4/19/19
On Friday morning, Lordy met
me at the hotel about 8am and we proceeded south to San Fernando for a day of
preaching there. Brother Archie Alarcon is laboring with a group of God’s people in that city who had
invited friends and neighbor to come hear the gospel message. They had secured
a function room at a McDonald’s in the middle of town as a place for the
meeting.
Several brethren had also come up from Manila to take part in the
effort, including some dear friends, Jerry and Teresa Toreja. Teresa is the
daughter of the late Ben Cruz who preached for many years in the Manila area of
Kapitbahayan.
We started the studies with a
lesson from 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 on “Godliness Without God.” The lesson
dealt with the problem of man making his claim to godliness, but changing the
power seen by God’s will and replacing it with their own will. Next, we
considered the question: “Who Is A Christian?” We let the Bible answer that
question for us by considering the contexts of the three places the term
“Christian” is used in the New Testament (Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter
4:16).
After lunch, we examined more
closely a point raised in Acts 26:27-29 about Agrippa being “Almost Persuaded”
to become a Christian. We examined parallel similarities in the lives of Lot’s
wife (Genesis 19:15-26), the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-23) and Felix (Acts
24:24-27) who were also “almost” saved, but ultimately lost. After that study,
we had an open forum for questions showing a great deal of interest on numerous
subjects covered. There were no visible responses at the invitation.
Lordy and I had some time to
talk together on the way back to Angeles City until he took me to Clark airport for
the flight to Cebu that evening. It was great to catch up on what has happened
lately and his work as well as discussing other aspects of the Lord's work. My plane departed at
about 8:30pm and arrived about 10pm in Cebu. Since the flight was to arrive
late, I had rejected Jonathan Carino’s offer to meet me at the airport and
drive me to the hotel. I said I would just take a taxi and that would be
easier at that hour. However, much to my surprise, there was a long line at the taxi stand
and it took much longer than expected to get my ride to the hotel. By the time I had
arrived and settled in, it was after 1am before I ever got to bed and much
later before I got to sleep.
4/20/19
Jonathan, Nanette, Kristine,
Kristofer and Karen Carino met me at the hotel at 9am for the hour and a half
drive south to Carcar. The congregation in Carcar was begun several years ago
by Cherlito Lauglaug and his family. (I had preached for them near the beginning of that
congregation.) Cherlito was formerly a member of the congregation meeting in
central Cebu City and still lives in that area, but he drives that one and a
half to two hour every week to work with the Carcar church. I have always
appreciated Cherlito’s hard work as he supports himself in a secular job, but labors
diligently in the Lord’s cause as well. Cherlito has also begun a work in the
Pagadian City area of Mindanao, which is his ancestral home, converting many of
his relatives to the Lord.
There were 14 visitors at the meeting who had not
obeyed the gospel, almost all of whom were Catholics. Given the season, I
brought a lesson on “The Message of the Cross” from 1st Corinthians
1:18-24 showing the emphasis on the message and means of salvation that came from the
death of Jesus, not the physical cross itself. Jonathan gave an extended summary
of the lesson in the local dialect of Cebuano. After that, I gave another
lesson on “Baptism in the New Testament” examining first the baptism of John
which prepared the way for Jesus, then baptism as taught in the book of Acts,
and finally baptism as discussed in the Epistles. After the lunch, Jonathan
gave an extended summary of that lesson as well in the Cebuano dialect.
After the lessons, we had an
open forum with only one question regarding the identity of the true church, but it
showed very clearly that the point of the lessons had been understood and pricked the hearts of
several in the audience. It was the first time that most had heard the simple
gospel message. There was an invitation offered, but none were ready to be
baptized at this point.
After an hour and a half drive back
to the hotel, I am planning to get a good night’s rest after posting and
sending out this report. God willing, I will worship with the church meeting in
central Cebu City tomorrow! Again, please keep us in your prayers and accept my
thanks to all who have help make this work possible. God bless!
