VOLUNTEER: Love in Action | Aumar Aguilar | September 20, 2026

0:00 When we think about serving, we often think about what we can do in church or for other people. But what if serving actually starts at home? Our family is one of the first places where we can put love into action through our time, our words, our patience, and even the simple ways we help one another. You know, God has given each of us different gifts, and he calls us to use them not just for ourselves, but to serve our families and others. So, what does it really look like to serve with love? Not because we have to, but because of what God has already done for us. Watch this video and discover what it means to make our love visible through serving.

0:53 >> [music] >> What a beautiful day to worship the Lord. You know, in behalf of the Across family ministry, um I just want to say it's so good to be with all of you today. This month we are celebrating family month, right? And um uh we are going through our series families growing in love. And if you are joining us for the first time or perhaps you're online, you're joining us also for the first time and you're thinking, wait a minute, families growing in love. Hold on. I'm not yet married or I don't have children yet. I don't have a family. Well, all of us have families, right? Either we have siblings or parents. And perhaps some of them are not within

1:39 reach. They are far away from us. They're not physically present. Well, our church is your spiritual family. This is our church family. So, all of us have a family, right? Can you turn to the person beside you? Say, "We are family." >> That is true. We are family. And as we learn about families growing in love, we are going through also our core values which is based on the acronym L O V. Okay. Do you memorize our core values? >> Yes. >> Really? Oh, say let's test it out. L stands for >> love God. Love others. Very good. O is >> obey God's word and authorities. Today

2:25 we are going to talk about >> volunteer. >> Volunteer. That is correct. And next week we're going to talk about engaging the family. So today we will be talking about volunteer. But before we do, I want to ask you. So in this time and age, we most of us are in social media, right? We're in Instagram, we're on Facebook. But what social media platform did we have before before uh these uh before Facebook and Instagram? You're right, Frenchster. But also we had multiply. Do you remember that? Multiply. So multiply is like a photo sharing site. You have albums, experiences that you share. But you are

3:12 correct. Friendster and in friendster it's about having so many friends. How many of you had the second account, third account, right? Because you're full already. But also you ask people what to write testimonies for you, right? So they will write, can you write a testimony for me? it will be available uh on your profile and people get to see what others have written about you. But before all of this, what did people use? What did we have? What do we have? We had the slam book. Oh, wow. Many of you can remember, huh? The slam book. What is the slam book? You know, it's this notebook or book that you pass around to your friends and

3:58 you ask them, "Hey, can you fill this out?" And in the slam book, they'll ask your name, nickname, hobbies, sports, favorite singer, favorite TV program, and then there's always who is your crush, right? And then they will go straight to that. Who's your crush? And then oh, did you know that Omar's crush is this? Yan slam book. But you know oftent times in those lamb books there's a section or a question where they ask what is love or define love. >> And if I were to ask you to define love, if somebody asks you, hey, can you explain to me what love is? What will you respond? How will you respond? What will you say? Oh, you know what? If you're answering an autograph

4:45 book, love is blind. usually right >> but what really is love you know all of us we form our own definitions love of love you know many of us I'm sure all of us when we were born we didn't know automatically what love is so we learned along the way we learned observing from our parents and perhaps this is love and then for some of us we learn through the movies that we watch or the books that we read for some of us through our friends. And so we have all these different definitions of love, but the question really is what is the true definition of love? Well, if you and I want to know what love is,

5:32 then we turn to Jesus, we turn to scripture and and understand what true love really is. And the Bible tells us in 1 John 3:16, it says, "By this we know what love is that he Jesus laid down his life for us. Jesus demonstrated for us what true love looks like. Laying down his life for us." And so through this, through Jesus sacrifice, we get to understand what love is. And so our definition of love is this. Love is an unconditional commitment towards imperfect people to seek their highest good which often times require uh often times require

6:20 sacrifice. And somebody told me a while ago, Omar, you should add uh leading to the glory of God, right? Because when we love others, it's really not about us. But this is the definition. Love is an unconditional commitment towards imperfect people. Are we imperfect? Yes, we are. And many times, if we will be honest, yes, it's hard to love others. But it can also be hard to love us, right? But God loved us anyway. You know, Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Did you catch that? While we were still sinners, God didn't

7:07 say, "Okay, I want you to be sinless first and then I will love you. I want you to be the best version of yourself first, then I will love you." Because you know our tendency, human love tends to be transactional, right? It tends to be transactional. Okay, I will love you if you are lovable. I will forgive you if you change. If you give 50%, I will give 50% also. There is a transaction, a condition. But God's love is different. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Unconditional commitment towards imperfect people to what? To seek their highest good. John 10:10 says, "For the thief comes in to steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus says, I've come that

7:53 you may have life to the full, life abundantly." God seeks our highest good which often times require sacrifice and that is what we saw with Jesus. He showed us his love through his sacrifice. This is what love is. So us understanding love. Love is more than a feeling. Love is more than a sentiment. Love is more than a phrase. Love is more than a happy thought. Love is action. And as Jesus showed us, it is a commitment and a sacrifice. So today as we talk about volunteer or serving, we are going to look at

8:38 love being a an act or a commitment. Love in action. This is our title for today. And you know, as part of our core values, I love the word volunteer because the word volunteer speaks of being proactive, making a choice. It is in your own decision to serve, to give of yourself, right? Volunteer. And we're we're going to talk about that volunteer serving. And we say that when we serve, when we volunteer, it is us showing love in action. You know, Jesus modeled it for us how to serve, how to love. John 13:34, it says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have

9:24 loved you, that you also love one another." You see, when Jesus said this to his disciples, this was um the last time that they were going to be together, right? And so Jesus washed the disciples feet. It was a very humble act reserved for servants. And he washed the feet of his disciples, served his disciples, and then he told them, um, do as I have done unto you. And then he gave this commandment, love one another as I have loved you. Jesus love was expressed in service. And so when we serve one another, it is it should be an act of love. Many years after an apostle named the

10:09 Apostle Paul experienced the love of God and this is what he said right and you know the apostle Paul one of the greatest servants I believe in scripture right he said this in Romans chapter 12 he says therefore I urge you brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. ship. So every time we see the word therefore we have to look back to the previous verses or previous chapters to understand oh it it's saying because of this then this is the statement right so therefore so if we look back in Romans chapter 1 to 11 the apostle Paul talks about the

10:57 mercies of God what are the mercies of God that through Jesus Christ we have forgiveness that through Jesus Christ we have been justified. That through Jesus Christ we have been adopted in the family of God. That through Jesus Christ we have hope in God for our future. That in Jesus Christ we are now free from condemnation and we have experienced all of these things. Now he's saying because you have experienced all of these things. What is the proper response to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice? It is a response for what God has done for us. How many of you have had such a

11:43 big debt that you could not pay and all of a sudden God provided to pay for that debt or somebody paid for cancel that debt? What a feeling, right? after having such a heavy burden, a big debt, all of a sudden that debt is paid for or cancelled. Or perhaps you have hurt somebody. Have you ever hurt somebody so bad that you thought, "Oh no, I will never be forgiven. How can I ever be forgiven?" And then you were shown grace. You have been forgiven of that sin. Right? And what a feeling that is. Well, this is what God has done for us. He paid a debt we could not pay. has forgiven a sin that we could not pay for or work for. This is what we have in Jesus. So the proper response is this to

12:33 present our bodies. If I were that person forgiven, our debt paid, I would say, Lord, thank you so much. Here I am. Whatever you want, use me, Lord. Here is my life I give to you. That is a proper response for what we have experienced in Jesus. The gospel, the saving knowledge, the saving grace we have received. Right? The gospel is the fuel of service. Right? When we forget grace, service becomes mere duty. When we remember grace, service becomes worship. Lord, here I am. My whole body I give to you. You see, we save. We we we we serve

13:22 not so that we will be saved, but we serve because we are saved. Right? Ephesians chapter 2: 8-10 says, "How are we saved? For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Salvation is through grace undeserved given to us. So if you say, "Oh, I don't need to work for my salvation. I don't need to do good. I don't need to serve so that I can be saved." Well, what is serving for? The verse continues. What where does good works come in? Verse 10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for

14:10 good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. That word workmanship is the word pa right where we get the English word poem. And so this verse is telling us that God has intentionally purposefully created us for good works to serve others. You know, if God's goal is just to save us, then when we place our faith in him, we should go to heaven right away. But we are still here. Why? Because God prepared for us good works that we would walk in them. That we get to serve others, minister to others as well to do

14:55 God's will. So Paul says, "Present your bodies." It means your whole life. How do we do that? We present our bodies when our hands help rather than harm. Our mouths encourage rather than tear down. Our ears listen patiently. Our eyes notice people who are overlooked. Our feet go where love is needed. Our minds think about how to bless others. Our schedules make room for people. Our resources become instruments of generosity. So Paul is saying our proper response is to give our all is to present our bodies and then he goes on to say and do not be conformed to this world. What is he what

15:43 he is saying is that there is there is a way of thinking a pattern of life in this world. It goes to to show in our way of living, the way we understand things, but also in the way we serve, okay? Our thoughts about serving, our our understanding of serving. And the world often says this world, okay? When we serve, oh, look after yourself first, right? Look after yourself. You know, I know we're all busy. Are you all busy? I'm sure we're all busy. And you're thinking, I really don't have time to serve. I'm so busy now at work. I'm doing this. I'm doing that I don't have time to serve later when I'm when I'm freer when I have more time then I will serve or perhaps some may say you know what your value depends

16:31 on recognition you know I keep on serving but nobody recognizes what I'm doing perhaps you're a parent or a child you know I keep on trying to do what is right but nobody appreciates me never mind I won't serve anymore right and we say and and and we feel that oh people need to recognize me so I can keep on serving. Or maybe some people think serve only if you get something in return. Oh, what's in it for me? You know, maybe children will say, "Oh, mommy, daddy, I will do chores, huh? But you have to buy me my favorite toy or you have to buy me this gadget or I mom, I have a deal deal for you. Okay, let me wash the dishes for

17:17 one week, but you have to increase my allowance. Right? So, there's a transaction happening and we saying we're going to serve only if you get something in return. Or sometimes people may feel that the most important person in the room is them and some tasks are beneath them. Oh, that's not for me. Maybe for some people, but not for me. This is an a pattern of thinking. And the world and and scripture tells us Paul says do not be conformed to this kind of pattern to the patterns of this world. You know in ministry we may also have wrong motives for serving in ministry. Some of us it becomes a fuel to feel good about ourselves. Oh I'm

18:03 serving so you know I'm important. I want to feel good about myself. that becomes our motivation and that should not be right because service is a privilege and it is our response. We don't deserve it. It is by grace alone, right? Um, and maybe for some of us, oh, I need to serve because I'm such a I'm such a bad person. If I serve, maybe God will forgive me or maybe sins if if I serve in ministry. And the Bible nowhere says that, right? Or I want to network to benefit my business. Right? We want to remind you, be careful of this, especially in our small groups. Okay? Our small groups is not a place for networking or getting money. It is a

18:50 place for growth, community um and and and doing life together. Okay. And finally, you know, there's uh another motive may be, oh, I prefer to be in a ministry instead of a D-group. And it's important for us, you know, in in CCF, we ask you to be part of a D-group first before you serve in ministry because we are concerned about your growth, your spiritual growth because it's so tragic if you keep on serving but you're not growing spiritually. And we want our service to be an overflow of our growing relationship in the Lord. Right? So these are motives that we have to be careful of. So Paul

19:35 continues in verse two. He says, "Do not be conformed but what? Be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what the will of God is. That which is good and acceptable and perfect." Maybe some of us did not grow grow up serving. Or perhaps some parents here are saying, you know what, my kids are so old already. How am I going to teach them to serve? Or you know what? I'm I'm shy. I you know how how can I contribute? I don't want to be in front of people. And so we have these mindsets and and and we feel oh you know what maybe not for me maybe for others. Now you know there's a buzzword now in the science community the term is neuroplasticity. Have you heard about it? Neuroplasticity. And this is the ability of our mind to

20:21 create new ways of thinking new patterns. We can develop new habits. And so you know if you are not accustomed to doing something maybe your children are are not used to service all hope is not lost. We can still train ourselves. Create a habit of serving others. You know science has just been talking about this past couple of decades. The Bible has been talking about this past couple of centuries. Right? Renewing of the mind. Here's a reminder for us. We serve not so we can be saved but because we are saved. We serve out of gratitude and worship. You know when we serve it's not the

21:08 motivation is not oh look God needs you. You have to serve. God needs you. Right? But our motivation should be look how much God has already done for you. And when we serve, it has to be a response of worship to what God has done. It continues in verse three. Paul says, "For through the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound judgment as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." Look at this. The Apostle Paul continues to talk about grace because grace is not just about being saved. Even the ability to serve

21:54 grace, it is undeserved. It's not wow, you're so good. You're so talented. You have so much abilities. Come serve our motivation. Wow, what a privilege, Lord. What a privilege it is to serve you. No one is above the other. No one is better than the other. We are all recipients of grace. You know, um one time this is a picture of my wife and um this is our third child Olivia. One time I went home and um I saw my wife. She was carrying our baby and um she was washing the dishes. our baby had very high fever and there

22:43 she was. I saw her carrying our baby taking care of uh her while washing the dishes. And I just realized, you know, the the truth is when my wife and I were newly married. We did ministry together. We volunteered for everything. We volunteered in the welcome ministry, ushering ministry, medical ministry. you know, I wanted to volunteer in the praise and worship team, but they will reject me for sure. So, we didn't volunteer anymore. My wife did. She was part of the choir. Um, and we tried everything and we would go everywhere. We would speak in youth retreats. And then our first child came, we can bring our child along. So, we

23:28 still went out here and there. Our second child came in. If basketball, it's now one-on-one, right? So yes, we could still bring our child. So two children and then us. And then finally our third child came. No more. It's zone defense already. Right. So my my wife stayed home while I would go out, do the work of the Lord and then come back home. And you know um I saw my wife and I saw this and you know I was thanking God. And I believe many mothers are like this. And I only praise God only by God's grace. But I praise God because, you know, I could go out and serve the Lord without having to worry about my children because I know my wife is devoted and and taking care of our

24:14 children very well. You know, many of the wives and mothers are very sacrificial that way and we just want to appreciate you. Can we just appreciate the wives and the mothers? We praise God for you. What a calling God has given you. And by embracing your calling, that is an act of service. That is an act of service. You know, one thing I appreciate about this is every time I would go out and I would come back, my kids would run to me and then they would welcome me and say, "Daddy's home." And then they they're going to ask me, "Daddy, um, how was h how was the person that you met? I heard you shared about Jesus. How was it?" And you know there was no resentment because the tendencies

25:00 when you serve when you do ministry the tendency oh daddy chose ministry again over us and it can be a competition but my wife would make sure to tell our children guys daddy's out there sharing Jesus let's pray for him we are partners in ministry right and so when I come back home my children don't feel like I chose ministry over them but rather they understand that they are my partners in ministry right together and when they were older we get to serve with them in ministry too. This is a this is one of the retreats that our droup organized and our children said daddy can we volunteer in the food ministry. So what

25:46 they did they just grab snacks they would go around tables and distribute food. Everybody can contribute. Pra praise God alone right? Praise God. And you can do this with your families, right? You can serve others together as a family. No task is too small. The important thing is you and I get to serve other people. How else can you serve at home? You know, how can you serve at home? How can you serve each other? You know, it can be as simple for the children, as simple as picking up your plate after you're done, bringing it to the sink, right? and not leaving a mess. That is an act of service. You you can uh make time to listen, right?

26:31 Listening is a way of serving others. Also asking people how can I help? Saying a prayer for somebody, looking after, you know, older kids, looking after your younger siblings is a big help to your parents, right? That is one thing that you can do also. Or maybe if you are an older uh children, your adults already visiting your parents in their old age that is an act of service too. Encouraging your children to visit grandparents that is an act of service. There are many ways and the Bible tells us we have something unique to offer. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same

27:16 function, so we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. Now Paul was talking uh to the to the believers and he's saying, you know what, as a church family, as the body of Christ, we contribute, right? Are we all members of this church family? We are, right? We are members of this church family. We can contribute. You and I can do something to build up this body, to contribute to this body. [snorts] And it is also true for our own families at home. There is something that you and I can do. One of God's purposes for us is to serve. He has given us unique gifts

28:02 through his grace to employ in serving our families and others. So first part we talked about what our motivation is about serving. Paul says it is a response to experiencing to experiencing the amazing love of God. Right? It is a response and we are to think um not highly of ourselves but we have all something to contribute. Now how does love in action look like? How can we go about um uh showing love in action? So now we're going to look at Philippians chapter 2. And the first thing I want us to remember is that we are to see people as God sees them.

28:48 Philippians 2:3 says, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit." Let's be honest. Can we can we be selfish at times? >> Yes. >> Yeah. Most of the time we think of ourselves sometimes, you know, can everyone else serve me? I'm just going to relax relax here. Sometimes we can be uh self-centered, right? And this is something that we need to battle to to to to um uh stop doing, do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. But instead, Paul says, "With humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourself." Very important, right? It starts with how we

29:36 view others. Regard one another as more important than yourself. God sees people as valuable. And the way we see people changes our attitude. Think of a think of a very valuable person. Is pastor Peter valuable to you? I think so. Right? No. Imagine pastor Peter would say, "Hi, can I visit your house?" What would you say? >> Yes, of course. Pastor Peter uh but I'm shy because our house is not clean or our house is small or you know all of these things. And then and then pastor Peter says, "Oh, it's okay. I'd love to visit you." Right? And so finally, Pastor Peter's about to arrive. What do you do if you know that Pastor Peter's

30:22 coming? >> Clean. >> You clean. You clean the house, right? It hasn't been cleaned for two years already. Now you start cleaning. And then you tell the children, "Children, take a bath." No, they haven't taken a bath for a week. Now we have a visitor. And then you prepare yummy food, right? You haven't prepared yummy food for a long time. Your husband comes. Wow. Can I have some? Don't touch that. That's for pastor Peter. It's not for you. Hey, cuz you're preparing a a a banquet and a sumptuous meal. You know, the truth is we know how to treat each other as more more important than ourselves, right? We know how to do it. But we can be very selective

31:09 in who we apply it to. And when we value others as more important then we treat them in a certain way then we serve them. But if they are lesser right we treat them differently. How many are elder sibling older siblings right? When daddy says can you get me water? What do you do? O get daddy water. But daddy told you to get kuya kuya you you right. or kuya, can you help me with this do-it-yourself? We treat each other differently. The way we look at each other, you know, when we regard one another as more important than ourselves, this is what happens. We

31:54 prioritize them. We we are more attentive to their needs. We serve joyfully. You know, somebody would you know, somebody you look up to would say, "Oh, I'm sorry to bother you." You say, what do you say? Oh, don't worry about it. It's okay. No problem. I love doing this for you. Right? But if it's somebody that you don't look up to, sorry for bothering. Yeah. You're such a bother, right? Different. Such a different thing. You know, when we see people as more important than ourselves, you give your best. You serve sacrificially. We are more eager to serve. People are important in the eyes of God. And we have to see people as God sees them. You know, on my phone, I am

32:40 reminded through a lock screen. I have a picture of my family and below I have the words, "Show up, be in the moment, and leave them better." And this is to remind me that my family are valuable and I need to show up, be in the moment, leave them better. And the truth is, you know, our energies are pulled here and there and we work, we do so many things. Some of us even do ministry and then when we come home, our children want to play with us and we don't have energy anymore. Right? And you know, um, Cassie Carson, the author of the world needs a father said, "Remember that when you are going home, you are meeting the most important

33:26 people in your life." Right? And so pray to God, Lord, give me the energy. Give me the energy to be in that moment to just be there for them. Right? And just spend the first 30 minutes just being engaged with them, being in the moment with them. It's not just enough to be physically present, right? Show up. Be in the moment. You know, my my six-year-old son, he loves Avengers, right? And he love every night, I kid you not, every night my son would jump from our bed to the floor and land like Spider-Man, right? He's going to love and then he's going to say, "Daddy, look at me." Spider-Man sometimes he's Hulk

34:11 Hulk smash. And then he's going to say, "Daddy, look at me. Look at me." And then he's going to look at me. At first I'm looking and then I'm going to turn to my phone and then he jumps. He sees me not looking. He says, "Dandy, you're not looking. Look at me. And here's the truth. Our children are watching us. Watch them. Our children are watching us. Watch them. And here's the sobering reality. A time will come that they won't ask you to look anymore. A time will come that that window will close. And perhaps you will be the one offering. Hey, can I watch you? Oh, it's okay, Dad. You don't have to. I'm okay.

34:59 And so, while we can, let's show up. Let's be in the moment, right? And not only that, let's leave them better. You know, God purposed us for the parents. If you are parents, we are purposed to to be the spiritual mentors or teachers of our children. That is for us, right? We are to guide our children. We are to disciple our children, not the church. You as parents, right? We don't want their friends discipling them, the world discipling them, social media discipling them. That is us. That is our primary role as parents to our children. We disciple them in the ways of the Lord. Husbands, we are the designated

35:45 spiritual leader of the home. We are to step up to leave our family better. Spiritual leaders. So here is a reminder for us. We do all of these things when we value others as more important than ourselves. The second is this. We need to seek to be a blessing. Right? Seek to be a blessing. I want you to imagine this. I don't know if this is happening in your house. Imagine a home that is trying to outserve each other. A family that is trying to outserve each other. Imagine daddy so tired from work comes home. Mommy also try tired from

36:32 taking care of the home or also coming from work, whatever it is, says, "Dad, I know you're so tired. Come on, sit down here. You relax. I will massage you. Kids, come on. Come on. Take care. Let's all take care of dad. And then dad will say, "Mommy, I'm okay. I know you are tired. You be the one to sit down. Come here. I will take care of you, my queen. Come here. I will be the one to take care of you." But because you have modeled what service looks like, your children then comes to both of you says, "Mommy, daddy, you guys relax. You guys rest. We will take care of everything, right?" Oh, what a dream.

37:20 Well, what a dream that God can make true. Yeah. We hope someday and we just have to model that for our children. what service looks like. It has to come from us first, right? That's model of worship. Seek to be a blessing. So in Philippians chapter 2:4, it says, "Do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interests of others." You know sometimes we can just tend to focus on our current circumstance what's happening to us especially if if if there are challenges in our lives and we just say I'll just serve other people later I'll just look at their interest

38:05 later me first me first but Paul actually in the same chapter in chapter 2 talks about a servant named Epaphroditis and look at this in verse 25 Paul says but I thought it necessary to send to you Epaproditis my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier who is also your messenger and minister to my need. So the apostle Paul while he was writing Philippians was in prison. The church of Philippi sent Epaphroditus to what? To minister to his need but because he was longing for but what did Paul do? He was actually sending back Epaphroditis. Epaproditis go back to the church to Philippi. Why? Because

38:51 Epaphroditis was longing for you all and was distressed, was worried because you had heard that he was sick. Why was Epaphroditis distressed? Why was he worried? Because he was sick? No. Because he found out that people were worrying about him. He was, "Oh, no, they're worrying about me. I know I'm sick, but I don't want them to worry." And he's still still thinking about others. And look at this. He was sick to the point of death. It was no normal sickness. It was a serious illness, but he was still thinking of others. And Paul said, "Therefore, I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you

39:36 see him again, you may rejoice and I be less concerned about you." Epaproditus, seriously ill, thinking about the church in Philippi. The apostle Paul in prison still thinking of others, right? He says what? So that when you see him again, you may rejoice and I may be less concerned, right? And their hearts is looking out for other people uh people's needs. It's not easy when we're going through something, but you know, no matter our circumstance, you and I can still serve the Lord. So I want to call a brother and sister in Christ who will be sharing their testimony that despite their circumstance they continued serving.

40:23 They looked out for others interest and I just want to praise God for the story they have written in their lives. Let's all welcome Macki and Nina. Our family has been given the privilege to serve in various ministries in CCF throughout the years. And in 2024, by God's grace, our family was entrusted with leading the NextGen ministry at CCF East Ortigas. We were deeply grateful to be part of his work. >> During the January 2026 prayer and fasting, I came before the Lord with two specific prayers. to use our family for his glory and to sustain my health for ministry.

41:09 God answered both prayers but in ways we never expected. Soon after I began experiencing floaters in my vision. Diagnostic tests revealed severe diabetic retinopathy. My right eye had a partially detached retina requiring urgent surgery while my left eye was actively bleeding. Shocked and overwhelmed, we face a sudden terrifying reality. >> Hearing how serious her condition was, I found myself asking, "Lord, why is all of this happening? We had been faithfully serving, yet we were hit with

41:55 this trial. I contemplated stepping down from ministry to care for my wife. But Nah encouraged me. Let's not let the situation keep you and our children from serving. Even as the threat of losing her eyesight became real, our family chose to keep serving. Despite urgent laser treatments and injections, my condition worsened. On March 16, I underwent surgery on my right eye. Recovery was one of the darkest, most physically exhausting seasons of my life, requiring weeks of strict faceown positioning. My body ate, sleep was difficult. Every

42:42 day was physically exhausting. Yet through it all, God sustained us. >> It was a major transition for our family. I juggled caring for my wife, managing the household, and continuing ministry responsibilities. We kept leading our Dgroup. Our children led their their small groups. We continued our weekly family devotions. And every Sunday, we kept showing up to serve together. Our church family rallied around us, taking turns sitting with Nina in the admin office so she was never alone. >> Then consecutive trials struck. My right eye showed no improvement while my left eye bled severely until I completely

43:29 lost vision in it. The very next day, Mackey was laid off from his longtime job. The following day, our eldest daughter was diagnosed with a growing chest mass requiring surgery. I was plunged into complete darkness both physically and emotionally. >> Facing my wife's blindness, job loss, and our daughter's medical crisis all at once left me on the verge of total hopelessness. Seeing my wife quiet, withdrawn, and staring blankly broke me. In despair, we went to church. Our

44:17 pastor and church family immediately came to encourage and pray for us, powerfully, reminding us that God had not forgotten us. >> Through every dark day, God met me through my husband. He cried with me, prayed over my fears, and constantly reminded me of God's promises. On June 1, I underwent surgery on my left eye. When the eye patch came off, I blinked in disbelief. My vision in that eye was restored. >> Praise God. The very first person I saw was my husband. When I asked about the medical bills,

45:04 Macki smiled and replied, "Jesus paid it all." God supernaturally provided for our every need. [snorts] >> The next day, we attended prayer and worship night at CCF Certigas to praise God. That same week, after months of blindness, Nah stood before the congregation to share her testimony. God's faithfulness fueled our desire to serve him even more. >> Our commitment has always been to serve the Lord wholeheartedly whenever it calls. We continued serving through couples retreats, women-to-women events, and midyear prayer and fasting.

45:51 We asked God to use our family and he did by carrying us through the storm and allowing us to serve him together right in the middle of it. >> In Joshua 24:15, it says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Even today, challenges remain. Nah's right eye is still healing. Our daughter awaits surgery and employment remains uncertain. Yet our conviction is stronger than ever. Serving God is not a promise we make only when life is easy. It is a commitment rooted in his unshakable faithfulness. >> Whatever season comes next, we know we do not face it alone. God is a strength

46:38 and our church family walks beside us. >> I am Nina >> and I'm Mackie Venita and we give God all the glory, honor, and praise. >> [applause] >> You know, just hearing their testimony just reminds me that no matter what circumstance or situation we are in, we can continue serving the Lord. You know, I met the family a couple of years ago in a retreat. Maki and Nina were uh serving in that retreat and their son Maxim who is 10 years old was sharing his testimony about his D-group 10year-old and he was doing his D-group and I was just so amazed and so when I was preparing for this message I remember them and you know it doesn't

47:25 matter how young you are how old you are you have an opportunity to bless others to minister to others I think one question that we can ask ourselves is this. How can I be a blessing to someone today? Every time you wake up, ask yourself or ask God, Lord, how can I be a blessing today? And then at the end of the day, ask yourself, was I a blessing to someone today? Was somebody blessed to have met me today or were they cursed? I hope not. Right? is someone blessed that they met me today. So Lord, help me be a blessing to my

48:10 family. And if you're thinking what other ways can I serve leaders, if you are here, you know what a new initiative that we have launched because we want to grow in our culture of prayer and we also want to minister to each other. DRP leaders, you can grab an ID, be a prayer partner on the service that you are attending. Just grab an ID from the ushers as you enter. Stay behind a few minutes. If people need prayer, you can pray for them, right? A simple act, but such a blessing to others. So, you can pray for others. Also, if you want to know how else you can serve, our volunteer management team, they would love for you to sign up and they will

48:56 help you find a ministry. Today, they're actually at the ground floor. If you have any questions about how you can serve, then please head over to the ground floor and you can sign up to serve or you can also scan this QR code. And also it doesn't have to be here. You know, wherever God has placed you in your school, in your community, in your office, you can do a D-group project. You know if you visit uh our website or scan the QR all resources are already prepared for us. Plug and play and you can just minister to others. You can do a micro retreat, you can do a sports activity and you know you can minister to the people around you.

49:43 Whatever it is, I pray that we would learn to look out for the interest of others and not merely our own. And finally, as we bring this message home, we are to serve sacrificially as unto the Lord. You know, the truth is to serve others is not easy. Many times serving is thankless, right? Even at home, you are serving your family and it's as if you are not appreciated. In fact, instead of appreciating you, you're even criticized or your mistakes are most often pointed out. That's why it's so important to have an attitude of what? To have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ

50:29 Jesus. Christ modeled for us what sacrificial serving looks like. It says here, who although he existed in the form of God, Jesus, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. When Jesus was here on earth, he was 100% God, 100% man. And he could have grasped or tapped into his powers, his deity any time. When he was going through the cross and people were making him suffer, were persecuting him, beating him, maligning him. You know what he would have said? Don't you know who I am? I'm God. Angels, wipe them out. He could have done that any time. He didn't, right? He did not regard equality with God a

51:16 thing to be grasped. And instead, what did he do? He emptied himself taking the form of a bondervant. A bond servant is one without rights. Did not did not um fight for his rights, right? emptied himself in the form of a bond servant. And being made in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. You have to understand this word obedience. When Jesus laid down his life, when Jesus acted on his love, it was in obedience to the father, right? It was yes he served us but ultimately

52:02 is out of obedience to our heavenly father. Again to serve is not easy. We got volunteers all around our traffic volunteers our maintenance our ministry leaders all around and many times they receive complaints or criticisms and rarely get affirmation. So I pray you know we will be a church that encourages others, affirms others. As you go out here, say hi to somebody and say, "Hey, I appreciate you. Thank you for serving. Thank you for giving." Yes. Can we appreciate them? Thank God. And I know many of you serve too. We appreciate you. Dgroup leaders. You don't have to do it. And yet you invest in the lives of others, right? Praise God for you.

52:49 Now, as we as we um start closing this message, you know, uh my wife and I when we were when we were newly married, my wife did not know how to cook, right? Did I say that out loud? Okay. My wife did not know how to cook. One day when I came home, oh, she's an excellent cook already, by the way. Okay. So, when I got home, we had our first baby, less than a year old. My wife asked me to sit down and she prepared a platter of chicken cordon blue. She learned how to cook. Wow. First first dish that she prepared for me. Chicken cordon blue. So a platter. I sat down. I ate. I was halfway on the platter. It was so good. And then she

53:37 went to the kitchen, came back, and then she had another platter of chicken cordon blue. And I said, "Oh, do we have guests?" And she said, "Oh, no. That's that's all for you." I said, "Oh, honey, next time don't cook so much, especially when it's deep fried because it's not good reheated, right? Deep fried is not good, right?" Yeah, babe. See, I'm right. It's not good when it's reheated. See? Thank you. Okay, she said. So, okay, she said. Okay. Yeah. um uh uh noted. Then I you know after that I went to the room I was scrolling on my phone doing mindless things. My wife went to the

54:24 bathroom and gave our daughter a bath. Less than a year old infant giving her a bath and then she looked at me and said, "Oh honey, this this this is this." She said something and then went back, gave our baby a bath, wrapped our baby in the towel, carried her, and then went out. And then before she could really step out, I said, "H, next time don't don't look away from our baby. It's dangerous." Am I correct? >> Where are my friends? >> Yeah, I heard somebody said it's correct. Okay. Yeah. Okay. So later that night we were about to sleep on a bed. So I asked I asked a photographer to

55:10 take a picture of us. Now it is chat GPT. This is Chhat GPT by the way. So that that was me on one side of the bed, our baby in the middle, my wife on the other end so that our baby won't fall right in the middle. She stood up in the dark of night, went to the bathroom to pee, then came back. I did not hear a flush, right? So I said, "Hun, next time you flush." Am I correct? >> Yes. There you go. Okay. Strike three. In that dark room, I saw my wife's face drop.

55:55 And then I said, "Oh, is something wrong? So dense, right? Right. And then she says in Tagalog, "It seems I'm not able to do anything right." You know, I realized when she cooked that food and yes, there was a surplus. I could have said, "Honey, wow, first time mother, you must be tired." and yet you still took the effort to learn how to cook. Thank you. You're amazing. Right. Praise God. [applause] When when she gave our baby a bath, I

56:42 could have says, you know, babe, I just realized I can go out and do my work and not have to worry about our kid because you're so good at taking care of our children. You are amazing. Thank you. >> You could have said that, right? You know why she didn't flush? She didn't want to wake our baby. Because if it were me, I would be like, "Sh, everyone's awake." But she thought of that and I didn't think of that. And I could have says, "Wow, your motherly instincts are spoton. You are amazing, babe. Thank you. Thank you for all that

57:29 you do. Sometimes we serve our loved ones and nobody notices. Wives, sometimes you're unappreciated. Husbands, sometimes you're unappreciated. Hey, if you are with a loved one today, maybe your spouse, can you turn to them? Can you just appreciate them right now for something that they are doing that they have done? Can you do that right now? Thank them. Whether it's your parents, your children, just thank them. Dad, thank you for showing up every day for not giving up. Mom, thank you for all you do for the family. Children, I know you're doing Thank you for doing your schoolwork. Mom and dad,

58:16 thank you for all your sacrifice. You know, it doesn't cost a lot to say thank you and appreciate each other because the truth is serving is not easy and we can grow more into appreciating each other. And yet even if we don't receive thanks, you know, our attitude should be like that of Jesus Christ. We serve as unto the Lord. Okay? serve us unto the Lord because serving is not easy. We cannot do it on our own strength. And so in Philippians chapter 2 verse 13 12-13 we are reminded of this. So then my beloved just as you have always obeyed not as in my presence

59:03 only. But now much more in my absence work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For what? It is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Again, serving is an overflow of God's work in our lives, of God's love in our lives. How can we practice love in action? See people as God sees them, seek to be a blessing, serve sacrificially as unto the Lord. As we end, I want to circle back to what God what Jesus has done for us. In Mark 10:45, it says, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his

59:49 life as a ransom for many." The ultimate act of service and sacrifice is Jesus laying down his life for you and for me. And I just want us to appreciate that because as we serve others, it must be out of our thanks and gratitude for what Jesus has done. Shall we close in prayer? Let us pray. If you are here right now and you're thinking, I haven't experienced that love. I don't know what true love looks like. Well, I want to encourage you today that God loves you so much that he gave his life for you. Jesus gave his life for you.

1:00:35 The Bible tells us in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life." If you want to experience God's love and understand what that love looks like, I invite you to enter into a loving relationship with Jesus. And you can pray a prayer like this. Lord, I admit that I have sinned against you. Lord, I believe that I have that you have died for my sins on the cross. Jesus, I place my faith in you. I believe in your finished work on the cross. I commit my life to you. Make me into the person that you want me to be.

1:01:23 There is no magic in that prayer. But if you sincerely pray that prayer, you are entering and you have started this loving relationship with Jesus. And it's exciting how that will grow. But for all of us, Lord, I pray for each and everyone that Lord, we will always be reminded of how much you love us. That everything we do, oh [music] God, would be out of gratitude and thankfulness that we will present our lives to you in service of others to honor you. Help us serve our families. Help us [music] love our families as you have loved us. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. [music] God bless

1:02:08 everyone. Good day CCR family. Welcome to Sunday Fastrack where you ask real life questions and we give you biblical truths. I'm Michelle Obligashan from the Big Singles Ministry and we are here today with our speaker, Pastor Omar Aguilar from the CCF Across Family Ministry. Hello, Pastor Omar. >> Hi, Michelle. Hello. >> Praise God for your message. Thank you for sharing God's word with us today. >> So, happy family month. >> Happy family month to all of you. Also to you, Michelle. >> Yes. And today we're going to be asking a couple of questions. Are you ready? >> Yep. >> Okay. First question is, is there a difference between serving others and

1:02:54 doing good deeds to go to heaven? >> Wow. Praise God. That is a good question. So, first I want to explain how we go to heaven. Right? You see, scripture tells us that Ephesians chapter 2 8-10, it says there, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith. It's not by works, not of yourselves, so that no one can boast. Right? So, first it's saying that the way to heaven is actually by grace and by faith. Right? It's not of ourselves. It's not what we do to get saved. So, if you're asking, oh, we don't need to do good works to go to heaven. Well, no, we don't because Jesus um made a way for us to go to heaven. He

1:03:40 says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. So that is Jesus' department. But God also um prepared for us good works. The next part of that verse says in verse 10, for we are his workmanship creating in Christ Jesus to do good works which he had prepared for us to do. So the good works is not our means to salvation. It is our duty. It is something that is expected of us and we do it as we learned in the message out of gratitude. Wow, Jesus has served me. Uh I want to I want to respond and and and and just give my life of him by serving him. >> Amen. So we are saved by grace through

1:04:25 faith, but we are saved to serve. >> That's right. >> Okay, let's go to our next question. What is your encouragement to those who feel that their service to their families is unappreciated? Hey, that's a real question. It really happens, right? You sometimes what we experience is in families is we do our part, we contribute, we serve and many times it's left unnoticed or unappreciated. Well, my encouragement to you is that first our mindset should be as we serve, we do it as unto the Lord. Think that I am doing for you Jesus. Right? And you know we also have to look that when we serve others the joy is actually being a blessing to others not not their not their thanks or not their appreciation

1:05:11 although that is that is appreciated also but you know it's such a blessing to give as the Bible says it is more blessed to give than to receive. So think of it you know what I'm I'm I'm doing this as unto the Lord and it's such a privilege to be a blessing to others. And for the third question, there are many married couples who feel unready to serve and disciple because of heavy responsibilities at home. How can they navigate their situations? >> Wow. Again, that is such an important question and I know many are going through that, right? Juggling work, family, and then they're thinking, how can I even serve at this point? Well, you know, we have to understand first of all that there is no separation between

1:05:56 family and ministry because family is our primary ministry and we we get to serve each other. You know, I shared uh I I shared during the message that my wife is actually my partner in ministry and you know, she doesn't get to go with me because she's taking care of the kids. But by doing that, she actually supports me in doing the ministry and we are partners in ministry that way. She manages the home. She she serves at home and I also get to serve out. But you know we have to understand that serving is not just formal ministries that we can sign up or in big events or organize events. Ministry is simply meeting needs of others. And we can do that in the neighborhood. Maybe you can't travel

1:06:42 anymore far to serve somewhere. But you know what? God placed you where you are in your neighborhood in your home in in your office. So we can meet people's needs that way. >> Amen. And thank you for that, Pastor Omar. We can really pray for God to lead us on how we can meet needs around us. And that's it for Sunday Fastrack. God bless you everyone. Nice. [music]