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Do
you believe in Jesus? -
Absolutely!
We refer to Him by His Hebrew name, Yeshua, which was the name He
was called while He walked on earth. To us He is the Messiah of Israel
and Savior of the world.
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What
is Messianic Worship?
-
Messianic Worship seeks to restore
scripture to it's Jewish context,
Glorify Adonai (G-d) in all we do, and
build bridges between Jews, Messianic
Jews, and Christians. Messianic
congregations are often made up
predominately of Goy (Gentiles), wishing
to worship in the way taught by Yeshua
(Jesus), and show love and support for
Jews and Israel.
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What
is Messianic Judaism?
- Messianic Judaism is a movement
of Jewish people who believe that Yeshua
(Jesus) is the promised Jewish Messiah
and Savior for Israel and the nations.
Messianic Jews have not stopped being
Jewish, remaining strongly Jewish in
identity, lifestyle and belief that
Yeshua is the Messiah and the
fulfillment of true Biblical Judaism.
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When
did Gentiles come into faith? -
It was always G-d’s will for
the Gentile nations to receive His
Salvation (Is. 49:6, 42:6).
G-d told Abraham that through him
all the nations of the earth would be
blessed (Gen. 12:1-3).
Early Messianic Jews did not
understand that this was G-d’s will
and proclaimed the Good News of the
Messiah only to Jewish people.
The controversy in the
first century was not if it was Jewish
to believe in Yeshua but whether
Gentiles could be included without
having to become Jewish.
This was addressed by the Jerusalem
council (Acts 15:1-31) which
determined Goy (Gentiles) need not be
circumcised, or follow other Jewish Law,
but must abstain from eating blood,
things strangled, and meat offered to idols, and
must not fornicate.
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How
many Jewish believers in Yeshua are
there?
Estimates
vary, approximately one quarter of a
million in the US, with 1 million world
wide.
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Why
use the name Yeshua?
-
Yeshua is Jesus' Hebrew name, and
would have been what His talmidim
(disciples) would have called Him.
It is a shortened version of Y'hoshua
(usually rendered "Joshua"),
which means "the L-RD is
Salvation."
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What
Does Christ Mean? -
Christ
means anointed one, and is the Greek
translation of the Hebrew word Mashiach
(Messiah)
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Do
you consider yourself Christian or Jew?
- Both, We are
Jews and non-Jews who follow and love Yeshua, but our faith is built on
the foundation of the Holy Scriptures, not church
traditions or Jewish rabbinical teachings.
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Are
Scriptures inspired of G-d?
- Yes.
The Torah, Tanakh (the "Old" Testament), and Brit Chadasha
(Renewed Covenant or New Testament) are all G-d breathed and are
profitable for study, doctrine, and application in our daily lives.
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Why put a dash (-) in the name of
G-d? -
As a
sign of respect. Deu.
12:3-4 tells us not to destroy the Name of the L-RD as we would the
names of the pagan gods, so it is traditional in Judaism not to write
the full Name of God or any translation of it in a place where it might
be treated casually.
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Does
G-d still work today
like He did in Biblical times?
- Yes. He works whatever He wills,
unhindered by time or space. If the Most High did it or promised it in
the Bible, then it will happen and
can happen at any time.
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Do
you believe in being "born again?" -
Yes. Because of the sinful
spiritual nature in all people that accompanies physical birth, a new
creation of the human spirit is needed to fully relate to our holy G-d.
The act of new creation of our spirit by G-d in us is in effect being
"born over again." Yeshua our Messiah offers this to all who
trust Him.
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Is
the Law still valid today?
-
Yes, the Torah is still valid as a standard for righteousness and to
teach us G-d's ways.
Yeshua said
that not one yod (the smallest letter) or tittle (the least penstroke) would pass
away (Mat. 5:18), and that those who love Him
will keep His commandments. The Law is not for salvation, but for
sanctification (being Holy). No one can keep the Law perfectly,
but striving to live as Adonai commands brings us closer to His desire
for our life.
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Do
you keep the Sabbath? -
Yes. We encourage observing the
Sabbath. From the time of creation the Adonai set aside sundown
Friday to sundown Saturday as a gift of physical rest to us. We should
accept the holy gift with joy because, "The Sabbath was made for
man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27).
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Do
you keep kosher?
- Many members of
the congregation do keep Kosher--that is, the Biblical commandments
regarding which animals should be eaten and which not, not the
additional rabbinical rules (kashrut). However, we do not consider
keeping kosher a test of salvation or fellowship.
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Do
you believe in the Holy Spirit?
- Yes. The Ruach Ha'Kodesh (Hebrew) is G-d's
Breath, by which He gives us new life when we come into faith in the
Messiah Yeshua.
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What
about the gifts of the Spirit? -
Yes. While some may differ in the manifestation of
those gifts, G-d's gifts are real, and powerful!
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Do
you keep the Feast Days?
-
Yes, we celebrate the holy Feasts
as a "memorial throughout your generations forever."
These Feasts foreshadow the coming of Yeshua, both His first and second
advent.
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Do
you celebrate Christmas and Easter? -
No. We only celebrate Scriptural
Holy days.
Both Christmas and Easter are pagan celebrations and are not the actual days they propose to celebrate.
We celebrate the actual
days of the birth (Succot) and resurrection of Yeshua (First Fruits), which were already
G-d ordained Feasts of Israel.
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What does Ekklesia mean?
- Ekklesia is the Greek word which is
translated "church." It literally means "those called out," and "the
assembly." I use it on this site when referring to the Body of the
Messiah as a whole, as opposed to a local church/synagogue body or a
denomination (e.g., the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of Christ).
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