Peru
from Doug Serven
3/31/08
I think may have just now recovered from my trip to Peru. We had an overnight flight back to the states, and I can't sleep on planes, so I was up all night. Then I preached at CTK on Easter Sunday. Then, I got sick. Ugh. I think it was the stomach flu from my weakened state, but it may have been something I brought back from Peru. I was out all week long, lying in bed watching Arrested Development all week.

Peru was amazing. I have been to many missions throughout the last ten years in my travels. I've seen a good amount of places, listened to visions, prayed with missionaries. Peru Mission impresses me the most.

The team there is committed to Peruvian leadership. They are there to serve, not to take over. They are raising up, training and encouraging Peruvian pastors and campus ministers.

They're making micro lending commitments to women who are trying to better their lives but cannot get loans otherwise. Some of these women make cards, examples of which are on the website.

They're teaching English and starting schools. They need interns to staff these; one of our own- Katie Gaylor - went down there and served for 8 months. She had a wonderful time.

They're treating people in clinics - people who never could go to the doctor otherwise.

While we were there, we helped with or learned about all of those things. While there, we did conversation classes with university students and invited them RUF. We helped out on the second floor of one of the clinics. We sanded and painted the walls of the expansion project. We also helped haul out the booty of our demo project - they're looking to expand one of the churches and needed to get rid of the existing structure. And we met kids and played with them.

Trujillo is a poor city. There are pockets of prosperity, but it's honestly a third world country. They have a healthy respect for the church and for the gospel, but people need to actually hear it and believe it. They need our help, our prayers, our strength and labor and our people.

I'll be praying for them.

The Knees Hit The Floor

I like to think of the church over the years as an army…a strange army. It goes forward on its knees. I have a cousin in Dillon, South Carolina, a distant cousin, and he was talking a while back about one of the old Kelly homes…not my great-great-grandfather's, but his brother's…a large number of children. And in the evenings they would call in the tenants for evening worship, and they met in a room where there was a large fireplace and a wooden floor. They had no carpet in that particular room. And he said they'd be sitting in chairs, and the head of the family would read Scripture, and then everybody would drop to their knees for prayer. And maybe there'd be 30-35 people. And he said when the knees hit the floor to go down for the evening prayer – Scottish Highland custom – it would sound like the waves breaking on the shore of the Atlantic, that many knees hitting the floor! And I've often thought, "Now, that is what is happening when you have major advancement in mission, both in our own culture and our own country, and in the hard places and the wicked places, and far abroad. The knees hit the floor." It's like the waves off the shore rolling in, and there are going to be profound, real, spiritual results of that possibly not too far off.

-- Dr. Douglas Kelly, Intercession for a Lost World

The Old Testament And Missions

• Genesis 12:1-3 (repeated in Gen. 18:18, 22:17-18, 26:24 and 28:12-14)
• Exodus 9:14-16 -- purpose of the plagues
• Exodus 19:6 -- Israel was to be a "kingdom of priests"
• Numbers 14:21 -- glory of Lord fills the whole earth
• Deuteronomy 4:6-8 -- show your understanding to the nations
• Deuteronomy 10:19 -- "You are to love those who are aliens"
• Deuteronomy 28:10 -- "all the peoples on the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord"
• Deuteronomy 32:1 - "Hear, O earth, the words of my mouth."
• Joshua 4:24 -- "so that all the peoples of the earth might know"
• 1 Samuel 2:10 -- "The LORD will judge the ends of the earth."
• 1 Samuel 17:46 -- "the whole world will know there is a God in Israel"
• 1 Kings 8:41-43, 59-60 (also in 2 Chronicles 6:32-33) -- "so that all peoples of the earth may know your name" (Solomon's prayer at dedication of Temple)
• 2 Kings 19:15 -- "Hezekiah prayed . . . : O LORD, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.'"
• 1 Chronicles 16:31 "Let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, The Lord reigns!'"
• 1 Chronicles 16:24 -- "Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples"
• 2 Chronicles 6:33 -- "so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you"
• Psalm 2:7-10 -- "You are my Son . . . I will make the nations your inheritance"
• Psalm 7:7-8 -- "Let the Lord judge the peoples"
• Psalm 8:9 -- "How majestic is your name in all the earth!"
• Psalm 18:49 -- "I will praise you among the nations"
• Psalm 22:26-28 -- "all the families of the nations will bow down"
• Psalm 19:1-4 -- "their words to the ends of the world"
• Psalm 22:27 -- "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord"
• Psalm 24 -- "The earth is the Lord's"
• Psalm 33 -- "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord"
• Psalm 45:17 -- "The nations will praise you for ever and ever"
• Psalm 46:10 -- "I will be exalted among the nations"
• Psalm 47 -- "God reigns over the nations"
• Psalm 48:10 -- "Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth"
• Psalm 49:1 -- "Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world"
• Psalm 50 -- "From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets"
• Psalm 57 -- "I will sing of you among the peoples"
• Psalm 59:13 -- "It will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob."
• Psalm 65:5-8 -- "the hope of all the ends of the earth . . . where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy"
• Psalm 66 -- "All the earth bows down to you . . . Praise our God, O peoples"
• Psalm 67 -- "your salvation among all peoples"
• Psalm 68:32 -- "Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth"
• Psalm 72 -- "all nations will serve him"
• Psalm 72:9 -- "the desert tribes will bow before him"
• Psalm 72:17, 19 -- "All nations will be blessed through him . . . May the whole earth be filled with his glory"
• Psalm 77:14 -- "you display your power among the peoples"
• Psalm 82 -- "all the nations are your inheritance"
• Psalm 83:18 -- "You alone are the Most High over all the earth."
• Psalm 86:8-13 -- all nations will come and worship
• Psalm 87 -- the register of the peoples
• Psalm 96 -- "sing to the Lord, all the earth . . . Declare his glory among the nations"
• Psalm 97 -- "The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice"
• Psalm 98:3 -- "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God."
• Psalm 98:9 -- "He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity."
• Psalm 99:1-3 -- "He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name"
• Psalm 102:15 -- "The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory."
• Psalm 102:22 -- "when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord"
• Psalm 105:1 -- "make known among the nations what He has done"
• Psalm 106:8 -- reason for dividing the Red Sea
• Psalm 108:3 -- "I will sing of you among the peoples"
• Psalm 108:5 -- "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth."
• Psalm 110:6 -- "He will judge the nations,"
• Psalm 113:3 -- "From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised"
• Psalm 117 -- "Praise the Lord, all you nations"
• Psalm 126 -- "it was said among the nations"
• Psalm 135 -- "our Lord is greater than all gods"
• Psalm 138:4 -- "may all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord"
• Isaiah 2:3 -- "Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.
• Isaiah 6:3 -- "They were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.'"
• Isaiah 11:9 -- "fill the earth with the knowledge of the Lord"
• Isaiah 11:10 -- "in that day a Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples, the nations . . ."
• Isaiah 12:4 -- "Make known among the nations what He has done"
• Isaiah 24:16 -- "From the ends of the earth we hear singing: Glory to the Righteous One.'"
• Isaiah 25:6 -- "the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples"
• Isaiah 42:4 -- "in His law the islands will put their hope"
• Isaiah 42:6 -- "I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles."
• Isaiah 34:1 -- "Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples!"
• Isaiah 37:16 -- "O Lord Almighty . . . , you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth."
• Isaiah 42:4 -- "He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope."
• Isaiah 43:6 -- "I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'"
• Isaiah 45:6 -- "from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me."
• Isaiah 45:22 -- "Turn to me . . . all you ends of the earth"
• Isaiah 49:1-6 -- "I will make you a light for the Gentiles"
• Isaiah 49:22 -- "The Sovereign Lord says: "See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples."
• Isaiah 52:10 -- "The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God."
• Isaiah 56:7 -- "my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations"
• Isaiah 59:19 -- "From the west, men will fear the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere His glory."
• Isaiah 60:3 -- "Nations will come to your light"
• Isaiah 62:11 -- "The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth"
• Isaiah 66:19 -- "They will proclaim my glory among the nations"
• Jeremiah 3:17 -- "All nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord"
• Jeremiah 16:19 To you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good."
• Ezekiel 36:22-23 -- "The nations will know I am the Lord"
• Daniel 2:47; 4:1-2; 6:25 -- "Surely your God is the God of gods"
• Daniel 7:13, 14 -- "all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him"
• Jonah's story -- the missionary book of the Old Testament 
• Micah 1:2 -- "Hear, O peoples, all of you, listen, O earth and all who are in it."
• Micah 4:2 -- "Many nations will come"
• Micah 5:4 -- "His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth."
• Habbakuk 2:14 -- "The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the water cover the sea"
• Zephaniah 2:11 -- "Nations on every shore will worship him"
• Zephaniah 3:9 -- "Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord."
• Haggai 2:7 -- "Desire of all nations"
• Zechariah 2:11 -- "Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people"
• Zechariah 8:20-23 -- "Many peoples and inhabitants of many cities will come"
• Zechariah 9:10 -- "He will proclaim peace to the nations"
• Zechariah 14:9 -- "The Lord will be king over the whole earth."
• Malachi 1:10-11 -- "My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun"

PCA News

Weakening Dollar Hurts Missionaries

February 2008 - http://byfaithonline.com/page/pca-news/weakening-dollar-hurts-missionaries

The weakening U.S. dollar is having a profound effect on missionaries scattered all over the world, including those affiliated with the PCA’s Mission to the World (MTW).

“It makes things more expensive in their local currency and increases their cost of living,” said Bill Goodman, MTW’s director of field operations. “This problem is widespread throughout the world—it’s not just Europe that is being affected.”

While previous economic changes have caused support shortages for missionaries in the past, the breadth of this problem is unprecedented.

Christianity Today recently reported that “according to the U.S. Center for World Mission, many missionaries are finding their dollars worth 8 to 12 percent less than they expected this year. In Europe, dollars have lost 45 percent of their buying power since 2002.”

MTW recently lowered the amount of support missionaries must raise by decreasing the administrative fee for long-term missionaries and reducing health costs. But those gains are quickly being eroded by the falling value of the dollar. To combat the problem, many missionaries are seeking to raise additional support while still on the field—a difficult task.

“We need to ask for prayer for this situation, that God would supply additional funding,” says Goodman. “And we need to communicate with churches, so that they can be aware of the pressure on our missionaries right now.”

Pray without ceasing for the power of the Holy Spirit in missions

THE EARTH FILLED WITH THE GLORY OF THE LORD.

[click here for a pdf version of this sermon]

Numbers xiv. 20, 21-And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word: but as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

Preached at Baltimore, September 9th, 1835, at the Annual Meeting of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.


By SAMUEL MILLER, D. D.,

Professor in the Theological Seminary, Princeton, New-Jersey.


(found on the PCA Historical Center's site )


An excerpt from the "duties" --

4. A further duty, in reference to the promise before us, is, that we pray without ceasing for the power of the Holy Spirit, to render all the means which are employed for its accomplishment, effectual. When we recollect the extent and difficulty of the work to be done: how many millions are yet in darkness and misery how hard and full of enmity the human heart; and how obstinately the warnings and entreaties of mercy have been resisted; -- we may well despair of human wisdom and strength; and look to Almighty power alone for success. It is not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah, that means are attended with a saving energy. Had we millions of the most learned, eloquent and holy preachers in Christendom to send forth, and all the funds that could be asked or desired for this enterprise; -- all would be in vain, unless the power of the Almighty Spirit went along with the laborers. While, therefore, we labor with unwearied perseverance for the conversion of the world; while we raise funds with growing liberality; while we select, instruct and send forth the most able and devoted missionaries that we can find, and while we employ all the means in our power for imparting the Gospel to every creature; let us remember, that all will be unavailing, unless the Holy Spirit accompany and give efficacy to the means employed. Let every thing pertaining to the spread of the Gospel, be done under the deep impression, that, in our own strength we can effect nothing; that the promise is Jehovah's word; that the accomplishment of it is Jehovah's work; that to Him, of course, for bringing to pass what he has promised, every eye and every heart ought to be directed. And allow me, my beloved friends, to say, we are never likely to be either so happy, or so successful in any enterprise for extending the Redeemer's kingdom, as when we lie in the dust of abasement, sensible of our utter inability to command, by our own power, the least portion of the blessing which we seek; and placing all our dependence for success, at every step, on the Holy Spirit's life-giving energy. And I must also be allowed to say, that, in my own view, this doctrine, viz. that success is all of God, instead of being a legitimate source of discouragement, is, while it humbles, at the same time, one of the most comforting and animating of all doctrines. For though it be most true, that he who planteth is nothing, and he who watereth is nothing -- but God that giveth the increase; -- it is also equally true, that all hearts are in his hands, and that he is able to turn the most blind and hardened to himself, as the rivers of water are turned. O, it is sweet to the believing heart, to lean on God; to plead his promises; and to rejoice in the assurance, that though man cannot do it by reason of weakness, He "with whom all things are possible," and who "cannot lie," hath promised that the whole "earth shall be filled with his glory;" and that He is at once able and faithful to bring it to pass.

Holy Week (2)

from MTW / RUF missionary Peter Dishman @ UNAM, Mexico City

We had a good time with the group from Trinity U in San Antonio last week, and I hope they enjoyed their time of learning and serving here as well! Because there were no classes (Spring Break = Holy Week in Mexico every year), our rhythm was a bit different than usual.

We started each morning early helping a community service/outreach program that our local church does every year called “extend your hand”. We probably helped serve about 1200 breakfasts over the course of the week, and got to know a lot of the neighbors. Some people came for the first time to the breakfasts, while others had been coming for more than a decade! I met people from the neighborhood behind the church, parents whose children were in the local hospital, and a whole lot of police officers toting their machine guns and shotguns. Each of these groups is part of our local demographic.

Next we headed to my apartment, where on Monday and Tuesday we had a “mini-retreat” for our RUF students on “relationships”. We had decent participation, and Justin’s talks and especially the question and answer times helped clarify a lot of questions, from what it means that marriage is a covenant to the difficulties of leaving and cleaving to the role of emotions in dating and tying the knot. On the other weekdays during this time, people rested and spent time meditating on Scripture and praying, and then we talked through the story of scripture from beginning to end.

In the afternoons, we did English Clubs, and in spite of their being no classes in session, we had a really good turnout - 50 the first day and 30-40 for the other days. We had good topics and good discussions (Amy Oettle really has become the queen of English Clubs), and afterward had long hang-out times playing soccer or capture the flag with those competitive gringos (myself included!), visiting at the Oettle and Dishman apartments, eating tacos, and going to the tourist market. Holy Week is nice (and exhausting!) because no one really has to go anywhere, so you can talk the hours away.

So, that was our week - long, a little intense, a few health issues, but a lot of learning and growing because God is at work, by and with his word among his people and beyond them. It would be great if any Trinity U folk wanted to comment on what they thought of the week since I have just scratched the surface here!

The Spies Are Sent Out!

from BEAMM News

Just as Moses sent the twelve spies into the land of Canaan to spy it out in preparation for entering, so BEAMM has sent its Nogales church planting team to Nogales, Sonora, to begin laying the foundation for a new ministry there. BEAMM Regional Directors Josue and Martha Mayo, church planters Miguel and Myrna Gonzalez, and church planters Obed and Brenda Uc, traveled to Nogales from Ciudad Juárez January 25-27, 2008, to meet with members of the Chihuahua Presbytery, members of Catalina Foothills Presbyterian Church, Tucson, and other residents of the city to familiarize themselves with the area. The Gozalez family is planiing to move to Nogales in July, 2008, followed by the Mayos in September, 2008. The Uc family will move to Nogales once a replacement pastor can be found for the Gracia y Paz Church in Juárez, where Obed is currently the pastor.

Mergers & Acquisitions

NTP's own Dawn Brady (MTW Kiev, Ukraine) will be getting married soon!

The intended is Mr. Steve Sparks of Austin. According to the couple's wedding site, Steve was on a short term mission to Kiev, where he was part of a team teaching at a Summer Institute that provide students with additional knowledge of the English language and at the same time introduce them to the Gospel. Dawn was the MTW staff person coordinating with the team and his church.

They were engaged on September 19th, 2007, and will be married April 26th, 2008, at Fifth Street PCA, Tyler, Texas.