Seabreeze Vol. XLVI, No. 10 OCTOBER 2016 Volume XLVI, No. 10 Venice Free Methodist Church Life and Death are distinct opposites in the Christian faith. In all categories where these ap- ply, they are always oppositional. There are several kinds of Life and Death. The first is very obvious because it is visible— Physical life and Physical death. Where there is life the person breathes and is conscious. When death occurs the physical body does not function. The heart does not beat and there is no consciousness. There is a finality when death occurs with the body. And our experience tells us that we all will face death one day. There is another kind of Life and Death—Spiritual Life and Spiritual Death. This kind of life is not as obvi- ous as it is less visible, or only visible by its effects on the person. In the Bible’s story of the first couple–-Adam and Eve—they were told not to eat the fruit of a certain tree as it would cause their death. They were tempted because the serpent told them they would not die. He was referring to physical death. And when they did eat of the fruit, in truth, they did not die physically. But they did die spiritually. As a result of their disobedience, they felt shame, could not commune with God, childbirth became painful and they had to work hard to stay physically alive. Their death was not physical but it was a spiritual death. God wants to bless us to thrive in both physical life and spiritual life. But most importantly, God wants us to thrive spiritually. For when we are alive spiritually, it has positive effects on our physical life and when our physical life is over, we can look forward to eternal, spiritual and physical life. Jesus said, “For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son (Jesus) and believes in Him shall have eternal life…” John 6:40 Pastor Jim Miyabe Sincerely, Loving others in our community during a prayer vigil for the Joseph Tachiki family, 9/30. Loving others through serving at PATH, 9/3. Loving others at Habit For Humanity Carnival at Westwood UMC, 9/24.
Transcript
Seab
reez
eVol. XLVI, No. 10
OCTOBER 2016
Volume XLVI, No. 10Venice Free Methodist Church
Life and Death are distinct opposites in the Christian faith. In all categories where these ap-ply, they are always oppositional.
There are several kinds of Life and Death. The first is very obvious because it is visible—Physical life and Physical death. Where there is life the person breathes and is conscious. When death occurs the physical body does not function. The heart does not beat and there is no consciousness.
There is a finality when death occurs with the body. And our experience tells us that we all will face death one day.
There is another kind of Life and Death—Spiritual Life and Spiritual Death. This kind of life is not as obvi-ous as it is less visible, or only visible by its effects on the person.
In the Bible’s story of the first couple–-Adam and Eve—they were told not to eat the fruit of a certain tree as it would cause their death. They were tempted because the serpent told them they would not die. He was referring to physical death. And when they did eat of the fruit, in truth, they did not die physically. But they did die spiritually. As a result of their disobedience, they felt shame, could not commune with God, childbirth became painful and they had to work hard to stay physically alive. Their death was not physical but it was a spiritual death.
God wants to bless us to thrive in both physical life and spiritual life. But most importantly, God wants us to thrive spiritually. For when we are alive spiritually, it has positive effects on our physical life and when our physical life is over, we can look forward to eternal, spiritual and physical life.
Jesus said, “For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son (Jesus) and believes in Him shall have eternal life…” John 6:40
Pastor Jim MiyabeSincerely,
Loving others in our community during a prayer vigil for the Joseph Tachiki family, 9/30.
Loving others through serving at PATH, 9/3.
Loving others at Habit For Humanity Carnival at Westwood UMC, 9/24.
Youth Ministries served at PATH (People A s s i s t i n g t h e H o m e l e s s ) o n S e p t e m b e r 3 . “Good job!” to G r a n t A k u t a-gawa, Linda Aku-tagawa, Lucas Crawford, Abigail & Anna Holyfield, Bruce Fedr ick and Drew Oda.
We had a grand time at the Labor Day Picnic Hoedown Round-Up on September 5. Thanks to everyone who helped out and donated food. Special thanks to Rose Holy-field for leading.
Congratulations to Ryan Granucci and Saki Tanabe who have announced their engage-ment!
Thanks to Dr. Valerie Matsumoto, PhD, author of City Girls and professor of Asian-American studies at UCLA, for speaking at our Senior Adult Luncheon on September 17.
Men’s Breakfast on September 24 was themed “Return to Your First Love”. About 40 of our men enjoyed the event and heard Pastor Steve Wilburn of CORE Church. Thanks to the many men and women who helped out!
Habitat for Humanity Westside Coalition of Churches hosted a Fund raising Carnival on September 24. It was a great time with food, entertainment, games, silent auction and more. Approximately $8,000 was raised for the Culver City home build. Thanks to the many who served and for Linda Akuta-gawa and Dianne Tyau for leading the ef-forts.
Pastor Hector Cedillo, a n d s e v e n m e m-bers of
his church, served on a short-term mission team to three states in Mexico, September 29–October 9. Thanks to all who supported their work by enjoying the fundraising lunch on September 25.
A candlelight vigil was held on September 30 at the news of the passing of Joseph Tachiki. Many shared and spoke of the effect of his life on theirs.
We participated in the Mar Vista Gardens Community Services Fair on October 1! We are following Jesus’ calling to reach out to our neighbors! Thanks to the crew who ministered at the event. Thanks to Pam Magnuson who headed up our team.
THIS MONTH
GOD SPOT MARRIAGE FELLOWSHIP: October 1 Saturday is the next session to support cou-ples committed to marriage. We are follow-ing FamilyLife’s “The Art of Marriage–Getting to the Heart of God’s Design”. For potluck i n f o a n d t o R S V P , c o n t a c t [email protected]. Childcare pro-vided. Time: 6:30 p.m.
TOTTS (Tire Out The Tykes): October 4 & 18 Parents and their children meet for a play date for their preschool kids at 9:30 a.m. Call the church office if you would like to participate.
CELEBRATE RECOVERY IS STARTING! October 5 & 6 CR is a Christ-centered program for people who want to be free of their hurts, hang-ups and destructive habits and desire to know and experience God deeply. Two women’s step-study groups are forming. Call the church office for information.
AWANA MINISTRY: October 7, 14, 21 AWANA (Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed, from 2 Timothy 2:15) meets on Friday nights 7:00 pm–8:30 pm. Help your children build a foundation in Christ!
ParentTEEN LOVE LANGUAGES: Oc-tober 8 Do you know how to best communicate your love to your children? Do you know their “Love Language”? This presentation will help you connect with your children. Saturday, 7:00 p.m.–9:30 p.m. Please call the church office to sign up.
YOUTH FELLOWSHIP EVENTS: Octo-ber 8, 22 & 29 Fellowship nights and other events are fun & inspirational. Make sure your youth is a part of this faith building experience. For more de ta i l s o f a l l you th even t s ema i l [email protected].
SAM (Senior Adult Ministry) TOUR: Octo-ber 10-12 “Grand Canyon West” is the destination for their next tour. Planned stops include an historic gold mining town, a panoramic view of Colorado River, a walk on the glass Sky-walk, a visit to the Hualapai Indian Reserva-tion and more. Call the Church office for information.
MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers): Octo-ber 10 & 24 Are you a Mom? Have you ever had spit up on your shirt? Do you crave a break & real conversation with other adult women? Then come on Mondays from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Please RSVP to [email protected] to reserve your childcare spots today! (More details re: MOPS at venicechurch.org.)
LIFE 101 “Discovering Church Member-ship”: October 16 Ready to start the journey of spiritual growth? Pastor Jim will be leading our first class in our Life Series. Call the church of-fice by October 11 to attend.
CONVALESCENT HOME MINISTRY: October 16 Once a month we minister to the residents at Santa Monica Convalescent Hospital at 2 p.m. Want to participate? Contact Wayne G i n o z a a t 3 1 0 - 9 6 3 - 4 6 8 1 o r [email protected].
PCJC YOUTH RALLY: October 29 Youth from throughout our Conference will attend a youth rally here at Venice. Look forward to a great time of relationships, faith building, fun and inspiration. Time: 6:00 p.m.–9:30 p.m. ADVANCE NOTICE
ZOE WALK: November 5 Take action against sex trafficking by sup-porting the work and ministry of ZOE In-ternational. Plan to participate in their “Walk”.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD (OCC): It’s that wonderful time of the year where we partner with OCC (a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse) to pack shoeboxes with gifts for underprivileged children around the world. If you would like to submit a shoe-box(es), please contact the church office for details. Shoebox(es) deadline is November 13.
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PLEASE PRAY FOR... ...those who are serving on short-term missions: Sara Kwon (U. of Tenn. with
InterVarsity); Rob, Denise & Cori Anne Tang (Thailand with ZOE Ministries).
...those military personnel serving our country--Keaton Frey and Andrew Sumida (Navy), Julie Akiyama and
PRAYER FOR CHURCH AND COM-MUNITY A time of prayer for God’s Spirit to be re-leased in our church and community is be-ing held on the 1st Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the home of Jim & Suzanne Miyabe. Everyone is invited.
BAPTISM OPPORTUNITY Baptisms are scheduled in our worship ser-vices on November 20. If you are ready to publicly proclaim your faith in Jesus Christ through Baptism contact one of our pas-tors.
CULVER PALMS MEALS-ON-WHEELS Volunteer drivers are needed to deliver meals to home of people who are incapaci-tated due to age or disability on the West-side. Call 310/559-0666 if you would like to help.
WESTCHESTER PLAYA VILLAGE WPV assists seniors with activities like gro-cery shopping, a ride to and from appoint-ments home visits, etc. Volunteers are sought to make a difference in their lives. Call the church office for info.
FELLOWSHIP LUNCHEON SUNDAY Every 1st Sunday of the month is Fellow-ship Luncheon Sunday. Please join us after the 2nd worship service for a wonderful time of fellowship and for a delicious meal prepared by members of the Hospitality Ministry.
SUNDAY MORNING SCHEDULE Our two English worship services start at 8:45 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. English language Sunday school is held at 8:45 a.m. & 10:15 a.m. (Call the church office for more info on Sunday Youth & Children’s Ministry schedules or vis it our website at venicechurch.org.) The Japanese language Sunday school is at 10:30 a.m. and their worship service starts at 11:45 a.m. Visit their website at venicechurchjp.jimdo.com for more info.
MISS A WORSHIP SERVICE? Did you miss a worship service because you were ill or out of town? You can hear the messages or order a CD from our website at venicechurch.org. You can also access this newsletter (the “Seabreeze”) at our website and much, much more! (Please let Michelle Stultz in the church office know
if you access the Seabreeze off the web and don’t need one mailed to your home.)
SEABREEZE FORMATTING We are in need of a person to format this publication each month. If you have a de-sire to share the ministry of our church with our church family and community con-tact the church office.
IN SYMPATHY
Our condolences to the family of Mrs. Elma Shafer who passed away on Sep-tember 14. May God be a comfort to Richard & Michelle Stultz and family.
Our condolences to the family of Mr. Joseph Tachiki who passed away on Sep-tember 29. May God’s comfort be close to the entire family and his many friends.
MEMORIAL OFFERINGS
In Memory of Mr. Daniel Mizukami – Mrs. Alyce Mizukami & Mrs. Joy Takahashi
✢
IN SYMPATHY
MEMORIAL OFFERINGS
Announcements
• AWANA dates for this month are Oct 7, 14, and 21.
• Oct 1 (Sat) 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM - Anchored In Love Conference in El Cajon for young ladies (ages 13+). $25 per person if we get a group of 6 or more ladies.
• Oct 1 (Sat) 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM - Baja Missions Team meeting at Journey SB – DUE: $100 deposit, list of potential supporters, and support letter.
• Oct 8 (Sat) 7:00 PM to 9:30 - Youth Group and ParenTEEN (Both will be learning about Love Languages so we can implement what we learn mutually at home).
• Oct 15 (Sat) 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM - Student Leadership Team at Ignite Teams Conference at BIOLA
• Oct 22 (Sat) 7:00 PM to 9:30 - Youth Group: Romans 2:1-16
• Oct 29 (Sat) 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM - PCJC Youth Rally hosted by Venice. Please sign up to provide dinner.
Main Office: 310-822-8094 email: [email protected]: 310-821-5474 http://www.venicechurch.org
NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE
PAID SANTA MONICA,
CA PERMIT NO. 214
CHECK OUT OUR CHURCH WEBSITE: We’ve got a new online location at:
http://www.venicechurch.org It has our news and events! This newsletter, “Seabreeze,” is also here. Let us know if you receive the Seabreeze off the web and
don’t need one mailed to your home. Also, Pastor Jim’s sermons are available there via Podcast or through its media player.
