The Grace of Preaching to the Lost

by Ricardo Sobral

The apostle Paul said:

"To me, the least of all the saints, was given this grace to announce to the gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ." (Eph 3:8)

Considering the imprisonments, the persecutions, the beatings that Paul received because of the Gospel, his words about receiving an "undeserved gift" to preach to the lost reveal a deeper importance of the Gospel than we have yet grasped.

I felt this during the Carnaval period as I traveled with my good friends and brothers Cesar and Randy from city to city in Piaui, sharing Christ. This campaign gave opportunity to continue another campaign of raising among Brazilian brethren money to send a team of native missionaries to the city of Campina Grande as we passed through cities that already have congregations. The church in Natal and Fernando's family in Itarema have grasped this grace to participate with us in preaching the Gospel of Christ to the lost in Campina Grande. May more capture the vision.

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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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