Apr 2010 The Latest Word

The disciples glanced around the table to see who would flinch first. Their dirty feet required a bath. Not the full emersion, but a good washing. Why? Their custom required clean feet before the Passover meal started. No one volunteered. No one stepped forward. Why? Their collected thoughts knew the one who washed those dirty feet would, in their actions, admit he was their servant. No one wanted to serve the other. Their temptation was not to do wrong but to do right.

Temptation has two streets it can travel. One street is temptation to do what we know is wrong. The other street is the temptation to leave out

what they know is right. Our Lord was faced with the temptation to come down from the cross to avenge him-self.

The Easter message, on April 3, is entitled Faith for Life. The chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked . . . “Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:31-32, NIV). What we learn from our Lord who was tempted to step off the cross is life changing. If you’re going through difficulty, don’t despair, the Lord’s words will encourage your heart.

On April 10, Adventist Union

continued on page 2

A Fresh Startby Pastor Mitch

The Greatest Ornament

“The church knew what the psalmist knew: Music praises God. Music is as well, or better, able to praise him than the building of a church and all its decora-tion; it is the church’s greatest ornament.”

—Igor Stravinsky

INSIDE

Enduring on page 3

Who Is He? My Peace! is on page 4

Chris’s Kitchen on page 5

What’s happening? see pages 6 & 9

Budget Bloops is on page 7

Kid’s Page on page 8

Our Church Family page 10

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

On the first Easter morning, three women found an empty tomb.

The discovery left them trembling and afraid. They didn’t know there was more — a resur-rected Lord.

Please join us as we celebrate the Lord’s resurrec-tion. On Saturday,

April 3rd, we will have our Easter Celebration. Invite your friends to join us for this important service.

Also, make plans to stay for a catered luncheon after the service. The fellowship and the food is great! =

Easter Sabbath

School will lead us in worship. Mr. Terry Tyron and Mrs. Linda Aumack will lead the students in song and message. Mr. Tyron’s message that day will be filled with illustrations that bring home his message of faith. The students have worked hard on their music and songs to share with us. Bring a friend to be part of this service.

Have you ever wished you could start over? What if you could begin again with the painting project or cleaning out your garage or raising your kids? How differently you would approach life if you had a fresh start.

On April 17, we begin a two part message entitled A Fresh Start. The Bible says this, “A clean slate and a fresh start come from God by way of

Jesus Christ” (1Cor 1:30, MSG). In other words, Jesus is ready to give you a new life. Maybe you don’t feel connected to God. Or you’ve never really con-sidered yourself

a religious type person. No one gets married on the first date—at least not most people. Give yourself a chance to hear and evaluate the message for yourself.

The Bible says, “We were there-fore buried with him through bap-

THE LATEST WORDTHE LATEST WORD

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tism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4). The Lord says I’m going to give you a new life. And I’m going to give you a changed life. The natu-ral question is what changes? What changes when God gives new life? What’s new in the new life? What’s fresh in the fresh start? Those questions and a lot more will be answered.

See you when the church gath-ers. =

WE DID IT

The Latest Word V 22 N 04

BILL AUMACK

el jeffe

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: 562.622.1691 [email protected]

distributed monthlyissue date: April 2010copyright 1992-2010

How differently you would approach

life if you had a fresh start.

“

”

A Fresh Start (cont. from page 1)

April 2010April 2010

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Webster says “endurance” means “the ability to with-

stand hardship, adversity, or stress. . . suffering” (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary).

God says, “For everything that was written in the past [includ-

ing the story of Jehoshaphat] was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4 NIV).

Have you ever felt the weight of the world on your shoulders? Felt as though your very life is hanging in the balance? That, even though you know God is in control, everything threatens to crush your very exis-tence? If so, you are not alone. One of my favorite passages of Scripture is the story of Jehoshaphat found in 2 Chronicles 20.

Jehoshaphat was told that a huge army was coming after him and his people. The Bible says he was

alarmed and “resolved to inquire of the Lord and proclaimed a fast for all Judah.” Then he led the people in prayer. And what a prayer it was! There appears to me not one word of pretentiousness, just complete

and utter dependence on the Lord. I often read this prayer when feeling uncertain or overwhelmed. The last words of the prayer frequently match my feelings: I have “no power to

face” what is happening and I “do not know what to do but [my] eyes are upon [God].” If you’ve never read that prayer before, or even if you have, take a moment to do so. And don’t stop at the prayer! Keep

reading, and you will see God’s faith-ful answer to His people. You’ll hear God assure you, as He did Jehoshaphat, that you are not alone, that the battle is not yours but His. Your soul will be refreshed

as these words echo through your being: “Go out to face your troubles, and the Lord will be with you.”

Who knows, you might even

Apr. 3 Mitch Williams

Easter Faith for Life

Apr. 10 Terry Tryon

Adventist Union School

Apr. 17Mitch Williams

A Fresh Start I

Apr. 24Mitch Williams

A Fresh Start II

Worship Schedule

find yourself singing and praising God resulting in God crushing your enemies and problems through your own praise. And you will carry away from this trial something meaningful not the least of which may be increased or renewed faith in the Living God. And, last but cer-tainly not least, you might be able to say, “My life is at peace, because my God has given me rest on every side.” =

God, Webster & You

by Linda BewleyEnduring


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Before the Father

by Linda FernandezWho is He? My Peace!

“The Lord will give strength to his people. The Lord will bless his peo-

ple with peace.”

Ps. 29:11 NJK

Looking for just the right scrip-ture to use for this month’s

article, I came across the passage above. I thought how it could have been used last month as well as I studied God as my strength. I did a little comparison study of the word Peace and found it interesting that in the Complete Jewish Bible, the wording for this scripture is: “May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!” Although I chose to use the New King James Version’s word-ing, I like that in the Jewish Bible, an exclamation point is used in both comments for emphasis.

The name I chose for this study is YHVH-Shalom or Yahweh-Shalom. Jehovah and Adonai are also used as the first part of this wonderful name attributed to our Lord. Peace. Where do I begin a study on peace? It is probably the most needed sense or feeling in our lives right now, but also the most difficult to hold on to or maintain.

I didn’t have to look far to see a need for peace all around. As I write this, Haiti is still trying to recover from the massive earthquake that devastated that small country. Although Chile was much better pre-

pared for the quake and aftershocks that hit it, even the best prepared area would suffer damage and loss by an earthquake of such great mag-nitude. The Eastern portion of the U.S. has been pounded all winter by one mindboggling storm

after another. And that is just the weather-related trouble.

In my local news this week alone, another

young woman has been (allegedly)

raped and killed. Another innocent newborn was thrown away in the trash like last night’s take-out. Closer to

home, the city officials have sent out a warning to the residents in my city that home invasion burglaries and robberies are on the rise and have advised us to keep our windows and doors locked, even when we are home! Nearer still looms the threat of my health issues rearing their ugly head or financial problems returning once more.

And yet, over and over again in the Word of God, we find the promise of peace to those who love and serve the Lord. In Judges 6, we have another story of how the Israelites turned away from God and then cried out to him. He responds by sending an angel to Gideon, who promptly asks, “…if God is with us, why is all this happening to us?” Gideon is stricken with fear as he realizes he is speaking to an angel, but is comforted by the words, “Peace be with you, do not fear….” Gideon built an altar there and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace. Had his situation changed yet? No. Did he know what his role would be in the changing of his situation? No. Had God yet laid out his plans for turn-ing their circumstances around? No. Did Gideon jump at the opportunity to be of service when called? No. Nevertheless, he built that altar and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace. I want to have that kind of faith.

Father: Just as is predicted in your Word, the world around me is spinning out of control. As I face the news of each new day help me build an altar to you in my heart and call it The-Lord-Is-Peace. =


Chocolate Truffles

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With Love From the Kitchen of Chris Hogan

1 - 18 oz. pkg. Oreo Cookies – crushed (fine like coffee grinds)

1 - 8 oz pkg. cream cheese –soft-ened

1 - 8 oz. white chocolate – melted or chocolate chips (melted)

Mix cream cheese and Oreo Cookies – roll by hand into 1 inch balls.

Refrigerate rolled-balls until firm.

Dip rolled-balls into melted choco-late.

Cover a cookie sheet with wax –paper. Set cookies on sheet.

Refrigerate to harden. Store in refrigerator.

*You may also roll in fine crushed nuts instead of dipping in chocolate.

=

Nikolaus Zinzendorf was a child of German nobility born in Dresden in 1700. When he was a young man he entered a public hall and saw a large painting of the crucifixion. On the bottom of the painting were the words: “This I have done for you. What have you done for me?”

Zinzendorf was so deeply moved by the words that he never forgot them. He said, “From this time I had

but one passion, and that was He, only He.”

He dedicated his life to the cause of Christ and eventually became a bishop of the Moravian church. His zealous religious activities resulted in his exile from Saxony. But that didn’t stop him. He traveled the continent proclaiming the Christian message. His strong faith and spiri-tual depth had a great influence on

19th century Protestant theology and on John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Later, Zinzendorf helped establish the Moravian move-ment in America.

All of this was Zinzendorf’s answer to the question on the paint-ing, “What have you done for me?” =

The Influence of the Crucified Christ

Remember to bring some canned or dried food to church. The food is given to Downey PTA HELPS to help people right here in Downey. Thanks for your help.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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7:16 pm sunset

7:25 pm sunset

7:30 pm sunset

9:30 AM S.S.

9:30 AM S.S.

9:30 AM S.S.10:50 AM Worship Mitch Williams

9:30 AM S.S.10:50 AM Worship Mitch Williams

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

S.S. - Sabbath School

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10:50 AM Worship Mitch WilliamsEaster12:30 Luncheon

10:50 AM Worship Adventist Union School

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10 AM C.S.

6:30 pm Band Practice

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Downey Adventist Church

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group


7:14 pm sunset






7 pm Board Meeting

7:36 pm sunset


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



Two of America’s favorite televi-sion programs over the years

have been “Candid Camera” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” We laugh and sometimes cry as we watch people do the silliest and dumbest things, such as underesti-mating their speed and crashing into a wall or window, or overestimating their ability to stand on a narrow wall and falling into the mud puddle below. Other times, it is that unex-pected moment when a roof caves in and before they know it, they’re heading earthward, or one moment they are going in one direction and suddenly find themselves going in the opposite direction, with unantici-pated and unexpected consequences.

We love to laugh at the blunders and slip-ups of other people because we often see ourselves in similar situations. In the financial world of household money management, sim-ilar gaffes happen too often and they are no laughing or crying matter. To avoid such oversights and missteps, it pays large fiscal dividends to have a household budget or well-oiled financial plan. The price you pay for failing to develop a well defined household budget is a series of budget bloopers.

Income Bloopers

The biggest budget blooper on the income side of a house-hold budget is that many individuals overestimate their income when developing their finan-cial plan. They add in hoped for cost of living raises, tax refunds, annual

bonuses and salary increases. When you write down your income on the positive side of the ledger, make sure it reflects exactly what you receive after the appropriate state and federal government taxes have been extracted. It is much simpler to increase your budget when that extra windfall comes, rather than having to reduce line items and the bottom line because your income fell short.

Expense BloopersThere are a number of items that

are true budget bloop-ers on the expense side of the average family budget. These would include the following:

1. Leaving out major expenses, such as vehicle or house

insurance or property taxes. It’s easy to understand why these are often forgotten because they are not regu-lar monthly expenses and may be billed only once or twice a year. But leaving these major expenses out is like sky diving without a parachute. They need to be included in the household budget as proportionate

monthly line items.

2. Forgetting to include the following line items

that practically every family needs: Birthday, wed-

ding and other gifts. Most people are faced every year with gift-ing occasions for par-

ents, siblings, children, grandchildren, friends and

coworkers. Having a gift line item assists you when you need to pur-chase that extraordinary gift for their special occasion.

Vacations are often shrugged off either as “We don’t take vaca-tions,” or “We’ll see what pops up financially at the time”. Planning beforehand for that summer cruise or trip to an amusement park is much smarter than putting it on your credit card and having to pay it back, with interest, over the next several years or so.

3. Overlooking these three words, “maintenance, maintenance,

maintenance,” when making up your household budget. From the day you purchase your first home, you are

constantly faced with maintenance and repairs. They are not necessar-ily large items, but they do add up. Like a musical ditty: “it’s a sprinkler head here, a picture hook there, a few nails there, and spots of paint everywhere.” Aside from the cost of gasoline, vehicles have a way of constantly draining dollars from your wallet. Repairs and maintenance are a necessary part of vehicle owner-ship. Plan for a timing belt every 60,000 miles, a new battery every five years and brakes every other year.

Writing in two separate line items for household and vehicle mainte-nance will help keep your home and automobile in top condition.

4. Neglecting the one item that may save your budget roof from

collapsing. Every week there are

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Budget BloopersStewpot

by Gordon Botting, DrPH, CHES

continued on page 11

Budgets are designed to decrease your expenses and increase your income.


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April Birthdays

Jessica Michel – 6 Veronica Lozano – 7Gabriel Gomez – 7 Daniel Michel – 19 Edwin Morales – 20 Erik Concha – 20 Miranda Gomez – 21 Whitny Braun – 22

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

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Upcoming Events2nd Sunday - 10 a.m. Community Service3rd Saturday - Adventurer ClubThursdays - 7 p.m. Women’s Prayer GroupFridays - 6:30 p.m. Band Practice

April 3 - Easter Service & Catered LuncheonApril 4 - EasterApril 21 - Administrative Professionals DayApril 22 - Board Meeting, 7pm

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

Coming Soon

May 8 - Mother’s Day ServiceMay 15 - Parking Lot PartyMay 22 - SGA ChoraleJune 19 - Kids’ SabbathJuly 19-23 - VBS

this month

If you are looking for a new, fun way to read The Latest Word online, be sure to check out the newest format at http://issuu.com/downeychurch. Same great content in a richer environment. Be sure to check out all the reading modes. As usual, you can still get read it at our website at www.downeychurch.org.


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The Latest About

Our Church FamilyCongratulations to Pilar Centeno

and Phillip Mondragon who were recently engaged.

Congratulations to Patricia Jackson. She is officially an American citizen! Way to go Patricia!

Congratulations to Raul Lozano and Marisella Guillen who were married on March 21. We wish you many happy years together!

We welcome Phillip Mondragon to the family! He was baptized on March 20th.

We need graduates. If you know someone who is graduating this year,

please contact either Letty or Bill and let them know. Thanks.

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 Campbell Soup Labels for education and Box Tops for Education. That is greatly appreci-ated.

On the Campbell Soup labels, all that is really needed is the UPC (the bar code). You don’t have to save the entire label, just the UPC bar code.

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

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

“At the cross we understand what God means when he talks of loving us, begin to take it in that there is nothing that he will not do, no sac-rifice he will not make, no suffering that he will shirk, if only he can help us. ‘He loved me,’ said Paul, stand-ing upon Calvary and gaz-ing in a stunned way at the

cross, ‘I who was a persecutor, and a blasphemer, and injurious, and yet he loved me and he gave himself for me.’ And with that [Paul’s] heart broke, and the old life was gone.”

—Scottish preacher Arthur John Gossip, in a 1926 sermon titled “What Happens at Calvary” =

The Real Meaning of the Cross

Good Friday?

At first glance, Good Friday appears to be a misnomer. It seems inconsistent that the day of Christ’s crucifixion should in any way be described as “good.” But that seem-ing inconsistency vanishes when we understand that the ancient meaning of good was “holy.” The word holy is entirely consistent with the suf-fering and cross that Christ endured for us. Hence, Good Friday is also known as Holy Friday. =


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items, such as your child asking for money for his class picture or a magazine subscription, that don’t fit into any other budget category. It you don’t have a catch-all miscel-laneous line item, you may end up paying for these items over time and at a high interest rate, if you have to put them on your credit card.

The Ultimate Budget Blooper

Without a doubt, the ultimate budget blooper would be to NOT have a household budget at all. Far too many indi-

viduals and families try to get by without a financial plan and then wonder why they are always coming up short when it comes to money management. The person who stated that a person without a budget is like

a vehicle without a steering wheel was financially right on. Probably the only two exceptions for not hav-ing a household budget would be those who are so wealthy they could never spend all the money they have accumulated, such as billionaire Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, or those who, like two friends of mine did when they got married, make the decision to live on only one salary and bank the other.

In this current economic situa-tion, take a few moments and look over your household budget and see if you have a budget blooper that needs to be turned into a budget bloomer. =

Budget Bloopers (cont. from page 7)

There have been a few changes in the Adventurer program. Here are the dates and the topics for the remainder of this year.

April 17 - Community Food Drive for P.T.A. HelpsMay 15 - Sunbeam CurriculumJune 19 - Awards Ceremony

Also, the Adventurer club will do the curriculum as part of Sabbath School. Please be sure to be present during Sabbath School to meet all the requirements so you can get an award.

Adventurer Schedule

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

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DATED MATERIAL


Ponder This...

= “Awake, thou wintry earth — Fling off thy sadness! Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth Your ancient gladness! Christ is risen.”—Thomas Blackburn

= “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”—Jim Elliott

= “Christ is not valued at all — unless he is valued above all.”—St. Augustine

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Apr 2010 The Latest Word