Dear family, brethren, and friends,

Last Saturday night I worked until 2:00 A.M. catching up on some email (the previous hotel had no working internet), but I woke up feeling rested and ready for the Lord’s Day activities.  Mat Sibayan, Sr. picked me up so that we could attend the morning worship services at the Laoag City church of Christ. About 60 attended as I presented studies entitled “Helping Each Other” and “Born of Water and the Spirit.”

I first visited this congregation with Jim McDonald in 1995, but there was no church building at that time.  It has been a joy to observe brother Sibayan’s work with this church as they grew in spirit and in number.  Elders and deacons were appointed years ago and a commodious building was erected in the downtown.  At 80 years of age Mat’s pace is not what it used to be, and like others of us he contends with hearing problems, but he presses forward with vigor.

We ate lunch at Tiffany’s Café which has a 1950’s U.S. decor.  At 1:00 P.M. we were with the small church in the provincial jail where at least 40 souls gathered under and around a shed.  This church has existed for several years, but naturally the membership changes as inmates are released.  When they leave, the brethren help them find a place to worship.  At times released inmates have gathered family and friends to hear the gospel, resulting in new converts.  Mat, Jr. translated as I taught the sermon “Born of Water and the Spirit,” stressing the blessing of release from the burden, guilt, and shame of sin.  At the invitation three female inmates came forward to confess their faith in Christ and to be baptized for the remission of their sins.

At 3:00 P.M. we made a jail break and fled to the Sinait congregation which has met for many years in a structure at the side of Mat, Sr.’s house in the countryside in the Ilocos Sur province.  When we arrived at 4:00 P.M. they were singing, having finished the main part of their worship.  I immediately set up the portable projector and the laptop computer, and started teaching the lesson on “Helping Each Other.”  Josalito Ines translated to an audience of 50-60 souls.

When the structure was on the other side of the house years ago, as I stood for prayer at the front a huge lizard ambled in front of me and slowly angled across the way – and I freely confess this is one time I did not close my eyes for the prayer!  No lizards joined us this time, so I bowed my head and closed my eyes.

Much of the Philippines has been suffering from drought for several months.  There has been no substantial rain here in the Ilocos region since last October.  The heat soaked my clothes with sweat and sapped my energy today, but God gave me strength to press on.

When I walked along the seashore tonight, I saw the half moon clear in all its glory again – even its mountains could be clearly seen.

Monday-Wednesday Bible lectures were scheduled at the Laoag City church on the theme “The Bible Is the Word of God.”  The first day 42 souls joined us for the studies and it grew each day.  After a welcome by Mat, Sr., Rody Gumpad presented the first lesson on the central message of the Bible: salvation in Jesus Christ.  I followed with “The Glory of God,” a verse by verse examination of the 19th Psalm.  God’s glory is manifest in the creation and in Scripture.  After lunch Rody taught on the eight baptisms in the Bible, showing that water baptism for the remission of sins is the “one baptism” of Ephesians 4:4-6.  I then presented studies on “The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture,” and “The Writing and Canon of Scripture,” showing that God gave and preserved 66 books in the Bible – nothing has been added or
lost down through the centuries.

The open forum ran at length covering everything from apparent discrepancies in the text, to distinctions between the baptism John taught and the baptism Jesus commanded in the Great Commission, to essentials and incidentals in the practice of baptism.  It has been a profitable and joyous day in studying with brethren, some of whom I have known and loved since my first trip with Jim McDonald in 1995.

Our studies continued Tuesday with good interest again.  Rody started the day with a lesson on how we receive pardon, then I turned to the topic of “Apocrypha and Other False Scriptures” – Satan has tried to undermine the Bible by corrupting it with false books added by men.  The false writings can be easily distinguished from the true Word of God.

In the afternoon Rody discussed the New Testament church.  My last two lessons of the day focused on proving the Bible is not based on myth or emotion but on rock-solid evidences.  The open forum was again wide ranging, including when and how we forgive, qualifications of elders, and a thorough discussion about avoiding fellowship and compromise with false teachers.  Rody’s study of the New Testament church touched on divisions fostered by Satan involving instrumental music in worship, institutionalism, mutual edification, premillennialism, one container for the grape juice in the Lord’s Supper, and error on divorce and remarriage.

During the open forum, questions were asked about receiving support or benevolence from these groups, or joining hands to work with them in spite of our differences.  Such activities are unscriptural because they represent compromise and fellowship with error contrary to the instructions in 2 John 9-11.  Some of the men said they asked these questions because Randy Hilburn has been visiting some of the churches.  This brother has traveled and worked in the Philippines with institutional preachers from the U.S. (introducing them to Filipino congregations) and also worked with Jim Puterbaugh in Mindanao.  Puterbaugh teaches that regardless of why they divorced, people are free under God to marry someone else.  He teaches the one moral covenant doctrine, and that eating blood is permitted by God.  I urged the saints gathered to always speak respectfully of such men and to pray for them, though we cannot compromise the truth by working with them.

Our attendance grew each day, reaching 63 on Wednesday.  Rody spoke this morning on marriage and I addressed “Judgment by Christ: Jerusalem and All Men,” a textual study of Matthew 23-25.  The audience was very attentive to both sermons, as was evident by the open forum running for an hour.  We finally dismissed just after 1:00 P.M., having clarified several points about marriage, death, the soul, hades, the resurrection, heaven, and hell. We all felt we had participated in a spiritual feast and hated to see it end!

There was no afternoon session, which gave us a break to pick up some items at the grocery store, to rest, and to prepare for tomorrow.  When I walked tonight, I noticed the moon is not quite full yet but keeps getting a little bigger each day as it conveys your message of love from afar!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

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