My verse for today

However, God’s solid foundation remains standing, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from evil.” 2 Timothy 2.19 NET.

A quote, on X, after citation of Proverbs 1.7: “God is not mean, but he is dangerous.”

The statement is not off the mark. Remember Hebrews 12.29, quoting Deuteronomy: “For our God is indeed a devouring fire.” A bit of Testament continuity ...

Glad to see this article, “Why Churches in Cities Are Not Growing,” about church growth in the USA. A good start, but much more needs to be said.

A site of supposedly conservative brothers was going to deal with Christian ministry and missions, but it appears to have died two years ago this month. (So I deleted it from my RSS feed app.) Is it a harbinger of brotherhood death?

Grateful for some bright spots ─ dedicated men and women ─ across the world. May God multiply their number, send more workers into the field.

Must believe that so much of the really good work flies under the radar of supposed pillars in the church who publicize the institutions among us. God works where man seldom looks.

Thoughts about next year: one idea is to focus almost exclusively on doing evangelism, even when speaking in other congregations. Not talking about it, but speaking to those outside of Christ, wherever and whenever.

American congregations used to host gospel meetings. Brazilian churches had campaigns. Those have almost died out. But we failed to make the transition to personal evangelism. Because clergy.

Because brethren don't want to hear what their ailment is. So then go with something analogous to this: “... we are turning to the Gentiles” Acts 13.46.

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After years of service, one may learn some lessons of wisdom. What can be learned? Below are 15 lessons put in imperative form.

1. Invest in people and personal relationships. That will be the best investment of time and energy. Personal evangelism, personal teaching, and personal discipling are the great multipliers. Programs, institutions, and human structures consume time, energies, and funds. People make progress possible. Read this article on the subject: “Get personal”.

2. Continue to grow in Christ, keep learning, keep reading. Don’t be afraid to tweak your expression of the Faith, while at the same time reaffirming the truth of the gospel. Don’t grow stale, never let life or service or prayer become rote. Truth is our parameter for growth, Eph 4.15; Col 1.6. Paul prayed the following for the Philippians: “And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God” 1.9-11.

3. Keep priorities straight. Take care of spouses and family, if you have them. Those closest to you are those you are most responsible for. Men, for example, are to love their wives as themselves, Eph 5.28. Fathers are to “raise up [their children] in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” Eph 6.4. Families are of great importance. An example of how important they are is seen by the requirement that overseers and servants be family men who have shown they can make it work at home, 1Tim 3; Titus 1.

4. Find new opportunities that arise over the years, as you age and your situation changes. See opportunities in your day-to-day activities and movements. Find open doors in the most unusual places and times. Paul was looking for an opportunity when he wrote: “pray for us too, that God may open a door for the message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ” Col 4.3.

5. Exercise patience. Plans seldom come to fruition in the way you imagine. Find encouragement in the Word, in your friends, in time alone with God. Fruit will be borne by him who makes it grow. Be content to be the sower. “Now what is sought in stewards is that one be found faithful” 1Cor 4.2. Find your worth in knowing God, not in visual success. In the context of suffering James wrote, “So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s return. Think of how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient for it until it receives the early and late rains. You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near” 5.7-8.

6. Pray all the time. The power to rejoice in Christ, to enjoy your time, and to bear fruit comes from above, not from within. Prayer expresses dependence on God to provide and care for your every need. With prayer, God moves and acts in ways that he does not do without it. He accomplishes things because we ask. “Pray for one another” Jas 5.16.

7. Love the church. Build it up, extend it out. The Lord Jesus established but one thing as he fulfilled the will of the Father, and that was the church. The church is the support and bulwark of the truth, 1Tim 3.15. The church preserves and proclaims the truth of the gospel. “God expects the church to be the sole means (on the human side) of propagating and defending the truth” (Zerr). Work to fulfill that function. In the context of the letter it means to unmask and refute false teachers. We love the church because “Christ loved the church and gave himself for her” Eph 5.25. We love the church because it is composed of our brothers and sisters in the family of faith.

8. Do the work of God. There is but one mission, to save all people for eternity. The church does not have three works, but one. All else is subservient to saving others. Energies, time, and funds should have priority in fulfilling the mission of God. Everything Jesus did and taught was to save others. After telling hard truths to the Jews, he said, “I say this so that you may be saved” John 5.34. We exist as a church in order to “proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” 1Pet 2.9. Our purpose is to help people become God’s people and to receive his mercy in Christ, v. 10.

9. Expect opposition. Jesus said, “And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved!” Mat 10.22. The worst persecution may come from those who seem to be the most caring and loving. The soft talker might be the hardest opponent. The gospel throws down the pride of man, and those who are arrogant are its greatest opposers. “But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear such a name” 1Pe 4.16.

10. Find the truth. “Acquire truth and do not sell it— wisdom, and discipline, and understanding” Prov 23.23. Truth is not a commodity, but the expression of the nature of God. Truth is knowable and communicable. It can be understood, lived, and enacted. There are no multiple truths, but one, Eph 4.1-6. Truth is the great uniter and the great divider. God and Christ are truth, John 14.6, which frees from sin and guilt, John 8.31-32.

11. Tie all to God. Center everything, every doctrine, in and around the Lord. Always start with God ─ his will, his love, his holiness, his purpose, his truth, his providence, his Son. False doctrine often begins with some wrong view of God. James showed this when talking about temptation, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one” Jas 1.13.

12. Credit God. Glorify the Lord. Paul wrote, “whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” 1Cor 10.31. Do not worry about your name, but only with the Name of Christ. The servant of God must, like John, decrease. Christ must always increase and become all in all, that is, “be everything to everyone, supreme, the indwelling and controlling factor of life” 1Cor 15.28 AMP. A popular religious prayer includes these lines: “From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.”

13. Serve in place; help others find their place. Everybody has a place, a gift, and a responsibility in the Body of Christ: “we have different gifts according to the grace given to us” Rom 12.6. Christ pays special attention to his little ones. His mission belongs to us all. There are no superior places in the Kingdom of God. The biblical hierarchy is two-tiered: all are servants, Christ is King. Jesus told us the attitude we should have: “So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise; we have only done what was our duty’” Luke 17.10.

14. Join together with another. Two or three make a good start. Jesus sent out the Twelve and the Seventy by twos. “Where two or three are assembled” is where Christ is present and where God answers prayer, Mat 18.19-20. The Holy Spirit separated two men to begin a missionary journey, Acts 13.1ff. God can do much with little and with few. He does not need a multitude to start a work.

15. Simplify. Simplicity is key. Man complicates things. Religious man complicates things even more. “God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes” Eccl 7.29 NRSV. Human rules, traditions, institutions, inventions, and distinctions obliterate God’s plan. We are a restoration movement. We believe in radical restoration, which means clearing all human additions away. Restoration must be thorough-going. Jesus established a single thing as he fulfilled the Father’s purpose: the church, Mat 16.18. Nothing more. In and through the church the true gospel was preached to the whole world. But we think more is better. Have we done yet in 150 years what the first Christians did in a third of the time?

Much can be learned over time. Wisdom is available to us through study and experience. Will we learn? Will we grow and serve? Will we bear fruit that remains for the Lord? May it be so!

Please pray the Lord will use it as a watershed moment. There is no greater blessing we can give others than showing someone the way of salvation. If there is no evangelism, there is no church.

In other news, Forthright continues on as a dozen sites in one. Today we posted new content, 'What is the new convert? A child of God', seven points about being a part of God's family. It comes from a lesson we did about training new converts. You may view this post here:

https://forthright.net/blog/new-convert-child-of-god/

In case you missed the last newsletter, it's online at this link:

https://write.as/aword/first-opportunities-to-teach-the-words-of-the-faith

Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, your support, and and for all you do in God's Kingdom.

Randal M.

Vicki and I traveled the five-plus hours to the city of Ribeirão Preto May 19 for me to teach “The Words of the Faith” on the following Saturday and Sunday. It was held in the building of the congregation. Some 35-40 people participated. We returned home May 21. A story and photos were published on our Brazilian website.

On May 1st, I taught the same material just down the road, an hour from here, in Taubaté. The congregation hosted us in the Army Aviation Officers’ Club. Over 30 people were present. Aside from saints and visitors from Taubaté, participants also came from the cities of São José dos Campos, Santo André, Ubatuba, and Atibaia. During the afternoon break, they brought out a cake and sang happy birthday to Vicki. A number of photos can be seen here.

This material seeks to fill needs of the congregations. In the format I'm presenting it, it's an outline of 22 pages. Later, I'll share with you the main topics in the material, but you can see the banner of them that the Ribeirão Preto congregation had printed up here.

I stated five challenging objectives for the material:

1. Center all doctrine in God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything has to be related to the center of our faith, which is Jesus.
2. Provide an overview of what the Word of God says and suggest teaching points and lines of investigation that we consider important and that perhaps have been neglected for the needs of God's church today.
3. Draw attention to the simplicity and unity of the Scriptures. We can read, understand and practice what is written.
4. “Offend”, or bother, you with the truth, to provoke reflection, correction and change.
5. Provide you with resources to teach others.

(If you'd like to see a PDF copy of the material, just let me know.)

More going on!

• The southern state of Rio Grande do Sul has been hard hit by floods. Over 80 people have died. So far, we know of four families from two congregations who have lost their household goods. Brethren here are responding.
• We’re grateful to the Eureka IL, Somers Avenue (N. Little Rock AR), and Massillon OH congregations for one-time gifts recently that blessed our life and work here. As well as to the Marlow OK congregation, who sent funds specifically for the purchase of a new refrigerator. We’re checking prices and models now.
• Another training camp is planned for May 30 at the Oikos Center just across the city limit in Jacareí. It’s a holiday here. We’ll have six sessions by five speakers. (I’ll teach twice, on what to teach and how to teach the five steps to salvation.) Some of the special funds received will subsidize the event. You can read more about the training camp here.
• Another book is in the printer, on the second coming of Christ. It's the collection of messages from our Festival in April. It has 75 pages. See the cover here.
• A brother in the state of Rio requested permission to print up and distribute in his city a recent article I wrote and published on our website. The title of the article: “Are You the One God is Looking for?” Here it is in Portuguese.
• In June I’ll go to a congregation in São Paulo to teach “The Words of the Faith.” Vicki will be speaking to women in other cities in July and August.
• In May we met twice on Sunday afternoons in our home so that a young brother studying for university entry exams might not miss the Lord's Supper. He had tests that morning, and asked us about options. These moments reminded us of having hosted a congregation in our home for eight years (2014-2022).

Please include these items in your prayers:

• The people, both our brethren and others, who are suffering because of the rains down south.
• The success of our training camp May 30.
• The growth of the gospel in Brazil.
• Freedom to exercise faith and proclaim the truth.
• Our continued good health.

We're grateful to everyone who shares in our work, in whatever way. God bless you, each one.

Women and men will meet again at the Oikos Center for the second training session: “Imitating Jesus” on May 30th. The date is a national holiday.

The theme of the event is “Personal Evangelism”.

The event starts at 8am with breakfast, ending at 5pm.

The six talks on the day will cover the following topics:

1. Biblical Base: Breaking paradigms
2. Identifying and seizing opportunities
3. Workshop: Teach this
4. How to conduct the study: good tips
5. Teach others to evangelize
6. Workshop: The steps of salvation

All five five speakers have already been confirmed. They come from several different cities in the state. I'll teach the two workshops.

The objectives of this training are three:

• Instruct biblical principles on personal evangelism.
• Motivate participants to start evangelizing.
• Teach content and techniques for effective evangelization.

There will be activities for children.

The first training session was done last August at the initiative of Rodrigo Silveira, from Campinas. He and I are working together on this second session.

YEAR 40 · 2024-01-03 · SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS (SP) BRAZIL

Last Sunday, Dec. 31st, I was asked to preach here in the congregation. I chose the topic that is my theme for this new year: Truth.

Each year I choose a theme to emphasize as much as possible in my teaching. This is not something I suggest to either the congregation or the brotherhood. After all, who am I to make declarations or impose on others. Instead, it's something personal.

In 2023, my theme was the Year of Mission. I have a document with outlines, articles and messages on this topic. Who knows, maybe I can complete the remaining parts and put them in the hands of those interested.

My lesson last Sunday had these main points:

1. Know the truth, 1Tm 2.3-4
2. Obey the truth, 1Pt 1.22
3. Live (walk in) the truth, Gl 2.14
4. Tell the truth, Ep 4.15
5. Defend the truth, Php 1.7

It was well received and one of the most commented afterwards.

I chose this theme because the pressure on the church to abandon the truth grows every day. Congregations are being influenced, even by people within our midst, to become Protestant and imitate their practices. See 1 Samuel 8:1-22. Also, emotionalism and subjectivity grow stronger. The brethren are being influenced by society, rather than changing it by “clear statements of the truth” 2Co 4.2 ISV. Doing so will show who is for the truth of the gospel and who is against it.

SUPPORT. As of Dec. 2023, the Iuka, Miss., congregation has concluded their support of our work. We thank them for the 39 years of partnership with us.

COUNTRY. Socialists and communists are now in power here, and are acting according to their nature. One newspaper here said, “Brazil is taking great strides towards an authoritarian, perhaps dictatorial, model, and economically speaking we have only one certainty: more taxes are coming.” The president’s people are also strangling media and tamping down on dissident voices.

Because of the new government policies, prices are rising sharply. For example, gasoline rose 12.5% in 2023, a good part of that because of taxes. We were waiting until the first of the year to buy a new refrigerator. Now the government is making new rules about home appliances that will drive prices up.

UPCOMING

• Jan. 18-21: Vicki and I both teach at the Northeast Christian Conference near Salvador.
• Feb. 24-25: I speak at the RENEW event of Tenn. Bible College in Cookeville.
• Mar. 29-31: Our own Festival event here during Easter weekend.

Later, I hope to do provide an overview of 2023. If I can remember it.

God bless each one as you serve the Kingdom and bring glory to the name of Christ in this new year.

EXTRAS

• Rick Kelley will be returning to write for Forthright this year. That's an exciting addition.
• We had all our windows and doors in our house replaced while in the US. The wooden ones attracted termites. The shutters were also sagging, after 20 years. It was not cheap, but necessary.
• Thanks to our son-in-law Ethan, who works at Disney, for getting us in the several parks for free. Last year was Magic Kingdom, this year was Hollywood Studios and Epcot.
• Brazil suffered two heat domes while we were in the US. Some of my books suffered heat damage. Temps here, while we were gone, went as high as 110-120ºF. My office was closed during this time, and it gets the afternoon sun. A clock also melted down.

Here in SJC, I preached this morning in the meeting of the saints, by request: “A verdade”. Many are traveling, but the number was still good.

The city sponsored a foot race early this morning, so two of the main avenues on our side of town were closed for that, and we had to take a long route around. Paulo is without a car, and we went by and picked him up. So we left around 8 a.m.

We had lunch at a Chinese buffet in the Colinas mall. Twas nice to feel the air conditioning, although the day was a tad cooler. Then a quiet rest of day.

My energy level picked up today. Maybe recovery from the long travel has arrived.

I've worked on some ideas for the new year, will continue to do that tomorrow. Time to get organized, right? The new year is rushing toward us.

I'm forming a list of books to read for 2024. I've done little reading the last few years, aside from online articles and consulting reference works. Time to change that.

The first trimester already has some major events:

• Jan. Speaking multiple times at a regional event in the northeast, the wife speaking also. Theme is the seven congregations of Asia, in Revelation 2-3.

• Feb. Speaking at an event held by a training school in the US. We'll stay for just 2-3 weeks.

• Mar. Our event, called the Festival, the last weekend of the month, Fri.-Sun. Need to work on organizing that. It seems to have good momentum. This year's theme is the return of Christ.

Thanks for being a part of our life this year. May next year bring friends closer, make the truth sharper, and bring Heaven nearer.

November recap, site comments, 40th year

YEAR 40 · 2023-12-05 · SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS (SP) BRAZIL

(Vicki and I are now in Huntsville, Ala, in the midst of our American trek. We arrived stateside Oct. 30 and will leave the US Dec. 24. Later this week we head back toward Orlando, Fla.)

During November I kept up our websites with new content. Thirty articles were posted to cristaos.org. The columnists and I posted 29 items to forthright.net.

The Brazilian website often gets comments, both on the site, via email, or on social media. Here are some examples:

“Excellent message. Direct, current and objective.” ─R. Santos.

“Excellent summary of the book of Revelation. A text that awakens the desire to read again this letter that brings hope to the faithful.” ─R. Viera.

“Congratulations on your work. … the articles are very edifying and instructive.” ─I. Arantes.

The Forthright site has been inundated with spam comments, so for now, at least, we have turned off the option to comment.

What are my Now goals for December? Check out four of them here:

https://jar.tiddlyhost.com/#Now

A number of people have shown interest in our evangelistic studies, done on 3x5 cards. I taught the first part of the first study in Finch, Ark., and have mentioned them in my messages on the “Four Principles of Work.” So that has motivated me to work on putting these studies into English. If you’d like to see what I have so far, send me a request.

I cite the studies as an example of simplicity that can be quickly replicated.

Last Sunday, Dec. 3, after the meeting with Chase Park congregation, Vicki and I had lunch with Pablo and Taciane and their two daughters. They are a Brazilian family living in Huntsville, Ala. Our son Micah and his wife Valerie have worked with them. The two-hour visit was done all in Portuguese.

https://pixelfed.social/i/web/post/637745407566868353

As of Nov. 28, our 39th anniversary of arrival in Brazil, Vicki and I are now officially in Year 40 of our life and work in Brazil. We wonder where all the years went.

Yours in Him,

Randal & Vicki Matheny

#gospeak #USA #writing

I started this outline for a newsletter weeks ago. Our trip to the USA Oct. 31 caused it to fall into a black hole. I add it here with few updates, just to catch up.

Recent teaching trips

• São João da Boa Vista, in São Paulo state (3 hr drive): Restoration.
• Belo Horizonte (8 hrs away) to teach the Total Transformation course.
• Pimentas congregation in Guarulhos, on “The Church Without Limits.”
• Salvador in Bahia state, taught what I called Total Transformation II.
• São Domingos congregation in Campinas, the night before we traveled to the USA, on “The Church in the Mind of Christ.”

Recent books

• A multi-author book on training men to lead in worship.
• Total Transformation.

Upcoming books

• Reflections on the book of Job by Valdir José da Silva.
• 400-500 page book of evangelistic studies by Nilton Barretto.
• Gary Hampton, God’s Unseen Hand.
• My book on Psalm 119.

Edification Magazine

• This has been hard to keep up with this year.
• Several issues for 2023 remain to be finished.

Online work

• cristaos.org
  • We've kept up well with posting articles during our trip.
• Hymnal, “Riquezas de Cristo” (Riches of Christ).
• English: forthright.net
  • Mike Brooks retired from writing for Forthright after 20 years.
  • We've missed few days without articles during our trip.

The Festival for the Family of God

• Now an annual event during Easter weekend for families.
• Held in our city in a high quality camp setting.
• Men and women (and children) have had separate tracks.
• Themes: Death of Christ (2022); Resurrection of Christ (2023); Second Coming of Christ (2024).

Training

• Regular meetings for personal training with Paulo César and Pedro.
• Group event – two actually, for men and women – Aug. 19 with over 100 people.
• Goal: 2Tm 2.2. Teach, step back, let them fill the space.

Principles of work

• Prayer: “Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send more workers in his vineyard” Mt 9.38.
• Modeling and Delegation: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” 2Tm 2.2 CSB.
  • Paul → Timothy → faithful men → others
• Simplicity: “This is all that I have learned: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated” Eccl 7.29 GNB.
  • Do only what can be reproduced by others – taking into account, of course, that each one has his own gifts from God.

#gospeak #principles #teaching

Autor: Randal Matheny Email: wr@simples.fastmail.fm

Nota: O seguinte artigo foi escrito para o boletim informativo: “Amo Jesus”, que circula entre as congregação de Guarulhos SP. O tema do mês foi livre. Escrevi após uma leitura do primeiro capítulo de Romanos. Postei aqui para o proveito de outros que talvez não tenham oportunidade de lê-lo no informativo.

A carta do apóstolo Paulo aos Romanos é tida como o documento mais importante da Bíblia pelos protestantes (dos quais fazem parte os evangélicos). Martinho Lutero leu a carta e dela tirou uma conclusão sobre a natureza do evangelho. Em Romanos Lutero, num mal entendido tremendo, leu sobre a salvação pela fé. Pensou que a fé fosse apenas interna, mental. Na sua tradução do Novo Testamento para a língua alemã, Lutero inseriu uma palavra — acrescentou algo à Bíblia: a palavra “somente”, em Romanos 3.28. O texto diz: “Concluímos, pois, que o homem é justificado pela fé, sem obras da lei” (Tradução brasileira). Lutero traduziu: “justificado pela fé somente”.

Com este entendimento falho, Lutero chamou a carta de Tiago de uma “epístola de palha”, quer dizer, algo inútil e desprezível. Isso porque Tiago escreveu que “é pelas obras que o homem é justificado e não somente pela fé” 2.24. E ainda: “a fé, se não tiver obras, é morta em si mesma” 2.17.

Alguém entre nós chamou os protestantes de nossos primos, afirmando que não são exatamente irmãos, mas há uma proximidade muito grande. Essa linguagem é anti-bíblica e tendenciosa. Alguns acham uma gracinha repetir a colocação. Contudo, não temos quase nada em comum com os protestantes. Não temos comunhão com eles. Eles precisam ouvir e obedecer à verdade do evangelho.

Veja algumas das diferenças entre os protestantes e o verdadeiro seguimento de Jesus:

• Eles pregam a salvação pela fé somente. (É marca de identidade protestante.) Jesus prega a necessidade da obediência para a salvação, Mc 16.16; At 2.38; 22.16; Hb 5.9; 1Pe 3.21.

• Eles pensam que é permitido fazer o que a Bíblia não proíbe, apesar de insistirem somente na Bíblia e exigirem aceitação de seus credos e declarações doutrinárias. Jesus ensina que não devemos ir além do que está escrito, Lc 10.26; 20.17; 1Co 4.6; Hb 7.14; Ap 22.18-19.

• Eles justificam a existência da divisão religiosa nas suas denominações e se gloriam nelas. Jesus ordena que sejamos unidos como ele e o Pai são unidos, Jo 17.20-23; 1Co 1-4; Ef 4.1-6.

• Eles têm o sistema de clérigo e leigo, fazendo do pastor o líder. Jesus disse que somos todos irmãos, todos membros do Corpo de Cristo, servindo uns aos outros na humildade e na simplicidade, para a edificação de todos, sob a direção de um só Senhor, Mt 23.8; Jo 13.1-17; Rm 12.3-10; 1Co 12-14; 1Co 8.6; Ef 4.4.

O próprio livro de Romanos declara a necessidade da “obediência da fé” Rm 1.5; 16.26. A imersão na água nos separa do pecado e garante a nossa ressurreição, Rm 6.1-5. A obediência leva à justiça e à libertação do pecado, Rm 6.16-18.

Os protestantes e evangélicos não são irmãos e muito menos primos. São alvo do nosso trabalho de ensinar fielmente o Caminho de Cristo, levando-os a entrar em Cristo, para desfrutarmos, todos, da única esperança que oferece nosso Senhor e Salvador.