Jim
Posts by Jim :
Preaching in February
Those of you who have received our newsletter now have a prayer calendar for the next few weeks. Of course, I could only include a very small portion of what’s going on, so I’ll try to keep you up to date a little here at Finding direction as well.
One thing that I didn’t mention was that I’m preaching every Sunday this month. On the first Sunday I was able to choose my own topic, so I took the lazy route decided to do something I’ve wanted to do for a while – preach Hebrews. Not preach on Hebrews, but basically preach the book – read it all, word-for-word.
I used a PowerPoint presentation, mainly to put up the verses that the author quotes from the Old Testament, and also had a hand out with some questions for reflection.
It was an interesting experience – great for me, I hope some other people got something out of it. They were at least very attentive anyway (I warned them ahead of time – I think it took around 55 minutes!).
Anyway, it’s amazing what a little context will do. The book of Hebrews may very well have been a sermon that has been written down for us – it does sound a lot like one when you say it out loud. 🙂
For the rest of the month we’re going through 1Corinthians 3:1-5:6. Next week the children will be there for the sermon, so hopefully it will be fun for everyone.
As with every area of ministry, I really appreciate your prayers for these sermons. Unless the Spirit of God works, nothing will happen. And most of these sermons are posted over at en-la-Biblia.com, which means they will be listened to by many other people, both in and out of Mexico.
The job of the preacher, as I’ll be sharing this Sunday, is the be faithful (1Corinthians 4:1-2). That means read God’s Word, explain what it means, and sit down. God’s power is in His Word and Spirit – He is the one who brings true growth (1Corinthians 3:7).
Pope Francis Visits Mexico
Yesterday, Pope Francis arrived in Mexico City. He’ll spend the weekend here before heading to the State of Chiapas on Monday morning, the State of Michoacán on Tuesday morning, and finally the state of Chihuahua, in the border city of Ciudad Juárez.
In spite of the hundreds of thousands flocking to see him, there certainly are mixed feeling about the visit of the Pope, even among Roman Catholics.
Billboards like this one welcome him officially (“Welcome, Pope Francis – the CDMX (City of Mexico) is Your Home”). Other billboards pray that he will bring peace and hope to the country. Many people hope that the coming of the Pope will finally bring change to the country.
Others are more skeptical. Some are urging the Pope to “talk tough” against corruption, human rights violations and violence. Some are just frustrated by all the road closures in the city, which started even before he arrived. Some are outraged at the money being spent on the visit, while so many live in poverty. Some even complain that the events will lead to the further spread of the Zika virus.
But many downtown workers are just glad for a day off work due to a closed road.
Watching the Pope’s video messages to Mexico, it’s obvious that he has something else on his mind. What is it exactly that Francis wants out of his visit?
The majority of the videos I watched had one theme – the Virgin of Guadalupe. He wants to stand before her, and look into her eyes. When he feels her presence, he hears the words – do not be afraid – am I not here, who am your mother?.
Francis is actually referring to an image of what is believed by many Mexicans to be a manifestation of the Virgin Mary. Deflecting the trust and hope that many people have in him, Francis points to his source of hope in this tweet:
Many of my Christian friends want to remind everyone that our hope should not be in a man, or in an image of the Virgin, but in Jesus.
While the news sources wait for the Pope’s speeches and hang on every word, he himself is looking forward to his moments to stand before the image in veneration. He will also be performing masses in various locations, including in Mexico City this afternoon.
Many people don’t realize that the mass is absolutely central to the Roman Catholic view of salvation. The mass is a sacrifice, where the priest (in this case, the Pope), is an “Altus Christus” (“another Christ”), with the power to bring Christ down and offer the sacrifice for the people.
The bread and wine are Christ. Many times when you hear Roman Catholic missionaries speak of “bringing Christ to the people”, you’ll find that they’re actually talking about bringing the sacrifice of the mass – because the food is Christ, and to take the mass is to be justified.
Hence the bread and wine are literally worshipped. The lay people don’t drink the wine, because if a little of it spilled, it would be “Jesus” spilling.
For salvation, repeatedly going to mass is necessary.
In a sense, the mass and other sacraments are a system in which the RC Church doles out salvation little by little. For many in Mexico, whatever the official teaching may be, this becomes a bit of an economic system. This blessing, this mass, this visit to the image or the Pope – that gives me credit to get away with a little more, to go to the party, to get forgiveness.
The Bible teaches in the book of Hebrews that the repetitive nature of the Old Testament sacrifices were, in the end, just a reminder of sin (Hebrews 10:3). They looked forward to something much more complete. The “once for all” sacrifice of Christ removed sin forever (Hebrews 9:25-26), bringing true peace with God – not a peace given a little at a time, or a peace that is temporary and uncertain. A peace that is based on what Jesus has already done (Romans 5:1-2; 1Corinthians 1:30-31).
Some look for hope in the Pope, or the mass, or the Virgin of Guadalupe. Others look to politics and protests. But there is still – and will always be – only one Hope (Hebrews 10:15-23).
Tweets 31 January – 10 February 2016
- And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard… esv.to/2John1.6 (31 January 2016)
- In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty. ~Proverbs 14:23~ (1 February 2106)
- From our coworkers (and we say AMEN!) >>> “Gracias Kaycee!” ow.ly/XKc8f (1 February 2016)
- From Tina – exciting developments in Tiempo de Vivir – Jesus Maria ow.ly/XKcnT (1 February 2016)
- On sale for Kindle/PC “The True Story of Noah’s Ark”! Check it out here: amzn.to/23INOVi (3 February 2016)
- Amazing origami! As I understand it, each usually done from 1 uncut square of paper: bbc.in/1n5usbM (3 February 2016)
- Taking Kaycee to the airport – her year in Mexico is over. 🙁 Here are a few picture memories! ow.ly/XKUvJ (4 February 2016)
- One of my new faves – chicken in the crock pot. 🗠Uno de mis nuevos favoritos – pollo a fuego lento. [image] (5 February 2016)
- Getting ready to share God’s Word this morning. (7 February 2016)
- In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. ~Proverbs 14:26~ (8 February 2016)
- Reading: Burkina Faso: Al Qaeda frees kidnapped missionary Jocelyn Elliott, but husband Ken still held ow.ly/Y4ATl (8 February 2016)
- Reading: Over 125,000 Sign Petition Demanding North Korea Free Imprisoned Canadian Pastor ow.ly/Y4D16 (9 February 2016)
- Want some good soap? This greasy (GRISI) soap is a good choice here in Mexico. 😉 [image] (10 February 2016)
- Wait – a majority of US states are partially or entirely to the NoRtH of part of Canada?! youtu.be/pVB4TEeMcgA (10 February 2016)
How To Take A Shower (at our house)
Sometimes you get so used to things, you don’t realize what you’re actually going through. But even though you don’t realize it, it just may still cause stress.
Today I decided to see if I could make a flow chart about all the issues we have first thing in the morning when we want to take a shower. I’m not talking about checking to see if I remembered to buy soap (which I did, by the way). No, our morning routine is complicated in other ways.
So here it is. Click the image to see the larger pdf version (which will be a lot easier to read).
(By the way, everything on the chart is accurate and has happened, usually quite often. In fact, three of these issues happened today alone, which perhaps is why I have it on my mind!)
A lot of these things, of course, are related to cooking a meal, doing the laundry, dishes… but don’t make me do anymore charts. Sometimes it’s better not to know! 😉
Last 90 Days Most Popular Posts (31 January 2016)
Here are the most popular posts with visitors to Finding direction over the past 90 days. I’ve cheated a little, because one of these is multiple posts – the series on the history of Camino Global and us. Since 4 of those posts made the top 10, I’ve lumped them together (first on the list) and then just included 6 more.
The posts are in chronological order, with the top 3 in bold.
- History Week Summary
- Retro: Welcoming Ashlyn
- This weekend: A Few Tricky Topics
- You Can Help! (you can still help with these, by the way!)
- Nathanael’s Ukulele Debut (video)
- Christmas Concert/Rehearsal (video)
- A New Semester Begins (and it sounds delicious)!