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Take a moment and think about a favorite childhood Christmas memory. What did it involve? Was it all about opening the bright, festive and neatly wrapped Christmas presents (unless dad did the wrapping)? Was it all about the Christmas stocking filled with tasty goodies and miniature toys of all kinds? Was it all about the vast array of cookies representing the various shapes of Christmas? Or was it all about listening to dad or mom retelling the story of the nativity and the blessed birth of Jesus?
Whatever your favorite memory may be, it probably revolves around the place you called home and the people you called family. What better place to be or with what better people to be during the Yuletide season.
Have you ever spent a Christmas away from home? Have you ever had to celebrate the birth of Christ apart from your loved ones? Have you ever been lonely at Christmas?
Soldiers in Iraq will be spending Christmas away from home. College students who cannot afford the airfare will be spending Christmas away from home. Business people who get stranded at airports will be spending Christmas away from home. Missionaries in far away places will be spending Christmas away from home. People who have moved to distant places will be spending Christmas away from home.
For most people who have had a positive home life experience, their favorite memories normally revolve around the home. At the heart of most Christmas traditions is the home. At the center of most Christmas interactions is the family.
This Christmas, our Church Family will be experiencing our first Christmas in our new home. Corporately, this will become our place of Christmas worship. It will be the place of Christmas joy. It will be the center of Christmas hope. It will be the inspiration of Christmas love.
In the seasons to come, we will be developing Christmas memories as a Church Family. From children dressed as angels… to adults lifting their voices to favorite Christmas carols… to family and friends bringing their favorite dishes to the Christmas potluck… to the myriad of fellowship groups celebrating together at Christmas parties, we will be building lasting memories at our new church home.
As Mary reviewed in her mind the events of the first Christmas, she “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Luke 2:19. Mary was building memories that revolve around her own family.
My prayer is that this first Christmas in our new church home will begin a legacy of memories and traditions that will bless us for years to come.

Blessings,
Pastor Cory, d.v.
d.v., deo volente: God willing

“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
New beginnings can be wonderful. The first breath of a newborn infant seems almost miraculous. The first step of heretofore crawling baby can be awe-inspiring. The first words of a firstborn can bring thoughts of post-graduate degrees to ever hopeful parents. The first day in a new class, the first paycheck from a first job, the first day in the life of newlyweds can all bring untold joy and satisfaction to those experiencing those new beginnings.
We, at Evergreen SGV, have had the profound privilege of experiencing a new beginning in our corporate lives together. We have broken ground… we have taken a first step… we have set sail on our maiden voyage… we have occupied the land given to us by God.
Our first official worship services in our new church home is now history. It was an incredible, it was fabulous, it was a unique and gratifying experience. All praise and glory go to our God who is faithful, generous and worthy to be worshipped.
Almost 600 attended the 8:00 AM worship service and over 300 attended the 11:00 AM worship service. But numbers don’t tell the story, people do. Those numbers represent people who came to worship our mighty God.
Here are a few personal observations.
People were excited.
People were joyful.
People were grateful.
People were ready to worship.
Well, you get the picture. It was a great time to be present before the Lord.
The Saturday before (at our practice) and on that first Sunday, whenever I entered into the sanctuary, I kept thinking, what did we do this deserve all this It felt so grand. The answer is… absolutely nothing. We didn’t do anything to deserve God’s goodness. He did it all.
The greatest new beginning of all time happens when a person decides to invite Jesus into his or her life. The Bible says that when that happens “…the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.”

Yes God did it all, He did it by creating us, then by saving us through His Son and then by giving us this land out of His pure graciousness.
This new beginning for us is the direct result of God’s sovereign grace in our lives. May we be a grateful people who bow down to worship our Mighty King.
Blessings,
Pastor Cory, d.v.
d.v., deo volente: God willing

“And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:2,4

In reading the account of the birth of the church in Acts, my attention was drawn to the reality of the Holy Spirit’s work. It was in God’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believing disciples that sprang the church to life. Without man’s programs or methods, nor the use of modern technology, the early church was empowered by the Holy Spirit to impact the world with the life-changing message of the resurrected Christ and ignite a movement for the glory of God.

In studying the book of Acts, I see the power which relentlessly drove the disciples to make known the resurrection to all, brought an increase of converts, and caused a passion for Jesus to blaze up within their hearts. I am asking with all my heart, “God I want this. I want this dynamic in my life.”

God’s strategy today has not changed. He intends His church to be empowered by the energy of the Holy Spirit. If you draw from the flesh, self-resource, or your natural abilities you will never be greatly used of the Lord or experience His anointing in abundance. Christ will only be greatly magnified in our lives when we are first emptied of ourselves and are then filled with the Spirit of God. “He (Holy Spirit) will glorify Me (Jesus), for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 16:14

If you are feeling as if you are just going through your religious motions with no life or dynamic or if you feel as if you have lost your first love for Christ, realize that today God is desiring to fill your cup to overflowing. He is waiting for you to simply yield to Him so He may release torrents of living water upon your life to revitalize you. In humility would you respond to our Lord’s invitation?

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 7:37-38

God’s blessings and grace,
Kyle Shimazaki

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5

Often times our Christianity becomes all about doing the right things: be loving, forgiving, have integrity, or don’t gossip. Obviously there is a place for these but before we ever DO the right thing for God we must first BE right with God. Religion tells us what we need to do but the Bible declares what God has already done for us. And so before you ever set out to live your life you must first learn to receive your life from Christ. God’s blessing, power, and life are only received through a growing relationship with Him.

Jesus illustrates ripe fruit comes from the ongoing development of life which is only found through it’s relationship with the vine. “Abide” literally means to remain, endure, and to continue to be present. Only when the branch is connected, fastened, and attached to the vine can it be nurtured and grow. Everything that the branch needs for life and fruitfulness is found in the vine so its one duty is to be connected to the vine.

In the same way Jesus Christ is the vine and we are the branches He is the very source of spiritual life and personal holiness. This brings us to the very core value of what it means to be a Christian. Christianity is not about doing religious things it is about growing from spiritual life. As you abide in Christ His life, power, strength and grace will flow into you.

To abide in Christ is to depend upon, to rely upon, and be connected to Jesus as your source of life. You must daily commune with Jesus by trusting in Him for strength, depending upon Him for your holiness, and being filled with spiritual life. Draw near to the Lord and believe that He will become your holiness and change your life.

His Grace alone,
Kyle Shimazaki

“Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord, or can show forth all His praise?” Psalm 106:1-2
As I read and re-read this Psalm, I am once again encouraged by the truth of Scripture. God’s Word is perfectly accurate and pleasantly assuring. The Lord is indeed loving towards His people and mighty in His deeds. And, at the moment, I cannot praise Him enough for what He has done through our Giving Campaign.
In our last issue, I shared the initial results of the “Faithful Living, Generous Giving 2: Occupying the Land” Giving Campaign. The results were so encouraging. We met or exceeded our Foundational Financial Goals.
If you recall, as of Sunday, August 19th, the First Fruits Offerings totaled $1,546,978.69 and the Monthly Commitments totaled $101,836.87 per month. Our grand total was $5,213,106.10.
A week later, the totals changed dramatically.
As of this past Sunday, August 26, 2007, the totals increased to the following:

First Fruits Offerings $1,963,308.57
Monthly Pledges $156,134.65 per month
Grand Total $7,584,155.82
We are about to reach or surpass our Challenge Goals for the Giving Campaign. Isn’t it amazing what our extraordinary God can do through ordinary people who are committed wholly unto Him?
The giving hasn’t stopped. There are more commitments since last Sunday so the totals are continuing to grow. Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow.
I am not only excited by the results of the Giving Campaign, but also the response of our church family to the goal of “Sowing Seeds of Faith”. Testimonies are beginning to come in, describing the faithfulness of God to seed sowing efforts.
God has done a wondrous thing in our Giving Campaign. How much more do you think He desires to bless our seed sowing efforts? The Giving Campaign is very important, but it pales in comparison to the value of just one person coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
May His Kingdom continue to grow because of His faithfulness to our seed sowing.
Blessings,
Pastor Cory d.v.
d.v., deo volente: God willing

“Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord, or can show forth all His praise?”
Psalm 106:1-2

The Psalmist expresses the sense of thanksgiving and praise I have for the Lord regarding Commitment Sunday. It was a blessed time of worship, culminating in the giving of our First Fruits Offerings and Three Year Pledge. The Lord is good.

It was as meaningful a time in worship as I have experienced. I shall remember the time of commitment as an incredible act of faith and worship. I will treasure it in my heart.
One of our long-time members told me that it was one of the most powerful and meaningful moments he had ever experienced as a member of our church family. I always value what he says and took it to heart. The Lord is good.

The preliminary results from the pledge cards received on Commitment Sunday are as follows:
First Fruits Offerings total of $1,546,978.69.

Three-Year Monthly Commitments total of $101,836.87 per month.

The Lord is good! We met the Foundational Goal for the First Fruits Offering and exceeded our Foundational Goal for the Monthly Pledges.

Please note that many were not able to be there on Sunday. Some gave in advance and others will still be giving their First Fruits and Pledges in the days to come.

Thank you all for your generous participation in the Giving Campaign. Your sacrificial giving and commitment is allowing us to occupy the land for His sake. May we be a blessing to Him and to His Kingdom.

I would like to share one final reflection on Commitment Sunday. I really enjoyed watching the children empty their banks into the baskets. Their sense of excitement and joy was genuine and the looks on their faces were priceless. As they shook their treasures out of its place of safekeeping, I appreciated the lessons of stewardship they were learning. The Lord is good.

The Lord is doing some wonderful things in our lives. I look forward to seeing the Lord bearing fruit from our continued efforts in sowing seeds of faith.

Blessings,
Pastor Cory d.v.
d.v., deo volente: God willing

Commitment Sunday is this week!
I would like to share one final reminder that on August 12, 2007, we have the privilege of bringing our First Fruits Offering (Cash Gift) and our three year monthly commitment Pledge Card before the Lord. I know it sounds redundant but we committed ourselves to repetition when it comes to the Giving Campaign.
For those of you who receive this edition of our newsletter after Sunday, August 12th, praise the Lord for what happened on Sunday!
Allow me to share a few thoughts about the commitment we are about to make.
Our commitment is an act of worship. Every offering we bring before God is an act of worship. We are saying to the Lord that He is worthy and our gifts are a volitional act of adoration. We are given a good example of this when the Magi brought their gifts to the Christ Child.
Our commitment is an act of faith. Whenever we give based on revelation and not reason, it is an act of faith because revelation giving is normally giving beyond our ability to give. I am reminded of Abraham when God told him to offer up his son. And as is always the case, God provided for Abraham a ram in place of his son. God always comes through for us.
Our commitment is an act of community. When we give we are essentially saying that we are all in this together. One of our core values is “Equal Sacrifice, Not Equal Gifts”. This core value has its greatest impact if we all believe in one another. I believe that everyone in our church family is taking this core value very seriously, which makes it easier for me to take it seriously. This reminds me of the early church and how they gave together as a Body of Christ according to Acts 2.
Our commitment is an act of thanksgiving. A thankful heart gives and gives generously. As we place our First Fruits Offering and our three year monthly commitment Pledge Card in the baskets on Sunday, we will be doing so with a heart of gratitude to God. He has been good to us over the years and the purchase of this property is an indication of His goodness and mercy.
I am looking forward to being with all of you this Sunday as we worship the Lord and as we make our commitment of faith together.
If you cannot make it this Sunday or you are not prepared to make your commitment, you can offer it up on any Sunday or mail it into the office.
(One note: Mailing in our commitment is also an act of worship since we are called upon by God to worship Him with our entire lives and not just on Sunday mornings.)
May the Lord bless the giving and the giver. And may He continue to shower His grace upon us.
Blessings,
Pastor Cory d.v.
d.v., deo volente: God willing

We are less than a month away from Commitment Sunday, which is August 12, 2007. On that Sunday, we will be bringing before the Lord our First Fruits Offering (Cash Gift) and our three year monthly commitment Pledge Card.

Three thousand years ago, another group of people gathered to give an offering for a building program. Their offering was for the Temple that was to be built in Jerusalem. It is estimated that over $400 million was given in that offering.

After the offering was given, King David prayed the following in 1 Chronicles 29:10-19:
“Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Thine is the dominion, O Lord, and Thou dost exalt Thyself as head over all.

Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand is power and might; and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name.

But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from Thee, and from Thy hand we have given Thee…

O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build Thee a house for Thy name, it is from Thy hand, and all is Thine.

Since I know, O my God, that Thou triest the heart and delightest in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Thy people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to Thee.

O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Thy people, and direct their heart to Thee…”

This is an incredible prayer offered by a grateful king after the people of God gave their offerings to the Lord for the building of the Temple.

From this prayer, we learn that the kind of commitment, which leads to generous giving, comes from the merging of three things.

First, we must recognize that we revere a glorious and great God who deserves to be worshipped. It is in the context of that recognition that we can make a commitment of generosity.

Secondly, we realized that all things come from God. Everything we own and possess comes from Him and belongs to Him. We are merely joyfully returning to Him a portion of what He has entrusted to us.

Thirdly, we have a heart that is directed to the Lord and not to the things of this earth. Jesus said, “…for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:21

It is my earnest and heartfelt desire that I can utter the verse 17 after Commitment Sunday when David prayed, “…so now with joy I have seen Thy people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to Thee…”

May we all rejoice together on that day.

In our last issue, I wrote about the Four Fundamental Goals of our Giving Campaign, “Faithful Living, Generous Giving 2: Occupying the Land”. The goals are (1) To build a life of faith, (2) To build relationships, (3) To build a heart of thanksgiving and (4) To occupy the land.
This week, I would like to share with you the Four Essentials needed to reach our financial needs.
We must seek the Lord through prayer!
Nothing extraordinary is accomplished through ordinary people like us except by prayer. The Bible says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6
Prayer is our lifeline to God. It is through prayer that we communicate our heart and desires to the Lord. He in response guarantees us some sort of answer. James wrote, “You do not have because you do not ask.” James 4:2b
I personally have been praying every evening before dinner for the Lord to meet our financial needs.
We must believe that it can be done!
The Bible says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1. Faith is important because faith not only causes mountains to be moved, but it causes us to be moved.
When we believe something can be done, we will expend the energy and resources necessary to proceed forward with confidence. Abraham had faith in God so he moved forward with the sacrifice of his son, Isaac (see Hebrews 11:17-19). Joshua had faith in God, so he moved forward with strength and courage to occupy the land of Canaan.
As a church family, we must believe that our financial needs can be met by the Lord through us. As a result, we will each move forward by faith in our sacrificial giving.
We must involve everyone in our church!
The Book of Joshua has been an inspiration to me as we are poised to occupy the land. In many ways, the corporate experience of our church family had paralleled the journeys of the people of Israel prior to occupying their promise land.
We went through a two and a half year wilderness experience. We experienced the challenge of purchasing then selling land after a lengthy ordeal. God has been molding us as a people these past ten years.
If you read Joshua, you will discover that it took everyone to conquer the land. It would have been virtually impossible to experience victory if a large portion of the nation decided to sit back and let everyone else do the work.
If everyone in our church family participates, we will experience victory.
We must be willing to sacrifice!
When I think of Joshua and the people of Israel occupying the land God provided for them. I am glad that we are us and they are them (forgive the English).
As they crossed the Jordan River, they were all willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Some of them would die during the conquest. Without that willingness to make a sacrifice, no one would have crossed the river.
Extraordinary accomplishments by ordinary people usually include the willingness to pay the price. In order for us to reach our financial needs, we must all be willing make sacrifices. Remember our core value: “Equal Sacrifice, Not Equal Gifts”.
By the time you read this article, we would have already experienced worshipping the Lord at the new site. I hope that it will be a foretaste of what is to be.
May the Lord be honored and glorified in all that we do.

Blessings,
Pastor Cory, d.v.
d.v., deo volente: God willing