Pure Diligence

web-admin December 3, 2017

December 3, 2017, 1st Sunday of Advent (Year B)
Theme: “Pure Diligence”
Homily by Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz

“To wait for the Lord’s promised return is to stay spiritually awake.”

Isaiah 64:1-9
– The coming of the Lord goes far beyond our highest expectation.

1 Corinthians 1:1-9
– In Christ, we have received the abundant blessings of God.

Psalm 80:1-9

Mark 13:33-37

1.(v.33-34) We must be ready to move with God when He comes.

2.(v.35-37) What He said to His disciples then, He’s saying to us today.

How to be Spiritually Alert/Awake

To do the will of the Father. (Mark 3:35)
To have a servant attitude in the Kingdom of God. (Mark 9:35)
To welcome/to care for/to protect little children. (Mark 9:37)
To help those in need especially in the Body of Christ. (Mark 9:41)
To become child-like in faith in God. (Mark 10:13-15)
To serve others without recognition. (Mark 10:44)
To be forgiving and merciful. (Mark 11:25)
To be gracious and generous. (Mark 12:23-24)
To be involved in the work of Christ. (Mark 16:15-16)

“Let us desire Heaven!”

Contending For God’s Plans & Purposes For Your Life

web-admin November 29, 2017

November 22, 2017 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz)

Topic: Contending For God’s Plans & Purposes For Your Life

Number 13:30 – Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

Contending – to fight for something; to engage.

Genesis 32:22-31 –

Wrestling with God

And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”

But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

So He said to him, “What is your name?”

He said, “Jacob.”

And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel;^[a] for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”

And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.

2 Timothy 2:1 – You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 1:18 – This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,

1 Timothy 6:12 – Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Habakkuk 2:2-3 – Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.

“Write the Vision!”

The Family of God: Inheritors of the Kingdom

web-admin November 26, 2017

November 26, 2017, The Feast of Christ The King – 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 29)
Theme: “The Family of God: Inheritors of the Kingdom”
Homily by Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz

“Are you ready for your inheritance?”

Ezekiel 34: 11-16; 20-24

1 Corinthians 15: 21-28

Psalm 95: 1-7

Matthew 25: 31-40

“When you inherit the Kingdom, God is looking forward to rule and reign together with you.”

Walking Under An Open Heaven

web-admin November 22, 2017

November 22, 2017 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz)

Topic: Walking Under An Open Heaven

John 1:51 – And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Psalm 78:23-24 – Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven, Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Deuteronomy 28:12 – The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

3 Basic Principles That Will Help Us Walk Under Open Heaven

1. Seek The Lord and Seek What pleases Him.

Psalm 37:3-4 – Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

“You learn to desire what God wants you to desire.”

“God delights in answering our prayers.”

“God enjoys our worship.”

“Look for Intimacy with God.”

Matthew 6:6 – But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

“God is waiting for you. Do not fail to show up.”

“You will understand the heart of God.”

Matthew 6:25-33

2. Walk in Love.

Ephesians 5:1-2 – Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Ephesians 4:29-32 – Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

3. Let your faith in God speak.

2 Corinthians 4:13 – And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak,

“Speak of words of thanksgiving, words of faith. Speak God’s Word.”

Walking Under an Open Heaven

The Family of God: Good and Faithful Slaves

web-admin November 19, 2017

November 19, 2017, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 28)
Theme: “The Family of God: Good and Faithful Slaves”
Homily by Fr. Fernando Ilustre

“Each and everyone of us were given talents and abilities according to our capacities, and we will give account for these.”

Zephaniah 1: 7; 12-18

1 Thessalonians 5: 2-6

Psalm 90: 2-7; 9-12

Matthew 25: 14; 19-29

Being Prepared For The Day of His Coming

web-admin November 15, 2017

November 15, 2017 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Fr. Fernando Ilustre)

Topic: Being Prepared For The Day of His Coming

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NASB) – But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Matthew 25:1-13 (NASB) –

Parable of Ten Virgins

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

The Family of God: Prudently Ready to Meet Their Lord

web-admin November 12, 2017

November 12, 2017, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 27)
Theme: “The Family of God: Prudently Ready to Meet Their Lord”
Homily by Fr. Erel Villanueva

“The Gospel teaches us the importance of preparing to meet our God.”

“The oil represents the Holy Spirit; the fire should continue burning in us.”

“Staying power comes through the Word of God and prayer.”

“Faith in God will lead us to be wise and inspire us to prepare.”

Amos 5:18-24

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Psalm 70

Matthew 25:1-13

11-8-2017 Fr. Erel Villanueva Sermon Teaching

Developing a Servant Heart

web-admin November 8, 2017

November 8, 2017 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Fr. Erel Villanueva)

Topic: Developing a Servant Heart

“A servant heart based on love and on the character of Jesus.”

“Develop that attitude on how to be a servant.”

“Jesus is a servant – to fulfill the will of the Father.”

Matthew 20:28 – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

“Servanthood is character.”

Philippians 2:5-6 – Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.

“Think like Jesus and Learn from Him”

The Family of God: Humbling Ourselves As Servants

web-admin November 5, 2017

November 5, 2017, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 26)
Theme: “The Family of God: Humbling Ourselves As Servants”
Homily by Fr. Fernando Ilustre

“As servants of God, we are to serve others with humility of heart.”

“Greatness is all about servanthood.”

Micah 5:5-12

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Psalm 43

Matthew 23:1-12

The Family of God: Loving Him With All We Are

web-admin October 29, 2017

October 29, 2017, 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 25)
Theme: “The Family of God: Loving Him With All We Are”
Homily by Fr. Erel Villanueva

Dueteronomy 34:1-12

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Psalm 1

Matthew 22: 34-46

1. “The greatest commandment of God is Love”

As Christians, loving God should be our priority.

1 John 4:7 – Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

2. “To Love God is also to love other people.”

– How we love others is an expression of our love for God.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

The Greatest Gift

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

“If you want to know love, know Christ.

1 John 4:16 – “If we have known and believe”

Believing God’s Provisions For The Needs Of Others

web-admin October 25, 2017

October 25, 2017 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Fr. Fernando Ilustre)

Topic: Living In God’s Provision (Part 10) – Believing God’s Provisions For The Needs Of Others

Philippians 4:10-19

Philippian Generosity

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

1 Kings 5

2 Samuel 24:18-24

The Altar on the Threshing Floor

And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.

Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.”

And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver

“Let us also believe God’s provisions for others with the same intensity as we believe for our own.”

Nehemiah 3

“Praying for others and blessing others should go together.”

2 Corinthians 9:7 – So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

10-22-2017 Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz Sermon and Prophecy

The Family Of God: Rendering To Him His Due

web-admin October 22, 2017

October 22, 2017, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 24)
Theme: “The Family of God: Rendering To Him His Due”
Homily by Abp. Ricardo Alcaraz

“Be wise and give God His due.”

Isaiah 45:1-7 – God is the reason for our success. All our abilities, skills, and desires are nothing without God.

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 – We are to yield to the faith that God has given us for His power to flourish.

Psalm 96:1-6;11-13

Matthew 22: 15-22

1.(v.15-17) Trying to manipulate the Lord is foolish.

2.(v.18-22) Give the Lord His due.

Wrestling with God

Parable of Ten Virgins

The Greatest Gift

Philippian Generosity

The Altar on the Threshing Floor

I AM BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING