We have all learned at a very young age to

test our limits on what we can or can’t do. As a child, we all pushed our par-ents by trying to get away with as much as possible. Because of the consequenc-es of our disobedience, we soon realized, either by punishment or getting hurt by not listening, that there are parameters to the choices that we make. For the most part, we are pro-grammed with a mindset to make choices based upon

what we can do with none or minimal amounts of negative repercussions.

Have you ever asked someone if you can do something, and they responded sarcastically with “go ahead we live in a free country”? In America, we take pride in our ability to choose to live our lives anyway we can to a certain extent. As adults, we don’t have a parent that is look-ing over our shoulder any-more, so we can go at an

all-you-can-eat buffet three times a day if we want. We can watch just about any-thing on TV, or go crazy on our credit cards. It is up to us to make the choices of our lives.

After all, it is a free country, but as we give our lives to Christ, we live a life with a total differ-ent mindset. It’s not about making choices simply based on what we are allowed to do. We have the freedom to choose, but

continued on page 1

We Do What We Can by Cary Fisher

The Bridge

“To confess your sins to God is not to tell him any-thing he doesn’t already know. Until you con-fess them, how-ever, they are the abyss between you. When you confess them, they become the Golden Gate Bridge.”

—Frederick Buechner

INSIDE

Love Makes the World Go Around page 3

Our Fluid Faith 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

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

Vacation Bible School

Our Vacation Bible School this year is Jungle Safari! Get

ready for a life-changing adventure that leads kids in search of a price-less treasure! Along the way, kids will encounter clever clues, mysteri-ous symbols, and cunning creatures. Through Jungle Safari, they will walk away with solid truth—know-

ing they can always count on God ... the great-est treasure of all!

Join us starting Monday, July 21 thru Friday, July 25 from 6 to 8:30pm at the Downey Adventist Church. There will be a free dinner each night

from 6 to 6:30pm. Don’t miss the fun! =

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we also have the freedom to not choose. The book of Proverbs writes, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21). This is about mak-ing decisions that are centered around dis-cerning what is best or what is God’s will in the choices that we make. When our choices become less about fulfilling our own desires, God will bless us, not only for this life, but also for eternity.

July’s Sermon Calendar

July 5th - Who Are We

# 8: “Salvation” - As we celebrate the 4th of July, we are blessed to live in a country that cherishes

the freedom of its citizens. On this day, we will com-memorate our freedoms, but we will also present our belief that it is God’s nature for all of his chil-dren to be free. After all, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you

will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31,32). God gives us the freedom to love

him, and to listen to his ways. However, God’s greatest gift of freedom is the freedom from sin.

July 12th - Communion - On this special Sabbath, we will partake of the Lord’s supper

which is remembering Jesus’s sacrifice as he gave his body and blood for us. We also will fol-low Jesus’s example of foot washing as an act of service to our brothers and sisters.

July 19th - Who Are We #9: “Church” - On the ninth installment of our “Who Are We” series, we believe God’s church is designed for his chil-dren to bond together as one to form the body of Christ. Paul wrote, “God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:22,23).The church has an essential role in fulfilling God’s plan for this world, and it is vital for all of us to belong as we grow in Christ and connect with God’s mission for our lives.

July 26th - “Knowing God” - After just finishing up with what I’m sure will be another awesome VBS, I will close with a sermon that summarizes what the kids learned through the week. The theme is called the “Jungle Safari” and it’s a fun way of knowing the nature of God as He is our creator, our provider, our protector, our savior, and our king.

See you when the church gathers. =

WE

D

ID

IT

The Latest Word V 26 N 07

BILL AUMACKresponsible for this

LINDA AUMACKcopy editor

LAURA LUNApaper distribution

CARY FISHERpastor

address mail to: Downey Seventh-day Adventist Church9820 Lakewood Blvd.Downey, CA 90240office: 562.869.6013fax: 562.622.1691 downeychurch@gmail.comwww.downeychurch.com

distributed monthlyissue date: Jul. 2014 copyright 1992-2014

It is a free country, but as we give our lives to Christ, we live a life with a total different

mindset.

“

”

We Do What We Can (cont. from page 1)

July 2014

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game, two participants also entertained the crowd with dancing! I was so very impressed with the joy-fulness of the people we watched and encountered. And more impressed with the effort each of them placed on the sport. It was an inspiring event!

But you know what I liked best? I liked the friendliness of the compe-tition. While each partici-pant was striving to do his or her best, I saw absolute-ly none of the ugliness that often comes with competi-tion. In fact, it was quite the opposite. These gym-nasts, swimmers, runners and players cheered for and encouraged each other. They gave each other high-fives and hugs. And each one had a great BIG smile. It was so awesome.

I wish it were like that in all areas of life. In fact, is it possible that there is a spiritual lesson here as well? Jesus taught us that we are to love others as ourselves. I doubt that I could begin to count the number of Bible verses which touch on the subject of brotherly love, but as I searched God’s word, these are a few that I found:

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Romans 12:15-16

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tender-ness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.

Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Ephesians 2:1--4

Do not let any

unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up accord-ing to their needs, that it may benefit those who lis-ten. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiv-ing each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:29-32.

Love. I’m told it’s what makes the world go round. But according to Jesus, it is that which identifies His disciples. Something to think about! (PS: go to a Special Olympics event—you’ll love it!) =

July 5Cary Fisher

Who Are We #8: Salvation

July 12

Cary FisherCommunion

July 19Cary Fisher

Who Are We #9: Church

July 26Cary FisherKnowing God

VBS Closing Program

Worship Schedule

The Word & You

by Linda Bewley Love Makes the World Go Around

God’s word says, Behold, how good

and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1 NIV)

Do you have a bucket list? I have a very loose-kept list. It’s not in writ-ing, just thoughts about things I’d like to do or places to go. Well, I’ve crossed one of the items off my list! Last Sunday, I attended the Special Olympics in Los Angeles. It was a day well spent, watching athletes from eight different countries. We saw competition for gymnastics, swimming, the 100-mile dash and even a basketball game. During the basketball

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America’s religious landscape is diverse

and ever-shifting, accord-ing to a recent survey. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that almost half of Americans leave the faith tradition in which they were raised.

The results “seem in keeping with the high tol-erance among Americans for change,” says Pew Forum director Luis Lugo. “People move a lot, people change jobs a lot. It’s a very fluid society.” Other contributing factors include intermarriage and our consumer culture.

The survey of 35,000 adults showed that Protestants will soon become the religious minority in America for the first time. Meanwhile, there’s a boost in people — especially young adults — who are “unaffiliated” with a particular faith. But not everyone in this group is necessarily “unreli-gious,” Lugo notes.

While traditional, orga-nized religion seems to be losing its appeal, faith is still relevant to Americans. Michael Lindsay of the Center on Race, Religion and Urban Life says reli-gion is the most-important factor driving our beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Religion, he says, is “a powerful indicator of where America will end up

on politics, culture, family life. If you want to under-stand America, you have to understand religion in America.”

Sometimes we think because we are Christians, or because we are part of a church or denomination, that we “know” religion. After all that’s what we do. Sometimes we even use church and religion interchangeably, like they are synonyms. However, those two words do not mean the same thing.

Multiple studies have shown that people are wary of religion and church, but yet they are perfectly cool with Jesus. I’m sure you have friends, or have heard of people, who had a bad experience at church. As a result of the experience, they’ve walked away from religion and church. Many times they think they haven’t walked away from Jesus. Somehow they think they are maintaining a relation-ship with Jesus without the benefit of community around them. This seems to go against what the Bible states (‘not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing’ Hebrews 10:25).

It used to be that people were more loyal to institutions (church included). We didn’t let one bad experience

affect us. That has obvi-ously changed. We’ll stop going to church, or switch churches, over some very minor difference.

We need to be aware of these new attitudes so that we can address the spiri-tual needs of the people around us. It’s been said, “You can’t plan the future on the past.” How true that is. Things are differ-ent now than they were in 1950’s or even the 1990’s. While the timeless truths in the Bible have NOT changed. How we talk about them and present them to the people around us needs to be adapted to our current society.

I certainly don’t have all the answers. But there are people and events in history that inspire me to keep trying. When I think about Martin Luther and how he (and others) so dramatically change the culture of the church. When I think about the founding-fathers of our great nation and what they did and accomplished. Those things inspire me to keep trying, to keep look-ing for new and unique ways to reach my friends and neighbors.

How do you think we can reach the people around us? That’s worth pondering about... =

by Bill Aumack Our Fluid Faith

Almost half of Americans leave the faith tradition in which they were raised.

Let every worker in the Master’s vineyard, study, plan, devise methods to reach the people where they are. We must do something out of the common course of things. We must arrest the attention. -Ellen White (Evangelism, pg. 123)

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Last month we were so enthused with all of the

information we’d learned in our latest 6 week small group study guide regard-ing “C.R.E.A.T.I.O.N. Health; God’s 8 Principles for Living Life to the Fullest”, we decided to recap as much of the N part of the acronym as possible from the DVD. “Nutrition. We learned, of all the ways we have to be CREATION healthy, nutrition is perhaps the most powerful. Food is the energy that makes it possible for our bodies to regener-ate & grow. To get better results, all we have to do is fuel our body with better food. Our bodies regenerate old blood cells constantly with new ones. That’s why our bodies with the highest quality of food helps to create the healthiest cells. It’s also good to enjoy a variety of foods that are prepared in fresh ways. A balanced approach that adds colors, textures and flavors is best.

“One of the highest quality foods we can fuel our bodies with is high fiber foods. Some of the benefits of a high fiber diet is it makes us feel full

which means we don’t eat as much. They help achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Beans, legumes, whole grains, pasta, vegetables, fruits and nuts are a great source of high fiber.

Eating 3 servings of fruit daily helps with healthy weight loss. High fiber food helps blood sugar to rise slowly in our bodies. It lowers serum cholesterol concentrations, lowers the risk of heart disease, reduces blood pressure, reduces the risk of diabetes and improves

digestive function.

“A veg-etarian diet leads to the lowest risk of cancer. Twenty

percent of ALL cancer is preventable by eating 5 servings of fruit & veg-etables daily.

“When it comes to promoting health, broccoli is the most nutritious, by far!! Ounce per ounce, it has more vitamin C than an orange and as much calcium as a glass of milk. One sprig has more fiber than a slice of whole wheat bread. It’s also a very rich source of vitamin A. It minimizes the risk of cataracts, and helps protect against stroke. Broccoli

contains a substance called isothiocyanate. Isothiocyanate stimulates the body to create its own cancer fighting substance. It also blocks the growth of melanoma skin cancer.”

After reading this infor-mation for the first time during our small group study and now re-reading it to share with you, our church family, it just so reinforces our belief that God, in His infinite wisdom and love for us, wants only the best for us. He gave us everything we could possibly need to make our bodies run with maximum efficiency. Food that not only looks, smells, feels, sounds and taste good, but also food with so many medicinal values.

We continue to encour-age & promote healthy food choices with what we eat in our daily diet.

Ingredients • 1 1/2 pounds fresh broc-coli, cut into bite size pieces

• 1/3 cup butter

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons white vin-egar

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/3 cup chopped salted cashews

Directions1. Place the broccoli into a large pot with about 1 inch of water in the bottom. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 minutes, or until ten-der but still crisp. Drain, and arrange broccoli on a serving platter.

2. While the broccoli is cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet over medi-um heat. Mix in the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Mix in the cashews, and pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.

Enjoy! =

Broccoli w/ Garlic Butter & Cashews

Taste & Inspiration

Pilar & Phillip

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8:06 pm sunset

8:03 pm sunset

7:59 pm sunset

9:30 am S.S.

9:30 am S.S.

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

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

Visit www.downeychurch.orgS.S. – Sabbath School

C.S. – Community Service

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10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary

10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary Communion

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7 pm Band Practice

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Downey Adventist Church

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

6 - 8:30 pm Vacation Bible School

8:08 pm sunset

7 pm Band Practice

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

July 2014

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July Birthdays Geselle Huinquez – 3 Grant Fisher – 3Pilar Centeno, Sr. – 6 Lesley Mendez – 7 Bonnie Iversen – 8 Alfie Macias – 9 James Pond – 9 Lucille Martinez – 11Janette Huinquez – 12 Joel Huinquez, Sr. – 13 Frances Menendez – 19 Susie Munguia – 21 Isacc Perez – 21 Kristelle Meade – 26 Kelly Gonzalez – 26 Ethan Morales – 30

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

Upcoming EventsThursdays - 7 p.m. Women’s Prayer GroupFridays - 7:00 p.m. Band Practice

Jul. 4 - Independence DayJul. 12 - CommunionJul. 21-25 - VBSJul. 26 - VBS Closing ProgramJul. 26 - Snacks after church

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

Coming Soon

Aug. 11-17 - Pathfinder CamporeeSept. 6 - Parking Lot PartySept. 21 - Health FairOct. Small Groups Begin

Be sure to keep up with the latest news by signing up for the Wednesday email. You can sign up here www.downey-church.org/Signups.html or send us an email at DowneyChurch at gmail dot com and we’ll add you.

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The Latest About

Our Church FamilyAsk Zelina Archilla

about her recent trip to Belize. Welcome back Zelina.

Linda Aumack retired after 29 years of teaching elementary students. If you have advice for her about retire-ment, be sure to let her know.

Congratulations to

Chanal Red and her new baby, Jade. Welcome to the family Jade.

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

Communion

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! =

Communion is July 12th. All of us look

forward to this healing service and the new begin-nings it provides. This is the service to invite those who haven’t attended for a while and those who feel unwor-thy. All of us are unworthy but what keeps us coming is that we have a Savior and He is Worthy. He invites

us to come boldly to his throne with our prayers. He is the one who estab-lished the Communion ser-vice and the One who for-gives. This service offers all of us a new start. =

Kindergarten Ella Fisher - Field Elementary Catherine Cortez - Creative Beginnings Kindergarten

8th Grade Elissa Luna - Rancho Starbuck Middle School Nadia Aponte - Griffiths Middle School Khalil Meade - Valley Christian Miranda Gomez - Griffiths Middle School Abraham Guevara - Temple Intermediate

High School Ernesto Rojas - Warren High School Sara Guerrero - Whittier High School

College Evan Aumack - La Sierra University - BS Computer Science Ricky Gonzalez - Cal State Dominguez Hills - BS Public Administration Johanna Luna - University of California Riverside Mike Fernandez - ITT Tech =

Our Graduates

July 2014

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July 2014

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

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DATED MATERIAL

Ponder This...

= “Prayer is not a spare wheel that you pull out when in trouble; it is a steering wheel that directs us in the right path throughout life.” —Anonymous

= “There are two freedoms — the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.” —Charles Kingsley

= “Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.” —Russell Baker