Last week I met a delightful couple from Iran who moved to Germany a few years ago. “Abbas” and “Maryam” had become Christians in their homeland but kept this secret because conversion from Islam is punished with prison or even death. I asked how they wound up in Germany. Maryam shared her story: “I used … Continue reading The Valley of the Shadow of Death
The other day in new member class at Trinity Lutheran (SELK), Hamburg, we were reading and discussing Romans 4 in a mix of three languages—Persian (Farsi), German, and English. The Iranian catechumens were grasping that God “counted it to Abraham as righteousness” and that he believed God’s promise (Romans 4:3; Genesis 15:1-6). In other words, … Continue reading If It’s All By Faith, What About Abraham’s…
“And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia…” (Acts 2:8-9). This famous passage documents Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit miraculously enabled the Jewish followers of Jesus to speak new tongues to be able to share the Gospel with hitherto … Continue reading The Gospel in Persian
“Mission festival in Hamburg with the Zion and Trinity Churches. We are impressed by the multilingual commitment in Hamburg – today’s sermon was translated into Persian and there is also an English service tonight. May God continue to build bridges between cultures and languages!” – Lisel and Thomas Beneke Continue reading Celebration of Missions in Hamburg
Last week I met with a small task force in Hamburg to see how we can continue to provide help to church members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine, suffering mightily from the effects of the war. All their men between 18 and 60 have left to fight the Russian attackers (as have all … Continue reading Courage
“We have some 70 Persians in our congregation,” explained the pastor, “but I don’t speak a word of Farsi. I’ve heard that many other SELK congregations are blessed with Iranian and Afghan members too. Is there any way we could coordinate Persian resources so we can share the Gospel with them in their own language … Continue reading Reaching People whose Homeland Forbids the Gospel
In Early Christianity, amid the rampant persecution of believers, Jesus’ followers had a secret way of identifying one another. They traced a little curve in the dirt. If the other person was a Christian, he or she would make another curve—with the two lines forming a “fish” symbol. The Greek word for “fish” is IXTHYS, … Continue reading IXTHYS
Today I returned to Hamburg from Islamabad, Pakistan, where I spent the last ten days with my friend and colleague Rev. Dr. John Bombaro. My assignment there was to preach at local churches (see picture) and to teach a ten-hour class on “Law and Gospel.” While the key to understanding Holy Scripture is Jesus Christ, … Continue reading Law and Gospel in Pakistan
I am currently in a Central Asian country, teaching local seminarians one of the fundamental tenets of Christianity: the proper distinction of Law and Gospel. Things have come full circle because twelve years ago Concordia Publishing House asked me to translate from German into English C.F.W. Walther’s seminal work, “Law & Gospel—How to Read and … Continue reading Law and Gospel around the World
A project to reach Farsi speakers energizes experts from both sides of the Atlantic. Have you ever noticed how a red-hot charcoal briquette will lose its heat quickly if separated from the other coals? But if it’s surrounded by a pile of other briquettes, it will stay hot for a long time. After serving as … Continue reading Keeping the ‘Missionary Briquette’ Hot
The Tiews in Germany 