9:00 a.m. & 11:45 a.m. WORSHIP - IN PERSON and ONLINE - YouTube - Pastor Tara VinCross 

Are you growing a garden this summer? Or even a tomato growing in a pot on your doorstep? It takes work! Dirt, plus water equals soil. Soil plus seed equals life. We want to cut out parts of the process or oversimplify. Yet we don’t get life (ie the taste of a juicy tomato) without dirt or tears or seeds.

Daniel knew this from personal experience. The fruit of God’s Spirit grew in his life as he demonstrated courage in captivity. Right in the midst of the challenge, God turned his tears into songs of joy, his seeds into full-grown sheaves. This is the story our kids have been focusing on all week during Vacation Bible School, and the story that will shape our reading of the Psalm. We will discover, like Daniel, that through it all, our God is growing good things in our lives.

This week, at our 9am and 11:45am worship services, Pastor Tara VinCross will preach the next sermon titled, “Dirt, Seeds, and Tears” in the series Keep a Song in Your Heart: the Psalms of Summer. You’re invited to enjoy this special, VBS-themed worship, as we enjoy the presence of God, and the energy of our kids, together.

This Sabbath we will enjoy worship music led by The VBS Praise Team and Band.

We celebrate the baptisms of Renee Ayhuan and Khloe Walukow during second service!! We hope to see you there!

Grace Notes - Sanctuary                      
Parents Class - MC-8
Quest: To Know God - HH-2
Portuguese Class - S-5
The Focus -  HH-6
Spanish Class - Cottage-3
Ladies Table Talk - Cottage-2
The Fringe - Cottage-1
Indonesian Class - MC-11
Connect: Group Discussions - ECC
Collective: Young Adults - ECC
Power House (High School) - MC-6
Earliteen (Jr. High) - MC-7

Juniors (Grades 5 & 6) - MC-9
Primary II (Grades 3 & 4) - MC-5
Primary I (Grades 1 & 2) - MC-4
Kindergarten (Age 5 to Grade 1) - MC-10
Pre-Kindergarten (Age 4) - MC-3
Tiny Tots  (Age 2-3 ) - MC-2
Cradle Roll (Birth -23 months) - HH-4

Click here for the quarterly online.

Vacation Bible School (VBS) at Azure Hills Church is ALWAYS beyond fantastic, and this week has been no exception. Kudos to all of the pastors and volunteers and especially Pastor Linda Biswas and Pastor Gatra Suhari for making this week of ministry and outreach an incredible success! Certainly, God blessed their dreams, plans and hard work!

The theme of VBS was “Babylon: Daniel's Courage In Captivity,” and the focus was the story of Daniel who remained faithful to God even while he was held captive and his life was threatened. Daniel did not waver in his commitment to the one true God.  Oh, how we should dare to be a Daniel! Throughout the week, while they heard the story of Daniel, children also learned that when things change, when we need help, when we’re afraid, when we’re lonely, and when we’re thankful, God is with us.

As in years past, Elder Keturah Reed planned a very special “Operation Kid-to-Kid” fundraiser. Along with “Lenny the Lion,” Elder Reed asked children to bring money to donate towards diapers for families in need in our community. Pastor Isaac Kim, Director of Family and Children Ministries for Southeastern California Conference (SECC), joined her on stage this week and challenged the audience. He said if $500 is raised, he would personally give $250 to the fundraiser and SECC would give another $250! At the time of this publication $459.27 has been raised for Operation Kid-to-Kid with one more night of VBS to go! Praise God for inspiring and reminding us to do this work for others!

The children were in for a surprise on Thursday! Wild Man Dan took the stage for a creature feature, which included a rattle snake. He taught the children that rattle snakes do not want to attack, unless they feel threatened. It's important to give them space. 

During the VBS rotations, the children were able to pet many of his creatures out on the lawn! Several volunteers assisted in holding the animals for the children to touch them. 

On top of all of this, participants had fun! Children enjoyed puppet shows, games, crafts and tastes of Middle-Eastern foods. Youth “tribe leaders” relished the opportunity to tend to the children in their groups and with other kids their ages. Adults were blessed by the community and opportunity to work together for one great purpose and for God’s kingdom.

Our Church Board has voted a Search Committee to begin working with the

Southeastern California Conference (SECC) to fill the Administrative Pastor

position at Azure Hills Church. Please email tvincross@azurehills.org if you have

the name of a pastor to recommend. 

There’s a compelling image of God found in Luke 15:20. Take a minute to thrive with Pastor Tara VinCross!

Would you help us in collecting a few more backpacks and school supplies for the Back to School Resource Fair? There will be a bin in the Welcome Center next week if you'd like to give a donation. You may also help by inviting a friend or family that would be blessed by this resource. Find more information by clicking here!  

- Youth & Family Beach Day: All youth and their families are invited to join us for a relaxing day at the beach on Sunday, July 16, 2023 at Little Corona Del Mar Beach. Please contact Pastor Gatra if you’re interested in joining and for more details of when and what to bring. 

- OneLife Conference: All incoming high schoolers are invited to attend One Life Conference on August 18-20 at Camp Cedar Falls hosted by SECC. Please contact Pastor Gatra if you’re interested in joining. Space is limited. For any questions or information, please visit www.seccyouth.com/onelife.

Membership Transfers, second reading.

Welcome to David and Mayra Venegas pictured with their daughters Alina and Leia! 

Welcome to the Lopez-Rivera Family - Victor, Lorraine, and Victoria!