proclaiming the Gospel to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Shalom and welcome to the Everlasting Nation, a radio ministry of International Board of Jewish Missions. I'm your host Aaron Broughton and I want to thank you for joining me today. Romans 1-16 has been the foundational verse for IBJM since its inception by Dr. Jacob Gardenhouse in 1949. I believe it is also foundational for the missions program for every local church. The gospel that we proclaim is nothing to be ashamed of. As the verse says, it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. When we take a broad look at the history of the church through the centuries, the attitude toward the Jews changed especially by the effects of beliefs such as replacement theology. The fallout from this was anti-semitic attitudes and even persecution of the Jewish people. When we further study the history of worldwide missions, very little has been mentioned of Jewish missions and obedience to the call of Romans 1.16. Even so, that is not to say there was no history of Jewish missions. One name that comes up in the history of missions that is familiar to us is Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf who helped shape the Moravian Church. Count Zinzendorf was born in 1700 in Dresden, Germany and lived until 1760. Most notably, Count Zinzendorf provided refuge for a group of Hussite followers known as the Moravians. This place of refuge was known as Herrenhut. Herrenhut is situated on the Czech border of Germany, and many groups such as the Hutterites, Lutherans, Calvinists, and others arrived at the Zinzendorf estate, escaping persecution of the Catholic Church. With such a variety of people, conflict often arose, yet the leaders of Herrenhut committed themselves together to live peaceably for the cause of Christ. One of these commitments was the practice of prayer. The Moravians developed a prayer schedule where believers prayed in one-hour cycles. This resulted in the 100-year prayer meeting. Perhaps the most profound result of this was the endeavor for worldwide missions. Living as pilgrims and by humble means, some of the Moravians even attempted to sell themselves into slavery to minister among the African slaves in the West Indies. The most famous story of the influence of the Moravians took place during a severe storm in the Atlantic Ocean. A young Anglican minister was quite shaken by the storm and was amazed at the calmness of the Moravians who prayed and sang during the storm. This event moved the heart of this young man toward a true saving faith in Jesus. This man was John Wesley. Going back to Count Zinzendorf, his belief in the gospel and the importance of missions developed into having a heart for the Jewish people. At first, he simply believed that the Jews were a symbol of blindness of unbelief but hoped that individual Jews would be saved. This changed over time, however, when he met Jewish people who looked for the Messiah. He desired to show them Isaiah 53 in order to turn their hearts to Jesus. Zinzendorf went even as far as to befriend a Jewish refugee in Amsterdam to help him understand the Jewish people. Zinzendorf became convicted of the command in Romans 1 16 to go to the Jew first and even sent his people to preach to the Jewish people in Amsterdam. He even introduced a special prayer for Israel in the church's liturgy. His heart became burdened for the Jewish people, so much that he observed Yom Kippur as a day set aside to remember the Jewish roots of the faith and to pray for the salvation of Israel. He also practiced eating kosher in his own home as not to offend the Jewish people. But perhaps the most meaningful tradition that Count Zinzendorf began was serving lamb at Easter time in reference to the Passover lamb and the humility of Christ. Interestingly enough, the lamb is the symbol of the Moravian church today, a testimony to the influence of Count Zinzendorf. Countless lives have been touched through the works of the Moravians, and many have been called to preach the gospel as a result of this. Truly, Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf took the words of Romans 116 to heart. He longed to see both Jew and Gentile saved. His practice of giving and praying for Jewish missions should encourage us to also be involved in this often neglected work. May we have a heart for the Jewish people and diligently do what we can to share the Gospel with them. Let us not allow the Jewish people to become the great omission of the local church. In thinking about Count Zinzendorf in Romans 1.16, I would like to close this program with a quote famously etched on the painting of the suffering Jesus that challenged the young Zinzendorf, where it says, quote, This have I suffered for you, now what will you do for me? You've been listening to The Everlasting Nation, a ministry of International Board of Jewish Missions. For more information, you can contact us at 423-876-8150 or go online to ibjm.org. Until next time, may God bless and shalom.