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?

Night of Worship

We had a Night of Worship last Aug 23 at 5pm. We do it about 4x a year.

As you guys probably know by now, our Sunday morning services are a mixed crowd; Christians, non-Christians, don't-know-what's-a-Christian people. So when there are events like NOW (Night Of Worship), where our audience is mostly Christians, I cherish it; those times when I lead worship and can sing and shout and cry (sometimes simultaneously) without reservations.

You might be asking me, "Why don't you do that in your personal time?"

- sure I do. But there's just something in the corporate worship with other saints that you can't really explain;

- even though i believe that God "brings rain to both the righteous and wicked," I know that when His children gather together for a common purpose to worship and praise Him through songs, prayer, communion; HE IS HAPPY!

- and when a father is happy, he gives his blessings to his children (i know, i've done it :)

- not that we're doing this to get something from him because he's given us much already, i'm just saying that when you pray for something and ask for something in this environment of corporate worship, there's a BIG chance you're gonna get it!

Churchy Part 2

okay. here's a few responses from people about what they think being CHURCHY means.

(my thoughts in italics)

here we go:

1. opening and closing prayer

(i guess we need to tell God that we're starting and ending the service?)

2. close eyes when praying

(hmmm. i might have to disagree on this one. closing eyes is practical for minimizing distractions)

3. hallelujah, praise the Lord, amen

(yup. definitely not the words you'd want your 1st time guests to hear for the stage. don't get me wrong, they're all significant - for BELIEVERS)

4. ladies shouldn't wear jeans in church especially when on stage

(thou shalt not be comfortable at church)

5. the preacher should wear formal

(why? so people will respect him just a bit more?)

6. cross on stage

(i guess people won't know that they're inside a church unless they see this symbol)

7. mention names of visitors, sometimes have them stand up

(talk about embarrassing someone)

8. should have at least 6 worship songs

(i'm actually not opposed to this since i love music; if not for the fact we have time constraints)

9. altar call / salvation challenge

(mixed reviews on this one)

10. preaching not shorter than 1hr

(zzzzzzzzzzz.... i know, i know the Bible is impt. but what good is the Bible if the only thing that sticks to the listener's mind is the first 30 minutes. "short & sweet" is what i always say)

11. Always quoting some words from Hebrew or Greek

(keyword here is ALWAYS)

12. Long prayer - opening and closing

(see number 1)

13. a museum for saints, when it should be a hospital for sinners.

(everyone acts like we're in heaven already, everyone is perfect. perfectly opposite of what a church should feel like)

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do you guys agree with these observations?