9-27-2017 Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz Teaching Sermon

Honoring The Lord With What We Own or What We Have

web-admin September 27, 2017

September 27, 2017 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz)

Topic: Living in God’s Provisions (Part 7) – Honoring The Lord With What We Own/Have

Psalm 35:27 – Let them shout for joy and be glad,Who favor my righteous cause;And let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”

Proverbs 3:9-10 – Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

“You must put God first; honor God (with all your heart, soul, mind and strength)”

“God should be the center around which our priorities evolve”

“Tithing – represents ownership and source; the tenth represents the 100%”

1 Kings 3:11-13 – Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.

1 Kings 17:13 – And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.

Malachi 3:8-10 – “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,”Says the Lord of hosts,“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

The Family of God: Laboring Without Agenda

web-admin September 24, 2017

September 24, 2017, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 20)
Theme: “The Family of God: Laboring Without Agenda”
Homily by Fr. Erel Villanueva

“Laboring without agenda or doing things with the right motive.”

Jonah 3:10 – 4:11

Philippians 1:15-18

Psalm 145:1-7

Matthew 20: 1-6

“The Lord wants us to do things for Him and for others with a clean heart; with a right motive.”

The generosity & goodness of God – God wants everyone to partake of His salvation, mercy and grace. God has a perfect time for people to respond.

Our motives in doing things for God and for others – When we do things for God and for others, let us make sure our motives are right.

Living In God’s Provisions (Part 6) The Blessing of Abraham

web-admin September 20, 2017

September 20, 2017 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz)

Topic: Living in God’s Provisions (Part 6) – The Blessing of Abraham

Psalm 35:27 – Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”

Galatians 3:9 – So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

Genesis 12:1-3 – Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Hebrews 11:8 – By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Genesis 12:8 – And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

“Abraham was a worshiper before God.”

“when outside the church, we worship by living the life God has given us.”

Genesis 13:1-5 – Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord. Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.

Deuteronomy 8:18 – And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Psalm 62:10 – Do not trust in oppression, Nor vainly hope in robbery; If riches increase, Do not set your heart on them.

“If riches increase, do not set your hear on them. Never forget God!”

“Abraham did not forget God but became exceedingly wealthy.”

The Family of God: Forgiving As We’ve Been Forgiven

web-admin September 17, 2017

September 17, 2017, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 19)
Theme: “The Family of God: Forgiving As We’ve Been Forgiven”
Homily by Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz

“Refusing to forgive others is to walk away from your own forgiveness.”

Genesis 50:15-21 – God expects us to be merciful to others as He is merciful to us.

Romans 14:9-12

Psalm 103:1-3;8-13

Matthew 18: 21-35

“Forgiveness is God’s grace.”

1.(v.21-27) The Lord has granted us abundant grace and mercy.

2.(v.28-35) Refusing to forgive others cancels our own forgiveness.

“Forgive from the Heart! For His grace and mercy to work for us.”

Handling Offense

web-admin September 13, 2017

September 13, 2017 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Fr. Erel Villanueva)

Topic: Handling Offense

“God desires peace, unity, and reconciliation within us.”

“We are to grow in the love of God.”

“How to win a brother and how to handle offense.”

Luke 17:1 – Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!

“We cannot avoid offense”

Offense – a stumbling block; a cause to sin; transgression of the law.

Mark 4:16-17 – These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble.

Displeased – Indignant – Resentful – Fall Away => because they did not settle it in their hearts.

Philippians 1:9-11 – And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

“Have time to read the Word of God to know the Love of God.”

The Family of God: Out To Win The Straying Brother

web-admin September 10, 2017

September 10, 2017, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 18)
Theme: “The Family of God: Out To Win The Straying Brother”
Homily by Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz

“Love should be the motive in how we deal with our brother.”

Ezekiel 33:7-11

Romans 13:8-14

Psalm 119:33-40

Matthew 18: 12-20

1.(v.12-14) God cares for all, even the straying.

2.(v.15-18) God heals broken relationships just as much as broken bodies.

3.(v.19-20) God loves and empowers unity.

Living In God’s Provisions (Part 5) The Blessing of Abraham

web-admin September 6, 2017

September 6, 2017 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz)

Topic: Living in God’s Provisions (Part 5) – The Blessing of Abraham(and how we’ve inherited this)

Philippians 4:19 – And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

“God not only want you to know about His promises, He wants you to experience His promises.”

Galatians 3:9-15 – The Blessing of Abraham. If we believe God through Jesus Christ then the same blessing that God gave to Abraham is given to us.

Hebrews 11:8 – By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

John 10:10 – The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Ephesians 3:20 – Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us

2 Corinthians 9:6-9 – But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”

The Family of God: With Minds Set On His Interests

web-admin September 3, 2017

September 3, 2017, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 17)
Theme: “The Family of God: With Minds Set On His Interests”
Homily by Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz

“We should want to please Christ and not to offend Him.”

Jeremiah 15:12-21 – God is willing to bless His people if we abide in His law.

Romans 12: 9-21 – The things we say we believe, must be lived out in our life.

Psalm 26:1-8

Matthew 16: 21-27

1.(v.21-23) Being mindful of the things of men more than the things of God offends Christ.

2.(v.24-27) To consider heaven’s rewards more than this world’s rewards pleases God.

The Promises of God

web-admin August 30, 2017

August 30, 2017 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Fr. Fernando Ilustre)

Topic: The Promises of God

God’s Promise for His Chosen People

Deuteronomy 7:6-9 – For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

2 Corinthians 1:20 – For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

The Family of God: With Authority from Heaven

web-admin August 27, 2017

August 27, 2017, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 16)
Theme: “The Family of God: With Authority from Heaven”
Homily by Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz

“Who Christ is to us will determine how we will live or how we live for Christ”

Isaiah 51: 1 – 6

Romans 12: 1 – 8

Psalm 138

Matthew 16: 13 – 20

1.(v.13-16) Who is Jesus Christ to us?

2.(v.17-20) Knowing who Christ is, will allow us to walk in His Authority.

Living In God’s Provisions (Part 4)

web-admin August 23, 2017

August 23, 2017 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz)

Topic: Living in God’s Provisions (Part 4)

“We need to develop faith for abundant provisions.”

“While we are here on earth, God has made available for us the resources of heaven.”

“The way we receive blessing is by faith.”

Hebrews 6:11-12 – And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Romans 4:13 – For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Romans 5:1-2 – Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God

Romans 10:17 – or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’”(that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

Matthew 4:23 – And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

Matthew 6:5-8

Galatians 3:1-14

Genesis 12:1-3

The Family of God: With the Faith for Works of Healing

web-admin August 20, 2017

August 20, 2017, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 15)
Theme: “The Family of God: With the Faith for Works of Healing”
Homily by Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz

“As His Mercy reaches towards us, our faith should reach out towards Him.”

Isaiah 56:1-8

Romans 11:25-32

Psalm 67

Matthew 15:21-28

1.(v.21-23) God’s Mercy opens the way to Him.

2.(v.24-26) Faith with Humility is how we respond to His Mercy

3.(v.27-28) Great faith perseveres in holding on to His unfailing mercies.

“Faith for works of healing is also the faith for the meeting of every need.”

“God’s mercy extends to those who are willing to accept His covenant.”

“God is always willing to forgive anyone who is willing to return to Him in humility and repentance.”

I AM BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING