… to Germany and across Eurasia! It’s hard to believe that another year is drawing to a close. On the one hand, it seems like 2025 just started, while on the other hand, so much has happened that this one year has seemed like five. The Lord continues to bless my two main occupations as … Continue reading Dear Friends and Supporters of our Ministry…
When you think of Germany, what comes to mind? The Oktoberfest? Fine cars? Martin Luther? While all this is still true, Germany is in some ways quite different from what it was only a generation ago. Almost 20% of the people living in Germany today are refugees, having arrived in the past ten years. And … Continue reading Partner with us in God’s Mission in Germany
Did you know that the very first Advent wreath, designed in Hamburg, had 24 candles (see picture of St. Michaelis Church below)?To help children count down the days to Christmas, Johann Hinrich Wichern, the founder and operator of the Rough House, created a wreath with one small candle for each day of the week and … Continue reading The Very First Advent Wreath
“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mt 22:21). A few weeks ago, one of my baptismal candidates from Iran (19 years old) said: “Pastor, I have three questions.” “Go ahead,” I replied. He pulled out of his pocket a beautiful necklace with a cross … Continue reading Render to Caesar
Recently I visited our brothers and sisters in Palanga, Lithuania (see picture), where the Lithuanian Evangelical Lutheran Church invited me to lead two conferences on spiritual warfare. Why is that necessary? Our Savior grows His Kingdom around the globe through Word and Sacrament. And yet Satan is always trying to hinder this process. How can … Continue reading Put on the Whole Armor of God
I’m about to fly out to Klaipeda, Lithuania, where I will be the keynote speaker at two conferences on spiritual warfare. Ever since I have been a pastor, I have run into this topic regularly. To state it in its most basic form, in many different ways Satan tries to push back against Christ growing … Continue reading Dear friends and supporters of our ministry to Germany and across Eurasia!
“And [the Lord] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry…” (Ephesians 4:11-12). In Bible class recently, I asked our Iranian Lutherans what they think the top two tasks of us LCMS missionaries are. They answered correctly that we share Jesus Christ with … Continue reading Donut Tire Missionary
“Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet Your footprints were unseen” (Psalm 77:19). As an LCMS missionary here in Germany, I have two tasks: to bring Christ in Word and Sacrament to Persian immigrants, but also to teach at Riga Luther Academy, the online seminary in Latvia that we … Continue reading The Twist and Turns
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). A friend of mine, who is also a seminarian at Riga Luther Academy, Latvia, shared that during a recent lunch break at work, he pulled a copy of the Psalms out of … Continue reading Are You Clean?
“The next day [John the Baptizer] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29). On this Reformation Day, we recall Martin Luther and his 95 Theses, which he nailed to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October … Continue reading Seh Ha-Elohim
The Tiews in Germany 