Sunday vs M-F

On our way to Vjynz's school last week, he asked me something interesting:

"WHY DO WE HAVE ONLY 1 DAY FOR CHURCH, BUT 5 DAYS FOR SCHOOL? ISN'T CHURCH MORE IMPORTANT?"

Whoa! Where'd that come from? I guess he must love Quest that much!

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I think what my son really wanted to ask me was,

"Why do we spend only 1 day (or for some of us, 1 hr) WORSHIPPING / LEARNING ABOUT GOD but more time for....?"

* school - if you think about it, its not even just 5 days for some of us... college people sometimes go 6 days (sometimes more) for "education."

* work - a lot of us will be devoting 140 of our 168 hours this week to work, that would be 20 of 24 hrs everyday this week! sometimes i am guilty! even though i am physically at home, my mind is still working... have you ever done this? or am i the only one?

* shopping - and its not just the ladies I'm targeting here

* hobbies - basketball, music, reading.. you know what I'm talking about

* FACEBOOK - all you Farmtown folks

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Worshipping / Learning about God is not limited to church or Sundays... we all know this. It is everyday, every hour, every second of our lives.

Wherever we are, whatever we're doing, every word we say, everything we do... it's WORSHIP!

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Now the real question is, "WHO / WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORSHIPPING LATELY?"

Sunday Summary (July 26, 2009)

Our family went to Toledo City last weekend because we attended the Toledo church's 32nd anniversary. Shen's dad has pastored that church for... oh well... about 32 years too. Talk about commitment!

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Anyway, I wasn't there but I'll just give the lineup we did at Quest last Sunday, at least what I had on paper!

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The band did an instrumental opener as people came in.

Then we showed a promo video for "Why Worry?", our series starting next Sunday. Video can be seen below.

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On to the songs:

Sing Sing Sing by Chris Tomlin

Today is The Day by Lincoln Brewster

I Could Sing of Your Love (yup, that old favorite)

The band did a closer, Burn For You by Steve Fee.

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things that happened this weekend that we wished didn't:

a. eph broke a string DURING the worship set

b. the sound guy was still working on some wirings JUST BEFORE SERVICE STARTED

c. someone from Production Team blew his nose from BACKSTAGE

other than that, everything went smoothly :)

I'm very excited to get back into the groove this week!

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Band - Eph Tonzo (lead vocals & acoustic until string broke :), Ben Purisima (bass & vox), Jevan Gonato (electric 1), JL Sarcos (electric 2 & vox), Ching Cagas (drums), Faith Capuyan (backup vox)

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what got you excited about church this week?

Strange, Isn't It?

Got this in an email, found it interesting!

ISN'T IT STRANGE...

* how a 100-peso/dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church,

but such a small amount when you go shopping?

* how 2 hours seem so long when you're at church,

and how short they seem when you're watching a good movie?

* that you can't find a word to say when you're praying,

but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?

* how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible,

but how easy it is to read 100 pages of your favorite mag?

* how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or games,

but they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in church?

* how difficult it is to share Jesus with others,

but how easy it is to learn, understand, extend and repeat gossip?

* how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say,

but we question the words in the Bible?

* how everyone wants a place in heaven,

but they don't want to believe, do, or say anything to get there?

IT'S STRANGE, ISN'T IT?

Jesus is a Ticket!

I've always wondered what "BEING SAVED" really means! Mind you, I'm not trying to start a debate here. I'm just thinking out loud,

"What does BEING SAVED really mean? and where is Jesus in all this?"

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From WIKIPEDIA:

In religion, salvation is the concept that God or other Higher Power, as part of Divine Providence, "saves" humanity from spiritual death or eternal damnation by providing for them an eternal life

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Going to the movies is a popular pasttime here in the Philippines. Although the prices have gone up almost 1000% (yup, this is not a typo) since I was in High School, people still flock to the movies. Harry Potter 6, Transformers 2, Ice Age 3; full-packed movie theaters. (And we're supposedly in crisis-mode?)

Anyway, the point is, its nice to go the movies every once in a while. A lot of times, we give out free movie tickets to people during some of our church events.

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Here is the logic of the post title:

* We use a movie ticket to get inside the theater and have fun for the next 2 hrs. But what happens to the ticket after you get in? Most of the time, it gets thrown down that transparent bin with all the other tickets, never to be used again.

* Some people use Jesus to get to heaven and have fun for the next..uhhmmm... forever! But what happens to Jesus after you get in?

- We will be talking for eternity

- I will be worshipping him all the time

- He will hold me in his loving arms forever

all of these is well & good.

BUT...

If you're telling me that you'll be that intimate with Jesus when you get to heaven BUT not here on earth, not right now; then Jesus is just a Ticket! YOUR TICKET!

Ticket for you to get inside heaven; doesn't really matter what happens to the TICKET, right? as long as i got in!

No point really. I just want to challenge your thinking that Jesus is not just THE WAY, but also THE LIFE!

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So bring Jesus along for your life, and you'll find out that there is always a Hollywood ending to your story!

God & Sports

Vjynz has started to like basketball. AND BOY, AM I HAPPY - as a sports enthusiast, I encourage him ALL THE TIME!

I have instilled in him that spirit of competitiveness, that drive to win, & hopefully soon, the patience to learn!

One day, he was about to go to the gym with his friends, he called me to the side and asked me to pray - that he wouldn't get hurt and that HIS TEAM WOULD WIN!

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I read from a local paper last week about a coach of a professional basketball team who said, "We haven't done anything... God put us in the situation to test us. It's how we respond to adversity."

Some big names have also used the "G" word a lot:

- God wants us to win

- God is on our side

- It is our destiny, God put us here

- God wants us to win the NBA championship

- God wants us to win the World Series

and its not just sports:

- God wants me to be in the Senate

and in extreme cases:

- God wants me to win the lottery, so I can give back to the church

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Now I know God is interested in the planet Earth and everything that happens to its inhabitants, but come on...

* Will God answer your prayers because the other team's coach is not a Christian? and they didn't pray before the game?

* Will God grant me more favor because I am in the ministry, FULL-TIME? and they only serve on Sundays?

* He is a fair God that's why our team should win - our church has more attenders than the other teams.

Basically it boils down to - I AM A CHRISTIAN SO EVERYTIME I PRAY FOR SOMETHING, MY FATHER SHOULD & WILL ANSWER ME WITH A RESOUNDING "YES!"

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Personally, I think this way of thinking is SELFISH! Yup, you read that right! Why would I say that?

What if your team LOSES?

Is God unfair now? Did He not hear your petitions? Did you say the wrong words during the prayer? Maybe you sinned a little bit during the week and God forfeited your "advantage."

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Vjynz came home after the game and said he had lots of fun. I asked him who won; all he said was I DON'T KNOW! BUT I HAD FUN!

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I read somewhere in the Bible that God sends rain to the the holy and the wicked. There are perks to being a Christian of course, but I think asking God to win a basketball game for you sends the wrong message about Him!

So next time you pray before a game, choose your words wisely! Your team is listening! God is listening!

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Sunday Summary (July 19, 2009)

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This is our new Pre-Service Loop. More Quest Videos: Quest Community Fellowship

We are still having some problem with the LCD projector but help is coming soon!

We are concluding the series Boulevard of Broken Dream - When Dreams Can't Come True. Philip did a great job of communicating (thanks man)! Listen: Part 2

Eph led us in worship. It was great to play the electric guitar again and just let go (as far as my headphone monitor will allow me).

On to the songs:

Forever by Chris Tomlin - after the 1st service, AQ (there's that name again :) suggested that for the 2nd service, we take it up a whole note for Eph's voice to really come out! And she was right!

You Alone - we followed it up with this really heavy Lincoln Brewster tune that just makes your heart beat a little bit faster than normal. This is a dream song for a guitar player!

Mighty To Save by Kristian Stanfill - what can i say, this song is just anointed through & through!

I sang "I Surrender All" by Clay Crosse for closer - which I found out was an old "favorite" Christian song when I talked to some people after the service.

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Band - Eph Tonzo (lead vocals & acoustic), Ben Purisima (bass & vox), Mel Cagas (electric 1 & vox), JL Sarcos (electric 2 & vox), Cris Ablanque (keyboard), Reymund dela Cruz (drums), Faith Capuyan (backup vox)

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Minor aside/tangent: We're trying to think of how to spice up the openers of the services. If you have one, shoot me an email! THERE ARE NO BAD IDEAS!

Quality Time

this post is strategically targeted for parents. BUT, even if you haven't been hitched yet, you can read on and learn from the "expert."
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My favorite thing about Friday is that I can spend the whole day with the family. Here are a few things I do:

* I take Vjynz to school and then pick him up after, maybe even grab a quick McSaver meal since its close to his school...

* I "try" to cook something for lunch & dinner (with little success, although I am improving, thanks to Shen)...

* sleep...

* Shen & I watch a movie together (it doesn't matter if we've seen the movie a million times already)...

* sleep some more...

* try to clean the house...

* but the best thing i like on Fridays is the time i get to spend with my kids; i think i spend 75% of the day either carrying them, hugging them, "talking" to Clark, singing with Tembs, watching Clark try to stand up, and just about everything that I can think of!

This got me thinking - if I am willing to "waste" my whole day spending time with my family who can't even understand what i'm saying to him; how much more God wants us to spend more quality time with him!

The difference is - I (the father) am always looking for that extra second I can to spend with my precious treasure; on the other hand, God (the father) is just waiting for us to have even an extra second for Him.

So, if you have an extra second today, why not spend it on something important & significant? Like spending time with God!

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Have you spent quality time with your Father lately?

Brain Fried!

Every person that says doing ministry is an EASY job, has no idea what ministry is!

As the whole week wound down, my brain felt like exploding a few times today.

I once heard a story, "A man kept complaining that he didn't have a lot of shoes... until he saw a man with no feet!"

So, no complaining from me today!

Family Videos

Vjynz Slideshow from Rommel Cagas on Vimeo.

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Clark Slideshow from Rommel Cagas on Vimeo.

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Our Family from Rommel Cagas on Vimeo.

Learning To Stand... (and doing a lot of falling)

Its one of the scariest times for a parent - watching your baby trying to stand up! For the parents reading this post, you know what I'm talking about. Of course, we want our baby to learn balance & standing on his feet as quickly as possible (maybe because he's getting heavier & heavier to carry :) But still, we always dread that scene... and then we see them fall, hit their head on something, shout/cry for help, and get bruises.

The funny thing is, a few minutes after he just stopped crying because of the fall, he gets back up again and DOES IT ALL OVER AGAIN! Oh my gosh! Does he even remember that he just tried that and FAILED? Should I just carry him and let him try it again in a couple of days just to make sure he forgot the experience? Am i just being over-protective? Of course not, its just a parent's instinct!

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Watching Clark go through this "educational experience," I learned something from my baby boy.

Remember the 1st few week you became a Christian? Remember how no matter how hard you try, you FAILED?

Remember how you tried to stay away from a certain temptation...?

... that late-night "TV show"?

... the hanging out in the bar with "close" friends?

... lying to your spouse?

... checking out certain "websites"?

... flirting every now & then?

... lying again?

Come on, i'm not writing this because i didn't do all that stuff above, it's because i did!

But you know the good thing about being a CHRISTIAN? Without "CHRIST" - I.A.N. (I Am Nothing). He let's us fall sometimes, so that the next we try to stand? We're getting closer to success every time.

We're not perfect yet, oh no, not by a long shot! BUT WE'RE GETTING THERE!

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When I go home tonight and see Clark trying to get on his feet (again), I will remember that I'm letting him fall a few times, not because I don't love him, BUT BECAUSE I DO!

And like Jesus to a lot of us Christian babies... will be his biggest cheerleader and greatest fan!

Sunday Summary (July 12, 2009)

We are starting a 2-part series called "Boulevard of Broken Dreams - When Dreams Can't Come True." Philip Lim is doing the series because Kuya Les & the family are on their much-deserved & much-needed vacation break. You can hear his talk from the Quest Cebu website link at the right part of this blog; OR you can click here: http://www.questcebu.com/messages/am/files/page7_2.mp3

It was a pretty straight-forward Sunday service. No opener, no promo videos, but we did have a closer.

Dennis led the worship set and he did a great job (for a newly-wed...hehehe).

They started out with Forever by Chris Tomlin - basically an old tune but 1st time to be sung here at Quest.

Here Is Our King - David Crowder* Band studio version

then finished off with Steve Fee's Beautiful the Blood.

After the message the band did Cry Out To Jesus by Third Day. Eph did a great job especially with that raspy voice :)

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Band - Dennis Canlas (lead vocals), Ben Purisima (bass & vox), Eph Tonzo (electric 1 & vox), JL Sarcos (electric 2), Cris Ablanque (keyboard), Ching Cagas (drums)

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Have you ever had a childhood dream that didn't come true? Most probably God was behind that :)

Christian "Day Off"

Would God allow Christians to have "days off," in being a Christian?

I mean, does He know that we mortals need it every now & then?

Does He know that this thing, "being a Christian," is not supposed to be 24/7?
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I love Fridays. Its our day off from work so we get to spend quality time with our kids. But this particular Friday was different...

This rant is from a guy that just came from taking his son to school and:

1. getting cut off in traffic about 20 times in a span of 3 kilometers (little less than 2 miles),
2. almost hit by a motorcycle trying to overtake on the WRONG lane,
3. being honked at by a jeepney who was in hurry to i dunno where,
4. shouted at by a pedestrian crossing a non-pedestrian lane...

And honestly if my son (who is 9 yrs old and will know if i'm angry or not :) wasn't there in the car, i would have gladly taken my "personal leave" as a Christian and start spouting out insanely non-Christian phrases...

There's just something in the traffic that brings out the BEAST in me...
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I don't know if you guys ever feel taking that Christian "day off?"

If you ever felt like it and didn't do it? GOOD for you!

Like what "GOD" said in Evan Almighty when the family was leaving Evan, "when you prayed for your family to be closer, God doesn't snap His fingers and it happens. He gives your family the opportunity to be closer."

AHA! so that's it.

I just remembered that I've been praying for more patience (not just with traffic, but with everything else), and that my son would see Jesus through me.

I guess I'm just given the opportunities... but it is really, REALLY hard!

I'm just gonna cling on this verse "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished..."
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What have you prayed for recently? Thank Him for the opportunities!

We All Need a Vaccination

To vaccinate means "treat with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease; inoculate."

Baby Clark just had a couple of shots of vaccine (plus 1 taken orally) . The doctors said these were essential to the baby's well-being, not just in the present but more importantly for his future.

"...to produce immunity against a disease..."

Don't we all wish we could just take some kind of vaccine shot to protect ourselves from a disease? The deadliest disease known to man. The disease that is called fallen humanity, or in layman's terms "SIN!"

One shot for evil thoughts syndrome.

One shot for greedy sickness.

Another for H1N1 - Have 1, Need 1 (more)

Lots of oral vaccine for lying, gossiping, dirty language.

Is there one for LUST? All the men are scared of this shot!

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The great news is, there is a vaccine! And He was nailed to the cross 2,000 years ago. That's the ONLY vaccine that this world really needs.

And the best part is, for those of us scared of sharp-pointed things, one shot is all it takes!

Sunday Summary (July 5, 2009)

It was the conclusion of the series "5 Things God Uses To Grow Your Faith." Its a great series but that's for another post :)

Anyway, it was a lazy day for everyone. it was drizzling a bit, cool breeze breezing thru (the kind that makes you wanna stay in bed the whole morning)... then i realized, IT WAS SUNDAY.

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Sunday Distractions that should never happen :)

We had ordered the Sunday snax from this particular place way ahead in advance (name of store withheld for personal reasons), BUT unfortunately for us, the order was never placed by them. and so we had to scramble to find another source for the snax. Thank God for Dunkin Donuts!

Everyone in the Production Team was late, except the band (thank you band)! So our run-thru went up to 8:30, which is way past the alloted time for run-thru.

We needed all the prayers we could get because I definitely wasn't "feeling" it. And I was leading the singing that morning. But when the countdown started, it was game face on, and let God do the rest.

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Worship:

It was guitar-driven Sunday of the highest order (2 acoustics, 2 electrics and a bass).

We played Everlasting God (instrumental) as opener but it kinda blew up in our face, and AQ noticed. If you don't know AQ, you will find out in the coming posts... (hint,hint)

We did just 2 songs since we had a lot of elements that morning. (The Intro Video for the message was a powerful one. Watch the video below.)

on to the songs...

Salvation is Here - original United Live version (my fave version)

It Is Well (with my soul) - Jeremy Camp (with a little twist)

We did a closer from Hillsong - The Desert Song, which is a really powerful song, not really a reflective tune but very powerful. Did i forget to mention its a powerful song?

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Band - Mel Cagas (WL & acoustic 1), Ben Purisima (bass), Jevan Gonato (electric 2), JL Sarcos (acoustic 2), Cris Ablanque (electric 1), Shen Cagas (bgs), Ching Cagas (drums), Faith Capuyan (sang for closer)

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Have you thanked God recently that He still uses us in spite of us?

Why Blog? Why Now?

Everyone has their Facebook or Twitter or MySpace account. We have none of those.

But because we want to keep our friends & family updated with what's going on with us, we decided to try out this new adventure. This blog will also contain what's happenin' in our ministry here in Cebu, and some personal articles i may find helpful sharing with others.

If it gets really boring, pls send me an e-mail :) God bless - mel & shen