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CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION 3558 SOUTH JEFFERSON AVENUE U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI 63118-3968 Burlington, WI Permit No. 12 INTERPRETING THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD FROM A LUTHERAN CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE JUNE/JULY 2014 Official Periodical of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod June/July 2014 515006 witness.lcms.org Shaped by the Cross LW: from the president Persecution: Good for the Church Not long after Johann Esch and Heinrich Voes were consider that your own “light momentary affliction is prepar- burned at the stake in Brussels on July 1, 1523, the news ing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” came to Luther. It disturbed him greatly that these two (2 Cor. 4:17). From Calvary itself, we know that God works young men, monks of his Augustinian order who had con- the very greatest things through suffering and martyrdom— fessed the Gospel of free forgiveness, were the first to die. a “new song,” indeed. Luther, after all, was responsible for the uproar. Why had the A New Song Shall Be Begun Lord not taken him? 1. A new song now shall be begun, Deeply moved, the incident loosed his pen, and he Lord, help us raise the banner wrote his first hymn: “A New Song Shall Here Be Begun.” It’s Of praise for all that God has done, never made it into our hymnals because it is a type of ballad For which we give Him honor. that the town minstrels would use, long before there were At Brussels in the Netherlands such things as newspapers, to take the latest news from God proved Himself most truthful town to town in sung form. And poured His gifts from open hands The 20th century was the bloodiest in Christian history On two lads, martyrs youthful with the death of tens of millions at the hands of Communist Through whom He showed His power. regimes. Now, we are continuously shocked by Islamic radi- cals persecuting and killing Christians daily in the Middle 7. A paper given them to sign— East and Africa. Meanwhile, our consciences vacillate as And carefully they read it— we sense the cultural shift in the U.S. that has produced Spelled out their faith in ev’ry line an increasing avalanche of harassment and is likely to get As they confessed and said it. much worse. Their greatest fault was to be wise I was in Ethiopia a few months back. In 1979, And say, “We trust God solely, the leader of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church For human wisdom is all lies, MAKE LIFE Mekane Yesus (now approaching seven We should distrust it wholly.” million Lutherans) was murdered by the This brought them to the burning. WORK FOR YOU Communist government. I chatted at “Persecution lunch with the current president and 12. Let men heap falsehoods all around, Life insurance can help protect your family, your general secretary of the church. Their sure defeat is spawning. dreams and your lifestyle today. As your needs is always The topic of persecution came We thank our God the Word is found, We stand in its bright dawning. change, it can also offer tax advantages and up. Mind you, each of these men good for had themselves been repeatedly Our summer now is at the door, a source of potential income for you in retirement. jailed in the Communist period The winter’s frost has ended, the Church. for their confession of Christ. I Soft bud the flowers more and more, Contact a financial representative about cannot begin to imagine the horror By our dear Gard’ner tended an insurance checkup, or visit Always.” of an Ethiopian prison. President Until He reaps His harvest. Wakseyoum Idosa leaned toward me Thrivent.com/makelifework today. —Tr. F. Samuel Janzow, 1913–2001, setting by Carl across the table, raised his index finger, Schalk, published by Concordia Publishing House, 1982. and said with all gravity, “Persecution is Order Martin Luther: Hymns, Ballads, Chants, Truth from always good for the Church. Always.” Concordia Publishing House to read all 12 stanzas. INSURANCE Since Luther’s hymn of martyrs is so unknown, I offer it CHECKUP to you as a hymnic/devotional prelude as you consume this issue of the Witness. I bid you pray for the modern martyrs Insurance products issued or offered by Thrivent Financial, the marketing name for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Appleton, WI. Not all products are available in soon to face death in Nigeria and elsewhere today. I bid you all states. Thrivent Financial representatives are licensed insurance agents/producers of Thrivent. For additional important information, visit Thrivent.com/disclosures. Pastor Matthew C. Harrison Thrivent Financial and its representatives and employees cannot provide legal, accounting, or tax advice or services. Work with your Thrivent Financial representative and, as appropriate, your attorney and tax professional for additional information. Appleton, Wisconsin • Minneapolis, Minnesota • Thrivent.com • 800-847-4836 • > email: [email protected] > Web page: www.lcms.org/president “Let’s go!” Mark 1:38 blog: www.wmltblog.org 28145LW N4-14 contents 06.07 2014 5 Under Attack in Kenya by Joseph Omolo to the reader Christians in Africa are under severe, concerted attacked. Because official notices, colloquies, anni- Providing Missouri Synod his special issue of The Lutheran Witness is 40 pages, eight longer than usual, and 6 Blessed laypeople with stories and Tjam-packed with information on a topic we don’t discuss much: persecution. versaries and obituaries were not printed in this special issue of The Lutheran Witness, by Albert B. Collver III information that complement Why take the extra time and space to discuss this “mark of the Church,” this suffering that Christian brothers and sisters endure for the sake of Christ and His please go to witness.lcms.org to view them congregational life, foster Read the history behind Christian gifts of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper? in their entirety. personal growth in faith, and help persecution. Because His promises are true, His grace sufficient, even in the midst of torture, interpret the contemporary world from death, job loss, government infringement. 6 Martyrs for the Faith a Lutheran Christian perspective. 8 Hear now, in his own words, excerpts from an LCMS pastor, currently teaching by Katie Schuermann in Nigeria, who outlines what some Christians are enduring, all while confessing the Ever wondered about the first Official periodical of The Lutheran Gospel in all its truth, in all its purity. Church—Missouri Synod martyr? As the Church catholic is celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and His immi- Member: Associated Church Press nent victory over sin, death and the devil, we in the Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Evangelical Press Association 10 Shaped by the Cross June/July 2014 (ISSN: 0024-757X) Nigeria, are having a different experience altogether. Our celebration is done with by Alexey Streltsov Vol. 133, No. 6/7 mixed feelings as an Islamic sect called “Boko Haram” has vowed to utterly eliminate every element of Christianity in the country. How can we prepare ourselves staff Below is a synopsis of Boko Haram attacks on Christians in the last few weeks: for persecution? David L. Strand executive director, 1) On the 24th of March, 35 people were killed and many others seriously communications injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in Ngurosoye 18 Learning from France Adriane Heins managing editor Market Square, a Christian-dominated market, in Borno State. by Philippe Volff Vicky Schaeffer senior designer 2) On the same day (24th of March), at least 20 seminarians were slaughtered at Robert Sexton marketing manager, Christians around the world have the Catholic Junior Seminary in Adamawa State, while many others escaped advertising sales endured persecution. with serious injuries. This attack was carried out at night—about 2:00 a.m., Jim Stange production coordinator Frank Kohn editorial coordinator, after the celebration of the Annunciation of our Lord by the true Church, 20 Holy Cross—A Mark of the district editions according to the Premium Time Newspaper of March 25. Church 3) On the 29th of March, at least 47 high school students were slaughtered at Editorial office: 1333 S. Kirkwood Road by Roberto E. Bustmante St. Louis, MO 63122-7295 night at the Government Secondary School, Maiduguri. The students killed 314-996-1202 were all Christians who were selected from their Muslim counterparts, as 10 What does Jesus have to say © 2014 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. each student was asked to confess their faith either as a Christian or Muslim. about suffering for His sake? Reproduction of a single article or column for (This is similar to the Decius persecution of the Roman Empire and that of parish use only does not require permission the Old Ghana Empire—in AD 1076—when the Almoravids, another Islamic of THE LUTHERAN WITNESS. Such reproduc- 22 Meeting Jesus tions, however, should credit THE LUTHERAN sect, wiped out non-Muslims in the northwest African region.) by Ted Krey WITNESS as the source. Cover images are not 4) April 1, five police officers were killed in a bomb blast at the police station 22 34 reproducible without permission. Also, photos You can bet that where Jesus is credited to sources outside the LCMS are not that consisted primarily of Christian officers, including the head officer. to be copied. 5) On the 12th of April, two hundred candidates for JAMB (a pre-university preached, the devil is preying too! Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture entrance examination similar to the SAT examination in the United States) quotations are from The Holy Bible, English were killed in one center since it is primarily, if not only, Christians who 30 Even Beyond the Grave Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of prepare to attend college/university in that area.