I write in the midst of the Epiphany season. In this season we rejoice in the light of our Lord Jesus who has revealed Himself to us as the Christ, the promised Messiah and the Savior of the world. He who called us into this Light, now sends us forth into all parts of this dark world to shine with the Good News to bring the forgiveness of sins, eternal life and hope to the sons and daughters of men.
So we begin with a story of a former missionary to Nigeria on the continent of Africa. Rev. Harold Hein tells us about that time when he brought the Gospel to Chief Umho and held a funeral service for his brother in Christ. He looks forward to greeting him in heaven. That work of spreading the Gospel continues in Nigeria. Follow the links in the article to learn more about it.
The United States remains one of the great mission fields in the world. We who live in this country are saddened as we see many turning away from the Gospel. Jim Wasmund tells the difficult story of why he left a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America when he felt they were no longer bearing a bright and firm witness to the Light of Christ. Important links are provided for this article as well.
Larry Harvey continues his reflections upon the work of the "other Martin" of the Lutheran Reformation, Dr. Martin Chemnitz. Dr. Chemnitz helps us sort through the temptations to turn images into idols, a temptation that besets us even in our houses of worship. This is the fifth in Larry's series.
For the second month we bring you the list of recommended Lutheran books to add to your library. These include books written in the last couple decades as well as books that were written by theologians and pastors centuries ago and now made available in modern English translation. If you desire to grow in your faith and witness to Christ, take a look. We also give you summaries of the content. This month we add a brief review of a book by Pastor Daniel Preus.
Our faithful and regular contributor, Rev. Jerry Dobberfuhl closes our ezine this month by inviting us to reflect upon a couple articles from the secular press by Miss Manners. This leads him into some meditative thoughts about funerals. He reminds us Christians that we can rejoice when a friend or family member leaves us, because he or she is with Jesus in heaven.
As always, we thank you for your prayers on behalf of this vital ministry. Many hundreds of pages on our site are being opened, read and shared each month. We're happy to know that si many are being blessed by our work. We invite you to forward, copy and share the articles in whatever way you can. We also thank you and our Lord for your regular and generous financial gifts. We will continue to make everything available free, but in order to do that we depend upon your freely shared gifts.