Rebecca and her boy!
Our Baby Boy! - Noah
Daddy & His Girls
The Roper Fam outside their house - Roper Five!
Joey, Rebecca, and Noah
We are praying for a work of God's Spirit in Germany! Even in this city - Marburg!
We are dedicating Noah Daniel Roper to the Lord here - Marburg, Germany
Katie in Marburg, Germany
On Thursday, February 19, I had the opportunity to teach the Women's Ministry here at Calvary Chapel Herborn. Now I know what you are thinking, "Joey, teach the Women's Ministry?" The answer is, YES. On February 19, Pastor Edmund and Martha left for Brazil and it was the same day that the Women's Ministry was taking place. Martha knew that she was unable to teach. She knew that the topic that would be discussed would be "Witnessing." So Martha asked if I could teach on the subject since I have had a lot of experience. So I agreed to do it. Anytime someone asks me if I can teach the Word, I want to be ready to do it. So all in all, it was such a blessing to be able to teach the women of our church. At the beginning of the study, I showed them how I believe witnessing and evangelism are close but different. I then went on to challenge all of them in the topic of Evangelism. I guess I was originally scheduled to just share for around 30 minutes. In the morning, I believe that I taught for around 40 minutes and so when it came to the evening, the leaders of the evening ministry just encouraged me to go as long as I want. That is pretty dangerous to tell me. HAHA. Anyways, it is such a blessing to hear them say this in a sense because I can tell that they are hungry for the Word!
The Lord is doing a great work of His Spirit here in the Women's Ministry. Please do continue to pray for Martha and her leaders to be led of His Spirit in teaching, equipping, and encouraging the women to live out there faith!
This past Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to teach on the Typology of Jesus Christ in the Bible by using the Tabernacle. What a beautiful picture the Tabernacle paints of Jesus! From beginning to end - you see Jesus in it! As we consider the very word - TABERNACLE - we are reminded about John 1:14 which says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt (TABERNACLED) among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." All throughout Scripture, after the fall of man, you see how the Lord desired to get closer and closer to the heart of man. First we see His presence in the Tabernacle, and then we see His presence in the Temple. Then we see how God becomes man and dwells among us in the person of Jesus Christ. Talk about get close to the heart of man! He was living, walking, talking, eating, drinking, etc. with mankind. And lastly, we see that those who give their lives to the Lord, the Holy Spirit resides in the very heart of man. You can't get any closer than that! It is amazing that the Lord desires this close relationship with man. Well, let's get back to the tabernacle.
The first thing that we note is the Gate. There was only ONE gate. Just as Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life and no man get to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6) It was also a very WIDE gate. 35 feet wide! John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but would have everlasting life." The Gate was wide enough for WHOSOEVER!
Once you would go through the gate and enter the inner courts, the very first piece of furniture that you would notice would be the Altar of Burnt Offering. This was the very place of Sacrifice and Atonement. The individual coming into the inner courts would bring their sacrifice. Why? Because of their sins! It was because of their sins that this animal would be sacrifice. Blood would be spilled and now the offerer would be atoned for their sins. The word atoned literally means "a covering." As it says in the book of Hebrews, "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." (Heb. 10:4) This blood would only cover the sins of the individual. This was just a forshadowing of Jesus Himself. But note what it says in Hebrews 10:12 "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;" The blood of Jesus does not just cover our sins, it cleanses our sins! 1 John 1:9!
The next piece of furniture that you would notice was the Wash Basin. This was made out of the brazen mirrors that the women offered up. Now let me ask you. What does a mirror do? It tells you the truth! It tells you what is there! If there are any mistakes, it reveals them to you. Now this Wash Basin was a clear picture of the Word of God. As you know, in John 1:1-3 we see that Jesus is the Word of God. As we look into the Word, He reveals to us the truth. He reveals to us what is wrong and what needs to be fixed. What another beautiful picture of Jesus!
Now as we enter into the first room of the Tabernacle, The Holy Place. We note three pieces of furniture. The first one that would stand out would be the Lampstand. Once again a picture of Jesus. As Jesus declared in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
Next you would notice the Table of Showbread. The bread was a beautiful picture of Jesus. It was unleavened bread that was made from grain that would have been crushed and then would be baked through the fire. These three things are a picture of Christ. As you know leaven in the Bible, is a picture of sin. This bread was unleavened bread (Jesus' life without sin), the grain was crushed, just as He was bruised for our iniquities, and He endured the "fire" of the cross. Something else to note about the Table of Showbread was the table. There was only one job for the Table to do. SHOW THE BREAD! The table is a picture of what we are called to do. Show the Bread! Simply show Jesus!
Lastly, in the Holy Place you would note the Altar of Incense. This was made out of acacia wood, representing the life of Christ, and was overlayed with Gold, representing the Deity of Christ. It was also the highest piece of furniture in this room. As you do deeper study, you will note that this altar is a picture of prayer. As as you look into the life of Christ, He lead the example and put prayer in the highest priority. What an example for us!
Now we enter the Holy of Holies. There was one piece of furniture in this room. It was called the Ark of the Covenant. The lid of the Ark was known as the Mercy Seat. Now there were a few items that were inside this Ark of the Covenant. But the one that I want to point out was the 10 Commandments. The Law! As you look into the law, you will recognize one thing, you are guilty of all of them. Now as we read in the book of Exodus, the Lord states that it is in between the two cheribum on top of the Mercy Seat is where His presence was. Now the Lord is a holy and just God. And yet in His merciful ways He provided the Mercy Seat. To cover the 10 Commandments. To cover the evidence of us being guilty. So how is this a picture of Christ. In 1 John 2:2 "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." The word propitiation literally means Mercy Seat. So what a picture of Christ! He became that Mercy Seat for us.
So as we examine this Tabernacle. From beginning to end - it is a picture of Christ!
A couple of weeks we started a new series here at Calvary Chapel Herborn called "die Person Jesus Christus."(The Person of Jesus Christ) As you can see on the flyer, we are going to be spending many weeks on this series. I am blessed to have the opportunity to teach three times through this series. The first one will be this Wednesday - The Typology of Jesus in the Bible - (focusing on the Tabernacle). I am really excited about this one! Throughout the years with the youth ministry at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, I did a few different studies through the Tabernacle. When we went through the book of Exodus, I believe I did around 14 teachings throughout it! Now I have to summarize all of the studies into one! So please do pray that I would know exactly what the Lord wants to share with the body here in Herborn. The second one will be later on in the series, but I will be focusing on - The Character of Christ - still praying on the clear direction with that one. And then the last one that I will teach will be on - The Goal set before Him - looking at the moments right before the cross!
I do ask of you that are not here in Herborn to be praying that the Lord will use this series to do a mighty work of Salvation within the people here! Please pray that new people will come to these studies and that they will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior!
Those of you that attend CC Herborn, please do also be praying for each of the teachers as they give forth the Word of God! I also want to encourage you to be inviting friends and family to come to these Wednesday night series! Such an important topic to learn about!
God Bless
For each of our three children, we have always made sure to look at the One Year Bible's verses in the Psalms for the day. We were greatly blessed with this Psalm and so we thought we would share it with you!
Psalm 33:1-22
"Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. 2 Praise the Lord with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. 3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. 4 For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in truth. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. 9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. 10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance. 13 The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. 14 From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth; 15 He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works. 16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, 19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. 22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You."
Daddy and his boy! Praise the Lord - another guy in the family
Aliyah holding baby brother for the first time!
Omas (grandmas) with their grandson!
Mommy & Daddy admiring their new son
Grandma Shoshi kissing Noah
Mommy and Daddy bring Noah home just hours later!Today, February 11th, at 6:27 am, Noah Daniel Roper joined the Roper family. We have so much to tell of how it all happened, but we will do that in the future. I wanted to get these photos up as soon as I could so that you could get a little glimpse of our new baby boy.
Here is some of the basic information:
Here is the basic information:
Noah Daniel Roper being weighed - our little boy! 
I think that these feet are ready to play some soccer (fußball)Last week, on our day off, we (the Roper family, Edmund & Martha, and Amir) took a trip to Marburg. On the way there we stopped in a village called Gladenbach and ate at an Italian Restaurant. It was amazing! And then we headed towards Marburg. We had a good time there and went to a couple of different places. One of the places that we went to was the location where Martin Luther debated a man from Sweden about the eucharist. It is at a location that oversees all of Marburg. Now I have to be honest with you. I love locations when you can look over the whole city! I told Edmund, "We need to raise up someone to start a Calvary Chapel here in Marburg! This will be his prayer spot!"
On January 31st and February 1st, we had Amir Tsarfati our to do another little Prophecy Conference. On Saturday night he shared on "The Middle East Crisis" and gave an update of what is currently going on in the Middle East and how it fits with Prophecy. It was a very powerful message and the Konferenzhalle was pretty packed. On Sunday morning he did a message on the "Seven Feasts of Israel." It was a very powerful message and many people came to know the Lord through it. And then on Sunday evening he did a shorter message. It was more of a personal Biblical perspective from him on what is going on currently in Israel, the reaction of the nations, and then spent some time in Question & Answer. Again, there was a big turn out for these events and the whole weekend was truly a blessing!
Looking over these two past weekends of Prophecy Conferences, we praise the Lord for all that He is doing here in Herborn. The Gospel is going forth, the Word of God is being proclaimes, people are coming to know the Lord, people are rededicating their lives to the Lord, the believers are being challenged in their faith, and so much more.
The last thing that I want to share is that I had the opportunity to be a part of the worship during this conference. I will be honest, this was the last thing that I thought I would be doing here in Germany, and yet it is completely a blessing to be leading the German people to the throne of God in worship. In fact, after one of the worship sessions, I realized that I only did one English songs and then four German songs. It is only through the Lord that I could do any of this and to Him belongs all of the glory!
Sunday Morning Service @ the Herborn Konferenzhalle
Pastor Edmund sharing with the people
Amir sharing on the Seven Feasts of Israel
Antonia, Markus, Katie, & Rebecca
Joey & Markus
Antonia, Rebecca, and Baby Roper (in the belly)
Me & my beautiful wife!From January 23-25, we had our annual Prophecy Conference that we host at the downtown Herborn Konferenzhalle. This year the major topic that was disussed was the Emergent Church. We had Dr. Thomas Ice and Dr. Robert Cogdon as our guest speakers. I personally have heard Dr. Thomas Ice in the past and was once again challenged and blessed by his teachings. A couple of things that I was blessed as a teacher of the Word is how he showed the many Raptures that take place all throughout the Scriptures and how he mentioned about the 38 promises that the believer receives once they become born again. That was a real challenge to try to find them out. On the other hand, I had never heard of Dr. Robert Cogdon before, but I was tremendously blessed to hear from him. He is truly a genuine man of the faith. Faithfully proclaiming the Word of God! If you have never hear of Robert Cogdon before, I would highly encourage you to look him up and listen to him. Many of the German people spoke very highly of both of the speakers and stated that they were really challenged by it all. In fact, one younger girl shared how she had never heard any of this before and was challenged to really look at her life and see what needs to be corrected! Praise the Lord for all that He did at the Prophecy Conference!
Pastor Edmund Coronel Sr. welcoming everyone to the Conference
Ulrich, Ralf, and Gerhard
Dr. Robert CogdonIt is amazing to think that we can have a picture of our son, while he is still in the womb! We are hopefully in the last days before our baby boy comes to join us. Rebecca is DONE being pregnant and can't wait to carry her baby boy on the outside. We do ask all of you to be praying for this whole process these next couple of days (hopefully not weeks). The actual due date is February 11th. Please pray that the whole process goes smoothly and the Lord's hand is mighty in this situation. We know that He is in control and has ordained this little boy for such a time as this! We look forward to posting more pics of him once he is born! But for now, enjoy!
"Baby Brother Roper"
From January 12-18 we had the annual Allianzgebetswoche (Alliance Prayer Week). Every year the churches that are part of the "Alliance" here in Seelbach (our village) get together every night of the week for worship and mainly prayer. Each night of the week we meet at a different church, and different pastors from each of the churches do a short devotional. This year we looked through Hebrews chapter 11. On the last day of the this Prayer Week, we (all of the churches) met at the Merzwechhalle, a local meeting place here in Seelbach for the final meeting. The pictures that you see here a from this final meeting. Unfortunately I was not able to go to all of the meetings because I was sick, but it was such blessing to be a part of this. All of the devotionals, prayers, and worship were in German, but it is continuing to be a good way to learn the language! It is our prayer that the Lord does a mighty work of His Spirit here in Herborn-Seelbach! It was truly a blessing!
