Godly Music - Draw Me Near the Cross - choral group

 Here is another choral piece that our church group was able to offer to the Lord for His glory and for our edification. It is called "Draw Me Near the Cross." It is an S.A.B. or two-parts mixed arrangement by Patti Drennan and published by Alfred Publishing Co. (c) 2001. It is an excellently done medley of "Near the Cross" and "Draw Me Nearer." On this Sunday, Sept. 17, we were joined by some very special friends (a family) from our sending church who are very talented and love music. They added their vocal talents, abilities, and skills to help us sing our best for the Lord. Enjoy listening here:

 

A Wonderful Week Loaded with Blessings - Praise and Thank God!

Praise God for the blessing of hosting a Vacation Bible School:

     The children are officially on school break (in the Philippines they took a break after the first week of July and they will return to school at the end of Aug.). So, we decided to host a wonderful Evangelistic ministry: Vacation Bible School. We were able to work with 70 plus children, and some adults (seniors, too). Our theme was "Little Things That Are Exceeding Wise" (based on Pro. 30:24-28) and also we snuck into the program our birds (a cockatiel named Kiwi, and a lovebird named Raindrop or Rainy for short). Several children responded to the invitation, and many of them made professions of faith. Our prayer is that they would continue by faithfully attending to our Sunday School Ministries and Sunday services. We also would like to ask you to pray for many more who truly need to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, before its too late. We are rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord and in the safety He has provided for us. He even allowed us to have a couple of clear nights of no rain (which helped us) even though it currently is the "Monsoon Season" (rainy season).

Praise God the blessing of having an Evangelistic Bible study:

     There were two of these in two separate villages. A husband and wife got saved in the village called "Romantic Village." And, another Bible study in a "ward" (piece of land within the district of Tuktukan). A senior lady (Tess) also placed her faith in the Lord Jesus. These are great responses to direct preaching and teaching the Word of God within their respective homes. Please pray that they would continue to attend our church services, get baptized, and added to the church. Praise God for His grace and mercy in the saving of souls.

Praise God for a visit with a dear Preacher friend, and his grandson from the USA this week. It was a blessing to have a time of fellowship and enjoy an edifying time with a true friend.

Praise God for our church workers who gave of themselves to help and assist to ensure a successful VBS ministry could happen.

Praise God for His grace and His divine enablement. We are just praising God for the many wonderful things that He is doing in our midst.

Thank you, our Dear Praying Friends, for taking our name and ministries before the Lord in prayers. Thank you for your love and faithfulness. God is truly interested in all of us worshipping and serving His Son, in His immersionist (Baptist) assembly - and He is surely worthy - let's continue being faithful to Him.

(Above photo) - VBS

(Above photo) - Lola (Grandmother) Tess' Bible study. She readily received the Lord Jesus as her personal Saviour. Her husband (Mr. Aurillo) was there and so was her daughter (holding her 1 year old boy). The three children in the front row (from right to left): Mikaela, Angel, and Kevin - all three of them started attending our children's Sunday School, and we faithful have a part in our VBS. Mikaela is Lola Tess' granddaughter. Mikaela also received Jesus during the week of VBS. God is good!

Another song to enjoy and to praise God for

 Here is a link to another song that our singing group was able to sing for our AM service. The message of the song is to abide in Christ, and in doing that we become fruitful Christians. We praise God for the opportunity to edify one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. May we abide in Him, indeed!

https://youtu.be/zqkNZ5p6Nfw

Our MZBMP Singing Group

 After a number of weeks of going over this beautiful SAB arrangement, and learning about some principles of godly music, our singing group was able to share this testimony of praise in music to our guests and visitors at the church this morning. Praise God for willing and surrendered hearts singing and making melody unto the Lord!

Song title: "Footsteps of Jesus." Lyrics by Mary B. C. Slade; Arranged by James W. Koerts; Published by Soundforth, Greenville, SC; (c) 2005.

Praise God for our 6th Year Church Anniversary

 Dear Praying Friends,

First of all, we are praising God for allowing us to celebrate our 6th year church anniversary. It is an honor and a privilege to serve the Lord Jesus Christ here in Taguig City. The Lord’s golden candlestick is shining brightly here in Tuktukan as we are also affecting a few of our surrounding villages for the Lord. We are very blessed to see a robust return of our Children’s Sunday School ministry touching an average of about 60 boys and girls each week. Please pray, as we observe that the window of opportunity to reach the young people dwindles as they enter their teen years. Some young people are desiring to own their own Bibles & are bringing their Bibles to church after they receive it. Some who are interested have started attending not only our regular Sunday services, but also, our Wednesday evening service. We must reach them while they are still young, and by God’s grace we will do our best to bring them to a saving knowledge of Christ. We are also seeing many people (young & old) taking steps of growth in the Lord. Praise God for the victories! Thank you, dear friends, for your fervent love and prayers. As the world gets worse and worse, may we continue to shine the glorious Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ     because He alone is the answer to this hurting and rotting world of sin. Revelation 22:20b, “...Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

We praise the Lord that three precious ladies were ready to receive Believer's Baptism and were added to the church in Tuktukan. God is so good!

Our Latest Family Photo (March 2023)

Many have asked us for an updated family photo. Well, here it is. Thank you, Dear Friends, for your love and prayers. Be well!

Feb. Newsletter Email Sent

Dear Faithful Friends,

Our February update has been sent. If you desire to be added to our monthly news and prayer letter, please email me at hardecker at gmail dot com (I am spelling it out so as to avoid or minimize those pesky and unwanted spam-junk emails). Thank you and God bless you!

Sincerely,

Bro. Bill