Preached on July 24, 2022 - Evening Service
By Pastor Godwyn Aguinaldo Main Text: Genesis 24:1-10 KJV [1] And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. [2] And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: [3] And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: [4] But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. [5] And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? [6] And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. [7] The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. [8] And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. [9] And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. [10] And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. There are certain things to ask in our Christian life; some of those questions are what the Will of God is for us and how should we follow. Sometimes we are guilty of making decisions on our own and it leads us to mistakes that are often irreversible. The Congregation is blessed to hear the message about the Principles a Christian needs in order to gain God's Guidance. God knows what is best for us and we should be living as Christians in accordance to His Will and not our own. Principles To Gain God's Guidance: 1. Know God's Word We should check ourselves first; how well do we understand the Bible? how well do we know God? is having problems in our Christian life the only time we should pray? Abraham knew God, trusted Him and served Him. As for us we should always seize the opportunity to hear, listen and apply God's Word in every way we can. 2. Commitment to God's will Abraham was Blessed by God and must now pass the torch to his son Isaac to lead. Abraham knew that God's promise is extended through Isaac and in his old age he said unto his servant Eliezer to find a wife for his son. Eliezer could have refused; going to a distant place to find a person whom he hasn't even met for Isaac. Nevertheless, the servant still went through and trusted God. God sometimes leads us to somewhere we are not comfortable with and sometimes we bargain because we didn't trust full enough in His Will. A Christian living a comfortable life is living the wrong life. We must always strive to improve our ministries in accordance to His Will. 3. Trust God The servant trusted God and in his Journey he was guided. He prayed and being obedient that he was, a certain woman showed him kindness by giving him and his camels water to drink. A certain woman called Rebekah. We often times strategize our life especially on our personal problems but we often forget to consult God first. God is always there with us, all we have to do is to follow His Will. 4. Pray First The servant prayed and God lead him. Eliezer was guided throughout his journey because he trusted God. In our Christian life, we must always pray first in any situations especially in our decisions. God provides and takes away what is dear to us. All we must do it to trust and be faithful to Him. Living our life by our own would only result in regrets. Always pray for God's guidance and for Him to lead us in His Plan. Though we often times do mistakes, God always forgives. We should always strive to be obedient because God always provides His Promises. /written by: Steven Caramoan /published by: Em Gacad
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Preached on April 10, 2022
By Pastor Godwyn Aguinaldo Main Text: Romans 14:12, 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 Romans 14:12 [12] So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 [1] Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. [2] Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. Key texts: Leviticus 25:23, Psalm 24:1, Psalms 31:15, Ephesians 5:15-16, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Psalm 50:10, 1 Chronicles 29:11-14, Philippians 4:19, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 Stewardship is better expressed by its Filipino translation, pinagkatiwalaan. We are entrusted by the Lord of many things beginning with the very life we are enjoying. Everything in this world that we enjoy and own belongs to our most sovereign God. As caretakers, we are expected to give account of the things we are entrusted with to the Lord soon as we face Him. Moreover, faithfulness is one huge requirement we are measured upon as stewards. In this message, may we be reminded of our responsibilities and the Lord’s expectations of us as His appointed stewards. Much like our temporary residence in this world, everything that we come into contact with in this world is temporary. The Bible is clear that we are just journeymen and sojourners to this land that is the Lord’s (Leviticus 25:23, Psalms 24:1). The faster we accept this truth, the easier we can appreciate the Lord’s sovereignty towards us. All the fulness of this world was entrusted to us by the Lord God of Heavens. As stewards we are expected to make the best out of these holy gifts from the Lord. In this message, we focused on three of the things we collectively try to attain in this world: property, time and money. At some point in our lives, we had all of these things. Have we taken our time to evaluate how any of these things have controlled our lives? The moment we realize these things are not ours anyway, we are removed from the chain of this world that revolves around selfishness. God owns our time, properties and money. We are stewards of all these things. How do we use them to glorify God? Have we been faithful to the Source? As stewards of the Lord, we are required of faithfulness. One aspect where we can show our faithfulness is through giving. Our tithes, offerings and firstfruits are acts of services that are acknowledgement of God’s Lordship over our earthly possessions. Our time devoted to prayer, worship and service are also acknowledgement of our gratefulness to the Lord. How do we spend our time with the Lord? What kind of time have we rendered? These are questions that we need to ask ourselves in order to evaluate our stewardship. This preaching also gave us pointers on how we ought to give. As faithful stewards, we should give perpetually. Our giving should not be dependent on anything. It should be consistent and unvarying. Moreover, our giving should be personal. We are not giving by group because we are accounted individually (Romans 14:12, 1 Corinthians 4:1). We should also plan our giving properly in that we have prayed and prepared what we are giving. (1 Corinthians 16:2). Lastly, we ought to give proportionately. Let us give according to how God blessed and prospered each of us. We should always remember that the Lord never failed us in His provisions. While we are not worthy of anything, we are made stewards of many things. The Lord only requires our faithfulness to Him. Come to think of it, we are required of very little of what we are given. What is stopping us to give more and serve Him faithfully? Are you ready to give your own account to the Lord? Today, we can work on our faithfulness as the Lord’s steward. /written by: Kevin Sanchez /published by: Em Gacad Preached on July 24, 2022 - Morning Service
By Pastor Godwyn Aguinaldo Main Text: Daniel 3:12-20 KJV [12] There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. [13] Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. [14] Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? [15] Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made, well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? [16] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. [17] If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. [18] But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up. [19] Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. [20] And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. As Christians, we are expected to be persecuted by the world (John 16:33), but God tells us that we can overcome these things when we put our faith and trust in Him. If a small drop of hot water can hurt us how much more if we are to be burned in a furnace of seven times more heat? This is the story of three faithful men who stood firm in God. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego taught us how to fight the fire. The main weapon we need is faith. It is hard to overcome the fire without faith. Like these three men, although they were given a chance to worship the god and spare themselves, they chose to stand firm in the side of the true living God. Lo and behold, they were alive after being thrown in the furnace. Not only that, Christ Jesus was with them walking in the midst of the fire and they were not hurt until they got out. (Daniel 3:26) To overcome the fire, we need to first, consider the fire. We must study it.
The next step is to Commit the fire to God.
The preaching focused on how we can fight and overcome the fire. Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego whom the Lord had preserved through the fire, God can also preserve us through all the fiery trials we will face. If we stand firm in the Lord and do the right thing which He asks of us, we will be able to come out of the furnace. As a gift, we will also be promoted by Him. There is always a blessing waiting for those who stand for their faith. In this case, just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God will touch the hearts of those who persecute us and reward us for our faithfulness. /written by: Jemaimah Alquizar /published by: Em Gacad Preached on February 27, 2022
By Pastor Godwyn Aguinaldo Main Text: Matthew 6:25-34 KJV [25] Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? [26] Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? [27] Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? [28] And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: [29] And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? [31] Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? [32] (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. [33] But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. [34] Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. A lot of things are happening in our world today and we cannot ignore the fact that we are living in a tension charged and fast-paced world. As a result, we tend to suffer from stress, as we are trying to catch up with time. The church is blessed to be taught that it is possible to live a stress-free life. In Pastor Aguinaldo’s preaching, we learned what God says about stress and how we should handle it. He showed a simple illustration in the main text on how to deal with stress: He tells us that we should not worry about tomorrow for He knows what we need, and these things shall be added unto us if we seek first His kingdom. God did not promise to keep us away from things that cause anxiety and stress. However, He promises that He will enable us to live lightly amidst difficulties. So, He provided instructions on how to manage our problems. Biblical Pictures of Stress-free living: 1. See things through God’s perspective. Life is filled with a variety of circumstances. Some are negative, some are positive. Great deal of stress can be lessened by viewing our circumstances from a Godly perspective. Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work together for good to those who love God. We should remember that God has purpose for all those challenges that we go through. All we must do is to abide and have faith in His words. 2. Deal with unresolved sins and conflict. Sin and conflict can be causes of stress as these can hinder blessings and opportunities. In Hebrews 12:1, God instructs us to lay aside every weight and sin which easily beset us. We are commanded to lay aside those hatred and envy and be content with what God gives us. God also asks us to refrain from committing sin as this will never produce joy. 3. Give everything to God in prayer. Prayer is an instant medicine from stress. Philippians 4:6 tells us to be careful for nothing but we should make our requests known to God through prayers. 1 Peter 5:7 also says that we should cast all our worries to God because He cares for us. Though we must keep in mind that when we pray, we must give everything to Him. Let Him carry your burden for nothing is impossible with Him. 4. Trust in God’s words. Point number 4 is a continuation of the previous instruction. Our stress will be lessened if we hold on to God’s promises. So, it is important to study His words to understand His desires for us. In the preaching, we are instructed to listen carefully and attentively in sermons, attend the daily devotions and most importantly, read the Bible. We should have constant communication with the Lord to be able to entrust our worries upon Him. 5. Fellowship with one another. Our brethren are gifts from God. In 2 Corinthians 7:13, Paul rejoiced because Titus’ spirit was refreshed by the Corinthians. Titus was encouraged by the Corinthians’ kindness to him and by the example of their faithfulness to God. Like the Corinthians to Titus, our brothers and sisters in Christ are blessings to us. They were given by the Lord to have fellowship with us. Our churchmates are our encouragement and our prayer warriors, as we should also be with our brethren. As we face the demands of life, let us remember who gives us the strength to hold on. God does not want to hear from us that we give up. His desire for us is to continue. So, learn to trust and obey God because the moment we remove God in our lives, troubles will consume us. Instead of getting stressed, we should learn to be more faithful and dependent on God. /written by: Colleen de Ocampo /published by: Em Gacad |