http://ffoz.org/blogs/ Timely updates, teaching, videos and inside information about what's happening at First Fruits, written by staff members and guest contributors. en Copyright 2012 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:25:25 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.361 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Messianic blogs and websites are buzzing with the news of self-styled "Messianic Rabbi" Ralph Messer's recent desecration of a Torah scroll at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. A YouTube video shows Messer wrapping the scroll around Bishop Eddie Long in a mock coronation ceremony. Fortunately, representatives of the Messianic Jewish world have universally condemned Messer's actions. Ordained congregational leaders from both the UMJC and the IAMCS have... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/02/messer_and_the_messianic_mess.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/02/messer_and_the_messianic_mess.html Teaching Team Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:25:25 -0600 God willing, we will be shipping our newest book, Biblically Kosher, next week. Biblically Kosher is a book that examines in detail what the Bible (both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament) says about food. Many people say that they keep "biblically kosher" or have a "Leviticus diet" because they avoid eating the unclean animals listed in Leviticus 11. But the Bible actually says much more about what to... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/01/biblically_kosher_release_upda.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/01/biblically_kosher_release_upda.html Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:02:11 -0600 "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction" is the third of Newton's laws of motion. Most of the time when this formula is used, it is outside the context of physics--and is applied to choices that we make that bring certain consequences or results. This morning at our weekly FFOZ chapel service I passed on a challenged to our staff to make a six-week commitment to the "wayward ones."... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/01/a_six-week_challenge_shovvim.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/01/a_six-week_challenge_shovvim.html Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:53:18 -0600 The Fast of the 10th of Tevet is Thursday January 5th sunrise to sunset. The book of Zechariah mentions a fast that takes place in the tenth month. (Zechariah 8:19) Traditionally this is seen as a commemoration of the destruction of Jerusalem which began in the year 588 BCE: And the word of the LORD came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/01/the_fast_of_the_10th.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/01/the_fast_of_the_10th.html Teaching Team Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:35:58 -0600 Tuesday evening, January 3rd, begins the 9th of Tevet which, according to Jewish tradition, is the anniversary of the death of Simon Peter. Simon Peter holds a special place in the hearts of many believers. We find camaraderie and consolation in a man who could sail from the highest points of discipleship to the lows of denying his Master. His struggles are our struggles; his challenges are our challenges, and,... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/01/the_ninth_of_tevet_simon_peter_1.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/01/the_ninth_of_tevet_simon_peter_1.html Teaching Team Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:27:59 -0600 It's a new year. It's a time for some predictions. CNN released at the turn of the year an interesting blog of various spiritual leaders casting their predictions for 2012. There were three thoughts/predictions that caught my eye. Sabbath Becomes Trendy! Fourth Commandment makes a comeback! Sabbath named Time's person of the year! A new movement sweeps the country. They call themselves 24/6. Worn out by being tethered to the... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/01/some_religious_predictions_for.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2012/01/some_religious_predictions_for.html Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:55:39 -0600 This time of year there is a lot of focus on Christmas and its pagan origins. There was even an article in a prominent Christian magazine entitled "Stealing Christmas" that admits that many popular Christmas traditions were borrowed from ancient pagan practices. It is surprising then that very little attention is given to New Year's Day. Judaism celebrates four different New Year's Days throughout the year, depending on what... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/12/is_new_years_pagan.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/12/is_new_years_pagan.html Teaching Team Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:50:14 -0600 According to legend, when the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple, they could find only one cruse of oil that still bore the priestly seal of purity--a quantity sufficient for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days until new ritually pure oil could be produced. Just in time for Chanukah, archaeologists in Jerusalem have announced the discovery of a first century, priestly seal from the Temple. The coin-sized seal found... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/12/priestly_seal_discovered.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/12/priestly_seal_discovered.html Teaching Team Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:50:16 -0600 1. Did you know that Hanukkah is in the Gospels? Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures because the story of Hanukkah happened after the last book of the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) had been written. However, Hanukkah is mentioned in the Gospels. Yeshua went to the Temple for the Feast of Hanukkah. 2. Did you know that Hanukkah is a story of religious persecution? Hanukkah is a story of... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/12/five_reasons_to_celebrate_hanu.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/12/five_reasons_to_celebrate_hanu.html Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:28:11 -0600 Last week I posted a blog entitled A Kosher Christmas Tree? which received quite the response on both the blog itself and Facebook. At First Fruits of Zion, we neither endorse nor condemn the Christian celebration of Christmas. As advocates of Messianic Judaism, a discussion about Christian Christmas tradition is outside of our purview. My family and I do not celebrate the holiday in our home. Nevertheless, there is an... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/12/jeremiah_10_and_the_christmas.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/12/jeremiah_10_and_the_christmas.html Teaching Team Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:22:54 -0600 Does a kosher Christmas tree really exist? Well, not exactly but a new trend is taking place across the globe of topping off Christmas trees with a Magen David ("star of David"). As oxymoronic as that sounds, thousands have been sold in the US, Canada, the UK, Austria, Ireland, Australia and Mexico. Not surprisingly, the holiday season can be a difficult time for interfaith families made up of Jews and... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/12/a_kosher_christmas_tree.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/12/a_kosher_christmas_tree.html Teaching Team Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:02:11 -0600 What is Torah? It may seem obvious enough. Torah means Law. But does it? If Torah just means Law, shouldn't it begin in Exodus 20 with the Ten Commandments? Those are the first bonafide laws of the Torah. Instead, the Torah begins in Genesis 1. It tells the story of the creation of the universe, the origins of man, the tales of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It takes... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/10/this_is_the_torah.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/10/this_is_the_torah.html Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:09:42 -0600 This is a season of favor and forgiveness, growth, maturity, reconciliation with God and man. It is a time of new beginnings. Listen to the sound of the Shofar! Traditionally this festival is a time of the creation of the world and the re-creation of man. It is understood that at this time man can experience the newness of creation through his reconnection with God. This renewal process does not... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/09/rosh_hashanah_admonishing_the.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/09/rosh_hashanah_admonishing_the.html Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:55:47 -0600 Let's try to do a virtual drash (to inquire or seek similar occurrences) on the Delitzsch Hebrew Gospels rendering of John 3:16ff, 15:13ff as compared to the prayer Ahava Rabbah--the prayer immediately prior to the Shema, the "Hear O Israel...." Thematically there are some pretty nice parallel themes and allusions happening in these texts. We are not able to know if Deltizsch's use of the term Ahavah Rabbah is intended... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/09/emidrash_john_316.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/09/emidrash_john_316.html Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:57:50 -0600 Torah Club Volume Six: Chronicles of the Apostles is all over the map. Actually, it's all over several maps. Subscribers to Chronicles of the Apostles will receive a series of biblical maps including the Biblical Backgrounds () Middle East and Land of Israel maps and the DHE maps of Jerusalem and the Temple. We will use the maps extensively as we follow the story of the apostles, the travels of... http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/09/all_over_the_map.html http://ffoz.org/blogs/2011/09/all_over_the_map.html Teaching Team Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:12:00 -0600