Yesterday we celebrated the baptisms of 9 people – five from the Path of Life Bible Church Jesús María, and four from the Path of Life Bible Church Las Palmas. You’ll see them in that order in the video below. Praise the Lord! And thanks to all of you who were praying for this service.
Some interesting things happen while I’m preaching. This is partly because we’re more or less outdoors (please pray that we can find a more permanent place!).
This past Sunday was, of course, Resurrection Sunday. And as I was preaching, a microphone stand randomly fell over. Oh well… it wasn’t the one I was using.
But then a parade, with a band, started to go by. Now, the back door was open, and so I could see people in costumes going by the door. And they weren’t all – shall we say – the most spiritual. And this was right at the very personal application part of the sermon, the last few minutes, and the prayer.
I stopped briefly (this is the part you see in the clip), thinking that it was passing by. But they instead camped out at a house nearby, and we were able to enjoy the full effect for maybe 15 minutes or so.
Anyway, you won’t see the parade in the clips below, but you will get an idea of how loud it was. Eventually they began to set off “bombas” (exploding fireworks, which sound a lot like gunshots). Oddly, those didn’t really pick up in the video. They were pretty constant and loud especially during our closing singing!
But here you are – another little glimpse of the unexpected…
So, this Sunday, after 1 year, 2 months, and 16 days, we’ll be finishing our study of the Gospel of John!
Of course, there wasn’t a sermon on John every Sunday. I wonder how many Sundays we actually preached on John? Why wonder? I’ll check. Ok, 46 sermons! Only a few of them mine.
Oscar started the series, and he’ll be finishing it.
I always like to reuse materials when I can on my Spanish blog, En la Biblia (In the Bible). So in 2024 I’ve been doing a series on every chapter in John, and dispersing throughout some sermons. I’ve been able to be more consistent with using Bible cards (and I have my Dad’s cards as well), which means that I have a lot of material to draw from.
The other nice thing is, the website has now been around for almost eleven and a half years (yikes!), so I can link together past information about themes, places, people, and so on. You can see an example here – John chapter 3.
This year I’ve been going through Zechariah, the next book we’ll be going through on Sunday mornings. And to get me even more into the theme, this Sunday (Lord willing) I’ll be teaching on the return of Christ during Sunday school, as we continue our series on doctrine.
Anyway, if you have a Spanish-speaking friend, maybe they’ll find En la Biblia useful!
We’re very happy to have our co-workers, Rod and Mayra Fry, back in Mexico! That being said, Rod in particular is planning a lot of travel this month, so how much we’ll actually see them I’m not sure.
But while they’re around we’re doing what we can to plan and organize for the weeks ahead. We recently had one of our famous meetings, in which we can’t possibly cover everything we need to…
We’re also noticing one of the blessings/challenges of a growing church. There are a lot of different people planning things! There are Sunday services to plan, adult and children’s Sunday school, institute classes, music practices, and Bible studies. Those alone involve several planners (half of whom are not pictured!). Plus there are upcoming visits from short-term teams, summer activities, a mission trip to southern Mexico, and circuit events (events with other churches in the Mexico City area). So the circle of planners gets even larger.
Let’s just say that the word communication is coming up a lot these days!
But anyway, there are meetings, and then a flurry of messages sent back and forth, and then we forget about something important. I’m sure ministry in your area runs much smoother! Or maybe we’re not alone. 🙂
We are enjoying a whole month focusing on the resurrection, due to the fact that we’re finishing up the last two chapters of John on Sunday mornings. Today I was reminded of one of Paul’s applications of the great truth of the resurrection, from 1 Corinthians 15:
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Praise the Lord!
So a storm passed through on Saturday. It was one of those times when the weather prediction a week and a half earlier had been right on! The temperature dropped and the rain started.
It’s still dry season, so we’re not used to rain. And while it didn’t look like much, and walked out into it and quickly got soaked.
Anyway, it was one of the mornings of our hospital evangelism, and we’re normally outside under the sky (and a few sparse trees) serving tortas and sweet bread. That wasn’t going to happen.
There is an indoor courtyard, with a porch all around with a roof. This is essentially the “waiting room”. So this time we were allowed to go right inside there where everyone was waiting, serve hot coffee, tea, and the above-mentioned snacks, and share the gospel.
Above you can see some of the people who braved the weather on Saturday. I’m especially impressed at those who could carry a box with both hands and still hold an umbrella!
I have been reminded again what a variety of people you are apt to meet. You would think there would be a certain demographic at the hospital, and Mexico is indeed more homogenous a culture than we’re used to in Canada (though there is a lot of variety here too – dozens of major languages and cultures that are indigenous – up to hundreds!). But everywhere you go, the world is full of individuals!
And, of course, we’re not only talking with patients, but also with their caregivers, family members, even neighbours.
One neighbour of a patient had serious spiritual trouble of his own – possibly some demonic activity in his life. Another was buying into myths about the origins of the Bible. Yet another brought his own anointing oil on a keychain! There are people with all sorts of beliefs and ideas. Some suffer a lot of physical pain. So we share the gospel, pray with them, and share their prayer requests with the church so others can pray too.
We’re thankful for this opportunity to serve others in a place with so much need.
One of the ministries that Shari led when we were in Canada last year was having women pray for specific women in Mexico. She asked women from our church to share their requests for that purpose, and she had pictures of the women themselves. It was really neat for people to learn more about the personal challenges and struggles in another culture – in most ways, not all that different from the challenges that Christians have in Canadian culture.
Last Saturday was the other half of the story, as women from our church prayed for the women in Canada. 20 women including Shari gathered in our home. Shari shared the prayer requests from our Canadian friends, pictures included, and they were prayed for!
Being close to Valentine’s Day, it was a good chance to bake up some special snacks and spend time together as well – chatting and praying for some requests here in Mexico as well.
Our friend Amanda, who is here from the United States for a few months as an intern, also came and led a craft time at the very end. Card making!
It was an encouragement all around to have time to fellowship and pray together! And what an encouragement to see both sides – women praying for women across borders and cultures. And the Lord heard the prayer of hearts in both languages!
You can join in, and pray for these women too! They’re looking forward to a women’s Bible study which will start up in March. Pray that many will be able to attend regularly, to learn from God’s Word together.