Today is the second Sunday that Pastor E wasn’t around, it is quite noticeable that the church wasn’t the same as when he is around, there is a lot of vacant chairs. Anyway the speaker this Sunday was a friend and school mate, she is licensed and practicing teacher and I expect a lot from her but like a saying says don’t expect a lot so you won’t get disappointed.

[Image credit: brandinicolejm.wordpress.com]

It was like I was attending a seminar about smart phones and the applications you can installed in them. She focused in this topic a lot rather than to the bible verse which is to be found at Luke 18:1 and Matthew 21:22. It was only the latter that she was able to get on the topic when she shared a educational video how God left the cross to us and how He help us go up when we are down.

Well, I understand that she would like to pin point how important smart phone to every one and how people neglected the bible and how convenient it would be if God has His own Facebook and Instagram account but explaining the ratio and how these mobile applications works isn’t too important when you are speaking in front of the congregation, if it was seminar that’s given but people go to church to be blessed and not to learn about modern technology.

Disclosure: The above written post was my own personal opinion and might be different from yours. 

When I wake up this morning my head still feel so sensitive and a bit painful when I speak but I have no plan of not going to church today. I was planning to take a bath early but there isn’t water coming from the faucet yet, the water supply wasn’t good since December. Anyway, the church service  is very early today since it is the first Sunday of the month, I was late when I came it is already on scripture reading gladly I was still able to get the scriptural verse which is from 1 John 4:7-12 [God’s Love and Ours].

“True love is rare, and it’s the only thing that gives life real meaning.” ― Nicholas Sparks

The preaching for this Sunday is about love, since it is love month. Pastor E talked about God’s love for all of us, how He sacrifice His life for everyone. He elaborate too the facts of God’s love where it is described in the context that it is unspeakable, unending (eternal), unselfish, unmerited and unconditional.

Secondly, God’s love was demonstrated in Calvary when He sacrifice His life for our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21), His love was also displayed in the Christians. Some people in the bible who demonstrate different types of love are Joseph to his brothers (Forgiving love), Hosea to his wife (Redeeming love), God to Peter (Compassionate love).

When the love of God is present in the life of a believer, it will be visible in five different areas which are love for the Savior, love for the scripture, love for the sanctuary, love for the saints and love for the sinners.

The Challenge for this Sunday:

Love does not actually count the cost, it does not keep a ledger of profit and loss. Love is spendthrift. It does not measure itself out with an eyedropper. Love is extravagant. Love seeks out a need and never stops giving. Love is a risky business, for it costs …. costs EVERYTHING!

Yesterday was the last Sunday of the month, and it is National Bible Sunday. The church has foreign visitors too, an older couple. The older woman is well-known missionary who is translating the bible in one of the local dialect of our Province and as what I have heard when she’s introduced by our Pastor that she first arrived in the island in 1980’s and was still single that time so no wonder she spoke the local dialect fluently.

The theme of Philippine Bible Society for National Bible Week celebration is “God’s Word: Hope for the Family and Strength of the Nation” so the scriptural topic is about how amazing God’s Words, it was said God’s word is more precious than gold so it must be desired.

[Image source: www.bible.org.ph]

According to Psalms 19: 7-14, the word of the Lord revived us, it enlighten our eyes and lead us to God’s forgiveness. We became energetic and lively through reading the bible and when we read it helps us enlighten our path and see our lives clearly, the bible help us to see and clear us from our hidden faults, it brought us to light from the dark. Pastor E says each time you read the bible you are revived, enlighten, and forgive. All in all you will be bless and in return you will be blessings to others.

When the church service ended the visitors has some goods to sell like bookmarks, key chains and wall decors which are laminated I think the proceeds will go to the  funds needed for translation of the bible to local dialect.

It has been said that New Year is a chance to start anew, it was a time to create new principles that will become the energies and attitudes of mind that will help us succeed regardless of the difficulties and challenges that we face along the way.

Yesterday is the second Sunday of the month and the scriptural topic is about creating principles for the new year, the scripture reading can be found in Genesis 22: 1-10, if I was not mistaken it was also the basis of the previous preaching of Pastor R during an exchange pulpit Sunday. Our pastor (E) says our decision making on important choices was always based on our emotions and feelings, we satisfy our emotions, we don’t choose thing that will make us unhappy.

[Image source: 2live4himdotcom.files.wordpress.com]

These past few days discouragement controlled me, it was those time I felt it is already the end and there isn’t anymore life waiting for me, to have peace and to overcome this unwanted feeling even for a moment  I uttered silent prayer and when our Pastor started preaching I felt like God comforted me and He send the answers right away, He told me to trust, be obedient and have faith in Him that someday things will fall into their right places.

What if God asks for something very important to you?

There are three principles for the new year, the first one is the principle of trust which can be found in verse 1-2 of Genesis chapter 22 when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac on a mountain in the region of Moriah and without hesitation Abraham comply.

Pastor E then asked several questions to everyone like if we do believed that God can control our life for a better future, then he encourage everyone to raised the level of trust to God this New Year and see how good the Lord when we trust Him and let Him hold our life.

[Image source: wordstolivebybackgrounds.blogspot.com]

The second principle for a better new year is the principle of obedience which can be found in verse 3-6 of Genesis 22 when Abraham obeyed God and set for a journey with Isaac to the region of Moriah.  It has been said that trusting God is only part of the equation, we should obey Him as well.  We should take note too that delayed obedience is consider disobedience, without action our word will mean very little and faith without work is dead. Pastor E then encourage everyone to follow what God ask us to do, to set aside our emotions and selfishness so we can see how God moves in our lives.

[Image source: truth4freedom.wordpress.com]

The third and last principle is the principle of faith which is in Genesis 22: 7-10 when Isaac asked his father Abraham where is the lamb for the burnt offering, Abraham replies that God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.  Pastor E told everyone that God is good in keeping promises, He will provide and showered His greatest blessings to you just have faith in Him.

Pastor E ended his preaching by challenging everyone to trust on God’s wisdom, follow His direction, have faith to believe and things will find their right place in our lives.

Today, is the third Sunday of the month and the last Sunday before Christmas, before the service proper started there is a short meeting on what to do after the Christmas program on the 23rd.  It was decided to have an exchanged gift and to already draw the names so everyone could know the person they picked and everyone could buy the right gift.

The scriptural topic for today is the continuation of the topic on the first Sunday of the month which is Seeking Christ at Christmas our Pastor told us, he has to cut it in two parts because there is a church hopping to another town after the service that Sunday. He stated that life is easier today because there is a lot of transport but still people goes farther away from God, unlike those old times where there isn’t a lot of transport yet and people only uses lamp but people always found a way to go to church to attend prayer meeting or church service.  We are told that there are three types of people in the Bible who seek God, we are told not live like King Herod or the inn keeper, we should live like the shepherds and the wise men who seek for Jesus, the shepherds leave their flocks without thinking if the sheep’s will be eaten by wolves or their employer will fire them and while the wise men traveled far leaving their home and family just to see Jesus. At the end, our Pastor encouraged everyone to go to church every Sunday,  to stop the excuses of being busy at work or nobody will be left in the house, we must turn away our old self-centered life and seek God whole heartily and after the church service is the drawing of the names for the exchange gift.

Anyway, it was my grandfather and Cody’s death anniversary on the 19th, I recalled being in a dark room inside my grandparent’s house on Christmas and New Year’s eve while everyone is making noise outside, fireworks are flying in the sky, people are laughing but we are hiding in the dark and I remember being alone on Christmas a few years ago when J has to go home, crying while singing Christian songs, well this is two of my unforgettable memories of Christmas.

It is the first Sunday of December, church service started early today since it is also the first Sunday of the month and there will be a church hopping at another town about an hour from our town. When I went to church it is half empty but later on more people came, the scriptural topic for this Sunday is about “Seeking Christ at Christmas”, and the scripture reading can be found in the book of Jeremiah 29:13 which say “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” It is definite promise from God that if we will seek Him, we will find Him. These promises can also be found in the Book of Deuteronomy 4:29 – “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” and Matthew 7:8 – “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

On reading these verses thoroughly we might noticed that the promises are assuring but we should take note that these promises has conditions, in Jeremiah and Deuteronomy we are ask to seek heartily, with all are heart and great determination while in Matthew we are ask to seek continuously.

Well, I have blogged that I seek for God’s comfort and when I found Him, I found peace and learn to slow down, I learn to control myself, I learned to wait and I found hope that everything is possible, a heart that truly loves doesn’t give up after all.

According to our Pastor says there are two kinds of people in the world, those who seek God and those who didn’t find God. He said it is true that there are a lot of selfish people who are always busy and pretending to love the Lord but they didn’t want Him at all just like King Herod who is mentioned in the bible who wanted to find the new born Jesus. We should not let ourselves to be like a man without a name in the bible, we should be a good Christian who loves one another. Do you have an idea who’s the man without name in the bible? Feel free to comment your answer below.

Today, is the fourth Sunday of the month and the scriptural topic is living with a thankful attitude and grateful heart. It was said that Thanksgiving is an attitude we should have everyday, every hour, every minute and every seconds. Our Pastor told everyone to always wear a smile too, and give a smile to the people around us because with this little gesture we are able to help, touch someone’s life and lighten there burden.

According to what Paul has said to Timothy “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy.” – 2 Timothy 3:2

On our generation today what has said was true, we can found it around us, we forgot to be thankful and being thankful is a personal decision, it is our self-desire. We should give thanks in everything, the hurts and the trials. God knows what’s on our heart and mind too, He notices when we are thankful and ungrateful. Always remember too God’s will is always expandable or elastic.