I had an interesting experience this past week, serving as translator (English to Portuguese) for a series of Bible studies based on the book of Ephesians. Simon is an Anglican pastor in England who along with his brother-in-law Alister, also an Anglican minister, was invited to give a conference on Biblical expository preaching here in northern Brazil. Frankly, I went into the week a bit dubious as to what I would hear and learn. However, I didn't need to wait long to discover that these men have a godly, conservative and creative approach to teaching the Scriptures. During four mornings Simon showed us clearly how Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians to help them understand that they had all spiritual blessings in Christ and that they were saved, raised and seated with Christ in the heavenlies, in a position of victory over the world and Satan.
But Simon also showed us how this was to be lived out in the church today, effectively applying this truth to his hundred or more listeners in the SCEN auditorium this week. Alister did similarly in the evening sessions, giving instructions on the importance, implications and methodology of expository preaching.
A couple weeks ago Vivian and I celebrated her birthday in a special way. We drove 160 miles to another coastal area of our state to visit the beautiful sand dunes. We stayed in a nice hotel, enjoyed great food and Scrabble & got tossed around on the back of a Toyota truck to get out to the sand dunes. We had a delightful time and will long remember how surprised she was that I arranged this special two-day trip & how happy I was to be able to show her my love in a different way this year.
