LIVE.... on location...from Jerusalem

So many have wanted to see this again...Pr. Scott Reed thinks he's funny. What can I say? It is a hoot.

Ten Things

It was a great weekend...people receiving Christ, 40+ new members. I taught about "Roots," how what goes on underground impacts life and what we see. What is noteworthy is that from comments I've received, more people remember the 10 things comment as the heart of the message. (Col. 2:6,7 refers to being "rooted and built up...abounding in thanksgiving." So an aspect of good roots for a believer is gratitude.) Guess the gratitude thing is where people are living.

So here are my ten things today...my Becki, redbud trees, Ford trucks, 40+ new members, the Jacks Fork river, getting up in the a.m., a job, blackeyed peas, folks, and roots.

Sweet Missouri Home

Thanks everyone for your prayers. We're back home. A little confused about when I'm supposed to sleep etc! An amazing trip...but thankful for our sweet Missouri home. Heard great things about what happened here...the baptisms, the teaching. And a video greeting that I supposedly made while in Israel. :) I'll post that later...

Here's a shot from the final day. Visited Gordon's Calvary...the tomb they believe Jesus may have been laid. Incredible.

Life in a Dead Place

Today we visited En Gedi, the Dead Sea, Mesada, and Qumran—the site of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. That was the highlight for me. Here in 1947, Bedouins discovered scrolls over 2,000 years old. The cave where most of them were found is in this pic here. (I think I look a bit like Indiana Jones!) The really cool thing about these scrolls is that many of them were copies of Old Testament books like Isaiah. What we have discovered is that as we compare the Old Testament copies that have been handed down to us to these 2,000 year old manuscripts, we find that God’s Word has been faithfully preserved. You would expect that they would discover all kinds of inaccuracies when things have been copied multiple times.

God’s Word is alive, Hebrews 4:12 says. So here again, God has brought something alive out of a dead place. Here near the Dead Sea where temperatures can reach 140 degrees and virtually nothing lives, God’s Word has been preserved ALIVE! Awesome.

Church on the Rock

Today was an emotional day. We started at the place where tradition says that Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Then on to Gethsemane where there are supposedly Olive trees that were here when Jesus prayed. We were privileged to spend a few minutes in prayer and reflection there. Very simple. Very meaningful.

At the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, was the other extreme. Incense, brass, and gaudiness were everywhere. People here in the picture are kissing the rock where tradition believes that the cross once stood. As I look at this picture, I feel sad for those who believe that kissing the rock three times will give them favor or good fortune. How complicated we make coming to Jesus! Anyone can come to Him as a child . That's how He prefers our coming to Him...simple faith! That's where the true church on the Rock meets.

Shalom

Yesterday we made the trip from Galilee to Jerusalem. (Here's a pic of the morning light on the Sea of Galilee.)

Coming over the last hill from the Jordan valley and getting the first glimpse of the temple mount takes your breath away. This morning we sang "Mercy Came Running" on the southern steps of the temple--where Jesus would have taught many times! It was surreal to stand there in the morning light and sing of God's mercy in a place where the mercy of God was personified in the God-man, Jesus Christ!

Today we visited the western wall and saw where the Jews continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and as boys entered the rite of passage, Bar Mitzvah. Wow.

Since being here, I have joined my prayer for the the peace of this city and for God to bring His kingdom in me and in us as a church.