Study of the Book of James

As the “Substitute Pastor” at Kiel International Church, I (Ed) have been preaching Sunday afternoons.  After prayer and study, I decided to do a 4 part sermon series on the Book of James.  Of course you could preach far more than 4 sermons from this rich book, but we only had 4 weeks left in Kiel!

Week 1 – Trials, Temptations and Maturity

Week 2 – Faith and Deeds

Week 3 – Taming the Tongue

Week 4 (next Sunday) – Submitting to God

We have an amazing group of folks in the congregation here – I think Pastor Yenish said that he has counted 34 different countries represented thus far, with as many as 18 at any one Sunday service.  Germany is like much of Europe, full of beautiful churches that function as museums in a spiritual wasteland.  So most of those who attend the church search us out and are serious about their faith.  Yenish and Natalya have a very good presence on social media and Google for the Kiel International Church.  But most of them are “twenty something” college students who may not have grown up in Christian homes and have not been surrounded by Christianity the way we have in the Bible Belt of the southern USA.  A German church member said that someone at their company told a co-worker that they would pray for them – and a harassment charge was lodged against them!!  As Dorothy told Toto “we are not in Kansas anymore”.

However, there are some “older” members (30 something) of the group as well.  One is from Kenya, married to a lady from the Philippines and is a Medical Doctor.  Another is a Professor at the Christian Albrechts University in Criminal Law from the UK.  We are definitely the “grandparents” of the group!  However, God has truly prepared us for this assignment by sending us all over the world so that we are able to relate to this diverse group of believers.

The one thing that has truly inspired Linda and I is the depth of questions and conversations that come from the group.  Deep questions about battling Satan, being a believer in a society of non-believers, what is the relationship between us and Angels and more.  It is a wonderful group of believers and we are privileged to be here among them.

Please pray for the Kiel International Church, for Pastor Yenish and his wife, Natalya, and for us as we finish our time here.