Sermon Preparation

Sometimes people ask me, "So what do you do all week?" Pastors have interesting jobs in that we tend to do a lot of different things, including counseling and cleaning, research and repair, ministry and maintenance. (I was taught in school that writing in three's and alliterating were effective communication tools—I use them sometimes, but mostly I find them amusing.)

Yet the most important thing I do each week is deliver the sermon on Sunday. That's the time when I have an opportunity to be used by God to reach the greatest number of people. So I really enjoy preaching. And that means I need to prepare a message each week.

Don't get me wrong, I love studying the Bible. But sometimes it is hard for me to stay on task during sermon prep each week. I take Friday's off, so that means that my sermon needs to be done by the end of the day Thursday. That means that Thursday is crunch day.

I liken sermon preparation to writing a term paper each week. I probably spend in the neighborhood of 8 hours on each sermon. Sometimes it's more, sometimes less. It's easy for me to go down a rabbit trail, studying something that really doesn't apply to the sermon. It's also easy for me to get distracted by an email or some news online.

So that's part of what I do each week.

Boomer Blogging

I read several blogs regularly, because I use Outlook, and have it set to download a few blogs automatically. Josh's recent experience with appendicitis was fodder for a whole lot of posts on his blog, and I get a kick out of reading Brenda Boston's blog, and I'm following Larry & Krista Lain's in Mongolia.

But I just don't seem to take the time to blog myself. I realized that when I saw Josh's favorite blogs. Mine is listed, and it said that my last blog was 4 month ago. OK, now it doesn't say that any more.

I've had an interesting summer full of physical work at church. Brad and I spent 2-3 weeks ripping out the termite and rot infested lumber in the walls of our church, and replacing them with a solid structure. Then I moved into outdoor mode and spent the last several weeks working on the new lawn north of our church. A lot of people put in a lot of time, clearing rocks out of the soil, leveling the field, installing irrigation, and sowing seed. The grass is starting to sprout now.

Growth takes time, and you really can't hurry it up. You can prepare the soil, make sure there is enough water, sow the seed, and then let God work. It's that way for grass, and it is that way for people too.

Bribes

I really haven't had to deal with bribes, living in what is probably the most open and honest society in the world, and I am grateful for that. But when I have travelled overseas, and when I have spoken with those who do so often, there has arisen the question of whether or not we should offer bribes when they are expected/demanded.

It is the American Christian assumption that giving bribes is corrupt, unethical, and unbiblical. So I decided to check out what the Bible has to say about bribes.

The word "bribe" or "bribes" is used 27 times in the NIV. Of those, there are many instructions not to take bribes, but not one command to not give a bribe. In fact, Proverbs 17:8 says, "A bribe is a charm to the one who gives it; wherever he turns, he succeeds." Receiving bribes is unbiblical. Giving bribes works, according to the Bible. As far as I can tell, the Bible is silent about the ethics of giving a bribe.

However, the Bible is not silent about giving things to authorities when those authorities demand it of you. Jesus himself told his disciples to give to the Roman soldiers even more than they asked for.

In Luke 6:27-30, Jesus instructs those who were being unfairly treated by the Roman law enforcement troops:
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back."

And in Romans 12:18-21 Paul writes:
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”  says the Lord.  On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Maybe if when a corrupt official expects a bribe, he is not thinking as a corrupt person, but is just operating in the only system he knows. And when we righteous American Christians refuse to give him the bribe he thinks he deserves, it just confirms in his mind what he already had heard--that American Christians are cheapskates.

On the other hand, we don't want to be taken advantage of, wasting the money God has entrusted us with.

What it all boils down to is is this: What did Jesus say we should do?

Going Home

We are home. The trip was not without its challenges, but all five us and all of our baggage arrived in San Francisco on time. Thanks be to God that with the first two flights arriving late, we made the connections anyway, and so did our bags. There was a major strike at the airport in Brazil, but United waited for us, and we're home.

I think I'll sleep well tonight!

It has been a real privilege to represent our God and our church in Paraguay. Aaron, David, Lenny, Lori and I are so thankful for your prayers and support.

Keep praying for Bob and Brenda Boston, and all the work of the Alliance churches in Paraguay.

Paraguay, Days 10-12 (Monday-Tuesday)

Oh my goodness, this has been a full couple of days! Sunday night's service was wonderful, pretty much a carbon copy of the morning service. The church presented us with gifts to thank us for the work we had done. After the service, we ended up spending quite a bit of time saying goodbye to our new friends. Patricia, a friend of Kelly's, took us all into a back room and sang part of a song from Phantom of the Opera that she will be singing Wednesday as a requirement for her university training. She has a fantastic voice, and I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes a pro.

Monday, we got up really early (2:30 AM) to drive across Paraguay to Brazil. Armando drove us, while we slept. We passed termite hills, and a whole lot of countryside. We visited the largest dam in the world, and the accompanying largest hydroelectric plant, at Itaipu. It is 14 km up the Parana River, from the crossing of the border between Paraguay and Brazil.

Crossing over to Brazil is quite an adventure. The Paraguay side is somewhat of a wild west, and the actual bridge is no man's land. We had to keep the windows locked, and everything valuable looking hidden. Although traffic crawled across the bridge, we had no incidents. Once safely into Brazil, we went shoe shopping. The ladies all got shoes, the guys enjoyed the scenery in Brazil.

After lunch, we headed north to Iguacu Falls, which really does place Niagara a distant second. It is beautiful. David, Aaron, and I were going to do a boat ride to the falls, but it was cold, wet, and the $80 discouraged us. Still, it was fantastic.

In the evening we went to dinner at a place that features the dances of Latin America. It was pretty showy, but gave us a good taste of the cultures here. The people of these countries are proud of their heritage, and rightfully so. I will say that I enjoyed the Paraguayan dance the most.

This morning (Tuesday), we went to a bird park with some of the best aviaries I have ever been in. Lot's of parrots, macaws, and many other kinds of birds. I have some pictures of a toucan, which thought my camera might be good to eat. He couldn't bite that hard, so I let him have my finger. Now I have a toucan bite on my thumb. It actually drew blood. Way cool!

On the way home, we went to Big, which is the Walmart operation in Brazil. Cheap prices, lots of products, and a great place for Brenda to get some groceries. I bought a USB cable there for 2 bucks. It costs $40 at the Radio Shack here in Paraguay. Unfortunately, it didn't fix the scanner I brought Brenda, so I'll have to take it back home and return it.

This will be my last blog from Paraguay. We leave for home tomorrow. This has been a wonderful time, learning from the Lord about our brothers and sisters here in Paraguay, learning about ourselves, and experiencing God. It's going to be hard to leave, but good to get home. Thanks for praying.

Ciao.

Paraguay, Day 9 (Sunday)

Sweethearts Banquet

Ok, that's not what they called it. I believe it was a dinner for married couples. It was at the church on Saturday night, and it started at 8:00 PM. That's a pretty typical time for dinner in Paraguay. Anyway, the church underwent a major transformation. When we left at noon, we had swept the floor and put all the extra lumber in the office we had just constructed. By evening time, the place had been cleaned, there were flowers and decorations up, and the office had been converted into a temporary kitchen. There were round tables with 2 tablecloths each, and it had become a dining room for a couple's dinner. Quite lovely, actually. We were impressed.

The program consisted of Jorge Cabral entertaining the crowd with four songs, accompanying himself on classical guitar. A lady joined him for two of the songs. Pastor Roberto (Bob) Boston gave a "short" devotional on Ten Ways to Create a Juvenile Delinquent. (I didn't understand it, but he had told me ahead of time what it would be.) Then a dance troop from a local dance school performed Paraguayan dances, including the dances where the girls balance bottles on their heads. The star ended up with eight bottles stacked up. They received loud applause.

After dinner, a gentleman sang 2 songs and spoke a bit. One of his songs appeared to this non-Spanish-speaker to be a love song that could also be sung to God. It was beautiful. I closed out the evening with a message on marriage from Ephesians 5, Proverbs 31, and 1 Peter 3. A number of people indicated either a desire to accept Christ or to devote their marriages to Christ. I have to thank Brenda for translating for me. She does an excellent job of not only translating the words, but also the intent of what I say.

Sunday Worship Service
This morning (Sunday) we went to church. After a good time of songs of worship, led by Jorge Cabral, Aaron gave his testimony about his trip to Africa. The people of the church brought us on stage and thanked us for what we had done in their church, presented us with gifts, and then laid hands on us and prayed. After a Paraguayan dance by some young ladies from the church, I preached on the importance of rejoicing in Jesus, from Philippians 4. Several people responded to the invitation to receive Christ, and many asked for the peace of God to guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Tonight, we will repeat the same service.

After church, Bob and Brenda took us to an incredible restaurant. It is an all you can eat buffet with delicious food. After filling our plates at the buffet tables, the waiters started coming around with various kinds of meats on skewers. They carved off pieces onto our plates, unless we said, "no gracias". It was delicious, and I am so full right now, I don't dare lie down or I might not get up for church this evening.

Tonight at 3 AM, we head off for Brazil. We are going to Foz de Iguacu, the waterfalls that apparently put Niagara to shame. In order to make the border crossing easier, I won't be taking the computer, so I won't be blogging until we get back on Tuesday (if I have any energy). Then we leave for the States on Wednesday.

If you have been praying for us, I want to say thank you. This has been a wonderful trip for us all. We have learned so much, and made some sweet friends. Please know that it has been your prayers that have made this such a blessing. I hope you will keep on praying for the mission and ministry in Paraguay. God is at work here, and you and I are privileged to be a part of what he is doing, whether by being here or by praying.

Ciao.

Paraguay, Day 8 (Saturday)

Hola,

As it turns out, I do have time for a short blog, although I don't have a lot to report. Last night, after posting the last blog, I was able to update the church's laptop so they can use it to run powerpoint, videos, and music. The sounds were all playing too fast, and it needed an updated sound driver. Unfortunately, the brand new scanner I brought for the mission office does not work. My guess is the cable is bad, but who knows. I'll probably have to take it back to the US, and exchange it for another, then get it to Sacramento for when Brenda visits her daughter there.

We finished the office and the painting this morning. There are a few more trim pieces needed, but we had to clear out so they could set up for Awana this afternoon, and the couples' dinner tonight. Lori, Lenny, and David are observing Awana, and Aaron and I are at the house.

This evening, I will be speaking about the seven basic needs of a wife at the dinner. Aaron is going to attend the college group. Tomorrow, Aaron will give a short testimony and I will preach at both services (morning and evening) at the the San Lorenzo church. In between, we are going to a Brazilian restaurant for a huge lunch. We have not been going hungry!

Ciao