Shocking Youth Message

Is our youth group really saved? Listen to this preaching and think about it.

A very appropriate and timely preaching for the youth of today. This is a very strong message Paul Washer preached in a 2002 youth conference in front of a 5000 audience. Listen to what made him say,

"I don't know why you're clapping? I'm talking about you. I didn't
come here to get "amens". I didn't come here to be applauded. I'm talking about you."

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Listen to this preaching now

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download the video HERE.

An American Reflection on the Philippines-pt 1

I haven't tried cooking misua (rice vermecilli) eversince I got my hands dipped in a cooking pot. One day I craved for it. So I logged in to Youtube and searched on line for its recipe. As my desktop monitor reveals the playlist results for this Filipino recipe, I scrolled down and continuously searched until one video thumbnail caught my attention.

Hey, what's this white man doing in a carinderia ni Aling Holy Vanessa?

The video made me anticipate to see some foreigner commenting various funny remarks about some of our exotic food. True enough, the guy on the video ate balut,dinuguan and pig intestines in a side street carinderia. The way his Filipino companion describe balut is hilarious when he (the Filipino guy) said:

“This one is a monster called balut. There’s a monster inside.”

Pati s’ya natawa sa joke n’ya (Even him laughed at his own joke.) LOLZ. But when the American guy mentioned in his video that the man he was with was a pastor, I thought to myself,

"Hey, wait a minute, what are they doing together in a carinderia?"

Later I found out from his profile that he is a Christian and had been in the Philippines for six weeks. I think he went to the Philippines for some missionary works, though I am not sure because it was not mentioned in his profile. Maybe this trip at the carinderia, was the pastor's way of showing him around the city and to make him feel or literally taste for himself what Filipino hospitality is all about.

See part 2 of this blog as I made some comments in one of his videos where he made certain funny remarks about his experiences while he's in the Philippines.

Read part 2 HERE.

Hell's Best Kept Secret

To have a copy of the same video below, you may download it from HERE.

There was a film showing at our church last Eid Holiday, partly as one of the activities organized for our congregation here at Bahrain. We've watched this short video after the main film feature was shown. It differs from the way we're taught from our church on how to share the Gospel of Christ to unbelievers. I would like to share it with you and decide for yourselves if you want to use it as a new method in winning souls to the kingdom of God.

This is the second video in the "Way of the Master Basic Training Course," an eight-week Christian evangelism curriculum hosted by actor Kirk Cameron and author Ray Comfort. Their Web site is at http://www.wayofthemaster.com/

The video declares that 80-90% of those making a "decision for Christ" fall away from the faith? Why the Church neglected it? Learn the principle that Spurgeon, Wesley, Whitefield, Jesus, the apostles, and prophets used to reach the lost. Don't let anything stop you from watching this incredible teaching.

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Special thanks to Bro. Orlando Bien for the video file.

Happy Birthday Anak

Today is my son's 1st year birhtday. As I am writing this, they'll be having a party in an hour later in the Philippines. Sadly, he has a mild fever, so he's not in the best of mood to enjoy the party my wife had prepared for him. Nevertheless, I would like to praise and thank God for the wonderful year He had given to my son. I hope and I pray that he'll continue to grow up to be a jolly and healthy boy.

My son, may you continue to nurture each passing day with peace in your heart and may God bestow upon you the wisdom to keep you through in life. Happy Birthday Marcus, mwuahhh .

the Saliendras in Manila Ocean Park

I wanted to be a tourist in Singapore someday. Not because I wanted to experience its urban chic (notorious for being one of the cleanest country in the whole world), but just to see the Sentosa Underwater World which have been a certified tourist attraction in that country. Having a Sentosa fridge magnet is perhaps the nearest the I could be in achieving that dream.

Entrance to the Sentosa Underwater World

"I got to be there."

That's what I exclaimed to myself after I saw a tv documentary about it several years ago when I was still in the Philippines. It made me yearn to be in that place and feel the sublime experience of walking on the ocean floor surrounded by the creatures of the deep without actually getting wet!

Thanks to the Manila Ocean Park. My dream became a reality without the hassle of going to Singapore anymore. Located behind the historic Quirino Grandstand in Manila, the Manila Ocean Park is the city's newest tourist spot to attract both the local and foreign visitors.

Surely, the Saliendras never mind queuing for a couple of hours just to be there. We enjoyed it so much and Marcus was so ecstatic to be surrounded by the creatures of the deep. Being an aquarist myself, I made sure to include it in my to-do-list during my vacation in the Philippines last June.

With its size, the 8,000 square meter Oceanarium is now recognized to be the largest in Asia, beating Sentosa's 6,000 square meter! The whole structure is spacious enough to accomodate an estimated population of 10,000 visitors daily.

The park is divided into seven exhibit halls and an activity center. The display section showcases more than 20,000 exotic fishes and aquatic creatures of about 300 species caught from the surrounding Philippine waters, mostly acquired from the local fishermen in Palawan, Cebu and nearby provinces like Cavite and Batangas.

Come and join us and together we'll journey through the exhibit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MANILA OCEAN PARK SEVEN EXHIBIT HALLS

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AGOS (Flow)

1

Features 8 freshwater fishtanks with fishes
mostly imported from the South America.
The exhibit is in a rainforest set-up.

BAHURA (Reef)

2
With 48 tanks on display, it showcases
different artificial coral setup. Here, you kind find Nemo frolickingaround sea anemone.

LAOT (Fishing Ground)

3
It's a very dark hall.

Main feature on display is the eagle-spotted ray in a very long tank.

BUHAY NA KARAGATAN
(Living Ocean)

4

This is the main feature of the exhibit with its transparent 220-degree curved, 25 meter-long, transparent acrylic tunnel. It is unique, as compared to the 180 degree-curved tunnels from other oceanariums in other Asian countries.

KALALIMAN (The Deep)

5

Showcases marine animals found in the deepest part of Philippine waters.

PAGI (Stingray)

6

Display different variaties of stingrays as they "fly" over you while you're under this unique Overhanging Tanks.

PATING

7

Features several species of sharks.

CHILDREN ACTIVITY CENTER

Located at the second floor of the building that caters to children.



GLASS-BOTTOM BOAT RIDE

For a fee, you can ride on this boat and view the fishes below the BUHAY NA KARAGATAN exhibit tank.

FISH SPA

Nature's best pal for those tired sore feet. The swimming creatures eat all those dead skin cells on your feet to their own delight.

God has given us these creatures from the sea and the Manila Ocean Park provided the facilities for us to appreciate them in full view. But seeing them in their full glory doesn't end there, for the Manila Ocean Park's mission is to raise awareness among the general public about the present status of the different ecosytem that these animals come from. We may consider them to be the ambassador of their own species to assure the continuous existence of their own kind in this place we called EARTH - our home and their homes too.

Let us conserve and protect our environment.

BONUS FEATURE:

Play the video below and see my own underwater world here in Bahrain.

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Photos courtesy of: i heart manila, bayang magiliw magazine, googles image

Bab Al Bahrain

I like this photo that I took myself. It captures the busy ambiance of the area.

The name Bab Al Bahrain means Gate of Bahrain. It is located in Manama's central business district (CBD) and marks the main entrance to the Manama souq. Built by the British in the 1940s, Bab Al Bahrain once stood at the water's edge. Due to extensive land reclamation in the later years, one needs to walk more than 10 minutes to get to the sea.

When it was originally designed by Sir Charles Belgrave in 1945, it housed the government offices of the time and overlooked the sea. The sea has long been reclaimed. Government Avenue, which runs alongside Bab Al Bahrain, and the new highway that leads to Saudi Arabia were built on reclaimed land. Currently, the Bahrain Financial Harbor is being constructed on further reclaimed land.

The monument itself was refurbished in 1986 to incorporate Islamic architectural features. Today, the ground floor now houses the tourist information office and a handicrafts shop. The monument essentially consists of a huge arch, below which runs a road, which is often referred to as the entrance to the Manama souq (marketplace).

The Government Avenue, which runs in front of Bab Al Bahrain, contains many major banks and business establishments. The Government Avenue is perhaps so-called because the offices of the Manama municipality are located on it. The Gold City (different from Gold Souq) is a shopping complex for gold ornaments and is also located on Government Avenue. The Indian jewellery giant Alukkas has a branch in Gold City. (Source:Wikipedia)

Collossians and Philemon

Listen to the collective messages of Indian Evangelist Bro. Zach Poonen (in mp3 format below) as he talks about the Letters of Paul to the Collossians and Philemon, and if it challenges you, you may open your Bible and explore it further.

Colossians



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Philemon



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Welcome to my The Holy Bible Series.

Our discipleship program at church will be studying Paul’s Pastoral Epistles to Colossae (Colossians) and his letter to Philemon. So instead of featuring the Gospel according to Matthew this week, just what I had promised from my last posting, I decided to feature these two letters of Paul.

I am hoping that the uploaded audio material will be of great help to everyone. Furthermore, let me give you a short synopsis about these two letters .

LETTER TO THE COLOSSIANS

Collosae was a town in Asia Minor (Turkey) east of Ephesus. This church had not been established by Paul, but reports regarding the increase of false teaching there had reached him while he was incarcerated in Rome. The false teaching stated that instead of Christ being the only mediator between God and man, there were certain angelic beings through whom man must also go in order to know God. Paul writes to oppose these teachings with the true Chistian message: the all-sufficiency of Christ, his full authority over all powers and the fullness of life he gives.

LETTER TO PHILEMON

In this letter we’ll find that Onesimus, one of Philemon’s slaves, had stolen from his master and run away to Rome. In that great city he met Paul and became a Christian. Under Roman law, Philemon had the right to brand a returned slave and even kill him. Through this letter, Paul appealed to Philemon to be reconciled to his slave, whom Paul is sending back to him, and to welcome him not only as a forgiven slave but as a Christian brother.

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On next week's posting, we will be talking about the Gospel according to Matthew. Just keep on reading your Bibles and be amazed at the goodness of God.