http://www.biblechurchinternational.com Bible Church International Podcasts en Bible Church International Podcasts Bible Church International no Bible Church International bcijlepasana@gmail.com ℗ & © 2012 Bible Church International 720 The concept of affecting the faith of the next generation was not an original idea of David; this was something that God impressed to the nation of Israel early on. For example, in Joshua 4, the Lord gave Joshua plain instructions concerning the memorial they had to build after they crossed the Jordan River. We see that verse 24 summarizes God’s two reasons for commanding them to build the memorial. • They might know how powerful God is. • They might always fear the Lord So God gave them a specific method for helping the younger generation build a personal relationship with Him. I firmly believe that this is a duty that we must continue to carry out today, even in our church. We must continue to find ways to help the younger generation build a personal relationship with the Almighty God of the universe. This will be the focus of our sermon today. http://www.biblechurchinternational.com/sermon/bigger-in-multi-generational-ministry Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:09:32 GMT Rev. Jerry Lepasana Think Big for 2012 think_big,multi-generational_ministry Something that we often take for granted is the truth that God holds each one of us accountable on how we are going to express our love for Him according to our gifts. Let’s be honest, if you were to examine the way you give to God, would you see yourself as a cheap or generous giver? Personally, being your pastor, I know I am accountable to God in making sure that I have provided adequate instructions on how we all can be responsible managers and generous givers before God. http://www.biblechurchinternational.com/sermon/bigger-in-generosity Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:01:15 GMT Rev. Jerry Lepasana Think Big for 2012 think_big,giving,tithes,offering,generosity In the fall of 2009, I was glad to see that our leadership decided to put discipleship at the forefront of our vision as a church. Now, allow me to explain. I am not saying that prior to this; we were not involved in some sort of discipleship for our people in the church. We were maintaining 6 major care groups where regular Bible studies, fellowships, and mutual care among members were practiced. I had ongoing Bible school courses every Wednesday, which was regularly attended by about 35 people. We also provided leadership seminars which were designed to effectively equip the people involved in our different ministries. However, there were some areas in our discipleship that we felt we were missing. Obviously, one major area was that, during those times, the same people were getting all the instruction, and the same people were doing the teaching. Also, if you came in as a new believer, instead of starting with basic doctrines, you were treated as if you are on the same level of understanding as everyone else in the group. Lastly, the evangelism aspect was almost absent. People were not as intentional in helping others come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. http://www.biblechurchinternational.com/sermon/bigger-in-discipleship Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:11:42 GMT Rev. Jerry Lepasana Think Big for 2012 think_big,discipleship A Blessed New Year to Everyone! Believe it or not, 2011 is gone and we are embarking on a new year, 2012. Are you excited about it? What prospects to do see for 2012? I am aware of the fact that the majority of the people around us are not so optimistic about 2012. The George Barna research group has put out an article saying that 7 out of 10 Americans believe it will be two or more years before our economy really improves and nearly half are saying it will take three years or longer. I can certainly understand some of our apprehensions about our economy, but I pray that we remain hopeful about everything. Let’s not forget that God is still in complete control. Our future is never based on the world’s economy, but in God’s economy. He is still the God who promises to provide our needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). He is still the God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20). http://www.biblechurchinternational.com/sermon/bigger-in-spiritual-disciplines Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:11:26 GMT Rev. Jerry Lepasana Think Big for 2012 think_big,spiritual_disciplines Today, our Christmas celebration is most appropriate because it falls on a Sunday where Christians will be in Church to worship. Honestly, at first, I was a bit afraid because I know the majority of us will be gathering with our families for Christmas Eve dinner and I was thinking that we may not have enough people in church for worship. But after I thought about it, I don’t believe our people would miss this great privilege to be at church on the day when we are celebrating the birth of our Savior. So allow me to greet all of you, “A blessed and glorious Christmas.” http://www.biblechurchinternational.com/sermon/do-they-know-why-we-have-to-celebrate Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:34:07 GMT Rev. Jerry Lepasana Do they know it's Christmas? christmas,christ's_birth,nativity One of the most popular Christmas songs we are familiar with shares the perspective that the Christmas season is “the most wonderful time of the year.” I’m sure many of us feel the same way, but have you ever tried asking yourself or other people around you why they feel that way about Christmas. Unfortunately, as wonderful as all these reasons may sound, they focus on non-essentials as opposed to the real meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ. The truth of the matter is: I’m afraid that, just like this song, many people are more concerned with having the best Christmas decorations, Christmas trees and lights. They go to so many Christmas parties and spend large amounts of money on Christmas gifts. Yet, they leave out Jesus Christ. http://www.biblechurchinternational.com/sermon/do-they-know-why-he-came-through-mary Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:16:25 GMT Rev. Jerry Lepasana Do they know it's Christmas? christmas,christ's_birth,nativity As we approach our Christmas celebrations, I wanted to borrow the title of that popular Christmas song and use it as an over-all theme for our Christmas series. Just like Geldof asking the world then through a song, “Do the people starving in Ethiopia know it is Christmas?” “Do they have the opportunity to understand the real essence of the season?” The truth is: we, as believers of Jesus Christ must also be conscious of the fact that not everyone around us knows exactly why we celebrate Christmas. I would like to submit to you that we cannot simply assume today that everyone around us knows why Christmas is an important holiday for us. I believe we are afforded with tremendous opportunities to share Jesus Christ to others during Christmastime. http://www.biblechurchinternational.com/sermon/do-they-know-why-christ-came Sun, 04 Dec 2011 19:36:33 GMT Rev. Jerry Lepasana Do they know it's Christmas? christmas,christ's_birth I thought it would be appropriate to talk about one of the most basic qualities of a Christian leader, which is faithfulness. Jesus himself had emphasized the importance of this characteristic when He said in Luke 16:10: Luke 16:10 (NKJV) 10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Isn’t this true all the time? The people we choose to lead us are people who have demonstrated some amount of basic faithfulness. Sometimes it all begins with being faithful in attendance. Then, you become a faithful member of a small committee for a single activity. As you continue to faithfully carry out your responsibilities no matter how small your part is, the Lord open bigger ministry opportunities for you. So, the key to greater productivity is faithfulness. http://www.biblechurchinternational.com/sermon/portraits-of-faithfulness Sun, 27 Nov 2011 18:33:51 GMT Rev. Jerry Lepasana I thought it would be appropriate to talk about one of the most basic qualities of a Christian leader, which is faithfulness. Jesus himself had emphasized the importance of this characteristic when He said in Luke 16:10: Luke 16:10 (NKJV) ... faithfulness,stewardship,true_to_work,service Today, there is also another type of self deception that we need to emphasize. This is specifically applicable to believers of Jesus Christ. The issue is not salvation, but the demonstration of salvation. What do I mean? Unfortunately, there are believers who assume that since they are already saved in Christ, God is no longer concern when it comes to the way they live their lives. This idea is never supported by the New Testament Scriptures. The book of James is one of those books that clarifies this misconception. Obviously, since there was a huge emphasis on salvation not by personal works but by faith, it was so easy for the early believers to take works for granted. They were not as conscious about living righteously before God, so James wrote them a very practical book which provided some guidelines on how Christians ought to live their lives in such a way that non-believers would really know that they belong to God. http://www.biblechurchinternational.com/sermon/applied-religion Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:24:01 GMT Rev. Jerry Lepasana Pure Religion pure_religion,original,fake I don’t know if you have noticed that nowadays there are more people who won’t mind settling for knock-offs or cheap imitations. Not only because you can hardly see the difference between the real ones and the knock-offs, but also because there are a lot of accessible places to get them. I remember, perhaps more than 20 years ago, you would only find them if you would travel abroad to places like Hong Kong, Thailand, or the Philippines. Nowadays, you can simply go to China town in New York and find all kinds of imitations – watches, bags, shoes, even electronics. This is a billion dollar business today in the United States. With so many imitations out there, I believe, there is a greater pressure on the producers of the real products to come up with distinguishing marks so that people would know the difference right away. http://www.biblechurchinternational.com/sermon/living-the-bible Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:18:36 GMT Rev. Jerry Lepasana Pure Religion pure_religion,original,living_the_bible