Building A House On The Rock

As with all newborn babies, new Christians also need a lot of attention, care, and teaching. My family will be in Cajazeiras from April 16 to April 18, teaching a three-day intensive class to new converts and some visitors as well.

Café asked me to come edify the church. Thinking about about God's perfect plan of salvation, about new Christian's needs, especially in worrying about what happens if they sin after being baptized, I decided to teach my routine evangelistic Bible study because it deals with these things. Therefore, visitors have been encouraged to come to these three days to learn God's will. These are the eight lessons:

I.    God Created And Man Sinned;
II.    Abraham, Moses, and God's Chosen People;
III. Prophecies About The Messiah;
IV. Faith in Jesus And Repentance;
V.   Repentance And Confessing Jesus As Lord;

VI. Confessing Jesus As Lord And Baptism;
VII. Baptism, Uniting Yourself To The Body Of Christ Which Is The Church;
VIII. Grace And The Church, The Fulfillment Of The Promise To Abraham.

Please pray:

that we will have a safe 7 hour trip going and coming;

that God will open my mouth to speak the truth of His Word;

that God will open the ears and hearts of those present so that God's Word will have an everlasting effect on their lives.

Please pray also for Café and Leila - they feel the need for spiritual renewal. Café said, "I have served the church for 22 years now, we need the church to serve us." It is not out of selfishness that he says this but out of a desire to serve more with a wisdom of being still and knowing that God is God.

Please take a moment and pray for these things and may God bless you.

Comments

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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