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Plans to give you a hope and a future |
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Written by John & Kay Hoyt
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Wednesday, 26 September 2007 |
 (Missionaries from Viña del Mar, Concepción y Rancagua)
by John & Kay Hoyt
Therefore,
since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by
faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope
of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not
disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5:1-5
 This
weekend was an incredible time of hope for the disciples in Santiago,
Chile as we enjoyed a reunion of all the disciples in Chile. We shared
our homes, our hearts and God's word with our brothers and sisters from
Rancagua, Viña del Mar and Concepción. This is a special week in Chile
as the country celebrates its independence. Friday night we worshiped
together and heard a great lesson about loving one another with a deep
love. Most of the visiting disciples arrived on Saturday and we learned
about the great faith we can have in God from Cristian Escobar. An
encouraging time of fellowship was enjoyed by all. We also had a
focused time of praise and worship to God where we sang almost every
song arm in arm with one another.
Sunday was an amazing service
followed by a family lunch and an Independence Day party. The church
stayed late in the afternoon to fellowship, eat together and dance the
Cueca. The focus of the service was Romans 5 and the hope that we have
in Christ. I was privileged to speak for communion about the hope we
have through the incredible sacrifice of Jesus. Christian Amestoy
preached a lesson from Romans 5 that challenged us to stand firm in the
hope that we have. In all that we have been through in the church here
recently, we are confident that suffering will produce perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope.
We saw an incredible victory also, having Delia restored in her walk with God. She shared with
the church in tears of gratitude for God's mercy in her life. During
the service we had a special video with good news from different parts
of the world and also pictures of the many souls God has brought to
himself in Chile. It is incredible to look at the miracles that God is
doing in our lives and in the lives of those around the world. Before
the communion, we sang "Amazing Grace" in Spanish, in French and in
English. The words of the song profoundly impacted the church as we
meditated on the grace that God has given us in saving our souls. With
this hope, we can walk in confidence that it "was grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home." |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 05 November 2007 )
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