bridges don janet 1991 germany

8/10/2019 Bridges Don Janet 1991 Germany

1/6

Chris t ian

Missicm

Field Address; Don Bridges

Kaisers t rasse 66

679

Landstuhl

West

Germany

VOL 10

MARCH

1991

NO. 1

Jesus

entered

the synagogue of his

hometown, Nazareth,

requested the

scroll of

Isaiah,

found his text and read:

The

Spirit of the Lord Is upon me, be

cause

he has anointed me to p reach the

gospel to

the

poor, he

has sen t me

to pro

claim release to the captives, and recovery

of sight to

the

blind, To set free

those

who

are downtrodden, to proclaim

the favorable

year of

the

Lord. Luke

4:18-19

He

handed

the scroll

back

to th e a tte n

dant, sat down and began to explain the

scriptures. He

said

Today

this

scripture

has

been fulfilled in your hearing. The people

{who were talking

during

the sermon) were

wondering

about the

things he was saying.

As

h e re la ted to them w hat th e

favorable

year

of

the

Lord involved,

he

retold two

examples of God s graceElijah being sent

to a

woman

at Zarephath

and

the cleansing

of Naaman the leper [giving non-jewish ex

amples to a Jewish audience is not the way

to win a

favorable

hearing].

The

listeners,

previously

interested

in his message,

became

outraged Taking him to the city's cliff, they

wanted to

k ll

him. Passing through the midst

of them, however, Jesus went on his way.

Such

was the

beginning of his ministry.

His

missionto

preach the gospel to

the

poor, to give sight to

the

blind

and

to set free

the

enslaved

and

oppressed.

He came to

proclaim

the

year of God's acceptance This

was

his message. This was his ministry. This

was

the

way he lived

Grace

is

a word which

is

used to

describe

what God

has

done through Jesus.

The

word

Itself means a feeling of

kindness that

is

exp re ssed , o r an act of kindness

that

is

shown. As

we look at

Jesus

life, this idea

becomes more

vivid. He proclaimed

the year

of

God s

acceptance , and he showed to

everyone what this meant.

John

said of him

the Word

became

flesh,

and

dwelt

among

us, and we beheld his glory... ull of

grace

and truth. When we want to know what grace

Is,

we

need to merely look to Jesus.

Jesus

was

a champion for

those

who

were

outcast in society. John 8 relates a story of

a woman who was caught in adultery. Early

one

morning when

Jesus was

instructing

the

people, scribes and Pharisees brought this

woman to Jesus to

trap

him. Their demand

either support the

law

and condemn

this

woman to death, or reject the law. If he re

fused to condemn her, he would

be

labeled

a traitor to the law. By condemning her he

would

show

h ims el f n ot to be a s merciful

a s

he c la imed and on e who

i nc it ed r ebe ll ion

(remember,

Jews

were not allowed to impose

the death penalty).

Jesus

silence caused

the


2/6

accusers

to push more strongly their demand.

When he did respond, his words penetrated

their trap and forced

them

to leave.

Long debates

have

been held over the

question of the letter of the law verses

the

spirit of

the

law. To put it another way, it

would be a quest ion of getting what we de

se rve

verses

what

we

need .

We deserve

condemnation, but we

need

acceptance.

Condemnation comes ali too quickly. Ac

ceptance carries

with it

the

responsibility to

build and st rengthen. A description of the

messiah, quoted by Jesus, is found in Mat

thew

2

Behoid, Myservantwhom I

have

chosen;

My Beloved in whom my soul is well

pleased;

I will

put

my Spirit

upon

him...

A

BATTERED

REED

HE

WILL NOT

BREAK

OFF,

AND

A SMOLDERING WICK

HE WILL

NOT PUT OUT,

Until He leads justice to victory.

And in his name the gentiles will hope.

Sinners, outcasts and faiiures

are

often

the

objects

of Jesus' gentleness and mercy.

Suffering, downcast and rejected humanity

(battered reeds and smoldering wicks) are

not destroyed by the Messiah. Rather, he

feels compassion for them Moreover, he

exhibits tender compassion as he announces

the year

God's

acceptance

These were

the very

people who

we

see

coming to Jesus. Luke 15 tells us that all

the

tax-collectors

and the s inners were com

ing

near

him to listen to him. Zaccheus, a

chief tax-collector, a blind

man

at

Jericho,

a

Samaritan leper, a

Gerasene

and even a thief

heard the announcement

of God's

grace.

Jesus' disciple, Matthew, was an outcast also,

until Jesus accepted him (how did the other

disciples feel

about

Matthew?).

ll

displays

of grace, kindness

and compassion are

rooted and grounded in love. For God

so

loved th e world that

he

gave his only begot

ten son t ha t whoeve r believes in him should

not

perish

but have

eternal life.

In all that we learn about God, one fact i

clearly seen, namely, that God has taken the

initiative. He is the one who seeks the lost

He is

the

one who would

shel ter

Jerusalem

He calls

the

weary and heavy laden to fin

rest

in

him.

He

sen t

his son

For

the grace

of God has

appeared

bringing salvation to all men...

when the

k indness o f

God

our Savior and his love fo

mankind appeared, he

saved

us, not on

the bas is of

deeds which

we h av e d on

in righteousness, but according to his mercy

by the washing of regeneration

and

renew

ing by the Holy Spirit, whom

he poured

out upon us richly through Jesus Christ ou

Savior...

Titus 2:11,

.3:4-6

ELDERS AND DEACONS

This

past March, Landstuhl

Christian

Church elected

it s first

eiders and deacons in

its history. Nine men aitogetherwere elected

four

elders

and

five deacons.

The transien

nature of this congregation, people leaving

every couple of years ,

made

this an impor

tant decision. These men provide direction

and leadership for the congregation.

A difficult problem which

has

existed has

been

the setting of goals. A result of the

e le cti on of these

men

has been the es tab

l ishme nt of three different

commit tees

growth, worship, and teaching. In

these three

areas,

goals

are

being

established

which wi

carry over from congregation to congregation

(which happens every two or three years)

[One

such

goal

has been

the

establishmen

of a

shepherding

program. Elders

have

divided up the congregation, and

each one

i

responsible for the oversight of the people in

their section.) The committees are led by an

elder and deacon, but they are made up o

several members in

the

congregation. New

people who

come

w ll be able see the goal

and

purpose

of

the

congregation

as they

become involved

with

the various

committees


3/6

ooks to re

News

The

bookstore which we establ ished a

little over two

years

ago has

made

a huge

Impact on the Christian community here. The

store

began with $9000. This

was

to

pay

for

materials and the shipping of these materi

als and the

customs once

they arrived

here

InGermany.

Needless

to

say, the

money did

not go very far. However, the

store

now has

an Inventory worth almost five times the

niti l

Investment.

The sa les from

1990 we re more

than double

from

that

of

1989.

This al l sounds

great But

when

you start to figure

the

cost

of the material plus the shipping charges,

added to that

t he cos t

for customs and taxes,

besides

the normal costs for operation (like

heat, rent, telephone, etc.) the profits dwindle

to

almost

nothing.

So

why

are we

running a

store

which

barely even pays for Itself? There

are

several

reasons. First, It Is very difficult to find good

Christian material In a foreign land. People

drive as far away

as

two hours (or about 150

miles) to ge t material. There Is a desire for

material,

and

they

just can t

find It

anywhere

closer.

Second,

It

extends our outreach as

It

brings

us

Into contact with many In the com

munity. Many people have

come

Into the

store and discovered

that

w e have a church

here

as well.

Quite

a few

hav e a tt ended t he

services.

Some

come just for discussions

(and who, this side of heaven, knows

the

kinds of

seeds

that are being planted?). Third,

It

gives

a greater awareness to th e commu

nityof the congregation. Several people have

come

In

and

said that

they

were made aware

of this church which

has

a bookstore by

friends

of theirs

who h ad c ome before. Others

have told me that

they

are

going to

spread

the

news about this place to

everyone they

know. These come in and ask if so-and-so

has been here because they

have

been tell

ing everyone

about

this place.

The bookstore

has

increased in

sales,

volume

and

contacts with

people.

The out

reach

and

ministry which comes

as

a result

of

the

store

Is showing Its effect

as

more

and

more people come

and pass

the news of the

store on to

others. For

the church, It is

the

most effective form of advertising

PEOPLE

NEWS

This past year two families departed from

here to

return

to

th e s ta te s

Arthur

and

Roxanne Wat ts r eturned within two weeks of

his being diagnosed withcancer. The doctors

moved quickly, and through surgery and

much prayer, Arthur has been given a

clean

bill

of health (enough so that he

can

return

to work). Both were very active In the con

gregation here. Arthur was putting out a

newsletter, doing some teaching and general

maintenance. Often, he

would work

the

bookstore

so

I could have a

day

off. Roxanne

was always helping with the little children.

Both

were m embe rs of the choir. When

I

talked

with Arthur

about, his cancer, he would

look at me and say I'm going to beat this

His faith In

God

was evident. He would say

even Ifhe

wasn t

going to win this battle that

his faith In God would remain strong. It re

minded

me

of

Job when h e said Shall we

accept good from God and not accept ad

versity? They

will

be missed.

Another family which left was Mike and

Cheryl Apt. For the

past

three years, I knew

that If

one

family would surely be there for

services.

It would be

the

Apts. Rarely did

they

miss a service. Both were active In the

congregation. Mike taught Sunday School,

led the congregational singing,

and

helped

in the nursery. Cheryl

was

an encourager. It

didn't matter what problems anyone faced,

she would be

there

to support and remind

you of

God s

ability. Both

were

In

the

choir.

After

three

years, their love for Christ was

known to all In the congregation here. They,

too, will be missed.

A few of our

people

have gone to

Saudi

Arabia In support of

Desert

Storm: Mike Kirby

(one

of

our

elders),

Jeff

Moore and Doug


4/6

Shedd.

Although

we

are a small

congrega

tion, we feel the effects of the

war.

Let me

share with you a few

comments

of the Ger

man

people

which I found in the

Stars

and

Stripes

newspaper

I'm

very disappointed about

my

countryman's

demonstrations against your

country.

These

are not the feelings of all

German

people The

demonstrations make

th e

real

villain into a victim, which is not the

truth. I hat e war

as much as

the next guy,

but this creature in Iraq went too far. We

d o n t

n ee d a n o th er Hitler . . . A n d r e a s

R s s e n e w e r t

You will

hear

in

the

news that many parts

of the world still do not

know

how important

you

are

for keeping the world peace, but we

want

to assure you

that

even in

Germany

there

are people who, like us, appreciate what

you do. Michael Kiink

What

w e s e e

on

th e news

often l e a d s

one

to think that there is

very

little support

for

Americans and

what they do. Yet,

an

es

timated

81 of

the German people support

M t u n j r x

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6016Z Xi 'oiiuBUJV

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NOISSIN

NVIISIUHO

BNIdlV

the effort

the

Americans

are

making in the

Gulf War. I have seen a couple of demon

strations supporting America's participation

(why was there no national coverage of

this?).

Who

would

doub t t ha t

th e

reunification

of

Germany came partly as a result of America's

troops

stationed

in europe to deter aggres

sion?

The mission of

the

American

troops

here

in europe is important, as is

the

mis

sion

of

the church here

in Landstuhl (re

member, this is the highest concentration of

Americans outside of the U.S.). We realize

that for anyone to have peace , they

must

have

Christ. He is th e only true source for

peace'

PRAYER

C O N C E R N S

1 . L a n d s t u h l

Christian

Church's

ministry

and

leadership

2. Financial Support 3.

That

the

bookstore

may continue making an impact on

the

com

munity. 4.

Soldiers

stationed

here

and in

Saud i Arabia

In Christ, Don

Birdges


5/6

5 dU^v-

ALPINE CHRISTIAN-MISSION .

..


6/6

*0i

2.

^resent qoals of the^Landstuhl cOngregiaîon-lnclude the

following:

1 ) development

of

doctr'inal* (BihLical)ii'and

motivational

maturity;

2.)

development of

leadership

roles through providing preaching and

callingt^

fefe^jKding)

experiences and through

training

seminars

and retreats^:< advances) ; ^ , j.

3.)

development odTi^jpeater missions awareness and* involvement;

5*)

ex^ntfon pf.^t^

Corrpspond^^

Course

prqgr^5..

6) worki ng i h'

cq>-pp^^

with

mi

1

i tary

chapLarps t .

7.)

development\9f ;l.iJ?rary

resbi^ces,

: . ^ ^

t;y

rU y : 1

PR\WI^ 9iBQQ^STSy La'':C:r ;'./ru

.i

Please

r-m-rfi'r-f- - i- '

fitpward

accomplis.hiBent

of .these we also f&ji ^ . .

.ifj. pace. and would appfeciate

your

^prayers

as

we^cpntihue itp

,.e^jp^n,d.*

alsb Hi^p

with our

growt^ in anpther.4;/ay.if ^ypu .happen

know

of military people, who are

or

will be

stationed

in Germany.

I f vou wil 1 send, . the names

and

ad dresses o f .

di:rectlY''to^Ss or' to Fred Ragland, Director of the phrs,Uan

Fellov/ship,

Box 228, Fairborn/..0 H 45324, we will Contact, them^ iin-^te

them to attend:the :church in Lendstuhl whenever

they.ate

in.W

inform them -o^ r.Christi.a,ns and ^cûrches and

their

area,

anitielir

them aboilt ,wo,,great

viitH .Christianîrora

througVi;^^^^

apnu^

and

pur summer camp,-prpgram,, in,

Italy.

- -.i

.di

n

of

the missionaries,

rhnifiti an npnnriir.alf^ aod/oj;

tabes can be ^^sent their way [after you th.aye read.vpr.

a-xst^hed

tq :

aoS Eenefited from,

thgm

.yourseMes.;,. .Such a gift can. promote the,...,

spiritual ^growth of those on the

fiel.d;

and;

alse^he.-

pas.êd. pn to

he^p ofehers^so; as

to be

a gift thet really keeps

on

g

living.. . . . mi

to praise an4

serve, together

bridges don janet 1991 germany

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