The Peace of God, from Brasil

The peace of God comes to us in diverse ways.  Sometimes I witness this in the sheer magnitude of His power, as mountains are moved and strongholds are broken down.  But, at other times, His peace is revealed to me personally, in the calming of my spirit, or shall I say an overriding sense that comes as I am about my duties, my day, or involved in worship.

Last night such peace flooded my soul. The worship team was leading preceding my message, and they led us in a song that brought to me a wonderful sense of the deep blessing of God.  The song was about the 'blood of Jesus" and it sang in Portuguese, "Sangue de JESUS." As I repeated these words, and thought about the cleansing power of God brought to be by the precious blood of Christ, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and ushered into the very presence of Christ through my own worship of Him. In that moment I forgot about the cares of my day and of the worries and concerns of the mission we were on. I forgot about the size of the crowd, even my own message I was about to bring, and found myself in the very arms of Christ expressing my own love and gratitude back to Him.

Today it is Saturday and I am yet in Brasil.  A festival is occurring in our village.  People are on the streets and there is hurry everywhere, but I am rejoicing that my Saviour has me in the palm of His hand, and that 'nothing can pluck' (John 10:28) me out of it. His blood is sufficient for my sin, and, for the sins of all who call upon the name of LORD.  I have been bought by His great price - His sacrifice, and nothing can separate me from His love.

Where are you today?  Perhaps you are traveling and far away from home like me.  Or, perhaps you are right in your own home, concerned over the worries and the hurriedness of your day. Look to Christ!  See how great a Saviour He is and know the peace with God that only comes by turning your life to Him so that that you might experience the peace of God by living a life in Him.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."  Romans 15:13

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7

Indeed, 

Pastor Sam 

From Brasil

Since the summer of 2007, missing none but one, I have been privileged to travel to Brasil and work with our ParkwayHills Foreign Mission Partnership, called P-70. This partnership of our church is for the purpose of planting and strengthening Baptist churches in the state of Minas Gerais, and we work here with a missionary and friend whom ParkwayHills supports -Jairo Campos, the ministries founder. The region of Minas Gerias that we cover is huge, and over 20 churches have been planted by our efforts since we first began. It is a wonderful work, one well worth our support.


This year we are working in 2 new cities. These cities, which form the seat of 2 municipalities (counties) are small in terms of size, with populations within the cities themselves of less than 3,000 persons - but... the cities are growing. Their names are Itacambria and Francisco Dumont, and neither of them have an evangelical church faithfully sharing the gospel. Our sister church - started by Jairo - is actually traveling to these cities on a weekly basis, in an effort to win some adults to Christ, that they may be the beginning of a new church plant.  In other words. this is a 'from the ground up' work we are engaged in. 

We have several teams working with us in reaching these two cities.  There is a visitation team, which this year features our own Glenn Sampson and Carla Cox, along with others. And there is also a Vacation Bible School team, which is led by Debbie Irons and also has Claire Davenport and Taylor Dennis Butler, my daughter, as key leaders/teachers.  Dave Davenport is our logistics person this year, and he has been a major translator for me and others as we have witnessed to persons on the street and in the market.

In the afternoons we divide into two groups, and travel to villages in outlying areas of the municipalities - most of which have less than 1,000 persons, and often less. In these villages we 'round up' the children by passing through the streets with music, games and Bible Stories, and - of course - with clowns.  Then, if a crowd of adults are gathered, as well, I or another Norte Americano will preach.  In the evening we hold evangelistic services, and I am privileged to preach in these.  Already we have seen over 200 persons come to faith in Christ, as a result of these efforts, and we give praise to GOD.

Pray for our continued safety and success as we complete our work in these villages. Then, pray for us as we travel back to Montes Claros, where we will participate in a service, which will be the 'admission' of our ParkwayHills mission, the P-70 Church of Montes Claros, being admitted into the Baptist Association of Churches for Minas Gerais, as a fully accredited and participating church within the Baptist Convention of Brasil.  It will be a great day for ParkwayHills, and for P-70, in completing this step.

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor Sam

Mayberry, Andy Griffith and Fourth of July

The news this week that Andy Griffith had passed away brought a flood of memories to my mind. Memories of my own family, life in they early 60s, and the lone TV sitting centered in our Living Room and from which perceptions for our day and time were fed. My nostalgia was so strong that Belinda and I unpacked a DVD featuring a few of the old "Andy Griffith Show" episodes - and played it through the family room TV throughout the day.  Andy was 86, and his passing has marked myriad of comments - especially from my generation - concerning the character's he portrayed, the man he was and the times he seemed to represent. As far as the 'Andy Griffith Show' was concerned (CBS, 1960 -68), each story - presented through the comically natural, homespun humor of characters from the fictitious town of Mayberry, North Carolina - brought a simple but poignant message of love, kindness and the ways of encouragement. They (Andy and the Gang) helped us laugh at the presumption of our own circumstance, and left us with a hope that good guys really can win - not just in Mayberry, but in our own life and town too.

Now this week we also celebrated our nations 236th birthday - and I wondered, how can it be possible that 36 years have passed since our nation's Bi-Centennial? And, more, what do the youth of our nation think of that past event now?  Do they think of 36 years ago as ancient history?  Could that be?  The answer, I realize, is 'yes' - today's young are no different than I was when I used to listen to my High School History Teacher tell of the Great Depression, which, by the way, preceded my Sophomore year by the same span of time - 36 years.

And what does all this say to me, now?  Well, I suppose it says in the very least that 'story' is important.  Even more, it says that the 'why' of our story is important too.  Passing to each generation there must be those cherished parts of our story that are true and honest.  Both the good and the bad.  Today, as I reflect on past times - both the Andy Griffith part of America and the deeply-rooted prejudice part - I must be careful with my responsibility of sharing this story to those who come behind me, telling of both the what and the why.  Likewise, as Americans we must all be careful with our past.  We must know it and teach it within our present day context - so that it might come to bear upon the issues of our times.  We must not so lionize our past that we don't tell the whole truth, but we must also not be ashamed to call to mind the things that were right about it, so that they may call into legitimate question those things which plague us today.  To forget our past is dangerous, to worship it is foolish, but to remember and apply it to the applications of our times is to achieve the betterment of us all.




Pastor Sam  

2nd Peter 1:12 ‘Therefore I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.’ (NASB)