Hosea 11 - what a chapter!

Tonight I had the amazing opportunity to teach through Hosea once again. I have absolutely loved this book and have loved studying through it! Another bonus is the fact that I get to teach through it on a weekly basis.
Tonight we went through Hosea chapter 11 and I do see how the Lord spoke very clearly to us tonight! This was truly an amazing chapter to study and to teach or should I say, PROCLAIM. It had to do with "The Amazing, Undeserving, Unbelievable, Everlasting, Humbling Love of God." That was actually the title of the message (my longest title ever). One thing I do believe is that the Lord brought exactly who needed to be there tonight. There were some there tonight that I have not seen in quite a while, there were others there that do not normally come on Wednesday nights, and there was also one woman there that was invited by her brother to come. The brother's name is Rico (the brand new believer that I am discipling on Friday mornings). He invited his sister to come; it was her birthday today and the Lord really had an amazing message for her tonight. She did tell me how much God spoke to her and how much in her life needs to change.
Through it all, I want to once again give praise, honor, and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the One doing the work of His Spirit on these Wednesday nights. Please do continue to be praying for these evenings as we are coming to a close in Hosea and will be looking into the book of Joel next!

Worship & Prayer Night

This past Sunday night we had an all church Worship & Prayer Night and I do believe that the Lord really blessed it. We had some sweet brothers and a sister in the Lord from CC Siegen come and join one of the guys in our worship team to lead us in worship. They were truly united, not just musically, but also in the Spirit as they led us in the worship. Pastor Edmund throughout the evening was led to share on a few different topics and to open it up for praise, thanksgiving, and also verses from the Scriptures to be read.
It was amazing to look down at our watches and to realize that 2 hours had already passed and we felt as though there was still so much more to do.
We thank the Lord for this Worship & Prayer Night and look forward to future nights when we can come together as a church simply to worship our God and cry out to Him with our hearts in prayer!

Discipleship Started Today!

Hello Everyone,
I am writing you all today to let you know that I have started one-to-one discipleship with a new believer in our church. His name is Rico. I want to share with you a little history about him before I write to you on how it went!

Almost two years ago during an outreach with CC Downey, we were in downtown Herborn kind of spread out through the city sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. One of the guys on the team, Eddie, had started a conversation with Rico just outside of the train station. After a few minutes I had joined the conversation and used the little bit of German that I knew to try to communicate the gospel to him. Rico seemed really interested and we exchanged contact information. At that time, I had let him know that I had just moved here around 4 months before and would love to further the conversation with him. Well, I called him a few times and even texted him, but he never responded to me.
Well now, if you fast-forward to about a few months ago from today, Ronja, a sister her in the church (who just left today for Jamaica), was on her way back home from Pastor Edmund and Martha's house. She shared with me just the other day, that usually on Fridays, because of the market that is going on in downtown Herborn, she doesn't like to walk through the middle of the city, because there are too many people there, but this specific day she chose to walk through the city. Well on this day, she ran into Rico, someone whom she had known from her past and she ended up sharing with him for many hours about the love of Jesus! Once again, Rico was really interested and wanted to talk to her more about it. Since that time, she has been bringing Rico with her to church and he has given his life to the Lord.
Before Ronja left to Jamaica, I let her know that I really wanted to get in contact with Rico so that he could continue to stay in contact with me and others as well here in the church. Recently after one of the services, I talked with him and let him know about this discipleship booklet that we have translated into German and let him know that if he was interested, I would begin to disciple him. He was very interested and we have officially started today!

Our first meeting today was absolutely amazing! One of the amazing things about our meeting is that 98% of the conversation was in German and 100% of it was about Jesus and who He is - Jesus is God! Absolutely amazing!

I do want to ask all of you to please be praying for Rico and I as we will be meeting on ever Friday morning for a few hours and will be slowly going through the One-to-One Discipleship booklet!

PRAISE THE LORD!

Who is the Bible REALLY about?

Day off w/ Ropers

Day Off with the Ropers from Joey Roper on Vimeo.

Night of Worship & Prayer

This coming Sunday evening we are going to be having a night of worship and prayer for the church. This will be an all church event and all are invited! I do pray that those of you who are able to come, WILL COME!
May you come with an expectant heart and with a readiness for the Lord to work in your life! Come with a desire to worship and to connect with the Lord of heaven and earth, Jesus Christ!
Don't miss out!

Jon Bauer & Sending off Ronja

This past weekend we were extremely blessed to have Jon Bauer and a worship team with him from Southern Germany. This was now Jon's 2nd Germany tour and we were privileged to be a part of it! Last year when we had Jon out, I missed it because I was getting out of the hospital that day from my shoulder surgery, so we were really stoked to be apart of the day this year!
Since our contact last year, we have stayed in touch throughout the year, and so when Jon got a hold of me and said that he was coming back, I let him know that I would help him out in any way possible. He ended up doing a 10 day tour of Germany and went to 7-8 different churches. The last church that he came to was ours! (save the best for last - haha) This year he had a worship team join him from Southern Germany! They too were such a blessing!

There was truly an excitement within the church this past weekend as many of the people really enjoy Jon! The church was completely packed and we had to have others sit in the overflow (coffeebar) so that they could at least sit down! There were others of us sitting along the side on stools and many of the young kids came into the service as well and were sharing seats just to be able to sit down! To say the least, God really blessed the service and many people were ministered to! May the LORD truly receive all of the glory and honor for this day!

Here are a few pics from the morning service...

Jon and I in front of our new home

SENDING OFF RONJA
One of the other blessings that took place this past weekend is that we as a church had the opportunity to pray over Ronja Fritzsche as she will be going to Jamaica for 6 months with YWAM! The amazing thing about this is the fact that Jon Bauer was there for this day. Why do I bring this up? Because last year Jon and Ronja had a conversation about her desire to go to Jamaica and Jon had brought to her attention the ministry of YWAM that is going on in Jamaica and from that point on she began to pray and seek the Lord if He would have her go!

The Lord has really been working in Ronja's life these past two years, as she just gave her life to the Lord in January of 2009. Since that time her life has been transforming and she has been growing in her faith! We are excited for Ronja and look forward to what the Lord will continue to do in and through her over these next 6 months in Jamaica!
PLEASE DO KEEP HER IN YOUR PRAYERS!

Pastor Edmund and Markus praying over Ronja

Praise

Last night we continued to go through the book of Hosea and we studied chapters 8&9. I know that might sound crazy right. Me, teaching through 2 chapters. I know, it is crazy to think, especially for those of you who know me, but that is what the Lord has had me doing. HAHA. Anyways, as I was studying and looking at what we would be going over, I immediately began to pray for the people who the Lord would have come to the service, because I knew that the message would truly be for us directly. One of the things that I shared with the church at the beginning of the message was the fact that the Word of God is truly LIVING, POWERFUL, and ACTIVE. And as we have been studying through Hosea, I have seen how this message (although it was written thousands of years ago) is directly for us today! I LOVE THE WORD OF GOD - there is nothing like it!

There were only 2 main points in these two chapters, with many sub-points as well. I saw that as I was teaching that the Lord was really directing the time and what I should press into or move on from. Well, at the end of the message, the Lord had made it pretty clear that this would be the time that we would really need to respond. I gave the invitation for people to either dedicate their lives to Christ or to rededicate their lives to Christ. There were 4 people who raised their hands to rededicate their lives! How amazing is that! It was also amazing to have the opportunity to talk with and also pray with many people last night after the service!

I praise the Lord for all that He did last night and do continue to pray that He would use these Wednesday nights to really work through His Word into each of our lives!

God's Word is ALive

We will continue to go through the book of Hosea tomorrow night! As I have been studying today, I cannot help but think of how powerful and living the Word of God is! Although we are studying this book that was written over 2,000 years ago, the message is just as much for today as it was for Israel back in Hosea's day.
I want to invite you all once again to join us on this Wednesday evening as we continue to pick up in chapter 8 of Hosea!
Hope to see you there!

Today Marks 2 Years in Deutschland!

Hello Everyone!
Today, September 5, 2010, marks two years for us as a family here in Deutschland! We cannot believe it! It is amazing to think that it has already been two years since we landed at the Frankfurt airport, with all of our lives packed in somewhere between 15-20 pieces of luggage. Rebecca was pregnant with Noah, Katie was 3, Aliyah 1 1/2, and I was completely unaware of what the Lord would be doing in and through us! It seems as times that the time has gone by so fast, and yet at times as seems as though we have been here so much longer, since so much has taken place in our lives over the past two years. Here is a little sample of what has taken place both in our family and also in the ministry...

FAMILY

• Noah was born! We say that Noah is "unsere Deutsche junge" - our German boy, because he was born "punktlich" - on time. He was born on his due date.
• Aliyah will be celebrating her 3rd birthday here in Germany next month and has had a few trips to the hospital over these past years due to different health problems. She is now in kindergarten at the age of 3 and is beginning to learn German
  
• Katie is now entering her second year of kindergarten, has learned quite a bit of German (so we hear when she plays with the other kids in her school or at church), has loved being the older sister to Aliyah and Noah, and cannot wait until she drive the car like mommy and daddy.
• Rebecca has grown so much in her cooking abilities (she is an amazing cook!). So many people have enjoyed her desserts or dinners when they come over to our house and eat. She has as well been used in an awesome way with hospitality to whomever will come to our house. She is now beginning to decorate our new apartment where we live and has completely impressed me and many others with her ability to speak the German language without even a class! Though she misses her friends back home, the Lord has really blessed her with a group of friends her that she often connects with and at times goes shopping with, while I (Joey) watch the kids.
• I am not exactly sure what to say about myself. I have learned so much in these past two years and I do believe that I have grown in my walk with the Lord, I do believe that I have also grown in my love for Him, my wife, my kids, and His Church! One thing that I can say was a huge thing that I did, was taking, finishing, and passing my German class. If you know me, I am not one for school and all that goes with it, and yet, through the help of my wife, I pressed on and finished my class. Although at times it was hard, it is such a blessing to be able to communicate so much more in the German language and it is my prayer that one day in the near future I will be able to teach in German. Some say that will be impossible, some say that I can do it, all I know is - IT HAS GOT TO BE GOD!!!
• Through these past two years, we have learned so much as a family. We have learned more and more how to work together in everything that we do, how to live in a foreign country with a foreign language, and a different culture. We have gone through some great times. We have gone through some tough times. The enemy has definitely tried us in new areas and has many times tried to get us to give up. But I do believe that through this all we have experienced the love, patience, grace, mercy, longsuffering, and kindness of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ! He has proved Himself faithful to us time and time again!
  

MINISTRY

• Coming here, we knew that one of the tasks that was on our heart was to come alongside Pastor Edmund and his wife Martha to assist them in the work that the Lord called them to start around 7 years ago. One thing that we didn't know was....what that would look like!
  
• There have been so many different things that we have learned about ourselves and about ministry while being here in Herborn.
  
• For me personally, there have been many different ministries that I have been involved in over the past two years that I didn't plan on being a part of, and yet through them all, the Lord has been molding me and shaping me as a potter does with the clay.
  
• I will be the first one to say that I have made many mistakes. and yet the Lord continues to allow me to be a part of His work here in Herborn!
• Not that we have arrived or think that we have got things down now, but we do look forward to what the Lord wants to do in the future!

LOOKING AHEAD

As we now look ahead, we think upon the verses in Philippians chapter 3 where Paul said,

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

We know that God has worked many things in and out of our lives over these past two years, and yet we know that He is not finished, for He will be faithful to complete the work that He has started in us, and He is not done! So we look ahead! We are now beginning a new year, in a new house, with Jesus before our eyes, seeking to do what He desires in this place, FOR HIS GLORY!

KEEP PRAYING
We know that many of you have been faithfully been praying for us over these past two years and we want to thank you so much! We do want to ask you to please continue to pray as we do believe that the Lord still has so much more to do IN and THROUGH us! We do believe that there is so much more that Europe needs, so much more that Deutschland needs. THEY NEED MORE OF JESUS! So please do continue to labor in prayer for the work that He is doing here in Herborn, Germany and for the Gospel to continue to go out in power and in truth!


Here are a few pictures of the beautiful day that the Lord blessed us with!

taken from my office - beautiful blue skies!

after church in the coffee bar - aren't they all beautiful!

fellowship going on in the coffee bar after church

Katie and Aliyah with their good friend "Marfa" - Martha

between the morning and evening service @ downtown Herborn during Kartoffelsonntag (Potato Sunday)

In the New House & a Divine Appointment

Hello Everyone!
We want to let you all know that we have moved into our new home here in Herborn-Seelbach! We are so thankful for this new home that the LORD has truly provided for us! This past weekend we were blessed to have many people in the church to come and help us make the move into our new home. It was amazing to see how each of them came just to be a blessing and it was also amazing to see how each of them played their different roles in not only moving, but also setting up everything so that we could be ready to sleep in our new home on that first evening. What a blessing!

DIVINE APPOINTMENT
That evening, we had some friends of ours who were willing to let the kids spend the night at their house so that Rebecca and I could continue to unpack and do any work that was needed. So because we had this free evening, and because we were wiped out from all of the work that went on during that day, we decided to go out to dinner to a local Italian Restaurant in our village! After eating the meal, we began to talk with the owner who we have really become familiar with over the past two years and we told him that we had moved to a new place. He asked where we moved and we told him the name of the street. After we told him the name of the street, he looked over to the couple who was sitting right next to us and said, "That is where you lived, right?" The wife nodded yes and her face was covered with a huge smile. For she had lived in this same house that we just moved into many years ago. And for the next 30-40 minutes Rebecca and I spent time talking to this couple all in German! We were able to share with them why we came here and what we are doing, we exchanged numbers, and also invited them to come to the church.
Please be praying for another opportunity to get together with this couple and the readiness to share with them the love of Jesus!

How amazing is our God!

Hosea Tonight!

Tonight we will get back into the book of Hosea! It has been a few weeks since we have last been in Hosea, but I am really looking forward to what the Lord wants to speak to us through His Word tonight! We will also be having a time of communion (abendmahl), so come on out and may the Lord minister to you in a powerful way!
For those of you reading this, and you cannot come, please be praying for the service tonight!