Last Wednesday, we had our second session of what we have called “Discover the Word,” a discipleship class which I proposed to the leadership of the ReThink Community and which was approved. At the start we watched a short video on “What is the Bible?” produced by TheBibleProject.com. It’s a good video explaining what the Bible is all about in layman’s terms.
Then we also watched a video interview of Gordon Fee, one of the authors of the book, “How to Read the Bible for All its Worth.” He was interviewed by Dr. Mike Feazell on the topic, “How Should We Read the Bible.” He is also one of the translators of the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible. His thoughts are helpful in how to read the Bible well.
At the last part of the session we discussed “Bible Interpretatation 101“ and the value of understanding the various contexts found in the Bible. Here’s a video of that session for those who are interested to follow our weekly discipleship class:
Last night, Discover the Word, a discipleship class which I have proposed and was approved by the leadership of ReThink Community, a local church of Grace Communion International in Santa Rosa, Laguna,began its first meeting with 7 people in attendance including myself.
It has been my passion to share what I have learned about the Bible to everyone who is interested and especially the youth. It is my hope that through this discipleship class, some may find it useful in their Christian walk with God and become transformed by the renewing of their minds — becoming more and more like Christ as years go by.
A few have shown their interest as well but they are quite far from where I am. One person who was interested is now in Qatar, another one in Baguio, one in Bulacan, another in Cagayan de Oro and another one in Zamboanga City. Since some are interested online, I have video recorded the whole session last night.
I guess I will be doing that each time so that those who are interested wherever they may be can also join us. May the Lord bless this ministry. Please pray for me as well so that I could do this regularly every week. God bless! Those who missed the class, here is last night’s video:
For many, it seems to me that Valentine’s Day is a special day. In my case, I have grown up without really making the day as something special. I spent the day on car tune up. It’s just me. No offense meant to those who love to make the day special.
Jokingly this morning, I posted in my Facebook account that I really don’t need a Valentine since I am a Valentine. My dad named me after my grandfather, Valentin. So, my wife has got a funny Valentine!
Mechanical Interest
One other interest that I have which I guess I have inherited from my dad was his love for engines and vehicles. As a young boy, I grew up in a home where the living room, the dining area and other parts of the house had vehicle parts all over. Our house back then sometimes was like an auto repair shop! Outside the house there were trucks, a pickup, a wrecker and a jeep. I used to run errands to buy motor vehicle parts when my dad and/or his mechanic were fixing or doing some repairs. I enjoyed watching them fixed or repair a vehicle. That ended when I was sent to Manila to get a college education. But I got interested in engines too because of that early exposure as a young boy from my dad.
Doing Car Tune Up Myself
Beginning sometime in 1987, it has become my habit to clean my car’s spark plugs and tune up the car myself. Of course, there are occasions when I go to a shop or hire a mechanic to do it for me but normally, I do the car tune up myself. I love to drive the car when I know the engine is in top shape. It’s been about 30 years now and thankfully, I’m still able to do it myself somewhat. But maybe in the coming years, I may have to ask someone to do it for me since I’m now a senior citizen. But for now, it’s a kind of hobby also aside from photography or biblical studies.
Learning from Expert Mechanics
I also owe my knowledge and experience with engines and vehicles to a dear friend, the late Capt. Jess Bahinting, a pilot and an aircraft mechanic. He was then a pastor in Cagayan de Oro and I was the associate pastor. I also learned from another dear friend, Tadeo “Boy” Almera, an expert mechanic. We were all together for some 5 years fixing a lot of vehicles. Jess and I bought vehicles for our pastors, sold vehicles, fixed, repaired, repainted vehicles with the help of Boy and others. It was like we were an automotive shop haha! We sort of “maintained” the church’s fleet vehicles in our area. Those were the days.
I was about 18 when I began reading the Bible. I began to Discover the Word when I was still a teenager. Then after some 20 years (ten years as a pastor), I found out that I was actually not reading the Bible the way God intended me to understand it. I found out that I was reading it incorrectly. What I thought for many years was “the truth” was error after all. That was quite devastating to say the least.
Better Understanding By God’s Grace
By God’s grace, the Lord has continued to give me the passion to Discover the Word. He has given me a better understanding now than before about who the Living Word, Jesus Christ really is through his Written Word, the Bible. I now know who the Lord Jesus Christ better now after some decades of re-learning and discarding errors I thought were the real truth.
It’s been about 45 years now since I began reading the Bible as a teenager. Now that I’m already a senior citizen, I would like to devote and share some of my time for everyone especially for the young ones who might be interested.
Discover the Word, Twice a Month
Every first Wednesday and third Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. I am devoting my time to conducting the Discover the Word, a discipleship class designed especially for adults and young adults. Through the lessons in class at Discover the Word, it is hoped that the new believer can learn about the basics that he needs to know as he begins his Christian journey with the Lord Jesus Christ and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The Venue
ReThink Community hall,
2nd floor, CJRS Bldg.,
Rodeo Drive,
Laguna Bel Air 2,
Santa Rosa, Laguna
Can bees plant a church? Well, of course not. Not really. Bees cannot plant a local church. But do you know that a local church was planted at Barangay Antipolo, Rizal, Laguna because of beekeeping? That’s right! It’s quite an amazing story so last September 25, 2016 I visited this beekeeper to find out his story.
Beekeeping Pastor
It all started when Pastor Tom Sotalbo got interested in beekeeping. This gave him a livelihood and source of income which eventually made it possible for him to get a beekeeper job in Canada.
This is the Love of God Christian Fellowship, a local congregation of Grace Communion International in Barangay Antipolo, Rizal, Laguna, Philippines.
Having lost their jobs, his brothers also got interested to become beekeepers in order to support their families. So he trained his brothers as well. But before the training, they studied the Word of God first. Other friends and relatives got interested too. Pastor Tom shared the Word of God to them first before the beekeeping training started. That is how that church was planted in their local community. It’s now called the Love of God Christian Fellowship (LGCF), a local congregation of Grace Communion International(GCI).
Another Beekeeping Church in New Zealand
But that’s not the end of the story. Just a few months ago, a new local congregation was planted in Masterton, New Zealand because of beekeepers! These are mostly Filipino beekeepers and their families who have moved there to work as beekeepers. Pastor Tom trained many of them. This is another GCI local church planted because of beekeeping. Isn’t that amazing? God truly works in many amazing ways.
