I've learned from Kuya Prudy that some visitors came to us through our website. Intrigued, I went to Google Analytics to analyze the traffic coming into our website. It wasn't high as I expected, but what I saw moved me to tears.
I looked at the keywords used by those who found our website through Google Search. Most are common keywords, but one keyword caught my attention: "hope".(See image below) Do you know what does that mean? It means 4 people looking for hope -- maybe they are depressed, or empty, or looking for meaning in life and seems there is no hope, saw our website and perhaps decided to drop by one of those Sundays. By the grace of God, I pray that they experienced God when they visited LifeChurch Makati and found hope.
The challenge for all of us is to continue to become agents of hope. As what we learned from our past message series, we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We will continue to do things no one else is doing to reach those people without hope that others are probably not reaching.
Fed up with the status quo? The way things are isn't the way things have to be. Come see what happens when we're ready to say, "I quit."
Starting this Sunday at LifeChurch Makati, we're going to hear Craig Groeschel as he talks about quitting -- the right way.
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LifeChurch Makati is a casual, contemporary, Christian church that meets Sundays Sunday, 10:45 am at Glorietta 4, Cinema 1. in a cinema. You’re invited to check-out LifeChurch Makati this Sunday for practical teaching, rockin’ music, a great Kidz program.
I'm the technical guy, so I'm going to be a little technical here and sound a little less spiritual, is that cool? *wink*
We celebrated LifeChurch.tv's 15th year anniversary at LifeChurch Makati today. And while technically we're just 8 months old, we are very much blessed with the 15 God-honoring years this church has had. As a network church, we're now reaping the focus, the vision and the passion that Craig Groeschel and his team of warriors have.
And so, we thought, how about creating a special worship environment where we'll get the feel of actually worshiping together with them half the globe away? We tried.
During the last song, "Our God", we allowed Oklahoma City campus worship leader JT Murrel to "lead" us in worship. From Craig's video insert, we rolled all the way to JT's leading with his worship team. Our own worship team played along with them. The congregation sings through the video.
The result: awesome corporate worship experience. Who said corporate worship is limited to a building?
LC Makati worship team - you guys are the coolest. Thank you for arguing and agreeing and trying this out with me. It worked! We should try this again some time? ;)
LC.tv - thank you for your love and service to the Church. Because of you, many drunk Garys will know Jesus here in the Philippines.
This Sunday at LifeChurch Makati, we're going to honor God for what he has done and has been doing through LifeChurch.tv. Last week, LifeChurch.tv celebrated its 15th year anniversary, and for us as a network church, we're going to celebrate this with them this Sunday with a very special worship set and a special message from Craig.
If you've been to LifeChurch Makati in the past, or has known LifeChurch.tv through its ministries, drop by and know how it started and where we are all heading. This is going to be fun and God-honoring!
First things first: watch this 6 minute video of an excerpt of Craig's message this Sunday at LifeChurch explaining what fasting is all about and what kind of spiritual benefit it can give us if we put God first in our year though fasting. I've done fasting in the past, but it's only this year that I'm going to join in a church-wide, collective prayer and fasting campaign. So consider me a newbie on this one, too. We're joining LifeChurch.tv for a 21-day fast as we at LifeChurch Makati place God first in our calendar to seek him and put him first this year. For newbies like me, you probably are asking a lot of things on how a typical fast works. The best way to explain this is how I'm planning to do it. Daniel fastThere are different kinds of fasting. Others skip one meal a day, others will not eat during the day. LifeChurch.tv is promoting the "Daniel fast" based on Daniel 10. In my opinion, it's the best way to go for newbies. It basically doesn't involve skipping of meals but a change of diet. While changing of diet is as challenging as skipping meals, it can be an easier route to experience fasting without pushing yourself too hard.
What kind of food shall I eat and not eat for the Daniel fast?
My summary for the Daniel fast is simple: Vegetarian diet (no fried stuff, just grilled and steamed) + brown rice + water. You can view a more comprehensive list here. Obviously, if you're a vegetarian, this is not going to be a fast for you *grin*. So, do other types of fast, like skipping a meal for the day. But for majority of us, not drinking coffee for 21 days is fasting already. So, doing a Daniel fast is a great way to "deprive our body with normal food". Take note that if you have a medical condition, it's wise to consult your doctor first before doing the Daniel fast.
What will I do during the 21-day fast.
Obviously, I'll do my normal daily routine. But for the 21-day fast, I'm going to try to increase my normal quiet time in the morning to devote myself to seeking God's heart. I'm also planning to use YouVersion's 21-day fast reading plan to guide me through my daily devotional. It's a great way to be in line within the process. If you haven't used YouVersion yet when reading your Bible and creating Bible Reading Plans, I encourage you to start a free account now. It can be downloaded to your mobile phone or just read through your normal web browser.
Needless to say, I'm excited to start my year with this tradition. I am praying that I make it until day 21. If not, I know God is merciful :) Nonetheless, the idea is to fast to seek God's heart, to be in tune with his will as I start my year focused on living a life of worship of him. I encourage you to join us in this 21-day fast.
If you have any questions, just ask below. If I know the answer, I'll try to give an answer. If I don't, I'll try to research for you ;)
