Roots of Faith

In this fourth portion of the Triennial Torah cycle, we encounter one of the most intriguing personalities in the entire Bible - Enoch.

According to hints in the Hebrew Bible and plain language in the NT, it is asserted that Enoch is one of two men that never tasted death. We look at both of these men in this week’s lesson; Enoch and Elijah.

We get one of the first glimpses into the character of God in the Hebrew Bible this week. We find God, literally with pain in His heart (Genesis 6:6).  This is the same Hebrew root word contained in the passage about what Eve would experience in bearing children (Genesis 3:16).

According to what we read in this section of Genesis, God regrets that He ever made man.

We are introduced to the character of Noah in this week’s lesson. It is important for us to pay close attention to the story of Noah since Yeshua is quoted as saying that the end of days would be like the “days of Noah” (Matthew 24:36-39).

We read that despite the crookedness of the generation in which Noah lived, he found “Grace” in the eyes of YHWH. What does it mean to find grace in God’s eyes?

The “Dialog” covers some interesting topics:

(1) The Two witnesses

(2) The significance of 3.5 years (42 months, 1260 days, etc)

(3) The Days of Noah (The sons of God, Nephillim)

(4) Grace in the Hebrew Bible

You will not want to miss this class.  We also had a special guest this Sabbath. A family from the Ukraine visited the synagogue. Anton, and his wife Luba are messianic Leaders in Russia.  They are in the states for several weeks and spent the Sabbath with us. Their daughter Masha came with them and provided excellent translation.  It was wonderful to have them visit our synagogue.  After the dialog, Anton addressed those at the synagogue with the help of his daughter.

 

 Seder 4 - Introduction [11:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Seder 4 - Torah Reading [23:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Seder 4 - Dialog [72:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Brother Anton's Word of Exhortation [13:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I have always loved the King James Version for its poetic lilt, and especially
the Book of Psalms. Since they were meant to be song in their original tongue, I
wanted to so render them in my native tongue as well. There is such a wealth of
insight and depth of emotion contained therein.

This is actually the second Psalm I put to music. It holds special significance
for me in that it provides a unique vocal picture of the Way. It also contrasts
clearly the walk of those who seek God and those who do not.

The melody and chords for this version came to me in a relatively complete
package in a very short period of time. It reminds me of how God gave the 10
Commandments to Moses on Sinai, as a unified whole written by His own hand. In
that way I feel unable to take credit for the song, other than having the
distinct honor of being the messenger by whom it was delivered.

Glenn

 

 Psalm 1 Perfomed by Glenn Chatterton [3:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this torah reading, named Behold the Man, we have two murders and two exiles. We begin to see the true consequences of sin; separation from God and the denial of access to the tree of life.

We are introduced to the Biblical theme of the “hiding of God’s face”. We learn that innocent blood cries out to God when it is shed.

The first murder victim is a shepherd…we are introduced to one that is born in the image of the father and to the idea of men calling on the name of the LORD.  All of this hints at the end of days when in this very Torah reading we find that phrase for the first time(Genesis 4:3).

 Is this a hint that there is more to the story herein than appears on the surface?

With the reading from the prophets (Ezekiel 28), we meet with perhaps yet another character from the eschatology of Ancient Israel - the False Messiah!

You will definitely want to listen to this week’s teaching. In the dialog, Ross begins by teaching on the Cheribim from a Biblical perspective.  Are these “angels” and if so, are they the cute little chubby things as they are so often depicted?  Not Hardly!

Most of the dialog is around the False Messiah.  Joe Good from Hatikva Ministries visited and our new friend Mitch joined us this week.  It is fun getting into the text in the way that we are.

Check us out.  We hope above all that we make you think again. 

 Shalom

 

 Seder Three Introduction - Behold the Man (Gen 3:22-4:26) [15:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Seder Three Reading - Behold the Man (Gen 3:22-4:26) [16:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Seder Three Dialog - Behold the Man (Gen 3:22-4:26) [96:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Yours

I can’t claim any specific scriptural reference for this song although I believe the idea behind the words is certainly scriptural. The melody for this song had been knocking around in my head for several years but I could never come up with any ideas for the lyrics that I liked. I happened to be reading an article in a scientific magazine that I subscribe to one day and the thought occurred to me that we (modern mankind) work so very hard to prove that the universe that we live in just sort of happened. How absurd. It’s like looking at the sky and insisting its green then spending your whole life trying to prove it. If men did not praise Him, the rocks themselves would cry out.

Yours
By John Carlson

By Your hand the worlds were cast
Stars stretch out beyond our grasp
Echo’s ring from distant suns
And all of this is Yours
We strain our lives to touch it all
Set our eyes for distant shores
All the while deny the call
That we ourselves are Yours

Your song set forth the laws of life
Sparked the sounds that gave us light
Set to move the spinning orbs
And all of this is Yours
Yet still we seek the answers born
Where risks of faith can be ignored
Refuse to hear the silent truth
That we ourselves are yours

(INSTRUMENTAL)

The stuff of stars we cannot see
Only you hold the key
We bend our thought to find the source
And all of this is yours
Our thoughts rebound, conviction calls
It’s time we learned our purpose born
Turn our ears to hear the call
That we ourselves are yours

 

 Yours by John Carlson [3:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download