February, 2002

Shalom Friends!

The world is in tumultuous times now, it seems. We hope that you are praying for the Lord's hand to be on the world. We pray especially for our friends in the Middle East and ask for God's protection for them. Even as there are wars and rumors of war, we know we must keep working to help others know God's word. We have many bits of news about ways you can study with us:

New En-Gedi Series - The King and His Kingdom

We are pleased to announce the next teaching series that En-Gedi will be doing for six Wednesday evenings. From March 12 to April 16, Calvary Christian Reformed Church, of Wyoming, MI will host En-Gedi as part of their Wednesday evening dinner and teaching time. They are at 3500 Byron Center Ave SW. They invite anyone from the community to a free dinner from 5:30 - 6:30 PM, and then we will have a teaching time from 7:00 - 8:30 PM. You are welcome to come for the dinner too.

Map to Calvary Christian Reformed Church

Bruce and Lois will talk about the picture of the Messiah from the Old Testament to the New Testament, and how Jesus was the fulfillment of their expectations. The last session will be a seder meal demonstration. If you live in the area, you are all invited to join us for this new series:

Weekend with Dwight and Keren Pryor
February 27 - March 1

Once again, we would like to invite you to hear an outstanding speaker in Hebraic Studies, Dwight Pryor, President of the Center for Judaic-Christian Studies. We can't say enough about the richness and depth of his teaching. We are honored that he wants to come again to the West Michigan area, as he did last year. He and his wife, Keren Pryor will be here next weekend, February 27 - March 1, 2003. 

Yes, we do still have a very few seats available at the Fellowship Dinner, Friday, February 28th, at 6:30 PM at the Zeeland Community Center, 14 S Church St, Zeeland. This will be a special treat. It will be a Shabbat (Sabbath) dinner, and we will light candles and celebrate some of the rich, beautiful traditions of the Friday evening Shabbat. And, it will be a potluck dinner this year, so that we can share our cooking with each other. Dwight and Keren will be speaking about "The Sabbath and the Healing of the Soul". All we require is that you RSVP!  Please give the names of each guest so that we can make nametags. We will supply table service. We may have to turn people away, so if you have changed your plans, please let us know too.

Please also think about joining us for a day of study with Dwight on Saturday, March 1 at the seminar called, "GOD AND GOD ALONE - The Heritage, Implications and Applications of Israel's Shema for the New Testament Church". He will talk about Israel's monotheism, and how the diety of Christ can be compatible with that. The workshop will be held from 9:30 AM - 3 PM, Zeeland Community Center, 14 S Church St, Zeeland. There will be three 90 minute sessions and refreshments and lunch will be provided. The fee for the day-long session with Dwight: $50/person, $85/couple. Proceeds will go to support Dwight's ministry and travel expenses. Register using the online resource center or by printing the form from our site and sending it to the En-Gedi Resource Center, P.O. Box 1707, Holland, MI 49422. There is still room for more at the seminar.

We spoke with Mr. Pryor recently, and have an updated title for the Pastor's Breakfast on Thursday, March 27: "The Righteousness of God, the Faithfulness of Messiah: Re-Thinking Paul". We hope all available pastors and seminarians can come to this thought-provoking discussion of our understanding of Paul's message at 7:30 AM at the Zeeland Community Center.

New at the En-Gedi Website:
Dead Sea Scrolls Info & Jewish Ethics

En-Gedi had added material to several areas of our website about the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is because currently they are on display at the Van Andel Museum in Grand Rapids, MI between February 16 and June 1, in a rare appearance outside of Israel. They are one of the most important archeological finds of all time, and give a lot of insight on the culture in Jesus' day. They also have extremely old copies of the Old Testament, giving lots of information to biblical scholars. There are a large number of excellent talks that will go on at the museum, and colleges and churches in the area are putting on special presentations too. We are compiling a list of public events and have put it on our calendar. For instance, the Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary is sponsoring a series of free public seminars featuring some of the most important scholars in the field, including Dr. Martin Abegg and Dr. Emmanuel Tov. See the bottom of the calendar for dates and times.  If you have heard of any that we don't know of, please email us. We also have added links to articles and websites that have more information about the Dead Sea Scrolls for further study. 

We have also added a section on Jewish Ethics to the Hebraic Thought & Application section of the Topical Articles page. The Jewish people have a great desire to understand how we should live out this life ethically. Jesus' words in the gospels are a reflection of His heritage. We have found many articles related to our recent article on Jesus' words on judging on Jewish websites, talking about the Jewish ethic to "judge favorably". Other articles are available there too - on gossip, honoring our parents, and other topics.

Feedback on Recent En-Gedi Seminars

We recently ended a series called Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Yeshua that was part of a women's Bible study at Christ Memorial Church. We studied Jesus' words in the context of His life and times, and learned lessons about loving our neighbors, judging favorably, and giving thanks to the Lord at all times. About 150 women participated, and it has been a rich and wonderful time. Here is a comment:

We also recently hosted a day-long seminar to teach about using computers in ministry. The computer is the most powerful communication tool in modern history, and very useful for teaching about the Bible. But, churches struggle to find training for applications specific for ministry. To address this need, we helped about 40 people find answers, especially to learn about making image presentations. The Grand Rapids Press wrote an article on our seminar, saying that if Jesus were around today, maybe he would use computer images to illustrate his parables! 

Here is some of the feedback:

We plan to do another seminar on computers in ministry and we will welcome anyone who would like to come, in churches or not. It is an important communication tool for all believers to know about.

Israel Study Trip Postponed

Many have wondered if we are planning to go to Israel at this time. We have decided to wait a year and work on plans for the spring of next year. It is a disappointment because we knew we would be studying for a week with one of the leading scholars on Jesus' Jewish context, Dr. Steven Notley. But in light of the travel advisory that the state department issued, it seems like a prudent decision. Please start thinking about March of 2004. The weather is lovely in Israel then, and seeing Bible in its setting will make a world of difference in your study. Let us know if you are interested in going in the future.

Many blessings from En-Gedi,

Lois Tverberg, Director
Bruce Okkema, Executive Director

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The En-Gedi Resource Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is solely dependent on your tax-deductible contributions. We very much appreciate your support.