MISSION SUNDAY CELEBRATION SEPTEMBER 17, 2006

PANAHON na ng pag-aani ng mga kaluluwa para sa Dios. Paramihin natin ang mag-aani sa pamamagitan ng ating MISSION SUNDAY CELEBRATION sa September 17, 2006, ika-2:00 hanggang 4:00 ng hapon sa Unida Christian Center. Mayroon po tayong sinusuportahang 14 na mission points at 10 growth churches at kailangan nila ang tulong ninyo.
Panahon na ngayon upang maging KAISANG UNIDA at HUMAYO NA! Nguni’t kailangang ang isa ay maging handa para dito sa pamamagitan ng pagdalo sa mga EVANGELISTIC TRAINING COURSE na tayo po ang lumikha at magpapatupad. Unidang Unida at hindi galing sa iba kundi sa atin. Atin ito! Sali na!
On this day we will celebrate JESUS CHRIST, THE LORD OF THE HARVEST IN THREE GENERATIONS OF UNIDA ORIGINAL GOSPEL MUSIC. Three evangelistic songs - “MARTSA UNIDA” composed and sang in 1957 for the 25th Anniversary of the Unida Church, “KAISANG UNIDA, HAYO NA!” composed as the 75th Anniversary Theme, and the Praise & Worship Mission Song “TARA NA TARA NA UNIDA!” composed for the Youth. Three Songs but ONE in Message. We will have these together with UNIDA TV and other videos in a commemorative DVD.

ANG MAPAGWAGING PUWERSA NG KAKAUNTI

“Huwag mo kailanmang matahin ang kakayanan nang iilan. Kahit kinukutya ng lipunan at hindi pinapansin ng mga may kapangyarihan, ang kakaunti ay mayroong kapangyarihang baguhin ang buong mundo.” ~ Lance M. Filio

Ang kakaunti ay palagi nang winawalang halaga ng mas marami. Sa isang mundo na ang karamihan ay nagpupunyaging magkamal ng marami at ang lahat ay iginigiit ang rule of the majority, walang nag-aakalang ang kakaunti ay magkakaroon ng halaga o kahulugan.

Nuong si Gideon ay makipagdigma sa mga Midianita ay dinala niya ang Israel sa tagumpay hindi sa pamamagitan libo-libong mga sundalo bagkus kasama lamang ang isang daang mga lalaki. Maging nang pasimulan ni Jesus ang pagliligtas sa buong sanglibutan, hindi niya isinama ang isang laksang tagasunod upang dalhin ang Mabuting Balita kundi ang labing-dalawang alagad lamang. Subali’t ang bunga ng iilang ito ay namumunga pa hanggang ngayon. At oo nga, ang mga ninuno nating tumawag sa ating mga kapilas ng kanilang kaluluwa, ay nagtayo ng isa sa mga matatag at nakapagsasariling Simbahang Ebanghelikong Filipino ngayon, sa pamamagitan ng pagsasama-sama ng kakaunti lamang. At bagama’t lingid sa marami, ay nakikita ng Dios ang malawak at dakilang lakas ng nagkakaisang pananampalataya ng kakaunti: Pakinggan mo: Sa kamay ng mapagpalang Dios, ang mahina ay malakas, ang maliit ay malaki, at ang kakaunti ay madami.

Sa ating mga Kaisang Unida: Sa Cuneta Astrodome ay napaikita kung paano ang isa ay mayroong halaga. Sa pamamagitan ng pagsasama-sama bilang isang nagkakaisang iglesia ay naipamalas natin ang ganda, timyas, at galak ng ating maraming bilang. Subali’t sa malawak na mundong ating ginagalawan ang ating bilang ay maaaring hindi pansinin at pahalagahan. Ang maliit nating bilang ay maaaring kutyain at ipagwalang-bahala ng mga makapangyarihan at maimpluwensiyang mga tao ng ating panahon dahil maaari nilang sabihin na katulad ng iba diyan, tayo ay mahina at maliit. Subalit mga magulang at mga kapatid maging matatag po tayo sapagkat dumating na ang panahon na ang pagbabago ay darating hindi sa pamamagitan ng lakas at kapangyarihan, bagkus sa pamamagitan ng Espiritu na nasa iilang Pinili ng Dios. Ang ating nais ay ang Mabuting Balita ng Kaligtasan at ang ating bandila ay si Hesu-Kristo.

Pitumpu’t-limang taon na tayong naghihintay. At, bagama’t hindi pa dumarating ang araw na ang ating iglesia ay lubos na matutupad ng plano ng Dios sa pagpili Niya sa atin, ay nababanaag na natin ang bukang-liwayway ng isang PASIMULA. Nuong Agosto, limang daan at limampu sa atin ang dumalo sa 1st Unida-produced Evangelistic Training course. Ito ang pinaka-agresibong hakbang ng ating iglesia upang isulong ang ebanghelismo. Maaaring sabihing ang 550 ay kakaunti lamang - iilan. Subali’t batid natin na sa pamamagitan ng Espiritu ng Dios, ang matatag na kakaunti ay kayang pagalawin ang mundo.

Maging bahagi ka ng iilan upang maranasan mo kung paanong pinalalakad, pinatatakbo at pinalilipad ng Dios ang ating iglesia. Himukin mo ang inyong lokal na iglesia upang sumama sa misyon ng pagdadala ng MABUTING BALITA sa buong mundo. Magtayo ng grupo ng kaanib ng inyong iglesia at dalhin ang ebanghelyo sa inyong komyunidad. Ipanalangin ang bawa’t lokal na iglesia sa kanilang pagsaksi para kay Kristo. Magkaloob ng halaga para sa gastusin ukol dito. Tandaan mo, kahit tayo kakaunti ay mayroon tayong hindi nakikitang laksa-laksa na kaagapay.

KAISANG UNIDA, HAYO NA!

THE FORMIDABLE FORCE OF THE FEW

“Never underestimate the spirit of a dedicated few. Although often ridiculed by society and dismissed by the mighty, a handful minority has the power to change the entire world.” ~ Lance M. Filio

The few has always been taken for granted by the many. In a world where most strive to acquire plenty and everyone insist on upholding the rule of majority, no one expects that a few would actually make a world of difference.

When Gideon fought the Midianites, he led the Israelites into victory not with an army of thousands, but only with a hundred men. Even when Jesus set the redemption of the world in motion, He did not commission a crowd of followers. He entrusted the mission of preaching the gospel to a small number of disciples, yet until now, the work of this chosen few lives on. And yes, our forefathers established one of most steadfast and independent evangelical Filipino churches of our day, neither by following the majority, nor by depending on the wealth of the plenty, but by the commitment of a few good men. And though it has been hidden from the eyes of many throughout history, God sees strength of great magnitude in the unified faith of the few. Listen: In the hands of our most able God, the weak is mighty, the small is big and the few is plenty.

To all my fellow men and woman of Unida: In Cuneta Astrodome, we have witnessed how one can make a difference. By coming together as a united church, we have shown the sheer excitement of our numbers. But in the vast reality of the world that we live in, our numbers and resources will appear trivial and insignificant. Our humble size may even be ridiculed and dismissed by the most powerful and influential people of our time because, just like the few before us, we are deemed weak and small. But take heart my brothers and sisters, for the day has come where change will neither come by power, nor by might, but the Spirit of His chosen few. Our cause is the gospel and our banner is Christ.

Seventy-five years, we’ve waited. And though the day has not yet come when our church has fully realized the plan for which God has called us, we can now see a promising beginning. Last August, five hundred & fifty of us attended the 1st Unida-produced Evangelistic Training course. It is, by far, the most aggressive step our church has ever done for the cause of evangelism. Most may say that “550” is a miniscule number - a mere few. But we know that by the Spirit of our God, the dedicated few could turn the entire world upside down.

Be a part of the few and experience how God is moving our church. Encourage your local church to participate in the mission of preaching the gospel to entire world. Form a small band of members and evangelize to your own community. Pray for every local church in their witness for Christ. Contribute your resources in financing this cause. Remember, we may be few but we have an invisible multitude on our side.

KAISANG UNIDA, HAYO NA!

KAISA! KAISA! KAISA!

JUDAS & DA VINCI

THE JUDAS GOSPEL & THE DA VINCI CODE
Oh my, how callous have we become?
A Dissection by Rev. Gamaliel B. Filio

The Robe
They literally disrobed Jesus Christ when they nailed him to the cross. Now they are AGAIN trying to “literarily” disrobe Him of His Divinity and to reduce him to a mere man by marrying him off to Mary Magdalene and by demeaning him through his betrayer Judas Iscariot.

It would be funny if it does not hurt when you laugh. Because they are nailing Jesus on the cross once more and once more for the same reason – M O N E Y. Judas betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver and now after him come Dan Brown, using DA VINCI to make Jesus look bad, is making a lot of money – at the expense of Jesus.

The Crown of Thorns
Is there nothing sacred anymore? Have we really sunk this low? I decried the fanaticism and mysticism of the Roman Catholic Church of my youth. And yet I cannot help but be appalled by what this generation have replaced it with. We have crowned his head with thorns of disrespect.

The Lashing!
We use to utter the Name of Jesus with awe and reverence as befits the Son of God. But Dan Brown disrespected Jesus and lashed & tore his flesh once more at the center of an international audience through his Novel and now the movie “The Da Vinci Code.” And Oh how some people lapped it up and made it a best-seller and translated it into 44 languages. The movie, because of the controversy it created, is running all the way to the bank.

The New Pontius Pilate
The novel is FICTION, a product of the author’s imagination, and therefore not fact. Dan Brown took a button and sewed a colorful, imaginative but historically inconsistent and multi-layered SHIRT on it.

But since it is fiction it should be read like “Harry Potter”, “The National Treasure”, “James Bond”, “Mission Impossible” and even C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Nothing less, nothing more. That it is being given an importance it does not deserve is a testimony of how sacrilegious our world has become.

One said that while it is fiction there are some truth in it. They should stop pulling our leg because this statement is incorrect. You have to take a novel as a whole and not in parts. Even if some truths are injected into it, it is still fiction woven out of whole cloth.

The Nails
It grieves me that Brown did a Pontius Pilate in desecrating the name of Jesus by means of fictitious allegations and imaginations as did that Roman Procurator. That is disrespect on the Name of Jesus and every Christian martyr, living and dead.

The plot is imaginative but based on loose premises and untruths masquerading as widely accepted truths. “The book opens with the claim by Dan Brown that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate"; but this claim is disputed by academic scholars in the fields the book discusses. As widely noted in the media, there has been substantial confusion among readers about whether the book is factual. Numerous works have been published which explain in detail why any claim to accuracy is difficult to sustain.” (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The Cross
They are crucifying Christ on the Cross of Controversy. Because without controversy books, television, movies, and media has no other way to call attention to itself. And if people do not pay attention to them they will not make money. Truth is no longer important but Controversy that attract people. That spells M-O-N-E-Y.

Who is Da Vinci anyway that what he is implying in his Last Supper painting is being passed off as the truth? Brown made him the keypoint to his Novel and concocted a conspiracy as only a Fiction-Writer can. Congratulations, he started a controversy and he is now a rich man because of it!

But as soon as the controversy wears out, the book, together with its author Dan Brown, will be forgotten but the name they disrespected – JESUS – will stand forever.

The Tomb
Jesus died in calvary and they laid him in Joseph Arimathea’s tomb. Judas committed suicide and was buried in Potter’s Field. But while Jesus resurrected from the dead on the third day, it is the Gospel of Judas that is being resurrected today.

It is being presented not as fiction but as an original factual manuscript. And here the first debate lies, and secondly on what it contends.

Is it real or fake? The debate cannot end even up to doomsday, perhaps. I believe, however, that it is an absolution after the fact, written by one of the close friends of Judas to redeem him from what he has done.

But a discussion on the real role of Judas in the fulfillment of the prophecies about Jesus Christ is quite relevant to us today.

It is evident that the language and style of this gospel is so different, if not inconsistent, with the 4 gospels of the Bible. Jesus speaks in a different manner and about things not discussed in the four. Mathew, Mark, Luke and John are compatible and their books compliment each other although different in style and approach. And Jesus speaks in a way that is common to the 4 and other books of the Bible.

However, the verse that intrigues and the point of contention is that one where Jesus supposedly told Judas: “But you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.”

The Judas Gospel is contending that Jesus, instead of letting the prophecy be fulfilled through the people that has been foretold thousands of years ago, conspired with his “friend Judas” so that the prophecy will happen. And yet the verse admits that he is both man and God. If Jesus is God as he demonstrated when he raised up Lazarus from the dead, he does not need to conspire with anybody to make things happen. Prophecies will be fulfilled no matter what anyone does.
Did Jesus make a mistake in choosing Judas as one of His disciples? My answer is he did not, because the role of Judas was something that was prophesied and it was part of the plan of Salvation that God put in place. Nobody could stop it, nobody could change what Judas was, not even the Son of God.