A new year has come again, and it is the time

that many will make reso-lutions with the hope that they will become a better person. During this time of year, many are going to make claims to lose weight, to exercise more, to give up some habit, to be more involved in church, etc. However, after years of making these same claims and failing, a person might doubt the possibility of ever changing. I think a lot of us have given up trying to

improve ourselves thinking that we are just prisoners of our biological make-up or so programmed by the way we are brought up that we can never truly change.

Jesus was once asked why His disciples do not fast when the Pharisees do. I bring up this biblical reference because a New Year’s resolution is basi-cally a type of fasting. It is saying that I am going to stop doing what is natural for me even if it keeps me from God or being

the best person I can be, and as I fast from this natu-ral behavior, I hope that I will change. The Pharisees were making a resolution to not eat in order to be closer to God. However, Jesus responds to that ques-tion by saying, “no one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse (Matthew 9:16). Then Jesus continues to say, “neither do people pour new wine into old

continued on page 2

Here We Go Again by Cary Fisher

Seeking the Best

I believe that appreciation is a holy thing — that when we look for what’s best in a person we hap-pen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does all the time. So in loving and appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something sacred.

—Fred Rogers

INSIDEPathfinder Induction Pics page 3

Hate vs Love page 4

Taste & Inspiration on page 5

What’s happening? see pages 6 & 9

Our Church Family page 7

Agape Communion page 8

Kid’s Page on page 9

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

Taste of Health Cooking and Health Seminar

Sunday, January 31st from 4 to 6 P.M. we will host the

Taste of Health Cooking and Health Seminar in the fel-lowship hall. There will be a hands on cooking demonstra-tion and a health seminar on the ben-efits of vegetarian-ism. Dinner is also

included. There is a $6 fee for the wonder-ful event.

Invite a few friends and join us for this informative and fun event.

Watch for more details at church in January. =

THE LATEST WORD

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wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wine-skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved” (Matthew 9:17). Jesus is giving us an incredible insight. The Pharisees can-not change anything about themselves or their relationship with God if they are going to try to add the Holy Spirit which is something new to edify themselves which is some-thing old.

However, it is not impossible to change so don’t give up. Paul wrote, “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new

is here” (2 Corinthians 5:17.) Actually, we do need to give up. We need to stop trying to change ourselves, and allow God

to do the changing. Many of us are doing just as the Pharisees were doing, try-ing to change our behavior by our will power, when it is impossible to do. We can fool ourselves and others for awhile that we have changed, but eventu-ally, we will go back to

being the same old person that we have always been. What we need is to meta-phorically pour new wine which is the Holy Spirit

into something new which is Christ turn-ing us into a new creation. This means we need to spend less time trying to change our behav-ior and more time trying to let Christ change our heart, and He will make

the changes that need to be made.

Sermons for January

The message on Jan. 2nd is How Much Do You Need? Bill Aumack will share a message having access to God’s power. Is that a constant? Or does it vary? Duet. 33:25 says “as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” What does that mean for us?

On January 9th the message is Changing It Up #1. The Bible calls for us to be a new creation as Paul wrote, “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”(II Corinthians 5:17). As the New Year has come, we are reminded of changes that we need to make. In reality, it is only when Christ is in our lives that real change can ever occur.

January 16th is Changing it Up #2. This Sabbath’s message will be a follow up from last week. To make a real change in our lives, it is often said that we need to have will power. What we really need is less of our will, and that happens when we learn to surrender everyday and allow Jesus to be the one that is direct-ing our path.

Bill Aumack will speak on January 23rd. The message is When Should I Pray? There are times when it is easy to pray, and some other times when it’s not so easy. James gives us some great

WE

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ID

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The Latest Word V 28 N 01

BILL AUMACKresponsible for this

LINDA AUMACKcopy editor

ALEX AUMACKpaper distribution

CARY FISHERpastor

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

distributed monthlyissue date: Jan. 2016 copyright 1992-2015

it is not impossible to change so don’t give up

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Here We Go Again (cont. from page 1)

continued on page 3

January 2016

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Jan. 2Bill Aumack

How Much Do You Need?

Jan. 9

Cary FisherChanging it Up #1

Jan. 16Cary Fisher

Changing It Up #2

Jan. 23Bill Aumack

When Should I Pray?

Worship Schedule

advice of what to pray for and when to pray.

On the last Sabbath, January 30th, the mes-sage is The Owner’s Manuel. God has given us instruction to live a bet-ter and healthier life. As we prepare for our Taste of Health Cooking and Health Seminar, we are going to have a message that remind us about the spiritual values of healthy living.

See you when the church gathers. =

Here We Go Again Pathfinder Induction Pictures

Edwin transfers the leadership to Tomas

Our new inductees to the club

The Pathfinder song

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Civil-rights leader Martin Luther King

Jr. compared hate to “an unchecked cancer,” saying it “corrodes the personal-ity and eats away its vital unity.” Unfortunately, the destructive force of hatred is often evident in nations, communities, families and even churches.

The obvious — though not always easy — anti-dote to hatred is love. As The Message translation of Proverbs 10:12 states, “Hatred starts fights, but

love pulls a quilt over the bickering.” The image of a comfy quilt symbolizes the soothing impact that lov-ing words and actions can have on enemies as well as friends.

Plus, it’s tough to share the gospel without show-ing love, which social reformer Elizabeth Cady Stanton called “the ‘open sesame’ to every soul.” =

Hate vs. Love

Great beauty, great strength and great riches are really and truly of no great use; a right heart exceeds all.

—Benjamin Franklin

He who frit-ters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seek-ing him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, he will be in the last place the remain-der of the day.

—E.M. Bounds

On your new calen-dar, be sure to mark

important dates such as National Drinking

Straw Day (January 3), National Artichoke Hearts Day (March 16) and National Crouton

Day (May 13). Those pseudo-holidays are now catalogued as part of the National Day Calendar, a venture by a North Dakota busi-nessman.

For a fee starting at $1,500, anyone can register a national day or even give one as a gift. Special-interest

groups are discovering that national days are great for marketing.

Throughout the Bible, God instructs people to set aside special days for rest and remembrance. Yet to him, every day is holy — even if it lacks a holiday, pseudo or otherwise. “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). =

This is the Day

January 2016

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Ingredients• 8 medium potatoes thinly sliced

• 1 large onions chopped

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 to taste salt and pepper to taste

• 2 cups milk hot

• 1 cups part-skim cheddar cheese shredded

Directions1. Spray a 13”x9” baking dish with non-stick coating.

2. Arrange 1/3 of the pota-toes over the bottom of the dish, sprinkle

with 1/2 of the onion and top with 1/2 of the flour.

3. Repeat the layers then arrange the remaining potatoes over the top.

4. Pour the hot milk over everything and sprinkle with the cheese.

5. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour at 350F or until the potatoes are tender.

Enjoy! =

Simple Scalloped Potatoes

Taste & Inspiration

Pilar & Phillip

Remember to bring your non-perishable food items for Downey PTA Helps. This will help families in need right here in our own community.

Thanks!

Small Groups will be starting in February for our Agape Small Group Study. Watch for sign ups in the foyer to join a small group. If you would like to host please talk to Pastor or Bill. Thanks!

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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24 25 26 27 28 29 30

4:59 pm sunset

5:05 pm sunset

5:12 pm sunset

9:30 am S.S.

9:30 am S.S.

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

2 pm Pathfinders

9:30 am S.S.10:50 am Worship Bill Aumack12:30 pm Luncheon

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

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10:50 am Worship Bill Aumack

No Pathfinders

10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary1 pm Downey Out-reach Team

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7 pm Band Practice

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Downey Adventist Church

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

7 pm Band Practice

4:54 pm sunset

No Pathfinders

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

7 pm Agape Communion

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

7 pm Band Practice

7 pm Wed. Fellowship

7 pm Church Board

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5:19 pm sunset 9:30 am S.S.10:50 am Worship Pastor Cary

7 pm Band Practice

Taste of Health 4 PM

January 2016

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January Birthdays Janeth Cuyuch-Perez – 1 Virginia Hinojosa – 4 Irela Molina – 4 Sergio Garcia – 9 Isabel Molina – 13 Becky Duran – 18 Elissa Luna – 19 Esteban Torres – 21 Alejandro Zamora – 22 Richard Orozco – 22 Cary Fisher – 27 Lourdes Ortega – 30 Sara Rivas – 31

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

Upcoming EventsWednesday - 7 p.m. Wed. FellowshipFriday - 7:00 p.m. Band Practice

Jan. 1 - Agape Communion 7pmJan. 2 - Pathfinders @ 2pmJan. 3 - Pathfinders @ 9amJan. 9 - Fellowship Luncheon @ 12:30pmJan. 16 - Pathfinders @ 2pmJan. 21 - Church board 7pmJan. 31 - Taste of Health Cooking and Health Seminar 4 to 6 pm

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

Coming Soon

Feb 6 - Small Groups BeginFeb 27 - Talent ShowMarch 19 - Celebration SabbathMarch 26 - Easter Sabbath

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.

THE LATEST WORD

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The Latest About

Our Church FamilyCongratulations to

Tony and Raquel Luna. They are new grandparents thanks to Brian and Vanessa. Everyone is reportedly doing fine.

Congratu-lations to Lourdes Centeno-Ortega on her retirement. Be sure to wish her well!

If you have any Church Family news, please con-tact the church office so

we can get it into the newsletter. =

Agape 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! =

Join us on Friday, January 1st at 7 pm in

the Fellowship Hall for a special Agape Communion Service. This special com-

munion service is a won-derful way to kick off the year.

= The New Year is a time for starting over.

Sometimes we make reso-lutions to help us improve various areas of our lives. While we each might have different things to work on in our lives, one thing we have in common is our church family.

If you are interested in being involved in min-istry please come talk to Pastor or another ministry leader. We are always looking for help. From children’s Sabbath School,

to Pathfinders, to music ministry, to maintenance around the church, there’s no end of opportunities to serve. You may have an idea for a ministry that we haven’t even started yet.

We believe that God gifts his followers for service. So start using the gifts he has generously given you in 2016.

Call the office or Pastor Cary today! =

January 2016

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January 2016

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

Return Service Requested

DATED MATERIAL

Ponder This...

= “Holiness is not something we do or attain; it is the communication of the divine life, the inbreathing of the divine nature, the power of the divine presence resting on us.”

—Andrew Murray

= “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

—Martin Luther King Jr.