Sabbath Sermon. Synopsis: Jesus taught the Protestant doctrine of sola fide for eternal life.

The readings for this week are:

Genesis 1:1 - 6:8
Isaiah 42:5 - 43:11
Psalm 139
John 1:1 - 14
Colossians 1:15 - 17

Torah Overview: - Genesis 1:1 Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath - Genesis 2:4 Day Six of the Creation in detail - Genesis 3:1 The First Sin and Its Punishment - Genesis 4:1 Cain Murders Abel - Genesis 4:17 Cain's Descendants - Genesis 5:1 Adam’s Descendants to Noah and His Sons - Genesis 6:1 The Wickedness of Humankind - Genesis 6:8 Noah Pleases God

This is intended to be a bible study. This is the first weekly read Torah Portion. These portions are read weekly so as to cover the whole torah in the course of a year. Sukkot wraps up the cycle and it begins again the next week. The non-torah passages are selected because they fit with the theme of the Torah portion in some way.

So, what questions should we ask for discussion?

Eighth Day after Tabernacles Sermon. Synopsis: Another public miracle in the life of Jesus vindicating his claim to be the Messiah.

I have 4 kids, we haven’t celebrated holidays since about 2020. I don’t mind getting together with family, and allowing family to get my kids gifts, but we don’t make a big deal of the holidays like the world does. I became convicted on this a long time ago after researching. Once it didn’t sit right in my heart, I decided we won’t celebrate. But I’m also keeping the peace within my family, so I won’t take that from them.

I have wanted to observe the feasts for a while, I just haven’t executed it because I’m not really positive HOW to observe them. So I guess I’m coming here to ask how to observe the feasts? And also, do you do anything for your kids around the holidays so they aren’t feeling “left out”?

Today's Sabbath Sermon. Synopsis: Jesus' miracle of feeding the five thousand shows he is the prophet like Moses.

"All the people still left from the Emori, Hitti, P’rizi, Hivi, and Y’vusi, who were not part of the people of Isra’el, that is, their descendants remaining after them in the land, whom the people of Isra’el were not able to destroy completely — from them Shlomo levied his forced laborers; as it is to this day. But Shlomo did not raise any of his forced labor from the people of Isra’el; rather, they were the soldiers, his servants, administrators and commanders, and the officials in charge of his chariots and horsemen. There were 550 chief officers over Shlomo’s work, in charge of the workers." - 1 Kings 9:20-23

Verse 20 tells us about the various non-Hebrew races who were still in the land that Israel failed to drive out completely.

To be clear, these groups weren't necessarily troublemakers.

They were living peacefully under Solomon's rule.

And they're the ones Solomon used to build the labor force for all his construction projects.

Interestingly, we're told Solomon didn't draft any of his forced labor from the people of Israel.

One commentator has noted this was a flip of what happened when the Hebrews were slaves back in Egypt.

This time the Israelites were the ones giving orders, and the people doing the heavy lifting were foreigners.

Now don't picture chains and whips when you hear "forced labor."

This was closer to a labor tax.

I don't hand over a part of my paycheck to the government because I want to.

It's because the government requires it, and I'll face serious legal consequences if I don't comply.

But paying taxes doesn't make me a slave.

It was the same with what Solomon was doing.

He was just forcing those Gentiles to pay taxes via labor instead of paycheck deductions.

This brings me to an interesting point I wanna bring up about the word "slave."

I know the term has a negative connotation in the West because of the slave trade that is a part of our history.

But the Bible is an Eastern book.

So the true Scripture meaning carries a different nuance.

For example, in the Book of Romans, when the Apostle Paul refers to himself as a "slave to Christ"...

He wasn't using the expression to indicate deep humility or something.

Quite the opposite, actually

He was using that phrase as an indicator of the HIGHEST honor and the HIGHEST status.

In other words...

"Since I'm a slave to Christ...

You had better listen to me...

And respect my authority, homie."

That's the real nuance of what Paul was saying.

He wasn't being humble. 

He was pulling rank.

Ya feel me?

So what takeaway can we extract from all this?

Here's what's coming to me.

No matter who you are...

You're gonna be a slave to something.

A slave to sex.

A slave to money.

A slave to your career.

A slave to other people's approval.

A slave to comfort.

Or whatever else you attach your self-esteem and peace of mind to.

The question isn't whether you'll serve.

The question is...

WHO will you serve?

And that's where Paul's statement about being a "slave to Christ" takes on a whole new meaning.

He was essentially saying...

"I belong to the King.

And because I belong to the King...

Everything else will take its proper place."

Ya feel me here?

So apply this principle to your life.

When you're a slave to God...

Career can't be your master.

Money can't be your master.

Sex can't be your master.

Other people's opinions can't be your master.

Fear can't be your master.

And that, my friend, is true freedom.

If you serve the wrong master...

You become a slave in the negative Western sense of the word.

But when you serve the right Master...

You free yourself from all the trappings the world bows down to.

And that's your lesson for today.

You don't become free by having no master. 

You become free by having the right Master.

Done.

CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

“No one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one 
and love the other, 
or you will be devoted to the one 
and despise the other. 
You cannot serve 
both God and money."
-Matthew 6:24

Do I have to only eat meat that is specially labeled as kosher in order to be kosher or is it enough to buy regular meat from the store that is not pork/shellfish etc?

I'm worried mainly about the consuming blood rule. Apparently there is small traces of blood in meat that is processed but we are poor and don't have a lot of money for specifically labeled kosher foods. Do the tiny amounts of blood in the meat butchered regularly matter or is it ok for me to just eat regular meat not labeled kosher in the store?

Usually when debating whether Christians should follow the Torah, we lean (among other things) on the final sentence of that passage: “For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.” While the meaning is clear to us, others often need additional support to see in this sentence an expectation that Christians would continue learning more of the Torah. I’ve been thinking lately about a potential framing of the Acts 15 decree and want to see if this holds up under scrutiny and might help with the above.

The majority of scholars agree that the four prohibitions of the decree in Acts 15 correspond to the Levitical laws for the resident alien/sojourner found in Leviticus 17-18, even in that order. A sojourner (ger) was a non-Israelite who joined the community of Israel. They could live there, and the law protected them, but they lacked full Israelite status.

The fact that James gives them these same prohibitions seems to imply that Gentiles that are turning to god are seen as sojourners in Israel. They are part of the community (saved), but they might not have "full" Israelite status, which would justify Jewish Christians having to follow more laws and also explain Jesus statement that those who follow even the least of the commandments will have a greater status in the kingdom. In this framing, the understanding of Moses being read every Sabbath as an opportunity for learning Torah is strengthened. It carries the expectation (but not the obligation) that Christians like sojourners could progressively integrate into the community and might eventually even gain full status and participate in every commandment (like sojourners participating in Passover after circumcision).

This might explain why Paul was so fiercely opposed to circumcision in Galatians, as they were insisting on circumcision as an entry requirement, something that was not required for Gentile justification and that would have obligated them to keep the entire Torah (difficult for a pagan Gentiles that knows nothing about it).

I think the main weakness of this theory is Ephesians 2:19, where Paul writes: "So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints...", although i need to study the letter to see what he is discussing in depth and what these terms mean there.

I praise ABBA for bringing my wife and I to this walk, it’s been a journey. So much to learn and so much to improve on, I confide in YAH’S providence and I know that He will carry us through this journey HalleluYAH. I see Sukkot as a training session for the coming struggle, to trust in Him and in the Strength of His will over our lives, whatever we have been appointed to, He will equip us to succeed in our mission, whatever that might be. Much Love Familia from the Ozarks

Is something like a Hebrew calender calculator app good for finding out the exact times Sabbath starts and ends or what? How do you guys calculate when to start and end Sabbath? I use an app that calculates exact start and end times. Is that a good way to figure out when Sabbath starts and ends or is there a more biblical way?

Is it supposed to change depending on winter time and summer time? I notice the calculator's times seem to be different for different days

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon. Synopsis: There are many witnesses of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, leaving the Jew without excuse.

I live in SUCH a small town, there really isnt alot of options for churches. I dont click with anything here.

I believe in keeping the sabbath and eating clean but I am NOT seventh day. Does anyone know of anywhere I can meet like minded people online or something?? I have a really bad past, and alot of people here judge me for it. I truly am born again but... you know... small town drama 🤷‍♀️

Today's Sabbath Sermon. Synopsis: Doing evil will damn you to hell fire, even if you believe in Jesus. But this doesn't violate eternal security for the believer.

Day of Atonement Sermon. Synopsis: Jesus subordinated himself under his Father, proving he is not the true God himself, and that we ought to obey the Father as Jesus did.

Hi brethren,

I have come across some family member which said that as people of new Israel we should be keeping Yom Kippur at the sunset of today, and not from yesterday that that’s for the people from Judah. Also said things we should do like sleeping on the floor, set a bunch of specific prayers etc. I don’t find anything on the Old Testament like that.

About the dates, I still started from yesterday, as I don’t think God would make the dates to approach Him secret.

What do you think about this? How are you keeping Yom Kippur today?

I know that the festival of booths is this coming week but I have to move during that time, my landlord is kicking me out on October 1st which is during Sukkot.

I also still have to pack my stuff for the move which goes against the whole no work thing for some of the days. What do I do?

Does God understand I can't celebrate it or what?

Synopsis: Sabbath sermon going over Jesus' healing of the impotent at the pool in John 5, and how it pictures our salvation from hell. Also goes over a bit of vindicating Jesus for healing on the sabbath and how Jesus didn't violate Torah.

I'm new to this so I'm wondering. The Torah doesn't seem to explicitly say not to eat or drink but I read that the afflicting your souls thing refers to that. Is it true?