A Few Pictures from Acuna, Mexico

Many of you have asked about Acuna, Mexico, so here are a few pictures.  We are going to get a lot more on CD, so I didn't take but a few.  Here they are:

Thank you Scott Sutton for this picture.  Pastor Polo is sharing the gospel with all of these children.  It was a wonderful thing!

This is in the church that I attended and slept in.  Thankfully we had someone trying to interpret for us so we knew what was being said.

This picture is great.  What a precious boy!

This is the church where my group stayed.  God is worshiped here every Lord's day!  What a wonderful Savior.  Christ purchased His bride from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

Some of my new friends!  They loved the camera.

This girl is just precious.  I only saw her on Sunday, but it didn't take long to take my heart.

A Beautiful Truth!

As I read through the book of Colossians I am reminded of several wonderful truths about Jesus Christ.  However, the greatest truth that we could ever hear is that all of our sins are paid for.  Everyone who has placed their lives in faith under the Lordship of Jesus Christ can see this and rejoice.

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.  This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." - Colossians 2:13-14

Do you rejoice in this truth?

I Want to Hear from You

For the last several weeks I have been praying much about church planting.  I have attended Christ Baptist Church in Wilson which is a church plant.  I have talked with several church planters.  I have talked with several pastors and heard many different thoughts about church planting.  For the most part, almost everyone agrees that local churches are the primary way to plant churches.  In other words, being sent and supported by a local church is the way it appears God works to multiply churches.  I agree with this all.  I believe heavily in the local church.  I also believe in healthy churches.  It would be arrogant to assume that we do not have healthy churches, but I do fear that the majority of our churches are not healthy.  I fear that many have neglected the expositional teaching/preaching of Scripture and have strayed away from a commitment to Biblical truth and Biblical living.  You can go here to see what I think of when I say "healthy churches."

So here is/are my question(s).  Does the Rocky Mount area need more churches planted in order to have more healthy churches?  What are some things you would consider when thinking through church planting?

I recognize that some read this and never respond, but I would really like to hear from you all on this subject.

Acuna, Mexico

Words cannot express my thoughts on our Mission Trip to Acuna, Mexico, but I'll try.  I was nervous about going for several reasons.  First of all, I didn't know anyone going on the trip other than Dr. Schemm.  Secondly, I knew (and still do) very little Spanish (pretty much nothing).  Third, I didn't know what to expect as far as what all we would be doing.  With that being said, I set out for Mexico.  It was great!  I met so many new friends that I cannot even begin to thank God for.  It is really amazing how God can bring so many people together to accomplish His purpose.  I hope that I keep in touch with these brothers and sisters in Christ for life.  As far as knowing Spanish, I am convinced that it's a language worth learning.  In America we run into many Spanish speaking people and if we could communicate the gospel could be spread.  For at least this reason we ought to learn Spanish.  I hate that I was unable to communicate but I am thankful that we as a team still could.  The baseball clinic was unbelievable and I believe God used it for His glory.  There were over 130 kids that came through there in four days and they all heard the gospel.  We saw many people witnessed to and many needs met throughout the week.  We were also able to minister to several of the local pastors and Dr. Schemm was able to teach them and train them.  This is a great ministry and I want to post more about it soon.  For now I want to thank you for your prayers and ask you to continue to pray for those in Acuna, Mexico.

Please Pray

I am leaving in the morning for Acuna, Mexico on a mission trip with school.  While there we will be doing a baseball clinic and seeking to proclaim the gospel as much as possible. 

Please pray:

that we will get there safely,

that we will be bold with the gospel,

that we will meet needs when we can,

that we will have a good turn-out for the baseball clinic,

that God will open doors for the gospel that we're not planning on,

that God will allow us to minister without too many language issues,

that God will be honored in our actions, proclamations, and attitudes,

that our lights will shine before men in such a way that they will see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven.

We will be returning next Saturday.  Shannon and Abigail will be traveling to Matthews, NC to visit family so please pray for them as well.  I'll post more about the trip when I return.

Piper on Adoption

Driscoll, Piper, & Mahaney

Here is an excellent post by Tim Challies from Mark Driscoll.  We all need to be this way and to have friends like Piper and Mahaney.