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.
Yes, 10 years ago today was the 4th Anniversary Service of the Path of Life Bible Church in Jesús María. Hannah (along with the rest of the youth group) presented a mime. Here they are, posing before the service (click the image for a larger version):
Did you find her?
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…
Yes, this was an epic day – ten years ago – the first service at the new property of the Path of Life Bible Church of Jesús María! 2014…
Here’s a photo of the music team practising – I was on keyboard. Then continue on for a video of the service.
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!