Married Life Live Christmas

I got this from North Point, and it couldn't be more accurate:

DURING THE HOLIDAYS, MOST MARRIED PEOPLE FORGET THEY ARE MARRIED! They are so busy doing for everyone else, they spend little time with each other. Not this year! Grab your spouse and come celebrate Christmas with a night of phenomenal music, loads of laughs, and a relevant message--all designed to encourage and empower your marriage. YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!

Well, we got the point! So, we had our MarriedLife Live Goes Christmas last Dec 4; and we had a blast.

Of course, there was food. And then there was the Singing Bee. and more eating.... and more singing...

Click Here for Pics

Married Life Live Valentines, here we come!

Can't Get Enough of My Family

Our Family Pics

Quest 1st Intersect Project

Click Here for Pics

B.Z., B.Z., BEE-ZEE

Man, it has been a crazy 2 weeks! Fun, but crazy!

Im just gonna go thru the events fast & furious.

Oct 31 - It was Trick or Treat time. Our kids and their cousins had a "scary" good time!

Scary Pics CLICK HERE

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Last week was spent preparing for the GlobalX team from North Point that were coming to help us with the Intersect Project. What is the Intersect Project? you'll find out next week.

Friday, we picked up team from airport at 12AM, yup, 12AM. slept at 3AM.

Setup at church at 9AM the next day. Slept around 3AM again after setting up some lights and props the team gave us.

Had to be at church at 7AM for production run-through.

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Night of Worship that same night at 5pm.

CLICK HERE here for pics

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I think my body is still recuperating. Slowly but surely. Thank God for the strength!

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This week is Intersect Week. Here's a hint to what we're doing - we're renovating/rebuilding the library in Labangon Elementary School , a public school.

Photos will be posted ASAP!

I Love Quest - reason #2

Our very first mission team; going to the Mamanwa Tribe in Agusan and helping the Christians there finish their church building.

Quest GlobalX from Quest Community Fellowship on Vimeo.

I Love Quest - reason #1

(this video speaks for itself)

Operation Typhoon Ondoy from Quest Community Fellowship on Vimeo.

Leaders Needed!

I've said so many times in this blog that LifeGroup plays a huge part in our lives.

LifeGroups is the heartbeat of Quest;

it is the ultimate reason why we do the things we do;

it is where life-change happens...

and we are constantly evaluating and improving the way we do groups because we believe so passionately that this is also what God wants.

Well, the last few months our groups program has multiplied; so much that we almost ran out of LifeGroup leaders.

Now, you might say, "Why don't you just pick someone who attended a semester of Bible School or someone who joined a seminar on How To Develop Successful Group?"

That's not how it works. Johnson Lo, our Groups Director, can explain it to you in more intricate details, but basically we are picky on who we choose to lead LifeGroups.

IT'S THAT IMPORTANT!

So last Sunday, we held a LifeGroup Leaders Training. This is in preparation for whenever we need new LG (LifeGroup) leaders; which could pretty well be next Sunday :)

Don't get me wrong, this is a great problem to have. We just don't wanna get caught in a situation again where there are more groups-in-waiting than leaders-in-waiting!

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Who are you accountable to? No man (or woman) is an island! Join a Lifegroup!

Sunday Summary (Oct 25, 2009)

"God has blessed me with more than I need, I'm RICH!"

"I will not trust in my riches, but in God who richly provides."

"Do more, Give more!"

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This has been the bottom lines for the last 3 Sundays.

And it has been eye-opening to a lot of people.

I can't get into all the details, listen for yourself :)

CLICK HERE FOR TO GO TO OUR WEBSITE

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We also showed a video from the team that went to Manila to help with the typhoon victims.

I will post it as soon as we get it uploaded to the web.

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On to the songs:

We opened with India.Arie's "There's Hope" - pretty cool R&B tune, check out this artist (free plug :)

Worship Songs:

No One Like You - Dave* Crowder Band

You Alone - Lincoln Brewster

How Great is our God - a Tomlin fave, BUT with a different flava. CLICK HERE for the new version by Seventh Day Slumber.

Band: Eph Tonzo (worship leader & elec guitar1), Jevan Gonato (elec guitar2), Ben Purisima (bass), Reymund dela Cruz (drums), Saralee Tilka & Rose Valencia (bg vocals), Saralee, Rose, and Faith Capuyan (sang the opener)

Emotions

Emotions are an interesting thing.

Some people say you may have too many, others may say that you are not emotional enough.

No matter what your opinion may be about emotions one thing is clear, they are a gift from God.

However, the reason for them in our lives was meant to enhance our lives, not run them.

This can be hard sometimes when "emotions are running high" or you are "emotionally involved" in a situation or with another person.

The key is to find balance, which means that you don't discount them, or let them overrun you.

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Here are a few Bible verses for your emotions:

When I feel afraid...
"The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear". (Psalm 27:1)

When I feel overwhelmed...
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness". (2 Corinthians 12:9)

When I feel like running away...
"And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand". (Romans 14:4)

When I feel threatened...
"O Lord my God, I take refuge in You; save and deliver me from all who pursue me". (Psalm 7:1)

When I feel betrayed...
"Be strong and courageous...For the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you". (Deuteronomy 31:6)

When I feel confused...
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him". (James 1:5)

When I feel angry...
"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires" (James 1:19-20)

When I feel depressed...
"He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along". (Psalm 40:2)

When I feel unloved...
"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt". (Jeremiah 31:3-4)

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What are you feeling today?

R & R

A couple of weeks ago, our family went to Cabadbaran, a town in Mindanao.

Its not quite the "no-electric, no-tv" kind of remote place but its not as modernized as Cebu City.

In other words, it was the perfect getaway!

A few things we did:

1. flew as a family for the first time

2. visited my late Grandfather's AND Grandmother's gravesite.

3. BEACH!!!

4. celebrated my uncles's birthday

5. slept under a mosquito net as a family

6. and a lot more...

Click here for pics

We had a great time! I think everyone SHOULD be forced to go on a getaway as much as possible; what with all the tension and pressure with daily life.

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PLAN YOUR NEXT GETAWAY!

Sunday Summary (Oct 18, 2009)

The day started out lazy. Everyone was coming in late. Thankfully everyone gathered their thoughts quickly and we got the run-through in almost record time.

We did part 2 of "How To Be Rich" - it talked about how God richly provides for ALL our needs. AMEN!!!!

We had a really funny opener; a parody of "If I Had A Million Dollars." Jevan & Cris did a great job. Sadly, no one got a video. Grrrr! Oh well.

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On to the songs:

Opener - the aforementioned parody of "If I Had A Million Dollars" by Barenaked Ladies. Another secular song? What's going on?

Worship Set:

Let God Arise by Chris Tomlin

Marvelous Light by Charlie Hall

Unfailing Love again by Tomlin

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Band: Me (worship leader & acoustic), James Sarcos (elec guitar), Ben Purisima (bass), Bradley Tilka (acoustic guitar2), Reymund dela Cruz (drums), Shen Cagas & Faith Capuyan (bg vocals), Cris Ablanque & Jevan Gonato (sang the opener)

LG Happenings

LG (LifeGroup) is always important to us.

So when a couple from our group said they're moving to a new house, I immediately volunteered the rest of our group to help them out...

It was one of the best bonding times we had as a LifeGroup.

Don't believe me? Try it with your group! It's LIFE-CHANGING!

Click Here for Pics

Quest 5th Birthday

October 4, 2009 marked our church's 5th birthday; but the preparations started waaaaaayyyyy before that!

We saw this thing on the internet that we wanted to do for the occasion. It was Oprah's opener for this season; they had the Black-Eyed Peas doing the number. You can look it up in YouTube and just input "Oprah Opener 2009".

Well anyway, we gathered about 30-40 volunteers and practiced for 2 weekends.

And somehow we managed to pull it off. And it was great! A few people from the crowd actually joined in the dance. It was awesome!

I will post the video as soon as the media guys finish with it.

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We had games, dressed up the place... why don't I just let you see for yourself.

Click Here for the pics :)

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Les talked about what Quest is all about and why we do the things we do.

AND...

We were also collecting relief goods for the people in Manila that were affected by the floods. We collected more than 500kgs.

Overall, a great day for the church.

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What got you excited with your church last week?

Sunday Summary (Oct 11, 2009)

We started our new series last Sunday.

It was a "straight-shot" Sunday by our standards :) By this I mean we didn't have any big elements going on during the services.

And I think it needed to be after the huge production with our 5th Anniversary last Sunday (I will post the 5th Anniversary this wk, honest).

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On to the songs:

Opener - I Wanna Be Rich by Cab Calloway. Yep, a secular song in church :)

Worship Set

Let The Praises Ring by Lincoln Brewster

Everlasting God again by LB

Lift High by Eddie Kirkland

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Band: Dennis Canlas (worship leader), Eph (elec guitar1), Ben Purisima (bass), Jevan Gonato (elec guitar2), Ching Cagas (drums), Cris Ablanque (keys), Jando Urot (sang the opener)

on leave

our blog will be on hold for few days as our family will be going out of town for a family reunion.

the anniversary report will have to wait (you guys can wait :)

c u soon,

mel

Asking Big

We did a stand-alone message a few weeks ago entitled Asking Big. It talks about stuff that you should be praying for. We know that we should all pray but what exactly should we be praying for?

Sometimes our prayers are too small. Sometimes we pray for the "wrong" things, things that are not really that important.

Here is the link to the message: CLICK HERE

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My Asking Big stuff for this & next year:

a. 100% of regular Quest VOLUNTEERS join a LifeGroup

b. 100 LifeGroups in the next 2 years

c. 1 (or more) baptism every service

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What are you ASKING BIG from God today?

L.I.T.B.M.

Wondering what "L.I.T.B.M." means?

Its simply means - Laughter Is The Best Medicine

This will be the start of a section in our blog which frankly will soon become my favorite!

This will include, among others: funny stories, funny pictures, funny slogans, funny everything...

SO... if you have something funny that you think will relieve some of the daily stress in our lives, bring it on!

Here are some samples :)

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DON'T FORGET TO SMILE TODAY!

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Flooding in Manila

Please continue to pray for our fellow Filipinos that were affected by the recent floodings in Manila.

• Flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ketsana (local name Ondoy) leaves more than 300,000 displaced
  
• More than 80 percent of capital city was under water at one point Sunday
• Power, water supply fail in some areas; Roads impassable, affecting rescue efforts

It is a lot worse than what you see/hear from the news!

The news videos that we saw a few days after that Black Saturday were very moving.

* a mother and her child being carried by the current to who-knows-where

* cars with people on top, again carried by the current

* houses submerged with the family on the roof praying (and shouting), hoping that some help would come

* a husband losing his wife AND 4 children

You can see a lot of it. Just go to youtube.com and put "manila floods".

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Quest is planning to send out a team to Manila next week and help in whatever way we can.

If you wanna help, there are a lot of avenues to do it - Government agencies, NGOs, etc. Or you can go through Quest too.

This is a time of sadness and grief for our country; but also a time to unite as a nation and help our brothers!

Sunday Summary (Sept 27, 2009)

We concluded the series "Go Fish." And again, like what we did the 1st Sunday, we had "fishy snacks" along with all the watery stuff going on.

Speaking of watery stuff, we had a couple of baptisms that Sunday. Baptisms are always great because it reminds us that we are doing the right thing and that God is working with us.

Here are a couple of pics from Sunday:

On to the songs:

Now That You're Near - an old song from United Live that still rocks!

King of Majesty - Lincoln Brewster version

Glory to God Forever - Steve Fee

Then we closed with Take My Life (Let It Be) - yup, the hymn.

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Overall, great series. People have been telling me that its been eye-opening for them.

Hopefully, our anniversary Sunday will be overflowing with people because of the "Fishing."

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Band: Dennis Canlas (worship leader), Eph (elec guitar), Ryan Dandan (bass), Brad Tilka (acoustic guitar), Kellen Crager (drums), Cris Ablanque (keys), Saralee Tilka (bg vox)

Jesus on Earth Today

What do think about this scenario? I mean, WHAT IF JESUS CAME DOWN TO EARTH TODAY?

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Where would he land? In Jerusalem or North Point Community Church or Quest Community Fellowship? Or would he follow his old plan, being born in a manger? Or would he prefer the more comfortable hospital this time?

Then, what would he wear?

- if he wore jeans, most churches won't let him speak from the pulpit

- if he wore formal slacks, he might make himself irrelevant to the younger generation

What would he speak about?

- politics, religion, relevance, salvation,

Would he prefer to just talk to the church leaders and let them address their flock on what He has to say to them? or would he prefer a worldwide LIVE crusade, with Hillsong Australia and Passion doing the music; Billy Graham doing the opening prayer, Rick Warren introducing him & Andy Stanley closing benediction.

Where would He spend most of His time?

- speaking at some megachurches broadcast LIVE all over the world

- having dinner with the world leaders in some U.N. banquet

- or visiting some children in some hospital in a remote mountain province

That's a lot of questions.

But you know what? they are all irrelevant and insignificant. WHY?

Because He is already here, on this planet, at this very moment... WHERE IS HE?

I think you already know...

here's a hint: you either let Him in, or you reject Him. but one thing is sure, He is here; and here to stay!

It's up to us to show the world that He is here and that He still cares.

Sunday Summary (Sept 20, 2009)

It was my turn to preach that morning and I talked about Part 4 of Go Fish "Fishing Buddies."

It was just about normal for our morning services, except for one minor thing...

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Here's a clue: NO ELECTRICITY

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In the middle of the 1st service, there was a blackout.

So, imagine me preaching to everyone with just those tiny lights in front of me. It would be like listening to a radio :)

We had the generator but it can only carry the audio (not the lights and/or aircon).

So it was dark AND very hot.

But you know what? i think the people were more attentive coz:

#1. they couldn't sleep... hehehe...

and #2. they couldn't see me so they had to listen intently.

Well, the Lord moves in mysterious ways. There was a reason he allowed that to happen, and I'm trusting Him that it was for the best!

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On to the songs:

Opened with Fishin' on a Pier - this is a parody of Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer", we had a guest singer for that and he did great!

Tell the World - United Live

Forever - Chris Tomlin

Victorious - Steve Fee

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Band: Eph (elec guitar1 & vox), Ben Purisima (bass), James Sarcos (elec guitar2 & bg), Ching Cagas (drums), Jando Urot (acoustic & bg), Cris Ablanque (keys), Faith Capuyan (bg vox)

THE BLACK DOT

Take a look at the picture on the left. What do you see?

If you answered, "there's nothing there." You might need to see your optometrist (or opthalmologist, or whichever one i don't really know :)

If you answered, "a small black dot." well, you're right!

It is approximately .0005cm in diameter (ok, it's just my professional estimate).

but do you notice the white paper that surrounds it? i mean, if the black dot was the planet Earth, the white paper would be the Milky Way.

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this got me thinking:

Ever wonder how people can remember the ONE THING you did wrong to them, but don't recall the 34,783,269,487,623,952 good things you've done for them?
*number might be too much, but you get the point!

This Black Dot vs White Paper comparison would probably symbolize it best.

I don't know why but this is how it is, this is human nature, this is US!

That's why its probably a good thing our salvation doesn't depend on you and me.

It depends solely on Jesus' blood... the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb,
AND IT WASHES WHITE AS SNOW!

Volunteers

As we approach Quest's 5th Church Anniversary (has it been that long? time does fly), I just remembered something. We wouldn't have survived this long without the help of the most important people at Quest!

The VOLUNTEERS! We have more than a hundred per week who serve (which is about a third of our regular adult attendees).

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THANK YOU SO MUCH! Without you guys (and gals), the staff would have been long dead :)

You are the ones who make Quest run every week, not us!

You produce the excellent production, not us!

You make the kids laugh and, for nursery workers, sometimes change diapers, not us!

You make the guests feel very welcome with your smiles and handshakes, not us!

You make the singers & musicians sound good, you make the lights dance, you make sure the words on the lyrics are spelled right, not us!

Thank you for your commitment, faithfulness, hard work, and positive attitude!

People's lives are changed because you have created irresistible environments where they can connect with their heavenly Father.

Truly, we are leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ!

PADAYON TA!!!!! GO VOLUNTEERS!!!!!!

May God bless you more & more!

Sunday Summary (Sept 13, 2009)

We are in the middle of the series Go Fish. And Sunday, we did something we don't usually do, we preached about salvation from the stage.

That's right! It's not common for us to do this, and we've done it twice this series. Don't get me wrong, we believe the message of salvation is of utmost importance; we just believe there is a time for everything (not every Sunday), and this series is one of those times.

We had baptism, always a great element in a service I wish we could experience more often.

on to the songs:

We opened with Tell the World by Hillsong - this song brings back memories of when we were in Zambales, Luzon playing in front of 1,300 kids

Then we did Broadcast by Fee - i love energetic songs that are also loud. this one passes as loud & energetic

and Amazing Grace (Chains are Gone) by Chris Tomlin - then followup with a "modern" hymn. talk about music dynamics :)

We closed with Wake the World by Todd Fields - there's a weird key change in the bridge but thank God for Dennis. he backed me pretty good, coz i needed it really bad!

If you noticed, we had an opener AND a closer. Again, not the "SOP" around here. But like I said, this isn't a normal series.

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Band: Mel (elec guitar1 & vox), Ryan Dandan (bass), Eph Tonzo (elec guitar2 & bg), Ching Cagas (drums), Jando Urot (acoustic & bg), Ccris Ablanque (keys), Shen Cagas (bg), Dennis Canlas (bg)

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HAVE YOU FISHED FOR MEN THIS WEEK?

31st

Yesterday I finished the 31st year of my life.

If you don't know what I mean, here's a hint: HAPPY BDAY TO ME :)

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To celebrate my coming year, let me blog about 31 things I'm thankful for!

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I'm thankful...

1. that I'm alive

2. I live in a tropical country

3. that I have work

4. that I work in a ministry

5. that I work in a ministry that leads people into a growing relationship with Jesus

6. for my parents

7. for my 2 brothers

8. for LifeGroup

9. THAT GOD WOULD SAVE ME!

10. how my friends treat me

11. they rebuke me when i need it

12. that I have an iPod

13. ...and a PlayStation2

14. for all my "toys & gadgets"

15. that I have all that I need (and more)

Whew! Halfway Through :)

16. for my family

17. I have a wife who spoils me

18. for my wife who spoils our family (in a good way)

18. I have a wife who is the best mother in the world

19. for my wife who is my everything

20. for Vjynz, the best PS2 9-yr old gamer in the world

21. that Vjynz always prays before going to sleep

22. that Clark was given to us, when we almost gave up on a 2nd child

23. for Clark's cuteness which takes away our tiredness

24. for Shen, Vjynz, and Clark

Almost there!

25. that God would use me in spite of me

26. that God would use me in ways I never thought possible (preaching, for instance)

27. for Jesus Christ

28. for the blood that He shed for me

29. that He gave me more grace than I deserve

30. because He first loved me

31. for the past 31 years!

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in case you didn't notice, i put 2 number 18's. just wanted to write more about my wife :)

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Thankfulness is a habit!

Buwan ng Wika (Language Month)

I am not particularly fond of "Filipino."

FYI, "Filipino" (the subject) is taught in schools here in the Philippines from 1st Grade to College; so you might be thinking I'm pretty good at speaking it. NOT!

For a little context - I speak (& write) in English. I would rather speak in English than Filipino (w/c is our National Language, by the way). It's not that I'm not patriotic to my country, not at all. It's just SO HARD to learn!

I am a Cebuano (we speak Cebuano/Bisaya); and unfortunately, there is a little bit of unspoken animosity between the Filipino-speaking community and the Cebuano-speaking community. This might be a contributing factor to Cebuanos not really interested in learning the "National Language."

But frictions aside, it was just so hard for me to learn it when i was in school. Filipino was always my lowest grades... always...

Unfortunately, my son Vjynz feels the same way too. No matter how hard we study for exams and even for homeworks, it just doesn't sink in.

[Little Trivia - the Philippines has 170 languages/dialects (thanks Wikipedia)]

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In the Philippines, we have this thing called Buwan ng Wika (Language Month) which is celebrated by all schools. Usually in August.

Vjynz's school just had it. (Click here for pics from the event)

Its more of celebrating cultural heritage, than just language. Filipino songs, Filipino traditional dances, everyone wearing traditional Filipino attire , everything Filipino...

AND I LOVE IT!

Though i may not say it perfectly (in fact my friends laugh at me when i try to talk in Filipino); but I am really proud to be a Filipino, even with language barriers.

And we shouldn't have to wait for Buwan ng Wika to prove our patriotism.

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PROUD TO BE PINOY!

Sunday Summary (Sept 6, 2009)

Pretty "simple" Sunday. No specials. No baptism. No media element (other than intro package).

It was one of those days where it started to feel really routine for me... until we got to the message!

Part 3 talked about Fear of Fishing and why we're afraid to "fish" for men.

CONVICTING!!! not our regular type of message but everyone needs to hear it every once in a while.

If you have time, you can listen to it on our website:

Quest Past Messages

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On to the songs:

the guys opened with a really cool reggae tune from UB40, and it created a cool ambiance for those arriving.

Dennis did a great job leading the worship!

Let God Arise - Chris Tomlin

Happy Day - Tim Hughes

Marvelous Light - Charlie Hall

that's right. no slow "worship" songs :)

Closer: Here I Go Again by Casting Crowns. Powerful & convicting!

I guess it wasn't as routine as I thought.

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What did your church do this Sunday that made you like it more?