How to Suppress the Truth (podcast)
Or, How to Fight the Lie.
This is one of the sermons that I preached while we were in Canada last year. It’s based on Romans 1:18.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Fixing, Fixing…
First, and most importantly for you, I do believe I’ve fixed our web forms. If you need to contact us, sign up for our newsletter, make changes to your address – it should all be working – for the moment – I hope.
I’m sorry for the delay, and thankful to those who let us know that they weren’t working.
But anyway, that’s one thing that I’ve been trying to fix.
We all have those times in our lives when everything seems to be falling apart, and it wouldn’t be so bad except for a lack of two crucial resources – time, and money.
We have a lot to update and fix at the moment. One of those things is simply document renewals – well, “simple” maybe isn’t the word – let’s say, “regular”. This time it’s a multi-step process involving the documents themselves, some communication, some driving, some payments… But a couple of steps are done, so we’re making progress!
And how many leaks are we dealing with at the moment? Well, less than we would be if it were rainy season. However, we still have several leaks, some of known cause and some unknown. When our hot water tank stopped working yet again, we called the plumber and took advantage of the situation to fix one of the major leaks. We now have hot water again, the major leak is fixed, two smaller leaks have appeared, and a significant one became larger. Would it be helpful to hire a plumber full-time?
There are some major appliances hanging on by a thread. And there is some work on the van which needs to be done. And there’s some weird issue with our bank.
Not to mention some other digital issues, besides the one related to web forms, which seems to be solved for the moment!
And there’s that ebook I ordered that never arrived. Supposedly the issue should be resolved in 3-5 business days. Well, 3-5 more business days.
Probably many of you – most of you – can relate. We could make fixing, fixing… a full time job, except that we have other jobs to do!
Anyway, it’s just one of those times when everything seems to be happening at once. But anyway, a little prioritizing, a little progress, and a little leaving it with the Lord – and we’ll make it! 🙂
Retro: How Many Kids can fit in One Van?
This may seem like a boring picture, taken 10 years ago today, but it really should have been a video.
10 years ago the church in the community of Jesús María didn’t have a building – they were renting the biggest place available in the neighbourhood, and were still packing it out every Sunday.
There was no place for the kids to be taught, so we would pack them into our blue van and ship them somewhere else, and then bring them back.
The van would arrive, and every door would open – even the back hatch (it’s just starting to open in the picture) – and kids would pour out!
Thank the Lord, the church now has its own building, and plenty of room for kids and teens and adults and community events and all kinds of evangelism and discipleship!
43 Days – A Quick Look Back
It’s been almost 43 days since we got home, and I haven’t been reporting much! So let me give you a bit of a summary of what’s been going on…
We’ve been settling back in, and cleaning up the volcanic ash inside and out that has accumulated (in spite of the fact that friends did some cleaning while we were gone – it builds up fast!). But also the van had to be verified (the day we returned), and we needed to make sure we had all the basics – gas for the house, water, food – it all took some time!
We’ve enjoyed some time with our church family. I had the privilege to preach on Christmas Eve. I finally got to join some others for a time of evangelism at a local hospital. We’ve also had some extra time to chat with everyone. Shari has been connecting with a couple of the women about Sunday School and women’s ministries. There’s a lot to catch up on! Lord willing I’ll be with some of the leaders on Saturday to talk about the upcoming months!
A lady we knew who is the mother/grandmother of some of the people in our church passed away in December. Along with other church leaders, I had the opportunity to share the gospel at the funeral. Please pray for those who still don’t know the Lord.
Over the holidays we were able to spend quite a bit of time with one another and with family from various parts of the world! And some board games very likely were a part of the rest time. 🙂 We also enjoyed time with the Lord, reflecting on the miracle of His coming.
Speaking of games, we were able to get together with our Avant mission team as well. It was a good time to get updated on how to pray for one another. And we introduced the team to Flick ’em Up…
Our coworkers Rod and Mayra are back for three weeks – you can get an update from Rod here.
At the first Sunday morning service of the year, our friend Oscar took a picture of us all (well, his camera took it – he’s in the photo!) – just click on it for a larger version:
Well, there are just a few of the things that have been happening over the last 43 days! Thanks for your prayers!
A Look Back at 2023
At the end of the year I like to take a look back via blog posts . . . so here was 2023, all in chronological order…
Part 1 – Services and Studies
- Random Notes from the past 3 Weeks – random notes about life just after last Christmas
- Preaching, and “rebuilding the tent that has fallen” – A look at a Sunday morning
- Everyone Working… – more notes from Sunday mornings
- Bible Books on the Wall – Fun with Bible studies
Part 2 – Special Times and Events
- Mixin’ with Missionaries – at various times
- Leadership Recognition Service – certainly a highlight of 2023!
- Nathanael’s Birthday Party / Goodbye Party – lots of changes this year for Nathanael!
- Nathanael’s Graduation – as I was saying!
Part 3 – From Canada
- Unusual Summer – or Silent Summer? – it was rather unusual!
- In the Middle of Canada – who knows where those Mexicans might show up?
- Travelling is… – it’s a challenge. But we’re thankful for the opportunities we had.
- One more – not in chronological order, but don’t forget about our special project, Retreats and Resources for Pastors
Christmas Song #6 – Index and Resources
Thanks for joining me for a deep look at another Christmas carol! Here’s the complete index for Angels from the Realms of Glory:
- Christmas Song #6: A Message for “All the Earth” – A love of missions and a love of poetry brings us this year’s carol.
- Christmas Song #6: Earth and Heaven – Trouble on earth? Look up!
- Christmas Song #6: Broken Chains – The New Testament and the Old Testament proclaim Him!
- Christmas Song #6: Eyes of Faith – The blind musician.
- Christmas Song #6: The Eternal One – Christmas, and the rest of the story…
Selected Resources
- Angels from the Realms of Glory (The Cyber Hymnal) – and connected biographies
- Brief Biography of James Montgomery (John D. Julian)
- Brief Biography of James Montgomery (Dictionary of National Biography)
- Rebel With A Cause (Angels from the Realms of Glory) (Robert Cottrill)
- The Moravian Brethren in Scotland (Rev. W. J. Couper)
- Brief Biographies of Thomas Cotterill