How can you be sure you’re making the right decision? Sometimes it may seem as if God plays hide and seek when we’re trying to know His will, but that’s not the way He operates. He wants to give us clear direction. The real question is, “What do you need to do to hear His voice?”

Clear the pathway. We have two main obstacles that hinder our discernment: sin in our life and our own strong desires about the situation. To receive the Lord’s guidance, we must repent of all known sin and make our desires secondary to His.

Exercise patience. Sometimes it takes a great deal of strength to stand still when everything within you is shouting, “Hurry! Time is running out!” But if you rush ahead of God, you may miss His will.

Persist in prayer. The Bible clearly instructs us to keep coming to the Lord with our concerns. As we continue to pray, He will gradually weed out anything confusing until we come to His conclusion about the matter.

Search the Scriptures. The Word of God has an answer for every need, and the Holy Spirit knows just how to point us in the right direction. There were times while I was reading the Bible that a verse jumped off the page and supplied the exact answer I needed to make an important decision.

So often when we’re faced with a critical choice, all we want from the Lord is a quick answer. But He delights to meet with us in order to deepen our relationship with Him. Don’t let the urgency of your need keep you from enjoying the intimacy of His presence as you seek His will. Don’t just go for His answer, go for Him. In the process of seeking  is where you know Him more.  This is intimacy with God!

Psa.25:14 says, “The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”  God makes known His will, His ways to those who fear Him. The word “covenant” here was not merely a conditional contract, offering rewards in return for obedience, but a privileged and intimate relationship of friendship. The friendship of the Lord is with those who fear Him. Didn’t Jesus echo this truth to His disciples? In Jn. 15:15, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you.” God favors with His presence and guidance those who trust and love Him.

Announcement:

THAI MISSION 2012 TEAM! We still have 6 slots opened. For ministry leaders and those whom Ptr. Jo has personally invited, deadline for your final decision will be on Feb. 12.  If there are still slots available, we will be opening it up to the church volunteers/workers and the deadline for your decision will be on Feb. 18.

The Living Vessels will be holding an EVANGELISTIC VALENTINES DINNER on Feb. 25, Saturday at 6:30 pm at Bethel Guesthouse.  the Theme is “The Greatest . . . . An Affair of the Heart 2012”.

• Registration Fee is P250.00 / person
• Limited slots only
• Registration starts today, Feb. 5, 2012

Please approach Lorraine or Gerchelle Yam for inquiries.  Please invite, or better yet, sponsor your unbelieving friends, relatives, and co-workers.  This is open to all college students, young professionals, and young couples.

FYI:  H4U CBA is on Feb. 13, at 7 pm at the Silliman CBA grounds and H4U Medtech is on Feb. 15, at 7 pm at the Silliman Amphitheater.  Please come out and support our H4U and pray for a fruitful harvest!

Pray for the SUNDAY SCHOOL KIDS OUTREACH on Feb. 18, 2012, 3-5 pm at Habitat Candau-ay.  If you want to get involve and donate the GIFT SHOEBOXES or a cash donation of P300 , please submit it  to Gaily Echin or Lolit Jo, or at the table at the back.

Mark Your Calendar: WATER BAPTISM on March 3.  Details will be announced later.

By the grace of God she indeed is a Proverbs 31 woman (see 31:10-31)…not a perfect woman but a “Proverbs 31 woman”. Its interesting reading that passage that there’s very little emphasis about the woman’s sexuality. That’s because it’s not the woman’s sex appeal that makes her attractive. It’s her character that makes her attractive! It’s what’s on the inside!

How do I know that? Because 1 Peter 3:3 says that “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should come from your INNER SELF, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

Peter’s not saying that you can’t ever wear nice clothes or make up. But he’s saying that true beauty is deeper than that. “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. (Prov.31:30-31)

Charm may be used for good or for evil; it is not necessarily bad. But its good use requires the fear of the Lord. As you know, every physical body has an enemy that will ultimately win—AGE! Physical beauty will pass away with the years no matter how many creams or treatments we use to try to prevent it. The good news is that the fear of the Lord brings lasting beauty to a woman’s soul. Without this inner attractiveness, physical beauty is merely superficial and temporary.

Our society is so messed up. They put all the emphasis on the outward and very little on the inward. They make the average woman feel like garbage if she doesn’t have the perfect hourglass figure. But God knows that what really makes a woman beautiful is what’s on the inside.

Precious Women of God, seek to be truly beautiful by honoring God above all else in your life. And as a parent, purpose to pass on a spiritual legacy that values true feminine beauty: the love of the Lord.

LUCK. You certainly can’t count on luck. There’s a true story of a couple. They were thrilled. The winning number for the lottery had just been announced, and that exact number was on their ticket. The grand prize was $12 million. They were jubilant—at least for a few hours. Then lottery officials found that there had been a proof-reading error when the winning number was published. The ticket wasn’t worth $12 million after all; it was worth nothing. It had all been a mistake. The next day the man died of a heart attack.

When you hear that true story, you may say, “What rotten luck!” But I think all luck is rotten. Every story where luck is the main theme will eventually have a sad ending. You may disagree and think luck is important. You may like lotteries or casinos or some other kind of gambling. You may use good luck charms or lucky numbers to improve your chances, and you may avoid certain things that might bring you bad luck. The trouble with luck is that you can’t really trust it. You never know whether luck is going to be for you or against you. You can be praising your good luck one moment, only to find out the next moment that your luck has gone bad. If you’re like the man in the story, your faith in luck can give you $12 million dollars one day and then take it away and kill you the next day.

If I had to go through life depending on luck, it would drive me crazy. In this New Year, I couldn’t bear to think that everything that’s going to happen in 2012 is just a random jumble of chance events. I couldn’t handle the wondering and worrying. I couldn’t feel safe or secure. But I don’t believe in luck…so should every person who professes to be a Christian. I believe something much, much better than luck. I believe in the unchanging faithfulness of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb.13:8), so His faithfulness is unchanging. As we are already 22 days in the New Year, depend on Jesus’ faithfulness to give you joy and security which money can’t buy, which human technology can’t achieve, and which human attacks can’t destroy. Our inventions can fail at the worst possible moment, and even when they work, our inventions can’t meet our deepest needs for love, forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life with God. Human help can’t replace Jesus’ faithfulness, and human attacks can’t defeat Christ’s faithfulness to His people.

As His followers, we are to look only to Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith, and to His Word inspired by the Holy Spirit, for guidance in every area of life. Don’t look to the stars to guide you, look to the One who made the stars. Trusting in “luck” is simply a proof of a lack of trust in the One who made everything and who knows what’s best for you.  Trust Him today. Trust in Him alone.

Announcement:

YOUTH CAMP 2012 is fast approaching! Inviting all college and high school students to start praying to be able to join this year’s Youth Camp. Church, especially parents, support us through prayer and in our fundraising activities.  Bake Sale starts today — so please grab a snack on your way out!

Want to serve the Lord? Here’s an opportunity for you to grow and serve  our God in His house—come and join the USHERING MINISTRY of CCD! More ushers are needed during 2nd service. Please sign up at the back or approach Lyne Labbay or any of our ushers.

We are to be single minded (2 Tim. 2:3-4). Christians, like soldiers, are to establish their priorities because they want to please the commanding officer. Who is our commanding officer? Jesus Christ. In 2 Cor. 5:9, Paul wrote, “We make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” You want to have a goal for this new year? Here it is: Please Him! What greater goal than to live to please Him? That by the grace of God, we would live to please Him in our personal lives, family, workplace, school, in our hobbies, etc… Are we a God-pleaser or a Man-pleaser? The winners in the race are those who concentrate, who keep their eyes on the goal and let nothing distract them. Jam.1:8 says, “ A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” The key is to live for that which matters most!

While Jesus was on earth, He could have done all sorts of fantastic things. He could have built buildings that would have made the engineers and architects of the Roman Empire look stupid. He could have opened a university and taught science to the smartest scholars from every nation. He could have conducted the largest Gospel crusade the world had ever seen. He could have healed all the sick people on earth and cleared out every hospital. He could have sent out 12,000 apostles instead of 12 to build His Church.

Why did Jesus refrain from doing these and a million other wonderful things that were within His power? The simple answer is this: Jesus knew His mission—the one task for which He came. He stated it very clearly: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Although He was well aware that He would die for the sins of the whole world, He also knew that He needed to accomplish His mission within the tiny nation of Israel. Jesus lived daily to fulfill His mission and never allowed Himself to be distracted by anything or anyone. When His journey came to an end, He simply said to His Father, “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). And on the cross, He looked at humanity past, present and future and proclaimed, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

Beloved, a focused life is one that makes a difference. Keep the main thing, the main thing – to know Jesus and to make Him known!

Announcement:

ATTN:  Elders’  & Wives and Ministry Leaders’ Prayer/Fasting and Year-long Planning is scheduled on Jan. 20-21, 2012 at CCTC starting from 6:00 pm (Friday) until 10:00 am (Saturday).

Living Vessels Fellowship (Young Adults) is now scheduled every Friday, 7:00 pm at the CCD. Please come on time as we will be joining the Living Stones Youth and College Core groups for opening prayer and praise & worship.

Want to serve the Lord? Here’s an opportunity for you to grow and serve  our God in His house—come and join the USHERING MINISTRY of CCD! More ushers are needed during 2nd service. Please sign up at the back or approach Lyne Labbay or any of our ushers.

“Surely goodness will follow…” What does he mean by that? Obviously David had disappointments in life. Not everything good happened to him. He’s saying that good things will always come out of whatever happens even the bad, the evil, the difficult. God will insure that good will come out — it will follow whatever happens to David and to us. The great promise that God has given to believers: Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  That’s what it means “goodness will follow me”. There is no difficulty, dilemma, defeat, disaster in the life of a Christian that ultimately God won’t bring good out of. Eventually, He’ll bring good out of it. Now, not only goodness will follow you but “…love will follow me all the days of my life.” (Other translation the word is mercy). What is mercy? Mercy is grace in action. Why do we need mercy? Because we’re imperfect. We stumble and fall, blow it, make mistakes. In the future you’re going to falter! So this year, you need not only God’s goodness, you need His mercy. You need His forgiveness, pardon, healing.

You’re going to experience many different kinds of days in life. Happy, sad, sick, depressing, lonely, difficult — that’s why we fear the future — we don’t know what’s going to happen. But you will never face a day without God’s goodness and mercy with you if you’ve given your life to Jesus Christ. He will be with you all the time.

And…”I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” That’s one of the most important little connections we see in the Bible. It connects yesterday and today with tomorrow. God says, “I’ve got this great life planned for you and it’s for My glory and surely goodness and mercy will follow you through it, BUT that’s not the end! I’ve got something else at the end!” He builds it to a crescendo. David ends this Psalm by saying “We’re going to heaven!” Jesus saves the best until last. With God it just keeps getting better and better. With the world, it’s getting darker and darker…but to a Christian our hope is getting brighter and brighter! The best is yet to come.

Beloved, we were made to last forever. So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here. But it’s just as true that one day we’re going to be with the Lord. Heaven was made for Christians, for those who trust in Jesus.

Announcement:

ATTN:  Elders’ and Ministry Leaders’ Prayer/Fasting and Year-long Planning is scheduled on Jan. 20-21, 2012 at CCTC starting from 6:00 pm (Friday) until 10:00 am (Saturday).

Living Vessels Fellowship (Young Adults) is now scheduled every Friday, 7:00 pm at the CCD. Please come on time as we will be joining the Living Stones Youth and College Core groups for opening prayer and praise & worship.

For those who ordered CCD t-shirts – the printshop is still recovering from the flood.  We will just inform you when your t-shirts are ready for pick up.

Please keep PTR. CHUCK SMITH in prayer as he undergoes tests and scans for his lung cancer.

Come and stand in the gap with us as we intercede for one another.  Join us every Tuesday at 5:30 pm, here at CCD for our INTERCESSORY PRAYER MEETING.

For so many people it’s a time for new beginnings, new resolutions, new commitments. People will start dieting again, exercising again, “trying” to be disciplined again. I’m reminded of a man who, after thoroughly enjoying his holiday meals and snacks, got on his bathroom scale and sucked in his stomach. His wife saw him, laughed, and said, “Sucking in your stomach doesn’t help.” Ralph said, “Sure it does. It’s the only way I can see how much I weigh! It’s the only way I can see the numbers.”

As the calendar changes, we’re reminded that time changes things. A few seconds is enough time for an accident or earthquake to shatter one’s life. A day or two is enough time for a stock market to plunge, a job to be lost, a flood, tsunami, or earthquake to bring ruin. A year is more than enough time for conflict to wreck a marriage or for cancer to end a life. Time changes things, and not all of the changes are favorable.

The good news is that, amid so many changes, there is one unchanging reality you can always count on. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Jesus never changes, and His faithfulness to those who believe in Him never changes. “His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart (Psalm 91:4). Have you ever had a rough ride in an airplane? Turbulence tosses the plane this way and that. An air pocket makes the plane drop suddenly, and your stomach jumps into your mouth. As you near your destination and come in for a landing, the plane shakes and sways in the wind. When it reaches the runway, the plane bounces a few times before screeching to a stop. After such a wild and bumpy ride, what a relief to be on firm ground! It feels great to have both feet standing on something solid.

So too, if you’ve been blown this way and that by turbulence and changing times, it feels great to have both feet standing firmly on the rock-solid reality of Christ. Faith in Jesus brings security and stability you can’t find anywhere else. Your health can change, your relationships can change, your finances can change, weather patterns can change, economies can change, technology can change, governments and national boundaries can change, but “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Changing times don’t change the Lord. All other things, even the very earth and sky, are changing. The Bible says earth and sky are like clothes that eventually wear out and must be changed. “But,” says the Bible of Jesus, “you remain the same, and your years will never end” (Hebrews 1:11-12).

So in this New Year, with all its challenges, trials and battles (it may sound repetitive, or a cliché), PUT YOUR HOPE IN THE ROCK SOLID THAT IS CHRIST! He’s return is soon. Look up! For your redemption draws near!

Announcement:

Our Visayan Service resumes next week, Jan. 8.

ATTN:  Elders’ and Ministry Leaders’ Prayer/Fasting and Year-long Planning is scheduled on Jan. 20-21, 2012 at CCTC. Please mark your calendar.

But this feeling is not far from the time Jesus the savior came into the world. For at that time, Israel was controlled by the might of Rome and Herod was just their puppet. He’s a wicked man. Rome was responsible to feed 60 million slaves, and there was famine in many parts of the empire. Morally, the world was held captive by idolatry, immorality, superstition and fear. These were desperate times in Israel, times of darkness, weariness, injustice, disease, and economic desperation. And in the midst of all these, Jesus was born.

He is Immanuel, “God with Us.” And this is the Christmas news: “God is with us.” God is with you! May not the glitz and glitter of this season blind us to the real light that is shining that is Jesus.  May we not be preoccupied with the superficial during this season of the year. And may the power of Christ’s presence bring healing grace into our lives.

Remember: Christmas is not just a baby in a cradle, but also the God-man on the cross. The angel said to Joseph, “You are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins!” Christmas without the Cross is not Christmas at all! The Cross is the ultimate goal of Christmas. And yet the story does not stop there –after the Cross is the Crown! Jesus resurrected from the dead and He’s alive forevermore! Because HE is risen our sins are forgiven and we have eternal life. We have hope in this life and the life to come. That’s the good news of Christmas!

Beloved, with all the uncertainties in the world today, the fear and insecurities produced by the worsening times, one got to have a sure foundation, a secure future and a hope. And that hope is Jesus Christ! When all the scaffoldings of life are removed, our earthly security is shaken and man’s promises turn out to be a false hope, HOPE IN JESUS!

Those soft little hands fashioned in Mary’s womb were formed so that nails might be driven through them. Those cute little baby feet would one day walk up a dusty hill carrying a cross. That tender head would one day bear a crown of thorns. The baby grew up, died on a cross, was buried for three days, and again, so that anyone can have a personal, intimate relationship with Him. And in that relationship one receives forgiveness of sins and life eternal.

A HOPE-FILLED CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Announcement:

There will be no VISAYAN SERVICE today Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.  Our visayan congregation is invited and encouraged instead to join in any of our two English services in the morning. This is to give them more time to spend with family in celebrating Christmas Day and the New Year.

Thank you church for your generosity in our Christmas giving.  You have tremendously blessed our outreaches.

• You have given more than enough that we were also able to bless not only our brothers and sisters at Ptr. Romy’s church in Scandinavian Village, but we were able to give clothes to all 98 families at Scandi.
• We will also be extending help for our brothers and sisters, especially in our Visayan Service affected by the flood. If you still desire to make donations in cash or in kind, you may channel it through the office.

The OFFICE will be closed Dec. 26-28.

ATTN:  Elders’ and Ministry Leaders’ Prayer/Fasting and Year-long Planning is scheduled on Jan. 20-21, 2012 at CCTC. Please mark your calendar.

Gabriel told Mary nothing is impossible for God. In faith Mary submitted to God and gave her permission to proceed with the plan. God never forces His plan on anyone. Mary surrendered her will to God when she said, “May it be to me as you have said.” In every spiritual transaction there are three important forces at work: 1. The Word of God (what God promised Mary) 2. The Will of the Person (Mary chose to follow God’s plan) 3. The Work of the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she became pregnant).

Our role in the process is to choose God’s will for our lives. That’s what happens when you trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You heard God’s Word and you believed it. Then, we submit our will to God’s, and then the Holy Spirit brings about regeneration in our lives. Like Mary, we must all say to God, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.” When you do that, you don’t have to worry about how God will accomplish it, because that’s His job, not ours!

THE MANGER – When Jesus was born, Mary laid Him in a manger. Because of the Christmas story, some people think a manger is a nice little baby-bed with a soft bottom and fancy, decorated ribbons. A manger was nothing but a common feed trough for cattle and other livestock. It was a crudely constructed piece of barn furniture–ordinary in every way. But because of the baby in that manger a simple piece of furniture has been transformed into an icon! Why? Because when Jesus was in the manger, it was God in the flesh – the MAN-GOD.

The manger is a wonderful symbol of what can happen to an ordinary man or woman when Jesus Christ lives in them. It’s what’s happened to thousands of us ordinary people – God’s presence has made our lives extraordinary. Just as feed can become a cradle for a king, a very average person can become beautiful, useful and extra- ordinary when they have Jesus Christ in their lives!

Announcement:

CHRISTMAS GIFT-GIVING to CCD OUTREACHES:

• Everything is covered except for 2 sacks of rice.
• Women’s Fellowship will meet tomorrow, Monday, Dec. 19 at 9 am to pack for the Gift-giving for the  outreaches.

There will be no VISAYAN SERVICE on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.  Our visayan congregation is requested to join in any of our two English services in the morning so they have more time to spend with family in celebrating Christmas Day and the New Year.

God invaded earth. That is the relevance of Christmas. We must remind ourselves that Jesus did not begin His existence in the manger at Bethlehem. He was without beginning. Jesus even declared in John 8:58 – “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!” If you were God and were going to come to earth, of all the ways you could choose to reveal yourself, would you come as a baby? As a human being? God did. The reality of Christmas was that Jesus Christ was a real man, flesh and blood, bones, hair. He was a real person, not a myth, fable, or a nice story. The reality is that God came to earth and God became a man. Why would He? If God had wanted to communicate with dogs, He would have become a dog. If He wanted to communicate with birds, He would have become a bird. But God wanted to communicate with people so He became a man.

A few years ago, the singer, Joan Osborne sang a hit song that asked, “What if God was one of us?” Her lyrics posed the question, “If God had a face, what would it look like?” This song expresses the human longing to see and know God. However, Joan Osborne never answered her own question concerning what God would look like if He walked the earth. But the Bible does answer that question—God was one of us and He looked like Jesus. Oh yes, God was one of us, but even better . . . He was fully God and fully man.

Our God has not remained remote and unapproachable – He has come to us in person. He did not just write us a letter. He did not just send us a representative. He did not just speak His laws from a mountain. He came to us as one of us. The Infinite became an infant. The Eternal One became a little one. For what? To die for our sins! Jesus didn’t stay in a crib in a manger. He grew up went to a cross and voluntarily laid down His life for us. He didn’t have to. He was God. He could have called 10,000 angels and stopped the process at any point. He did not have to go to the cross. Nobody put Him there without His permission. But He did…because of His love for us (Jn.3:16)

Christmas is JESUS. The best gift you could give to anyone this Christmas and to every season of life…is His love!

Announcements:

If you still have your H4U ID with you, please return it at the office. We will recycle it for the next H4U.

Final Sunday to order Calvary Chapel T-shirts! Please order at the back after the service.

We are now accepting donations, in cash or in kind, for our yearly Christmas gift-giving for our outreaches.  This year we will be preparing a TOTAL OF 350 FAMILY PACKS, so we  need the following:

• 14 sacks of rice (2 sacks already covered)
• 350 packs of 1-kilo brown sugar
• 700 cans of sardines
• 350 packs of (25 or 50 grams) coffee

The 350 packs of bihon are already covered.

Deadline will be on Dec. 18.  Distribution to the outreaches will be on Dec. 20.

If you have some old but usable clothes that we can give to our Outreach Pastors and their families, please submit it at the office.

It’s such a blessing to see all the volunteers working together, each doing their task faithfully and united in the cause of Christ. Like Paul I could say, “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:3)

What is a healthy church? Does it have anything to do with buildings, budgets or programs? Nothing necessarily wrong about these things but they are not the things Paul took note of that made the Thessalonian church a healthy church. And those same three building blocks will undoubtedly make our church continue to grow healthy and strong.  They are a “faith that works”, a “love that labors”, and a “hope that endures”.

A FAITH THAT WORKS – Genuine faith in Christ inspires. It is the kind of faith that produces works. Faith in Jesus Christ isn’t just some speculative, intellectual agreement, but it’s an energetic and productive force that propels us to good works. (Read Eph. 2:10)

LABOR PROMPTED BY LOVE – Now if faith looks backwards at what God has done, love looks upward and around, as it finds specific ways to demonstrate love for God and love for other people that does not expect something in return. The word “labor” here means hard work resulting in exhaustion; the exertion that brings on physical weariness…to groan because of the struggle that is required in order to accomplish the task.

What could possibly be the motivation for undergoing such exertion? Paul says the motive is LOVE. Any other motive won’t do, any other reason is weak and inferior and will not last. Many of you here, because of your love to Jesus and to the church have exhausted yourself; you have labored faithfully — in that I thank God for you.

ENDURANCE INSPIRED BY HOPE – If faith looks back, love looks upward and around, then hope looks forward. The word “hope” in the Bible means “to look forward with total confidence.” What keeps us going amidst trials and difficulties? Because of the hope that one day Jesus will come with His rewards – that indeed our labors in the Lord will not be in vain! So because of this future hope we have, we are able to bravely face whatever was thrown our way and endure the trials!

So here we have the triad of faith, love and hope. The 3 building blocks that makes a church a healthy and thriving church. Faith looks back at Jesus crucified, love looks up at Jesus glorified and around at other people, and hope looks forward to Jesus coming again. Thus, every Christian is a BELIEVER, a LOVER, and a HOPER. Thank you church for being one!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Thank you for those who were involved in any way in the preparation and during the Hope For You concert.  Thank you for being a blessing.

ATTENTION Hope For You Committee Heads – we will have a debriefing this Monday, Dec. 5 at 7 pm here at CCD.

If you still have your H4U ID with you, please return it at the office. We will recycle it for the next H4U.

Final 2 weeks to order Calvary Chapel T-shirts! Please order at the back after the service.

We are now accepting donations for our yearly Christmas gift-giving for our outreaches.  We will be preparing a TOTAL OF 350 FAMILY PACKS, so we need the following:

· 14 sacks of rice

· 350 packs of 1-kilo brown sugar

· 700 cans of sardines

· 350 packs of (400 grams) bihon

· 350 packs of (25 or 50 grams) coffee

Deadline will be on Dec. 18.  Distribution to the outreaches will be on Dec. 20.

It can be scary to be lost. Years ago when I was in college, I was driving through Manila, in the Quiapo area… I got lost. I spent about two and a half hour wandering through the busy, confusing streets of Manila trying to find my way toward Quezon City. How many of you have ever been in a strange building or city and gotten lost? It can be a distressing experience, but you were only lost temporarily, because you are here today!

In this passage Jesus uses the word “lost” to speak of the spiritual condition of being eternally lost. The word L-O-S-T is one of the scariest four lettered words in the human language. You see a lost soul is the most tragic condition in life. There were individuals who at one time were very wealthy, but because of some unwise investments, they lost it all. It’s terrible to lose a fortune, but that’s nothing compared to the tragedy of a lost soul.  Through the years of being a pastor, I sat at the bedside of people who had been strong and healthy, but had become helplessly sick. It’s terrible when someone loses his health, but not nearly as terrible as a lost soul. You can lose your mind, and it’s not as tragic as a lost soul. You can lose your character, and it’s not as bad as a losing your soul. Death will heal the loss of a fortune, or a loss of health or a loss of a mind–but a lost soul is for eternity.

Jesus elsewhere said, “What would it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” We are all like a lost lamb at one time in our lives. Jesus can never find you until you admit you are a lost sinner. That’s the bad news, without Christ we are lost. But the good news is Jesus searches for us in order to save us. Jesus Christ, the Shepherd and Overseer of our Souls, will climb the steepest mountain, cross the widest river and cover the farthest and the outermost area just for a lost soul. He not only has the biggest heart, the fondest affection, and the kindest compassion for a lost sinner; He has the broadest shoulders to lean on and rest upon. He can lift, bear or haul an individual of any size, in any shape or condition on those shoulders. He is never ever tired of tending sheep, bearing sheep, or holding sheep. And the lost sinner can rest comfortably, travel peacefully, and return safely with Him!

Have Your way tonight Lord Jesus. Draw people unto Yourself. Find the lost and bring them home, for Your name’s sake and for the glory of the Father.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

TONIGHT is HOPE FOR YOU Concert at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex! Invite your unsaved relatives and friends!

Reminder  for all H4U Dgte Team, especially the H4U COUNSELORS, USHERS, and  SECURITY men:  Check-In time at Macias will be 6:00 tonight.

Our H4U tshirts are now available. Please get it after the service at the back.

The CCD Office will be CLOSED whole day on Tuesday, Nov. 29, and morning of Wednesday, Nov. 30.  Prayer Meeting will resume on Dec. 6.

Satan actively opposes the preaching of the gospel. That’s why we must be aware of the reality of spiritual warfare. Whenever you are talking to a non-believer about Christ, there are invisible forces at work to keep that person from becoming a Christian. I’ve seen so many weird things happen just at the point when a person is considering whether or not to accept Christ.

Have you experienced witnessing, say to a couple, that when you’re about to ask them if they wanted to accept Christ, their little baby started screaming, and you have to stop the conversation. Or, talking to a man about turning his life over to Christ and when you’re at the point of asking him if he wanted to pray and receive Christ his cell phone rang. He looked at it and said, “I’ve got to get this excuse me.”  Or, have you seen flies fly around a person’s head; dogs bark; or television sets suddenly get louder. Satan will use anything he can to distract a person at the point of salvation.

So I exhort you precious church, pray, pray, pray. 1 Pet 5:8 – Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” On the night before His death, there in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told His disciples to “watch and pray that they not enter into temptation” (Matt. 26:40-41; Mark 14:34,38).“ The disciples thought that it was just another evening, but as they dozed and struggled to keep their eyes open, the battle between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God was being waged in their midst. We must not give in to the same temptation to think that all is well and let down our guard.

You see beloved, Satan’s chief strategy for your life and mine is to keep you off your knees and keep you occupied and distracted.  But he trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees!  What makes prayer such a powerful weapon? It keeps us tapped to His power. A prayer-less life is a powerless life, and a prayerful life is a powerful life. Prayer itself is not the thing; it is the Person behind the prayer. The stress here is not the power in prayer, but the powerful Person we talk to! We will never win any spiritual battle without prayer, but the primary strength we have in this warfare is our relationship with God.

Thank God, as I always say, we’re fighting a defeated foe and it pays to know that we’re fighting not FOR VICTORY but FROM VICTORY Jesus won for us 2,000 years ago!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

H4U Dumaguete this coming November 27, 2011 at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex! Invite your unsaved relatives and friends!

NIGHT OF PSALMS TONIGHT at 6:00 pm for a time of worship and prayer for our H4U Concert!

For those who signed up for  PHYSICAL SET-UP:

• Set-up day will be this Saturday, Nov. 26
• Assembly time will be at 8 am HERE AT CCD (NOT YET AT MACIAS).  We will meet here for a time of Devotion and Prayer.
• For the ladies, please bring your own broom and rags.

We will be printing again our H4U DGTE T-SHIRT. If you want one, please bring your own black t-shirt and P60 pesos for the printing cost and submit it here at the office.  Don’t forget to write your name on your shirt.  Deadline will be tomorrow Monday (morning only).

A few more H4U POSTERS & FLYERS available for distribution.  You may get it at the back after the service.

This reminded me of Paul’s words in 1 Cor. 9:25 – “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” An athlete must be disciplined if he is to win the prize. Discipline means giving up the good and the better for the best. The athlete must watch his diet as well as his hours. He must smile and say “No, thank you” when people offer him fattening desserts or invite him to late-night parties. There is nothing wrong with food or fun, but if they interfere with your highest goals, then they are hindrances and not helps.

The Christian life is a race – not to compete but to complete the course He has marked out for us (Heb.12:1c). It isn’t for salvation but for glorification – receiving rewards from Him who qualified us in the race. As in all sports, we have to obey the rules both in our training and in our performing. Any contestant found breaking the training rules was automatically disqualified.  In order to give up his rights and have the joy of winning lost souls, Paul had to discipline himself. If we want to serve the Lord and win His reward and approval, we must pay the price.

Only one runner could win the olive-wreath crown in the Greek games, but every believer can win an incorruptible crown when he stands before the Judgment Seat of Christ. This crown is given to those who discipline themselves for the sake of serving Christ and winning lost souls. They keep their bodies under control and keep their eyes on the goal. Beloved, we have the Holy Spirit working in us to make us disciplined Christians. Discipline yourself to read your Bible consistently, apply them daily; pray continually and keep your eyes on Jesus constantly!

Paul had one great goal in life: to glorify the Lord by winning the lost and building up the saints. To reach this goal, he was willing to pay any price. He was willing even to give up his personal rights! He sacrificed immediate gains for eternal rewards, immediate pleasures for eternal joys. Don’t be disqualified! Instead fight the good fight of faith!

Announcement:

BEREAN “Getting Deeper” class has already resumed last Tuesday.

Please continue praying for our H4U Dumaguete this coming November 27, 2011 at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex.

More VOLUNTEERS needed for the following:

• Pick-up type vehicles and drivers to help us transport stuff to Macias.  Please approach Noel or sign up at the back.

• Physical Set-up  for Nov. 26 (Saturday) and Nov. 27 (Sunday).  We need help in transporting our chairs to Macias and in cleaning up the venue.  Please sign-up at the back after the service.

H4U POSTERS & FLYERS are already available if you want to help out in distributing it to establishments and campuses. Please ask permission first to store owners or campus authorities before posting the posters You may get it at the back after the service.

NIGHT OF PSALMS at CCD on Nov. 20, at 6:00 pm for a time of worship and prayer for our H4U Concert!

But what are we about as a church? Paul summed it up in Colossians 1:28-29 – “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” It’s all about Jesus and His people becoming like Him.

If Christians, such as you and I, fail to tell others the good news of Jesus Christ, no one else will.  As good as some organizations are, generally they will not tell of Jesus Christ. The Lions Club, Rotary Club, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, whatever club – none of these will tell the good news of Jesus Christ dying for our sins and people don’t have to go to hell.  There are many things the world can do as well as the church. Entertain, sing, counsel, draw crowds, build buildings, but there is only one thing the church can do that the world cannot . . . offer salvation of the soul. That’s our focus.

Jesus’ mandate to the church is to go and make disciples, baptize them and then teach them to know and do all that He has commanded us (Matt.28:19-20). We’re not seeking to build organizations, we’re seeking to develop PEOPLE. As Paul said, his goal is to present everyone perfect in Christ. Paul understands that His first goal is to reach people with the Gospel and then develop them in their Christian life. In other words, this is discipleship! We should all be in the process of growth, of becoming more like Jesus every day. Our focus is not on numerical growth, but on spiritual growth. We don’t want to just build buildings, we want to build believers. We’re all about transformation, not just information. We’re called to develop people, not just produce events. We want to see people grow not just show up.

Perfecting has to do with helping them to grow up – to reach their full potential, to get closer to the end product. It means helping them to become like Jesus. And this implies that we’re to commit ourselves to people for the long haul. It doesn’t happen overnight. The goal is more than just their initial salvation.  The purpose of everything we do in ministry is to bring individuals to mature Christianity.

Are you doing that? Are you involved in the building up of fellow believers? Are you willing to be stretched for the sake of your brother or sister’s growth in Christ? Quite honestly, some of you have perhaps gotten comfortable. You’ve stagnated in your growth. You’ve stopped trying to get to new heights with God.  Whenever you and I stop growing, you start wilting. But whenever you go beyond what your normal experience is and do what God is calling you to do, you will get to see yourself reach new places with God. We do things like these to grow other people and to give you a chance to grow. That’s why we do it. This is what we’re about.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

1. BEREAN “Getting Deeper” class resumes this Tuesday, Nov. 8.

2. Please continue praying for our H4U Dumaguete this coming November 27, 2011 at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex.

3. H4U DGTE COUNSELORS’ TRAINING this coming Saturday,  Nov. 12! From 9 am till 11:30 am. More COUNSELORS needed from our church as back-up. Ministries that are encouraged to help out in counseling are the following:

- The Choir                                    – Medical Team

- Hospital Ministry                 – Bible Students

- Missions Fellowship            – Outreach Pastors

- Sunday School Teachers

We are also opening this up to anyone who desires to be part of the H4U Counseling Team, provided that you have been attending CCD for at least 6 months. Sign-up sheets are at the back.

4. VOLUNTEERS needed for the following:

• H4U Ushering Team. If you desire to be part of the ushering team, please sign up at the back.

• Vehicles and drivers to help us transport stuff to Macias.  Please approach Noel or sign up at the back.

• Physical Set-up  for Nov. 26 (Saturday) and Nov. 27 (Sunday).  We need help in transporting our chairs to Macias and in cleaning up the venue.  Please sign-up at the back after the service.

5. H4U POSTERS & FLYERS are already available if you want to help out in distributing it to establishments and campuses. Please ask permission first to store owners or campus authorities before posting the posters You may get it at the back after the service.

6. NIGHT OF PSALMS at CCD on Nov. 20, at 6:00 pm for a time of worship and prayer.

A man once told of his encounter with death. He went to a funeral home to pay respects to a relative who had died. The cause of death was murder and the relatives were grieving.  He remembered how confused and distraught they all looked as the coffin was lowered into the ground in the cemetery. On that day he said he thought many hard thoughts and came to many painful conclusions.  He resolved to change the way he lived. He saw death as unpredictable and inevitable, and he dedicated himself to a closer walk with God. Many of the things that had troubled him intensely suddenly seemed to be so light in the face of death. He cleaned up his life. He became a better friend to his friends, a better relative to his relatives, and a better employee to his employers.

So why are funerals better than parties, according to Ecclesiastes? At parties we escape reality, we try to forget our cares…at funerals we come face-to-face with the meaning of life. A party may be a good occasion to blow off some stress, but a funeral is a place to reflect and learn what life is really about—this is an occasion to prepare for the day when we too will depart and stand before God.

I suspect that if we knew we only had a year or so left on this earth, it would change how we live. More importantly, the Bible says that the time to believe, to trust Jesus Christ as savior, is today…tomorrow may be too late.  Rather than pursue empty pleasures and seek a comfortable life, we need to pursue holiness and seek God. If we reach the end of our days with faith and a good reputation, it shows that we know the true value of things. Many people live in an escapist culture, and have constructed for themselves an oppressive, materialistic prison whose spiritual emptiness is all too obvious.

The point is: Every thinking person must take into account the fact of death and should have a philosophy of life which enables him or her to confidently face that inevitable appointment. Now, how can we face death?  The gospel tells of the saviour, and His name is Jesus, who, “through death, destroyed him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and who delivers all those who, through fear of death, are subject to lifelong bondage (Heb.2:14)! Thank You Lord Jesus for Your victory over death…and our lives are worth the living because You live!

Announcement:

BEREAN “Getting Deeper” class resumes on Nov. 8.

Please continue praying for our H4U Dumaguete this coming November 27, 2011 at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex.

H4U DGTE COUNSELORS’ TRAINING on Nov. 12! From 9 am till 11:30 am. If you desire to take part in the harvest then reserve this date!

NEW CCD T-SHIRTS for sale!  This is a fundraising project to help out our Karen brothers and sisters. Samples are displayed at the back.  Please pay as you order.

And talking about stewards, what is it? Who are they? A steward was a slave who was given the responsibility of managing the master’s house. If you have ever been on a ship, you know what a ship’s steward is. Or if you have ever been on an airplane, you know what a steward or stewardess is. That person does not own the airplane or anything on the plane. The company owns everything, but he or she is entrusted with its care.  That steward has been given the responsibility of taking the goods that belong to a higher authority and dispensing it to the people for their benefit. That is a steward – on an airplane or ship – and in the spiritual realm as well.

Now, God has appointed all Christians to be His stewards on earth. Stewardship is not an option, as Paul points out about his own calling. As the parable of the talents (Matt 25:14-30) shows, Christians will be held accountable for the way in which they manage God’s affairs as stewards. These matters include extending the church’s ministry through the preaching of the gospel (Col 1:24-28), supporting the church financially (Acts 4:32-37), and ministering to the sick and needy (Matt 25:31-46), so on and so forth.

Now we all have different amounts of money, and spiritual abilities that God gave, but what are some of the things all of have been given equally by God? I can think of at least three gifts we’ve all been given in equal amounts –

(1) Time – I’m not talking about the length of your life, because that varies. But each of us has the same amount of time each day–24 hours. Even though we have the same amount, wouldn’t you agree some servants to a better job managing those 24 hours in terms of doing business for God? How do you use your time?

(2) Truth – As servants of God, we all have the same instruction manual, the truth found in God’s Word, the Bible. God hasn’t given me any more truth than is available to you. What do you do with the truth you know?

(3) Opportunities to serve God. All of us have opportunities to serve our Master. Some servants just do a better job of taking advantage of those opportunities. How’s your service? Someday we will all be judged by how we use all the gifts God has given us and be rewarded for them. And no, it’s not the reward itself, it’s the pleasure to bring glory to God through the rewards we shall receive. For the more crowns, the more we have to lay down at the feet of Christ, and sing “Worthy, worthy, worthy…You alone are worthy, O Lord. For You alone deserve all the glory!”

Announcement:

Please continue praying for our H4U Dumaguete this coming November 27, 2011 at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex.

H4U DGTE COUNSELORS’ TRAINING on Nov. 12! From 9 am till 11:30 am. If you desire to take part in the harvest then reserve this date!

COUPLE’S RETREAT on Oct 30-31, 2011 (Sunday pm – Monday NN) at Camp Lookout, Valencia.

• Registration fee per couple is P300 (open for donations).
• What to bring: packed dinner & breakfast, bible, notepads, tent/sleeping bag/mat for men. The women will be accommodated in the cottages.
• Assembly time: 3 pm at CCD on Sunday, Oct. 30.
• We need volunteers for vehicles, documentation, and first aid
• Sign-up sheet is at the back.
• If you have any questions, please approach Dennis or Daisy Casocot

NEW CCD T-SHIRTS for sale!  This is a fundraising project to help out our Karen brothers and sisters. Samples are displayed at the back.  Please pay as you order.

It’s so exciting to walk where Jesus walked, but it made me think of a deeper issue: Are we willing to walk how Jesus walked? The apostle John wrote, “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” (NKJV – “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”) I know that in and of ourselves we cannot perfectly walk as Jesus did. But as we abide in Him and His words abide in us, then we bear the fruit of becoming like Him. And soon we see how we learn to walk as He walked.

So how did Jesus live? I believe it’s summed up in Eph.5:1 – “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”  Jesus exemplified perfect love. Jesus walked in love for us by meeting our greatest need: He gave Himself as a sacrifice for us. Paul says that this act was like a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  We are not loving as Jesus loves unless it is costing you something – your rights, your patience, your time, your resources…etc.

You know, people don’t always need a sermon on the love of God – sometimes they just need a friend that will hold them tight, who will put their arms around them! To walk like Jesus means that love translates into action. So, who do you know that needs love today? Maybe, it’s a friend that was just fired from the company. Could it be the stranger on the street, the kid addicted to drugs at the local jail? You can fill in the blanks. Loving others means seeing them as people and not things nor obstacles that hinder.  You see them as yourself with the same problems, difficulties, yearnings and heartaches. They are no longer people doing something to you but someone you can do something for.

I Jn 3:16-18 – “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”  May we walk as Jesus did in the power of the Holy Spirit!

Announcement:

• We are in the process of constructing our extension roof.  Sorry for the inconvenience. Please take precaution in entering the sanctuary.
• Please continue praying for our H4U Dumaguete this coming November 27, 2011 at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex.
• NEW CCD T-SHIRTS for sale!  This is a fundraising project to help out our Karen brothers and sisters. Samples are displayed at the back.  Please pay as you order.

There are so many stories to tell, so many insights to share, but obviously the space here is not enough. But there’s one particular place we went to that brought to remembrance a particular event in the Bible. Our tour guide brought us on top of the Mount of Olives overlooking the Dome of the Rock (a Muslim territory) and the old City of Jerusalem and the walls around it. He pointed out to us on the eastern side of the wall what probably be where Jesus stood overlooking the city and wept over it (see Luke 19:28-44). I can’t help but broke into tears too due to the hardening of the heart of the Jews of today! Our tour guide himself was a Jew who doesn’t believe in Jesus as the Messiah. He’s very bright in fact he’s an archaelogist and a historian. Believe me we had some deep conversation about Jesus. He’s hardened. But at least I got to know the Jewish side of the reason why they don’t accept Jesus as the Messiah.

But when Jesus wept over Jerusalem, He was weeping over the fate that would come upon the nation. He predicted Jerusalem’s destruction that was fulfilled in 70 AD when the Roman General Titus laid siege to the city. Nothing changed since then. Most Jews are very religious yet have rejected Jesus. Here’s lesson #1: You’ll never know peace until you surrender to Jesus. This is why Jerusalem will never have that until they surrender to Him, which the Bible prophesied that many of them will during the Great Tribulation period.

2^nd lesson: That which makes Jesus cry should also break our hearts – Jesus looked at the spiritual blindness and superficial belief in Jerusalem and He wept. When was the last time you wept over our country? Our city? What breaks your heart? Steve Jobs of Apple passed away and many are saddened and wept tears, which is very normal. But how many Christians’ hearts are broken to the fact that if he’s not a Christian he went to hell?

If our tears are measured over the last 5 years, how many had been shed for the unsaved? We aren’t really going to have an eternal impact on our city until we carry such a burden. Will you pray, ”God burden my heart. Lord Jesus make my heart break for what breaks Yours!” Shalom!

1) Humbled by the grace of God. Who would ever think that my wife and I would one day visit the Holy Land? In and of ourselves it’s impossible. It’s only by the grace of God.

2) To actually mingle, brush shoulders with God’s chosen nation, the people of Israel! I don’t just read about them anymore, I don’t just preach about them anymore, I actually see them and is with them. That may sound shallow to many but if you understand about them as written in the Scriptures you will be in awe. For they are, their very existence, is fulfilled prophecy! Them being in their homeland is an undeniable proof of the reliability and divine inspiration of the Bible.

Israel is the divine time-clock of world history and by watching what is happening to the Jewish people, it’s possible to determine what stage has been reached in the last days program of God. When Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70 the Jews were dispersed and scattered worldwide. A century ago there was no Israel. The world and even many of the Bible scholars during that time would never thought nor imagine that Israel would become a nation again.

Yet God is true to His promise. On May 14, 1948 the world witness the re-birth of the nation Israel. As soon as the state of Israel was proclaimed in 1948, Jews from the 4 corners of the earth – north, east, south, and west went home. After almost 2,000 years the Jews again had a national homeland. It was a restoration unique in human history.

No other nation has been dispersed among the nations for at least 2,000 years and was restored to their homeland and still remain an identifiable ethnic unit. They never lost their identity and so is their language. Hebrew is now the language spoken by the Jews of Israel. Oh it’s a thrill to me hearing them speak Hebrew before my very ears! It’s the only dead language in history that has been restored.

A prophecy was given that a time will come that Israel would once more become fruitful as a nation. “In the days to come Jacob (Israel) will take root; Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the earth with fruit.” (Isaiah 27:6) This verse has literally come true because today Israel grows some of the best fruit in the world. Ever heard of Jaffa oranges? We have tasted it here and its so pulpy and delicious! They export fruit to every continent on earth except Antarctic!What we see transpiring in the Middle East is all because the fig tree has sprouted leaves, it budded…just as Jesus predicted!

Beloved, if the Jewish nation today is one of the most remarkable evidences of fulfilled prophecy and proves the trustworthiness of God’s Word, be assured also that all the promises given to you as a child of God, and as one belonging to the church, will surely come to pass! Rest on His promises today.

“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19)

Each day, during the week prior to Rosh Hashanah it is the duty of every Jew to say “slihot” or to ask GOD for forgiveness and to make proper all his relationships with his neighbors. These days and the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called “Yamim Nora’im” or Terrible Days, because the righteous Judge of All will judge everyone according to his deeds.

Ten days that follow is Yom Kippur Day.  The Yom Kippur is a very, very solemn day instituted by God in Leviticus 16.  The name “Yom Kippur” means “Day of Atonement,” a day set aside to “afflict the soul,” to humble your heart, your soul before God, to atone for the sins of the past year.   When the Temple still existed, the High Priest was the mediator for the people before GOD. On this one day of the year he would take a live goat, lay hands upon its head and confess all the sins of Israel onto it. By this he transferred the sins of the people onto the animal. Then he would enter into the Holy of Holies to make the sacrifice to GOD placing the blood of the animal upon the altar. This then became known as the “scapegoat”.

Thank God, Jesus Christ our Lord is our “scapegoat” as the Father laid His hand upon Jesus and transferred the sins of the people unto Him as He died on the cross. And through Him our sins are taken away just as the goat is sent away. In that we rejoice and are eternally grateful. But what’s the spirit of the Day of Atonement?

1)Accept responsibility for our conduct (good and bad) including negative, hurting, harsh and critical, slanderous words spoken to others;

2)Individual repentance regarding unfulfilled vows to God; Being reconciled to others (Matt 5:23-24) – sins against others.  Confess sin/s to God, but also go to the person and make things right with him, be reconciled.

3)Self-assessment and accountability for the choices (both good and bad) made in the previous year.  Confess bad decisions.

4)Put God in remembrance, remind Him of His promises, of His Word. Ask for God’s mercy for a change and to walk a new life for one more year.  Remind Him of His goodness, “I don’t deserve your blessing but because you are a good God you will express your goodness and blessings upon me…Lord you promised these...”

I know it’s not yet our new year. But it’s always encouraged in God’s Word that we, His people, the church, are to always be in the spirit of repentance – to have His Spirit search us, renew us, and transform us. Do it today. Do it now. Turn to Jesus and receive afresh His mercy and forgiveness!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

We are in the process of constructing our extension roof.  Sorry for the inconvenience. Please take the alternate path (using the side entrance) in entering the sanctuary.

Please continue praying for another H4U Dumaguete this coming November 27, 2011 at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex.

ATTN: CHOIR practice will resume on Oct. 5 at 6:30 pm here at CCD.  Those who are interested to join please feel free to approach Ma’am Jing or any choir member.  We are preparing for H4U Dgte in November.

The Annual  Calvary Chapel Pastors and Workers Conference will be on October 18-20 at EcoTech, Lahug, Cebu.  The Theme is THE JOY OF SERVING.

Registration fee:

• P1,400 per person for those staying at Eco-Tech
• P 900  per person for those staying outside EcoTech
• P  700 per child for children sleeping in their parents bed but eating @ Eco-Tech

A non-refundable deposit of 20% is required. If interested please sign up at the back after the service. Deadline to sign up and pay the deposit is on Oct. 2.

NEW CCD T-SHIRTS for sale!  This is a fundraising project to help out our Karen brothers and sisters. Samples are displayed at the back.  Please pay as you order.

Ministry Leaders –  We request the ministry leaders, even if you want to carry over your previous budget  to next year, the Finance committee still need you to pass your 2012 budget.  Please submit on or before Oct. 2 and look for Marlyn. Thank you for your cooperation.

We delight in Jesus because He is our first love! He’s all in all that we need. He’s the source of our joy, better still, He is our joy! He is the overriding desire of our heart. The object of our affection, our meditation and our activity! Non-believers delight in their position, possession, and power. But as a child of God, if we delight in Jesus, we will never envy theirs! The world delights in their portion, we must in ours!

Again, some people think this verse is a blanket promise from God to get whatever we want. Just get close to God and He’ll give you whatever you want! NOT SO! I do believe that God will give us the desires of our heart, but I also believe that before He does so He will change what those desires are.

When we think about God, meditate on His blessings toward us, and contemplate the awesome sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us, then our desires begin to change. Once we look at everything through the backdrop of the cross we can start to see things how God sees them. By delighting in God and drawing close to Him through scripture study and prayer, our thoughts knit together and we can see what is really important to Him. In this way, His desires start to become our desires. He gives us the desires of our heart when they line up with His desire for our life.

When we learn to delight in the Lord or get delighted and excited with the Lord, what happens? His wants become our wants! His desires become our desires! Now if He’s desires become ours, would we ask anything we ask for selfish gain? Would we desire those things that we know break His heart? No! We cannot delight in God and at the same time break His heart! But we would desire those things that pleases Him because we’re delighting in Him.

You see when we delight in the Lord, our heart’s desire is being changed and conformed to His heart’s desire. And so when we have His desires in our hearts which become our desire, then surely He will grant it! And what would that desire be that He would grant? Him. More of Him! We delight in Him and He will give us more of Him! And having Him flows out what every soul need: joy, peace, strength, rest, security. When we find pleasure in the Lord God, we will then be rewarded with our innermost desires – we will have all that God intends for us to have!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Please continue praying for another H4U Dumaguete this coming November 27, 2011 at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex.

ATTN: CHOIR practice will resume on Oct. 5 at 6:30 pm here at CCD.  Those who are interested to join please feel free to approach Ma’am Jing or any choir member.  We are preparing for H4U Dgte in November.

COVENANT KEEPERS tonight at 6:30 pm, here at CCD.  Inviting all couples to come for a time of instruction and fellowship!

The Annual  Calvary Chapel Pastors and Workers Conference will be on October 18-20 at EcoTech, Lahug, Cebu.  The Theme is THE JOY OF SERVING.

Registration fee:

• P1,400 per person for those staying at Eco-Tech
• P 900  per person for those staying outside EcoTech
• P  700 per child for children sleeping in their parents bed but eating @ Eco-Tech

A non-refundable deposit of 20% is required. If interested please sign up at the back after the service. Deadline to sign up and pay the deposit is on Oct. 2

NEW CCD T-SHIRTS for sale!  This is a fundraising project to help out our Karen brothers and sisters. Samples are displayed at the back.  Please pay as you order.

Ministry Leaders – Deadline for submitting your ministry’s 2012 budget is today, Sept. 18, 2011.

Have you wondered where our world is heading? Do you think that this age will go on and on and on? Praise God we know where the world is heading ultimately. How? God has given us His Word of Prophecy. And know that the Prophetic message is –

1) To show that history is going somewhere, that it is heading for an Omega point, so to speak. It shows that this age is heading to a stop and be replaced by a new age, an age where God would make everything new (Rev.21:1-5)!

2) The prophetic message is also to show God at work in human history. To show that God is sovereign. That He is in control of human affairs. May this encourage you to know that in spite of the ever-increasing wickedness and ever-growing chaos in our times, God still has this whole world in His hands. And the hands that shaped us is shaping all things to fulfill its ultimate end – the glory of God! He still got you and me in His hands here and hereafter. Rejoice in that today! AND,

3) The message of Jesus’ Return serves to strengthen and encourage God’s people but warns the unbeliever of impending judgment that will come on those who reject Christ. But again, to the Christians, it gives comfort and courage in this life -1 Thess.5:11. 2 Pet 1:19 “As a light shining in the darkness…” is the description given by the apostle Peter to the word of prophecy.” Peter is saying, “you do well not merely to know about or be interested in Biblical prophecy, but to pay very close attention to it! WHY? BECAUSE -

There is going to be darkness and God’s prophetic word will be the light you need therein. It will guide you, direct, help and comfort. It will help to establish God’s proper goals in your heart and mind. You see, God wants us to know about the future so that we could learn how to live in the present. The life we live here on earth reflects where we are heading. Are you living for Jesus Christ? For yourself? For what the world offers?  The answer to that reveals where you are heading!

LIVE FOR HIM, IN HIM AND THROUGH HIM and you’ll be in the safest place — that even death is a victory for it just brings us to that ultimate, glorious and most blessed state of existence – being with Him forever!

Announcement:

The Annual  Calvary Chapel Pastors and Workers Conference will be on October 18-20 at EcoTech, Lahug, Cebu.  The Theme is THE JOY OF SERVING.

The cost of the conference is:

• P1,400 per person for those staying at Eco-Tech
• P   900 per person for those staying outside EcoTech
• P  700 per child for children sleeping in their parents bed but eating @ Eco-Tech

A non-refundable deposit of 20% is required  before Oct. 4.  Please sign up at the back after the service.

New CCD tshirts for sale!  This is a fundraising project to help out our Karen brothers and sisters. Samples are displayed at the back.  Please pay as you order.

Start praying for another H4U Dumaguete this coming November 27, 2011 at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex.

Reminder to all Ministry Leaders – please start praying and planning for your next year’s activities.  Deadline for submitting your ministry’s 2012 budget will be on Sept. 18, 2011.

Now, many of us have absolutely no idea what it means to be enslaved – to be stripped of any personal rights, dignity, or freedom. To become property of another – no longer human but merely a thing to be used, abused, or neglected entirely at the whim of someone else who “owns” you. We can’t imagine what it means to literally have shackles on our ankles, which limit our ability to move farther than the short chain might allow. We have heard about slavery, but in general it is probably so far removed from our own experience that it is difficult for us to grasp the complete helplessness and despair. To know that there is not a single thing we can do for ourselves to change our situation.

But if you can imagine what it means to be enslaved – if you can sense a bit of the horror and helplessness – then we can start to understand what redemption is. It is the idea of someone, in this case a perfect stranger, appearing out of nowhere and paying the price to buy us back and set us free. Being “redeemed” means that someone from the outside has come to us in our helplessness and set us free. That is the essence of the cross of Christ. Because of our sin, we were enslaved. We were trapped. We were helpless. We were bound by the chains of sin and shackled by the power of Satan. And then God sent His Son and Jesus came to rescue us. He came to liberate us. He redeemed us – buying us back from the slavery to sin and enabling us to be free to be in relationship with God.

Not only that, Jesus came, paid a price, bought us, and restored us to usefulness. Anything in a slave market is of no use at all. Until a slave is purchased he is no good to anyone. And so this is the picture of a slave purchased and freed in order to be useful and fruitful to someone – to the one who bought him. And for us, it’s Jesus. And what a good and loving Master He is indeed! He gave us true freedom – not freedom to sin, but freedom from the power and penalty of sin. He‘s the kind of Master that you would want to serve – not because you have to – but because you want to!

So thank and praise Him today for the freedom we have in Christ, and being made to be useful again in the hands of the Master!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

• The Karen Church building in Mae Ra Moe, Northern Thailand was destroyed by the recent flooding. If you  desire to help out financially you may drop it at the lovebox (please write specifically for the Karen) or give it at the office.
• New CCD tshirts for sale!  This is a fundraising project to help out our Karen brothers and sisters. Samples are displayed at the back.  Please pay as you order.
• Start praying for another H4U Dumaguete this coming November 27, 2011 at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex.
• Reminder to all Ministry Leaders – please start praying and planning for your next year’s activities.  Deadline for submitting your ministry’s 2012 budget will be on Sept. 18, 2011.

The usher put his fingers to his nose and glared at the old man and said, ‘Uh. I’m sorry sir, but I’m afraid we can’t let you in. You will distract the congregation and we don’t allow anyone to disrupt our service. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.’ The old man looked down at himself and with a puzzled look on his face he then turned to leave. He was sad as he loved to hear the church sing praises to the Lord. He carried in his pocket a small worn out Bible and love to see if the minister preached a passage from the Bible that the old man had underlined.

He was respectful enough and didn’t want to cause any commotion, so he walked back down the steps of the church. He sat down on the brick wall near the edge of the church yard and strained to listen through the closed doors and windows to the singing going on in the church. Oh how he wished he could be inside with all the others! A few minutes had passed by when all of a sudden a younger man came up behind him and sat down near him. He asked the old man what he was doing. He answered, ‘I was going to go to church today, but they thought I was filthy and my clothes are old and worn and they were afraid I would disrupt their service. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Jose.

The two gentlemen shook hands and Jose couldn’t help but notice that this man had long hair like his. He wore a piece of cloth draped over his body tied with a royal purple sash. He had sandals on his feet, now covered with dust and dirt. The stranger reached to touch Jose’s shoulder and said, ‘Hello, Jose, don’t feel bad because they would not let you in. My name is Jesus and I’ve been trying to get into this same church for years, and they won’t let me in either. “

The danger is that the church can become just another club – an elite society that has all the right externals but has forgotten what its true purpose is. Yet Jesus met unbelievers where they were. According to one count, the gospel records 132 contacts that Jesus had with people. Six were in the Temple, four in the synagogue and 122 were out with people in the mainstream of life. If we’re not careful, we can easily become a self-righteous subculture with no room or sympathy for “sinners.”  Remember that the church is not a hotel for saints but a hospital for sinners who need Jesus – that they might be healed and be changed forever!  Welcome and love someone today…as one Christ would love and accept.

Start praying for another H4U Dumaguete this coming November 27, 2011 at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex.

Reminder to all Ministry Leaders – please start praying and planning for your next year’s activities.  Deadline for submitting your ministry’s 2012 budget will be on Sept. 18, 2011.

Pray for the Missionaries’ Fellowship this coming Aug. 31– Sept. 2 to be led by Ptr. John Michaels.  Theme:  Overcoming Cross-Cultural Insensitivity.  Venue is at the Calvary Chapel Training Center.

We’re inviting you to our MID-WEEK STUDY every Thursdays at 5:30 pm. We are finishing up our studies from the book of Isaiah.

Come and stand in the gap with us as we intercede for one another.  Join us every Tuesday at 5:30 pm, here at CCD for our INTERCESSORY PRAYER MEETING.

One of the ways we express love is through kindness. What is kindness? Someone once said, “kindness is simply love with its work-clothes on.” It’s love when it goes to work. It does not mean to FEEL kindly or to feel kindness; it means to do acts of kindness to people. If you love them, you will demonstrate it tangibly by showing them kindness.

A missionary returning after serving many years in the jungles of New Guinea was asked, “What was it like? Tell us what you found there.” “Found? I found a mission field that looked more hopeless than if I had been sent into a jungle of tigers.” “What do you mean?” “The people there were so fierce & degraded that they seemed utterly devoid of moral sense.  If a mother were carrying her little baby & the child was crying & wouldn’t stop, she would throw it into the ditch & let it die. If a man saw his own father break his leg, he would just leave him to suffer by himself. They had no compassion whatever. They didn’t even know what the word meant.”

“Well, what were you able to do? Did you preach to them?” “No, not at first. I thought it better to show them my faith by my works! When I saw a baby crying, I picked it up & consoled it.  When I saw a man with a broken leg, I sought to mend it. When I found people distressed & hungry, I took them in, comforted & fed them. Finally they began to ask, ‘What does this mean? Why are you doing this for us?’ Then I had my chance. I told them about Jesus, & many of them came to know & love Jesus, too.”

Beloved, kindness will influence more than eloquence! Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read! Kindness is almost a lost art today, isn’t it? So many people are rude & self-centered, worried about themselves and not concerned about others.

How about in your family? Are you showing kindness towards your family members? Because I want to tell you how you are at home is how you really are. If you are not kind to those people in your family, any kindness you show to those outside your family is basically hypocritical.  Husbands, how about it? Are you showing kindness toward that lady you are married to? Wife? Parents? Children?

Kindness starts at home that spills over to the church and then to the community. And then and only then, that the world will know that we are truly His disciples! May we speak the language of love from now on.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

We’re inviting you to our MID-WEEK STUDY every Thursdays at 5:30 pm. We are finishing up our studies from the book of Isaiah.

Come and stand in the gap with us as we intercede for one another.  Join us every Tuesday at 5:30 pm, here at CCD for our INTERCESSORY PRAYER MEETING.

Sad that “Via, Veritas, Vita” is reduced to an ideology, a philosophy, a motto. No, it’s a Person. It’s the Son of God who is God the Son! He’s the Way – without Him there’s no going; He’s the truth – without Him there’s no knowing; He’s the life – without Him there’s no living! Quoting an anonymous author, “He is the First and Last, the Beginning and the End! He is the keeper of Creation and the Creator of all!  He is the Architect of the universe and the Manager of all times. He always was, He always is, and He always will be… Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated, and never Undone!

He was bruised and brought healing! He was pierced and eased pain! He was persecuted and brought freedom!  He was dead and brought life! He is raised and brings power! He reigns and brings Peace! The world can’t understand him, the armies can’t defeat Him, the schools can’t explain Him, and the leaders can’t ignore Him.  Herod couldn’t kill Him, the Pharisees couldn’t confuse Him, and the people couldn’t hold Him! Nero couldn’t crush Him, Hitler couldn’t silence Him, Religion can’t replace Him, and the secular media can’t explain Him away!

He is Holy, Righteous, mighty, powerful, and pure. His ways are right, His Word is eternal, His will is unchanging, and His mind is on me. I serve Him because His bond is love, His yoke is easy, His burden is light, and His goal for me is abundant life. His goal is a relationship with ME! He will never leave me, never forsake me, never mislead me, never forget me, never overlook me, and never cancel my appointment in His appointment book!  When I fall, He lifts me up! When I fail, He forgives! When I am weak, He is strong! When I am lost, He is the way! When I am afraid, He is my courage! When I stumble, He steadies me! When I am hurt, He heals me! When I am broken, He mends me!  When I am hungry, He feeds me! When I face trials, He is with me! When I face persecution, He shields me! When I face problems, He comforts me! When I face loss, He provides for me! When I face Death, He carries me Home!

He is everything for everybody, everywhere, every time, and every way. He is God, He is faithful. I am His, and He is mine! So, if you’re wondering why I feel so secure, understand this… He said it and that settles it. God is in control, I am on His side, and that means all is well with my soul!”

This is my JESUS! I love Him and I will proclaim Him to the ends of the earth…until my breath runs dry and my heart ceases to beat!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Last Sunday night we received a message from MJ regarding Mae Ra Moe Camp – due to a typhoon, they have suffered several landslides and 440 plus houses were under water. Three rice warehouses got flooded.  Ptr. Eric and MJ sent all the medicines we left behind, some of our clothes, and some tents/supplies to the camp. Phii Lala (their contact) as of last Sunday, asked for prayer for food and clothing. Today, MJ said that all they need for now is temporary shelter.  The Bible College by God’s grace was not that affected by the floodwaters.

Consider marriage. Have you ever wondered causes the conflict in your marriage? Is there one basic reason why you and your spouse seem to continually battle with each other? Is there a root cause to the disagreements and strife between you? Yes. It’s SELFISHNESS! That’s the root cause of every conflict. Jesus put His finger squarely on our greatest need: If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Matt.16:24). Jesus made it clear that the disciples could not continue to live for themselves and follow Him at the same time. The selfish life had to be denied to the point of death! The self-life is what keeps any person at war with God and living an independent life. Therefore, selfishness is the primary issue that God desires to deal with in every life. Only as we renounce selfish living can we begin to live for Him and be able to truly serve others.

Now, why is selfishness such a root issue? Because self-seeking is contrary to love. 1 Cor.13:5 –“Love is not self-seeking.”  Scripture makes it very clear that love is always more concerned about other’s well-being. In the flesh, we are all motivated by selfish ambition or conceit; much of what we do is not done out of love for others, but out of our own desire for advancement or position.  1 Cor.10:24 adds, “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” Therefore, love and selfishness cannot co-exist.

Paul said, “Whatever happens conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ!” (Phil.1:27) There’s no greater cause of shame and disgrace in the church when the unbelieving world around us see that we are constantly fighting. That indeed is not a conduct worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Jesus is our best example of selfless living. His life taught us that it is by giving that a person receives, by serving he is served, by losing his life he finds it, by dying he lives, by humbling himself He is exalted.  If you really think about it, living this way is not even an option for those who call themselves a “Christian.” It isn’t even referred to as a “choice”. Instead, it is a way of life…the way “TO” LIVE.

May, by the grace of God, and by His Spirit working in us, we live the selfless life…for the glory of the One who lived selflessly and died sacrificially that we might have life eternally!

But one of the many things that the Team are blessed to hear is the testimony of Phi Franni, a believer in Sukhothai church. She said that though she could not fully understand what we are saying, she saw the love of God in us in the way we minister. Also she said that she may not get everything I was saying in my preaching she saw the passion. Beloved, it’s true in many ways that action speaks louder than words. Truly, love knows no language barrier; it knows no boundaries. Indeed, our actions speak a lot about what we believe. It demonstrates the reality of Christ in us. How humbling it is to know that Jesus chose to reveal Himself to the Thai and Karen people through us.

Isn’t this what the Scriptures teach about the Christian life? That we are to be “little Christ’s” here on earth? That we are to be doers of the Word and not hearers only? That we are Christ’s letter, known and read by everyone? With the way we live what kind of message are we sending? We are surely God’s love letter to the world. We have experienced the matchless, unconditional love that God has for us. God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son as a love letter to each of us. And now, God wants each of us to be a living love letter to those we meet. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this ALL MEN WILL KNOW that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

The mark of a Christian isn’t wearing a cross, or carrying a Bible, or having a tattoo of “I love Jesus” imbedded in your skin. The only mark of a Christian is love. May God grant us grace to love as He loves.

“You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day, by deeds that you do, by words that you say. Men read what you write, whether faithless or true. Say! What is the gospel according to you?”

ANNOUNCEMENT:

THAILAND MISSION TESTIMONY NIGHT on August 7 (Sunday) at 6:30 pm here at CCD. We praise God for a fruitful mission trip to Thailand! Come and hear what the Lord has done!
SUNDAY SCHOOL FAMILY DAY: The Sunday School Ministry is holding its Family Day on August 6 from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. This is a time where our kid’s parents and Sunday School volunteers can bond. This Family Day will be a love feast (potluck) event.

BEREAN “GETTING DEEPER” Class will resume this Tuesday, 7:15 pm.

Come and stand in the gap with us as we intercede for one another. Join us every Tuesday at 5:30 pm, here at CCD for our INTERCESSORY PRAYER MEETING.

Short term mission trips provide this. For it challenges your core head-belief system, shatters your image of service, stretches your faith and rearranges your priorities! You can’t remain selfish and self-consumed when you see what we saw, hear what we heard and be where we were. It de-clutters one’s heart and detaches one’s life laying aside and letting go of things that do not matter for eternity — and that do not contribute to the gospel of Christ and the building up of the church that has its end the glory of God!

On behalf of Ptr. Eric, Mj and Vem-vem, and also on behalf of the Thai and Karen brethren, the Thailand team 2011 thank you precious church for all your support in prayer, monetary and goods that made our trip a success in the eyes of God. You are indeed part of our victory and may the Lord Jesus continue to enable us by His grace to obey the Great Commission until He returns. It’s not always easy but there’s abiding joy; it’s sacrificial but it’s a privilege not a sacrifice. For He, in order to save us from sins, in love, gave His life. And we who are recipients of this love are now called to love those whom He died for!

So, whatever it takes, we’re going to obey…and it will all be worth it…now and in the life to come!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

We praise God for a fruitful mission trip to Thailand and we thank Him for the traveling mercies as well. The team arrived last Thursday morning. We’d also like to thank the church for all your prayers for the team.

SUNDAY SCHOOL FAMILY DAY: The Sunday School Ministry is holding its Family Day on August 6 from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. This is a time where our kid’s parents and Sunday School volunteers can bond. This Family Day will be a love feast (potluck) event.

As expected (though our schedule is well thought of and planned), the unexpected happens that detoured us or redirected us. But no matter the changes I’m so proud of the attitude and demeanor of the team – they’re just game and flexible allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way. And the result is a more meaningful experience that brought greater glory to God and caused change in our hearts!

One of those unscheduled events for which I’m very grateful of is our visit to James Garwood’s grave. Many of you have heard me talk about him from last year’s mission trip. That soul, even for a short period of time, impacted us greatly – the love of Christ just oozing out of him and his passion for the lost – the down and the trodden. His death shocked us and yet rejoicing in the fact that he’s received his crown. Standing at his grave, I didn’t see it coming…tears just flowed down my cheeks and the pain of losing a loved one gripped my heart. More so when I saw Bua (James’ wife) and JB cried the same tears. But the comfort of the Holy Spirit took over and settled my heart….and we moved on.

Remembering his life and legacy inspired me more to live for Christ, obey His Word and fulfill His call – there’s really no greater and more worthwhile life than this. The alternative is like a passing wind that blows by your face and fades to nothing! Let me ask you: What do you really live for? Review your life, reassess your priorities, realign your will to His will, refocus to that which count for eternity and redeem the remaining years of your life to know Him and to make Him known to a world who knew Him not.

Thank you church for your prayers and may you continue to do so…until we see each other again.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

SUNDAY SCHOOL FAMILY DAY: The Sunday School Ministry is holding its Family Day on August 6 from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. This is a time where our kid’s parents and Sunday School volunteers can bond. This Family Day will be a love feast (potluck) event.