Happy Advent Season Harvest South Bay!
It is great to walk our church and see all of the festive decorations, reminders of this season of Christ’s birth. May we celebrate by taking His example of humility, charity, and love! Share with someone this season why the birth of Christ means so very much to us!

Congrats to our very talented and very victorious basketball team! FIRST PLACE! And congrats to Maurice for being the MVP! We really need a mascot b/c cheering GO HARVESTERS conjures images of large agricultural equipment.

Have a great week, Harvest! See you all this Sunday as we continue to remember our Lord and His birth.

Byron

Fulfillment Center
Advent 2010: Luke 1:57-80

Exposition
The Narrative (57-66):

The Psalm (67-80)

Application: Why Believe?

1. Look at God’s Track Record.

2. Look at God’s Trusted Character.

3. Look at God’s Transcendent Plan.

Application Questions for the Week
1. Reflect on God’s faithfulness to you personally sometime this week- where you have seen His hand actively guiding and blessing your life. Where in particular have you taken a step of faith and had Him meet you and provide for you? How, now, can you trust in Him in the difficult venture of faith that He asks of you?

2. Meditate on the idea that an author would write a biography of your life. If an author did, what significance would your life have? How would your life fit into the narrative of salvation history? What lives would you have impacted and how could we see the faithfulness of God played out in the decision points of your life?

Christmas Party
Dec. 18th @ 6:00 PM
This year’s Harvest Christmas Celebration will be at the Shu’s house (29520 Driftwood Lane, Rancho Palos Verdes), Saturday December 18th at 6:00 PM. The dinner will be a potluck so please sign up for a dish in the welcome room! For the adults there will be a white elephant gift exchange ($10-$15). For the kids please email Linda (theshufamily@gmail.com) if your children are interested in the children’s gift exchange.

Churchwide Christmas Celebration
Dec. 19th 6:00 PM
Join the rest of our church family Sunday Dec. 19th. We will join for a Christmas dinner at 6:00 PM and have a program together at 7:30 PM.

Lunch Sign Up
If you would like to sponsor or co-sponsor one of the lunch services for next year, signups are being taken in the Fellowship Hall for 2011.

Refreshments Sign Up
The new sign up sheet is in the foyer! Sign up to do your part and thanks to all who have been faithfully supplying refreshments!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to ALL of Harvest! Thanks so much for a great ordination celebration! Thanks for speeding back from the basketball game! Thanks for leading worship (Chris!) and doing the Scripture reading (Carsten!) and for the refreshments (Cake and so much MORE Yvonne and Nancy) and for getting and presenting the robe (Chris and Bertram and Willis!) and for taking down everything (Joe and everybody) when we had to go and join the rest of our family for dinner! AND to TOP IT OFF thanks for the trip to Disneyland: our family hasn’t been to Disneyland in a LONG time and the kiddies love all of the characters and rides. Thanks to all who organized the gift and thought of it, it’s perfect!

We’re so grateful to be at Harvest and to have the opportunity to serve here! May God continue to bless our congregation as we grow both in depth and in reaching out to the world for Christ!

Byron

Harvest South Bay December 5th , 2010

Make Yourself Useful
Advent 2010: Luke 1:26-56

Exposition
The Amazing Announcement
The Corroborating Confirmation

The Confident Confession

Application

The One Useful Quality: Submission!

How to get it?

1. Have a Passion for God’s Plan.

2. Be Nonplussed by the Pressure from the World.

Application Questions for the Week
1. Take some time this week to understand your own submissiveness before God. If it meant that God’s Kingdom would advance and you would grow spiritually would you be open to: moving to another church? having your congregation change in uncomfortable ways (be big, be multicultural, worship differently than you are used to), having more discipline and sacrificing many of the pleasures that you enjoy?

2. Present yourself to the Lord this week by asking Him what uncomfortable thing He might be calling you to do.

Announcements!
Christmas Party
Dec. 18th @ 6:00 PM
This year’s Harvest Christmas Celebration will be at the Shu’s house (29520 Driftwood Lane, Rancho Palos Verdes), Saturday December 18th at 6:00 PM. The dinner will be a potluck so please sign up! For the adults there will be a white elephant gift exchange ($10-$15). For the kids please email Linda (theshufamily@gmail.com) if your children are interested in the children’s gift exchange.

Churchwide Christmas Celebration
Dec. 19th 6:00 PM
Join the rest of our church family Sunday Dec. 19th. We will join for a Christmas dinner at 6:00 PM and have a program together at 7:30 PM.

Lunch Sign Up
If you would like to sponsor or co-sponsor one of the lunch services for next year, signups are being taken in the Fellowship Hall for 2011.

Refreshments Sign Up
The new sign up sheet is in the foyer! Sign up to do your part and thanks to all who have been faithfully supplying refreshments!

Special OMF Sunday School
Many areas of East Asia are closed to traditional missions work, but business ventures and opportunities can open the door to new ministries. We will have a special Sunday School on 12/12 where an OMF business director and consultant will come and share about doing business as missions.

Hope you’re having a wonderful week, Harvesters!
Praise God that CYM & IGNITE put together 30 shoe boxes this year for Operation Christmas Child! This Sunday is the last day for people to bring any additional shoe box gifts since Stef will be dropping off all the shoe boxes after church on Sunday.

If you can’t make it to church this Sunday but you still want to create and send a shoebox gift then you can still drive to a drop-off center on Monday.
Drop off locations are here: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Drop_Off_Locations/
Each shoebox should also include a $7 donation for s&h.
Printable Labels can be found here or unless they’re all gone there should be a small stack of labels on the welcome room table – http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Drop_Off_Locations/
EZ Give Donations can be made online here: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/EZ_Give_Donations/

Many thanks to Dr. Danny Lee for bringing the Word of God to our hearts this last Sunday! Its always refreshing to have Danny speak with his great diligence and clear style!

This coming week, please welcome Pastor Jeremiah Chen- he will be speaking in lieu of Pastor Peter Chen who was scheduled to speak to our congregation. He’ll be bringing us a message from one of the least studied books of the Bible: 3 John.

Have a great rest of the week!
Byron

How to Avoid Truth Decay
2 John 1-13

Outline of 2 John
I. Salutation (Introduction)
A. Name of the writer–”The elder”, v.1
B. Name of the recipient–”Chosen lady and her children”, v.1
C. Greeting–”Grace, mercy, and peace”, v.3
II. Prayer, well wishes, or thanksgiving–
“great joy to find some walking in the truth”, v.4
III. Body
A. Connection of Truth and Love v.4-6 (also v.1-3)
B. Obedience to God’s commands v.5-6
C. Warning against deceivers v.7-11
IV. Final greeting and farewell–v.12-13

Application
To walk in the truth and in love, utilize your “Head”, “Heart”, and
“Hand” as a balanced approach to obeying God’s commands.

Updated Prayer List
Please refer to this morning’s updated prayer list on the back of the bulletin. Keep our congregation in your prayers. Please also send all prayer requests and updates to either Byron or Stephanie Liu.

Care Packages
Harvest plans to send care packages to our missionary friends overseas for Christmas. Specific items will be delivered per their needs: please contact Amy Tokudome for more details ASAP so she can send the gifts in time for Christmas!

Refreshments Sign Up
The new sign up sheet is in the foyer! Sign up to do your part and thanks to all who have been faithfully supplying refreshments!

Ordination Service Sunday 12/5 4:30
Byron will be ordained during a short ordination service on Sunday, December 5th at 4:30 PM in the
sanctuary. Refreshments to follow!

Hey Harvest!
Whew, it has been nice having a break this week. It is great to be able to catch up on all of those things put off previously! Please welcome our own Dr. Danny Lee this Sunday and thank him for bringing God’s Word to our congregation (and for allowing me this great break!).

ONE REQUEST from Danny is that everyone reads the book of 2nd John before the sermon since it will help put us all on the same page for Sunday. Can we agree on that? GREAT!

Here are the announcements from last Sunday. We’ll see you tonight if you’re planning on helping with packing the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes!

Byron

Announcements from 11/7
Operation Christmas Child
Started in 1993, Samaritan’s Purse has delivered over 77 million shoebox gifts to children in over 130 countries. Last year, our congregation donated 54 shoebox gifts that were sent to children in Peru & the Philippines. Please leave donations, empty and/or filled shoe boxes in the welcome room. National Collection Week is Nov 15-22. Contact Stephanie Liu for more information.

Updated Prayer List
Please refer to this morning’s updated prayer list on the back of the bulletin. Keep our congregation in your prayers. Please also send all prayer requests and updates to either Byron or Stephanie Liu.

CUMCSC 10th Anniversary
CUMCSC (the Korean church that shares our facilities) celebrates their 10th anniversary today. They have invited EFCSB to join them at 4 PM in the sanctuary.

OCC Shoebox Night 11/12/10 7:30 PM
Friday Nov 12 is the OCC Shoebox Gift Night. Please save the date and remember to bring your donated items. Completed shoebox gifts as well as materials to fill the shoe boxes are greatly appreciated! All ministries and bible study groups are welcome. Feel free to invite friends, family, & classmates.

Care Packages
Harvest plans to send care packages to our missionary friends overseas for Christmas. Specific items will be delivered per their needs: please contact Amy Tokudome for more details ASAP so she can send the gifts in time for Christmas!

Refreshments Sign Up
The new sign up sheet is in the foyer! Sign up to do your part and thanks to all who have been faithfully supplying refreshments!