)

comes to Jesus requesting that in thenew kingdom her two sons be placedon thrones next to Him. Jesus doesnot miss a beat, but takes a youngboy, has him stand in the midst of

the disciples,and after hegets theirattention, Hefirmlyasserts, “I

tell you the truth, unless you changeand become like little children, youwill never enter the kingdom ofheaven” (Matthew 18:3 NIV). TheMaster was not talking about a slightmodification but a definite turn inthe theological road: “You demon-strated out on the road that each ofyou have the childish part down, butI tell you what I am looking for isthat you become childlike” (author’sparaphrase). Matthew continues in agrave and serious tone in verse 6, “Ifanyone causes one of these little onewho believes in me to sin, it wouldbe better for him to have a millstonehung around his neck and to be

drowned in the depths of the sea.”

I believe Jesus was looking aheadto our time and the great harm that isbeing done to His little ones inNorth America through childexploitation in pornography, incestand dysfunctional homes, and fur-ther worldwide through child slavetrade, child soldiers, the scourge ofAIDS, lack of immunization andhunger. Since we are stewards of ourfamilies, may we as adults dedicateourselves again to the protection,nurture and love of our preciouschildren, not only during the holi-days, but every day, week and monthof the year. =

References:1. www.timeanddate.com/holidays/un/universal-childrens-day2. Too Small to Ignore, Wess Stafford,Waterbrook Press, 2009, pg. 197.Concepts and illustrations taken from Dr.Wess Stafford’s book, Too Small To Ignore,Waterbrook Press, 2009.

They Are Just Kids (cont. from page 7)

“Children: God’s apostles, day byday sent forth to preach of loveand hope and peace.” — James Russell Lowell

Living With HopeOur next small group series begins January 23rd. It’s

called Living with Hope and we’ll be learning the fine artof Bible marking. If the Bible is an instruction manual tolife, shouldn’t you want to read it?

Life’s big questions do have answers, and give us aframework to understand the world we are living in. Theseanswers are a rock to stand on during the chaos that swirlsaround our homes, careers, and relationships.

This unique series will give you the tools to understandGod’s word, as you learn proven techniques for studyingthe Bible effectively. In each session you’ll highlight keyverses in your own Bible that will be an inspiration foryou and your family for years to come. =

Series beginsJanuary 23rd.

Downey-Florence Seventh-day Adventist Church9820 Lakewood Blvd., Downey CA 90240

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PPonder This...onder This...

= “Whatever the surprises of the future, Jesus will neverbe surpassed.”—Ernest Renan

= “The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that he sunkhimself into our flesh, is beyond all human understand-ing.”—Martin Luther

= “Through Christ we understand God as far as ourhuman nature could bear and our human vision endure.Looking at him, we do see God. Through him we under-stand God as far as the finite can understand the infinite.He is the one Word that makes God intelligible to us.”—Anonymous

dec 09 latest word

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