FAIR SUNSHINE

Posting this for record's sake, as the topic is of much importance. Chapter 1 of What is the Church by R.C. Sproul In the seventeenth chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus gives the most extensive prayer that is recorded for us in the New Testament. It is a prayer of intercession in which He prayed for His disciples and for all who would believe through the testimony of the disciples. That prayer is called Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. One of the central themes of that prayer is Christ’s request to the Father that His people might be one. It was a prayer for Christian unity. Yet here we are, in the twenty-first century, and the church is probably more fragmented than at any time in church history.  We've seen a crisis with the question, "What is the church after all?" Historically, via the ancient church council of Nicea, the church has been defined by four key words. It is, 1) one, 2) holy, 3) catholic, and 4) apostolic. As we study the nature of the church, I want to look ...

After a year of daily family worship, it pleased the LORD to mercifully birth the reading of scripture to 4 new households this year. The young ones have brought the practice they've learned with us into their own homes, and they intentionally read the scriptures to their unbelieving families. There is already a stirring among those who have heard the word read. Its very heartbeat is to magnify the reality of God's great glory as the Scriptures are read, and the Psalms are either read or sang - by the whole family, the fruit of all this is left to God. To worship with the family in the home is to obey and honor God. Photo by Tish I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever. Psalms 45:17 Our prayer is for God to raise up a new community of families who worship God daily in their homes. Fathers who fulfill their rightful duties to God as the priest and teacher of the home, and the children are raised in the fe...

So keep these words deep in your heart and in your soul, and have them fixed on your hand for a sign and marked on your brow; Teaching them to your children, and talking of them when you are at rest in your house or walking by the way, when you go to sleep and when you get up: Writing them on the pillars of your houses and over the doors of your towns: So that your days, and the days of your children, may be long in the land which the Lord by his oath to your fathers said he would give them, like the days of the eternal heavens. For if you take care to keep all the orders which I give you, and to do them; loving the Lord your God and walking in all his ways and being true to him: Deuteronomy 11:18-22 / 6:7-9 The gift of family worship, was given to us April of last year and has continued non-stop 7 days a week till this day. It also gave birth to the weekly prayer meeting in which the whole gathering participates, all thanks be to God for the great kindness He evidenced through the exa...

I've always wondered why sodomites and feminists are more publicly vocal and insistent in their ideology more than Christians are public with their faith? Why drag queens insist in reading fables to children in schools more than Christian parents commit to reading Scripture to their children daily at home? Why Mormons risk walking under the sun all day to witness to people in behalf of their false god, more than Christians would do the same for the true God? Why extremists blow themselves up believing in a false religion more than Christians would resolve to go everywhere preaching the word as in Acts 8:4? Why  government minions are more purposeful and intentional in brainwashing the populace with false information than the people of the Everlasting Kingdom are in sharing the gospel truth with those in their immediate social circles? Why heathenism is out in the open and Christianity is mixed into the crowd of other heathen churches.  ..for the sons of this world are wiser in...

My wife takes our current house help through the pages of the New Testament each day before starting work. Her life is unbelievably difficult, and seemingly hopeless. Singled out by her in-laws for her background, she struggles between being beaten and maltreated by her husband, disrespected by her children, and having nowhere to turn to, till she found solace in talking about the Lord. As believers we are to treat each soul brought to us by the Lord as a candidate for His mercy. Each gasoline boy, driver, or security guard, a recipient of a gospel tract. These bread crumbs, done consistently and without regard for numbers, will one day surprise us in heaven. I tend to imagine a soul in heaven approaching me saying, "Remember that one tract you gave at such a place? The Lord used that to save me. And now I am here to worship God forever because you obeyed."

Some gain the things of this world in the strength of their youth at the cost of the next life, and all they have are rusty memories that die with them. While some set their eyes upon eternal things at the cost of this temporal life, and gain a crown that will never fade away. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. Matthew 19:29-30 

We are currently teaching covenant theology to the children starting from the Pactum Salutis. God has been so gracious as to provide the wisdom to translate this deep subject into simple language in order to communicate it well to the children. Covenant Theology is crucial in giving us a clear picture of redemptive history that culminates at the cross of Christ. It answers many questions and seemingly disconnected stories that would otherwise just pass through unanswered. Our goal is to explain the promise, necessity, and reason for the coming Messiah and His work in redeeming us to the Father, according to His eternal will.  We are pleased to hear each precious soul, from the eldest to the youngest, recite scripture. May it please the LORD to preserve these blessed children unto salvation for His name's sake.

This Sunday was a review of the lessons from the past month. The children who have been with us for 14 months have responded so wonderfully to the catechisms that I cannot begin to praise God for deepening the children's understanding. The Old Testament's main ideas, starting with the Genesis' prophecy of the coming Messiah up to Joshua, required about a year to study. Much grace has been given to the teachers who put their hearts to pray for the children, and going the extra mile by burning the midnight oil, studying for the lessons, often into many mornings. It gives me great joy in encouraging them that their labors in the LORD are never in vain, and that they have been given the privilege of shaping these minds who would one day, Lord willing, be granted saving grace. They have a hand in affecting these children's lives who in turn will be the very ones to take the gospel into their homes, to their parents, and to their siblings. God is able to do more with the litt...

We are opening our channel to everyone who find joy in the worship of God. The only requirement is a humble heart. Join us without any obligation, and start the worship of God in your own homes. Here is our Telegram link. Photo Credit  Our daily Family Worship with the whole church, consistently upheld by LORD, is now on its 15th month. Every 9:30 in the evening, Monday to Sunday, the church gathers to read Scripture, share thoughts, and sing/read the Psalmody to the LORD. What started off as a 15-minute family covenant quickly spread like fire among the saints, with worship going for as long as 45 minutes to an hour. Some of the children have also started an afternoon family worship for those who work the night shift. It so pleased the Lord to birth the reading of scripture in one of the homes of a dear saint where she reads with her parents and sibling who are unbelievers, but now look forward to the reading of scripture. Truly if we have great joy in honoring the Lord, he will g...

I took my wife on a date this afternoon but the rain caught us midway and we were forced to take shelter at a random shop. Out of nowhere came this man, a homosexual, asking for alms. Divine appointments like these are heaven sent gospel opportunities. To give him money so he'd leave me alone is cruel. Filling an empty stomach without giving the gospel is useless, just as giving the gospel to someone hungry is as well. He obviously just wants the money so he can move on. But the poor wretch is in dire peril. I use questions to communicate, instead of presenting statements. He is forced to think to give an answer instead of simply nodding.  We talked for ten short minutes, and as he was walking away with his prize I am reminded of how helpless I am to turn anyone to Christ. May the gospel he heard be not for his condemnation. I can only witness. It remains solely the work of the Father to turn a soul to Christ.  Only God can make a Christian. Christ alone saves.

A religion that costs nothing, does nothing, and is worth nothing. A cheap Christianity, without a cross, will prove in the end a useless Christianity, without a crown. 1 -J.C. Ryle And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 2 Samuel 24:24 1. J.C. Ryle (2015). “Holiness: It's Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots”, p.106, Letcetera Publishing

Thank you for your kindness dear brethren. All the way from Reformed Presbyterian Church Dumaguete. Courtesy of Nate Sonner.  

It is right to care for the found sheep. It is not right to forget there are still lost ones. Make your short time here on earth count. Witness for Christ.

Ο λόγος σου είναι λυχνάρι στα πόδια μου και φως στο μονοπάτι μου. Psalm 119:105 I are indebted to Jeff Chavez of Theoglossa for his selfless assistance and inspiration. May the LORD return his kindness tenfold. I am nursery level in both languages. Slow in Greek and twice as slow in Hebrew. But in time we'll get there. Maybe I'll post another reading a year from now Lord willing to see if I improved or not.

Healthy food for the sheep has arrived. God continues to support His work. Thank you for our sponsor. Beeke and Smalley's Reformed Systematic Theology Volume set is now complete. This stash includes two book on the church fathers. Three books on the study of the book of Revelation. The Returning King goes well with The King in His Beauty. Steve Gregg's study on the four views on the (Historicist, Preterist, Futurist, and Idealist) . And of course, one by G.K. Beale. Last but not least are two books on both the Westminster Confession of Faith, and an expository on the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

The most useful books for the whole week that compose the Sunday liturgy, with the family worship guide being used daily, 7 days a week. We keep the services 2 hours short, with an hour of close fellowship prior to start. An hour dedicated to prayer, worship, catechism, and Scripture reading - before the message. Ending in songs from the Westminster Scottish Psalter, and another hour of fellowship. God has tremendously blessed the dear ones by instilling a greater awareness of sin, and a deeper reverence for His commands, especially the seriousness of Lord's day, by which most of them have stood firm against much opposition and ridicule from employers, and even from their own families. The fruit of God's faithfulness shone through when I spoke with one of the young ones, "Should God gift me with my own family, we will dedicate every night to worshipping the Lord. From my children and to my grandchildren." Each one of them share the same sentiment. What a blessed work...

An hour long but healthy exchange with a very learned Roman Catholic apologist, Timothy. This is the first time in all my years on the street have I encountered someone adept in church history. He contended for the Roman Catholic faith. But one must still wrestle with the question, "is the work of Christ on the  cross ultimately sufficient, or is it still deficient?" Can one trust God fully, his salvation in Christ being sufficient, or must he still add to what God has done, if it is deficient?  Much of our exchange dealt with church history and the church fathers, which I am all too thankful to the Lord for giving me directions in studying them previously. One of the major misconception about the church fathers is they were Roman Catholics. It is important to understand what they meant when they called themselves " catholic ," and many Christians today still confuse "catholic" as being "Roman Catholic" . A The two do not hold the same meaning....

The observance of Holy Week is a tradition here in the Philippines. Even before I probably realized it as a child, people were already flocking to this site in Bulacan when good Friday comes around. People start their pilgrimage on a Thursday, coming from all over the metro, some from as far as Cavite on foot, to arrive in time for Good Friday. The traffic was blocked kilometers away to accommodate the crowd flooding the highway leading here so even if you did take the commute you still wind up walking a considerable distance to get there. I was in my teens when I was invited by my neighbor to go there on foot. We left our house 4 PM in the afternoon. We arrived just before midnight. The crowd then was shoulder to shoulder when you enter the gates. It would take you more than an hour to wade through the crowd to get to the main temple, and an hour more to walk around the grounds. People were lying on the ground everywhere. Back then people brought radios. No one had a phone. But ever s...

There is a difference between those who criticize and those who do. Between those who merely affirm there is something wrong, and those are broken before God because of the wrong. Between those who attend church and those who worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Scripture says the wicked surround the righteous, therefore wrong judgements abound (Hab 1:4). A lack of urgency for the advancement of the kingdom also falls under wrong judgment. It falls under complacency. It is against the Lord's command to, "occupy" till He comes (Luke 19:13). Church gatherings are important, but not in the sense that many claim it to be. Many of our brethren in dangerous lands cannot gather for peril to their lives, but it doesn't make them less Christian than those who do so freely. Many gather conveniently, but it doesn't make them any more Christian than those who blaspheme God.  Take for instance this: all believers know baptism cannot save, but the way they vehemently argue for i...

Father blesses the work by taking the Children's Church in a more experiential direction: the consciousness of the reality of the heart's corruption even in the little ones. We are totally inadequate to communicate the salvation of Christ, and we know our help comes from the Lord alone. Molested children are common here. It is a silent plague where parents and relatives themselves are often the offenders. We taught the children that their bodies were gifted by the Lord to be theirs alone, and no one else, except by their own mothers on necessary instances, can touch or see it. They were given warnings to be aware of when another person starts touching them where they are not supposed to be touched, and to wear clothes that cover a good portion of their bodies. One item in our monthly prayer and fasting includes the bringing out of many secret sins, in the children, and in the churches. It is of great comfort to us that our brethren from Lubbock, Texas and New Mexico are lifting...

Historical Theology by Gregg Allison Historical Theology presents the key pillars of the contemporary church and the development of those doctrines as they evolved from the history of Christian thought. Most historical theology texts follow Christian beliefs in a strict chronological manner with the classic theological loci scattered throughout various time periods, movements, and controversies—making for good history but confusing theology. This companion to the classic bestseller Systematic Theology is unique among historical theologies. Gregg Allison sets out the history of Christian doctrine according to a topical-chronological arrangement—one theological element at a time instead of committing to a discussion of theological thought according to its historical appearance alone. This method allows you to: Contemplate one tenet of Christianity at a time, along with its formulation in the early church—through the Middle Ages, Reformation, and post-Reformation era, and into the modern ...

The absence of an affection for God amongst toddlers, children and young adults of Christian families in many, or almost all churches (I say all because I can safely assume that families who attend church during Sundays have fathers who do not lead their families in daily and  intentional worship in their homes,) stem from the unfulfilled obligations of the parents in raising their household in the Scriptures and in the fear of the LORD.  It is a pathetic excuse to say we simply do not have time. What we really are saying is either one of two things: I do not know I was supposed to lead my family daily in worship, or, I do not want to make time for it. These are the same people who can sit for hours fiddling with their gadgets, or watching movies, or doing other 'important' things. In our modern day we are simply detached from the reality of God and assume that just because we attend church our children will automatically learn God. We lazily delegate the teaching of our child...