“I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws.”
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Adult Discipleship offers LIVE online Bible studies for use by congregations, small groups, or individuals to serve as a mid-week Bible study. Gather at your church or around the computer to join in fellowship and learn about the Bible with brothers and sisters in faith from around the country.
The next study will begin Wed. Sept. 9
Rev. Keith Wessel, professor at Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn., will lead the next Interactive Faith Bible study, which will be streamed online live each Wednesday, Sept. 9 through Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. CDT.
His study will focus on the life and ministry of Elisha.
Studies will be held Wednesday nights
Two times: 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. (central)
There are times for lecturing and times to allow local congregations to discuss on their own.
To view the study, you will need a high-speed internet connection. For best viewing you’ll want to project it, and hook your computer to speakers.
Study guides will be available on the WELS Resource Center.
Questions? Contact Us.
Greetings from Malawi!
These are bags of maize. A full one weighs 50 kilograms, which is just over 110 pounds.
Yesterday, we bought a bit of maize… about 881,500 pounds of it, which is about 441 tons, or roughly 8,000 of the bags you see pictured here. I’d love to show you what 441 tons of maize looks like, but I don’t think that I have ever seen that much maize collected in one place.
Maize is the staple food of Malawi. Grind it into flour and boil it into a stiff porridge and it is called nsima (NSEE-mah). You can eat it with your hands for lunch and supper. Or make it a little runnier and people will call it phala (PAH-lah). You can eat it with a spoon for breakfast, or just scoop it with your fingers and feed it to the baby.
I said, “Yesterday, WE bought maize,” but actually, I should be more precise. YOU bought all this maize… 441 tons of it for the members of the Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA).
Earlier this year, the southern region of Malawi was hit by very severe flooding. Thousands of LCCA members had damage to their homes, and many lost their homes entirely. Some fields were completely eroded. Others were buried under several feet of sand. Fertilizer was washed away. Crops failed. Even in other areas of the country, the harvest was very small. Everybody in Malawi knew what this would mean. These people are subsistence farmers. They depend upon their harvest to survive. But for many Malawians, this year’s harvest did not come. There will be hunger in the coming year. Malnutrition. Even some starvation. Nsima
So “we” went out and bought some maize. Mr. Mark Vance, the Director of Operations for WELS Christian Aid and Relief, was the one who manned the pen. He signed both copies of the contract and initialed every page. So did Mr. Lawson Tewesa, the Malawian maize vendor with whom we made our agreement. Mr. Stefan Felgenhauer and I were looking on as witnesses. So was our lawyer, Mr. Elton Jangale.
Hundreds of hours of work had preceded the actual signing of the document. The WELS Christian Aid and Relief committee tirelessly discussed the various options for relief together with the leaders of the LCCA. They considered all the possibilities. Kingdom Workers gracious donated Mr. Stefan Felgenhauer’s time and considerable expertise. We grilled the vendor with questions and inspected his warehouse. We hired the lawyer and hammered out a contract. Stefan, almost single-handedly, arranged the complicated logistics of buying, storing, treating and shipping almost 450 tons of maize to something like 20 different distribution sites. LCCA national pastors were assigned to oversee the handouts and to conduct devotions and prayers at the time of distribution. There were many, many planning meetings, personal visits and conference calls. Gradually, a plan came together that almost 4,000 families in the LCCA would receive 20 kilograms of maize each month for the months of September, October, November, December and January. It was a ton of work… actually, more like 441 tons.
Yesterday, we signed the contract. But we have never forgotten that none of this could have happened except that hundreds just like you donated thousands and thousands of their own hard-earned, personal dollars to make this project possible.
Some surly and unhappy people might wonder why you did that. But as for us over here in Malawi, I think we all know why.
Thank you.
Missionary Mark Panning Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa
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We are saddened that today the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling requiring all 50 states to allow same sex marriage. In its ruling the Court took the position that the right of same sex couples to be legally married is a right guaranteed by the Constitution.
Of course, even though the highest court in the land has changed the legal definition of marriage, it has not succeeded in changing the essence of the institution that was created by God and given by him as gift and blessing.
At this time, we do not know what all of the ramifications of this ruling will be for our congregations and schools. We will need to be looking at these issues carefully in the coming weeks, identifying the potential threats to our freedom to teach and practice our faith in keeping with God’s Word, and providing advice and guidance to congregations as those threats become reality.
In the meantime, we pray:
Lord God, we are grieved that an institution of our government has taken an action which undermines the precious institution of marriage in our country. More important, it is an action which takes a wonderful gift that you created and distorts it into something you, the Giver, never intended. We pray today for our country, asking that you would have mercy on a nation that has once again ignored your Word and will. We pray for our churches and schools, asking that you would give them courage, wisdom, and strength to continue to hold true to your teachings. And we ask that you would bless all the members of our synod with a continuing commitment to hold fast to the truth that you have taught us, no matter what kinds of pressure or temptations this sinful world places on us.
Above all, help us to continue to use Law and Gospel, not to change society or laws, but to change hearts. Use our faithful witness to bring others to true repentance and to find perfect healing and forgiveness at the foot of our Savior’s cross.
As we live in these last days, Lord, we pray with believers of all time, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!” Amen
You can read a statement about marriage recently sent to pastors to guide congregations as they address this new reality in our country.
WELS President Mark Schroeder