Another Sunday, Another Church

Just a short (well, kind of...) blog before I head off to Pinalito.

I’m back in Guatemala City, after a great week of immersion in Spanish and with much improved (but still more improvement to go) Spanish skills. I’ve had some good conversations with people about subjects such as places, science, and Faith.

Today being Sunday, I went to church. I had asked one of the hostel employees where a good church was and he referred me to ‘Casa de Dios’, a mega-church in Guatemala City. 'Ok, sounds good' I said. When I arrived, I entered into the very large sanctuary and found a seat, and the worship then started. The congregation (several thousand strong) was definitely into worship, and I was too when I recognized some of the songs that I knew in English, such as ‘Open the eyes of my heart LORD’, ‘Alleluia’, and ‘How Great Thou Art’. Sometimes I sang in English, and other times I sang in Spanish, when the words were displayed on the large screens. After some good worship the sermon started, and I was even given a little headset through which I could listen in English (I know, I know, that’s cheating…).

It was nice, but the first half was incorrect, in my opinion, and in studying the scriptures we can figure out why. The pastor was speaking of blessings received from God, and the 2 main texts he used were Genesis 14:18 and Matthew 10:41. In Genesis Abram received blessing from God through Melchizedek, the priest of God Most High, but the word that the pastor used was ‘association’, that Abram received the blessing by association: he knew Melchizedek and Melchizedek knew God, and so Abram was blessed. Not so. Abram was blessed because God chose to bless him, and because: ‘Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ (Gen 15:6 NIV). God was able to bless Abram whether Melchizedek was there or not.

In Matthew 10:41 Jesus says ‘Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and any one who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.’ (NIV). The pastor unfortunately interpreted this as that the congregation received blessing through him (the pastor) by association (as in Gen 14:18 misinterpreted), and that by receiving him the congregation received the same reward as him. We need to keep in mind that we receive Christ, and all the blessings that result from receiving him, through the Holy Spirit and God himself. There are no ‘middle-men’ in our relationship with God. 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 is a good illustration.

The second portion of the sermon was better, the main text being Mark 11:12-14, 20-21, the ‘Withered Fig Tree’. Jesus had cursed the tree for not bearing any fruit, even though it was not the fruiting season for figs at the time (verse 13). What this means for us is that whatever the season of our life, High or Low, we need to bear fruit for God. Also tied in to this is the parable/illustration Jesus used of the weed, the evil we need to cut out of our lives so that we may grow and bear fruits that can benefit others, as that is what fruit trees do-benefit others.

All in all it was a good service. The worship was great, it was a good chance to practice being Berean (Acts 17:11), and I learned from it 2 important lessons: 1. We need to remember to be humble- it is God who works in this world through us, we are only vessels for his Word, and 2. That we must bear fruit whatever the season of our lives and cut out the weeds that try to infest our fruitful lives.

Dios con Nosotros
Koos