Monday, November 08, 2004
Aracaju – October 2004
Well, what a week! We came back from Aracaju a week ago, and have been recovering and digesting ever since. Now with the journey to Manaus lined up tomorrow morning, it is about time to get our report on Aracaju finished.
We arrived at around lunch time on Tuesday, to be met by the two pastors who organized the week, Naziaseno, assistant pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Aracaju (The central church) and Ronildo, Pastor of the Zion Presbyterian Church. Naziaseno was involved in the week, despite the fact that he was due to be married on the Friday evening. Ronildo drove us to the flat where we have stayed twice before; the home of Kleber and Talita and their son Paulo. They have a great home where we are really comfortable.
The basic purpose of the trip was for Andrew to speak in a sequence of public meetings to mark Reformation week. (In Brazil, as in continental Europe, reformation day is 31 October, the anniversary of the posting of Luther’s 95 theses.) The meetings were scheduled to take place in various churches in the city, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. (The wedding ruled out Friday, as we were invited.) The themes came from the great Solas of the Reformation: five of them, but squeezed into four nights. We didn't let Naziaseno forget the fact that his wedding was in danger of eroding a crucial doctrine!
Actually Andrew dealt with Grace and Faith together on the Tuesday, then Sola Scriptura on the Wednesday, Solus Cristus on Thursday, and Soli Deo Gloria on Saturday. The approach was the same each night: a brief historical introduction to the confusion on each point as it was in the church prior to the reformation, a summary of the reformers response to the confusion, a biblical exposition to show where the reformers got their thinking from (this took up the lion's share of the time) and finally an application, asking the question, do we need a reformation on this point in Brazil today. All of the evenings went well, with the last night being a special joy. The twelfth of August Presbyterian Church is the largest in the city, and was packed. We think there must have been upwards of 600 present. Andrew spoke on Exodus 14; the sovereignty of God in salvation, the fact that God deliberately underlines his sovereignty, and the fact that this is all for his own glory. Attention was rapt throughout a more than 70 minute talk. At the end, a combined choir sang the Hallelujah chorus, with many in the congregation joining in. After the service there was a tremendous barrage of questions from teenagers in the church, really serious questions regarding the doctrine preached in the sermon.
The churches involved in the week are by no means identical in their positions: despite being from only two denominations, both Presbyterian. A moving away from the classic Westminster position has taken place, to a great or lesser degree. This event was the first coming together of these churches in a long time, and a first with a focus on reformed docrine in even longer. It was generally judged to have been a success, with everyone hoping to repeat the experience next year.
On the Friday, the wedding day, Andrew taught a full day (8.30 – 5.00) workshop on expository ministry. Although this had been programmed as a day on “Preaching Christ from the Old Testament”; and was supposed to be a follow-on from the conference he led in May 2002, few people had received the information on the day, and even fewer had been at the other event. So it was better to lead a general day on exposition, and this is what took place, albeit without any notes. About 25 were present, including Edson, Jorge and Santana, who drove the 6 hours from Caruaru, Pernambuco, staying two nights in Aracaju in order to be with us.
It was a privilege to be at Naziaseno and Erika’s wedding, an event which combined sumptuousness with simplicity. One of the hardest things to get used to in Brazil is the way moments that would be highly formal in Britain can be so informal here, and vice versa. That is culture! But it was a great chance to relax a bit, and celebrate with friends, mainly from the central church.
On the Sunday, we were at the central church in the morning and at Zion in the evening. The morning sermon (Mark 2:1 – 3:6) refused to print, so Andrew was without notes again, the first time ever for a whole sermon in Portuguese. It went well, as did the evening.
We love Aracaju. The people are warm, there is a health and vitality in the churches, and we have made some really good friendships there. Some of these people have been praying for us since before we ever moved to Brazil. Thank God with us for them, and for a blessed week!
Well, what a week! We came back from Aracaju a week ago, and have been recovering and digesting ever since. Now with the journey to Manaus lined up tomorrow morning, it is about time to get our report on Aracaju finished.
We arrived at around lunch time on Tuesday, to be met by the two pastors who organized the week, Naziaseno, assistant pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Aracaju (The central church) and Ronildo, Pastor of the Zion Presbyterian Church. Naziaseno was involved in the week, despite the fact that he was due to be married on the Friday evening. Ronildo drove us to the flat where we have stayed twice before; the home of Kleber and Talita and their son Paulo. They have a great home where we are really comfortable.
The basic purpose of the trip was for Andrew to speak in a sequence of public meetings to mark Reformation week. (In Brazil, as in continental Europe, reformation day is 31 October, the anniversary of the posting of Luther’s 95 theses.) The meetings were scheduled to take place in various churches in the city, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. (The wedding ruled out Friday, as we were invited.) The themes came from the great Solas of the Reformation: five of them, but squeezed into four nights. We didn't let Naziaseno forget the fact that his wedding was in danger of eroding a crucial doctrine!
Actually Andrew dealt with Grace and Faith together on the Tuesday, then Sola Scriptura on the Wednesday, Solus Cristus on Thursday, and Soli Deo Gloria on Saturday. The approach was the same each night: a brief historical introduction to the confusion on each point as it was in the church prior to the reformation, a summary of the reformers response to the confusion, a biblical exposition to show where the reformers got their thinking from (this took up the lion's share of the time) and finally an application, asking the question, do we need a reformation on this point in Brazil today. All of the evenings went well, with the last night being a special joy. The twelfth of August Presbyterian Church is the largest in the city, and was packed. We think there must have been upwards of 600 present. Andrew spoke on Exodus 14; the sovereignty of God in salvation, the fact that God deliberately underlines his sovereignty, and the fact that this is all for his own glory. Attention was rapt throughout a more than 70 minute talk. At the end, a combined choir sang the Hallelujah chorus, with many in the congregation joining in. After the service there was a tremendous barrage of questions from teenagers in the church, really serious questions regarding the doctrine preached in the sermon.
The churches involved in the week are by no means identical in their positions: despite being from only two denominations, both Presbyterian. A moving away from the classic Westminster position has taken place, to a great or lesser degree. This event was the first coming together of these churches in a long time, and a first with a focus on reformed docrine in even longer. It was generally judged to have been a success, with everyone hoping to repeat the experience next year.
On the Friday, the wedding day, Andrew taught a full day (8.30 – 5.00) workshop on expository ministry. Although this had been programmed as a day on “Preaching Christ from the Old Testament”; and was supposed to be a follow-on from the conference he led in May 2002, few people had received the information on the day, and even fewer had been at the other event. So it was better to lead a general day on exposition, and this is what took place, albeit without any notes. About 25 were present, including Edson, Jorge and Santana, who drove the 6 hours from Caruaru, Pernambuco, staying two nights in Aracaju in order to be with us.
It was a privilege to be at Naziaseno and Erika’s wedding, an event which combined sumptuousness with simplicity. One of the hardest things to get used to in Brazil is the way moments that would be highly formal in Britain can be so informal here, and vice versa. That is culture! But it was a great chance to relax a bit, and celebrate with friends, mainly from the central church.
On the Sunday, we were at the central church in the morning and at Zion in the evening. The morning sermon (Mark 2:1 – 3:6) refused to print, so Andrew was without notes again, the first time ever for a whole sermon in Portuguese. It went well, as did the evening.
We love Aracaju. The people are warm, there is a health and vitality in the churches, and we have made some really good friendships there. Some of these people have been praying for us since before we ever moved to Brazil. Thank God with us for them, and for a blessed week!
# posted by Andrew and Cora @ 1:20:00 pm 
