12 BAPTISMS 8:45 & 10:45 am SUNDAY SERVICES COMPASSION SUNDAY 8:45 & 10:45 am SUNDAY SERVICES MOTHER'S DAY BABY DEDICATIONS 8:45 & 10:45 am SUNDAY SERVICES 11 4 5pm YAM - Young Adult Ministry 10:15am Baptism Info Class 10:30am Children's Baptism Class 12:30pm Sunday School Teachers' Team Mtg Lunch 1:45pm Oakwood Village Service BREAD & CUP VBS Volunteer Sign-Ups 8:45 & 10:45 am 24 SUNDAY SERVICES 25 2pm Sem. 301 Exploring Grace 5pm YAM - Young Adult Ministry 10:30am Children's Baptism Class 12:30pm Encouragers for Single Women Lunch 10am Men's Ministry Activities Team 8:45 & 10:45 am 17 SUNDAY SERVICES 18 10:30am Takin' It To the Streets Sierra Ridge Memory Care NO YAM - Young Adult Ministry 10:30am Children's Baptism Class 10 5pm YAM - Young Adult Ministry 10:30am Children's Baptism Class 3 5pm YAM - Young Adult Ministry VBS Volunteer Sign-Ups 31 Sun Office Closed Mon 9am Men’s Bible Stdy 9am Sewers & Rippers 9am Sewers & Rippers 26 9am Men’s Bible Stdy 9am Sewers & Rippers 19 7pm Prayer Meeting for Missionaries 9am Sewers & Rippers 12 5 Tue NO High School Youth Group NO Jr. High Youth Group 27 5pm MTL Dinner NO High School Youth Group NO Jr. High Youth Group 20 5:30pm WNL 5:30pm Jr & Sr. High Leaders Mtg 6:30pm Sr. High Youth Grp 6:30pm Jr. High @ Miyagi's Gym 13 10am Grief Share (Women) 28 10am Grief Share (Women) 21 10am Grief Share (Women) 14 3pm Gathering Inn 10am Grief Share (Women) 5:30pm WNL 5:30pm Jr & Sr. High Leaders Mtg 6:30pm Sr. High Youth Grp 6:30pm Jr. High @ Miyagi's Gym \ 7 Thu 6 Wed 29 22 15 8 1 Office Closed Office Closed Office Closed Office Closed Office Closed Fri 9:30am Takin’ It to the Streets 30 9:30am Takin’ It to the Streets 23 9:30am Takin’ It to the Streets 16 11am Worship Arts Retreat 10:15am Takin’ It to the Streets-Worship at Auburn Oaks Care Ctr 7am High School Parking Lot Sale 9 10:45am Women's Tea 9:30am Takin’ It to the Streets 2 Sat May 2015 Grapevine of Grace May 2015 Sunday Service Times 8:45 AM Adult Sunday School Jr. & Sr. High School Children’s Program Nursery 10:45 AM Adult Sunday School Children’s Program Nursery God Brings Life From Death! I have a confession to make; I have always loved monster movies. Since the time I was young I have been captivated by Frankenstein and the Werewolf. When we would visit my grandparents in Southern California my brother, my uncle, and I would stay up late and stare at a little black and white TV my uncle had in his room, watching late night monster movies. We watched many varieties, including Godzilla, Dracula, and The Thing. These classic films made in the sixties and early seventies became instant favorites. They now look dorky and simplistic, but as a kid I loved them. If I had to choose a favorite of all my favorites I think it would be Frankenstein. The whole idea of Dr. Frankenstein robbing graves for body parts and sewing them all together is rather morbid. Dr. Frankenstein, using his laboratory to experiment on bringing life from death, was fascinated by the idea of prolonging aliveness. He was desperate to show how ‘science’ could control the destiny of humanity. As we all know this experiment went awry. In the movie, Dr. Frankenstein was successful in bringing life from death, but the new person was not normal and turned out to be far more dangerous then helpful. In the end of every Frankenstein movie the creature dies. (Except in the old classic where the Werewolf finds him frozen in a glacier, somehow revives him and befriends him.) Continued on Page 10 Continued from Page 1 Hospitality Sewers & Rippers Welcome back to GOD'S LITTLE SWEAT SHOP, commonly known as the church Worship Center. Last month you learned about the intricacies of making a kit for a quilt. Each sewer enjoys picking a kit that will be fun for her to sew. The quilts are sewed just as carefully as they are cut. The front of lovely cotton is backed by cheerful, child 'designed' flannel. Borders of plain colored flannel coordinating front and back complete the assembly. The bottom of the quilt is then cut so that the front and back are even. Those that do the ironing now have their chance! They precisely iron the top so that the women who stuff the quilt will have an easier job. However, before it is stuffed one of our ladies sews on the attractive "Jesus Loves You" label that has that message in six languages as well as identifying that this is a gift from Auburn Grace Community Church. Easter 2015 GREAT NEWS! Two one week sessions of Junior Sewers and Rippers will be held June 8-12 and June 15-19. Sign-ups will begin on Sunday, May 3. We expect to fill up quickly so be among the first to secure your child's place. Contact Betsey Hirsch, 209-481-8558, f you have any questions. We welcomed two new ladies this month: Linda Cotten and Ruth Crawford. What a pleasure to have them! We have an amazing group of ladies. There is room for more, so if you are interested in this mission, please join us on Tuesday mornings. We love serving our awesome God, Rhoda Psalm 115:1 Meet Wanda Peabody I’ve been attending Auburn Grace for 5 yrs. I came to Auburn Grace because I had been here 20 years ago and after my husband went to be with the Lord, I came back here and felt right at home. A Visual Story of Redemption One thing I love about Auburn Grace is Pastor Phil’s messages. I appreciate his digging and researching to bring out new understandings of the Bible and I love Pastor Lorin’s music ministry. The ministries I'm involved with are spokesperson for The Encouragers for Single Women, co-facilitator for Grief Share with Francis Hale and I love greeting for Women's Bible Study and on Sunday mornings. Stuffing comes next. This is a difficult job as the batting must fill each corner and reach top and bottom evenly. Long, strong arms are a definite plus when it comes to doing this job! I find a lot of joy in harmonizing to Christian music and playing the piano. I love meeting with the Women’s Ministries Support Team. I enjoy meeting with people and getting to know their story. By this time one can get the feel of a cozy, comfortable, beautiful quilt that will either introduce a child to Christ or be an encouragement to a needy child who already loves the Lord. If my life was a book the title would be similar to Barbara Johnson’s title of one of her books, Life Isn’t What You Expected So Stick a Geranium in Your Hat & Be Happy. Next month we will tell you how the quilts are completed. Once Upon a Time there was a timid woman that the Lord asked to lead in ways she never dreamed. Please remember to collect used stamps for us. Tear off the right hand top of your envelope that contains a stamp of any amount and place it in the receptacle on the information wall in the main lobby. Also needed are the Box Tops for Education which are used to help purchase playground equipment. Thank you so much! It’s not fashionable but I keep a Christmas tree up all year round decorated for each season. Website: www.auburngrace.com Email: agcc@auburngrace.com 530-823-8330 PASTOR Phil Sparling ASSOCIATE/WORSHIP PASTOR Lorin Miller ADMINISTRATIVE PASTOR Dave Wickstrom PASTOR OF BODY LIFE Greg Hummel STUDENT MINISTRIES PASTOR Steve West CHILDREN’S DIRECTOR Sue Smead Auburn Grace Community Church ELDER BOARD Tom Bowen, Bob Churchwell, Lorin Miller, Kent Smead, Phil Sparling, Hal Wallace DEACONS: Greg Hummel - Head Deacon Steve and Becky Brown Melanie Felce Al and Pat French Mike and Lorraine Keeffe Rod and Donna Lee Gwen Smith 3126 Olympic Way MAILING: P.O. Box 6446 Auburn, CA 95604 Summarizing Our Stewardship July 2014—June 2015 Budget As of 4/28/15 2014/15 Year-To-Date Total Need $1,176,863 2014/15 Year-To-Date Total Giving $1,106,657 Difference: +/- : $ -70,206 / -5.97% Thank you for your generosity in the support of God’s work! “ B u il d ing a f a m il y o f b el i e v e r s t h a t know Christ and make Him known.” 2 11 Bringing life from death; extending life beyond the expected life cycle; defying the natural progression of aging. These have always been the pursuits of mankind. We have continually strived to be the ones in control of the uncontrollable. But, unfortunately, there are just certain issues in life that will always be beyond our control. We want to live forever young; we want our destinies to be in our realm of control; we don’t like the idea that someone else holds some kind of power over us. Dr. Frankenstein is alive and well today. Well, at least his ideas are. Right now, today, there is a laboratory in Arizona that has cryogenically frozen a famous baseball player after his death, with his head and body stored separately. I am not joking. This famous player wanted it this way. He wanted to be ready in the event that ‘science’ could cure his decease, reattach his head, and bring him back to life. Or maybe ‘science’ could figure out a way to attach his head to a healthy body and restore life from death. Dr. Frankenstein lives! We, as moral and spiritual beings, and having God’s laws written on our hearts, have always understood that life and death are ultimately in God’s hands. We have an innate understanding that God is both the giver and taker of life. He brings life and He brings death. This is not a difficult truth to understand, that is unless you’ve had a loved one taken from you, or a family member nearing death’s door. This is also why we believe in the sanctity of life. Not only is every human being valuable and significant be- cause we are created in the image of God, but we understand that He alone should be the giver and taker of life. But has God ever performed the miracle of bringing life from death? Has God ever performed a Frankenstein? Has He ever plugged the electrodes into a human being and revived the systems that make up human life? In the realm of physical life we know the answer is ‘yes’! There are over a half dozen accounts in the Bible of God resuscitating physical life back into a corpse. There are also hundreds of stories throughout the centuries of how people have been brought back to life after death to take them from this planet. But even more exciting is the fact that God is still pulling off spiritual Frankenstein’s. He, on a daily basis, is bringing spiritual life where was once spiritual death. The Bible says that while we were “dead in our trespasses” that God brought back to life and made us “alive together with Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 2:1-5). Resuscitation has occurred in our hearts toward God. Where there was once indifference, estrangement, and even hostility toward our Creator He has brought about life. We can now know Him, love Him, and experience Him in an intimate manner. His Spirit confirms with my spirit that I am His child. We have fellowship. We have union and life together! God has out done anything that the good old doctor Frankenstein could have even imagined. Our job now is to immerse ourselves into this relationship of life. 10 God’s desire and design in bringing spiritual life from spiritual death is for us to respond to Him with love, devotion, and obedience. His plan is for us to dive deep into this new life. Since we now can love Him with our whole heart, which was once dead to him, let’s choose to love Him. Love Him in prayer, love Him through meditation upon His word, the Bible, love Him through worship, and love Him though loving others. Let’s exhibit the life that He has brought from death. This new life was not meant to be neither shallow nor hidden. Let’s jump in and make this new life both deep and public. Let’s grow deeper, spending time in scripture study, prayer, and worship. Let’s love others, both the lovable and the unlovely. This is why we have been brought back to life! I think I’ll go to my Netflix account and order a good old fashion monster movie for this weekend. How about Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman! That’s a good one! I love being your Pastor, see you on Sunday. Pastor Phil Teaching Girls to be Ladies This is an excerpt from Dr. James Dobson's February 2015 Newsletter. This is the second of 2 parts. But what about moms who haven’t been trained in social etiquette themselves? They can hardly pass on what they haven’t learned. And what can we suggest for those who are simply too busy to tackle the job? That is couwhere professional etiquette training comes in. Classes are popping up in cities across the ntry to meet this precise need. This chapter in my book, Bringing Up Girls, again, is entitled “Teaching Girls to be Ladies.” I can hear some of my readers objecting to the goal of introducing principles of modesty and grace to girls. That is hardly the direction the popular culture has taken us in recent decades. Some would question whether it is even desirable for a girl to be feminine in a traditional sense, fearing that it will signal a return to the oppression of a patriarchal era when women had to hide their intelligence and conceal their accomplishments. Hear me out, moms. Not for a moment would I try to take away the hard-won achievements of respect and emancipation enjoyed by today’s women. May they long endure. So much has changed in the culture since then. I will tell you that I am disgusted by the way young men treat their girlfriends today. Some guys will honk from the street, waiting for a girl to come out. They stay behind the steering wheel while she opens her own door, and then they take her to a McDonald’s or a Taco Bell. Often, the guy will even expect his date to pay for her food! Do you know why this happens? Because girls tolerate it. I would advise a young lady who is expected to pay for her meal to do so only once. She should then ask to be taken straight home and never agree to see the dude again. Any man who is that disrespectful doesn’t deserve a sec- ond chance. Women hold the keys to masculine behavior. Guys are inclined to take what they can get and be no more accommodating than they have to be. To some degree, the lack of culture and refinement we see in many of today’s men is the fault of women who ask for, and get, little or nothing. If a girl sees herself as a lady, she will expect her escort to behave like a gentleman. He will respect her if she respects herself. If she wants him to be spiritually sensitive, she should go out with him only a few times before asking him to accompany her to church. If she objects to his use of profanity, she should simply not accept it. If she wants him to think of her often and call her on the phone, she should wait for him to get the idea himself. Female aggressiveness is a turnoff to most men. I don’t care if the rules have changed; it is still a bad idea for a girl to pursue a guy breathlessly. She should let him be the initiator. That is the way he is made. Parents, teach these concepts to your girls! If your daughter wants her boyfriend to take her to nice places, she should expect him to make the plans for an evening together and to ask her out at least a week ahead of time. If he shows up unannounced on Friday night and says, “Wanna’ hang out?” she should tell him she has other things to do. If she wants him to be a gentleman, she should require him to act like one, and she should always remember that she is a lady. If a woman wants a man to marry her, she absolutely must not make herself available sexually. That wrecks a relationship. Besides, it is morally wrong. Under no circumstances should she live with a guy before marriage. He will get what he wants, and she will get nothing. The number one reason men give for marrying late or not at all is because they can get everything they want— including love and sex—without commitment. A moral, self-respecting woman simply will not play that game. If it becomes obvious that a guy is 3 not going to commit, she should send him packing. Period! Don’t argue, just cut him loose. Don’t blame a guy if he is unmannerly and exploitative. He was probably not taught properly. Show him what you expect, and if he balks, move on—quickly. If he is a big drinker or uses illegal drugs, run from him. He is trouble on the hoof. There is someone better out there for you if you set your standards high. It comes down to this: the relationship between a man and a woman throughout their lives together, if indeed they do marry, will reflect the ground rules set by the woman when they are courting. She can change him then, but probably not after. She should not settle for anything less than what she needs emotionally. High on her list of priorities should be a mutual understanding about manners and morals. It is the way men and women have related to each other for thousands of years, and it still provides the basis for healthy families that are equipped to go the distance. However, teaching girls to be ladies is not enough. We must also give them a strong biblical foundation from which morals and virtues can evolve. Our hope is that our daughters will someday pass along those verities to the next generation. No other priority comes close to this one in significance. John Adams wrote: “The foundations of national morality must be laid in private families. In vain are schools, academies and universities instituted if loose principles and licentious habits are impressed upon children in their earliest years. The mothers are the earliest and most important Instructors of youth.” It was true in 1778, and it is still true today. Student Ministries Children's Ministry The Junior High group had a fantastic night at their Scavenger Hunt on April 10. The goal of the hunt was "Bigger or Better" and the winning team brought in an ice chest. The group ended at the home of Pastor Steve and Lisa West with dessert and prizes. It was a great night! Our featured Children’s Ministries teacher this month is Jenn Fiechter. Jenn has been married to RJ for 16 years and they have two wonderfully creative children, Nolan, 11, and Morgan, 9. They enjoy hiking, taking drives, and going to Disneyland together! They also enjoy camping and going on safari in the 80 acres behind their house. Jenn and her family have been attending AGCC for the past three years and Jenn has been serving in the Children’s Department for two years. She began helping with VBS and then started teaching at Wednesday Nite Live. Jenn now has taken the helm as the Wednesday Nite Live Coordinator. and substitutes occasionally on Sunday mornings as well. Upcoming Events in May! HIGH SCHOOL MAN HUNT - May 1 7:30-11:00 pm Come find the leaders of Auburn Grace Student Ministries as they hide out in disguise at The Fountains. Drop off/pick up at BJs in Roseville. Bring $5 for Pazookies at BJs after the hunt. Winning team gets free Pazookies!! After helping with VBS, Jenn was willing to help in other areas of Children’s Ministries as she feels that God had brought her to the Children’s Department. She was excited when she was asked if she would tell the Bible story to the children on Wednesday nights. She loves telling stories, especially Bible stories and after praying, she felt that God was confirming that this was where she was supposed to serve. PARKING LOT SALE - May 9 Student Ministries is hosting a HUGE parking lot sale here at Auburn Grace on Saturday, May 9 from 7:00 am-1:00 pm. Students sell their stuff to earn money for camp or other AGCC events. Donations gladly accepted! Items can be dropped off on Friday, May 8. For questions or to arrange pick up of your donations, please contact Pastor Steve West at 530-913-3834 or Meredith at 530-823-8330 or mjordan@auburngrace.com. Jenn loves having a relationship with the kids and being able to be the one who tells them about all of the stories in the Bible. Jenn says, “I get to be really enthusiastic with the age group I’m with and I can tell that they like it. I love making God’s Word exciting and real to them.” We are all so blessed to have Jenn as a teacher and leader in the Children’s Department! Young Adult Ministry (YAM) The Young Adult Ministry is led by Matt and Becca Hendricks where the importance of community and engaging one another towards Christ is the center point. It is a group that has been steadily growing and continues to meet on Sunday nights at 5:00 pm. If you are or know a ‘twenty-something’ that would like to get plugged into this amazing ministry, contact Brittany Brown (530-320-9326) or Isaac Ordaz (530-906-2651) for details. 4 Tokyo, Okinawa, Nagano, and Gunma. Last month we just held our first ever Encompass Japan Retreat/Conference, where 22 participated from those 4 regions, a number of whom met for the first time. I feel my role is to help these workers understand and function as a "team", and through their synergy, mutual encouragement, support, and help, become highly fruitful in spurring a movement of evangelism and disciple-making throughout Japan.” would have you help in this outreach to these Japanese students. To be a host family, or to obtain more information, watch in upcoming bulletins or contact one of the following people: Bridget Uhler bridget@auburngrace.com Matt Sparling sparling@uburngrace.com Lawrence Buren buren@auburngrace.com Matt and Jen Daniels will be joining this Encompass team when they arrive in Japan, hopefully by the end of 2015. More Opportunities Reach Japan for Christ to Auburn Grace supports three couples that are taking the Gospel to the Japanese people—Ralph & Joan Justiniano (Japan), Cecil & Debbie O’Dell (Long Beach, CA) and Matt & Jen Daniels (Japan). You can help in this effort without leaving home (and apart from anything you may be doing for direct support of any of these couples). How you ask? We have once again been given two opportunities to reach Japanese students that are coming to CA. First, we were asked to host 12 Japanese students (11 girls and 1 boy) from July 20-August 21. Secondly, the Japanese Handbell Choir, consisting of 15 students (all girls), plan on visiting our area. They will be here the week of August 17. I know the people/families that have done this in the past have been blessed and they have been a blessing to the students. Please consider if God 9 Our Missionaries on the Front Line - 4th of a Series Auburn Grace supports many missionaries, some are in the US and many are in other countries. It is my desire to inform you about who we are supporting and provide you with information on them and their ministry. This month we will go across the Pacific Ocean to the ministry of Ralph & Joan Justiniano in Japan. Ralph was born in Manila, Philippines, but lived on Okinawa until he was 8, when his family immigrated to the U.S. He grew up in Los Angeles and in his senior year God used a pastor sharing Ephesians 2:8-9 as a catalyst to draw Ralph into a saving relationship. God continued to bring circumstances and experiences together to call Ralph to church-planting, and then to reaching the least reached nations. Joan grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and moved to Southern California when she was 20. The following year a friend invited her on her church's college retreat, where Joan prayed to receive Christ. A year later, after deciding she wouldn't want to marry anyone from Southern California, she arranged to move back to Ohio. Two weeks before she left, she went on a church retreat and met Ralph. They were engaged after 4 months of long-distance phone calls and letters, and married 6 months later, in 1983. Ralph and Joan were both involved in outreach in the Long Beach area and also hosted a few Japanese home-stay students. God used the fact that there were a lot of churches and opportunities to hear the gospel in Southern California, but very few in places like Japan, with a Christian population of just 0.4%. This moved their hearts to want to serve Him in Japan. After Ralph completed his Masters degree in Missions, Ralph and Joan, along with their 3 young children, began raising support and landed in Japan in 1995. Ralph says, “Probably the most significant ministry the Lord has entrusted to us at this time is twofold. First is the raising up and training of our Japanese disciples in Tokyo, and second is the development and training of the national Japanese mission team that the Lord has allowed us to establish, which is Encompass Nihon of which (Ralph) Our(Japan), Encompass NihonI Team am currently the director.” Vision for their ministry is summed up as follows by Ralph, “From the start of our ministry in Japan in 1995, we have sensed God showing us that the key to fruitful and long-term disciplemaking in Japan is leading normal, everyday Japanese people to Christ, helping them to be on fire for the Lord in their normal, everyday life settings, and equipping them to multiply that passion to those around them in 8 their everyday settings. We are thrilled to see that starting to happen, and we are committed to following through with this ministry and sharing this vision with the steadily growing Encompass Nihon Team, and all the disciples Fast Facts: Generosity is the Christian's Best Apologetic Pastor Tim Kellar captures this apologetic well by describing how the human heart, my heart, is "an idol factory that takes good things and turns them into ultimate things.” Both by nature and by family background, I am a frugal person. My heart doesn't get particularly excited about cars, hobbies, clothes, or possessions. My deeper satisfaction comes from security. Comfort, sameness, financial predictability, at all levels is my idol. Like all idols...it competes with my intimacy with God. This "greed" absorbs my heart and imagination more than any other competitor. What can free me from this idol? Generosity frees me from this most insipid and false idol. Generosity is not a random idea or a haphazard behavior, but a basic, personal, moral orientation to life (Smith and Davidson, The Paradox of Generosity). The Tokyo Disciples in Japan.” “The disciples in Tokyo have come to faith through several ministries of evangelism and discipleship that the Lord has allowed us to pursue”, Ralph reports. “Those are 1) Our house church, 2) Joan's ladies' Bible studies, 3) the Restaurant Outreach Bible study we started several years ago, 4) the College Student discipleship ministry, and 5) the more recent musicians' outreach Bible study in downtown Tokyo. In the Tokyo area, we have approximately 20 Japanese disciples in whom we are intentionally investing to help them be on fire for the Lord and fruitfully multiplying. The Lord has brought precious fruit to the Tokyo ministry, and in just the past 6 months, 6 Japanese have come to faith, 5 have been baptized, and the 6th is planning the details for his baptism.” On a national basis Ralph explains, “The Lord has allowed us to develop a team of harvest workers committed to a movement of evangelism and disciplemaking in Japan- Encompass Nihon (Japan). They come from 4 regions of Japan where we are involved in ministry: Defined: "Generosity is a noble, gallant lifestyle of giving good things to others liberally and lavishly without expectation of return or personal benefit." Now, that definition inspires me! Sadly, it does not necessarily define me as I would like. The longed-for lifestyle preference makes my naturally greed-inclined heart seem small and without merit. Why is generosity such an important Apologetic? FIRST, GIVING TRANSFORMS ME SPIRITUALLY: God represents the most enlarged heart for generosity in the universe. As I give, I model what the Father has shown me. As I give, I release the death grip of greed and false idols that so incessantly whisper in my ear as if my life was utterly dependent on the possessions with my grip. My most dramatic spiritual transformation can only come through giving. It's a game-changer. SECOND, GENEROSITY IS NOW THE BEST APOLOGETIC WE AS CHRIST-FOLLOWERS HAVE TO A WATCHING AND NEEDY WORLD: post-modern. How we handle our possessions grabs the attention of those seeking truth as our culture demands we possess more and aspire to greater wealth. Kellar stated it so well: "The early church was strikingly different from the culture...the pagan society was stingy with its money and promiscuous with the body. A pagan gave nobody their money and practically gave everybody their body. And the Christians came along and gave practically everybody their money." Our generosity impresses the world. And so it should as God's generosity is His calling card, quite counterculturally. THIRD, GENEROSITY ALLOWS ME TO INVEST INTO THINGS THAT MATTER: There is no loss in buying things and enjoying them. There is loss when our money constantly tries to buy us meaning and happiness that will forever be elusive without an eternal perspective. So I get to be a part of God's work, God's expression, and His mission as I invest financially in things that yield eternal results. There's added value of an eternal nature for me personally that I cannot yet fully comprehend, but scripture indicates we store up treasure in heaven. If generosity changes my heart, speaks to a spiritually thirsty world, and yields eternal dividends, I'm all in. The idol is screaming in my ear, still, but his voice is not quite as loud and powerful. And that's a good thing. For more on this topic go to Generis, an organization committed to accelerate generosity toward Godinspired vision. Pastor Dave Classic apologetics are in the rear view mirror of the AGCC All-Church Campout June 26-28 Snowflower Resort - Emigrant Gap Limited spots—sign-up now! Snowflower Resort is a beautiful wooded preserve located in the High Sierra Mountains of Northern California and offers fun and adventure for all ages. Located on a beautiful 23 acre lake with swimming, fishing, hiking and mountain biking, playground, basketball, horse shoe pit and shuffleboard. Trailers, motorhomes and tents are welcomed. If you can't go for the entire weekend then come visit for the day—$5 vehicle entry. Please sign-up on a Response Form in a Sunday bulletin or by calling Melanie Felce at 916-652-9631. 5 6 WEEK ALL-CHURCH FAMILY SMALL GROUP STUDY / SUMMER 2015 HOW TO PRAY FOR AMERICA “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” – Psalms 11:3 I believe our nation is in trouble today, probably more than I’ve seen in my lifetime. We are contending with issues that are causing the very foundation of our country to crumble. Our moral and spiritual roots are eroding, the economy is misleading, family life is disintegrating, and political forces are at unprecedented odds. There seem to be very few leaders who will take a stand for God and for His Word. It can be tempting to believe that America has reached a point of no return. While these factors cause despair, we are reminded in Scripture that with God, nothing is impossible. No problem is too great for Him. Seasons of distress and uncertainty and hardship call for faithful, fervent prayer by God’s people and remind us of our responsibility to humble ourselves before Almighty God. We cannot expect healing to come to our nation apart from obedience to God through His Holy Word. God longs for His people to humble themselves and to seek forgiveness and pray for guidance. God’s Word says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). The Bible commands that we repent of our sins and turn to Almighty God. And because we are confident that we serve a God of mercy and compassion, we know that He stands ready to respond to our cries out of the abundance of His divine wisdom. It is a crucial time for us to individually and collectively seek God’s divine intervention for the challenges facing us. We need to pray not only for our nation, but we need to pray for our leaders, for all those who govern us, that they will turn to God with humble hearts and follow Him. Our military leaders need our prayers as we have dedicated men and women serving on battlefields and sacrificing their blood to protect our nation and many innocent people around the world. God is faithful to bless those who turn to Him. Pray that as a nation we would return to God. As we call on God, let us do so by genuine faith, believing that He hears our prayers. God can heal this great land, for which our forefathers fought and died. We need spiritual renewal, we need a revival in America, and we need each and everyone to pray. Lord, Hear Our Cry! – Franklin Graham 6 Heavenly Father, THE FORGOTTEN STORY OF HOW UNITING GENERATIONS UNLEASHES EPIC SPIRITUAL POTENTIAL We come to You in the Name that is above every name—Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Our hearts cry out to You. Something special happens when all of God’s people—teens, adults, and seniors—do life together. Grow Together shows how to ignite powerful spiritual growth through multigenerational, relational unity with the church, helping one another find satisfying answers to life’s 3 Hungers: Truth, Identity and Meaning. Knowing that You are a prayeranswering, faithful God—the One we trust in times like these—we ask that You renew our spirits, revive our churches, and heal our land. This summer Auburn Grace Community Church will host this powerful six week small group host home study from Summit Ministries, that will no doubt transform the way we “do life together” as Christ followers. Sign up for home groups will begin on June 7 in the Courtyard. We repent of our sins and ask for Your grace and power to save us. Hear our cry, oh God, and pour out Your Spirit upon us that we may walk in obedience to Your Word. We are desperate for Your tender mercies. We are broken and humbled before You. Forgive us, and in the power of Your great love, lift us up to live in Your righteousness. We pray for our beloved nation. May we repent and return to You and be a light to the nations. And we pray for our leaders and ask that You give them wisdom and faith to follow You. Preserve and protect us, for You are our refuge and only hope. Deliver us from all fears except to fear You, and may we courageously stand in the Truth that sets us free. We pray with expectant faith and grateful hearts. In Jesus’ name, our Savior. Amen. – 2015 National Prayer by Dr. Jack Graham Leading Christian voices are rediscovering the power of multigenerational relationships within the church: “Grow Together offers a blueprint for igniting powerful spiritual growth in the church through multigenerational relationships.” Ravi Zacharias, Author of Why Jesus? “When Jesus charged us with the Great Commission, He did not say ‘make believers’ – He said ‘make disciples.’ How do you do that? After you read and watch Grow Together, you’ll know how.” Frank Turek, Author of I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist “This is the church’s greatest moment. Here’s how to make the most of it! Jeff Myers’ double helix of worldview and lifeon-life mentoring will be used by God to impact the church and change the world! You can have all the right truth, but if it’s not lived out in relationships it will never change your family, it will never change the church, it will never change the world. Grow Together explores the proven spiritual power of multigenerational mentoring.” Josh McDowell, Author of The Unshakeable Truth. HOW THE GENERATIONAL DIVIDE GRINDS DOWN THE CHURCH’S EPIC POTENTIAL Reconciling the generations in the church would breathe new life into a faltering institution and perhaps even save civilization. Generational divides kill the church. But reuniting the generations is possible, and it makes probable dramatic change that can revitalize the spread of the gospel and display God’s glory in a way that whole nations will praise Him. To grasp this vision, though, we must release a catastrophic, nearly unavoidable assumption. If we don’t figure out what this error is and how to reverse course, three generations hence our progeny will be powerless to reverse its effects. On its face, this claim seems far-fetched. But as someone who has invested his whole life working with young adults, I am more convinced every day that it is true. The gap between generations is killing the church, and we desperately need to have a conversation about it. There has never in history been greater opportunity for the church to truly influence culture, and we are on the verge of missing it. Whether we change course and begin to flourish is not a decision of individual wills. We must together decide, because at the center of our choosing is not a solitary soul but a body—institution given by God. It’s called The Church. Each generation has its idea of what church is—what it looks like and what happens there—and one generation isn’t interested in following arbitrary cultural rules that make church meaningful to a few but squeeze the rest out. The greatest cultural divide in the church is not between the rich and the poor or between majority and minority cultures. It is a generational divide: silent, invisible, culturally-acceptable segregation by age. Jeff Myers, Author of Grow Together. 7 6 WEEK ALL-CHURCH FAMILY SMALL GROUP STUDY / SUMMER 2015 HOW TO PRAY FOR AMERICA “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” – Psalms 11:3 I believe our nation is in trouble today, probably more than I’ve seen in my lifetime. We are contending with issues that are causing the very foundation of our country to crumble. Our moral and spiritual roots are eroding, the economy is misleading, family life is disintegrating, and political forces are at unprecedented odds. There seem to be very few leaders who will take a stand for God and for His Word. It can be tempting to believe that America has reached a point of no return. While these factors cause despair, we are reminded in Scripture that with God, nothing is impossible. No problem is too great for Him. Seasons of distress and uncertainty and hardship call for faithful, fervent prayer by God’s people and remind us of our responsibility to humble ourselves before Almighty God. We cannot expect healing to come to our nation apart from obedience to God through His Holy Word. God longs for His people to humble themselves and to seek forgiveness and pray for guidance. God’s Word says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). The Bible commands that we repent of our sins and turn to Almighty God. And because we are confident that we serve a God of mercy and compassion, we know that He stands ready to respond to our cries out of the abundance of His divine wisdom. It is a crucial time for us to individually and collectively seek God’s divine intervention for the challenges facing us. We need to pray not only for our nation, but we need to pray for our leaders, for all those who govern us, that they will turn to God with humble hearts and follow Him. Our military leaders need our prayers as we have dedicated men and women serving on battlefields and sacrificing their blood to protect our nation and many innocent people around the world. God is faithful to bless those who turn to Him. Pray that as a nation we would return to God. As we call on God, let us do so by genuine faith, believing that He hears our prayers. God can heal this great land, for which our forefathers fought and died. We need spiritual renewal, we need a revival in America, and we need each and everyone to pray. Lord, Hear Our Cry! – Franklin Graham 6 Heavenly Father, THE FORGOTTEN STORY OF HOW UNITING GENERATIONS UNLEASHES EPIC SPIRITUAL POTENTIAL We come to You in the Name that is above every name—Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Our hearts cry out to You. Something special happens when all of God’s people—teens, adults, and seniors—do life together. Grow Together shows how to ignite powerful spiritual growth through multigenerational, relational unity with the church, helping one another find satisfying answers to life’s 3 Hungers: Truth, Identity and Meaning. Knowing that You are a prayeranswering, faithful God—the One we trust in times like these—we ask that You renew our spirits, revive our churches, and heal our land. This summer Auburn Grace Community Church will host this powerful six week small group host home study from Summit Ministries, that will no doubt transform the way we “do life together” as Christ followers. Sign up for home groups will begin on June 7 in the Courtyard. We repent of our sins and ask for Your grace and power to save us. Hear our cry, oh God, and pour out Your Spirit upon us that we may walk in obedience to Your Word. We are desperate for Your tender mercies. We are broken and humbled before You. Forgive us, and in the power of Your great love, lift us up to live in Your righteousness. We pray for our beloved nation. May we repent and return to You and be a light to the nations. And we pray for our leaders and ask that You give them wisdom and faith to follow You. Preserve and protect us, for You are our refuge and only hope. Deliver us from all fears except to fear You, and may we courageously stand in the Truth that sets us free. We pray with expectant faith and grateful hearts. In Jesus’ name, our Savior. Amen. – 2015 National Prayer by Dr. Jack Graham Leading Christian voices are rediscovering the power of multigenerational relationships within the church: “Grow Together offers a blueprint for igniting powerful spiritual growth in the church through multigenerational relationships.” Ravi Zacharias, Author of Why Jesus? “When Jesus charged us with the Great Commission, He did not say ‘make believers’ – He said ‘make disciples.’ How do you do that? After you read and watch Grow Together, you’ll know how.” Frank Turek, Author of I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist “This is the church’s greatest moment. Here’s how to make the most of it! Jeff Myers’ double helix of worldview and lifeon-life mentoring will be used by God to impact the church and change the world! You can have all the right truth, but if it’s not lived out in relationships it will never change your family, it will never change the church, it will never change the world. Grow Together explores the proven spiritual power of multigenerational mentoring.” Josh McDowell, Author of The Unshakeable Truth. HOW THE GENERATIONAL DIVIDE GRINDS DOWN THE CHURCH’S EPIC POTENTIAL Reconciling the generations in the church would breathe new life into a faltering institution and perhaps even save civilization. Generational divides kill the church. But reuniting the generations is possible, and it makes probable dramatic change that can revitalize the spread of the gospel and display God’s glory in a way that whole nations will praise Him. To grasp this vision, though, we must release a catastrophic, nearly unavoidable assumption. If we don’t figure out what this error is and how to reverse course, three generations hence our progeny will be powerless to reverse its effects. On its face, this claim seems far-fetched. But as someone who has invested his whole life working with young adults, I am more convinced every day that it is true. The gap between generations is killing the church, and we desperately need to have a conversation about it. There has never in history been greater opportunity for the church to truly influence culture, and we are on the verge of missing it. Whether we change course and begin to flourish is not a decision of individual wills. We must together decide, because at the center of our choosing is not a solitary soul but a body—institution given by God. It’s called The Church. Each generation has its idea of what church is—what it looks like and what happens there—and one generation isn’t interested in following arbitrary cultural rules that make church meaningful to a few but squeeze the rest out. The greatest cultural divide in the church is not between the rich and the poor or between majority and minority cultures. It is a generational divide: silent, invisible, culturally-acceptable segregation by age. Jeff Myers, Author of Grow Together. 7 Our Missionaries on the Front Line - 4th of a Series Auburn Grace supports many missionaries, some are in the US and many are in other countries. It is my desire to inform you about who we are supporting and provide you with information on them and their ministry. This month we will go across the Pacific Ocean to the ministry of Ralph & Joan Justiniano in Japan. Ralph was born in Manila, Philippines, but lived on Okinawa until he was 8, when his family immigrated to the U.S. He grew up in Los Angeles and in his senior year God used a pastor sharing Ephesians 2:8-9 as a catalyst to draw Ralph into a saving relationship. God continued to bring circumstances and experiences together to call Ralph to church-planting, and then to reaching the least reached nations. Joan grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and moved to Southern California when she was 20. The following year a friend invited her on her church's college retreat, where Joan prayed to receive Christ. A year later, after deciding she wouldn't want to marry anyone from Southern California, she arranged to move back to Ohio. Two weeks before she left, she went on a church retreat and met Ralph. They were engaged after 4 months of long-distance phone calls and letters, and married 6 months later, in 1983. Ralph and Joan were both involved in outreach in the Long Beach area and also hosted a few Japanese home-stay students. God used the fact that there were a lot of churches and opportunities to hear the gospel in Southern California, but very few in places like Japan, with a Christian population of just 0.4%. This moved their hearts to want to serve Him in Japan. After Ralph completed his Masters degree in Missions, Ralph and Joan, along with their 3 young children, began raising support and landed in Japan in 1995. Ralph says, “Probably the most significant ministry the Lord has entrusted to us at this time is twofold. First is the raising up and training of our Japanese disciples in Tokyo, and second is the development and training of the national Japanese mission team that the Lord has allowed us to establish, which is Encompass Nihon of which (Ralph) Our(Japan), Encompass NihonI Team am currently the director.” Vision for their ministry is summed up as follows by Ralph, “From the start of our ministry in Japan in 1995, we have sensed God showing us that the key to fruitful and long-term disciplemaking in Japan is leading normal, everyday Japanese people to Christ, helping them to be on fire for the Lord in their normal, everyday life settings, and equipping them to multiply that passion to those around them in 8 their everyday settings. We are thrilled to see that starting to happen, and we are committed to following through with this ministry and sharing this vision with the steadily growing Encompass Nihon Team, and all the disciples Fast Facts: Generosity is the Christian's Best Apologetic Pastor Tim Kellar captures this apologetic well by describing how the human heart, my heart, is "an idol factory that takes good things and turns them into ultimate things.” Both by nature and by family background, I am a frugal person. My heart doesn't get particularly excited about cars, hobbies, clothes, or possessions. My deeper satisfaction comes from security. Comfort, sameness, financial predictability, at all levels is my idol. Like all idols...it competes with my intimacy with God. This "greed" absorbs my heart and imagination more than any other competitor. What can free me from this idol? Generosity frees me from this most insipid and false idol. Generosity is not a random idea or a haphazard behavior, but a basic, personal, moral orientation to life (Smith and Davidson, The Paradox of Generosity). The Tokyo Disciples in Japan.” “The disciples in Tokyo have come to faith through several ministries of evangelism and discipleship that the Lord has allowed us to pursue”, Ralph reports. “Those are 1) Our house church, 2) Joan's ladies' Bible studies, 3) the Restaurant Outreach Bible study we started several years ago, 4) the College Student discipleship ministry, and 5) the more recent musicians' outreach Bible study in downtown Tokyo. In the Tokyo area, we have approximately 20 Japanese disciples in whom we are intentionally investing to help them be on fire for the Lord and fruitfully multiplying. The Lord has brought precious fruit to the Tokyo ministry, and in just the past 6 months, 6 Japanese have come to faith, 5 have been baptized, and the 6th is planning the details for his baptism.” On a national basis Ralph explains, “The Lord has allowed us to develop a team of harvest workers committed to a movement of evangelism and disciplemaking in Japan- Encompass Nihon (Japan). They come from 4 regions of Japan where we are involved in ministry: Defined: "Generosity is a noble, gallant lifestyle of giving good things to others liberally and lavishly without expectation of return or personal benefit." Now, that definition inspires me! Sadly, it does not necessarily define me as I would like. The longed-for lifestyle preference makes my naturally greed-inclined heart seem small and without merit. Why is generosity such an important Apologetic? FIRST, GIVING TRANSFORMS ME SPIRITUALLY: God represents the most enlarged heart for generosity in the universe. As I give, I model what the Father has shown me. As I give, I release the death grip of greed and false idols that so incessantly whisper in my ear as if my life was utterly dependent on the possessions with my grip. My most dramatic spiritual transformation can only come through giving. It's a game-changer. SECOND, GENEROSITY IS NOW THE BEST APOLOGETIC WE AS CHRIST-FOLLOWERS HAVE TO A WATCHING AND NEEDY WORLD: post-modern. How we handle our possessions grabs the attention of those seeking truth as our culture demands we possess more and aspire to greater wealth. Kellar stated it so well: "The early church was strikingly different from the culture...the pagan society was stingy with its money and promiscuous with the body. A pagan gave nobody their money and practically gave everybody their body. And the Christians came along and gave practically everybody their money." Our generosity impresses the world. And so it should as God's generosity is His calling card, quite counterculturally. THIRD, GENEROSITY ALLOWS ME TO INVEST INTO THINGS THAT MATTER: There is no loss in buying things and enjoying them. There is loss when our money constantly tries to buy us meaning and happiness that will forever be elusive without an eternal perspective. So I get to be a part of God's work, God's expression, and His mission as I invest financially in things that yield eternal results. There's added value of an eternal nature for me personally that I cannot yet fully comprehend, but scripture indicates we store up treasure in heaven. If generosity changes my heart, speaks to a spiritually thirsty world, and yields eternal dividends, I'm all in. The idol is screaming in my ear, still, but his voice is not quite as loud and powerful. And that's a good thing. For more on this topic go to Generis, an organization committed to accelerate generosity toward Godinspired vision. Pastor Dave Classic apologetics are in the rear view mirror of the AGCC All-Church Campout June 26-28 Snowflower Resort - Emigrant Gap Limited spots—sign-up now! Snowflower Resort is a beautiful wooded preserve located in the High Sierra Mountains of Northern California and offers fun and adventure for all ages. Located on a beautiful 23 acre lake with swimming, fishing, hiking and mountain biking, playground, basketball, horse shoe pit and shuffleboard. Trailers, motorhomes and tents are welcomed. If you can't go for the entire weekend then come visit for the day—$5 vehicle entry. Please sign-up on a Response Form in a Sunday bulletin or by calling Melanie Felce at 916-652-9631. 5 Student Ministries Children's Ministry The Junior High group had a fantastic night at their Scavenger Hunt on April 10. The goal of the hunt was "Bigger or Better" and the winning team brought in an ice chest. The group ended at the home of Pastor Steve and Lisa West with dessert and prizes. It was a great night! Our featured Children’s Ministries teacher this month is Jenn Fiechter. Jenn has been married to RJ for 16 years and they have two wonderfully creative children, Nolan, 11, and Morgan, 9. They enjoy hiking, taking drives, and going to Disneyland together! They also enjoy camping and going on safari in the 80 acres behind their house. Jenn and her family have been attending AGCC for the past three years and Jenn has been serving in the Children’s Department for two years. She began helping with VBS and then started teaching at Wednesday Nite Live. Jenn now has taken the helm as the Wednesday Nite Live Coordinator. and substitutes occasionally on Sunday mornings as well. Upcoming Events in May! HIGH SCHOOL MAN HUNT - May 1 7:30-11:00 pm Come find the leaders of Auburn Grace Student Ministries as they hide out in disguise at The Fountains. Drop off/pick up at BJs in Roseville. Bring $5 for Pazookies at BJs after the hunt. Winning team gets free Pazookies!! After helping with VBS, Jenn was willing to help in other areas of Children’s Ministries as she feels that God had brought her to the Children’s Department. She was excited when she was asked if she would tell the Bible story to the children on Wednesday nights. She loves telling stories, especially Bible stories and after praying, she felt that God was confirming that this was where she was supposed to serve. PARKING LOT SALE - May 9 Student Ministries is hosting a HUGE parking lot sale here at Auburn Grace on Saturday, May 9 from 7:00 am-1:00 pm. Students sell their stuff to earn money for camp or other AGCC events. Donations gladly accepted! Items can be dropped off on Friday, May 8. For questions or to arrange pick up of your donations, please contact Pastor Steve West at 530-913-3834 or Meredith at 530-823-8330 or mjordan@auburngrace.com. Jenn loves having a relationship with the kids and being able to be the one who tells them about all of the stories in the Bible. Jenn says, “I get to be really enthusiastic with the age group I’m with and I can tell that they like it. I love making God’s Word exciting and real to them.” We are all so blessed to have Jenn as a teacher and leader in the Children’s Department! Young Adult Ministry (YAM) The Young Adult Ministry is led by Matt and Becca Hendricks where the importance of community and engaging one another towards Christ is the center point. It is a group that has been steadily growing and continues to meet on Sunday nights at 5:00 pm. If you are or know a ‘twenty-something’ that would like to get plugged into this amazing ministry, contact Brittany Brown (530-320-9326) or Isaac Ordaz (530-906-2651) for details. 4 Tokyo, Okinawa, Nagano, and Gunma. Last month we just held our first ever Encompass Japan Retreat/Conference, where 22 participated from those 4 regions, a number of whom met for the first time. I feel my role is to help these workers understand and function as a "team", and through their synergy, mutual encouragement, support, and help, become highly fruitful in spurring a movement of evangelism and disciple-making throughout Japan.” would have you help in this outreach to these Japanese students. To be a host family, or to obtain more information, watch in upcoming bulletins or contact one of the following people: Bridget Uhler bridget@auburngrace.com Matt Sparling sparling@uburngrace.com Lawrence Buren buren@auburngrace.com Matt and Jen Daniels will be joining this Encompass team when they arrive in Japan, hopefully by the end of 2015. More Opportunities Reach Japan for Christ to Auburn Grace supports three couples that are taking the Gospel to the Japanese people—Ralph & Joan Justiniano (Japan), Cecil & Debbie O’Dell (Long Beach, CA) and Matt & Jen Daniels (Japan). You can help in this effort without leaving home (and apart from anything you may be doing for direct support of any of these couples). How you ask? We have once again been given two opportunities to reach Japanese students that are coming to CA. First, we were asked to host 12 Japanese students (11 girls and 1 boy) from July 20-August 21. Secondly, the Japanese Handbell Choir, consisting of 15 students (all girls), plan on visiting our area. They will be here the week of August 17. I know the people/families that have done this in the past have been blessed and they have been a blessing to the students. Please consider if God 9 Bringing life from death; extending life beyond the expected life cycle; defying the natural progression of aging. These have always been the pursuits of mankind. We have continually strived to be the ones in control of the uncontrollable. But, unfortunately, there are just certain issues in life that will always be beyond our control. We want to live forever young; we want our destinies to be in our realm of control; we don’t like the idea that someone else holds some kind of power over us. Dr. Frankenstein is alive and well today. Well, at least his ideas are. Right now, today, there is a laboratory in Arizona that has cryogenically frozen a famous baseball player after his death, with his head and body stored separately. I am not joking. This famous player wanted it this way. He wanted to be ready in the event that ‘science’ could cure his decease, reattach his head, and bring him back to life. Or maybe ‘science’ could figure out a way to attach his head to a healthy body and restore life from death. Dr. Frankenstein lives! We, as moral and spiritual beings, and having God’s laws written on our hearts, have always understood that life and death are ultimately in God’s hands. We have an innate understanding that God is both the giver and taker of life. He brings life and He brings death. This is not a difficult truth to understand, that is unless you’ve had a loved one taken from you, or a family member nearing death’s door. This is also why we believe in the sanctity of life. Not only is every human being valuable and significant be- cause we are created in the image of God, but we understand that He alone should be the giver and taker of life. But has God ever performed the miracle of bringing life from death? Has God ever performed a Frankenstein? Has He ever plugged the electrodes into a human being and revived the systems that make up human life? In the realm of physical life we know the answer is ‘yes’! There are over a half dozen accounts in the Bible of God resuscitating physical life back into a corpse. There are also hundreds of stories throughout the centuries of how people have been brought back to life after death to take them from this planet. But even more exciting is the fact that God is still pulling off spiritual Frankenstein’s. He, on a daily basis, is bringing spiritual life where was once spiritual death. The Bible says that while we were “dead in our trespasses” that God brought back to life and made us “alive together with Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 2:1-5). Resuscitation has occurred in our hearts toward God. Where there was once indifference, estrangement, and even hostility toward our Creator He has brought about life. We can now know Him, love Him, and experience Him in an intimate manner. His Spirit confirms with my spirit that I am His child. We have fellowship. We have union and life together! God has out done anything that the good old doctor Frankenstein could have even imagined. Our job now is to immerse ourselves into this relationship of life. 10 God’s desire and design in bringing spiritual life from spiritual death is for us to respond to Him with love, devotion, and obedience. His plan is for us to dive deep into this new life. Since we now can love Him with our whole heart, which was once dead to him, let’s choose to love Him. Love Him in prayer, love Him through meditation upon His word, the Bible, love Him through worship, and love Him though loving others. Let’s exhibit the life that He has brought from death. This new life was not meant to be neither shallow nor hidden. Let’s jump in and make this new life both deep and public. Let’s grow deeper, spending time in scripture study, prayer, and worship. Let’s love others, both the lovable and the unlovely. This is why we have been brought back to life! I think I’ll go to my Netflix account and order a good old fashion monster movie for this weekend. How about Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman! That’s a good one! I love being your Pastor, see you on Sunday. Pastor Phil Teaching Girls to be Ladies This is an excerpt from Dr. James Dobson's February 2015 Newsletter. This is the second of 2 parts. But what about moms who haven’t been trained in social etiquette themselves? They can hardly pass on what they haven’t learned. And what can we suggest for those who are simply too busy to tackle the job? That is couwhere professional etiquette training comes in. Classes are popping up in cities across the ntry to meet this precise need. This chapter in my book, Bringing Up Girls, again, is entitled “Teaching Girls to be Ladies.” I can hear some of my readers objecting to the goal of introducing principles of modesty and grace to girls. That is hardly the direction the popular culture has taken us in recent decades. Some would question whether it is even desirable for a girl to be feminine in a traditional sense, fearing that it will signal a return to the oppression of a patriarchal era when women had to hide their intelligence and conceal their accomplishments. Hear me out, moms. Not for a moment would I try to take away the hard-won achievements of respect and emancipation enjoyed by today’s women. May they long endure. So much has changed in the culture since then. I will tell you that I am disgusted by the way young men treat their girlfriends today. Some guys will honk from the street, waiting for a girl to come out. They stay behind the steering wheel while she opens her own door, and then they take her to a McDonald’s or a Taco Bell. Often, the guy will even expect his date to pay for her food! Do you know why this happens? Because girls tolerate it. I would advise a young lady who is expected to pay for her meal to do so only once. She should then ask to be taken straight home and never agree to see the dude again. Any man who is that disrespectful doesn’t deserve a sec- ond chance. Women hold the keys to masculine behavior. Guys are inclined to take what they can get and be no more accommodating than they have to be. To some degree, the lack of culture and refinement we see in many of today’s men is the fault of women who ask for, and get, little or nothing. If a girl sees herself as a lady, she will expect her escort to behave like a gentleman. He will respect her if she respects herself. If she wants him to be spiritually sensitive, she should go out with him only a few times before asking him to accompany her to church. If she objects to his use of profanity, she should simply not accept it. If she wants him to think of her often and call her on the phone, she should wait for him to get the idea himself. Female aggressiveness is a turnoff to most men. I don’t care if the rules have changed; it is still a bad idea for a girl to pursue a guy breathlessly. She should let him be the initiator. That is the way he is made. Parents, teach these concepts to your girls! If your daughter wants her boyfriend to take her to nice places, she should expect him to make the plans for an evening together and to ask her out at least a week ahead of time. If he shows up unannounced on Friday night and says, “Wanna’ hang out?” she should tell him she has other things to do. If she wants him to be a gentleman, she should require him to act like one, and she should always remember that she is a lady. If a woman wants a man to marry her, she absolutely must not make herself available sexually. That wrecks a relationship. Besides, it is morally wrong. Under no circumstances should she live with a guy before marriage. He will get what he wants, and she will get nothing. The number one reason men give for marrying late or not at all is because they can get everything they want— including love and sex—without commitment. A moral, self-respecting woman simply will not play that game. If it becomes obvious that a guy is 3 not going to commit, she should send him packing. Period! Don’t argue, just cut him loose. Don’t blame a guy if he is unmannerly and exploitative. He was probably not taught properly. Show him what you expect, and if he balks, move on—quickly. If he is a big drinker or uses illegal drugs, run from him. He is trouble on the hoof. There is someone better out there for you if you set your standards high. It comes down to this: the relationship between a man and a woman throughout their lives together, if indeed they do marry, will reflect the ground rules set by the woman when they are courting. She can change him then, but probably not after. She should not settle for anything less than what she needs emotionally. High on her list of priorities should be a mutual understanding about manners and morals. It is the way men and women have related to each other for thousands of years, and it still provides the basis for healthy families that are equipped to go the distance. However, teaching girls to be ladies is not enough. We must also give them a strong biblical foundation from which morals and virtues can evolve. Our hope is that our daughters will someday pass along those verities to the next generation. No other priority comes close to this one in significance. John Adams wrote: “The foundations of national morality must be laid in private families. In vain are schools, academies and universities instituted if loose principles and licentious habits are impressed upon children in their earliest years. The mothers are the earliest and most important Instructors of youth.” It was true in 1778, and it is still true today. Hospitality Sewers & Rippers Welcome back to GOD'S LITTLE SWEAT SHOP, commonly known as the church Worship Center. Last month you learned about the intricacies of making a kit for a quilt. Each sewer enjoys picking a kit that will be fun for her to sew. The quilts are sewed just as carefully as they are cut. The front of lovely cotton is backed by cheerful, child 'designed' flannel. Borders of plain colored flannel coordinating front and back complete the assembly. The bottom of the quilt is then cut so that the front and back are even. Those that do the ironing now have their chance! They precisely iron the top so that the women who stuff the quilt will have an easier job. However, before it is stuffed one of our ladies sews on the attractive "Jesus Loves You" label that has that message in six languages as well as identifying that this is a gift from Auburn Grace Community Church. Easter 2015 GREAT NEWS! Two one week sessions of Junior Sewers and Rippers will be held June 8-12 and June 15-19. Sign-ups will begin on Sunday, May 3. We expect to fill up quickly so be among the first to secure your child's place. Contact Betsey Hirsch, 209-481-8558, f you have any questions. We welcomed two new ladies this month: Linda Cotten and Ruth Crawford. What a pleasure to have them! We have an amazing group of ladies. There is room for more, so if you are interested in this mission, please join us on Tuesday mornings. We love serving our awesome God, Rhoda Psalm 115:1 Meet Wanda Peabody I’ve been attending Auburn Grace for 5 yrs. I came to Auburn Grace because I had been here 20 years ago and after my husband went to be with the Lord, I came back here and felt right at home. A Visual Story of Redemption One thing I love about Auburn Grace is Pastor Phil’s messages. I appreciate his digging and researching to bring out new understandings of the Bible and I love Pastor Lorin’s music ministry. The ministries I'm involved with are spokesperson for The Encouragers for Single Women, co-facilitator for Grief Share with Francis Hale and I love greeting for Women's Bible Study and on Sunday mornings. Stuffing comes next. This is a difficult job as the batting must fill each corner and reach top and bottom evenly. Long, strong arms are a definite plus when it comes to doing this job! I find a lot of joy in harmonizing to Christian music and playing the piano. I love meeting with the Women’s Ministries Support Team. I enjoy meeting with people and getting to know their story. By this time one can get the feel of a cozy, comfortable, beautiful quilt that will either introduce a child to Christ or be an encouragement to a needy child who already loves the Lord. If my life was a book the title would be similar to Barbara Johnson’s title of one of her books, Life Isn’t What You Expected So Stick a Geranium in Your Hat & Be Happy. Next month we will tell you how the quilts are completed. Once Upon a Time there was a timid woman that the Lord asked to lead in ways she never dreamed. Please remember to collect used stamps for us. Tear off the right hand top of your envelope that contains a stamp of any amount and place it in the receptacle on the information wall in the main lobby. Also needed are the Box Tops for Education which are used to help purchase playground equipment. Thank you so much! It’s not fashionable but I keep a Christmas tree up all year round decorated for each season. Website: www.auburngrace.com Email: agcc@auburngrace.com 530-823-8330 PASTOR Phil Sparling ASSOCIATE/WORSHIP PASTOR Lorin Miller ADMINISTRATIVE PASTOR Dave Wickstrom PASTOR OF BODY LIFE Greg Hummel STUDENT MINISTRIES PASTOR Steve West CHILDREN’S DIRECTOR Sue Smead Auburn Grace Community Church ELDER BOARD Tom Bowen, Bob Churchwell, Lorin Miller, Kent Smead, Phil Sparling, Hal Wallace DEACONS: Greg Hummel - Head Deacon Steve and Becky Brown Melanie Felce Al and Pat French Mike and Lorraine Keeffe Rod and Donna Lee Gwen Smith 3126 Olympic Way MAILING: P.O. Box 6446 Auburn, CA 95604 Summarizing Our Stewardship July 2014—June 2015 Budget As of 4/28/15 2014/15 Year-To-Date Total Need $1,176,863 2014/15 Year-To-Date Total Giving $1,106,657 Difference: +/- : $ -70,206 / -5.97% Thank you for your generosity in the support of God’s work! “ B u il d ing a f a m il y o f b el i e v e r s t h a t know Christ and make Him known.” 2 11 12 BAPTISMS 8:45 & 10:45 am SUNDAY SERVICES COMPASSION SUNDAY 8:45 & 10:45 am SUNDAY SERVICES MOTHER'S DAY BABY DEDICATIONS 8:45 & 10:45 am SUNDAY SERVICES 11 4 5pm YAM - Young Adult Ministry 10:15am Baptism Info Class 10:30am Children's Baptism Class 12:30pm Sunday School Teachers' Team Mtg Lunch 1:45pm Oakwood Village Service BREAD & CUP VBS Volunteer Sign-Ups 8:45 & 10:45 am 24 SUNDAY SERVICES 25 2pm Sem. 301 Exploring Grace 5pm YAM - Young Adult Ministry 10:30am Children's Baptism Class 12:30pm Encouragers for Single Women Lunch 10am Men's Ministry Activities Team 8:45 & 10:45 am 17 SUNDAY SERVICES 18 10:30am Takin' It To the Streets Sierra Ridge Memory Care NO YAM - Young Adult Ministry 10:30am Children's Baptism Class 10 5pm YAM - Young Adult Ministry 10:30am Children's Baptism Class 3 5pm YAM - Young Adult Ministry VBS Volunteer Sign-Ups 31 Sun Office Closed Mon 9am Men’s Bible Stdy 9am Sewers & Rippers 9am Sewers & Rippers 26 9am Men’s Bible Stdy 9am Sewers & Rippers 19 7pm Prayer Meeting for Missionaries 9am Sewers & Rippers 12 5 Tue NO High School Youth Group NO Jr. High Youth Group 27 5pm MTL Dinner NO High School Youth Group NO Jr. High Youth Group 20 5:30pm WNL 5:30pm Jr & Sr. High Leaders Mtg 6:30pm Sr. High Youth Grp 6:30pm Jr. High @ Miyagi's Gym 13 10am Grief Share (Women) 28 10am Grief Share (Women) 21 10am Grief Share (Women) 14 3pm Gathering Inn 10am Grief Share (Women) 5:30pm WNL 5:30pm Jr & Sr. High Leaders Mtg 6:30pm Sr. High Youth Grp 6:30pm Jr. High @ Miyagi's Gym \ 7 Thu 6 Wed 29 22 15 8 1 Office Closed Office Closed Office Closed Office Closed Office Closed Fri 9:30am Takin’ It to the Streets 30 9:30am Takin’ It to the Streets 23 9:30am Takin’ It to the Streets 16 11am Worship Arts Retreat 10:15am Takin’ It to the Streets-Worship at Auburn Oaks Care Ctr 7am High School Parking Lot Sale 9 10:45am Women's Tea 9:30am Takin’ It to the Streets 2 Sat May 2015 Grapevine of Grace May 2015 Sunday Service Times 8:45 AM Adult Sunday School Jr. & Sr. High School Children’s Program Nursery 10:45 AM Adult Sunday School Children’s Program Nursery God Brings Life From Death! I have a confession to make; I have always loved monster movies. Since the time I was young I have been captivated by Frankenstein and the Werewolf. When we would visit my grandparents in Southern California my brother, my uncle, and I would stay up late and stare at a little black and white TV my uncle had in his room, watching late night monster movies. We watched many varieties, including Godzilla, Dracula, and The Thing. These classic films made in the sixties and early seventies became instant favorites. They now look dorky and simplistic, but as a kid I loved them. If I had to choose a favorite of all my favorites I think it would be Frankenstein. The whole idea of Dr. Frankenstein robbing graves for body parts and sewing them all together is rather morbid. Dr. Frankenstein, using his laboratory to experiment on bringing life from death, was fascinated by the idea of prolonging aliveness. He was desperate to show how ‘science’ could control the destiny of humanity. As we all know this experiment went awry. In the movie, Dr. Frankenstein was successful in bringing life from death, but the new person was not normal and turned out to be far more dangerous then helpful. In the end of every Frankenstein movie the creature dies. (Except in the old classic where the Werewolf finds him frozen in a glacier, somehow revives him and befriends him.) Continued on Page 10 Continued from Page 1
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