On Sunday, August 19, six adults were received as members of Cordero de Dios (Lamb of God) Lutheran Church in Moca, Dominican Republic.
In a special service, Pastor Alex Torres (back row, left) extended the hand of fellowship to these new members. What a joyous occasion! There were many hugs and handshakes of welcome, celebrating our unity in Christ. May the Lord preserve these souls for His eternal kingdom.
(posted by Kathy Strackbein)
August 30, 2007
August 29, 2007
Missionary Monday's furlough presentations
Missionary Shiloh Monday is on furlough back in the states right now. One of the joys of furlough is to speak at various congregations to share news about the spread of the Gospel in the mission field. If you are in the area, you are welcome to attend any of the following presentations:
The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW
- Aug 22 -- Fairview Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI
- Aug 23 -- Crown of Life Lutheran Church, Hubertus, WI
- Aug 26/27 -- St. John's Lutheran Church, Baraboo, WI
- Aug 29 -- Mt. Lebanon Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI
- Aug 30 -- Peace Lutheran Church, Hartford, WI
- Sep 1 -- Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Menominee Falls, WI
- Sep 2 -- Living Word Lutheran Church, Waukesha, WI
The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW
August 24, 2007
One point of comparison
As one of the professors in our Dominican seminary, I thank the Lord every time I get to see the students progress in their understanding of Scripture and grow in their faith. This week I got to see some evidence of that growth once again.
One of the classes I teach is called "Hermeneutics" in which we study how to interpret the Bible. The number one rule is really to let the Bible interpret itself, in other words, let the Bible speak for itself. The Bible says what it means, and means what it says.
This week we discussed how the Bible often uses illustrations and comparisons to teach a spiritual truth. Figures of speech are common in literature, in teaching, even in our daily conversations. So it should be no shock that they are common in the Bible too, to help us understand. When we make comparisons, we really intend only one point of comparison; we don't intend the person we're talking with to go off and make comparisons for every little detail. For example, if I say my nephew is growing like a weed, you understand that I mean he's growing very fast. That's the one point of comparison. Anything beyond that--that he has green skin, prickly stickers, or roots growing out of his feet--is going too far.
That applies to illustrations and comparisons in the Bible too. We used the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) as an example. It is not uncommon to hear people explain the parable, saying that mankind is the man who was beaten up, robbed and left for dead, the devil is the robber, Jesus is the Good Samaritan who treats our wounds with oil and wine (Jesus' blood), etc. While those are interesting ideas, that's not the point of the story!
Looking at the situation when Jesus told the story, we see that Jesus told it to point out to the teacher of the law that he had *not* loved his neighbor as himself, as he had just claimed. Jesus is showing him how far he had fallen short by not showing mercy to others as the Good Samaritan did in the story. That's the one point of comparison. Anything beyond that is going too far.
Mankind was beaten up by the devil and left for dead in our sins? Yes. But that's not the point of this parable. Jesus has loved us, shown us his amazing mercy, and saved us by washing away our sins with his blood? Yes. But that's not the point of this parable. These truths are found in *other* parts of Scripture, often using *other* parables and illustrations.
After using a few other examples to apply the same principle, I got to see the light turn on. The men started applying this "one point of comparison" principle on their own, even correcting each other as loving brothers when they noticed someone was going beyond the simple, obvious point of comparison.
I thank the Holy Spirit for leading us to see and understand that the Bible says what it means, and means what it says, with simple, straightforward language.
The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW
One of the classes I teach is called "Hermeneutics" in which we study how to interpret the Bible. The number one rule is really to let the Bible interpret itself, in other words, let the Bible speak for itself. The Bible says what it means, and means what it says.
This week we discussed how the Bible often uses illustrations and comparisons to teach a spiritual truth. Figures of speech are common in literature, in teaching, even in our daily conversations. So it should be no shock that they are common in the Bible too, to help us understand. When we make comparisons, we really intend only one point of comparison; we don't intend the person we're talking with to go off and make comparisons for every little detail. For example, if I say my nephew is growing like a weed, you understand that I mean he's growing very fast. That's the one point of comparison. Anything beyond that--that he has green skin, prickly stickers, or roots growing out of his feet--is going too far.
That applies to illustrations and comparisons in the Bible too. We used the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) as an example. It is not uncommon to hear people explain the parable, saying that mankind is the man who was beaten up, robbed and left for dead, the devil is the robber, Jesus is the Good Samaritan who treats our wounds with oil and wine (Jesus' blood), etc. While those are interesting ideas, that's not the point of the story!
Looking at the situation when Jesus told the story, we see that Jesus told it to point out to the teacher of the law that he had *not* loved his neighbor as himself, as he had just claimed. Jesus is showing him how far he had fallen short by not showing mercy to others as the Good Samaritan did in the story. That's the one point of comparison. Anything beyond that is going too far.
Mankind was beaten up by the devil and left for dead in our sins? Yes. But that's not the point of this parable. Jesus has loved us, shown us his amazing mercy, and saved us by washing away our sins with his blood? Yes. But that's not the point of this parable. These truths are found in *other* parts of Scripture, often using *other* parables and illustrations.
After using a few other examples to apply the same principle, I got to see the light turn on. The men started applying this "one point of comparison" principle on their own, even correcting each other as loving brothers when they noticed someone was going beyond the simple, obvious point of comparison.
I thank the Holy Spirit for leading us to see and understand that the Bible says what it means, and means what it says, with simple, straightforward language.
The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW
August 17, 2007
Reaching out through English classes
This is just a quick post this morning to thank the Lord that our English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program is off to a wonderful start. We have received over 200 different names of people interested in learning English. Our two Kingdom Worker (more info here) volunteers, Julie Majerus and Polly Clark, together with members of the congregation, have started conducting personal interviews with the first 120 students to get to know them, evaluate their English proficiency, and design the classes to meet their needs.
They are putting in a lot of work, and it is already bearing fruit by God's grace. Already in the interviews, people have asked why we are offering these English classes for nothing more than the cost of materials. Julie and Polly took the opportunity to explain that it is an act of Christian love. "Jesus loves me, and I want to share that love with you by helping you however I can."
I've asked Julie and Polly to "introduce themselves" in a paragraph or two, so you can expect that in another post, coming soon. :-)
The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW
They are putting in a lot of work, and it is already bearing fruit by God's grace. Already in the interviews, people have asked why we are offering these English classes for nothing more than the cost of materials. Julie and Polly took the opportunity to explain that it is an act of Christian love. "Jesus loves me, and I want to share that love with you by helping you however I can."
I've asked Julie and Polly to "introduce themselves" in a paragraph or two, so you can expect that in another post, coming soon. :-)
The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW
August 10, 2007
Driver's Training in the DR
This past summer while staying with my parents in Santiago, Dominican Republic I took some behind the wheel driving lessons with a Dominican teacher. This is what I learned.
-- Not all cars have seatbelts.
-- You can drive a car without a speedometer, odometer, or working gas gauge.
-- Girls get longer driving classes than guys.
-- You can pass on the right - if there is no other way to get around the car in front of you.
-- Driving makes the teacher hungry – the first stop of the class is always the grocery store.
-- Try to drive a car that when you stand next to it, at least comes up to your shoulders, this avoids hitting your head on the roof when you hit potholes!
-- Not all cars have seatbelts.
-- You can drive a car without a speedometer, odometer, or working gas gauge.
-- Girls get longer driving classes than guys.
-- You can pass on the right - if there is no other way to get around the car in front of you.
-- Driving makes the teacher hungry – the first stop of the class is always the grocery store.
-- Try to drive a car that when you stand next to it, at least comes up to your shoulders, this avoids hitting your head on the roof when you hit potholes!
(posted by Kathy Strackbein for David)
Fun facts about the DR
The following is a list of some "fun facts" about the DR.
(Thank you to Rachel Hartman for compiling them!)
NW
(Thank you to Rachel Hartman for compiling them!)
- The Dominican Republic shares an island called Hispaniola with Haiti. The DR takes up about 2/3 of Hispaniola; Haiti takes up the other third.
- The nation became independent in 1844.
- Independence Day is celebrated on February 27.
- There are three mountain ranges in the Dominican Republic.
- Pico Duarte, the highest point in the Caribbean, is located in the Dominican Republic.
- Baseball is the most popular sport on the island.
- Musically, the Dominican Republic is known for merengue.
- Santo Domingo, founded in 1496, is the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere.
- Sugar, coffee and tobacco are among the main exports of the Dominican Republic.
- There is a large gap between the rich and the poor in the Dominican Republic.
- Up to one million Haitians live in the Dominican Republic at any given time.
NW
August 3, 2007
Baseball Bible Camp 2007
The congregation Cordero de Dios (Lamb of God) in Moca and Pastor Alex welcomed them warmly and used the camp as an opportunity to get to know neighborhood chil
NW
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