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.

Do You Know The Way From Death To Life?

  On Monday, March 1st, a group of 10 people set out on a journey from João Pessoa to Cajazerias.  7 hours of road, good conversation, deep thinking and getting to know one another even better.  The road trip was just the beginning of what promised to be an uplifting and edifying experience for the Church in Cajazeiras.  We were going to campaign for Christ in the neighborhood in which the church building is surrounded.  The neighborhood's name is Cristo Rei or Christ the King, that is exactly what we wanted to show through our words and actions as all 22 of us; 10 from João Pessoa, 11 from Cajazeiras and 1 from Belém door knocked on some 550-600 houses during 6 days.  We kept going back to the same houses everyday and handing out 6 different tracks.  The objective?  The objective is to create trust, build a relationship that allows us to get past the door and allow Christ to do some heart knocking by setting-up Bible studies and allowing our King to speak.
          Cajazeiras does not have a movie theater; so to begin building relationships, we invited everyone to watch a movie on
Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday were the main attractions; lessons on "Forgiveness",
"Transformation" and "Resurection from the dead".  As time past we began to move from the door to the couch and from the
couch to the heart.  Mind you, not everyone opened the door to the heart for Christ but some wanted to know Him better.  Friday, we had 13 visitors, Saturday, 18 and Sunday 21 visitors.  That is great but we wanted to go further down the road of life. 

We want to continue this journey.  We went to show everyone who wanted to be pointed in the right direction the way from death to life.  6 people asked to be shown how to transform their death into life.  Please pray for them as they study God's Word, as they answer Christ's knock at their heart's door and listen to Him speak about life eternal. 
        
    Do You Know The Way From Death To Life?  If you do, are you showing those that surround you?  I hope that you are and that you feel the love and joy of being able to take Christ with you as you go heart-to-heart knocking until someone opens their heart and allows Christ to speak.

S.E.A.R.A.

       If you were invited to participate in a four year program that would give you more knowledge and prepare you for the future, what would you say?  Oh, but wait! There's still more: it is also free and after completing all of the classes you can receive the equivelant to a college degree!  Well, that is what SEARA is. SEARA (Harvest or Servants Sent To Announce The Kingdom of Love) is a Bible degree for the members of the church here in João Pessoa.  

     

  20 members of the church were invited to participate. 11 remain after 6 weeks. Due to lack of time or other obligations, 9 asked to be excused.  These magnificent 11 are learning how to prepare and give a Bible study, they are organizing a state-wide church event for October of this year, they will be evangelizing door-to-door to help plant a church in another neighborhood in João Pessoa, and of course they will be preaching and teaching.  

       Jesus' classroom was and still is life, mine and yours. Everyday class is in session, and there is always homework to be done, taking a look deep inside ourselves, seeing where Jesus still has not been invited in, and being ready to act according to our teacher's direction.  Have you been in class?  Have you done your homework?  The whole purpose of SEARA, here in João Pessoa, is to prepare members to SERVE the MASTER, there is no greater lesson to be learned and no greater diploma than eternal life given to those in Christ.