Monday, February 25, 2013th Year of Our Lord

Dear family, brethren, and friends,

The week-long series of classes on the home and family began after lunch on Monday, February 18, hosted by Jonathan Carino. The classes meet in the large room which the Cebu City church of Christ rents in an old hotel in the downtown. Jack Jaco (from Victorias City, Negros Occidental) and I covered the first four lessons in L.A. Stauffer’s excellent workbook on Family Life: A Biblical Perspective. My lessons dealt with the necessity of the biblical perspective and God’s design for marriage while Jack covered the atmosphere and necessity of love in the home.

On Monday 39 people participated in our studies. Several people have come from the nearby Visayan Islands and even as far as Mindanao. Brother Ramon Carino came from Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur Province, Mindanao. Though in his late 80’s he is still alert, active, and a joy and an inspiration to be around. The young Baptist preacher who is a friend of Fred Ogario and who attended Saturday at the place of Roy Matta is sitting at the front row taking in every lesson. We are off to a good start and look forward to the week.

Our Tuesday classes started at 8:00 AM and continued until 6:30 PM with lessons by Jack Jaco, Lordy Salunga (from Tarlac City, Tarlac on Luzon) and myself on basic duties of home life. I taught on man’s duty to lead in love, the woman as man’s companion and helper, and two lessons emphasizing the permanent nature of the marriage covenant. Jack taught on the woman’s role of subjection and on the children’s duty to honor their parents. Lordy covered parental duty to train children, the father’s role in providing for the needs of the family, and the importance of Bible guidelines in choosing a mate. The men and women who gathered to hear these nine lessons listened intently and participated well.

On Wednesday, February 21 , our focus shifted to the material in Mike Willis’ workbook on Harmony in the Home. It presents principles resulting in peaceful, stable, and harmonious family relationships. All three teachers presented lessons on putting off the old man and putting on the new man in Christ, and showing how this moral change has an uplifting impact on family life. The last studies of the day introduced principles found in the Sermon on the Mount which promote harmony in the home. Our audience is attentive and appreciative.

My first lesson Thursday completed applications to home life from the Sermon on the Mount. Jack dealt with the importance of family members showing respect to each other and being unselfish, while Lordy dealt with problem solving and accepting responsibility in family life. The whole afternoon was devoted to four lessons on “Man’s Leadership in the Home.” At the day’s end I conducted an open forum. There was a good mix of questions including how to administer proper discipline to children, and which of the four wives of a polygamist is his real wife under God’s law-an issue they confront in real life, not mere theory.

The Friday morning classes consisted of four lessons which I presented covering The Song of Solomon verse by verse. It is celebration of passionate love in marriage, but many in the audience had never studied this book and they seemed to greatly enjoy it. I emphasized applications we should learn and make in our homes such as the importance of husbands and wives complimenting each other.

Benjie “Julius” Labura, a Baptist preacher, and his wife have been attending the classes as guests of Fred Ogario. Early Friday morning before our studies began, they were both baptized into Christ. He will gather his Baptist members and friends for us to teach them on Monday.

Having completed the series on the home, Saturday, February 23, we drove 50 miles to Bogo City at the far northern part of Cebu Island, a trip of two-and-a-half hours. Gil Suico preaches in this area and has been teaching Bible classes in a nearby village where most people are Roman Catholic and have never studied the Bible, which is typical. He invited them to join our studies today. About 50 people gathered in a function room at a hotel in a central location in the city where I preached on “God Created All Things” and “The Purpose of Our Lives.”

Fred Ogario and Pablo Espinosa went with us and their talents were helpful. They shared in reading each passage in their dialect and Fred summarized the lessons. This is not always necessary, but we often ask the audience their preference. It can take twice as long to read a passage in the Cebueno dialect as it takes in English. Including the Scripture readings and summaries in Cebueno today, it took the same amount of time to present these two lessons as it would take to present four lessons simply using English, but it was important that the audience clearly understand what was being taught. These efforts were rewarded when we sung an invitation song and two ladies came forward to obey the gospel of Christ.

Gil Suico again gathered the people from the village where he has been teaching for our Sunday worship in Bogo City. After our two-and-a-half hour drive, the first lesson was “The Gospel Makes Us Right with God (Rom. 1:16-17).” This study briefly shows the difference between the true and the false as we seek the right God, the right Savior, the right gospel, the right baptism, the right church, and the right life.

Since most of them were Roman Catholic, I pointed out some ways the Catholic Church has changed the gospel and the New Testament pattern of worship. After having Fred read them Matthew 26:26-28 in Cebuano, I pointed out Jesus taught that “all” disciples were to eat the bread and drink the cup, and then I asked them when the Mass is observed in the Catholic Church, who drinks the cup? They answered, “Only the priest.” Their faces showed they were amazed to learn that Jesus said all disciples will drink the cup!

With Fred reading the passages in Cebuano, the lessons moved along a little slowly, but maybe that gave it more time to sink in. In the afternoon, Gil asked me to teach a subject he heard me present a long time ago: “Attitudes Essential in God’s Kingdom”-a verse by verse examination of Matthew 5. I pointed out that in verse 19 Jesus exposed the religious leaders for teaching the people how to break God’s law under the pretense of obeying Him. Jesus taught in Matthew 23:8-10 that God alone is our spiritual Father and that no man should be given that title, but the Catholic hierarchy teaches people to call the priests “Father,” and Pope means “Father.”

Most of the lesson dealt with the applications Jesus made in reference to anger, sexual temptations, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and love of enemies.

Another study was planned, but after this study Gil admonished the people for about ten minutes that they should obey what they were learning. Lo, and behold, before we could proceed, many proceeded to stand and to indicate they wanted to obey the gospel–they started coming from their seats to the front–26 of them in all! They had not planned to do this and brought no clothes to change into after baptism, so we quickly arranged to buy some cheap clothes for this purpose. After each one confessed Christ, they loaded onto about half a dozen tricycles (small motorcycles with side carts used as taxis) and traveled some distance to reach the water for baptism.

A new congregation will begin meeting in their village, and there is already talk of putting up a simple meeting house. These people surprised themselves-and us as well! O, happy day!!!

Also today Felix Cantulan was with us. He is a very competent man converted about a year ago by Juanito Balbin in Davao City on Mindanao. Felix told me his interest in the true gospel grew when he began reading Truth Magazine in 2010, which played an important role in his conversion. He was formerly a preacher with the “Local Church” movement started by a Chinese man named Watchman Nee (1903-72), and it was brought to the Philippines and the U.S. in the 1950’s by Witness Lee (1905-97). Nee claimed to be guided mystically by the Holy Spirit and taught some bizarre concepts on the nature of God and the nature of man. His organization holds tight control over their ministers and members though they claim to practice congregational autonomy.

Felix has been teaching the truth he learned to his contacts in the Nee movement. Not only was his support from them terminated, but also he was recently offered reward money if would just stop teaching his contacts among them! He refused although he badly needs income-in fact his wife is in the hospital. He wants us to come back as soon as possible in order for him to gather a large number of his contacts interested in learning more about the truth.

Truly, the harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few!

The newly converted Baptist preacher, Julius Labura, and Fred Ogario gathered 127 souls on Monday at Talisay in a function room at a Jolibee (Filipino version of McDonald’s). I taught three very basic lessons since most of this audience was hearing the truth for the first time: “God Created All Things,” “The Purpose of Our Lives,” and “The Gospel Makes Us Right with God.” Fred read my passages in Cebuano and Roy Matta gave short summaries of the lessons in the dialect. During the invitation it was evident that some were very near to obeying the gospel, but we did not pressure them. Fred and Julius are already planning to do follow up work among them.

This completes the work scheduled in the Philippines. Tomorrow I will study, rest, and prepare to travel to Manila on Wednesday to make a connection to catch an all-night flight to Australia for the work planned there.

Clouds and rain have obscured the moon, but I will check again tonight-you might be watching it too!

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and help. Truly, we are laborers together with God and He gives the increase according to His will and purpose.

In Christian love, Ron

To see good Bible study material, go to:
http://www.HebronChurchOfChrist.com
http://www.biblework.com
http://www.truthmagazine.com
http://www.truthbooks.net