“For I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you welcomed Me,” says our Lord in Matthew 25:35-36 (ESV). Words that are 2,000 years old—yet with laser precision apply to our time and place in the 21st century. In Sunday School at … Continue reading For I was hungry, and you gave Me food
I recently had a long Internet conversation with a dear friend of mine, Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto, a renowned Lutheran theologian and journalist. We talked at length about the deplorable situation in Afghanistan and he suggested that we might be entering the Apocalypse. While this term might conjure images of the sky falling and the Earth being … Continue reading The Gospel to Every Tribe and Nation
I am currently back in the States on a 12-day whirlwind tour through the Upper Midwest, networking with several delightful congregations who have asked me to share how the Lord is growing His Kingdom among Persian speakers in Germany and through Riga Luther Academy.My travel plans last week were to take a train from Kaiserslautern … Continue reading Transportation Miracles
Rev. Christian Tiews, who serves the Lord in Germany, joins KFUO’s The Coffee Hour to talk about the community where he serves, his background that led to serving in Germany, the focus of his service as a missionary pastor with the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK), the challenges he and his family have faced during … Continue reading KFUO Coffee Hour Talk
God controls all of human history. As such, He has seen fit to give Ramstein Air Base, Germany (shown here, courtesy https://www.ramstein.af.mil/ U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kiaundra Miller)—a major US Air Force installation located only about ten miles west of Kaiserslautern where I currently serve the local LCMS church—a key role in … Continue reading Evacuation of Afghans
This morning I had another biweekly Persian lesson with my Teheran-born tutor—a normally bubbly elderly lady. Her native tongue is Persian—a language spoken in both Iran and Afghanistan. But as soon as her face popped up on Zoom, I could tell that something was amiss. There was a sadness to her eyes. I asked her, … Continue reading Pray for Afghanistan
This has been an average summer in Germany, with weather the way I recall it from my childhood in Bavaria—temps in the 60s and 70s Fahrenheit, occasional sun and frequent showers. This is why I like to use every opportunity I can get to catch some Vitamin D. And so, I sometimes sit out there … Continue reading Good News
Have you ever narrowly escaped disaster—like when that car in the opposite lane was heading straight toward you, but then swerved to the shoulder at the last second? Or when you almost fell down the stairs, but were just barely able to grab onto the handrail? Our friend Pastor Martin Benhöfer (pictured) of the Independent … Continue reading HIS Hand of Protection
Every week I take Persian lessons over Zoom with my Iranian tutor in Berlin. Among the hundreds of thousands of Iranian migrants to Germany, 36 % are Christian or lean toward Christianity, while only 33% are Muslim. The balance holds no religious beliefs at all. My tutor knows almost nothing about Christianity and, so far, … Continue reading Sacrifice in Persian
The Tiews in Germany 