In Community:
November 2016 Newsletter
Watching Our Wait
By Pastor Craig
We live in a fast-paced world with instant everything from coffee to oatmeal to replays to insurance quotes. Living in such a world makes us increasingly impatient. We don’t like waiting for red lights, slow internet connections or service in a restaurant. Even though we’ve heard the sayings of ‘haste makes waste” or “the hurrier I go the behinder I get” we are still looking for ways to do more with less, faster than ever before. In this world, patience is viewed as less of a virtue and more of a characteristic of someone unwilling or unable to compete.
Yet patience is expected to be an identifying mark of the Holy Spirit’s residence in the life of a believer. Deep down, I think we would all like to have patience but we just want to have it now. Unfortunately, that’s not quite how God works. Patience is a quality that is learned over time and typically through less than ideal circumstances. James says that we should count it all joy when we go through trials because trials produce patience in our lives. Joy is not our usual response when we’re in the middle of challenges but once the trials have passed we can often find good that has come out of our suffering, particularly our patience level.
One thing that I have found helpful is to think about patience in the same way I think about grace. The more I focus on how gracious God has been to me, the easier it is becoming to show grace to those around me. Similarly, when I think of how patient God has been and is now with me, it makes it a little easier to not get frustrated when I must wait for someone or something myself. The apostle Paul describes the Lord’s patience in 1 Timothy 1:16 where he says, “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.”
The Lord has such patience because He sees everything with the long view – the eternal perspective. As we acquire His mind, through the presence of His Spirit in our lives, we begin to see things as He sees them and while our patience may not yet be unlimited, waiting is not the terrible experience that it once was.
Fall Conference Recap Video
By Daniel Mayeda
Fall Conference 2016
By Raj Velji
What a weekend this year’s Fall Conference was! In all, just under 160 of us came together at Black Diamond Camps (formerly Camp Berachah) in Auburn, WA. The theme of the week was “Being a Missional Church” and Pastor Lane Sanford, Pastor Roger Olson and Craig Inouye encouraged and challenged us.
During the English sessions Pastor Lane Sanford explained that all of us were designed to be on a mission. He challenged us to think about the steps and preparation we’ve taken, whether training or education to get where we are today and what that says about the type of mission we are on. During several of the sessions, we broke into small groups and had a chance to discuss follow up questions. The small groups were mixed ages and genders loosely organized around where we live. The groups as usual were very engaged. In fact, it often took 2-3 announcements to break them up. Hopefully, some of the conversations that weren’t completed at the conference can be carried on in the coming weeks.
The weather was rainy as expected, but the heavier rain held off until late Saturday night and most of those in attendance used the free time to play games, go swimming, hit the zip line or try their hand at the giant swing. After free time and our afternoon session, we also had the chance to participate in an all-church trivia game and Kelly Aramaki and Norin Crawford led a subset of the conference attendees in a time of worship and sharing as part of a Worship Cafe. The sharing at the Worship Cafe always amazes me. This year we heard from people who have come through very difficult circumstances and others who have had the privilege to share the Gospel with friends or neighbors. We concluded on Sunday with a morning service that included communion and lunch together.
As with most conferences, a tremendous amount of effort goes into planning and running the weekend. This year was no exception. Special thanks to Annika Velji, Kenji and Jeanne Kumai, Vernon and Melissa Yutuc, Alisa Williamson, Derek Sandbeck, Kelly Aramaki, Norin Crawford, Aaron and Kathy Nishimura, Grace Spray, Alan Williamson, Dave Bauson, Ichiro Otsu, Daniel Mayeda, Melissa Nakamura and others that I’m sure I’m forgetting (forgive me if that’s you). Finally, Lois Swanson, Mina Chen and Mike Kurtz who again filled in a ridiculous number of gaps from printing name tags to leading the worship sections of each session. Thank you from all of us!
Now that the conference is over, life is in full swing. School is going again, summer vacations have concluded, and our first fall holiday is less than a month away. With the busyness that comes with this time of year, being on mission seems as important as ever. May we all take the opportunities to fulfill our part of the great commission this season.
-Raj
For the Fall Conference Committee
Fall Conference – Youth
By Kenji Kumai
The High School and Middle School classes combined to make up the “Youth Group” for the Fall Conference. We were very excited to be able to have our own speaker and program this year, since we didn’t get to do that last year. We asked Craig Inouye (Howard and Betty Inouye’s oldest son) to fly over from Hawaii with his wife Lisa again this year. Craig spoke at our Fall Conference two years ago and so many of our students already knew them.
We got our own cozy facility tucked way back behind the gymnasium so it was like having our own little retreat. We had our own stash of cup noodles, chips, drinks, popcorn and candy. During our free time and between sessions, we just hung out, played in the gym a lot, played neon dodgeball in the dark and watched a movie on Saturday night. Along with charades and other games, we had an ice breaker to see which team could come up with the “creepiest” make over and the “cutest” make over (each team had a full make-up kit). That was a blast to watch!
We had three sessions where we got to worship and learn together. We learned about being grounded in God’s word. Craig spoke from 1 Cor.16:13…”Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” in order to stand firm, one needs to be grounded in God’s truth and have a solid understanding of His word. The first message centered on why we need to stand firm…the 2nd, how to stand firm…the 3rd, what does God say on these issues? Young people are pulled by societal thinking (tolerance and acceptance) on issues like homosexuality, premarital sex, drugs, alcohol, the whole transgender thing etc., and if they don’t know exactly where God stands on these issues they will be susceptible to falling unwittingly into sin and against God. Craig is a seasoned teacher and has taught for many years. He knows how to relate to middle school and high school kids. He did an awesome job communicating to them and getting the message across to them on these issues that can be so confusing in the world we live in today. Thank you, Craig and Lisa for taking the time out to come all the way over here for just the weekend. Lisa had a boot on her foot due to an injury and she came regardless. She was a real trooper and hobbled around all weekend! We really appreciate the time, energy and love that they gave to our kids! God really used this weekend to unite our group as we are just starting up our 2016-17 year together. We are truly thankful to be blessed with this amazing group of young people.
Youth Conference Team:
Vernon & Melissa Yutuc
Alisa Williamson
Jerjou and Stephanie Cheng
Kenji & Jeanne Kumai
Fall Conference – Children
A special “thank you” to the Lau family and the helpers from Lighthouse Christian Church for working with the FBC children at the Fall Conference!
Fall Conference – JLM
By Mina Chen
For this year’s fall conference, the Japanese Language Ministries (JLM) had the sub-theme “a church that continues to witness” under the main theme “Being a Missional Church.” We had Pastor Roger Olson from Rock of Ages Lutheran Brethren Church as our speaker. Pastor Roger lives in Seattle now, but grew up in Japan as an MK (missionary kid), graduated from seminary and served in Japan for a long time. He shared from his own experiences reaching out to Japanese people both in Japan and in Seattle.
Pastor Roger gave messages from Isaiah 55:1-56:1. The first point was “the heart of the witnesses” and he covered that we are invited by God to witness and share His love; that we have to first come to God and get filled; and that the love of God overflows from our heart. He asked us to evaluate our motivation for witnessing – if it is for your own satisfaction or it is for giving glory back to God. He also asked us to think about things that hinder us from sharing about Christ.
In the second point, Pastor Roger covered “the plans of the witnesses.” It is good to make plans but we have to know that “God’s ways and thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). We cannot plan the results, just like fishers and farmers, but we still need to “go fishing” or “plant seeds.” It is important to do our part (with the Holy Spirit’s help and leading) and rely on God for the results.
The third point was “the action of the witnesses.” Pastor Roger humbly shared from his mistakes and experiences. We often make the mistake of not trying. God is calling us to reach out to our family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and even strangers, but sometimes our pride, ego, fear, or worries hinder us from sharing about Christ. We often tend to consider too much about how they receive what we share or how they would see us, judge us, and treat us if we share about Christ, but it is not about us, but about Christ. When we focus on what God values, sharing Christ becomes our joy. And when we see the “fruit,” it is even greater joy.
His message was a good reminder and encouragement for us. The JLM will revisit these points regularly during Sunday school to encourage each other to apply what we learned to our own day-to-day life.
The Fall Conference was also a great time to fellowship. We had the privilege of having six guests from Japan King’s Garden. Since we did not know each other well, we had a self-introduction activity as an ice breaker and it was such a fun time to get to know each other and we felt like a family right away. We got to know each other more in our small group discussions. It is encouraging to see that despite our different backgrounds and current situations, we are all God’s family and working toward the same big purpose and goal.
All-Church Work Day
10/22/2016
Bill’s Book Blurbs
By Bill Hamasaki
FBC Library – Reference Books
If you are involved in personal Bible study, reference books can be of great value in determining the intended meaning and purpose of a verse, passage, or book. In our FBC library, we have many excellent resource books that will greatly enhance your study of the Bible.
Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias provide valuable information on people, places, customs, important words, doctrine, and geography. We have Merrill Unger’s New Bible Dictionary and the New Bible Dictionary edited by J.D. Douglas. Editor Walter Elwell’s 2- volume Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible is an excellent reference. Also in our library is the classic 5- volume International Standard Bible Encyclopedia edited by James Orr. If you are looking for the meanings of specific words in their context, we have Larry Richards’ Expository Dictionary of Bible Words and Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words by W.E. Vine.
Bible handbooks provide a brief commentary and overview of each book of the Bible as well as interesting background material. They also have photographs throughout the text to help you visualize what you read in the Bible. We have the New Unger’s Bible Handbook by Merrill Unger as well the Eerdmans’ Handbook to the Bible edited by David and Patricia Alexander.
An exhaustive concordance lists words of the Bible in alphabetical order along with each verse in which the word appears. This reference allows you to do your own word studies. We have two classics that have stood the test of time: Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible. Cruden’s Concordance (not exhaustive) was a reference book that John G. Mitchell of Multnomah School of the Bible used profitably as a young believer.
Bible atlases can be a great aid in understanding what is going on in a book and how geography played a role what took place. We have two atlases that are considered among the best: Barry Beitzel’s Moody Atlas of the Bible Lands and Carl Rasmussen’s NIV Atlas of the Bible. Bible study becomes more meaningful to Western readers when the times and customs in which the biblical writers lived are explained and placed in their proper context. Ralph Gower’s The New Manners and Customs of the Bible is a great resource.
Other excellent reference books in our library include Explore the Book by J. Sidlow Baxter, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology and Baker Topical Guide to the Bible both edited by Walter Elwell, Nave’s Topical Bible, and Bible Archaeology by Alfred Hoerth and John McRay. Hope to see you in the library!
Sharing the Joy of Christmas
with the Yakama Children
Would you join us at FBC in helping Sacred Road Ministries celebrate Christmas with the children and the youth of the Yakama Nation? We are collecting shoe box gift items which will be on display in the foyer:
- Elementary Boys: hot wheels, Superhero gifts, Legos, Rubik’s cubes, silly putty, black or brightly colored socks, colorful pencils, play dough, matching games, candy, stocking caps, stickers, yo-yos, glow sticks, gliders, Pokemon cards.
- Elementary Girls: bubbles, art supplies, coloring books, colorful pencils, bracelet/necklace, headbands/hair accessories, nail polish, hats and gloves, candy, friendship bracelet supplies, small purses, My Little Pony, Hello Kitty, Disney gifts, lip balm, fun socks and diary
- Youth: Money to purchase BYGE “Swag Bags” that will include: A long sleeve t-shirt, a journal, writing utensils and more all imprinted with “BYGE”= best youth group ever. The cost will be $25 -30 per youth. If interested, please write checks to Faith Bible Church or place a note on your offering indicating Sacred Road Christmas.
Collection: through Sunday, November 27, In The Foyer
