Sermon on return from Phil.

Trip Report – Cebu, Philippines – 2011

Acts 17.16 - 34

          Thank you for the opportunity go on the Mission trip to Cebu City, Philippines, for the last 3 weeks. This is complex of cities for 3.5 million people, lots of dogs, and even more chickens. Thank you for your prayers – everything went well on the flights, and I am recovering pretty well from the jet lag. I stayed with Nigel and Loida Pyle, and their two kids – David – 16 and Melody – 14. Nigel was originally from New Zealand – his family was farmers who milked cows. He then moved to Australia near Perth where he was converted under the ministry of Leroy Randall. He came to Minnesota Bible College when I was teaching there and I got to meet him. He went to the Phil in about 1990 as a missionary. He worked at a Bible college there until 2001 when he helped start the Central Phil Bible College. They were very good hosts.

          This was a different trip than the Jamaica trips or any of the other mission trips I have been on. I did a lot of teaching on prayer and on the book of James, as well as preaching at different churches in Cebu City. They spoke English so my sermons did not have to be translated. I learned a lot about the Philippines and the religious life there and I am going to share some of that with you today. The city is big, crowded and the traffic is terrible. There are cars, trucks, jeepneys – van type thing that is used as buses – hundreds of them, and more motorcycles than you can count. All of these are crowded onto good sized streets, but way too many vehicles. Add to that people crossing the streets all the time. At night it is even more challenging to drive.

          The scripture that came to mind as I traveled around the city of Cebu was the one found in Acts 17 where the Apostle Paul was in Athens, Greece. As he walked around the city he came to this conclusion: Read with me Acts 17. 16-23. I want you to notice that the people were very religious, but they always were looking for something new and different. They even had a statue for the “unknown god.” They were not dumb – they did not to take a chance of missing and offending any god, so they had this special statue. Paul took the opportunity to proclaim to them the

God who is known, as he revealed himself to them and to us especially in Jesus Christ.

The Philippines as a country is 80% Roman Catholic, 5% Muslim, 10% Protestant, and mixture of other religions. One morning the Pyles took me to the main Cathedral in the city – Santa Nino – in which is a statue of the baby Jesus that has been in the church since the 1600s. (Show the statue)  There were long lines even during the week, for the chance to stand before it. They say it has the power to heal and grant requests. Outside there was a huge open air plaza for huge masses that are said there on special occasions. There was a place to light candles – there could be 1000s of candles lit at one time. This was just one of a number of very large Catholic churches in Cebu. They also honor the Virgin Mary calling her the mother of God instead of the mother of Jesus – she is honored as equal with the God Jesus.

          The same afternoon, we went next door from the Bible College to use the recreational area of a Buddhist temple. (Show the statue) The students from the college used the basketball and volleyball courts. I explored the temple and the monastery areas. It was very interesting. There were other temples – Buddhist and Taoist temples. There was a church group called the Church of Christ which does not believe in the deity of Christ – it is sort of like the Mormon Church here, but different. It has thousands of members and is really politically active. As we drove around the city we saw all kinds of different churches – store front churches and other kinds. There was also a Muslim mosque in Cebu, but they are more prevalent in the southern island of Mindanao.  Cebu is a very religious city. Yet on Sunday there were few people in the big churches.

          Nigel, Loida, and another couple started the Central Phil. Bible College and City Church 10 years ago with the purpose of reaching the city for the Lord. At the time there was just one Church of Christ in the city of 3.5 million people.  In the 10 yrs since, they have helped start 5 churches in various parts of the city. I visited 4 of them. The graduates of the Bible College go into a neighborhood and start a church. They usually rent a house until they can afford to by a property. These are small places – about the size of our foyer – but there are a lot of people close to the church building that they can reach. One place was in an area of shops down a small street – too small for cars. We walked about a half a block to the building. 6 or 8 of the members were meeting for a Bible study – this is in a poor area and only two of them spoke much English – they speak Cebuano. But they were very friendly to us.

          This is something I was really impressed with there, as I have been as I traveled to other places on mission trips – these are brothers and sisters in Christ no matter what the color of their skin or their language. They love the Lord and are trying as hard as they can to win others to him. At the worship services the elders read the same scriptures we do for communion and they have grape juice and wafers. Since they are so far to the East, they are some of the first ones on a Sunday to worship and partake of the Lord’s Supper. Then Chrs all around the world partake. Finally a half a day later we gather to worship and partake together.

          I got to meet the two students I have supported at the college. I give $50 a month for their room, board and tuition. For 2 yrs I paid for the education of John Paul. He graduated two yrs ago and is now a youth minister in Davao – he also teaches at a private high school there and leads a basketball ministry. It was fun to meet him. The other student I am supporting is a young man named Roy. He was abandoned at age 7 and spent a few years on the streets. A minister took him in and he became a Chr. He is a second yr student and is an excellent guitar player. He loves the Lord and is studying hard to become a minister. For just $50 a month I think that is a real bargain and well worth it – if you would like to adopt a student – talk to me.

          During the first week I taught them the ACTS prayer material in detail. The last time they were in the US I gave Nigel a copy of the prayer material and he has been using it there. On that Saturday morning all the students and faculty members participated in a 3 hour or so, prayer and fasting time using the ACTS prayer material (6-9 AM). That was a good experience for them and me. They were eager to learn and then used the prayer information in their lives.

          I also taught them the book of James – the Bible study I taught here at the Wed. morning Bible study. They listened and asked good questions. One of the things I learned about the Pilipino students is that they do not like to read books. I really pushed them to read so they would have something to share with others in the churches where they served.

          In Acts 17 Paul finishes his message to the people of Athens with these words: read Acts 17. 29-34. The message of Jesus Christ and his resurrection needs to be preached because there are still lots of people even in a religious nation that need to know Jesus as their personal Savior. That is what our brothers and sisters in Christ are doing in Cebu. I think God used me to encourage them in their work, and I was encouraged in the process. Again thank you for letting me go and for praying for me while I was there.