Wait Expectantly to the Revealing of Christ

web-admin September 22, 2016

September 21, 2016 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Fr. Fernando Ilustre)

Topic: We are to wait expectantly to the revealing of Christ.

Luke 3:15-22 (NASB) – Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ, John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done, Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.

Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Lamentations 3:21-23 – This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

“When God reveals Himself to us, they are new every morning.”

“God can use you to reveal Himself to others.”

Psalm 68:19 – Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation.

Psalm 103:2 – Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;

1 Corinthians 2:10 – For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

The Goal of Being Faithful

web-admin September 18, 2016

September 18, 2016 – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (+Bp. Ricardo Alcaraz)
Sunday Worship Homily
“The Goal of Being Faithful”

“If the people of the world can be good in the ways of the world, then the people in God’s Kingdom should be wiser in the ways of the Kingdom.”

Amos 8:4-12

Our relationship with God will affect our relationship with others.

1 Timothy 2:1-8

We are to pray always and be diligent especially in praying for others.

Psalm 113:1-9

Luke 16:1-12

(v.1-8) Excel in learning and living out Kingdom principles.
(v.9-12) Recognize and focus on the true riches.

3 Things you can do with your life:

Waste it.
Spend your life (for yourself)
Invest in something greater than you.

The Goal of Seeking the Lost

web-admin September 12, 2016

September 11, 2016 – 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (+Bp. Ricardo Alcaraz)
Sunday Worship Homily
“The Goal of Seeking the Lost”

“As we have received His grace and mercy, so let us minister His grace and mercy to others.”

Exodus 32:7-14

Because of God’s righteousness, we need an intercessor…

1 Timothy 1:12-17

God blesses us, so we can become instruments of blessings to others.

Psalm 51:1-10

Luke 15:1-10

When we help bring people to the Kingdom of God, there is more rejoicing in heaven.

(v.1-3) Be thankful for the Mercy of God.
(v.4-10) All Heaven rejoices whenever someone comes back to Him.

Plans written before we were born

web-admin September 8, 2016

September 7, 2016 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Bp. Ricardo Alcaraz)

Topic: Plans Written Before We Were Born

“God wants us to follow the plans He made for us even before we were born.”

Psalm 139:13-16 – For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Hebrews 10:5-7 – Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’”

John 4:34 – Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

John 5:30 – I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

John 6:38 – For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

“You are not an accident. You are God’s masterpiece. God wants you to finish the plans He made for you.”

The Goal of Being Christ’s Disciple

web-admin September 5, 2016

September 4, 2016 – 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (+Bp. Ricardo Alcaraz)
Sunday Worship Homily
“The Goal of Being Christ’s Disciple”

“Christ invites us to be disciples who are willing to give up those things that will hinder us from finishing.”

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Living for God means making the right choices. To obey God, means to choose the way of life, to disobey is to choose death. God told us to choose Life.

Philemon 4-16

Living the christian life of faith means making hard decisions. We must follow our faith not our emotions and purpose. Let us purpose in our hearts to obey God’s commands

Psalm 139:1-6;13-18

Luke 14:26-33

(v.26-27) Our commitment to Christ must be higher than any other commitment.
(v.28-33) Christ is calling us to a total commitment to follow Him until the end.

The Attitude of our Hearts

web-admin September 1, 2016

August 31, 2016 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (Dcn. Felipe Panganiban Jr.)

Topic: The Attitude of our Hearts

“We cannot move forward because we have baggages in our hearts; It is the Holy Spirit who will tell us what to change in our lives.”

“If we earnestly confess our sins to God, sins that entangled us, God is just and merciful to forgive us.”

“We should be ready for the great revival of God; change our hearts, our minds and do the Work of God.”

Attitudes that God would like to deal with us:

We often look at men – God hates pleasers of men.
Attitude of always being late.
Our Attitude to prayer, quality time with God.
Commitment to Church

Conditions of our hearts:

Hardened Heart – total absence of loving and conditioning Spirit. The Word of God is like a hammer that will break that hardness of heart.
Coldness of Heart – the Holy Spirit is a fire that will melt that coldness of heart; dwell in the Word.

“All boils down to our decision to obey. Obey while there is time. Come to the Presence of God.”

Jeremiah 15:19-21 – Therefore thus says the Lord: “If you return, Then I will bring you back; You shall stand before Me; If you take out the precious from the vile, You shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, But you must not return to them. And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; And they will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” says the Lord. “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”

Proverbs 4:20-27 – My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.

The Goal of Preferring Our Brother

web-admin August 29, 2016

August 28, 2016 – 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (+Fr. Fernando Ilustre)
Sunday Worship Homily
“The Goal of Preferring Our Brother”

“God doesn’t only want us to enjoy the benefits of His Kingdom but He also wants us to take part in the work of His Kingdom in the Spirit of Humility.”

Proverbs 25:6-12
Hebrews 13:1-8
Psalm 112
Luke 14:1;7-14

In God’s Kingdom we don’t sit in our own glory but God’s.

Only God, decides which part of the body we are, just as He please.

God honors those who honor Him.

Press on to finish the race of life

web-admin August 25, 2016

August 24, 2016 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Fr. Erel Villanueva)

Topic: Press on to finish the race of life (continuation of The Topic: Goal of the Straight and Narrow)

“Pressing on to reach the finish line. Run with full force, and with endurance… strive to finish the race.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 – Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Goal of the Straight and Narrow

web-admin August 21, 2016

August 21, 2016 – 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (+Fr. Erel Villanueva)
Sunday Worship Homily
“The Goal of the Straight and Narrow”

Eternal perspective; life after death
live a committed life to God.

“Let us not live our life only in this world; but live it with an eternal perspective together with God.”

Isaiah 66:18-21

Hebrews 12:25-29

Psalm 46

Luke 13:22-30

“Let us strive to enter through the narrow gate with all the effort we can give.”

“The Kingdom of God has no place for people who are complacent and passive.”

“If we have the concept of eternal life, we will work out our salvation with fear and trembling.”

“God desires for all of us to be part of His Kingdom.”

The Goal of Understanding the Times

web-admin August 15, 2016

August 14, 2016 – 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (+Bp. Ricardo Alcaraz)
Sunday Worship Homily
“The Goal of Understanding the Times”

“Let us help ease the anguish of the Lord by discerning and responding to the signs of the times.”

Jeremiah 23:23-29

Although God is great and knows all things, yet He is not far from us.

Hebrews 12:1-6

We are to look to the Lord, so we can run with endurance the race of faith.

Psalm 82

Luke 12:49-56

(v.49-53) Commitment to God can be costly but worth it.
(v.54-56) Do not just be knowledgeable about earthly things but also about heavenly things.

“While we are living in the earth, we must live with heavenly standard.”

Fire – symbolic of purification and/or judgement.

“The Lord rejoices when we spend eternity with Him but He is saddened when others spend eternity in hell.”

2 Peter 7-10 – But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

8-10-2016 Wednesday Fellowship - Bishop Ricardo Alcaraz Sermon

Wisdom and Favor

web-admin August 11, 2016

August 10, 2016 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Bp. Ricardo Alcaraz)

Topic: Wisdom and Favor

“When you seek the WISDOM of God, you will walk in the FAVOR of God.”

Proverbs 8:32-36

The Fear of the Lord, Knowledge & Wisdom

Proverbs 1:-7 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

1 Kings 3:5-14 – The Story of the Young King Solomon

Proverbs 19:8 – He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good.

Proverbs 16:20 – He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.

The Goal of Receiving the Kingdom

web-admin August 8, 2016

August 7, 2016 – 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (+Fr. Fernando Ilustre)
Sunday Worship Homily
“The Goal of Receiving the Kingdom”

Genesis 15:1-6

When God speaks to us, we must believe His Word, no matter how impossible it may seem.

Hebrews 11:1-2;7-13

Faith takes hold of God’s power in bringing into reality God’s favor and provisions into our life.
Let us act on the Word of God for this is what faith is.

Psalm 33:6-22

Luke 12:32-37

God gave us the privilege to become part of His Kingdom; We are to allow Him to be fully Lord, God, and Master over our lives. He is the King; not us.
As the Lord gave us the Kingdom, we are to submit to His Kingdom in us.
It is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.
We should not put our security/dependence in what we have but only in God

I AM BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING