PODCAST: Yeshua in Context – Born from Above
When you read the Fourth Gospel in light of its Jewish context, you realize that the focus of this gospel is narrow but profound. John focuses on a mystical theme, the union of heaven and earth, the coming down from…
The Beginnings of "the Rabbis"
Understanding where we came from, as most people realize, is actually quite helpful. Often attitudes toward modern institutions are colored by historical processes set in motion long before the most distant ancestor we can find was born. Long before the…
J-BOM: A Summer of Jewish Fiction
J-BOM means “Jewish Book of the Month.” And Messianic Jews all over are reading together, a communal experience of Jewish literature and history which strengthens our bond, increases our understanding, and gives us shared experience in the great big world…
Reading and Applying the Gospels, Part 2
I am still at the MJRC meetings and busy as can be. The nights are fun though, with time to talk with friends I don’t see often enough. Yesterday, I shared some transforming elements within the gospels, things to look…
Reading and Applying the Gospels, Pt 1
I am at the MJRC (Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council, ourabbis.org) through Tuesday. I am not a member, but I am a candidate this year to be a member (crossing my fingers). I won’t be blogging about the meetings, but will…
PODCAST: Yeshua in Context – Wicked Tenants, Pt 2
The death of Yeshua is not salvation for all in Israel. For some it is a final act of doom. Yet the vineyard will be given to others, the newly constituted leaders of Israel, the twelve who have followed Yeshua…
The Spirit of Messianic Judaism
Occasionally I am optimistic. Of course I have faith in God and so I always expect that he will keep up his end of things. But what I am saying is that sometimes I am even optimistic about the human…
Rhetoric from the Moderate Two-House Position
If you don’t know what Two-House is and if you are not in Messianic Judaism, you may just want to skip this post or pay it little attention. We have a discussion going on in broader MJ circles that is,…
Shavuot: Laws and Traditions
Shavuot (Pentecost) begins tonight. I have an incomplete (but complete enough) haggadah for Shavuot with information, readings, biblical meditations, and more. The link to the haggadah for Shavuot is here. And the following list of laws and traditions is something…
Men Without Chests
I’m having a little revival of C.S. Lewis reading. I just reorganized by Lewis bookshelf last night and ordered a few new books (note to my congregational bookkeeper: I paid for these books myself). So, it has been many years…
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