Blow the Trumpet and Mark Your Calendars:

This Fall there are 2 Metroplex Events!

 Israel's Fall Feasts Celebration

Saturday, October 11, 2003, 6PM - 8:30 PM
Holiday Inn Select
11350 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, Texas 75238

 *Reservations Required*

Adults $20.00
Children $12.00

Reserve your place by October 6
(972) 226-7654
Check or VISA/MasterCard

Due to the success of our Passover seders and last year’s Hanukkah Feast-ival, we have added an exciting new program. I want to personally invite you to our first Christ in the Fall Feasts of Israel celebration! On this night, we will explore how the Jewish heart of Christianity, our Messiah, fulfills not just one Holy Day, but three! The evening will highlight how Jesus, our perfect High Priest and sacrifice, fulfilled the Day of Atonement; how Jesus, who tabernacled among men, fulfills Tabernacles through His gift of true living water, and how Jesus will soon return with the blast of the Biblical trumpet, the mighty shofar.

We will share a delectable meal, study Scripture, learn Jewish history and worship together. Seating is limited and time is running out. Every one of our events thus far has sold out! Please join us and make your reservation no later than October 6. Shalom!

Festival of Lights

Hanukkah Celebration

I also want to personally invite you to our 2nd annual Christ in the Feast of Hanukkah celebration! This exciting program highlights how Jesus, the Light of the World, fulfilled the Festival of Lights. The evening is designed to be a joyful and practical preparation for the upcoming holiday season. I will demonstrate how to incorporate the celebration of Hanukkah in your home as a meaningful bridge between Thanksgiving and Christmas: an unforgettable reminder that Jesus is the reason for the season!

We will share a delectable meal, study Scripture, learn Jewish history, play games and worship together. If you have enjoyed our Passover seders, you must join us for Hanukkah! Seating is limited, and time will run out. As with all our events thus far, last year’s Hanukkah evening sold out! Don’t be left holding the latkes! Please join us for an eventful night. Make your reservation no later than November 10. Shalom!

Saturday, November 15, 2003

6 pm - 8:30 pm

Birchman Baptist Church Ricker Center

9100 N. Normandale

Fort Worth, TX 76116

*Reservation Required* 

Adults $20.00
Children $12.00

Reserve your place by

November 10

(972) 226-7654

Check or Visa/MC

 Kathleen's Korner

I am thrilled to announce that Kathleen Krach has recently joined our staff. She is uniquely equipped to collaborate with me in fulfilling our mission in her capacity as office manager. I have asked her to introduce herself. -- SCG

Aside from trusting Jesus Christ, there are two experiences that have most profoundly transformed my life: my studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and my first tour of Israel. God’s authority and  power became overwhelmingly evident through the study of His word and my pilgrimage to His promised land.Shortly after my return from Israel, I was flying to the Midwest to visit family. I struck up a warm conversation with the woman seated next to me. As the flight progressed, our chat covered a variety of subjects. The conversation soon turned to spiritual things.

Learning that she was Jewish, I gasped with delight. She stared back at my dramatic reaction with notable discomfort. I explained that my recent visit to Jerusalem had, for the first time, awakened in me a love for the Jewish people and all that was Jewish. I assured my companion that my faith had caused me to feel a strong affinity with her and her people. From start to finish the Bible was written by Jews, and I worship a Jewish Messiah. Indeed, the very heart of my faith is Jewish.

These transforming experiences have prepared me to serve with Sojourner Ministries. Through Steven’s teaching, familiar passages such as John 7:37 took on  new dimensions, “On the ... day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”When the passage was set in the context of the Feast of Tabernacles, the story became three dimensional. Understanding the water pouring ceremony associated with that day provided depth that I had previously missed (Get our tape on Tabernacles to see what I mean!).

Integrity. In the time I have been here, I have been refreshed by the great care and financial integrity with which this ministry is conducted. Great lengths are gone to keep administrative cost phenomenally low (the office is less than 150 square feet; we have to take turns standing up!). The philosophy is to put all additional funds directly into ministry.

Unity. Unlike many parachurch organizations, this ministry transcends denominational bounds. I have been impressed by the broad range of believers hungry to explore their Jewish roots with Steven. This ministry goes far beyond its primary purpose of education to truly bring believers together.

Evangelism. I have also been touched by the evangelistic focus of the ministry. The topic of Jewish customs draws many with spiritual hunger yet undefined faith. One cannot leave any of Sojourner Ministry’s events without being offered a clear understanding of the gospel and a challenge to consider the claims of Christ.

My goals are to free Steven up from administrative burdens so that together we can expand the scope of this ministry. I look forward to this new adventure with Sojourner Ministries.

Our High Priest and Sacrifice:

Exploring the Jewish Heart of The Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement, in Hebrew, Yom Kippur, illuminates Jesus’ mission as a satisfactory sacrifice to remove sin and illustrates His resurrection ministry as our great High Priest.

The Biblical term, Yom Kippurim, can be translated, The Day of Coverings. It does not indicate removal of sins, only a covering over of sins. According to Scripture, the covering for sin is blood, the symbol of life (Leviticus 17:11). Without blood, there can be no atonement. Only Israel’s High Priest could act as Israel’s representative and carry the sacrificial blood into the Divine Presence in the Holy of Holies on this sacred day.

God gave Israel the sacrificial system in order to restore their sin-fractured relationship— to cover over their sin on an annual basis. Of course, this annual covering only lasted as long as individuals did not sin again. Indeed, following the Day of Atonement, the daily and weekly Levitical sacrifices immediately recommenced.

Without blood, shed within the sacrificial Temple ritual, there can be no atonement. So how do Jewish people make atonement for their sins today, in the absence of Temple sacrifice?

A few observant Jewish people have created their own ceremonies to keep this holiest day from being completely bloodless. There is a fascinating, “old-country” Jewish tradition called the Kapparot ceremony. A fowl is purchased and swung overhead three times. Words are recited to the effect, “This is my substitute. This is my vicarious offering. This is my covering. This chicken will go to its death, but I will enjoy a good, long and peaceful life.”

Jewish believers hold to a more satisfying solution. The New Testament letter to the Hebrews portrays Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of Yom Kippur.

Hebrews 9-10 makes it clear that Jesus is now our great High Priest. This Priest did not first have to make atonement for his own sins before representing the people, for He was sinless. Furthermore, High Priests came and went as they were replaced or died. Jesus, as a resurrected High Priest, will minister forever.

Our sinless High Priest was also the perfect sacrifice. The very fact that animal sacrifices were repeatable proved that they were insufficient (Heb 10:1-4). Jesus’ sacrifice is a perfect offering sacrificed once for the total and complete eradication of sin. Animal blood could only annually cover up sin, not completely remove it.

With the death of Jesus, sins are no longer merely covered over. Now our sins are removed through our Messiah’s sacrifice, which has created true, eternal atonement between God and his people, both Jew and Gentile alike.