Author Archives: Natan Lawrence

The Church Turned Inside Out—Parking Lot Outreach

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As mentioned in an earlier post, yesterday on the Sabbath our small congregation rather than meeting in our church building, gathered instead  in the church’s parking lot along a busy boulevard.

We had music, prayer, worship flags, a little teaching and the kids played in the field in front of the church. Several people passed out tracts and Bibles to pedestrians, and a man and one of our teens held up a nine-foot log cross on the sidewalk in view of passing cars.

Although YHVH blessed us with an exquisitely beautiful spring day, there weren’t very many pedestrians. Only a few tracts were passed out.

Notwithstanding, our folks learned what it was like to display their faith in public and to become a “fool” for Yeshua. This is an excellent exercise for our spiritual character development.

We will pray and seek YHVH as to what type of outreach he wants us to do next for him in the public arena. We’re already kicking around some ideas. We’ll probably do the parking lot outreach again, but with some additions using a different approach.

Stay tuned to this blog. I’ll soon be uploading a pdf, printable version of the gospel tract I wrote and that you can use as your own personal evangelistic tool. The tract has room for you to write your own name and phone number on it.

Here are some photos I took of our outreach.

Singing and worshiping in the church parking lot.

Singing and worshiping in the church parking lot.

The church turned inside out for Yeshua and the advancement of the kingdom of Elohim.

The church turned inside out for Yeshua and the advancement of the kingdom of Elohim.

Steve and Dennis standing on the sidewalk along Hall Blvd. with the cross and Bibles and tracts.

Steve and Dennis standing on the sidewalk along Hall Blvd. with the cross and Bibles and tracts.
 

Blog Scripture Readings for 3/10 through 3/16/13

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Parashat Vayikra — Leviticus 1:1 – 5:26 (6:7 in Christian Bibles)
Haftarah — Isaiah 43:21– 44:23
Prophets — Isaiah 30:1 – 37:38
Writings — Proverbs 5:1 – 11:31
Testimony — John 19:1 – 21:25; Acts 1:1 – 2:38

Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages. If you have general comments or questions on the weekly Scripture readings not addressed in a blog post, here’s a place for you to post those. Just use the “leave a reply” link below.

The full “Read Through The Scriptures In A Year” schedule, broken down by each day, can be found on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links.” There are 4 sections of scripture to read each day. One each from the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and from the Testimony of Yeshua. Each week, the Torah and haftarah readings will follow the traditional one-year reading cycle.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 3/10 through 3/16/13.

 

The Cross and the Triangle in the Tabernacle

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Exodus 40:2–7, Set up the tabernacle. YHVH’s instructions to Moses to set up the furnishings in the tabernacle followed a particular order. Moses first started in the holy of holies, then proceeded to the table of show bread, then moved across to the menorah, then over to the altar of incense, and then down to the altar of sacrifice within the tabernacle’s courtyard, and then up to the bronze laver. The outline of Moses’ movements make a triangle on a cross with the base of the triangle forming the cross arm of the cross. The base of cross corresponds to the altar of sacrifice, while apex of the triangle corresponds to the altar of incense and the top of the cross, which extends past the apex of the triangle is where the testimony in the holy of holies is.

Tabernacle Set-Up Order

Would anyone care to posit their opinion on the spiritual significance of this geometric pattern?

 

Shabbat Shalom!

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Shabbat Shalom Flower

 

It’s Time to Turn the Church Inside Out

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Want to get radical? Most church congregations hold their meetings indoors where no one on the outside can see or hear them. How about turning the church inside out? Instead, hold services outside in the parking lot for the whole world to see? Take the light of the saints out of the bushel basket called a church building and put it outside!

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This Sabbath (Shabbat) afternoon, our congregation will be holding an outreach Shabbat services in the parking lot (along a busy boulevard) of the church building we rent. We’re going to have live music, worship dance, worship flag ministry, preaching, passing out food to the hungry, passing out Bibles and tracts to the spiritually hungry, and praying for those with needs. Below is what will be on a flyer we’ll be passing out to those who drop in to  visit us.

To help you on your spiritual journey, here are a number of free resources our ministry makes available:

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What Is Truth?

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John 17:17, Truth. Yeshua, the One sent to this earth from Elohim in heaven, says here, “Thy [Elohim’s] Word is truth.” In Matthew 4:4, Yeshua said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Elohim.”

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So what is truth? The word in Hebrew for truth is emet (spelled aleph, mem, tav), which is comprised of the first, middle and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Truth embodies everything from the beginning to the very end of YHVH’s Word (literally, his Torah or the first five books of the Bible, and secondarily, the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation).

Interestingly, the Scriptures call Yeshua “the beginning and the end of our faith” (Heb 12:2), and likens him metaphorically to alpha and omega (Rev 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13), which are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters corresponds in symbolic meaning to the aleph and tav, which are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

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Holiness Is Like a Crown of Pure Gold

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Exodus 39:30, A crown of pure gold. What words were written on this golden crown that the high priest wore? Why did YHVH command that these words be written on the crown? To answer that question, think of this: What one word best describe who YHVH is? Most Christians would say that love is YHVH’s chief attribute. But is this what the Scriptures teach? Is there something higher? What are the six-winged seraphim declaring about YHVH Elohim day and night before his throne? (See Isa 6:5; Rev 4:8.)

20731763 Now consider this. YHVH made man in his own image (Gen 1:26), and wants man to become like him in character (note Lev 11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7). Now read Revelation 14:1 and compare with Revelation 7:3. What does YHVH put on the heads of his end-times servants? What are the two noteworthy characteristics of YHVH’s end-times saints? (Note Rev 12:17; 14:12.) Holiness, Torah-obedience and a faith in Yeshua all go hand-in-hand.

Now let’s bring this brief discussion full circle. As the high priest of old wore a gold crown inscribed with the words “Holiness to YHVH,” what does YHVH expect of his end-times saints? (See Heb 12:14; 1 Pet 1:15.) What does Peter call the saints of the Holy One of Israel? (See 1 Pet 2:9.) What will YHVH’s saints become in Yeshua’s Millennial kingdom? (Read Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6.)

The word holiness (Heb. kadosh) as used in the Scriptures simply means “set-apart or the state of that which belongs to the sphere of the sacred, and which is distinct from the common or profane.” Elohim as the Creator is transcendent above his creation or that which is profane, earthly or worldly.

Being kadosh isn’t only a positional consideration, but an ethical one as well. The Torah is a reflection of the ethical qualities of Elohim, and is man’s ethical code book showing him how to be holy, set-apart or kadosh as Elohim is. Holiness in the Torah involves what we think, what we say, and what we do.

This code of holiness which is a pathway to a relationship with our Father in heaven teaches us how to worship (or love) Elohim, and how to treat (or love) our fellow man. Yeshua, the Living Word or Torah of Elohim (John 1:1, 14) showed us how to walk out the Torah perfectly, and he then empowers us through his Spirit to live out the Torah’s holiness code, but this is another discussion.