Sunday, April 29, 2012

Lamps and Lights



The Word is the teacher... and we are the illustration.

This is the mantra of Let's Start Talking, and I love the focus. It really summarizes well the theology of Karl Barth, a German theologian of the 19th century. When people have questions, refer them back to the text. When in doubt, preach the word. Teach people what God says. Help them understand his message. God's word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path, so let the word be the guide.

God's word is powerful, and makes a huge difference in people's lives. It is amazing to watch as people read Scripture and are confronted by its message. Here are just a few examples from the past week:

One reader, who is a devote Catholic, recently told an LST worker, "I think I've had the order of baptism wrong all these years..."

Another read the story of the Prodigal Son and felt ANGRY that the Father would take the younger son back with no punishment, no consequences, simply grace. "The world SHOULDN'T work this way. It isn't fair!" Isn't it great that grace isn't fair?!?!?

Another reader, who calls himself "agnostic," told me the other day that he likes the teachings of Jesus, that he's never really read them for himself before.

It is amazing to see how God is using His word to touch hearts and lives here in Buenos Aires.

Our next post will focus on the idea that we are the illustration. However, I want to ask: How have you seen the power of God's word in your own life or in the lives of others?

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Resurrection




Recoletta Cemetery is a beautiful landmark in Buenos Aires. Considered the most expensive (and exclusive) real estate in the city, it is a monument to life and death. The other day, my family was walking around the cemetery, when we saw this sight. What a great reminder that death isn't final, that there is a resurrection.

No parking!

1 Corinthians 15

"I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”