olivet baptist church 2015 february newsletter
DESCRIPTION
Olivet Baptist Church, Honolulu, Hawaii monthly newsletterTRANSCRIPT
Fellowship Time Sundays at 10am
details inside (page 11)
Volume XLI
No 2
February 2015
A COOPERATIVE EFFORT OF PASTORS, TEACHERS, AND VOLUNTEERS DEVELOPING A SOUND FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIAN FAITH
In the original language, the
word, Deacon, means Servant
The title itself, is as descriptive as any job
description could be. In the Bible, the
word "deacon" means servant. Here is
how the word has been defined in its
various forms:
Roger Honda
You will see Roger around the parking lot on
Sundays to help direct parking and welcome
visitors to the church. When he is not there,
he is usually around town helping people
with different needs, from small home repairs
to moving houses. He also prepares the
prayer list for the church so that we can be in
prayer for each other.
"Diakoneo and its derivatives, as their etymology suggests, are used mainly for personal help to others."
"Diakonia is found 34 times in the NT. It means service at the table in Lk. 10:40; Acts 6:1, etc."
"Diakanos is found 29 times in the NT. Its
primary meaning is one who serves at
tables."
“We Are Ready To Serve Our Church Family.”
HERE ARE A FEW OF OUR DEACONS YOU WILL SEE
LENDING A HELPING HAND
Pauline Wagnon
Pauline has a heart of pure
gold. She will be the first to
visit any one who is ailing or
in need at the hospital or
home. She will be there for
you, whether to pray with
you, help you with something
you might need, or even just
to give you a lift. On the 2nd
Thursday of each month, you
can find Pauline and a group
preparing lunch for interna-
tional students.
Rev. John Vaughn February Deacon on Call
Phone: 808-255-4312
Deacon of the Month
Olivet has active
deacons who are
available to help in a
variety of ways.
WHAT’S
A Deacon
Q
Q
A
A
What is a deacon?
Deacons serve the Lord by
conducting the caring
ministry of the church-
doing the benevolence
work, visiting the sick,
being alert to the spiritual
needs of the congregation-
for the purposes of freeing
the pastoral staff to focus
on prayer and the ministry
of the Word, promoting
unity within the church,
and facilitating the spread
of the gospel.
When can I call a deacon?
Deacons are servants of the Lord,
and you can reach out to them at
anytime. Each month, Olivet has a
designated deacon on call who
can be reached at anytime, day or
night. However, other deacons are
also available when needed.
Contact Information:
Senior Pastor Timothy Morita
Office Phone: 808-946-6505
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.OlivetBaptist.org
Dear Olivet Family: Have you ever been surprised by God? Even in the most sacred moments of life we would be surprised if we were to meet God. There ought to be no more reverent moment for any of us than the moment of worship; yet we seldom expect God, and so we seldom hear Him. In that most sacred moment, we may only go through the motions and never expect to hear God. In the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth had prayed all their married life for a child. It is said that Zacharias was surprised that his prayer had been answered. Listen to what the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer has been heard.” That should have been no surprise, for he had prayed all his life. The scriptures he knew well: “Call unto Me and I will answer thee.” Yet it came as a surprise that God had heard his prayer. However, I wonder how many of us really expect God to answer when we pray? So often it is with us as with the disciples praying for Peter’s release from prison. When he was finally released from prison and came to knock at the door where they were still in prayer, they had a strange reaction. The maid recognized his voice and announced that Peter was at the door. They said, “You are crazy! You have seen a ghost.” They were surprised by God! We pray, and yet we wonder about prayer. One of our problems, of course, is God’s delay in answering our prayer. We are impatient – we want what we want now! Some even wonder about prayer’s real power. Yet you go through the motion. You continue to pray. BUT
B U I L D I N G FA I T H I N Y O U R C O M M U N I T Y
– would you be surprised if God were to answer! We should not be, for God does hear and answer prayer. If it seems that He never will, remember that He may answer your prayer in a way you did not specifically request. Remember too, you are to keep on praying. Time is not to God what it is to us. We are told to “Keep seeking, keep knocking, and keep asking.” Can I share with you a secret? Prior to and during the month of January, I had some lingering doubts about the decision to move our Sunday morning worship services from two to one – even though I was the one who first made that recommendation. I can tell you that I prayed about that move. I wondered about God’s response. Every Sunday since, I HAVE BEEN SURPRISED BY GOD! I no longer doubt that God heard our prayers and has made known His response. And it comes in the unifying spirit of our worship together. That, I believe, is the sign of God’s approval. There are still things to workout. But together we will make our worship of God a blessing to Him and a rich experience for all who come into is house. Your Pastor,
Tim Morita
Be sure to follow us on social
media for the most up-to-date
information, events, and
outreach opportunities.
Olivet Baptist Church
@OlivetBC
#OlivetBaptistChurch
Japanese Dept. Schedule
Feb 01 (Sun): Rev. Makoto Watabe (Executive Director of the Japan Bible Society and Associate Pastor
at Tokiwadai Baptist Church, Tokyo Japan) will be preaching in the Japanese Dept.
Feb 9 (Mon) – 14 (Fri): Makito is taking a seminar at Magnolia Ave. Baptist Church, Riverside, CA
Feb 15 (Sun) 12:30 p.m.: Japanese Church Council meeting
Feb 19 (Thu): Japanese Bible Study at First Baptist Church, Wahiawa
Feb 22 (Sun): Japanese Dept. Annual Business Meeting
3:00 p.m. Japanese Radio Ministry Support Gathering at Makiki Christian Church
Feb 23 (Mon) -27(Fri) 2:45-3:00 p.m. Makito will be on air with live ministry program at
KZOO Shirokiya Studio, Ala Moana Shopping Center
Maki to Watanabe
Japanese Language
Associa te Pasto r
Makito Watanabe 渡辺牧人
Japanese Language Pastor
Office: 808-946-6505 Direct: 808-380-7612
Email:
Japanese Worship Service: Sunday, 9:15-10:20am
Japanese Sunday School:
10:13am - 11:30am
Midweek Bible Study Wednesday, 9:30am
Ogenki Desuka?
How Are You?
“For My Power Is Greatest When You Are Weak”
But His answer was: "My grace is all you need, for My power is greatest when you are
weak." I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me. I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions,
and difficulties for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Most of us may want to be stronger, rather than weaker, and to “win” rather than lose. If that is the case, then the above verses may seem paradoxical or controversial. However, in order to say that God’s grace is sufficient for me, then I must admit that God is the source of my strength. Unless I realize and confess that God is the origin of my whole being, I am trying to live according to my own strength and power, and not by the grace of God. Therefore, the way for me to be truly strong is to know that I am weak, and let God’s grace and strength flow over my life. Then, I can even be proud of my own weaknesses because my God, who abides in me, is the strongest.
When Jesus died on the cross, people of the world might have thought that He was so weak, and a loser of the game. But the truth was, He was most victorious as the Savior, Lord and the King of all nations. People of the world may think that Christians are weak, but we are most victorious and strong, because God who reigns over the nations and universe lives within us.
In Christ’s Love and Peace, Makito
Your Japanese Language Pastor
Japan Department R E L A T I O N S H I P S | L I F E | L O V E
Reasons to Pray
For the past couple of month, as Olivet continues to build its prayer team, we started a newsletter section titled, “Reasons to Pray.” This month, we share with you a few more reasons we must continue to pray diligently, and without ceasing. Reason to Pray #4: Answered Prayer is a Potential Witness We are called to be witnesses to our brothers and sisters. When our prayers are answered, and we talk and share about our prayers being answered, there are few things more powerful and moving to someone who lacks faith. If our prayer is answered, it can serve as a potential witness for those who doubt. Reason to Pray #5: Jesus Prayed Regularly Why did Jesus pray? One reason He prayed was as an example so that we could learn from Him. The Gospels are full of references to the prayers of Christ, including these examples:
"After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray." –Matthew 14:23
"Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to them, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.'" –Matthew 26:36
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed." –Mark 1:35
"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." –Luke 5:16
"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God." –Luke 6:12
"Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." –Luke 18:1 6. Prayer is Always Available Another reason to pray is because prayer is always available to us. Nothing can keep us from approaching God in prayer except our own choices. (Psalm 139:7)
Join us for our next prayer walk on Saturday February 21 at 10:00am at Olivet Baptist Church (please note the change in schedule from 2/28 to 2/21). As a reminder, the Olivet Sanctuary is open for prayer weekdays on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12pm –1pm.
We would love to hear how prayer is working in your life and we would love to share those stories with our church brothers and sisters. Please send us your stories by email ([email protected]), by mail, or even a hand written note. We want to hear how God is working in your life!
Join us at the “Shelter” for a time of fellowship, prayer, message, and music as we gather together at 4pm on Sunday afternoon in the lower auditorium of Olivet Baptist Church.
Thank you to everyone who came out for the OBN work day at Hamama Community Church in Kahalu’u. Keep on the look out for an Olivet Baptist Church cleanup and work day coming soon!
Ukulele classes begin Saturday Feb 7 at 10am on the 2nd floor of the Olivet education building. Classes meet on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Sundays of each month.
“Get Your Billions Back, Olivet!”
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) comes to Olivet every Monday in February and March from 5pm-7:30pm. The VITA volunteers will be assisting eligible taxpayers by providing free tax return preparation. To book an appointment, please call 808-383-7460. For questions, please contact Rosa Young at 808-721-9626.
If you are interested in participating in a beginner Hawaiian Quilting class, please call the church office or contact Meiling
Jones at 234-7077. Classes will be held on Sundays from 1:30pm-3:30pm at Olivet beginning Feb. 15.
A group of volunteers
from last year’s college care package
as they put together
packages to send to off
island loved one’s. .
You can have a part in sharing God’s
love to College Students and the
Military through the Care Package
Ministry. Last year we prepared
snack mix and assembled care
packages for 80 college students and
6 military, of which 50 were mailed
to US addresses, 5 mailed
internationally, and 31 were
delivered locally.
In February you can help with the
Care Package ministry in several
ways:
1) SUBMIT THE NAMES and current
addresses of college students (local,
mainland, and international) and
active military. Names can be
submitted to the church office or to
Roberta Harada at 235-1574 through
email [email protected].
2015 College Students and Military Care Package Ministry
Saturday, February 28, 2015
2) PREPARE ENERGY BARS.
This year we would like to prepare
healthy energy bars. If you have a
recipe for delicious, healthy energy
bars, please give it to Roberta or the
church office. We will print and
distribute several energy bar recipes.
You can use any of these recipes or
one of your own to prepare the
energy bars to include in the care
packages. Please individually wrap
each energy bar and secure with
tape; do not twist the ends. Please
bring them to the church on
February 28 when the care packages
are assembled or take them to the
church office from February 23 to
27.
3) WRITE NOTES. Write a note(s)
of encouragement to one or more
recipients. If the note is to a specific
recipient, be sure to include the
person’s full name on the note so
that it can be enclosed in his/her
care package.
4) ASSEMBLE CARE PACKAGES on
Saturday, February 28, 2014 at 10
a.m. in the lower auditorium.
5) DELIVER CARE PACKAGES to
local addresses.
Pruning Away the Thorns
We have lived in our home behind my parent’s house for about a year now.
Since we’ve moved in, my father has not gone to tend to his plant as much to
respect our privacy. On his hill he has many things growing. He has avocado
trees, guava trees, a tangerine tree, a lemon tree, and many other decorative
plants too. One in particular is the bougainvillea bush. It really is a beautiful
plant. When the flowers are in bloom, the colors are so vibrant and bring life to
an otherwise monochromatic landscape.
As beautiful as these flowers are, the bush has become so over grown that it
really blocks a lot of light to our home. So, I decided to arm myself with some
gardening tools and attack it. I may have won the battle, but the war wages on.
As I went from the top of the hill and hacked at the bush with my machete and
clipped larger branches with my clippers, I realized how intense this plant was.
Under all those beautiful flowers were large thorns and tangled branches.
Branches twisted and weaved themselves around other trees and plants in the
area. This made it challenging to simply cut and pull branches out. Snipping and
chopping, I also need to untangle and figure out which branch goes where, also being mindful of the thorns.
At the end of the day I cleared one pathway through the bush and I left with only a few minor scratches on my hands. I
cleaned up and dug the thorns out of my shoe and enjoyed the achievement of my labor. As I stood there in true
contentment, I thought of my spiritual life. Is my spiritual life like a bougainvillea bush? Beautiful and ornate on the
outside, but a tangled mess of thorns on the inside?
To me, one of the greatest dangers a Christian can face is living a life that appears beautiful on the outside, when the
inside is a tangled mess of thorns. I think we will all have thorns in our life, always until we are in glory with the Lord.
Thorns may not be necessarily bad things. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:
“Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment
me so I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. But
He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly
boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.”
Paul recognized the “thorn” in his life and made it known. While not explained to us in these scriptures, we can assume
the church of Corinth knew exactly what he was talking about. On top of that, he understood that this thorn protecting
him from himself and his pride. He welcomed the humility that came from it and saw the glory of the Lord even greater
through it.
We all have thorns, all of us. We will be pruning until we are in glory with the Lord. Until then, we recognize our thorns,
prune the ones we can, and find the glory of the Lord in the ones that remain. As Paul says, “For when I am weak, then I
am strong.” -jason
Jason Hew Minister of Outreach & Education 808-946-6505 ph [email protected]
The Kakaako Ministry: A Letter from the Next Step Shelter
Join us for our next Service Ministry at Kakaako on Sunday, March 8 at 5:45pm. Volunteers are always welcome, and we look forward to having you serve with us.
The Ilikai Ministry: A Testimonial
Our daughter, along with her 11 year old daughter, moved to Honolulu 4 years ago to work at HPU. So we began coming from Colorado to the Ilikai two winters ago. My wife, Sandy, and I noticed the “Ilikai Chapel” sign in the hotel and began attending the Sunday morning worship service on a regular basis. It has since become an important part of our winter life in Hawaii, not only as a meaningful worship experience, but also because of the people we have met there. The ministry staff—David, Victor, Carol, Ed and others—not only do an excellent job, but are committed Christians who share themselves and show an ‘aloha’ hospitality. Many other people in different ways participate to make the Chapel a Christian family experience. We have found a home church away from home.
The sermons and teaching are most helpful to us in applying Jesus and the Bible to our lives. I have especially appreciated this, as a retired psychiatrist who has dealt with hurting people over many years. The social time, after the worship service, has also been an additional plus. It has provided an opportunity for us to make friendships with other Christians in Hawaii and meet interesting people from the mainland and the rest of the world. We have met many visitors to the Chapel from other countries, (Japan, China, India, Canada, Australia, to mention a few). So the Chapel has a mission outreach effect as well. Having visited many countries ourselves, Sandy and I have always appreciated friendly gestures from local Christians. The Chapel provides that to all of us who come to Hawaii as ‘strangers,’ whether from the mainland or from another country. So we thank God for all of you who have made this possible. Our prayer is that God will continue to bless and use the Ilikai Chapel for many years to come. Charles Crown Morrison, Colorado
Seeking Volunteers
We are always looking for volunteers to help us set up for our Sunday morning service. We typically set up for service on Sunday mornings at 7:30am and can use any help we can get. We invite our friends and family from Olivet to join us for Sunday Service at 9:00am at the Ilikai or to just come for a visit.
Chuck and Sandy Crown, Ilikai Chapel Members
Coming Up:
4 5
1 2 3
VITA Free Tax Prep. Mondays in Feb. &
March 5pm-7:30pm
Olivet Baptist Church
International Luncheon February 12
8:30am prep—OBC 11am serve lunch—BCM
Valentine’s Soiree February 14
5:30pm Olivet Baptist Church
Men’s Breakfast 8am Prayer Walk 10am
February 21 Olivet Baptist Church
Food Pantry 9am College Care Package
10am February 28
Olivet Baptist Church
New Sunday Morning Schedule
9:00am Sunday School / Bible Study 10:00am A Time of Fellowship 10:30am Worship Service
Please join us in the lower auditorium for a time of greeting and fellowship. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and to reconnect with church members you may have not seen in some time, or to make new connections with others. Refreshments are served and treats are provided by donation from church members, and surrounding businesses.
Contact Us Church Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8am-4pm
Phone: 808-946-6505
Fax: 808-946-6507
Address: 1775 S. Beretania St
Honolulu, HI 96826
Web: www.OlivetBaptist.org
Email: [email protected]
TAKE A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORD LET THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT SHINE
Hannah Tomita
Minister of Youth
Rebecca McGuire
Preschool Director
Makito Watanabe
Japanese Language Pastor
Jason Hew
Minister of Outreach & Education
Timothy Morita, Senior Pastor
BIBLE STUDY CLASSES Sunday - 9:00am Wednesday - 6:30pm