Yesterday and today (Tuesday and Wednesday), we’ve been teaching through the book of Matthew.
We have about four hours each morning (9:30 – 1:30) and have made it through the introductory material and chapters 1-13. That gives us Thursday and Friday to complete the book — I think we’ll make it!
The students (about 15-16) are quite well taught and attentive. It is quite a busy schedule of study they keep. In addition to the work they are doing for the book of Matthew, they also have an English class, and a theology course. They also have responsibilities for the ministry here, so their days are generally quite full.
So yesterday I taught through Matthew 3 — the ministry of John the Baptist. Today I taught Matthew 4-5, Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness and the opening chapter of the Sermon on the Mount (one of my favorite sections in the book). I also covered Matthew 8-10, the authenticating signs of Jesus’ ministry (primarily miracles). Tomorrow, I’ll be covering Matthew 14-16 and 17-19.
The time goes very quickly in teaching, but it is helpful to go quickly like this at times to see the flow of the book and the development of the major themes.
Yesterday after lunch, went to Berlin for the later afternoon and evening, viewing the Brandenburg Gate, the governmental buildings (the prime minister’s home, the Reichstag, etc.), the small portion of the Berlin wall that was kept up after the wall was taken down, the holocaust memorial, and a special trip to Stauffenbergstrasse. This was the street named after Colonel Staufffenberg, one of the key figures in the attempt to assassinate Adolph Hitler that was made more widely known in the film Valkyrie (Tom Cruise plays the role of Stauffenberg). Dad found out this summer that Stauffenberg is a distant cousin of ours, through his mother’s line. So we had to take a picture with the street named after our kin (yes, it was cold)! Unfortunately, we missed the memorial plaque on the street.
We then enjoyed a delightful German meal (I had the bratwurst, red cabbage, and fried potatoes — just like Niester’s only better!).
Another real treat for the day was being lead through Berlin by Daniel, who is not a student at Word of Life, but serves as a deacon where one of the WOL directors attends church. Daniel is sitting in on the class this week as he awaits word on a new job (he is a recent university graduate). Daniel is faithfully involved in his church, The Bible Church of Berlin, pastored by a Master’s Seminary graduate, Dieter Borchmann. Daniel’s goal is to himself attend TMS and return to Germany as a pastor. It has been encouraging to interact with faithful young men who are committed to serving God in this post-Christian (anti-Christian ??) country.
Words of Grace 