Food distribution in the Philippines during the pandemic

 

This is a video showing food distribution by an ACCPHIL church during the pandemic.

Interview with Pastor Galanza about an intercultural application of James 2:14-26

While I was in the Philippines, I had the opportunity to interview pastor Galanza of Mount Holy Christian Bible Church. He is also the Dean of Students at the Center for Biblical Studies Institute and Professor at the seminary. Here is a link to the interview that is part of the podcast Beyond the Stained Glass. The weekly podcast can be found on Apple podcast or your favorite podcast provider.

A day of Christmas parties

ACCPHIL Christmas Party

Filipinos like their parties. First we went to the ACCPHIL (Association of Christian Churches in the Philippines) pastor's Christmas party. There were lots of smiles, laughter, and lots of games that involved sorting people quickly...by sir name..by first name...by province (which for me I guess would be Pasco county)...by favorite cartoon character alphabetically. I didn't really understand all the games, but I did enjoy watching the pastor's and their families enjoy one another. We (Eberts and the Abells) were able to provide the pig for the party so I think I can officially claim ownership of a pig even though it was for a short time. It was roasted in typical Filipino fashion and delicious as always. There were other items provided by the families all were very enjoyable along with the sweets!

CBSIS Christmas Party

This evening we attended the CBSIS (Center for Biblical Studies Institute and Seminary) student Christmas party. Their theme was "throwback" Christmas so they were dressed in clothes that represented different time eras. They had a meal there that included traditional Filipino fare. They also had many games that they seemed to enjoy. They exchanged gifts by class. I was the invited speaker for the evening and spoke from Luke 2:8-20, the shepherd's story from the Christmas narrative. After the short message, they resumed their games which lasted late into the evening. I am excited about these students' future ministry. They are the future pastors and Christian workers for the Philippines. When I travel here, I get to see every iteration of what God is doing through this ministry. Last week the conference we taught was hosted Pastor Posadas, now elderly, an early graduate of CBSIS. Tonight we were with students yet to find their place in ministry. It is all part of the thirty-year history of God's work at the Hilltop. I am so grateful for the small part he has given us in it.

Sunday Service at Kingswill Baptist Church

Julianne and I attended Kingswill Baptist Church. Pastor Willy Cruz has been the senior pastor of the church for over fifteen years. He has been preaching through the ten commandments and asked me to continue his series by preaching the fourth commandment, the sabbath day (Exod. 20:8-11). A couple from his church, Gene and Lillie, picked us up at Hilltop at 7:30 a.m. and we drove a little more than an hour to the church. We arrived at the church, which rents space above a welding shop in Novaliches. The congregation was very eager to learn and were warm toward us. After several specials that celebrated the Christmas season, I preached on the sabbath commandment. The sabbath compels us to remember God's character by remembering his day (vs 8), it compels us to keep God as our central focus in our rhythm of life (vs 9-10), and it compels us to anticipate the eschaton through sabbath rest. (vs 11). The preaching was followed by a time of question and answer by the congregation. After the service, we shared a meal with pastor Willy, his wife Fely, and three of their children. We had a traditionally prepared Filipino meal of steamed vegetables, beef, and rice. After the meal, the pastor Willy and his wife took us back to the Hilltop.

Bacolod Bible Conference in the Books

Today we completed the Bible conference in Bacolod. The two-day conference brought pastors from the local area in for a study of the Old Testament use in the New Testament. Specifically, we covered how the Epistle of Hebrews uses Psalm 22 and 95 as well as Jeremiah 31 (New Covenant) to reinforce the overall theme of worship in the text. I preached Psalm 22, 95 and Jeremiah 31, each followed by the corresponding Hebrews text by my travel partner Dan Ebert. On the second day, Julianne met with the ladies in attendance and taught from the book of Ruth. After the first night of the conference, we met up with CBSIS alumni in the local area. It was a great time of fellowship and listening to what God is doing in their ministries. The second evening we had a birthday dinner with the host Pastor Posadas to celebrate his 75th birthday. This pastor ministers in one of the most difficult parts of Bacolod because of poverty. He is a true testimony to God's blessing on his work to these people. We travel back to Manila on Saturday and prepare for a Sunday morning service.

New discipleship and academic possibilities with San Roque Supermarkets

On Monday we met with a Christian businessman, Mr. Carlos. He is the owner of a twenty-five store grocery chain in Metro Manila. He currently holds Bible studies in his stores; about an hour is set aside each week for the employees to voluntarily attend the study. If the employees choose to attend they are not docked pay; they are able to study the scriptures on company time! Mr. Carlos has become concerned about the quality of the content of the studies currently held and wanted us to formulate a curriculum for him. He wants to use his business specifically for kingdom work; he is expanding stores specifically for this reason. We met at a local restaurant to discuss his needs and concerns. As we talked, it became clear, he wanted us to create a basic curriculum for seekers and new believers as well as a more academically oriented program that could possibly transfer to the CBS Seminary. We informed him of our desire to expand CBSIS and he is excited about the possibilities also. By the end of the meeting, we agreed to create two programs. The basic program will be for helping disciple young believers and introduce the gospel to the workers in the stores. The advanced program will be for those seeking formal education that might lead to a degree with us.

Mr. Carlos is going to fund the necessary video equipment and room upgrade necessary at the Hilltop to record the Bible study sessions. These recorded Bible study sessions will be shown weekly; the Bible study attendees will follow along in related workbooks also created by us. These videos will be about an hour in length and a local pastor or one of our seminary students will facilitate a discussion about the content of the video. The endeavor is an answer to prayer as we have been praying for ways to expand CBSIS off the Hilltop campus into Metro Manila. This is an important first step in that direction. He wants to have a pilot ready for the end of January, which is a really short timetable with the Christmas season upon us; so we have much work to do!

We arrived! Sunday preaching at the Hilltop Church

Julianne and I, ready to embark on our 16
hour flight to Narita, Japan

Julianne and I made it to Manila trouble-free! We departed Tampa at 9am, flew to Washington D.C. for a 16 hour flight to Narita Japan, then a 4 1/2 hour flight to Manila. We arrived at 10 p.m. on Saturday night. Because it is the Christmas season, customs was very busy. More than I have ever seen on my prior trips here.

Headed through a very busy
customs in Manila

Sunday morning we rode up to the Hilltop where the Center for Biblical Studies Institute and Seminary is located. The Hilltop also hosts a church that serves the local community. This Sunday the children sang some Christmas songs and I preached.

After a short night's rest, ready to worship at Hilltop Church

Preaching at Hilltop Church

Later in the afternoon, there was a children's activity for the Christmas season. In the states sometimes we complain when people put out Christmas decorations too early. In the Philippines, the Christmas season begins about September and continues through the first of the year.

The children of Hilltop Church getting ready to sing for church.