Sunday, February 9th

Sunday, February 9th – Pastor Teresa will bring the sermon, “Dive into the depths of God” from 1 Corinthians 2:1-16.  We will enjoy fellowship after the service.

NEXT SUNDAY – February 16th we will have multigenerational Sunday School from 9:30 in the cafeteria.  These multigenerational gatherings will be offered twice a month.  This will be in addition to the regular Wednesday evening offerings for ES, MS and HS.  The Sacks will host the Adult Sunday school, also at 9:30 am in their living room.  Best coffee in town = ) Come and enjoy!  All are welcome.
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Immediately following the fellowship hour a number of us will go to attend Betsy Terada`s husband`s Noh performance – please feel free to join in on this rare treat!  For more details contact Betsy or Pastor Teresa.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION CORNER (we value your prayers & involvement in this vital ministry)  Contact Carrie Bennett for ES, Julie Rogers for MS, Amy Harbaugh for HS or Pastor Teresa at wtucrev@gmail.com with any questions.

Little Kids (1-5) Sunday School: February 9th during church
Topic:  Jesus Walk on Water, Jesus Helps a Blind Man to See    Teacher:  Sara

NEXT ES Youth Grades 2-5: Wednesday, February 19th  at the Bennett`s home from 5-6:30 p.m.
Topic: The Parable of the Rich Farmer   Teacher: Steve   Dinner Responsibility: Snyders

NEXT MS Youth: Wed. Feb. 12th from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Rogers` home, Bible study, service project and pizza.

NEXT HS Youth: Sunday, February 9th at the Harbaugh/Norris home from 6 p.m.

NEXT ADULT Sunday School: Sunday, February 16th at the Sacks from 9:30-10:30 a.m
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Interested in becoming a member at WTUC? – please talk to Pastor Teresa about the upcoming membership class.
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Upcoming Preaching Ministry
February 9        Pastor Teresa
February 16      Rev. Hikari Kokai Chang, Communion
February 23      Rev. Reita Yazawa
March 2             Pastor Teresa
March 5             Ash Wednesday service at Tang/Lee home, Pastor Teresa
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Sea Glass necklaces made from broken glass found on the Tohoku seashore after the tsunami are being sold to benefit “2 Criminals” -  a movie produced by Paul Nethercott -  https://vimeo.com/channels/paulnethercott
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SNACK SIGNUP Sign up for snacks for fellowship time with Ann or on the list on the white board.  We greatly appreciate your contributions to our community life!
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WTUC  Announcements
*Any questions or concerns?  Feel free to email wtucrev@gmail.com anytime.
*Please enjoy and refer our website and FB page (West Tokyo Union Church) to others.  Please make any suggestions for additions to the Pastor Teresa and/or Steering Committee.  https://wtuc.net/
*If you’d like to be added to the WTUC church email list, please contact Gene Witt ewitt@asij.ac.jp
*If interested in joining the WTUC Prayer Chain, let Pastor Teresa or Prayer Chain Coordinator, Kayo Ozawa, know of your interest. Please submit prayers to wtucrev@gmail.com or Kayo Ozawa.
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1 Cor.1:1-2 You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s master stroke, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.
3-5 I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.
6-10 We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That’s why we have this Scripture text:
No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this,
Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—
What God has arranged for those who love him.
But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.
10-13 The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.
14-16 The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit.