UPDATE from WCG PHILIPPINES

An official weekly e-mail newsletter from the Worldwide Church of God in the Philippines

ND Eugene Conducts Haggai Institute Training at Fort Bonifacio

National Director Eugene Guzon with Col. Wilma Castillo (center) and Mrs. Milla (right).

National Director with 28 military nurses at Fort Bonifacio during a Haggai Institute training.

National Director Eugene Guzon gave a series of modules on Biblical and Contemporary models of Evangelism for 28 military nurses at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. This is the second batch of participants that received this kind Haggai training in the last two weeks. They came from different military hospitals in Manila and Luzon.

After the lecture, Col. Wilma Castillo, seminar coordinator, requested ND Eugene if he can be a resource speaker at the forthcoming conference of the Philippine Nurses Association, Makati Chapter sometime in October. These activities are part of the commitment of the church to reach out to the community.

Some of the participants received Jesus Christ during the Haggai training. One of them, who is retiring soon, made a testimony that he likes to be a part of this endeavor to share the good news among his colleagues in the military service. --Noemi Aileen del Rosario

14-Member US Delegation Arrives for Short-term Missions Trip

Excitement and anticipation was in the faces of 8 young ladies and 4 young men, together with Mike and Janet Morrison as they landed about 11:00 a.m. at the Manila International Airport last August 5, 2008. These 14-member delegation representing 4 WCG local churches in the United States are in the Philippines for short-term trip that would last for almost two weeks. Some of them have been to the Philippines for their first mission trip to the country in 2006.

They were met at the airport by Pastor Rex dela Pena, and national office staff Orly Osillos. The following day they were joined by Dr. Rey Taniajura, WCG Philippines Missions Director as they went early morning to Bicol.

The group went on two vans in the morning of August 6 for Tabaco City, and arrived there about 7:00 p.m. The long day trip afforded the group some opportunities for sightseeing in the countryside. The weather has been very good so far, although days before they came, the Philippines had several days of continuous rain.

On August 7, they were able to teach Daily Vacation Bible School (DVBS) to about 100 kids from the Mariroc Elementary School in Tabaco City. As of this writing (August 8), they are in the foot of scenic Mt. Mayon Volcano for some sightseeing. In the afternoon, they will return to the school for the second phase of the DVBS where the group will get to teach more about Jesus. During the past two days, they also had some bonding time with the local leaders and brethren, enjoy some local food, and have some taste of Philippine culture.

The group will be staying in Tabaco City for a few more days to help construct an additional comfort room and a water fountain for the school. They will also attend the combined worship service and leaders meeting this weekend.

Please pray for continuing good weather, and for God's anointing upon the members of the US and Philippine support team as they join together in communicating the good news of Jesus Christ to the children. May this project also be a real encouragement and learning experience for the participants themselves, as they see the work of God in their lives in other places like the Philippines. More updates next week as they move back to the second half of their trip.

Combined Metro Manila Worship Service on August 17

Dear Senior Pastors, Pastoral Team members and Ministry leaders: Greetings! Our combined worship service that was postponed last June 22 will finally push through on August 17th. Our rental payment for June 22nd will be credited for our use on August 17th.

Mike Morrison

LOCATION: We are all set for the Combined Metro Manila Worship with the visiting team from the USA who will be here for their short-term missions exposure. Dr. Mike Morrison, WCG - USA Admin, as our main speaker. Our venue is the QC Performance Theater (also known as Amoranto Theater).

SERVICE STARTS: 10 am. Please arrive early. We need to start promptly.

REMINDER OF CONGREGATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS: Thank you for all your help to make this combined service possible. Together we can make the burden lighter. May we request for the following congregations to help in the following areas?

WORSHIP LEADING : (includes Band set-up, stage and other equipment) Aron, Joyce, Jun, Rachel / CROSSWAY MUSIC MINISTRY TEAM

PA SUPPORT : GLF

HALL USHERING: GLF and MANILA ( receiving of offerings)

PARKING AND SECURITY: Antipolo and Payatas

FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS/ water for Speaker: Manila South

FOOD COORDINATION: We have received several feedbacks about the combined food service. We are just encouraging members to BYOB (Bring your Own Baon) to the combined service. This will make it easier for everyone. We will not have any available snacks at the location. Please BYOB - esp. if you have little children.

CALL TO WORSHIP PRESENTATION: Youths of Lawang Pari (Tell the World of His Love)

KIDS' MINISTRY - we have also received feedbacks that our Sunday school teachers would also like to listen to the sermon. In times past, our sunday school teachers have sacrificed their time and devoted the sermon time as they attended to the children.

WE WILL NOT HAVE ANY KIDS MINISTRY ACTIVITIES ON AUG17TH.

We are requesting the parents to monitor your children and let them sit with you - esp. if they are below 12 years old. Let us all help one another on this - and monitor our children and not allow them to loiter, run or play un-supervised. Thank you very much. This is our 2nd Combined Metro Manila Worship service and we are looking forward to worshipping the Lord with all of you. Please continue praying for all the people that will be helping out at the Combined Worship Service. God bless you all. --Rex De la Pena, Metro Manila Area Superintendent

RABIM Celebrates Second Year Anniversary

Pastor Joel Alisbo (a WCG ordained elder) presents gift to Capt. Jess Bahinting (a WCG Phils. Advisory Council member) and his family during RABIM's 2nd year anniversary in Rayong City, Thailand.

RAYONG CITY, Thailand - Capt. Jessup Bahinting, a member of the WCG Philippines advisory council, with his wife Margie and daughter Sarah, arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok City for a 5-day tour and business trip last Friday, August 1. They then travelled by bus for 3 hours to Rayong City where they hosted a dinner for all the brethren in this city. These community of brethren are mostly English teachers coming from Mindanao, Philippines.

The following day at about 5:00 p.m., the Rayong Believers International Ministry (RABIM), together with some 83 guests gathered at the Seafront Restaurant to celebrate RABIM's second year anniversary. Some of the guests who joined the celebration were from the staff (social workers, psychologists) of the Juvenile and Family Court where RABIM has a youth ministry during Saturdays and where the staff learn English during weekdays.

In his anniversary message, Capt. Jessup Bahinting shared the "love of God" to all those present. He said that the "ultimate motive of God is to love humanity whoever and wherever they are." After the message, a prayer of blessing and child dedication was led by Capt. Bahinting for the newly-born baby of Dante and Hi-C Abatayo.

"Amazing Grace" was rendered by a professional band from Quezon, Bukidnon Church (formerly worship team of this local church but is now working in Rayong City). Buffet dinner and fellowship followed the event. Singing and dancing marked the celebration especially for the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

Before the Bahintings returned to Bangkok, he had a 2-hour meeting with the brethren in Rayong. Sharing of RABIM's future plans and what could be done in the area of networking were discussed. The Bahintings returned to the Philippines Tuesday night.

6 People Baptized During Forestry Church's Family Day

WCG-Forestry held an evangelistic worship service and family day on August 3, 2008 at Bernardo Park in Quezon City, attended by 102 people (60 adult and 42 kids). During the morning worship service at a covered basketball court, Ptr. Roman Saynes delivered an evangelistic Tagalog message entitled “Ang Parabula ng Alibughang Anak” (The Parable of the Prodigal Son). The message ended with an altar call wherein all adult attendees responded and committed/recommitted their lives to the Lord Jesus. Physical food followed the spiritual food, and lunch was served after the service.

In the afternoon, the church proceeded to enjoy the family day activities at the pool side. Meanwhile, Ptr. Roman & Ptr. Romy (Velasco) provided final counseling to the five people who were scheduled to be baptized that day: Darlene Terrado, Ana Carolyn Miranda, Maricar Palomar, Edralyn Buenafe and Rhoda Cleo Garcia. The five ladies were then baptized at the swimming pool, as witnessed by the congregation. After this, Marti Palomar, Sr., the father of Maricar Palomar the newly baptized, approached the pastors and requested to be baptized as well. Ptrs. Roman and Romy promptly counseled him for baptism and then he was likewise baptized.

This activity was originally scheduled in celebration of Ptr. Roman’s son’s (Mark Saynes) first birthday. It has gone from a planned simple church outing to an evangelistic worship, family day and baptism celebration.

Beloved: The Musicale on August 31

Announcing the anniversary concert presentation of the Glory to the Lord Fellowship called "BELOVED The Musicale" at the Amoranto Theater on August 31, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. with the Crossway Ministry Band, OMFJ Band of Manila, Amplifiers Band of Sta. Rosa and the GLF Worship Band PRAISEHIM, featuring the GenMillenium Dance Company. Tickets are available for sale at P100. --Pastor Andrew Teng, Senior Pastor, Glory to the Lord Fellowship

2008 Festival Dates

The festivals are an opportunity for us to gather together as a big group fellowshipping with one another as brethren and worshipping God together as one big family for several days in one place. These are not commanded assemblies but we gather together because we want to. We want to worship God together in one big group and enjoy each other's company as one big family for a few days. This is a time for rejoicing and taking time off from our daily routines and work. Children especially love "vacation time." For this year, let us again plan to be there and join the fun. These are the festival sites so far:

Baguio City - September 24 - 28 at Teachers Camp. Morning worship services are from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Various activities are slated in the afternoon. For housing accommodations, contact Pastor Jerry Ortiguero at +63920-903-8377.

Kiara, Bukidnon - October 23 - 26 at the WCG Kiara Church Building, Kiara, Don Carlos, Bukidnon. Contact person: Ruben Carmelotes at +63921-404-3487.

Motiong, Western Samar - October 23 -26 at Ygrubay Family Compound, Motiong, Western Samar. Contact person: Ptr. Danny de Guia at +63919-539-5397.

Cebu City - October 24-26 at Club Ultima, Jones Avenue, Cebu City. Contact Person: Ptr. James Boone at +63927-433-8491.

Dumaguete City - October 24 -26. Le Toundra Peak, Bacong, Negros Oriental. Contact person: Ptr. Angelo Ouano at +63915-804-4740.

Ipil - October 24 -26 at Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay. Contact person: Ptr. Bert Colona at +63919-209-5540 or (062) 333-2539 (during office hours only).

Tacloban City - October 24-26. Pawing Christian Center, Pawing, Palo, Leyte. Contact person: Ptr. Arturo M. Reyes at (053) 321-2989 or (053) 524-9228.

Tagbilaran City - October 26. FAD Beach Resort, Baclayon, Bohol. Contact person: Ptr. Romy Pusta at +63917-241-3980.

Cagayan de Oro City - October 31 - November 2. Contact person: Ptr. Rollen Olango at +63927-345-5522.

We will post more details and more festival sites as we receive them from the various site coordinators. Let's begin planning and preparing now!

Speaking of Life Videos

Dr. Joseph Tkach

Every week, Dr. Joseph Tkach presents relevant topics affecting life through a 3 or 4 minute video on the internet found in our WCG website. Pastors are highly encouraged to play these videos weekly as part of their local church worship services. A transcript is also available (in text format) for pastors to read during worship services. We have included it here as part of this Weekly Update.

Some local churches have found these videos very uplifting, and has kept them abreast of the current teachings of the WCG. For some, this is also their first time to see and hear Dr. Tkach and this has created a sense of the local church's being connected to the denomination's headquarters.

Below is a transcript of this week's Speaking of Life video:

Speaking of Life 100: Grace with Gusto

The great reformer Martin Luther observed that there are different kinds of righteousness. There is political or judicial righteousness, which is, or should be, the goal of court systems. There is ceremonial righteousness, the kind people supposedly receive from performing humanly devised religious rituals or customs. There is the obedience that parents try to instill in their children. There is the legal righteousness expressed in the Old Testament Law of Moses. And then there is the righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus Christ, which Luther called “this most excellent righteousness…which God imputes to us through Christ without works.”

The apostle Paul wrote of this “most excellent righteousness” in Philippians 3:9, describing himself as “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”

Luther calls this righteousness of faith “neither political nor ceremonial nor legal nor work-righteousness.” He calls it “…the righteousness of Christ and of the Holy Spirit, which we do not perform but receive, which we do not have but accept, when God the Father grants it to us through Jesus Christ.”

To explain how this works, Luther used a vivid analogy about rain. He wrote: “As the earth itself does not produce rain and is unable to acquire it by its own strength, worship, and power but receives it only by a heavenly gift from above, so this heavenly righteousness is given to us by God without our work or merit.”

The kind of righteousness that clears our conscience and reconciles us to God is a gift of the Holy Spirit. “We do not have it of ourselves,” Luther said, “we receive it from heaven.”

The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1:17: “… in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last…”

There is nothing we can do to earn such righteousness; it’s a gift from God. It comes from heaven, not from anything we can do, and we experience it only by trusting God, not by trying to create a righteousness of our own.

This teaching of Paul, which was at the root of Luther’s reformation work, should be powerful encouragement to people who fear they have committed the unpardonable sin or to stumbling sinners who worry that God might not forgive them again “this time.”

The gospel was, is and always will be good news, good news for sinners. And that includes you and me.

I’m Joseph Tkach, speaking of LIFE.

Copyright 2008 Worldwide Church of God

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you." (2 Thessalonians 3:1)