Bible Lectures in Ilo-Ilo City

11/7-8/24

Please excuse my delay in starting these daily reports. I intended to start with a report yesterday, but was so exhausted from heat of the venue and the travel experiences to get here that I ate a quick supper and went straight to bed. Many of you have likely seen my updates on the travails in travel from the posts on Facebook. To put it briefly, the delays and layovers caused me to miss sleep for almost 40 hours. I departed OKC on Sunday night about 6:30pm and finally arrived in Manila at 11:50 pm on Tuesday night. When I got to Manila, I was totally exhausted and starved. The one day I had before flying to Ilo-Ilo was spent sleeping and eating a breakfast and supper. Not yet being caught up in my level of energy, I was very tired as we started the work on Thursday afternoon after rising very early that morning for the flight to Ilo-Ilo and beginning the first lecture about 2 hours after arriving.

 

Our venue on Thursday afternoon was at a school run by a denominational group teaching a mix of Presbyterian and Pentecostal doctrine. The audience of 65 was mainly college-age young people who attend that school. (The school has a break from classes this week.) The first lesson was on “The Inspiration of Scripture” showing how God controlled the message taught by choosing the words used by the prophets or apostles who revealed God’s will. The second lesson was on “Salvation and Saul” showing that Paul was not saved by faith only on the road to Damascus, but three days later as he heard the gospel message preached to him and was obedient to it by being baptized to wash away his sins (Acts 22:16). We finished the time allotted and went about 20 minutes overtime with a question and answer period with most of the questions centering on whether baptism was essential to salvation.

 

Many of those present yesterday also attend today’s lectures held in a large room on the second floor of a hotel in the center of Ilo-Ilo City. About 50-60 were in attendance today. We began a little after 9am. I preached a little over an hour on “Learning to Respect God’s Word” from Isaiah 55. After a short break, I gave a second lesson on “Foundations of Faith” examining some of the evidence demonstrating the power and wisdom of God that was responsible for Creation and the Scripture. After a lunch break, Jack followed up with a lesson on the three dispensations of Bible history, making several points of application. I then gave a lesson on “Salvation and Cornelius” detailing the need for Cornelius to be saved, despite being a devout and prayerful man, and what was involved in his salvation. The following lesson was on “Counting the Cost” – a lesson focusing on the costs that will come to those who serve God and whether on is ready to obey Christ despite those costs. We then offered and invitation, but no one responded in obedience at that time. We then had another short question and answer period with most questions again focusing on baptism.

 

The Lord willing, we will finish our work here in Ilo-Ilo tomorrow morning at the same venue with the same audience returning for two more lessons. Please keep this effort in your prayers.

 

My thanks to all of you who have helped make this trip possible. God bless!

 

Brotherly, Harry Osborne