Hey Harvest South Bay!
Please welcome Pastor Bertram Wang this coming Sunday! He’s been leading our Tuesday night Career/College Small group for some time now and he’s been a great help in so many different areas of our congregation!

Here are last week’s announcements as well as the notes from this week’s sermon! Hope you have a great week walking with our Lord.

Byron

Refreshments
Please sign up on the new list in order to bring refreshments! Many thanks to everyone who has baked, bought or otherwise made refreshments this whole year! They’ve been delicious!

Passion for the Nations October 2, 2010 9 AM-9 PM
Sign up for this year’s OMF Passion for the Nations Missions Conference. With over 15 workshops, excellent speakers and a roomful of resources, find your place in God’s plan for reaching the world with the news of Christ. Sign up at www.passionfornations.org.

Sunday School
Our Sunday School program is currently on a break and will reinitiate on October 10th.

The Departed
Beginnings: 1 John 2:18-29

Context and Exposition:

Proofs that Teachers were False

They L_________the F____________

They D_________the T___________

They P_________ F________ F___________

3 Values to Secure us to Genuine Faith

1. Value the F_____________ of B______________.

2. Value the T_____________ of the G______________.

3. Value A_____________ in J______________.

Weekly Application Exercises
1. Connect or reconnect with fellowship this week by taking time to pray with friends. Ask yourself, as well, how God is using you and your spiritual gifts to build up the congregation- how you are contributing to the spiritual maturity and lives of fellow believers. Purpose to be used by God by making a commitment or plan to serve.

2. Set aside some time for a good 15 minute conversation with God – sharing your feelings about where you are, thanking Him for His blessings, listening to Him bring Scripture to mind

Hey Harvest South Bay
So, I’ve finally got posting messages to the website all ironed out! I’ll be trying to post all the archived messages here in the next few weeks.

Remember that this coming Sunday’s service is our 30th Anniversary service: DO NOT show up at Harvest at 9:45 AM! Instead come to the front sanctuary at 10:30 AM!

Hope to see you there!
Completely Full
Beginnings: 1 John 2:12-14
Exposition

The three blessings

1. Forgiveness 2 Love 3 Victory

Application

1. Full Forgiveness means Freedom.

2. Full Love means Completion.

3. Full Victory means the Competition is Over.

Weekly Application Exercises
1. Spend some time this week as you meet with God to count your blessings- the kind of permanent, unconditional blessings that God has given. As you examine the contours of your spirit and the things that you want and feel that you need to be complete, fill your thoughts instead with the abudance of what you have.

2. Examine the scripts that flash through your mind for a few days especially in regard to how you compete with others and with yourself. Rest instead in the victory that God has already given and see how life divorced from that competitive impulse changes your perspective (and stress level!)

Hope you’re having a good week Harvest South Bay! Here are the notes for this week AND if you haven’t heard via the grapevine (or the interwebs) our annual Harvest Summer Retreat has been canceled (boo!). Hope you are all enjoying the summer weather that has finally arrived!

Byron
Harvest South Bay July 25th, 2010

True Believers
Jesus’ I Am Statements: John 8:31-59

Exposition: 3 Conversations

The Challenge: If these listeners were to become Jesus’ disciples they needed to continue in His Word (obey and embrace Jesus’ messiahship)

The Uncovering: These listeners, instead of embracing Jesus, were resistant because of their sin.

The Claim: Jesus’ Lordship and authority stems from the fact that He is God in human flesh, the I AM.

3 Tests

1. The Hearing Test: Our faith is true if we listen to God’s Word with a heart to obey.

2. The Following Test: Our faith is proven real as we see ourselves actually obeying God against our own tendencies.

3. The Heart Test: Faith that is real is a faith that changes what we desire.

Weekly Application Exercises
1. Our passage this morning follows a path where we are convicted by God’s Word, have our values changed, and then have our practical, day to day lives changed. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being never, 10 being consistently) rate yourself in terms of how often this process is occuring in your life. Where areas of your life prove the most difficult to change?

2. This week, during your daily Bible reading, write down an application every day that you will follow through with that day and commit to doing it.

Harvest Summer Retreat.
Due to low registration this year, our annual Harvest Summer Retreat has been cancelled. Mark your calendars for next year’s retreat (August 4-7th, 2011)!

Baptism Class
Our last baptism class is today. We will meet in the room with the couches!

Vacation Bible School 7/30-8/1
The Children and Youth Ministry will be conducting Vacation Bible School from 7/30 (Thurs) to 8/1 (Sun). Invite your friends and your children’s friends as we seek to reach our community with the message of the Gospel! Registration is $10. Kids 4-11 are welcome!
7/30 Fri 7:30-9:pm
7/31 Sat 9am – 4pm
8/1 Sun 10am to 12:30

Online registration at:
www.vacationbibleschool.com/efcsb2010

Gift for the Hsus
We will be taking a collection in order to buy a Target gift card and other “wish list” items for Danny and Lillian for when the come stateside for a visit. Please give your contributions to Willis Shu.

Local “Perspectives” Course
Gardena Valley Baptist is hosting the Perspectives on World Missions course. Be challenged concerning God’s worldwide plan and vision. Visit Perspectives.org (“Find a Class”) to sign up or call Tommy Park at 310-938-9979.

Welcome our new member!
Mia Tokudome was born last Sunday at 5:30 PM to Amy and Makoto. Let’s support our new family with prayer and practical help this week!

Good Morning and Good Week to you all, Harvest South Bay!
Just a reminder to all of the retreat-bound: please register at your earliest convenience. It makes planning go so much smoother when we know early what our headcount will be for the retreat! Again, if you need a registration form, go ahead and cut and paste the link from last week’s announcements!

The rummage sale is this coming Saturday at 7:00 AM! Many thanks for all the donations so far!

Byron
Gate Expectations
Jesus’ I Am Statements: John 10:1-10

Exposition:
Background-
Interpretation of Jesus’ I am the Door saying is rooted in the controversy over the blind man: The Pharisees were pressuring the blind man to betray Jesus. The blind man refused.

Passage-
Jesus’ I am the Door statement focuses on the fact that He is the one that we need to please, not man (like the Pharisees). It is His expectations that we should be concerned about fulfilling.

3 Principles to Freedom from Outside Pressures

1. Hone our Hearing: Listen to what Jesus says about us (we are already forgiven as believers) and not to the expectations of the world.

2. Reach for the Reward: Understand that Jesus hold abundant life- it might be here and now or in heaven but we need to wait on God and not rush to be enslaved to other masters because of our impulsive nature.

3. Understand the Opposition: Understand that life is full of pressures that seek to dictate expectations for us. When we understand that the opposition is there, we can better contrast them with Jesus’ expectations.

Weekly Application Exercises
1. Examine your sources of daily and weekly stress. What sources of pressure do you face? Who are you trying to either impress or satisfy beyond Christ? Present those pressures to Christ and refocus your motivation, knowing His full forgiveness.

2. Step out of your comfort zone this week to experience freedom from the opinions of others by trying to either share the gospel with someone or at least initiate a discussion about someone else’s faith background.