Nathanael: Mexico
Somehow I missed this picture from last Independence Day, but it made me smile! It’s Nathanael’s creation from bits and pieces around the church’s property. Notice the face with the moustache…
Jim
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Thanks for Your Prayers for Sunday School
Thanks to much to all of you who prayed specifically for my adult Sunday school class last year. As many of you know, I was teaching a series from October to December (actually, I finished it up in January because one week was cancelled).
The series was on the 10 Commandments. It was a great opportunity for us to wrestle with what they mean for us today, and also to look at so many of the related laws, especially in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. There is just so much there that can transform our lives and communities if we just listen.
I don’t think that we as a Church in general (I mean as the worldwide Church) spend enough time in the Old Testament. And one of the greatest reasons to study it would be the reason that Jesus Himself gave – that it bears witness about Him (John 5:39-40). And so each week we looked at the New Testament as well, and saw the 10 Commandments in the light of Christ.
As I warned my class, we don’t want to assume that we are to ignore the New Testament and the reality of Christ’s coming as we study. We also don’t want to assume that the New Testament is really the only thing that’s important. And finally, we don’t want to “pick and choose” which laws to obey, but instead let God through the Scripture tell us.
And it’s amazing what comes clear when you actually take the time to see what the Scripture says!
The series is going to have new life as I share it on my Spanish blog, where I’ll post the handouts so that others can use the study as well.
Thanks again for your prayers! Now I’m headed to teach another Bible study…
* Note on the graphic: The logo from the class says “Ten Words”. The word “commandments” can be translated “words” or “declarations”, as in “a word from the king”. The first class was entitled “He spoke to you out of the midst of the fire” from Deuteronomy 4:12. “Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live?” Wow – Deuteronomy 4:32-35.
Tweets 4-15 January 2016
- Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. ~Proverbs 14:4~ (4 January 2016)
- ¡Los Reyes Magos casi han llegado! (rosca) 👑👑👑 The Three Kings are almost here! (traditional 6Jan sweet bread) [image] (5 January 2016
- Tomorrow we finish our study of the Ten Commandments during Sunday School! [image] (9 January 2016)
- ¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Aarón! 🎈 Happy Birthday, Aaron! [image]
- There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. ~Proverbs 14:12~ (11 January 2016)
- How many places do you have to physically go to in order to pay a regular bill (like rent, electricity, etc)? [image] 11 January 2016
- Beautiful Fetal Development Wall Chart to download – free this week with coupon code LIFE16 : ow.ly/WYACL (12 January 2016)
- Of the world’s big cities, Mexico City has the second-worst traffic, according to TomTom’s Traffic Index. Details>>> ow.ly/Vuf0N (13 January 2016)
- An English class from this week… [image] (13 January 2016)
- Today, Nathanael assembled a skeleton. [image] (15 January 2016)
- Please pray for our Friday night Bible studies and kid-s club! [15 January 2016)
A New Semester Begins (and it sounds delicious)!
A new semester of classes began today at the community centre! Kaycee, teaching English, had a packed class – I think there were over 15 people there this evening.
Tomorrow the fun continues with three more English classes, and a special addition for this month – Asian Cooking with Kaycee! Shari also has a baking class this week – I think doughnut muffins may be on the menu. 😛
Praise the Lord for the many new friends we have made, and great conversations we’ve had. We’re looking forward to some great classes this semester, which runs from now until St. Patrick’s Day.
Shari Made Ponche. Here’s How.
Ah, ponche. A Mexican Christmas season tradition. Shari made some today – her second batch, just to use up what we hadn’t used over the holidays.
Kindly enough, she took some pictures so that you could see, step by step, how she did it. Shari may not have the years of experience some Mexican women have, and everyone makes it differently, but this is a good representative recipe. And I can attest that it turned out great!
Ponche, or Christmas Fruit Ponche (say pone-chay) is something often served at a special event or a community Christmas party. It’s a hot drink.
Tejocote
First, she boiled some tejocote for 5 minutes, to make them easy to peel. Tejocote is a type of hawthorn fruit, that look a little like crab-apples. The tejocotes were peeled and then added to the other fruit.
Other Ingredients
Here you can see the other ingredients that were used in the ponche. On the bottom right is sugar cane, which is cut up so that a few people can have a stick in their mug of ponche. On the left you can see cinnamon sticks and dried tamarind pods. The red at the bottom is dried hibiscus flowers. The sliced yellow fruit is guava. The big brown cone is unrefined cane sugar, known in Mexico as piloncillo. You could get a similar effect using brown sugar.
Shari put everything except the apples in to boil, leaving it for about half an hour to forty minutes. The apples were added in the last ten or fifteen minutes. Add a little sugar if it’s still too tart.
The Finished Ponche
Keep it hot on the stove as you serve! Here is the finished product. You serve the liquid, and if preferred some fruit and a bit of sugar cane (usually it is preferred!).
“Feeling Alive”
Every once in a while you hear a news story of someone who does a terrible act of violence – and they say that they just wanted to “feel alive”.
And some people seem to think it’s just the most important thing. “If there’s something that makes you feel alive – just do it!”
People here in Mexico City do all kinds of things to make themselves “feel alive”. Taking drugs that harm them permanently. Getting involved in crime, in gangs. Cutting themselves. Getting involved in destructive relationships.
And some people get involved in things that aren’t bad, but they’re just selfish – things that are temporary, with no lasting value. Their goals for the year are to experience things, to gain things – just for the sake of a brief thrill.
And then there are people who just don’t feel alive – they’re stuck on the treadmill. Just trying to stay ahead, but feeling like they’re falling behind.
The truth is the same truth that we’ve always had – the truth that we keep forgetting. A true life is a life anchored to the Source of Life. Fleeing to Him for forgiveness and safety – and living for Him – there is no other true life.
And you may not always “feel alive”, but it’s not all based on how you feel. It’s the truth of real, eternal life. It’s the authenticity of doing things for others – things that have an eternal value.
What are your plans for the year? How are you going to know Him? Serve others? Are you going to do things of eternal value? Giving sacrificially, praying intensely, pursuing holiness – in Him we WILL find true life. There is no doubt.
And 2016 will not be the end, only the beginning.
Pray for those around you who are trying to find a life as solid as a mist, and just as temporary. How can we help them this year?
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
(1John 5:20)
