Ministry glimpses

3 November 2018

Into the Mountains…

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Tomorrow is our annual mega-service with several other churches in the Mexico City area. Ismael, pastor of the church in JesÃºs MarÃa, will be preaching.

It’s been an interesting time trying to organize our travel, as a church. There are some people with cars, and some without. Can we all squeeze in? Do we need to rent a bus?

Mountain road up to the camp (thanks to Google Maps)

Well, our numbers were respectable, but not huge. It looked like we would all fit.

But then it turned out one vehicle wouldn’t be going (it’s not the vehicle’s fault, it’s because the owner isn’t going either). Can we fit? Yes, I think we’ll have space for everyone.

Then one family in our church had an accident (actually the second of our friends here to have an accident in the last few weeks). Don’t worry – they’re ok. But that’s another vehicle down.

Can we still fit? Well, now we’re at the last minute – I hope so! I’ve been messaging around looking for spaces and double checking who is coming. Still haven’t heard from everyone.

Ah well, Lord willing — we’re still going tomorrow — somehow! Up north of Mexico City, into the mountains. It’s supposed to be rainy and around 10C – pretty chilly for a service with no heat in an open structure.

Anyway, you could pray that we get it all worked out and are able to get everyone there safely! It will be an adventure!

29 October 2018

2nd Anniversary! Path of Life Bible Church of Las Palmas

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In spite of an absolutely crazy week before big event, God blessed our 2nd anniversary service in Las Palmas!

Â¡Una SalvaciÃ³n Tan Grande! — Such a Great Salvation!

As I mentioned last time, the owner of the hall did eventually let us rent it for the normal time. After the service, we went to a property owned by someone in the church for food and activities.

Above you can see the theme for the service, taken from Hebrews 2:3 (the key verse of the day was actually Hebrews 2:9). There was a lot of participation in the service – kids, youth, adults – music, drama, even some puzzles. We talked about our values as a church, and most of all we focused on the Son and His Salvation. As often happens – unplanned, but not by coincidence, everything fit together well.

Iglesia BÃblica Sendero de Vida Las Palmas Ring toss After the service was a potluck. One of our friends also organized some activities “for the kids” – which in the end most certainly included almost everyone!

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that fact that Shari made some very cool cupcakes for the occasion. ðŸ˜œ

Thanks to everyone who prayed for the service. We’re so thankful for those who prayed, and for so many people who worked together to make the day a great success. We look forward to seeing what God will do in Year 3!

2nd Anniversary Cupcakes

…we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:9

Amor

24 October 2018

So sorry – it appears I misplaced the church. Can’t find it anywhere….

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This coming Sunday, Lord willing, we’ll be celebrating the second anniversary of the Path of Life Bible Church in Las Palmas. Which means it’s kind of a busy week. Ok, crazy busy.

On Monday we were leaving the state for an overnight visit with our team of missionaries. It had been an exhausting weekend, and we were ready for a bit of a break. And that’s when I got the news.

The news was that we wouldn’t be able to use the hall on Sunday. That is, the hall where we meet as church each week. That is, where our anniversary service was going to be in a few days. The owner sent his apologies, and suggested maybe we could have it for more time the week after.

Because, you see, we were using it for a longer time on the 28th – special service, invited guests, decorations, activities for the kids, a special meal….

It would be impossible to move it to the next Sunday, because the 4th of November is the annual joint service with churches around the Mexico City area. We’ll all be out of state that Sunday.

Well, I left it in the Lord’s hands (after some initial shock). But God was kind, and sent us a bit of encouragement.

Kids practising verses — Kids practising for their presentation at the anniversary service

An acquaintance came up to Shari in front of our house, and told her that her family had been studying the Bible, and was wondering if they could come to our church. (It was a longer and more encouraging discussion than that – but you’re busy.)

So Shari told her – well, she wasn’t sure what to tell her – sure, you can come … not sure where our church is, exactly. It might be somewhere this Sunday, somewhere else in 3 weeks – and then we will move to some unknown location….

So you’re welcome to come to our church, as soon as we find it.

Anyway, in spite of the church-of-no-fixed-address problem, it was just the encouragement we needed.

You’ll be glad to hear that when we returned home last night, we found out that the owner was going to let us use the hall after all – but only for the regular time. So we’re scrambling now to see if we can find a place for the after service meal and activities.

So — lots to be done in the next few days — lots more than expected! But we’re praying that somehow it would work out, and that we would have a special time together, and learn from the Lord about His great salvation (that’s our theme for the service – “Such a Great Salvation!”).

Lot’s of people are going to be involved on Sunday – special music, special presentations – we’re looking forward to it! Wherever “it” may be!

15 October 2018

Where to Worship?

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Of course, you can worship God anywhere, can’t you?

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father … the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
John 4:21-23

Sunday Service October 2018 It was our first Sunday back in Ixtapaluca after our summer in Canada. The very first person I spoke to was the owner of the party hall where we meet.

“We’re converting the hall into squash courts”, he said. “We’ll be dividing up the room, so you won’t be able to use it anymore. You’ll have it until the end of November.”

He went on by explaining it was nothing against us – in fact, he has quite a high opinion of us. Well, that’s good.

But it does leave us without a place to meet in about 6 weeks.

So, before taking any action whatsoever, our church decided to have a week of prayer. (If you receive our email update, you might have joined us – thanks!)

Then, last Sunday, we started to discuss some of our options, and start investigating the possibilities.

The reason why it is such an urgent matter of prayer is that the options, from a human standpoint, aren’t great. There are a couple of places in the neighbourhood that might fit our group, but they’re either not really suitable/available, or extremely expensive. There are some other possibilities that we’re looking into, but from a human standpoint it will be a real challenge to find something.

So, you’re welcome to join us in prayer as we look for a place to use as we continue to make disciples. At this point, I don’t think we’ll be on the street (although pitching a tent is a current option!), but we want to pray that God would provide a suitable place – we’re thinking bathrooms, a place where the kids can do their Sunday School, chairs, electricity… and even space to grow.

I agree with Ezra – “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him” (Ezra 8:22).

Shari also encouraged us on Sunday, by reminding us that God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). So – let’s ask!

25 September 2018

God’s Word (podcast)

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This is a sermon that I preached this summer, based on 2 Peter 1:15-21 (although it actually goes from Genesis to Revelation). Several of you wanted a version that you could share with others, so here it is!

This was actually more or less a translation of a sermon I preached in Spanish, so if you’d like to share the Spanish version, it’s here (I’m afraid the quality isn’t as good – it was preached outdoors beside a generator!): La Palabra de Dios (sermón)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

(Just click above to listen or download.)

15 September 2018

Looking ahead – Canada and Mexico

Jim Ministry glimpses, Prayer and Praise, ST Highlight 0

You see that? That’s snow. In summer. People in Alberta aren’t impressed. The stores don’t have any winter stuff even for sale.

Hannah is trying to find a winter jacket – but it’s not so easy. There are only a few around, and they’re the pricey ones. ðŸ’²ðŸ’²ðŸ’² Must be a run on the stores to find something warm!

Just for the record, last Friday it was 28â„ƒ. WHAT is up.

Ok, enough ranting. We’ve had a busy week here. Lots of fun at the 2000 Years of Missions seminar on Tuesday. More appointments and errands this week. And tonight we’re celebrating Mexican Independence at Viva Mexico, which is actually a dinner to welcome the ABC Daycare burn survivors from Mexico. Who, by the way, are searching for donations of warm jackets. Sizes 4-16. Seriously, what is UP with this weather. Oops – how did I get back there?

Actually, on the bright side, it is an unexpected delight for some of our guests from Mexico to experience snow for the first time (warm jackets needed).

Anyway, I wanted to give a look ahead, that was the original purpose of this post, right?

In the short term, we would appreciate your prayers as we go to Innisfail tomorrow to share at Innisfail Baptist Church. The service is at 10:30am, if you’re in the area.

We’re a little disappointed that we haven’t been able to see more people here, but everyone is pretty busy. But you’re welcome to join us tomorrow!

We will hit the ground running when we get back to Mexico. There’s a conference for missionaries in the country, just a few days after we get back. So we’ll be loading up the suitcases again.

There’s a church in California that is interested in partnering with the ministry in Ixtapaluca, and they’ve invited the church leaders to come join them for the Expositores 2018 conference (Expositors Conference, in Spanish). So Lord willing I’ll be up in the US for a weekend for some teaching and fellowship. It will be a good time to get to know the church, but also a good time to catch up with what’s been going on in Ixtapaluca while we’ve been gone.

A few weeks ago we found out that our coworkers will be in the US until the end of December, so we’ll be under an extra load when we get back. So we would certainly appreciate your prayers as we hear from everyone about how things are going and what new and old needs there are, and as we seek to shine the Lord’s light in Mexico again.

Tomorrow is Independence Day! So enjoy some Mexican food, and – if you want to be involved – pray for the people of Mexico – especially those we will be serving when we return.

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