Service held at:

600 W. Queen Street (First Lutheran facility)
Inglewood, CA 90301

STOP IT RIGHT NOW!

Let me tell you something, even Jesus Christ had to grow in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and men. Check it out in LUKE 2:52.

We all make mistakes and we must grow in wisdom, because wisdom increases our stature. A mistake does several important things for us.

1. It shows us that it won’t work the way we are doing it, and we should find another way; or leave the whole thing alone. I think they call that cutting your losses.
2. If we get the lesson from the situation, we, also, get the blessing from the situation.
3. When we make progress through (and in spite of) the mistake, we build courage.
4. The respect of others for our wisdom brings the favor of God Men.

SO, YOU FELL DOWN. GET UP. YOU’VE LEARNED SOMETHING. YOU WILL DO BETTER NEXT TIME.

-Rev. Della

I’m Still Here!

An Evening with Della Reese

In Concert

Celebrating Her 80^th Birthday

Catalina Jazz Club

6725 W. Sunset Blvd.

Los Angeles, California 90028

July 14, 2011 Thursday 8:00pm

Tickets $50.00

Please call Catalina Jazz Club to reserve or purchase tickets 323-466-2210 or

Purchase online www.catalinajazzclub.com

Dinner or 2 drink minimum required in addition to the ticket.

Ticket proceeds will benefit

Understanding Principles For Better Living Church

  A Willing Workers Presentation

We miss you!  Come join us!

Is Spiritual Growth, Healing, Prosperity, or Love one of your 2011 New Year’s resolutions?  If so, equip yourself with the spiritual tools you need to get the job done.  Our 2011 winter classes begin on this Sunday, January 16^th.  We are offering four dynamic courses especially designed for your spiritual unfoldment.  You can register for class before service or at the beginning of the first class.  Registration is only $15 per class.  Books can be purchased in class. 

SUNDAYS

The Perfect Power Within You– A Course in Healing                   11:00a.m.-12:30 p.m.

So you understand the basic truth principles and now you’re ready to use the Truth that you know to heal your life.   This course in healing your own life, world and affairs is the next step for any New Thought Christian who is interested in lasting spiritual growth.   Primary text: The Perfect Power Within You by Jack & Cornelia Addington

Becoming a New Thought Christian – Basic Truth Principles I     3:00-4:30 p.m.  

What is the basis for a spiritual life? What are some ideas and concepts that can lead to a more spiritually aligned life? Can New Thought principles help me? Where did this New Thought Movement come from anyway?  This class explains the difference between traditional Christian perspective and the New Thought perspective on concepts like God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, salvation, prayer and more.  Primary texts:  New Thought Christian by William A. Warch and Alternatives by William L. Fischer 

Lessons In Truth – Basic Truth Principles 2                                   3:00-4:30 p.m.

This amazing course introduces and teaches you how to use the tools for overcoming.  Master affirmations and denials, understand how to be who you really are, learn the truth principles that will set you free.  You can only demonstrate to the level of your understanding. To demonstrate a more peaceful, joyful, purposeful and prosperous life, you must understand the Truth principles to create that experience.  This course is an in-depth study of the basic principles one should learn to live successfully. Primary text:   Lessons in Truth (or the Complete Works of H. Emilie Cady) by H. Emilie Cady

  TUESDAYS

Bible 2:  Old Testament 1 – Metaphysical                                       7:30-9:00 p.m.

Bible 2 is a study of the metaphysical meaning of the characters and the events of the Old Testament and their relationship to our attitudes and consciousness. This course covers the Old Testament from the allegories of Genesis to the Solomon and the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah .  Required Texts: Let There Be Light by Elizabeth Sand Turner; Metaphysical Bible Dictionary by Charles Fillmore;

All Classes held at:  600 W. Queen Street, Inglewood , CA 90301 ( First Lutheran Church )

Trusting that the Christ is reborn in you as you today and everyday.  Sunday was amazing!  Rev. Della’s message was all about being brand new.

I am brand new!  I urge you to order the CD!  www.upchurch.org

Here are some of the powerful scriptures that she shared with us.  Use these to fortify your walk.

Isaiah 43:19

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 42:9-10

“Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”  Sing unto the LORD a new song and His praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea and all that is therein, the isles and the inhabitants thereof.”

Are you carrying your old stuff into your new year?  It’s time for you to sing to the Lord a new song.

Lamentations 3:22-25

It is through the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.”The LORD is my portion,” saith my soul, “Therefore will I hope in Him.”  The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.

Have no memory of the old stuff.  It came to pass.  Let it go.

2Corinthians 5:17-21

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the Word of reconciliation.  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were beseeching you by us: we pray you on Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.  For He hath made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Ephesians 4:23-32

Therefore, putting away lying, let every man speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down on your wrath, neither give place to the devil.  Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.  Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to use in edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice;  and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Colossians 3:8-17

But now ye also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.  Do not lie one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all.  Therefore, holy and beloved, as the elect of God, put on hearts of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against another: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.  And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by Him.

Colossians 3:23-25

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons.

Revelations 2:17

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

God only wants the best for me.  If it is not the best it is not what God wants for me.  Trust that the Christ in you will identify your purpose.

Be well!

Sunday, September 20, 2009 – featuring Sisters Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse

First Lutheran Church 600 W. Queen St. , Inglewood , CA

Bring a friend to praise and worship with us at our first Sunday Concert on September 20^th.  Every 3^rd Sunday we will feature a different choir, ensemble or soloist.

UP Church Annual Picnic

Saturday, September 26, 2009  -  10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Rustic Canyon Park , 601 Latimer Rd. , Santa Monica , CA

$5 per adult.  Children are FREE! (Must pay by September 20^th.)

Join us for a wonderful day of games, food and fun for the entire family.  Payments can be made at the Men’s CUP table on Sunday or reply to this email to make other arrangements.  We strongly encourage carpooling, it’s good for the environment and ensures that everyone will have a close place to park.  Invite your friends!  Directions to the park are at the end of this email.

Register for Fall Classes

Classes are held on Sundays from 3 PM to 4:30 PM

September 27 -  December 13, 2009

Basic Truth Principles II – Lessons In Truth

You can only demonstrate to the level of your understanding. To demonstrate a more peaceful, joyful, purposeful and prosperous life, you must understand the Truth principles to create that experience.  This course is an in-depth study of the basic principles one should learn to live successfully.  Learn the truth that will set you free.

The Love Experience

Discover the Laws of Love.  Students explore their concept of love and how it reflects in their relationship with God, themselves and the world.  Through study and application students develop a mastery of the Love Principle that brings unparalleled harmony and unspeakable peace to their lives.

All Classes Held At:   600 W. Queen St. Inglewood , CA .  2^nd floor

Cost:  One time registration free of $10; Love offering accepted each class

Sign up at the Education Department table before or after Sunday service or email upchurch@upchurch.org.

Khadijah Williams graduates Jefferson High School

We started the month by saying that the imagination is the forming power of the mind. What you imagine today, will become your tomorrow. You can think of your imagination as the hands of your mind. With these hands, you can create any type of life you want.

Last week, we talked about protecting your imagination. We said we must keep our minds in a place where the impossible is possible for us.

This week, I want to talk about catching God’s vision for your life. God has a plan for you. As a spiritual being, your responsibility is to “catch the vision” of that plan. To catch the vision, we must figure out what makes us different and then nurture those differences until they draw to us the magnificent life that each of us was born to live.

I want you to imagine a ball – a big rubber ball. If I toss the ball to you, what must you use to catch it? Your hands. You catch the ball with your hands. Now, think of God’s vision for your life as that ball. Spirit “tosses” the ball to you and through the hands of your mind – your imagination – you catch it. It is through your imagination that you catch God’s vision for your life.

Let me share with you a story about a remarkable young woman from Los Angeles named Khadijah Williams. Khadijah is 18 years old and this year she graduated from Jefferson High School. Next fall she will enroll as a freshman at Harvard University.

Khadijah is an unusual student because for most of her life, she has been homeless. As long as she can remember, Khadijah has floated from shelters to motels to armories along the West Coast with her mother. She has attended 12 schools in 12 years; lived out of garbage bags among pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers. Every morning, she upheld her dignity, making sure she didn’t smell or look disheveled.

In her college essays, Khadijah wrote, “I have felt the anger at having to catch up in school…being bullied because they knew I was poor, different and read too much.” Khadijah was in 3rd grade when she first realized she was different. Her teachers marked the 9-year-old as gifted, a special category that Khadijah, even at that early age, vowed to keep. Khadijah says, “I still remember that exact number. It meant only 0.01 students tested better than I did.”

Everyone in this sanctuary has something that makes you different. Whatever that is, it’s your clue to God’s vision for your life. The first step in catching the vision God has for your life, is to figure out what makes you different. Tonight, I want you to make a list of everything that makes you different.

Your list will probably include some things that you’re embarrassed about. It may consist of some things that others have called odd. It will probably be filled with character traits that you’d kept hidden because no one around you would understand if you expressed it. Perhaps there will be something on your list that you tried to squash because you didn’t want to be considered different or weird. Think about those qualities that your family or friends tease you about. Each of us has something that makes us different. It’s that thing that we can’t help but to express.

You are a unique, unrepeatable expression of God’s excellence. These qualities that seem weird or unusual are actually clues that point to God’s vision for your life. The first step in catching the vision God has for your life, is to figure out what makes you different.

In the years that followed, Khadijah’s mother would pull her out of school 8 more times. When shelters closed, money ran out or her mother didn’t feel safe, they packed what little they carried and boarded buses to find housing in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Ventura, San Diego, San Bernardino and Orange County. Khadijah finished only half of 4th grade, half of 5th grade and skipped 6th. 7th grade was split between Los Angeles and San Diego. 8th grade consisted of 2 weeks in San Bernardino. At every stop, Khadijah pushed to keep herself in each school’s gifted program. She read nutrition charts, newspapers and 4 to 5 books a month, anything to transport her mind away from the chaos and the sour smell.

God has placed something special inside each one of us. Like Khadijah felt when she learned that she was gifted, I know you’ve felt it, too. Maybe it’s come to you while you were taking your children to school – as you dropped them off, you felt this twinge that there’s something more you were meant to do. Maybe you were at work going through your regular routine and that old feeling resurfaced – there’s something great that I’m designed for. Very subtly, very softly, something inside you hinted at a bigger, grander vision for your life. This afternoon, I’m urging you to catch the vision. It is through your imagination that you look past what is and grasp the possibility of what can be.

Like Khadijah, you must transport your mind away from the chaos and the sour smell of current conditions and focus on developing the things that make you unique. The vision for where you’re going may be far removed from where you are right now. In fact, you probably cannot see the ultimate outcome. You just know that there’s something more out there for you.

The things that make you different are the things that will create your greatest success. Think about it. There’s no way this young woman could have known that the things that made her different would one day lead her to one of our nation’s top universities. At 4th, 5th and 6th grades, when she was being pulled from one part of California to another, she didn’t know that Harvard existed. She only knew there was something that made her different and perhaps there was value in cultivating it. The second step in catching God’s vision is to cultivate the things that make you different. These are your gifts. Tonight, when you make your list, I want you to imagine ways to develop these qualities. Although you cannot know how the things on your list will ultimately play out, you can rest assured that if you have them, there’s a divine reason why you have them.

Perhaps you want to write but were told most writers don’t get published. So, you put that interest aside to take up something more practical. Tonight, imagine simple ways to cultivate yourself as a writer. It’s quite possible that the ultimate vision for your writing isn’t as a novelist or playwright or screenwriter. You really do not know how God intends to use your gifts. And, quite frankly, it’s none of your business. Your responsibility is simply to develop the gift.

Often we get sidetracked or discouraged because we want to know how everything is going to play out before we get started. We’re told “begin with the end in mind.” So, most of us don’t get started because we can’t see the end; or, we see the end but can’t see how we will get from where we are to where we want to be.

Your attention is misplaced. When you live a life led by Spirit, your only responsibility is to develop your gifts. God will take care of the rest. The mere act of developing the things that make you unique will function as a magnet that will begin to draw to you opportunities that you could not have previously envisioned. The second step in catching the vision is to cultivate the things that make you different.

At school, Khadijah was the outsider. At the shelter, she was often bullied, “You ain’t college-bound,” the pimps barked. “You live in skid row!” Once you get a handle on what makes you different and begin to develop those differences, then the real work begins. The experiences of life will come in to distract you. So, you must keep your mind focused on the idea that something greater is possible for you. Isaiah 26:3 tells us “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose imagination is stayed on thee.” The third and final step in catching God’s vision for your life is to stay focused.

In 10th grade, Khadijah realized that if she wanted to succeed, she needed to focus. She began to reach out to organizations and mentors. When she enrolled in the fall of her junior year at Jefferson High School, she was determined to stay put, regardless of where her mother moved. Graduation was not far off and she needed strong college letters of recommendation from teachers who were familiar with her work. This soon meant commuting by bus from an Orange County armory. She awoke at 4am and returned around 11pm and kept her grade point average at just below a 4.0 while participating in the Academic Decathlon, the debate team and leading the school’s track and field team.

When her college applications were due in December, James and Patricia London of South Central Scholars invited Khadijah to their home in Rancho Palos Verdes to help her write her essays. When they went to return her to skid row, her mother was gone.

Developing your gifts will require incredible focus. The distractions you face may not be as life threatening as pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers or parental abandonment but they’re just as compelling. Failed relationships, job transfers, unexpected pregnancies, downturns in the economy, sudden or prolonged illnesses, job losses, pay cuts, natural disasters, and bad hair days – all of these things are distractions that compel the imagination to turn away from the vision God is giving you for your life.

Once you know what makes you different and you develop those differences, that’s when the real work begins. It’s quite possible that the bottom may fall out. All of us are familiar with stories of successful people who were once homeless. Tyler Perry lived in his car while he developed the plays that ultimately made him a millionaire. Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame was once homeless, living in his friend’s basement. The third and final step in catching God’s vision for your life is to stay focused.

No matter what, hold your gaze steady; keep your mind focused on the idea that something greater is possible for you; and develop your gifts. Remember Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose imagination is stayed on thee.” Whatever happens, the Spirit of Absolute Good will provide for you.

When her mother disappeared, the Londons’ invited Khadijah to spend the rest of her school year with them. This past Friday, Khadijah graduated with honors, 4th in her class. She was accepted to more than 20 universities nationwide, including Brown, Columbia, Amherst and Williams. She chose a full scholarship to Harvard and aspires to become an education attorney.

Spirit is waiting on you to catch the vision. Every little nudge is Spirit tossing you the ball. Will you reach up with the hands of your mind – your imagination – and catch it? Or will you allow your imagination to drop the ball once more – being pulled this way and that by life’s distractions? Keep your imagination focused on Spirit. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose imagination is stayed on thee.

Last week, I shared with you that the imagination is the forming power of the mind. Through this faculty the formless takes form – the invisible becomes visible. We said that your imagination functions as the hands of your mind. It takes the ideas that God gives you and shapes them.

This week I want to talk about protecting your imagination. There are no limits to your imagination. Imagination is a gift from God. Any gift from God is like God.

God is limitless. Your imagination is limitless. God is perfect. Your imagination is perfect. God has no beginning and no end. Your imagination has no beginning and no end. Whatever you imagine you can do, you can do.

As a child, you believed anything was possible. Raise your hand if you remember what it was like to believe in the impossible. You had no concept of what you could not do. So, you believed you could do anything. You felt like you’d live forever and that everything would always be good. Anyone remember that feeling?

All of us are born believing we can do anything. We believe we can fly. Over time different experiences clip our wings. Sometimes life clips our wings.

You pulled out all the stops for that promotion, gave your very best effort and came up short. Or, you married the man or woman of your dreams and not only did they let you down but they also betrayed you. Maybe you invested all you had into a business venture only to discover it was a scam. Perhaps you had a well-meaning teacher who thought they were helping you out by saying things like “Math just isn’t your subject honey.” Experiences like these shape our imagination in subtle ways. Often they clip our wings. I call people and events like this wing clippers.

The wing clippers are the people and events that take us down a notch. In school, they show up as bullies and well-meaning but misguided teachers. In life, they show up as bankruptcies, foreclosures, pink slips, failed businesses, unexpected pregnancies and failed marriages. Wing clippers present very convincing evidence that we’re not as hot to trot as we think we are. Sometimes the evidence is so compelling that it will make us put our dream on a shelf. Anyone ever put a dream on a shelf?

We get tired and frustrated and begin to settle for less. We stop putting forth effort toward our dream. We start believing we were foolish or misguided for going after our dreams. Or we believe we can’t have our dream until things get right in our lives. Anyone have a dream you’ve deferred until things get right in your life?

The only reason the wing clippers have had an effect in your life is because you have allowed your imagination to be shaped by something other than God. With God all things are possible. Whatever you imagine you can do, you can do. Only the world will tell you that your dream is impossible. God will not. The wing clippers have had an effect in your life because you have allowed them to influence your imagination.

You have taken the lies they’ve told about you, and made it your truth. On Sundays, you come here and say I am a Spiritual Being and you sing I can have as far as I can see, but you know that you’re not actively living that Truth everyday. How do I know this? Because I’m a teacher and I don’t always live this Truth. Sometimes I forget that I’m a Spiritual Being and that I can have as far as I can see.

We must protect our imagination. As spiritual beings we have a conscious mind that thinks and reasons and makes decisions. This conscious mind can pull information from God or it can pull information from the wing clippers. We must constantly go to God in prayer about our dreams. Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness. The best information we will ever get about what’s possible for us is going to come from the quiet time we spend with the Father. Through prayer, God will help you put life’s disappointments into proper perspective. Through prayer, you can be healed of the shame of past mistakes. Through prayer, the thing that once looked like your greatest failure will become the stepping stone to your ultimate victory.

It is this regular communion with God that protects our imagination and renews us. In this quiet time, the areas that the wing clippers have torn down are built back up.

You’ve heard the phrase “pray without ceasing”? What it means is keep your mind connected to God. When you come out of your quiet time, keep your mind stayed on God, stayed on the Truth about you – you are created in the image, after the likeness of a loving, all-powerful God.

We must protect our imagination because the wing clippers creep in, in subtle and unsuspecting ways. Check the music you listen to. Does it remind you that you’re able to accomplish anything or is it just one more sad love song? Check the television programs you watch. Do they remind you that you have a Divine Power inside of you? Or do they fill your mind with horror stories about the world we live in? Check the people you hang out with on a regular basis. Do your conversations reflect a belief that anything is possible for you? Or are they little pity parties disguised as authentic talk about the “real” issues of life? The wing clippers creep in, in subtle and unsuspecting ways. We must be vigilant about keeping our minds in a place where the impossible is possible for us.

Now, let’s deal with those wing clippers. Anyone seen a duck lately? Do you know what happens when water gets on a duck’s back? They shake it off. That’s how I want you to handle the wing clippers. Shake them off.

Shake the Water Off Your Back

When the wing clippers show up, do not argue with them. Ignore them. Arguing with them means you agree with them on some level. In fact, the harder you argue with them, the more you actually agree with them. Let them have their opinions – their opinions can only impact you to the extent that you agree with them. But when you ignore it, you turn it into water on a duck’s back. And, you can just shake it off.

If the wing clippers need a bad economy, ignore it and shake it off. If the wing clippers need to catch whatever bug is going around, ignore it and shake it off. Your dreams are too lofty, ignore it and shake it off. Getting older means getting physically weaker, ignore it and shake it off. There are no more good men or good women available, ignore it and shake it off. Too old to be discovered, ignore it and shake it off. Too young to have your dreams come true, ignore it and shake it off. However the wing clippers show up – as people, as events, as mistakes, whatever – ignore them, turn them into water on a duck’s back and shake them off.

We must protect our imagination. Within each of us is a great reservoir of untapped potential. The impossible can be yours…as long as you pull your information from the right source. Are you drawing your inspiration from God or are you taking your cues from the wing clippers?

Whatever you imagine you can do, you can do. Start by believing the impossible can be possible. Most of us haven’t done this since we were children. We’ve forgotten how good it feels to imagine the impossible. Do it anyway. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus tells us to become like a little child. This wasn’t a commission to run wild and act like you have no home training; rather, it is an invitation to return to that mindset where you believe the impossible can be possible. Whatever you imagine you can do, you can do.