Sunday began with the regular services of the congregation that meets in the central part of Cebu City on the 14th floor of the LUYM building. At 9am, they have the regular worship service and I preached from Philippians 3:7-14 on “That I May Gain Christ.” After a song, we immediately went to what is normally the time for Bible classes, but all met together and I brought another lesson on “Things Essential in Being Approved to God” from 2nd Timothy 2:15. We had an excellent attendance and a very edifying time of worship.
The last lesson considered in the preachers’ studies was “By What Authority?” from Matthew 21:23-25. We started by looking carefully at the context to identify the “high priests” and “chief priests” of the context as well as examining the basis of their claimed authority. We then looked at the actions for which they asked Jesus about His authority to do those things and noted that He showed His legitimate authority in each case. We then examined various practices of the denominational world to see if there is any authority “from heaven” for such practices or if they were solely “from men.”
The studies ended that afternoon and we had a time to pass out certificates of completion and take many pictures with the participants. I always hate for those sessions to end as the preachers present are so ready and zealous to learn more of God’s word. Please keep them all in your prayers as they return to their places of labor across the Visayas and Mindanao.
