Marriage and Beyond

posted by Jennie on Apr 7

This is the outline of Jeff’s message last Sunday, A Closer Look at Jesus’ Death. Nothing can be more appropriate for the season.  Be blessed.  

Why was there so much blood?

Luke 22:20 Jesus said, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood which is poured out for you.”

 John 6:53-54″…Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood, he has eternal life.”

Leviticus 17:14 “The life of every creature is in the blood”

1. Jesus shed His blood because of our sins

Hebrews 12:4 “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

2. The blood means that Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins

Exodus 12:7″…Take blood and put it on the side and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.”

Exodus 29:12 “Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar in that temple, with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar.”

Hebrews 7:27 “Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins and for the sins of the people.  He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself.”

Hebrews 9:25 “Now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

3. Jesus saved us from our sins

John 3:17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

What exactly happened on the cross?

Wrong Idea:

 *Jesus was dying just to give us an example of how we’re supposed to live for others

Biblical truth:

*Jesus’ death was a complete sacrifice

What does the blood of Christ mean to each of us personally?

*It means forgiveness

Hebrews 9:22 “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

*It also means ownership

Acts 20:28 “Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood.”

*It means reconciliation

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”

John 1:12-13 “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

posted by Jennie on Mar 30

One of the more prevailing things that I discuss with my youth counselees is of the nature of dating. Most of them are over their dating issues but it does not mean the struggle is non-existent. There are even issues that can be persistent, but we are happy that they find the support system from our church family to be able to wind up as victors through it all.

With a sexually charged society that we have, the young people are actually fooled into the fantasy of the dating game– a game that gets a whole handful of hearts broken, at the end of the day. It is important to be aware how to conduct oneself while dating. It is actually a good indicator of the kind of commitment that you want to have in your future relationships. The race towards engagement rings is really overrated. What are you going to do with a wedding, when you end up getting divorced sooner than you got engaged?

So far, I am happy with the progress my girls are showing since I started seeing them. If you knew the community in Makati that we are serving, you will be surprised that a big percentage practices common-law marriage. This erodes morality a great deal and if nothing is done, they will inevitably follow that path.

It blesses my heart to see they want better lives, after suffering the cruelties of dysfunctional families. As true as the world is but imperfect, the fact remains that God’s grace is sufficient and this is the core of whatever it is we share with them, whatever circumstance they are in.  There’s nothing like dating God’s way. 

posted by Jennie on Feb 17

This shot was taken on Valentine’s Eve via my camphone (I forgot our digicam). We knew that the next couple of days were going to be extremely busy -ministry wise.  So we made sure we spent time together and swung around Serendra (the closest commercial place to our local church) and grabbed some good food from Conti’s Pastry Shop and Restaurant.  Spent the eve with my handsome boys.  

Read the rest of this entry »

posted by Jennie on Feb 13

THE STORY:
At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter’s adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules.

Growing up, Catherine Holt always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter…just like her daddy. Now, after seven years of marriage, Catherine wonders when she stopped being “good enough” for her husband.

Regular arguments over jobs, finances, housework, and outside interests have readied them both to move on to something with more sparks.

As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb’s father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment: “The Love Dare.” Wondering if it’s even worth the effort, Caleb agrees-for his father’s sake more than for his marriage. When Caleb discovers the book’s daily challenges are tied into his parents’ newfound faith, his already limited interest is further dampened.

While trying to stay true to his promise, Caleb becomes frustrated time and again. He finally asks his father, “How am I supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects me?”

When his father explains that this is the love Christ shows to us, Caleb makes a life-changing commitment to love God. Andwith God’s help, he begins to understand what it means to truly love his wife.

But is it too late to fireproof his marriage? His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever…rescuing his wife’s heart.

We are inviting all married couples this coming Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 6 P.M. for a free Valentine movie date.  It will be held at Sumulong Baptist Church-Makati. 

Jeff and I are thrilled to be able to open this opportunity for all married couples to further strengthen their marriages. A strong marriage is the foundation of a healthy and thriving family. We look forward to building a community of believers where we serve but more than that we love that as a church family, we continue to work towards what God has purposed for a family to be, to begin with.  It was just timely that the Lord spoke to our hearts and gave us this movie in time for Valentine’s Day.  You can learn more about the movie in FireProofMyMarriage.com.

Please know that whether you belong to a Christian community or otherwise, you and your family are welcome to join us this coming Sunday.  We will be more than glad to see you there!

posted by Jennie on Feb 7

posted by Jennie on Jan 26

After almost a year that our church is trying to look for a place to transfer to, we are actually considering to just stay where we are. This is because we really could not find a place that our church could afford that is big enough to hold our Sunday services. Obviously, we won’t have to call back the office of the moving trucks we have hired from before for their service. But more than that issue, we pray that the building owner will consider as we negotiate with them for a lower rent. I’m a little sad that we have to stay and put up with the stinky ground floor, especially during weekends. But then again, the Lord might have something better in store for SBC-Makati that we cannot see just yet from this point.

 

As Joshua 24:15 said it, we will press on…”..But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

posted by Jennie on Jan 26

T’was a very busy weekend for us, which explains the couple of days without posts. This update will be a quick one, I have to rush to the salon to accompany mama to have her brows fixed. What better way to do a quick update than a photo essay, right?

with some of the cool people of Nuffnang and fellow bloggers after the flu vaccine seminar

the same day. I ran back to Teatro Marikina after the flu vaccine seminar for the RefresHer ’09 Annual National Women’s Conference.

wrapping up the day together.  We thought we could do a pretend-sleeping shot, but the little guy wasn’t up to it.  He’s still a cutie pie just the same. 

posted by Jennie on Jan 23

RefresHer ’09 Women’s Conference

Teatro Marikina

8 A.M to 4 P.M.

posted by Jennie on Jan 23

Yesterday was another no post day. I was out doing all sort of things. I went to see my doctor, then to PRC to finally get my license and to church for the briefing of  the registration team for the Women’s conference that will be held tomorrow at Teatro Marikina.

I am glad that yesterday was the last of the series of my having to see the doctor on a regular basis. Traffic in Ortigas is terrible. After almost a year of stalling, I finally was able to go to possibly the most crowded place in Manila to get my professional license. I know that I shouldn’t expect much from a third world government office like PRC, but I guess it is just something I won’t get used to. This was the reason why it took me so long to go and claim my license and board certificate.

Anyhoo, allow me to call on all ladies who will be available tomorrow for the RefresHer2 Women’s Conference, registration starts at 8 A.M. in Teatro Marikina. The conference will be from 8 A.M. until 4 P.M. Come and be blessed!

posted by Jennie on Jan 18

Jesus Inspired, Valuing Eternity or JIVE, our church’s youth group just turned Five! They held a special outreach/celebration program last night at the church auditorium and had loads of fun. We celebrate the five years that the Lord has been with us ministering to these young people who themselves have gotten into the core group and have started reaching out to the young people of Makati. The core leaders of JIVE were the ones who organized the program. The band played great music and a number of young people shared their testimonies how they grew in the Lord through the years that they were with JIVE.

 

JIVE regularly meets every Sunday at 3:30 P.M. at SBC-Makati.

posted by Jennie on Aug 11

Before this site screams issues of abandonment, I’m going to write a quick post on what has been keeping me busy these past days. I have been in my lonesome in our make shift work station since yesterday. The hubby and I would usually write our respective articles at the same time from different computers. I am trying to be as occupied as I can, so that time will just fly until he’s back. Keep him in your prayers, will you? He is in Palawan with a team from Houston, Texas. He is leading the team as they go into schools to present the Breaking Point program to hundreds of students.

 

As for me, aside from keeping constantly in touch with the hubby, keeping house, taking care of my little guy while doing some online tasks which includes discreetly promoting a couple of my other blogs, like what I did the other day. I also have been doing my own research on how effective diet pills are. Read the rest of this entry »

posted by Jennie on Jul 30

A handful of young people from the church are on their way to graduating from our discipleship material. This program gets them to learn more about the faith and more importantly allows them to understand why we believe the things we do. At the end of every lesson they are to quote three to five corresponding memory verses. When they are all done with the ten lessons, they will have completed memorizing thirty five key verses from the Bible.  You could just imagine the volume of print out we do every week. This is aside from the printing the hubby has to do for his manuscript and the church bulletin.

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posted by Jennie on Jul 28

As we open up the church during weekdays as Jive Youth Center, we hope to more than just do some scholarly tutorials, have them play table tennis and darts, or even make the place available for them to hang out in. We also hope to connect with them, even as we placed key people to be in charge of the center. We hope to get the message across that they belong and we want to connect with them.

The hubby recently just found a site to download movies wherein we could get a hold of good, clean and fun films that can be of entertainment for the middle school students who will swing by the center. Read the rest of this entry »

posted by Jennie on Jul 20

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25

We had a blessed worship service at church this morning. How about you, how did your day go? I am so happy to report that a handful of our church members are faithfully going through the discipleship program. It did take a while for this to take off after having been launched a few years back.

The above verse is included in the “Church Membership” Lesson of the discipleship material. It just thrills me how the members are moving up from becoming baby Christians even as they choose to be equipped with the foundations of the faith through this program.  Seeing them grow and nurture their relationship with our Savior encourages my heart.  Most of those who have graduated are the ones equipping the new ones.

 

If you are in California and you want to find a church in Rancho Santa Fe, you might want to check out this emergent church called Horizon Christian Fellowship. Their address is 6365 El Apajo Road, Rancho Santa Fe, CA and their Senior Pastor is Dr. Bob Botsford. He is part of the Advisory Board for the Billy Graham School of Evangelism.  Check out their “I Want a Better Marriage” series and visit Horizon.org for more information.

posted by Jennie on Jul 9

One of the major things that I do in the ministry as I partner with the hubby, is counseling. It can be the most overwhelming tasks in the church ministry. Even as overwhelming as it is, it can also be the most fulfilling as I see through the years how the people under my care are ushered into a better life that the Lord has got in store for them.

The very concept of counseling can be scary to a lot of people. I have seen a few who would start but would withdraw from it before they are ready. But I encountered more than a few who, despite the many struggles, have passed with flying colors and are actually the ones discipling the younger generation. This encourages my heart to press on.

If you are anywhere near Ottawa, you might want to check out Counseling Ottawa. This team understands the confidentiality that is between the therapist and the counselee. More than just being educated, compassion is needed for you to be able to work through the issues you are struggling with. Read the rest of this entry »