Our Mother's Day Prayer

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,

but a woman who fears the LORD will be praised."

 At Redemption Baptist Church it is our prayer that our women, (and really all of us), 

would grow in our fear of the Lord. 

 Lord, help us to accept your Words,

to store your commands within us.

Help us to listen closely to wisdom

and to direct our hearts to understanding... 

Help us to call out to insight

and lift our voices to understanding,

to search for it like hidden treasure!

Then you will understand the 

Fear of the LORD.

Ladies Outing

This month we decided to do something special with the ladies so we all went out to Café Paris.  We had a few ladies missing because of work or sickness but we praise the Lord for the 10 we had come out. 

One of the ladies who came has been coming to church for only about 3 weeks and she was so excited.  She shared that she had never gone out with other ladies and really enjoyed herself.  You could feel her hunger for Christian fellowship.  

Another one of the ladies that came has visited our church twice but is praying about where God wants her to go to church on a regular basis.  Pray that God would lead her and her unsaved husband to a church that preaches the Word of God.  We are praying that God will use us as He sees fit in their lives. 

I had my Bible out on the table ready to share a few verses with the ladies when one of the waiters stopped by and asked if I was going to preach. 

I told him no, smiled, and said, I am going to share a few verses:)

He told me I could preach, and then walked away. 

A few minutes later he came back by and asked if we would pray for him, that God would take him out of this place.  He said he had been there 6  months and had been unable to attend church once because he is always working. 

So, we prayed for Urbano, and you can pray with us too, that he could be free, at least on Sundays to go to church. 

Being a kid in Brazil

 I thought I would do a short update on our kids and give you a quick glimpse into their lives.  

 Brazilians love kids.  My first visit here with a child was in 2002.  We were waiting in a huge, long line at a hot, stuffy airport and I was holding 3 month old Daniel.  We stood in line only 2-3 minutes when they noticed we had a baby and off we went to the FRONT of the line!!!  Wow, now that is cool.   Even now with older kids I see the love Brazilians have for children.  Our grocery store has a trampoline for kids to use while their parents shop.  Every major grocery store has a free kids room for kids to play in while the parents shop.  It is has adult supervision, movies, games, art projects and more.  Saturday was the first anniversary of our grocery store so they brought in inflatable games and gave out free cotton candy and suckers to all the kids. At McDonalds, they have an employee who just serves the kids by making balloon animals for them or giving them little treats. You even get to pick out your happy  meal toy here!   You cannot forget Children's day too,  it is an official holiday here, just like Mother's day or Father's day. 

 

 So, I think my kids are enjoying growing up with these special little perks!  

Jeremiah is happy flying kites, watching for kites, making tails for kites...  

It really is the simple things :)

  Daniel is getting so tall and has such a tender heart for God.  He still really enjoys playing soccer and we always seem to have a house full of boys over here playing in the afternoon.  

 

 Hannah, our most courageous, is always ready to go.  She loves playing school and organizing all the younger kids.  She has a tender heart and I am excited to see what God has in store for her.  

 

I am so thankful for these  precious blessings that God allows me care for.  I strive to remember that my time with them really is short and I need to take advantage of these moments. 

Disciples, Making Disciples

One of the goals this year at Redemption Baptist Church is to be disciples making disciples.  As James has worked to encourage and equip the church, he heard about a program that we can use as a structure to help us live this out.  After talking to a fellow pastor in a northern city of our state who has used this program for several years, we planned a trip to travel up and check it out. 

 
Friday night we had the opportunity to travel to Jaraguá do Sul and participate in a small group meeting out of Berean Baptist Church. They call it a Nucleus of Bible Studies (NEB's).  The Neb's are simply evangelistic Bible studies held in the home of church members.  Each host home (along with the help of a couple other families in the church) commits to invite at least 30 friends, neighbors, co-workers, family, etc., to a 4-week Bible study in their home.   (We invite 30 knowing that only about 5 will come.)  After the 4 weeks of studies with a strong focus on the Gospel, we hold a special service at church, giving them a Bible and a certificate of completion.  The next 3-6 months we spend following up on these contacts, continuing Bible studies with them when possible and showing the love of Christ to them. 
 

 Saturday morning Pr. José sat down with us and went over the whole program, step by step.   We are so thankful to have the opportunity to glean from the experience of others.  Berean has 11 Neb's going on this month. Friday night one of the groups that meets in an apartment complex  had 13 visitors come! 

Pray for our men as they meet tonight to start the process of adapting the program to fit our needs and implementing it here at Redemption.  We are excited about this because it encourages our people to be purposeful about looking at the people around them as ETERNAL souls.  It equips them to share the Gospel more formally in a study but also to work with people one on one.

We praise God for all that He has done the past year in preparing us for this step by drawing each of us closer to Himself and each other.  We are excited to see what God has in store for us this year. 

Remembering the Cross

Yesterday James and I made a visit on a recent contact.  We spent some time getting to know her better and then pressed forward with some spiritual questions, trying to understand where she is at in her spiritual life.  Here were some of the troubling responses:

-Although she spent many years in a baptist church she could only define the Gospel as inspiring teachings that help us know how to live but are not exactly practical for today's world.
    -Her goal seems to be striving for perfection in this life while having to carry the weight of the results of her sinful choices.  
-A dislike of thinking or talking about the death of Christ because it can make you depressed or sad and God does not want that for us.  

What is also very troubling is the lack of a learning spirit and underlying attitude of trying to teach a pastor what Christianity is all about.   There was no thirst for righteousness or knowledge of God.

This morning I was looking at Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children.  And walk in love as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 

These verses give me two commands to fulfill, but they are sandwiched between three DECLARATIONS of God's love 

-4:32 "forgiving one another, just as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you" 

-5:1 "as dearly loved children..."

-5:2 "As the Messiah loved us and gave Himself for us..."    

The death of Christ and His Resurrection  are the reason I want to imitate God.  It is the means of my adoption as a child of God.  It is the fuel that enables me to walk in love.   

How can we possibly set aside his death as discouraging or depressing?  If we thought he was still dead, maybe that would be true but we serve a living Savior!  

I have come to the conclusion that the more I meditate on his love; his incredible sacrifice for me, the more I will be like him, imitating Him and walking in love.

Pray for us to continue to faithfully proclaim His greatness because of his extravagant love for us. 

Wrapping up March

While most everyone was waiting in line, out in the cold and rain at a chocolate shop, to buy very expensive chocolate eggs to give their friends and families for Easter, we were trying to keep focused on what is really worth celebrating.

 Jesus Christ, willingly dying for undeserving sinners like me, and three days later rising again!

 Food art depicting the Resurrection scene, daily  bible readings with the kids, Easter Music, singing, more pictures on the wall showing the suffering Servant...  I am so thankful for the focus all of us had on the true meaning of Easter.  Our kids didn't even ask for an egg this year:)  (Though their grandparents did get them a nice big chocolate bar!!)

 Sunday morning was a blessing.  We had almost all of our people out for the morning and evening services.  In the morning we shared a special prayer time reflecting on the profound love the Father has lavished on us. 

 After the service we had a special breakfast time enjoyed by young and old alike! 

Sunday night we enjoyed celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  We don't normally have special music and were blessed to have Josieneide share with us.   God also blessed us by having a contact visit for the first time. 

Several weeks ago our family went to the park and ran into one of Hannah's classmates.  I struck up a conversation with the mother who claimed to be a christian but didn't have a local church.  So, I invited her to visit us some time.  As the weeks passed, I had given up hope that we would hear from her again, but God had a plan and she and her daughter joined us on Easter Sunday.  Pray for us as we follow up with her; that we could encourage her in her walk with God.  

Celebrating the Resurrection

Since the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior are the cornerstone of our faith, I believe we should have an intense focus on these events.  Unfortunately, more often than not, Good Friday sneaks up on us and we are caught unaware and we haven't planned to celebrate these life changing days.  

The past few years I have been blessed to accumulate several ideas to help both our family and our church family have a much more meaningful Resurrection celebration.  Here are just a few of the ways we are celebrating this year.

 Each Sunday in March, we have celebrated 3 parts of the Jewish Passover with our church family.  From eating the bitter herbs (horseradish), to feeding one another the sweet apple mixture that looks like the mortar the Jews used to make bricks in Egypt; our church has bonded as we remember and celebrate the REDEMPTION the Jews had from Egypt and we have in Christ. 

 Last night was especially unique as the younger children went in search of the broken matzah, which symbolizes the broken and buried body of Christ.  How wonderful to celebrate the Cup of Redemption, remembering that our broken and buried Savior, IS ALIVE! 

A wonderful messianic passover celebration with simple explanations can be found here at Thriving Family.

 At home we make a Resurrection Tree.  This picture is of one of our families.  Each evening after they read a portion of Scripture about the last days of Jesus before his death, they draw a small picture of something from the reading.  A palm, a nail, a donkey, a switch, a cross, a tomb...   The tree is a constant visual reminder of what we are celebrating. 

 I printed coloring pictures that tell the story of the last days.  After they are colored we tape them up on the wall, once again a visual reminder of what we are celebrating.

 Easter Mountain has been the longest running tradition in our household.  Recipe here.  I think we first made one in 2007!  This is especially fun for smaller children who help make the mountain and then enjoy play acting out the daily bible stories with the figures.

 Just take the time to slow down and make the stories come to life for your family.  If you are reading about Jesus washing the disciples feet, wash each others feet.  If you read about the last supper, have your own bread and juice.  Remind your children of the the first passover and paint "blood" on the door posts of your house (taping paper on the sides of the door frame  before you paint.)

Today as we read about the woman anointing Jesus' feet with perfume,  I "cried" on Jer's feet, wiped them with my hair, kissed his feet, sprayed perfume on his feet...we could imagine how the room smelled as she broke the bottle and prepared Jesus for his burial. 

I sent the kids on a quick search for objects that would represent the hearts of the men in the room (a hard, cold rock)  and something that would represent the heart of the woman who anointed Jesus (beautiful flowers).  I am leaving our objects on display  and plan to add to them each day. 

Read books that highlight the wonderful truths of the Gospel.  Go through all your children's bible story books and read all of the stories that lead up to the resurrection.    Take the time to slow down and celebrate with your family and friends the basis for our New Life in Christ!

Our first "Easter Mountain" in Brazil...my how they have grown.