UPC FAM

Happy Birthday to you Sister Maricar Medenilla!🎉

Today we thank God for the gift of your life. May the Lord continue to bless you with good health, wisdom, and joy. As another year is added, may your faith grow deeper, your purpose become clearer, and your heart remain steadfast in serving Him.

May you experience God’s favor in every season, His peace in every circumstance, and His grace in all that you do. We pray that the year ahead will be filled with divine guidance, answered prayers, and overflowing blessings.

God bless you always!

09.13.26 | 𝖲𝖴𝖭𝖣𝖠𝖸 𝖲𝖤𝖱𝖵𝖨𝖢𝖤

𝖳𝖨𝖳𝖫𝖤: 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍 𝙋𝙍𝙊𝘿𝙄𝙂𝘼𝙇 𝙎𝙊𝙉
𝖳𝖤𝖷𝖳: 𝙇𝙪𝙠𝙚 15:11-32

When we hear the story of the prodigal son, we usually focus on the younger son—the one who left home, wasted everything, and eventually returned to his father.

But there was another son who was also lost.
He never left the house, but his heart became distant from his father.

You can be close to the Father and still be far in your heart. The older son stayed home. He worked. He obeyed. He served.
But when his brother came home, instead of rejoicing, he became angry.

He said in Luke 15:29, in essence, “I have served you all these years…”

His relationship with his father had become about service and reward, rather than love.

We can be inside the church, active in ministry, faithful in attendance, and still allow bitterness, jealousy, or resentment to grow in our hearts.
Being in the Father's house is not enough—we need to have the Father's heart.

God does not only want our service; He wants our heart. We should not allow our faithfulness to produce pride, our service to become a transaction, or another person’s blessing to become a reason for jealousy.

The Father’s heart celebrates restoration, forgiveness, and salvation.
The younger son needed to come home.
The older son needed to come into the celebration.

The challenge for us is: Are we simply staying in the Father’s house, or are we truly carrying the Father’s heart?

SUNDAY SCHOOL DEPARTMENT TEACHERS' BANQUET

09.06.26 | 𝖲𝖴𝖭𝖣𝖠𝖸 𝖲𝖤𝖱𝖵𝖨𝖢𝖤

𝖳𝖨𝖳𝖫𝖤: 𝖦𝖮𝖣'𝖲 𝖦𝖨𝖵𝖤𝖭 𝖵𝖨𝖲𝖨𝖮𝖭
𝖳𝖤𝖷𝖳: 𝖧𝖠𝖡𝖠𝖪𝖪𝖴𝖪 2:2-3

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴.

Habakkuk was living in a difficult time. He had questions, he saw problems around him, and he wondered what God was doing. But instead of allowing confusion to stop him, he stood and waited for God’s answer.

Then God told him:
“𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩.” — 𝑯𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒌𝒌𝒖𝒌 2:2

When God gives us a vision, we must write it, make it clear, act on it, and wait in faith for His appointed time.

People make many plans for their future, but God has a greater purpose and a perfect timing. Sometimes our plans happen quickly, while God’s plan requires us to wait.

Habakkuk teaches us that when God gives a vision, we should write it, make it clear, and wait for its appointed time. We may not understand everything immediately, but we can trust that God knows what He is doing.

Our plans may change, but God’s purpose remains.
So instead of asking only, “Lord, what do I want to happen?” we should ask, “Lord, what is Your plan for my life?”

𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙂𝙤𝙙'𝙨 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩.

Happy Birthday to you Sister Meriam Ostos!🎉

Today we thank God for the gift of your life. May the Lord continue to bless you with good health, wisdom, and joy. As another year is added, may your faith grow deeper, your purpose become clearer, and your heart remain steadfast in serving Him.

May you experience God’s favor in every season, His peace in every circumstance, and His grace in all that you do. We pray that the year ahead will be filled with divine guidance, answered prayers, and overflowing blessings.

God bless you always!

08.30.26 | 𝖲𝖴𝖭𝖣𝖠𝖸 𝖲𝖤𝖱𝖵𝖨𝖢𝖤

𝖳𝖨𝖳𝖫𝖤: 𝙍𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙈𝘽𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙔 𝘾𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙏𝙊𝙍
𝖳𝖤𝖷𝖳: Isaiah 57:19–21 | 𝖤𝖼𝖼𝗅𝖾𝗌𝗂𝖺𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗌 12:1

The world often teaches us to find our identity, purpose, and satisfaction in the things around us. But the Bible reminds us: we were created by God, for God, and to live with God.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 says:
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth…”

Before we become too comfortable with the world, we must remember who created us and why He created us.

God did not design us to live in spiritual loneliness. He designed us for relationship, fellowship, and communion with Him.

We may be surrounded by people and still feel empty. We may have many things and still lack peace. Why? Because there is a place in us that was designed for God.

𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙁𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝
➤ Faith means trusting God even when we cannot see what He is doing. Instead of depending only on ourselves or visible circumstances, we are called to rely on the God who is always present.

𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚
➤ God created us to love Him and others. Because He first loved us, we can receive our identity from Him and learn to forgive, serve, care, and love even when it is difficult.

𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙃𝙤𝙥𝙚
➤ Isaiah 57:19 reminds us of God’s promise of peace. While the world offers temporary happiness, God gives lasting hope. Our hope is secure because it rests on our Creator, who remains faithful when circumstances, people, and plans change.

𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚
➤ God sees our failures and weaknesses, yet He still calls us back to Himself. His grace allows us to come honestly, receive forgiveness, experience healing, and begin again. God does not abandon what He has created.

We are in this world, but we were not designed to belong to this world

We live in the world, but our identity and purpose do not come from it. We were created by God and designed to function in fellowship with Him. Because of this, the world can never completely satisfy us.

𝙍𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙮 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧

Remembering our Creator means remembering who we belong to, where our purpose, peace, hope, and grace come from. When the world tells us to find identity and security in itself, we must remember that we need God and that He is always with us.

Isaiah 57:21 teaches that true peace is not found in the world but in returning to God. He created us not for loneliness or mere survival, but to walk with Him.

He designed us to function with:

- Faith — trusting Him
- Love — reflecting Him
- Hope — waiting on Him
- Grace — receiving and extending His mercy

When we remember our Creator, we remember who we truly are: His creation, His children, and His people. Our lives are meant to be lived with Him.

𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧.

Happy Birthday to you Brother Jaja Urbano!🎉

Today we thank God for the gift of your life. May the Lord continue to bless you with good health, wisdom, and joy. As another year is added, may your faith grow deeper, your purpose become clearer, and your heart remain steadfast in serving Him.

May you experience God’s favor in every season, His peace in every circumstance, and His grace in all that you do. We pray that the year ahead will be filled with divine guidance, answered prayers, and overflowing blessings.

God bless you always!