Let the Celebrating Begin

Vida Nueva, 25 Years--Celebrating God's Grace

As I have mentioned before, churches here in Central America celebrate their anniversary each year.  So, as you might expect, the 25th anniversary calls for a really big celebration!  Twenty-five years ago this month, a group of 18 people met at Pastor Julio's home to discuss the formation of a Baptist church.  So, we started the 25-year celebration yesterday with a Koinonia service.  The actual first service of the church was in June of 1991, so the "real" party will be this coming June.

Yesterday, there was special music and an excellent sermon from Pastor Steve's, but the highlight of the day was the ordination of David Aguilar and Cesar Monico as pastors of Vida Nueva.

What a privilege to be in a church that preaches the word, reaches the lost and celebrates Jesus!

Are you clinging?

We were privileged to hear Koky Lopez preach at the hotel last Sunday.  Koky is the campus pastor at Lourdes and usually he is called on to preach at that site.  However, this last weekend, he preached all four morning services in San Salvador and the afternoon service at our Apopa campus.  

It was our first Sunday back in El Salvaldor and, as always, after being gone for awhile, it takes a great deal of concentration to get our "Spanish" ears tuned back in.  Thankfully, the praise and worship time helps to get us ready for the preaching.  Koky's sermon was both timely and convicting, asking the question, "Were you satisfied with your personal relationship with Jesus in 2014?"  If not, what do you need to do to build a solid relationship with Jesus in 2015?  

His text was John 6:51-69, which is the point in Jesus' ministry that many of his "disciples" abandoned him because they found his teaching too "hard."  For the most part after this point, only the twelve stayed faithful.

Here are Koky's points (they all started with A's in Spanish, but that's lost in translation) for how to build a solid relationship with Jesus:

1)  Be nourished by the Word, John 6:39

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

2)  Cling to Jesus, John 6:67-68

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

3)  Affirm who Jesus is, John 6:69

Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

I loved the picture of the rock climber clinging to the side of the mountain that he used to illustrate the second point.  He challenged us to remember that Jesus is the rock, enormous, powerful and unmoving, and we need to cling to him in all our circumstances.  I needed to hear that and to remember that building a strong relationship with Jesus means I must cling to him like he's the only thing that's keeping me from falling down the side of the rock cliff--He is, after all, my Savior.  Only when I abandon all my own efforts to "climb" can I understand what it means to rest in Him and his marvelous promises.

I'm praying that this image and the following song will be my focus throughout 2015!  

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it some day for a crown.

If I be lifted up . . . .

While walking and praying yesterday morning, I reflected on the powerful words of Jesus in John 12:32:

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Really, it's so simple--the only thing we need to do to reach others with the gospel is to lift up Jesus.  Unfortunately, today many churches believe it takes entertainment (song, dance, drama, video) on a grand scale to attract people.  At their core there's nothing wrong with song, dance, drama and/or video as a means of reaching the unchurched.  However, if these and other "modern" methods are to be successful in reaching the lost with the gospel, it is essential that they "lift up Jesus" and not anything else.  

If there's any other focus--even good ones like growing the church, raising money for good causes, strengthening families--then they fall short of sharing the truth and the lost may miss the opportunity to be "drawn" to the Savior.

Someone shared the link to this song on Facebook and I share it here because the words "lift up Jesus."  Listen and enjoy it here.

Handel's Messiah

Just spent an amazing night listening to the Spire Chamber Ensemble and Baroque Orchestra perform Handel's Messiah at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.  Unbelievably talented instrumentalists playing Handel's musical score and beautiful voices singing scripture!  The sound was absolutely perfect.

Although most people are familiar with the Hallelujah Chorus, it's not the final song.  In fact, I think this masterpiece should be required listening for all believers.  The final chorus:

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain and hath redeemed us to God by His blood to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.  Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.  Amen.

Do you know about the baby in the manger?  More importantly, do you know Him as the King of King and Lord of Lords?  He is the reason for the season.  Christmas (and everything else) is all about Jesus.