Families: Strength in the Church

I traveled to Patos a couple of weeks ago to study 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon with the church. We talked about elders, deacons, evangelists, taking care of the needs of others. We defined a good conscience and piety, which is the word in Portuguese used for godliness. They had a lot of questions and a few ideas from denominations, which needed to be corrected.

We learned from the teachings of the apostle Paul to Timothy the best way to counteract false teachings. In summary, we must exhort men to exercise their role in the family, women to fulfill their role in the family, children and grandchildren to take care of their parents in need. In other words, structure the families to live the way God always intended, and the church will serve God in this fallen world of broken families.

Some really good news: while in Patos, a brother, who had been losing the battle with sin, came back to Christ.

Please pray:

that God may strengthen in his new resolve and repentance,

that God may help His church mature and produce families who live within the will of the Almighty.

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The Planting, the Watering, and the Increase

Emesson started coming to Bible Club over a year ago, when Neil Schultz and Cait Beckloff, our AIM team, were teaching it. For several months, they planted the seed in his and his sister's hearts. Unfortunately Neil and Cait's time in João Pessoa ended. In 2014 Bible Club received a boon when Erick and Jenny Paddy, former AIMers, returned to the field and picked up teaching the Bible Study for English speakers. They watered the sprouting seed in Emesson's life until God's Word became more important for him than just practicing his English. Last Wednesday night, God gave the increase, adding Emesson to the Family of Christ. Sometimes things don't happen when we think they should, but God is in control; His time is best, and we must thank Him for playing a small part in His plan.

"What About Baptism?"

Edda and I went to a nearby city to study the Bible with a family, Genilda (who is already a Christian), Ana, Mariana, Luiza, and Jefferson. While we were reading God's Word, Ana's husband, Silva, came in and sat down, and then blurted out: "What about baptism?" It took me by surprise because he has barely studied with us, but, most certainly, is already thinking about spiritual matters. Our Bible study then took a lot of detours, answering this question or that. Silva said he still has a lot of questions, and we pray that the Lord will use us to answer them, bringing him to understand the Good News!

Samuel McKinney's New Life in Christ

It has been only three days since Samuel gave his life to Christ, but it is so exciting to see my young son exercising his faith, like getting upset when his history teacher at school taught that miracles in the book of Exodus can be explained by natural phenomena: low and high tides in the crossing of the sea, natural disasters for the plagues, etc. The day after his baptism, Samuel went on a trip with his school and received a new nickname: the boy who reads the Bible. He read 1 Samuel, chapters 1 through 6, out loud for the whole bus to hear. His eagerness to take the Lord's Supper for the first time was refreshing. May our Father bless all our families with life changing faith.

McKinney Report

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