Vol. 25 | Issue 32 | August 9, 2015
from your
Pastor
“…The joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). With this triumphant declaration is a tremendous encouragement from God Who knows and understands our individual situation. It brings us not only hope in facing difficulties, but also confidence in overcoming them. Truly, its gladnessfilled assertion carries glad tidings for us, brightening our souls in this gloomy and despairing sin-sick world. Believing fully well that the LORD’s joy is our strength, we are not just driven to prevail against worries, but we are all the more propelled to subdue doubts victoriously by His almighty power. To have the Lord’s joy reigning over us and giving us strength, we must remain devoted and faithful to Him. We thank Him that as God’s people, we are privileged to worship Him in spirit and in truth in His sanctuary. Aside from that, we are blessed to hear His Word always preached to us. Thus, we should take advantage of the benefits we can gain from receiving God’s instructions, corrections, reproofs, and doctrines, which include our conversion, transformation and revival through the Bible’s
trustworthy and timely truths of cheer, comfort, and challenge. Furthermore, with the Lord’s joy amidst us, let us praise Him as He continually enables us to show our “work of faith, labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father" (I Thessalonians 1:3). Being so, we must be joyfully ready to serve Him because we love Him; we must rejoice in looking unto our Saviour, the author and finisher of our faith; and we must enjoy working together as one body in building lives for His kingdom, winning souls for His glory, and living with holiness for His honour. As we are assured of God’s joy, being emphasized by our August theme, “God Can Give Us Joy,” we ought to be gratefully merry in pleasing the Lord while doing His will, in spite of manifold temptations. In such pursuit, we, through His grace and goodness, can “rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (I Peter 1:8).
DR. ED M. LAURENA
God Can Give Us Joy
Joy in the Sanctuary 1Chronicles 29:1-17
I. God can give us joy in the Church’s program. A. Promoting the Church’s program within our own family will make us joyful. B. Presenting the Church’s program to our own relatives and friends will make us joyful. C. Participating in the Church’s program will make us joyful. II . God can give us joy in the Church’s projects. A. As God’s people, we must be joyful in our Church involvement. B. As God’s children, we must be joyful in our Church investment.
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Starting today, August 9, Divided Sunday School Fellowship will be at 4:00pm in respective venues. It will be followed by the Sunday Afternoon Service at 5 o'clock.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON SERVICE
SPECIAL NUMBERS
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August 9 - Practice Preaching/ Sunday School Teaching • August 16 - Senior College Men/ Area 4
CBBA Nutrition Month Resolutely Celebrated The annual celebration of Nutrition Month is held every July across all elementary and secondary levels of the Philippine school system. This year, the National Nutrition Council (NNC) has chosen “Timbang Iwasto sa Tamang Nutrisyon at Ehersisyo!” as the Nutrition Month 2015 theme. Correspondingly, Christian Bible Baptist Academy (CBBA) culminated its July Nutrition Month by way of a program last Friday, July 31. The event started with an excited parade of the students with accompanying staff and parents all through the church compound and adjacent street to the Landayan National Highway. Arrayed with colorful nutrition-conscious costumes, and holding originallywritten slogan banners, the vibrant students proceeded to the Learning Center hall for the formal opening of the celebration by the singing of the National Anthem and Pledges. The morning hours, emceed by Motivators’ students Ms. Queencie Gacer and Ms. Divine Ruaro were given to students' performances, presentations, games, trivias, and a very insightful lecture on the NNC Talking Points 2015 expounded
by Preacher Rey Dald. It was also worth noting that the timely preaching exhorted by Rev. Meljun Laurena dealt with “The Formula For Health.” Lunchtime was an anticipated time for feasting and fellowship while the afternoon was a time of “Cooking ala Master Chef” for the students divided into three groups: Active, ProTeam, and NutriFit. In the said activity, the students were seen completely into excelling their nutritiously gastronomic craft in which Team NutriFit bagged most of the awards. We praise the Lord for guiding through the program's accomplishment and fruition.
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Wasted Worship A pastor of a large church had a dream one night that he could see his own church worship service on a Sunday morning. However, there was something very strange happening. The choir was singing. The mouths of the choir members were open, but no sound was heard. The people in the congregation were singing, but there was nothing from their mouths, either. The preacher himself got up to preach his typical Sunday sermon. He opened his mouth to preach, but nothing came out. There was absolutely no sound at all in the entire auditorium. Then, the pastor saw a little girl up in the balcony and heard her little voice singing, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me." The pastor was confused and suddenly woke up. "Lord, what was I dreaming? It doesn’t make sense to me", he asked. The Lord spoke to his heart and said, "Pastor, you just saw a picture of what I see in your ministry and in your church every Sunday morning. People are singing and you are preaching … but I hear nothing. Your heart is not focused on me. You are focused on yourself. The only one I heard in your church last Sunday was the little girl in the balcony who was ignored by people in your church; but she caught my attention because she came to church with the right motive: to love me with all of her heart!" Going to church regularly is one thing, but coming to church joyfully prepared is another thing. The excitement of King David in going to the sanctuary as expressed in Psalm 122:1 has always been noteworthy whenever a pastor preaches on the importance of church attendance. We do not want a day of wasted worship time and effort just because our mode, motive, mood and manner have gone their way to derailment towards God’s pleasure! Henceforth, real joy inside the place of worship is possible, by the grace of God. We must present ourselves emptily. “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?” (Psalm 24:3). God will not ask how much have we accomplished but how willing are we to surrender whatever gains we had for the week. We need not boast of our achievements for those are but products of His faithfulness. What He wants to hear is our gratefulness. “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name”
offered by brotherly fellowship. Let us only pay attention: hear more and speak less, for inside the sanctuary, it is all about Jesus and not about us.
(Psalm 100:4). An empty heart will make an open vessel for the King of glory to come in. We must pay attention wholly. How cordial God’s invitation is, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Our Pastor and Sunday School Teachers throw a great challenge in making every Sunday gathering something to look forward to before another week of bustling career and studies. We are altogether ushered through a banquet of principles presented in the pulpit and a feast of happiness
We must prove our love sincerely. That little girl in the story above has set for us a reminder on the reason why we gather as a called-out assembly. The essence of being called “church” will surely come out when, primarily, we sing as we realize how God saved us from our sin's penalty and how His great love bound us as a household of faith. To show our love for Him, we carry the spirit and the letter of the Great Commission when in every service, there are souls saved and baptized. How often, then, do we bring guests to church? How privileged do we consider ourselves to be part of Christian Bible Baptist Church? Let us make every effort to offer God worthwhile time of worship for “…Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:12). 05
Masayang Buhay sa Bahay ng Diyos
“Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” -Psalms 77:13 Tunay ngang dakila ang pagpapalaya ng Panginoon sa kanyang minamahal na bayang Israel mula sa pagkakaalipin sa Ehiptong naitalang nagtapos sa aklat ng Exodus 14. Sa kamangha-mangha nilang pagtawid sa hinating dagat, pinatunayan ng Diyos na kailanman ay hindi kayang pasubalian ang Kanyang kapangyarihan. Sa galak ng pinuno nilang si Moses, pangunahing inusal niya sa pag-awit ay ang galak ng kanyang pagpupuri sa Diyos sa Exodus 1:1-2, “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation: my father's God, and I will exalt him.” Ipinakikita ng mga talatang itong ang sanktuaryo ng Panginoon ay may malaking bahagi sa pagkakaroon ng Kristyano ng masayang buhay na mapayapa, maganda at matagumpay. Ang Mapayapang Buhay Ay Masayang Buhay. “The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion” (Psalms 20:1-2). Ang kapayapaan ay hindi dulot ng kawalan ng panganib bagkus ito ay dulot ng presensya ng Diyos kahit nasa kalagitnaan ng panganib at kaguluhan. Ang kapayapaan ng Diyos na tumatalos sa lahat ng ating mga alalahanin ang patuloy na maglalagay sa atin sa mataas na antas na buhay na malayo sa walang saysay na pagkukumahog ng mundo... ang ingay ng mundong pilit na nagtatanggal ng kapayapaan sa puso nating dapat ay na kay Kristo na. Ang Magandang Buhay Ay Masayang Buhay. Sinabi ni Asaph sa Psalms 73:17, “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.” Sa pasimula ng kapitulong ito, nananaghoy si 06
Asaph dahil wari niya na ang magandang buhay ay nasa panig ng mga taong wala sa Diyos. Nakita niya ang karangyaan at kalayawan at nasabi niya sa sarili na ang buhay ng mga nasa labas ng kalooban at tahanan ng Diyos ay masaya. Ating pakatandaang may dalawang uri ng kaaliwang pinaghambing sa Bibliya—ang panandaliang aliw ng kasalananan (pleasures of sin for a season) at kaaliwan sa Panginoon magpakailanman (pleasures forevermore). Naliwanagan si Asaph sa tamang pananaw noong siya ay nasa sanktuaryo ng Panginoon. Mula sa mga naunang mananampalataya hanggang sa ating kapanahunan, ang Panginoon ay patuloy na ginagamit ang simbahan upang tayo ay iayon sa magandang buhay na kabahagi ang sanktuaryo ng Diyos. Ang Matagumpay na Buhay Ay Masayang Buhay. Walang talunan sa labanang
matapat na magsasabing siya ay Masaya. Iyan ay kasinungalingan! Ang kasiyahan ay matatamasa lamang ng nagtagumpay sa laban kahit ano pa man ang pasakit na kanyang naranasan. Hindi rin nating matatawag na ang isa'y matagumpay kung wala siyang pakikipaglabang sinuong...at wala namang sumuong sa labang ang minimithi ay ang pagkatalo. Ang mananampalataya ay parating nasa pakikipaglaban...laban sa loob at sa labas, ngunit tayo ay tinanghal nang matagumpay sa Panginoon, “....And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD” (Psalms 27:1-6). Nawa'y palagian nating mithiin ang inusal ni Haring David sa Psalms 63:2, “To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.”
Ligaya Ng Diyos Beata B. Agustin
Ligaya ng Diyos ay nagbibigay sa atin ng sigla!!! Kahanga-hanga itong tunay na sa ating kaligtasan nagsimula. Tuwina’y pinapawi ang kalungkutang iniiwan ng pagkakamali’t pagkakasala Sa kapatawaran ng Panginoong higit ang pagkadakila Habang Siya’y ating lubusang kinikilala! Ligaya ng Diyos ay nagpapasaya sa ating puso!!! Katangi-tangi itong mahusay sa pagkalingang punong-puno. Tuwina’y iginugupo ang alalahaning nanggugulo’t nakapanlulumo Sa Salita ng Panginoong lubhang matamis ngang totoo Habang Siya’y ating pinapakinggang nagtuturo! Ligaya ng Diyos ay nagdudulot sa atin ng lakas!!! Kagila-gilalas itong pampatatag sa pagtitiwalang wagas. Tuwina’y pinatitibay ang pagpupunyagi’t pagsisikap na ipinamamalas Sa kapangyarihan ng Panginoong nagtutulak sa maayos na pagtaas Habang Siya’y ating tinatalima sa Kanyang batas! Ligaya ng Diyos ay nagpapaganda sa ating ngiti!!! Kawili-wili itong pagmasdan sa matagumpay na pagpupuri. Tuwina’y pinagagaling ang sugat ng mahapding suliranin o lunggati Sa katuwiran ng Panginoong maningning na naghahari Habang Siya’y ating sinasamba’t niluluwalhati! Ligaya ng Diyos ay nagdadala sa atin ng galak!!! Kamangha-mangha itong nagpapatunog sa banal na halaklak. Tuwina’y inaalis ang pagod ng paglilingkod dahil pag-ibig ang humahatak Sa gawain ng Panginoong tuluyang lumalago’t lumalawak Habang Siya’y ating sinusundan sa bawat yapak! Ligaya ng Diyos ang nagpapagaan sa ating paghihirap!!! Kabigha-bighani itong nasisilayan sa kabila ng pagsubok na hinaharap. Tuwina’y itinataboy ang sakit at pagdurusa mula sa matinding kabigatang nalalasap Sa tulong ng Panginoong sukdulan sa pagmamahal, pag-aaruga’t paglilingap Habang Siya’y ating pinasasalamatan sa pagpapalang natatanggap! Ligaya ng Diyos ang naghahatid sa atin ng kapayapaan!!! Kaaya-aya itong kumikilos sa gitna ng kaguluhang nararanasan Tuwina’y ginagapi ang anumang duda’t takot sa pagsubok na pinagdadaanan Sa habag ng Panginoong sa ati’y gumagabay tungo sa Kanyang kalooban Habang Siya’y ating tinatawagan sa marangal Niyang pangalan! 07
Dr. Ed M. Laurena, Pastor CHURCH ATTENDANCE Aug 2 & Aug 5 Sun. School Sunday AM Sunday PM Wendesday FTVs Baptisms
2, 489 2, 921 1, 404 557 144 30
St. Francis Homes 2, Landayan, City of San Pedro
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES SUNDAY ∙Sunday School ---- 8:30 am ∙Morning Service --- 9:30 am ∙Youth Fellowship -- 2:00 pm ∙Discipleship -------- 3:00 pm 7 Stage Discipleship Children's Discipleship Men Mentoring Men ∙Afternoon Service - 4:00 pm WEDNESDAY ∙Doctrine Class ----- 5:45 pm ∙Prayer Meeting----- 7:00 pm THURSDAY & SATURDAY ∙ Soulwinning and Visitation
Maaari Mong Matiyak ang Langit! Ang sabi ni Hesus, “Ako ang daan, ang katotohanan, at ang buhay: walang makapupunta sa Ama kundi sa pamamagitan ko.” Juan 14:6 Wala nang iba pang makapagliligtas sa iyo mula sa impiyerno. Magtiwala ka kay Hesus ngayon! Roma 6:23 “Kung ipahahayag ng iyong bibig na si Hesus ay Panginoon at mananampalataya ka nang buong pusong Siya’y muling binuhay ng Diyos, ikaw ay maliligtas”. Roma 10:9 1. Aminin mong ikaw ay isang makasalanan. Roma 3:10
2. Magsisi ka sa iyong kasalanan. Gawa 17:30 3. Manampalataya kang si Kristo Hesus ay namatay para sa iyo, nalibing at nabuhay namagmuli. Roma 10:9-10 4. Sa pamamagitan ng panalangin, tanggapin mo si Hesus sa iyong puso bilang iyong Tagapagligtas. Roma 10:13 Manalangin ka ng ganito: Panginoon, ako po ay isang makasalanan at nangangailangan ng kapatawaran. Nananampalataya po akong nadanak ang dugo ni Hesus at Siya ay
ACTS29 - the official Sunday publication of Christian
tel - (02)869.0433 cel - 0905.3004422 Website: www.cbbcphilippines.com Email address: admin@cbbcphilippines.com BIBLE READING Isaiah 59-63 Mon Isaiah 64-66 Tue Jer 1-3 Wed Jer 4-6 Thu Jer 7-9 Fri Jer 10-13 Sat Jer 14-17 Sun namatay sa krus para sa akin. Nagsisisi po ako sa aking mga kasalanan. Tinatanggap ko po si Kristo Hesus sa aking puso bilang aking Tagapagligtas. Amen. Kung tinanggap mo si Hesus bilang iyong Tagapagligtas, ito na ang simula ng iyong bagong buhay kay Kristo. Roma 8:1 Ngayon: 1. Basahin mo ang iyong Biblia araw-araw upang makilala pa nang lubusan si Kristo Hesus. 2. Makipag-usap ka sa Diyos sa panalangin araw-araw. 3. Manambahan ka sa isang simbahan na pinapangaral si Kristo at ang Biblia ang tanging pamantayan. 4. Ibahagi sa iba si Kristo Hesus. Bible Baptist Church