Our church in Las Palmas (Path of Life Bible Church) has a children’s Sunday school class most weeks. That means a lot of planning and prayer and preparation (not necessarily in that order!).
Shari is in charge of the children’s ministry at the church, and she works with our friend Sandra (who does a lot of scheduling, as well as teaching), and other helpers and teachers.
Christmas program
So what to teach? Well, we believe in teaching the whole Bible – imagine! Right now we’re going through a chronological series known in English as Generations of Grace (Generaciones de Gracia). It’s a three year program that we’re cramming into – well, 4 years maybe? 😀
Then the material is supplemented with some other activities and special Bible memorization. At the moment, the children are memorizing the Ten Commandments. And of course there are sometimes special presentations for special days.
At Christmas, for example, the kids and their teachers put together a mini Christmas program about giving gifts to Christ.
The other day the teachers and helpers met at our house to pray and strategize and organize for the coming year. Please pray for these women, who put a huge amount of work into one part of our discipleship of the younger generation!
On Saturday we had our review and then exam for the last hermeneutics class. I took a little video so that you could see for yourself (see below). 🙂
Handing out certificates
If we can’t learn how to read, understand, and apply God’s Word to our lives, then we’ve failed at life. It was tremendously encouraging to see people thinking, studying, and being enthusiastic about this important skill! And what an encouragement to see people committed to a 40 hour course – it was a sacrifice they were willing to make.
And thanks to John and Frank, and the many others who were involved in teaching and translating, and for Still Water Community Church for their support of this class. And many of you have added your prayers to support this work – thank you!
Again, four local churches had representatives, and our class had about 50 people attending.
The next class (actually a 60 hour class!) begins in February. It’s an Old Testament survey course. So stay tuned!
So the women of our church hosted a special breakfast this past week, and invited a bunch of women who aren’t from our church. And it looks like they had a great time!
Here’s breakfast – chilaquiles (a typical breakfast dish – tortilla chips with salsa and shredded chicken) . . .
Shari also brought her yummy baked oatmeal (a recipe which, I was just reminded, she adapted from a recipe from our friend Jo Ann Smith!).
There were about 22 women who came to the breakfast, which was at our friend Perla’s home.
Mayra shared the gospel, and they made a very cool Christmas craft – check it out . . .
Those are typical Christmas tree ornament shapes made from strips of foamie (is that what you call it? Sheets of thin foamy “paper” used for crafts.).
Anyway, we were very thankful for how well it went. May God bring growth to the seeds that were planted!
I know, everyone is sick of hearing me talk about Hebrews.
“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19)
Well, I have some good news for you. After 1 year and 1 month of studying Hebrews at our church in Las Palmas, we finally finished last Sunday!
So what’s next, you ask? Well, we’re starting in on a series about prophecies of the Messiah – appropriate for this time of year. And then in the new year we start on the book of Daniel.
But then again, maybe you shouldn’t get too excited – Hebrews has without doubt become part of the DNA of our church. So it just keeps coming up in conversation.
I know you’re likely to say this about any book of the Bible to some extent. But I’ve thought for a long time that Hebrews uniquely addresses many key issues in our culture here in Mexico. Perhaps most notably, it addresses many of the false teachings that are so common in this area.
For example, it explains in a deep way who Jesus Christ is, and what His purpose was on earth. It shows us how to use and apply the Old Testament – demonstrating continuity and value in the Hebrew Scriptures, while at the same time explaining why the eternal covenant in Christ’s blood is the greater reality.
It attacks works-based religions, gives us the hope of a secure salvation, and shows the danger of any system that asks us to come over and over to try to find peace with God.
And so, during a recent Sunday school class when we were discussing common false doctrines in our area, people in our congregation kept bringing up passages from Hebrews to counter the lies.
Talking with some friends the other night, we were discussing some of the challenges they face with their own family. Questions of traditions that get in the way of true worship, questions of how to be a good testimony. And, of course, the book of Hebrews came up again.
And in our own lives the same has been true. The reminder that Jesus is the great “Shepherd” has been a recent theme. Reviewing a school lesson with Nathanael today, once again passages from Hebrews kept coming to mind to clarify things. Comfort and clarity – we’re still getting these things from the treasures in Hebrews.
So we’re very thankful for the 13 months we spent in this wonderful book. And we’re especially thankful to see that it’s not only sterile knowledge (Hebrews 10:26) – but instead a Spirit motivated application in our lives. God’s Word is powerful (Hebrews 4:12-13) – so maybe don’t expect that I’ll stop talking about Hebrews altogether!
The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but [Jesus] holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
Of course we all know that the preacher should preach to himself first and foremost. Although that might take the form of conviction – recognizing your own sin and need for forgiveness and change – it can take other forms as well.
The past few weeks have been times of grief and uncertainty in many respects. We’ve prayed with friends who are caring for family members with cancer. And twice, in just the past few days, friends of ours here have lost a parent. In fact, today I’ll probably being going to speak at a funeral.
In our own little world there has been uncertainty as well. For example, our landlord is anxious to sell our house, so people have been coming to see it. It may not happen – or we may be packing over Christmas. Also, dealing with health issues. Uncertainty.
But God has ways of bringing encouragement in the middle of all this. And although I hope that last week’s Sunday service was an encouragement to others, it was the preparation of it that spoke to me.
The passage we were studying was the last part of Hebrews, a very personal section that includes this beautiful blessing:
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21
Great themes here, themes which we have immersed ourselves in over the past year as we’ve studied Hebrews. The peace that we have with God through His Son. And although this peace is a promise of forgiveness to everyone who “draws near” to Christ, there is also a peace that we experience in our lives. That peace comes through many things – circumstances, the prayers of others, the help and support of others, God’s Word.
But in the end, there is something about that peace, I think, that you can never explain to an unbeliever. Because it is a peace you simply have to experience for yourself.
We need that good shepherd, and we have Him. We have an eternal covenant, through His blood. And we have the promise of interior and exterior change in our lives through Jesus Christ.
Even the songs we sang on Sunday spoke to these promises. The Shepherd of Psalm 23. The example of Jesus’ own suffering, and the promise of His return to end all suffering. He will sustain me and hold me fast in all this, because He loves me.
These themes were not planned because we knew that many of us would be going through challenging times. But God can bring peace through his providential arrangements, and I pray that He did that this past Sunday.
3 years already! Can you believe it? And we celebrated three years of meeting together as a church this past Sunday. It was a great service!
Rod did a great job leading the service, guitar in hand. He started with our Bible reading of the day (Psalm 119:57-64). Several people shared their thoughts on the passage.
Then we had some worship music, interspersed with testimonies from various people (see above). The focus was on the local church – how has the local church been a blessing to you? But of course it “digressed” into general praising of God and what He has been doing! (Just kidding – it wasn’t a digression, it was the main point!)
We watched a video that Rod had put together of moments from the past year (and what a year it has been!). Then – cake!
I believe this was taken by Antonio Muñoz — right? That’s Shari, cutting the cake…
We had some time to chat and pray and eat cake, and then back to the service. More testimonies. And then I led the time of communion, talking about God as our “portion” as it says in our Bible reading of the day, and also Psalm 16.
And we had a special speaker on Sunday – Antonio Muñoz (who also helped teach the hermeneutics class on Saturday). We first got to know Antonio way back in … well, never mind how long ago. Let’s just say before any of us were married!
Anyway, it was a challenging and encouraging sermon from 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10.
Then we closed our service in prayer.
Antonio Muñoz preaching
It was so encouraging to hear how God has worked through this church in the lives of so many people. And we all got to take part in the service – Nathanael running the PowerPoint, and Shari cutting the cake!
We were in a different building from last week, and will be on an entirely different property next week. But hey, we’re pilgrims and we know it! At least God knows where to find us (even if occasionally people trying to come to the service get confused).
Thanks to so many of you who have had a part in the planting of this young church. May God continue to work “in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (Hebrews 13:21)
