Wilhelm's space

The american Physicist Lisa Randall is interviewed on issues of religion and faith. Read more over here: Religion: Gibt es andere Universen – und wie viele? | Gesellschaft | ZEIT ONLINE.

Author Boualem Sansal comments the so-called “Arab Spring”. He doubts the positive outcomes and fears chaos. Read more over here: Revolutionen: “Arabellion” am Abgrund | Politik | ZEIT ONLINE.

Dikgang tse di Khutshwane – IziNdaba eziFingqiweyo

tsa Kereke ya Lutere- zekerike ngokobuLuthere

 Motsheganong 2012

 Dipolelo tse dingwe tsa ga Henry C. Schwahn go tlhokomela pharologanyo ya tiriso ya molao le Efangele ka fa molaong le ka fa Efangeleng mo ditherong, mo dithutong, le mo ditirong tse dingwe tsa kereke, gongwe tsa phuthego ke tse:

Polelo ya 17

Ka tlwaelo re ntse re golegetswe mo tirisong ya molao le Efangele ka fa molaong, gongwe re lea fela molao, re o ikgatolosa fela, gonne Efangele ga se ya tlhago ya rona, ka fa tlhagong ya rona ga re utlwane le yona.

Polelo ya 18

 Re tlhaselwa mo matlhakoreng a le mabedi, gongwe re kgatelela molao go feta tekano, gongwe re a o ikgatolosa. – Mo go rona kotsi e kgolo ke fa re o gatelela go feta tekano.

Polelo ya 19

Go ntse jalo ka ntlha ya motho yo mogologolo yo o  ratang go ngaparela mo melawaneng ka fa tlhagong ya gagwe. Gape ka gonne go ne go gatelelwa melawana mo diphuthegong tsa rona, jaaka re dikolotswe ke badumedi ba ba gatelelang melao thata ka go kgweetsa bakeresete gore ba itsheke, bogolo ka ntlha ya gore ba ba sa dumeleng ba ineela mo makgapheng le mo ditimetsong fela mo ntlheng ya go ruta..

Polelo ya 20

 Gongwe ba bantsi jang ba ba boifang mo sephiring gore ba tla abela yo o sa tshwanelang dineo tsa Efangele, bogolo go go boifa go tima yo o tlhokang kgomotso? Ke mang yo sa tlhagelweng ke segakolodi go etsa sekao sa ga Paulo go nna tsotlhe mo go botlhe? Kwa re tlhagelwang ke segakolodi ka ntlha ya moo, tiriso ya molao le Efangele ka fa molaong e sa ntse e le teng.

B. Tiriso ya molao le Efangele ka fa molaong

Polelo ya 21

Tiriso ya molao le Efangele ka fa molaong ga se go rera molao fela, mme ke go dirisa tsotlhe ka fa molaong, go o dirisa tsotlhe ka go gopola gore molao o tshegediwe ka botlalo, le gore o tla kgona go tokofatsa tsotlhe mo phuthegong ka molao, gongwe ka melawana. Mme kgono go tokofatsa mo phuthegong e ka diragala fela ka Efangele.

Polelo ya 22

Tiriso molao le Efangele ka fa molaong e bonala bogolo ka fa go diragalang gantsi teng mo go ba ba tlhoafetseng thata go baakanya tsotlhe gore ba kgweetse bakeresete ka melao, le melawana ntle le lorato lo e leng se segolo mo molaong, fa go nyadiwa botlhale go nna mogakolodi, le fa ba gopola gore ba a ruta, ba tlhagisa, ba kaela fela, mme ba dira ka go pateletsa badumedi gore e nne baitshepi. Ke fa tiriso ya molao le Efangele e le kgakala thata le tiriso ya molao le Efangele ka fa Efangeleng.

Polelo ya 23

Tiriso ya molao le Efangele ka fa molaong ga e diragale mo phutheong le mo kerekeng fela, mo mo magaeng le mo goromente e a diragala, le fa gare ga bakaulengwe.

Polelo ya 24

Tiriso ya molao le Efangele ka fa molaong e diragala gantsi mo ditherong, le mo tirong ya go disa phuthego, le mo tirisong le tsamaisong ya dikgang le dithulaganyo tsa phuthego.

Dikao tse di umakiwang ke rre Henry Schwan ga di ka ke tsa umakiwa fano, mme go molemo go itlhotlhomisa ka metlha ka go botsa gore a ke dirisa molao le Efangele ka fa molaong (in a legalistic way) gongwe ka fa Efangeleng (in an evangelical way). Ke pharologanyo e e tshwanetseng go rutiwa ke Mowa o o Boitshpeo ka nosi ka go tlhokomela gore Mafoko a Dikwalo tsa Testamente e Kgologolo le tsa Ntšha le maipolelo a Kereke ya Lutere a dirisa molao jang, a dirisa Efangele jang?

Pitso ya baruti ba Kereke ya Lutere mo Borwa jwa Afrika

Ya epiwa kwa Good Sheperd Retreat Centre gaufi le Hartebeespoort Dam ka kgwedi ya Mopitlwe, e tlhotse malatsi a a 19 – 21.

Ke ise ke bolele tse di dirilwang mo pitsong ke rata go lebogela kamogelo mo pitsong. Tota ke boitumelo jo bogolo, fa moruti yo o ikhutsisitsweng a kopana le bommonawe mo tirong ya Morena, go bona le go utlwa ka fa bomonnawe ba tswelela go dira tiro ya Morena, le go itumelela tse a di utlwang mo ditherong tse di tshwarwang, le mo dithutong tse di rutiwang. Bogolo fa a utlwa ka fa mongwe wa barutwa ba gagwe yo e leng modiredi-mmogo wa gagwe jaanong mo boemong a rerang ka go tshwaya dingwenyana tse ene ka nosi a neng a sa di akanyang mo botshelong le mo tirong yotlhe ya gagwe, jaaka morwa-Rre yo o neng a rera ka ga setlhare se Moše a se bonyeng seša, e sa še, a se kopanya le setlhare se se omileng, se se tukang ka seša ka molelo wa lorato lwa Modimo, se sa še, se ntse se tuka ka lorato, le fa go setse go fetile dikete tse pedi tsa dinyaga, e bong sefapaano sa ga Jesu Keresete. Fela ditlhare tse pedi tseo di farologana ka gore Moše o boleletswe gore a se ka a atamela mo go sona, mme rona re lalediwa, re tlhotlhelediwa ka lorato lwa Modimo gore re atamele mo setlhareng sa rona.

Gongwe go utlwa yo mongwe wa barutwa ba pele yo e leng monnawe mo tirong ya Morena jaanong, yo o neng a rera ka Lefoko le rre, e bong Gwejebomvu njengentolwana, a le rerileng mo moletlong wa thomo ka 1958 kwa Bleckmar ka dipotso tse tharo tsa Morena Jesu, tse di reng: A o a nthata? Le ka dikaelo tsa Morena gore re dise dinku tsa Morena, le go mo sala morago ka tlhoafalo le ka go ikanyega.

Gongwe go utlwa rre Dr. David Tswaedi yo e neng e le mobišopo wa kereke ya rona, fa a re gakolola gore re gopole, fa dineo tse dintle tse re di amogetseng mo Moreneng di sa foufatse matlho a rona, mme di batla go budulola matlho a rona gore re bone matlhoko, matshwenyego, ditlalelo tse bomorwa-Rre le bomorwadie-Rre di pitlagantsweng ka tsona kajeno le mo sebakeng se se fetileng gore re ba utlwele botlhoko, re senke ditsela go ba gomotsa, le go ba thusa.

Gongwe fa ke thusiwa ke mongwe wa bomorwaarona gore ke gopole ka fa Morena a fetotseng tse di neng tsa nkutlwisa botlhoko mo tirong ya me go nna tse

The LCMS Rocky Mountains district under the leadership of President Randal Golter has a long and fruitful partnership with the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane. This started off as a joint-project with LCMS World Relief and Human Care under the leadership of President Matthew Harrison DD. Together they enabled the Seminary to grow exponentially in the past half decade to accommodate students from Lutheran Churches of more than 10 countries in Africa. This enables these Churches to have their present and future pastors to be educated in a confessional  curriculum on a regular basis (4-6 years) by some of the best teachers from CS St.Louis, CTS Ft.Wayne and also LTH Oberursel i.T.  Since 2011 our Seminary has also been accredited by the University of Pretoria so that we are enabled to grant an official Bachelor of Theology degree taught by our own teachers. This is a direct result of the wonderful support granted by partnership of the LCMS RMD and WR&HC. Read more about this in the report on this work to be tabled at the forthcoming convention of RMD:  Web Report on Mission Southern Africa

The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane (Pretoria) is an ongoing and long-term project and needs urgent support to continue with its confessional training program. Not only do the students need ongoing care and support, but we also need to expand our facility to accommodate the growing number of students and vitally, put together a permanent team of staff and teachers to optimize Lutheran theological study, research and tuition programs for this continent. We are hopeful that we can do this sustainably for the next decades and therefore we need your dedicated support.

Nota bene and tolle lege: Loot.co.za – Books: Boela Van Die Blouwater (Afrikaans, Paperback): Chris Barnard | Fiction | Children’s & Educational.

Today’s “Draw” (Losung) from Scripture: “Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land” (Hos 4:1 ESV) and the teaching text (Lehrtext) associated to that by Herrenhut: “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!‘” (Luk 18:13 ESV)

7 May 2012 Sermon on Eph.5,8-14 (Matins)

“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things.” (Ps.98,1) That is the theme in the Christian church since Easter. For two thousand years, that’s been the new song. No longer the old song of death and dying, of darkness and sin, but rather of life, of salvation and eternity, made possible through Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the new creation.

This life has enlightened us. We too are in this light, because Jesus Christ has come into our lives. Nothing is as it was before. Everything is new now. My dear friends, contrast between old and new, between life and death, between those things which are of the past and those things which are of the present, they determine our perception and also our hope, yes, our whole existence. It is a perspective given to us from God’s judgement. We are told that the life with God is completely separated from that without Him. There is no middle ground. It is an either/or situation. These are alternatives, life or death. You can’t be half dead or half alive. It’s either/or.

For us, however, we have shades of grey in our perception because of our poor eyesight, we don’t see clearly, we see as if through a tainted glass. And it is not that we see Jesus Christ, the Son of righteousness, in all his clarity. No, we hear his voice, we sing his praises, but we don’t see Him clearly as He is. That is why St. Paul has to encourage us: “Now live as people of the light.” Find out what pleases the Lord, don’t just strive to go your own way, because it is very easy to lose track, to get lost and fall back into darkness. It is a constant threat to those who are standing, that they too may fall.

The big and marvelous deeds of God always show us a very clear departure from the old to the new. Just think of the liberation from Egypt. No longer under the power of Pharaoh, but rather, free to go into the Promised Land. We know it took more than forty years through the desert, and many times in that time, the people were distracted from the goal of the promised land. They were afraid to go in there, they were longing to go back because they had forgotten what it was. And that is a good description of our existence as Christians. You are baptized, you are a new creation, you are now in Christ. He has covered you with his garments of righteousness. Forget the old, and stretch out to the new which He has opened up to you: the promised land, unity with the family of God.

Jesus says, “Whoever is not for me, is against me. Whoever does not gather with me, scatters.” Yes, he discards, he is lost. This language is one of alternatives and not of both. Turning decidedly to the new and leaving the old behind. We struggle with that. Already called saints, and still fighting with our sin. Already saved, and not yet visible to be seen as what we are, namely one with God in Christ, reborn, enlightened, yes, that is our status thanks to Christ’s doing to us, through his Holy Spirit.

These words are ambiguous, because we sometimes think that it is our own mind that has become so enlightened so that we think for ourselves, like Emmanuel Kant said. “Be brave, think for yourself, stand on your own feet.” And even with rebirth, renaissance, is tainted. Should the spirit of the Greeks come back to us, or the spirit of Africa? No, it is the spirit of Jesus Christ. He the one who is the true light and the only way to the Father. That is the rebirth which has taken hold of you to make you a new creation, so that you can say goodbye to the old ways, to the futile ways, and dedicate yourself wholeheartedly to those ways of Jesus Christ.

It is the calling in which we stand, bearing the yoke of Christ, which is light and not heavy, a yoke which is not disappointing, but rather making our heart content, for Jesus says “Come to me all of you who are tired and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Yesterday’s gospel) And we have come to that grace, close to the fresh waters, and also to the green pastures, where our soul is invigorated, enlivened, and empowered to sing the new song for Him who has done marvelous deeds. That even as we travel through Death’s dark vale, we fear no evil, because He is now with us.

That is the new part of the story. We are no longer alone, but Jesus is with us. His light shines the way, even there where I don’t know where it’s going, I trust His guidance. He takes me by the hand and leads the way to go where He wants me to be. Yes, and when the going really gets so tough that I can’t keep going, he picks me up and carries me home. He does that: “Oh sweet chariot coming to carry me home…” We praise Him, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

And the peace of our Lord which passes all understanding, bless and keep you now and forever in Christ Jesus, the Light of the World. + Amen.

“Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!” (Ps.98,1) This is tomorrow’s watchword – and sure enough, we have all reason to sing God’s praises every day anew. If St. Paul and his companion Silas could sing in the dungeon of Philippi (Acts 16,23-34) – as we hear in tomorrow’s sermon – how much more reason do we have to be grateful and rejoicing? Did he not conquer sin, death and devil by his victorious crucifixion, burial, death and resurrection on Good Friday and Easter for all humanity? Even if some still won’t recognize this, God has given his grace to many that they together with babes, infants and little children sing his praises day in day out – because his “yoke is easy, and his burden is light” (Mt.11,30) as is proclaimed in tomorrow’s gospel. Yes, we have no reason to complain, but rather to be grateful and rejoice in Jesus name.

Tomorrows order of service is again made available with the courtesy of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation (LHF). Read also the sermon in isiZulu for this Sunday on Acts 16,23-34 by missionary Peter Weber (Ohlangeni Lutheran Church, KZN): wz1225120506 Kantate and also in seTswana thanks to the translation of Rev. E.A.W.Weber DD: Wt1225120506 Kantate

While dean Danisa and members of the diocesan council are attending to urgent matters at the Lutheran Church of Naledi, I will be preaching at the Lutheran Church of Mabopane, where the pastor has just handed in his resignation. Please pray for us as we are going about this needful work in these congregations and trying to remember and fight all tribulation and anxiety with God’s gospel: “Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!” (Ps.98,1)

The quest goes on and also the task to translate the gospel into the African context faithfully. Here a posting from ENInews about efforts in this matter:

Theologian sees links between Christianity and African traditional religion Nairobi, Kenya (ENInews)–When a missionary asked Africans in Zanzibar to tell him something about their God, they simply said, “God thunders!” The cleric had travelled across the seas in the 19th century to tell “the heathens without religion” or “people with a primitive religion” about God. The missionaries succeeded in spreading Christianity in Africa at a time when tribal religions were ignored or denigrated. However, a new version of the book “Concepts of God in Africa” (which relates the scene described above) says Christianity was actually helped by some aspects of traditional religion. [556 words, ENI-12-0258]