Activities from March 15 - April 17, 2015

March 15 – in our Lord’s day service here at Metro Tuguegarao, we studied the topic of “The Good News” that brother Jun prepared. In the sermon, brother Jerome preached about “Why do we seek Jesus?”

In the afternoon, at Palca, I preached to them about “Jesus: the bread that gives life”.

March 18 – in our midweek service here at Tuguegarao, I continued the chapter I started from the last week on John 6. We studied from verses 41-71 about Jesus preaching about Him being the bread of life and that they should eat His flesh and drink His blood that many of them understand it literally while Jesus really meant it in spiritual matters.

March 22 – I have no visitation in the last couple of days in Palca because many of them are again in the field preparing for harvest in the coming days.

In our Lord’s day service here at Tuguegarao, brother Jun taught about “Awaken the Dawn”. And brother Jerome preached the continuation of his sermon from the last two weeks about “A Christian”.

In the afternoon, at Palca, I preached to them about “The Faith of Moses”. An example of looking at the reward from God and not thinking about the material things we can get from this world and the pleasures that will only last for a moment.

March 25 – in our midweek service here at Tuguegarao, brother Jay taught “John 7”.

March 27 – I went to Palca for half a day to distribute bible tracts and invitations with the help of the brethren there. We only found a few people who are in their houses because many are at work.

March 29 – in our Lord’s day service here at Tuguegarao, brother Jun taught about “Kicking against the goads” and in the sermon, brother Jerome preached “In the fullness of time”.

In the afternoon, at Palca, I studied Hebrews 11 and got a good lesson out of it. I preached to them “The heroes of faith” from Abel to Samson. It took as about an hour and a half to finished all of it but the brethren said that they were encourage by the lesson especially when we study about faith.

March 31 - in our preachers’ bible study, brother Rody taught “The book of Ruth” He gave the summary of the book and we studied verses that can give us real help in growing as a Christian and as a preacher.

April 1 – It is the day we had our first Gospel Meeting this year at Palca.

Our first speaker was brother Joeben Jacobo and he preached about “Bible Story of Salvation” and the second was brother Rody and he preached about “Needs of the Glorious Church”. They both presented there topics in a way that all attention are in front. They gave interesting examples from the bible and words of encouragements to remain in the Lord no matter what happens in this present life. We have two visitors who are Catholics and are really interested in learning more.

In the evening, we had our midweek service at Tuguegarao. Brother July preached to us on “John 8”.

April 5, in our Lord’s day service here at Tuguegarao, we had our meeting in the congregation to start. We talk about the three works of the church that we need to work on. We all decided that brother Rody, Jerome and Jun will be preaching every Sunday while brother Jay, July and I will be teaching on Wednesday that will start next month (May). We also talk about our coming Gospel Meeting and the speakers we will invite. They are brother Bryan Termulo, Raul ?, and Lordy Salonga. I forgot the last name of brother Raul. This is my first time to hear his name and haven’t seen him yet before nor heard about him but brother Rody met him in Manila.

In the sermon, brother Rody preached “Why did Jesus came on earth?”

At Palca in the afternoon, I invited brother Denis Yuson to come with me. He then preached about “The Death of Jesus Christ” while I led in the singing and prayers.

April 7, in our preachers’ bible study, brother Rody taught “The book of 1 Samuel”.

April 8, in our midweek service, we studied “John 9” that brother Rody shared.

April 12, in our Lord’s day service here at Tuguegarao, brother Jun taught “Baptism: Why not delay?” and in the sermon, brother Rody preached “Things that please God”.

In the afternoon at Palca, I preached to them “Why many fail God?” Sometimes, even as Christians, we do fail in obeying Christ, we sometimes forgot that we are already Christians and do sinful things.

April 14, We had our bible Lectureship here at Tuguegarao with our main speakers brother Mark Mayberry of Adoue and brother Ron Halbrook of Hebron Lane.

In the morning, brother Mark started our study with the lesson “Gracious words” then followed by brother Ron with the lesson “The gospel that makes us right with God”. After the lessons preached, we extended the invitation and three souls were baptized into Christ.

In the afternoon, we continued with our studies with brother Mark again as the first to speak. He preached about “Nature of Marriage” and in the last part of the study, brother Ron speak on “New beginnings in Christ”.

April 15, the second and last day of our lectureship here at Tuguegarao.

Brother Mark started the day with the lesson on “Folly and fear” about the sins of Solomon, Jeroboam and Rehoboam, the followed by brother Ron with the lesson “Come out of her, my people”.

In the afternoon, brother Mark preached about “The young and old prophet” in 1 Kings 13 then brother Ron concluded with speaking on “Solomon’s song of marital love” on the book of Song of Solomon.

In the evening, we had our midweek service. Brother Rody taught “John 10:1-21”.

                                                                                                           

April 16, we went to Anonang, Rizal with brother Mark Mayberry. I brought him there with brother Jun because I went to Palca with brother Jay and brother Robert Pader to Palca to extend our tracts distribution and invitations for our Gospel Meeting there. We distributed a lot this time because harvest time is done. I met with our contacts and they said that they will come. One of them is Mr. Junior Sabado whom I often visit. He got an accident when he slipped near their well that hit his back. He cannot walk at this time but he kept on saying that he will attend our meetings next time when he can already walk.

After the distribution, we went back to Anonang. When we arrived, the meeting is already over but they told us that we will all bring the newly converts to the water to baptized them. There were four of them who confessed their faith. We drive about one kilometer away from the meeting place and also walk about 400-500 meters. It is very hot at that time, that the first place we went to dried up so we need to go farther. After about 100 more meters, we saw water from a creek. We baptized them there and prayed for them.

April 17, in the morning, we had our Gospel Meeting at Palca. Brother Efren Respicio was the first speaker and he preached about “How are we using God’s golden moments?” He preached it very well that all are very attentive and even giving their thoughts on the lesson. Then it was followed by brother Mark Mayberry wherein he preached on “Hebrews 1-4” an exhortation to the brethren. We have one visitor, the husband of sister Nenita who is a drunkard and now very thin and weak because of his vices. Finally, he decided to change his way and with our prayers, he might repent someday and be baptized into Christ.

In the afternoon, we went to Maguirig, Solana where brother Jun is preaching to have a Gospel Meeting also. Brother Virgilio Bocarile spoke first about “Destiny of Man” then followed by brother Mark who preached about “Questions of life for young people”. Brother Jun translated the lessons of brother Mark from both at Palca and Maguirig so that the brethren can understand everything he is trying to share to us.

Activities from February 11 to March 11

February 11, in our midweek service, since brother Rody is with us, he was the one who discussed “John 3”.

February 15, our Lord’s day service at Metro Tuguegarao where I was again scheduled to stand and preach since brother Rody is in Manila. In our bible study, brother Jun taught “2 Doctrines” , the doctrine of Man that we should not allow ourselves to follow it and the doctrine of God which will give us eternal life if we obey and remain in it. I preached in the sermon about “Convenience and Conviction”. We have a lot of decisions to make in our life and sometimes we choose the most convenient way but when it comes to our spiritual life we need to have the conviction to follow only Christ and not the things we wanted.

I preached the same lesson at Palca in the afternoon.

February 18, in our midweek service, brother Jerome taught “John 4:1-26”.

February 19, I went to Dagupan to visit brother Lordie Simangan. His wife is not yet a Christian but sometimes she is attending our services. I shared to them the importance of being a Christian.

February 21, I went to Palca to visit sister Noemi Belen. She is a faithful sister and always attending services wherever she might be when on Sundays. Her work put her in place to go different places. I gave her encouraging passages in the bible to continue in serving the Lord whatever situation we are in life, whether in the best or worse situation.

February 22, in our Lord’s day service here at Metro Tuguegarao, I taught in our bible study about “My life, my faith, my hope”. A lesson showing how we handle hardships in life like Job to remain faithful to God because He will give reward to those who will keep the faith until the end.  In the sermon, brother Jerome preached “A Christian”, telling us our duties of being the children of God.

At Palca, in the afternoon, I preached “The life of Job”. Almost similar to the lesson I taught in Tuguegarao about hardships and how to overcome it.

February 24, in our preachers’ bible study, we decided that we will only have this activity when brother Rody is here in Tuguegarao as he will discuss to us the “Bible Survey” book wherein we study the summary of every book in the bible. This time, he shared to us “Book of Joshua”.

February 25, in our midweek service, brother Jay (who is having cough and flu, and losing his voice while teaching) shared to us “John 4:27-54”. Even in that situation, he still stand in front to share the words of God. It is an example to us that even if we are sick, nothing can stop us from serving the Lord. We still needed to go to church as it is one of our duties.

February 26, we went to the Gospel Meeting at San Mariano, Lal-lo where brother Daniel Pasaraba is preaching. Brother Edgar Licodini is the first speaker and he preached about “Salvation”, the followed by brother Rody who preached “Dagiti makaparang-ay iti iglesia a nadayag” or in English, “What to do to make the glorious church grow”. The brethren are very much encourage to hear the good lessons and also to see us because it has been a long time since we went there. It is also a good opportunity for me and other fellow preachers to strengthen the faith of the brethren by edifying them through simple talk and sharing of the gospel. After the meeting, the Pastor who came with brother Edgar came to me and we have a little talk. I forgot his whole name but I remember our conversation. He really wanted to learn more about the church of Christ and willing to be converted if shown that the church he belongs is not the church Christ built. I also learn that he is only 22 years of age and is one year pastor. I invited him to our preachers’ bible study here at Tuguegarao and said, if the Lord’s will. I pray that someday he will realized the mistake he made and repent of it and become a true Christian.

 

They asked me to lead the prayer.

First Speaker - brother Edgar Licodini "Salvation"

Entrance to their church building

brother Rody Gumpad preaching "What to do to make the glorious church grow"

brother Daniel Pasaraba the local preacher.

February 28, we went to the Gospel Meeting at San Esteban, Iguig where brother Ronald Valdez is preaching. The first speaker was brother Rodel Marquez, a soldier and a faithful preacher. This is the first time I hear him preach and I am very blessed with the message he shared not only because of the gospel but also with the kind of work he is into. He preached about “Searching the truth”.

 

brother Rodel Marquez

The second speaker was brother Joeben Jacobo and he preached about “Christians need to go forward”. With the way he preached the lesson, I suggested to the brethren at Palca that he will also be our speaker on April 1, and they all agreed with me. The third speaker was brother Efren Respicio and he preached about “Why we suffer?” The final speaker in the morning was brother Rody, wherein he preached the first two parts of his lesson “Things that will happen when Christ returns”.

I was asked to lead a song

brother Joeben Jacobo

brother Efren Respicio

In the afternoon, the first speaker was brother Jerome Forelo. He preached “Why I am a Christian?” and the last speaker was brother Rody where he preached that last three parts of his topic.

After the preaching, invitation was extended. Two young ladies went in front to confess their faith. Brother Ronald went to baptized them because we went first home because of other obligations here at Tuguegarao. He then contacted us that three more souls joined in baptism. The Gospel Meeting produces 5 new converts in the Lord’s church.

March 1, in our Lord’s day service here at Metro Tuguegarao, brother Jun taught in our bible study “Paths to eternity” and in the sermon, brother Rody preached “How to kill a church?”

In the afternoon, at Palca, I preached to them about “First and best”. I showed them what should be our attitude when giving back to the Lord. The Israelites where commanded to offer God and first born of their cattles and the best, while we, as Christians, when we offer ourselves to God, we need to worship Him in spirit and truth.

March 3, in our preachers’ bible study, brother Rody discussed “Book of Judges”. In the afternoon, after our study, brother Alex Ginelba and brother Edwin Soriano brought a young men with them from San Agustin. He studied with us from morning until the end of the study. He then decided to be baptized after hearing the truth not only from the lesson discussed but also with our sharing to him.

March 4, in our midweek service, brother Rody taught “John 5”.

March 6, we went to the Gospel Meeting at San Luis, Tuao where brother Rogelio Esperanza is preaching. The first speaker was brother Jerome wherein he preached about “Where your heart is?” and followed by the last speaker, brother Rody who preached about “Go…Preach the Gospel”. Invitation was extended and one precious soul obeyed the gospel.

March 8, in our Lord’s day service here at Metro Tuguegarao, brother Jerome taught in our bible study about “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” and in the sermon, brother Rody  preached “The Glorious church”. After the sermon, invitation was extended and we are happy that finally Miss Imelda decided to be baptized into Christ. She is attending our worship services and midweek services without any absence for almost three to four months already and this day she decided to obey the truth.

In the afternoon, at Palca, I preached to them about “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” The words of Pharaoh being ignorant of who Jehovah is. Today, many still do not know God. They say they know Him but the truth is not. They are doing what they wanted, following their desires and not obeying the bible. That is that knowing who God is. To know Him, we must read the bible, have faith in the words of God and obey it.

March 11, in our midweek service, I taught to them “John 6:1-40”. The miracles Jesus did by feeding the 5,000 men with just two fishes and 5 bread, and also the bread of life that we should partake.

Activities from January 7 to February 10

January 7, in our first midweek service of the year, I taught in our bible study on “Luke 23” trials of Christ in front of Pilate and Herod, until His death.

January 11, in our Lord’s day service here at Metro Tuguegarao, brother Jun taught in our bible study the lesson “Alone”, and in the sermon, brother Jerome preach “When was the last time…”.

In the afternoon, at Palca, I made the lesson similar to what I taught in our bible study at Tuguegarao on Luke 23 but I focus on the “Trial, Crucifixion and death of Christ”.

January 13, in our preachers’ bible study, brother Celso Jacobo taught “2 Timothy 2”.

January 14, in our midweek service here at Tuguegarao, brother Jun taught “Luke 24” on the resurrection of Christ.

January 17, I got the chance again to visit the brethren at Palca, this time I went back to the house of sister Angelina Santiago to visit his son Don-don. H is studying here in Tuguegarao but is going home every Friday afternoon, but since he started to study here, I haven’t seen him in any services both here in Tuguegarao and at Palca so I decided to be with them on that day. I preached a short lesson to them about “Why do we need to attend the worship and is it needed for us to be saved?”

January 18, in our Lord’s day service here at Tuguegarao, brother Jun taught in our bible study about “Did your Jesus say…?” and in the sermon, brother Jerome taught “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees?” that is the right lesson because the pope visited the Philippines on this day and many people are somewhat worshipping him, kissing his hands, bowing to him and many more acts that should only be given to the Lord. He is like a Pharisee in the time of Jesus that wanted to be praise.

In the afternoon, at Palca, I preached to them about “Do I have to?” I got another lesson that I could preach but when I saw some of the members who are attending twice a month and sometimes only once, I decided to preach this lesson. And I am happy with the result because now, they are always in attendance on every services.

January 21, in our midweek service, brother Jerome taught “John 1:1-18” and he talks about the word who became flesh that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

January 25, in our Lord’s day service here at Metro Tuguegarao, brother Jun taught in our bible study about “Two Treasures” and in the sermon, brother Jerome preach about the two servants, I forgot the words he use in the title because I am not use in hearing the word.

In the afternoon, at Palca, I preached to them about “One Chance”. We have many chances in other things in life but there are things we can only have once like “we only have one chance to live, one chance to die, one chance to raise our children and one chance to face God in judgment” and so because we do not have a second chance, we should make the best choice to handle it.

I forgot to mention in my reports that my wife, Joy, continuous to teach the children and now with my daughter (whom she also teach here in our house) to the kids at Palca.

January 27, in our preachers’ bible study, brother Rody taught “The book of Exodus”, it is a summary of the whole book that we started to study.

January 28, in our midweek service, brother Rody taught “John 1:19-51”

January 30, we went to Minagbag, Quezon to have a bible study. I help I leading songs together with brother July while brother Jun taught “ Christian duties and responsibilities” and brother Rody taught “Go… Preach the gospel”.

February 1, in our Lord’s day service here at Metro Tuguegarao, brother Rody both taught in our bible study and sermon about “Religious but lost”.

In the afternoon at Palca, I preached to them about “God’s dividing line” a line that separates us from the Lord just like sin and righteousness.

February 3, in our preachers’ bible study, we both studied the summary of the book of Leviticus and Numbers that brother Rody presented.

February 4, in our midweek service, brother Rody taught “John 2”.

February 5, we went to the bible study at Maguirig, Solana. Brother Rody was the main speaker and he taught about “Hindrances of Salvation”. I help in leading a song.

But before going to the bible study, a man from Conner, Apayao visited us here in the house of brother Rody, he is Darwin who is a son of a preacher of Iglesia ni Cristo (1914) in their place. He is a listener of our radio program and decided to come to Tuguegarao and be baptized in the Lord’s church. He said that he cannot take the doctrines preached in the denomination, so he did what he knows that is right and came here. We brought him in the bible study to learn more. After the lesson, he decided to confess his faith and we baptized him here in Tuguegarao.

February 8, in our Lord’s day service here at Tuguegarao, brother Jerome taught in our bible study about “A Christian” and in the sermon, brother Rody preached “Beware of Dogs”. Next Sunday, I will be teaching in our bible study because brother Rody will be going to Manila again.

In the afternoon, I preached at Palca, about “Ten Commandments and if it is applicable for us today to follow”.

February 10, in our preachers’ bible study, brother Rody taught “Deuteronomy”. Because we finish the lesson in the morning, we have a conversation with the fellow preachers about the problems they have in their congregations and what they needed for help. Some says, they need prayers because they have been persecuted in their place by denominational pastors, some says asking a little help for church buildings and many more. We all went to God for prayer because He is the one who can only help us. After the prayer, there are books given to brother Rody and brother Jerome to be given to those who are interested and so it was distributed.