News from Pastor Tiews

Sharing the Gospel in Germany

Dear friends and supporters of our ministry to Germany and across Eurasia! 

By Rev. Tiews on 26/09/24

 “And [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood up to read” (Lk 4:16). I am writing to you from a pastors’ conference in the tiny village of Bleckmar, north Germany, to thank you for all your prayers and support, and to give you a quick update. Starting this Sunday (September 29), we will take a major leap forward in our Persian ministry here in Hamburg by more than doubling the number of Persian-language Divine Services per month—from two services in two alternating churches—to every Sunday at the same church (Zion Lutheran, Hamburg). Lula and I are very excited about this enhancement because it will provide a steady, constant, and weekly worship opportunity for our Persian Christians, while also putting an end to the confusion that always seemed to arise as to where the next Divine Service would be. If your church offers a weekly Divine Service (maybe even more than one service per weekend?), I hope that you appreciate this luxury! Many Christians around the world have no access at all to a church where they can receive the Lord’s gifts of Word and Sacrament—let alone weekly. On the other hand, there are also many Christians who live close to a church—or maybe even several—that offer these precious gifts, yet don’t take advantage of them—sometimes even for long periods of time. Your prayers and support enable us to provide the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation of Word and Sacrament to ever more Iranians and Afghans in the greater Hamburg area. Let us pray that the Divine Service as a place of refuge and spiritual anchor will become their weekly custom—and thank you again for allowing us to do this work!

May God bless and keep you,
Pastor Tiews

On the early train to Wolfsburg to bring the Good News in Word and Sacrament to our partner congregation there.

The Body and the Blood

By Rev. Tiews on 20/09/24

“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Cor 10:16). I recently traveled to a German city to conduct a Divine Service in German and Farsi. This congregation only has a vacancy pastor and I fill in for him occasionally. For this reason, there are parishioners that I don’t know well. After the service, we all had coffee in the narthex. I stepped up to one individual sipping java and said, “Good morning! Say, did you take Communion? I don’t recall seeing you at the altar rail…” The person looked at me rather sheepishly and said, “I never take Communion.” “Really?” I asked incredulously. “No. I don’t believe in Jesus anymore. I just go to church to please my family. “Oh, I had no idea,” I replied. “You know, I just fill in here occasionally, but if I were your pastor, I think you and I would be having an ongoing conversation about this. I’m sorry to say that you are not in a good place spiritually…But Holy Communion is not something that you ‘earn’ by being super strong in your faith. In a way, it’s the exact opposite. The most intimate way our Lord comes to us is in His true body and blood, which we receive in the consecrated bread and wine. Did you know that Holy Communion is also effective if we are weak in our faith? Remember that Jesus said, ‘Man does not live by bread alone…’” The person looked at me with wide eyes and said, “No one has ever told me that before…” “That may be,” I replied, “but I hope you would reflect on your spiritual state and once again start receiving the Lord’s gifts of His true body and blood that He wants you to have. After all, in Holy Communion you are not taking just bread and wine, you are actually *participating* in the blood and the body of Christ. We all need that…” I pray that the next time I am there, this person will have repented and will once again receive the Lord’s life-giving gift of the Sacrament, which strengthens and sustains the faith of all believers.

The Book of Life

By Rev. Tiews on 13/09/24

Jesus says: “The one who conquers [by Baptism] will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life” (Revelation 3:5). About half a year ago I told you about a homeless lady in our neighborhood with whom I sometimes chat (see my post from April 4, 2024). She has been gone all summer, but now that it’s getting chillier, she’s back. Last Sunday morning I saw “Katrin” in an unusual location, not shivering on a bench but walking around in our pedestrian zone. I asked her how she was doing. She shared about her struggles with the local authorities. In Germany no one needs to live on the streets because everyone is entitled to a roof over their head—albeit not necessarily in a room to your liking. Katrin told me at great length that she had been assigned a space in a women’s shelter, together with three drug addicts—something she deemed unacceptable. She went back to the government agency and informed them that she could not accept that accommodation. At that point, the official turned to her computer and deleted Katrin’s name from a database. Katrin was appalled. “How dare you strike me from that list?” she blurted out. “Remember how you once shared with me that you are baptized?” I asked her. “Yes, I remember,” she replied. “You are upset that your name was removed from that government list, but there is a more important list than that one.” “Which one is that?” she wanted to know. “When you were baptized your name was entered in the Book of Life. At that point, Jesus covered all your sins and guaranteed you eternal life. He will never, ever delete your name from *that* list.” “Hmm…” she responded, gazing into the distance. Indeed, that is something we can all cling to: no matter what role you may have been deleted from—an employment list, a best friend list, or a good credit list—if you are baptized, the Lord will never blot your name out of the Book of Life—the most important list there is. Praise God!

God Will Work In Him

By Rev. Tiews on 06/09/24

“My Word…that goes out from My mouth…shall not return to Me empty, but It shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). Last week I told you about an Iranian parishioner—I will call him Ahmed—who is undergoing inpatient treatment in a mental facility here in Hamburg. He is now doing better, praise God. But while Ahmed is recuperating, the Lord has given him a wonderful opportunity to witness to a fellow patient—a young man from Afghanistan. Ahmed is eagerly embracing this task. I was curious to hear what Ahmed is telling the young man about our religion. “That Christianity is about love,” he answered. “Indeed,” I commented, “We have marvelous passages like ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:16) or ‘Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13)—which so beautifully describes Jesus’ sacrifice for us.” Ahmed has also taught told his new friend that Jesus paid the price for our sins and rose from the dead. “Wonderful!” I remarked. I know that Ahmed has the Farsi translation of the Bible on his phone, so I asked: “Are you reading Bible passages to him too? Or, better yet, could you perhaps have him read out loud?” “Why? Is that important?” Ahmed wondered. “Yes, it is very helpful. Keep on explaining Christianity to him but remember that the Word has its own power. The prophet Isaiah writes that the Word never returns empty. It always works in a person according to God’s will. If your friend reads Holy Scripture, the Lord will work in him through that Word, whether the guy realizes it or not…” “So,” Ahmed summarized, “If I tell him about Christianity and also ask him to read from the Bible, God will work in him at the same time?” “You got it.” “Wow, I’m going to try that!” Thank you, Lord, for using Ahmed for Your purposes and also for soon working in that young Afghan man—even invisibly. (Image: Isaiah 55:11 in Farsi).

Can You Help Me? I am Being Persecuted

By Rev. Tiews on 30/08/24

“My Word…that goes out from My mouth…shall not return to Me empty” (Isaiah 55:11). After visiting an Iranian parishioner in a mental facility in Hamburg yesterday, I was walking past a lady sitting on a bench. I was wearing my clerical collar. “Hello, hello…!” she called out after me. “Are you a pastor?” She looked at me very intensely with large, dark eyes. I could barely see her pupils. “Yes, I am,” I replied. “Can you help me? I am being persecuted…” “By whom?” I asked, sitting down on the bench.” “By Satan…in my head…” she stated matter-of-factly. For some reason, her answer did not surprise me. “Do you have a religion?” I asked. “Yes, I believe in Jesus.” “I’m glad to hear that. Do you have a pastor and a church?” “No,” she answered. “Jesus defeated sin, death, and the devil on the cross and in the empty tomb,” I explained. “Amen,” she replied. “I believe that.” “Also, Satan is mortally afraid of our Lord. Would you like me to read you some passages from Holy Scripture, in which Jesus defeats the devil? After that, we can pray if you wish.” “Yes, I would like that very much.” I read Mark 5:1-20, one of two passages in which Jesus casts demons named Legion out of a possessed man. Then I read the Whole Armor of God passage in Ephesians 6:10-18. She listened intently. “What is your name?” She told me. “Are you baptized?” “Yes,” she responded. “Good.” I placed my hand on her shoulder and prayed three times: “Depart, you unclean spirit, and make room for the Holy Spirit,” followed by a prayer for her, and then the Lord’s Prayer, which she recited with me. I traced a cross on her forehead. She let out a deep sigh. “Would you visit me again?” she asked. I gave her my card and told her the service times for Zion Lutheran (SELK), one of the churches in which I serve. “I hope you can worship here and, yes, I will visit you again.” “I already feel better,” she said. “Praise God,” I said. “Satan and his demons must flee when Jesus commands them to,” I said, shaking her hand. Sometimes there is a gray area between psychological problems and spiritual warfare. Who knows what her doctors diagnosed her with, but our Lord’s Word never returns to Him empty.

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Thank you to all who have already signed up to support this wonderful mission work that is being done by our many LCMS missionaries in Eurasia and around the world. Thank you also for partnering directly with us—the Tiews family.

If you are interested in joining us on this path, you can do so  in various ways as listed below.

Praise the LORD that
Jesus took a sinful agnostic guy, forgave him, and is now using him to bring the Gospel to a land in which so many people do not know Jesus Christ.

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Mail your check, made payable to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and “Tiews-Germany Support” on the memo line, to:

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40718 Highway E16
Mapleton, IA  51034-7105

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Make your check payable to The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, and Include “Tiews-Germany Support” in the memo line.

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