We went wherever God took CCF Cebu. I served during the Sunday services in Ayala Cinema 2, SM Seaside, Raddison Blue, Marriott, and sometimes City Sports Club. I was there when we only had exactly one projector to stage the whole worship service. We would bring that projector wherever we needed to be. Because God has a sense of humor, I even found myself as the Team Leader of the Music Team for a time despite my musical skills being up to videoke level only.
Finally in 2018, the Lord brought us here in North Drive. I praise God for taking us this far!
Pretty soon, COVID-19 happened which upended our world. Almost overnight, it changed everything.
Well, not everything. The church of God continued to thrive in the virtual space. Eventually, when restrictions eased, it was decided in February of this year that we will come back to physical worship in this place.
It was very challenging. The inertia of very long lockdowns and almost two years of habits proved to be so heavy that it was very challenging to get back to the rhythm of physical Sunday worship. It was difficult for me too personally. This time around, God called me and my wife to lead the whole Sunday Event.
What we found in front of us was an opportunity to start things from scratch. We re-assessed the old ways we used to do things and opened ourselves up to new ways of volunteering. We opened ourselves up to new people too. The restart was a blessing in many ways because it gave a wide space for improvement. But we also knew that we needed to go back to the very basics because we needed a compass to correctly navigate these new waters. We needed to hear from God.
What does He want for the Sunday event?
The Lord brought us to Luke 14:15-24, the Parable of the Great Banquet. Here, Jesus told the story of a master who was throwing a party. He told his faithful servant to make sure everything is ready. When the day of the party came, all his invited friends gave excuses not to come. The master was angry and he told his servant to go out into the streets and invite the blind, the cripple, the lame - basically all the dispossessed in the city. When there was still room, he told his servant to go out further into the countryside and invite as many of these poor forgotten people in the fringes of society.
There is a beautiful phrase in Luke 14:23 that says "Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full." The phrase "compel them to come" does not mean physically carrying them into the venue. It means persuading them to come, removing any excuses not to come, and making them feel welcome to the house of the rich man.
That is exactly what the Sunday Worship Services are. It is God's open banquet for everyone to come to feast in the word of God. Since reopening the worship services, we have met men and women who knew of CCF only from the internet during the long lockdowns. These are the men and women who in the loneliness of isolation, God has touched. They are coming and they are many.
We have a phrase we like to use in CCF Cebu - "Come As You Are". It is from the very heart of God to make everyone feel welcome to come into His house and meet Him. Now, it is our prayer that as we all have a personal encounter with Jesus in this place, He will change us to be the men and women that He wants us to be. Because that is what tends to happen, isn't it? When we decide to follow Jesus, we do not remain as we are, Jesus begins His work to change into what we can be.
In the past few weeks, we have seen an influx of worship goers and we are all simply overwhelmed. Very soon, we will fill up this place and all the various overflow rooms. God is at work in calling so many to worship at a time when the volunteer workers are so few. We need men and women who will usher and help with the parking downstairs. We need volunteers who will help with the live productions, operate the tech booths and manage the program. We need volunteers who will facilitate in Kid’s Church and Song Leaders who will lead the singing. We need you and your whole DGroup to come and serve.
All through the years of my ministry journey, there have been many times when I questioned why I continue to volunteer my time, talent and treasure for God. Many times, I wanted to quit. But I have since learned one thing that I wish to share with you today: To be a Christian is to be like Christ. To be an adopted son of God means to continue the legacy of the Father. And isn’t it the very ministry of Jesus to serve those whom He is calling to Himself?
Service is a Christian heritage that we must live out. It is the Christian identity that we must embody.
There is a scene towards the end of Spiderman No Way Home where the three spidermans played by Toby Maquire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland are talking to each other. They have just ended the movie's final battle scene and of course they have emerged victorious. We see them tired and bloody. Tom Holland's spiderman wants to thank them because they saved his life and also say goodbye to them because they will never see each other again. But he looks at these two other spidermans and he is at a loss for words. He’s very awkward.
And suddenly, Toby Maguire's spiderman just sort of stops him. And he goes on to say, "Peter, you know - it's what we do."
Outside on the lobby are booths we have set up for everyone to get to know the many opportunities to serve in this church we love. Please ask us questions if you have any. And if God is calling you today to serve his church, please heed His call.
We are Christians. We are saved to serve. It's what we do. It is who we are.
