September 25, 2016 - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (+Bp. Ricardo Alcaraz) Sunday Worship Homily "The Goal of Sensitivity to the Needy"
"God blesses us that we might be a blessing to others."
Amos 6:1-7 - We
are to care about God and His purposes. (We should avoid falling into
the trap that just because we have what we need, we doesn't need
anything else)
1 Timothy 6:17-19 - We are to fight the good fight of faith.
September 21, 2016 | Wednesday Fellowship Service (+Fr. Fernando Ilustre)
Topic: We are to wait expectantly to the revealing of Christ.
Luke 3:15-22 (NASB) – Now
while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering
in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ,John
answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water;
but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the
thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.His
winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor,
and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff
with unquenchable fire.”
So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.But
when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his
brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had
done,Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.
Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,and
the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a
voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am
well-pleased.”
Lamentations 3:21-23 – This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
“When God reveals Himself to us, they are new every morning.”
“God can use you to reveal Himself to others.”
Psalm 68:19 – Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation.
Psalm 103:2 – Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;
1 Corinthians 2:10 – For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
God wants us to follow the plans He made for us even before we were born.
Psalm 139:13-16 - For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Ephesians 2:10 - For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Hebrews 10:5-7 - Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’”
John 4:34 - Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
John 5:30 - I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
John 6:38 - For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
"You are not an accident. You are God's masterpiece. God wants you to finish the plans He made for you."
Christ invites us to be disciples who are willing to give up those things that will hinder us from finishing.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Living for God means making the right choices. To obey God, means to choose the way of life, to disobey is to choose death. God told us to choose Life.
Philemon 4-16
Living the christian life of faith means making hard decisions. We must follow our faith not our emotions and purpose. Let us purpose in our hearts to obey God’s commands.
Psalm 139:1-6;13-18
Luke 14:26-33
(v.26-27) Our commitment to Christ must be higher than any other commitment.
(v.28-33) Christ is calling us to a total commitment to follow Him until the end.
