January, 2002

Shalom from En-Gedi, once again --

Those on our email list have been getting quite a bit of mail from us lately as we send you samples of the Bible commentaries for the Bible Corner and Read Through The Bible program. Please email soon if you want to keep receiving them. We have also put some new links to Bible study helps, as well as some fun links for children on the [Links] menu. Check our "Latest Features" button on the front page for many other new things we have put up this month including poetry, articles and links.

Interested in a Study Group?

We are currently researching if there is interest in forming a discussion group to study the topic of Jesus' Jewish cultural context and how it helps us understand his message. We would choose a book or series of articles to read, and plan to meet once a month as a group (for those in the western Michigan area), and then have most of our discussion online using the En-Gedi discussion forum. We will ask the author if he/she is willing to answer questions and input into the online forum as well. Please send us an email to tell us if you would participate in a discussion group like this. There may be a cost for books and materials. If we have enough interest, we will pursue it.

Dwight Pryor Weekend Workshop

We are delighted to announce a Saturday seminar with Dwight Pryor, President of the Center for Judaic-Christian Studies. You may be familiar with that organization through the books they have published like "Our Father Abraham" by Marvin Wilson or "Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus" by David Bivin. The founder of this organization, Dwight Pryor, has now become internationally known for his outstanding teaching ability and his amazing depth. (Look for his article Behold the Man on our the articles page.) He will be in western Michigan April 11 - 13, and will be giving a talk at our monthly pastor's breakfast on April 11, as well as leading a day-long workshop on Saturday, April 13.

Dwight Pryor Biographical Information

The theme of the Saturday workshop will be:

Jesus, The Messianic Agenda & The Apocalypse

Confusion abounds regarding the Kingdom of God, the End of the Age and the Messianic Agenda of Yeshua (Jesus). Clarity will be sought on these key and controversial issues.

Held from 9:30 AM - 4 PM at Christ Memorial Reformed Church,
595 Graafschap Rd, Holland, MI 49423
Map to Christ Memorial Church

The fee for the day-long session: $50/person, $85/couple, payable at the door.
Proceeds will go to support Dwight's ministry and travel expenses.
Refreshments will be provided. Seating is limited, so sign up soon.
Email egrc@egrc.net to register - please give your name, address and phone.

Buth Tapes Now Available

Last November Randall Buth, a Christian expert on Bible translation and Jesus' Jewish background, gave a series of talks for En-Gedi on understanding Jesus' teaching as his first listeners did. He discussed some of the difficult words of Jesus and put them back in context to reveal the insights we can gain from his culture. We have now completed our audio tape set of 5 talks that Dr. Buth gave over the weekend. Some of the topics of the talks are:

- How Jesus described having a saving relationship with God in the language of his first century Jewish culture, using the ideas of the kingdom of God, the Shema, and covenantal terminology.
- Why did Jesus say to Peter "Upon this rock I will build my church?"
- A discussion of what the often misinterpreted terms "bind" and "loose" mean, and its implication for Christians.
- A brilliant answer that Jesus gave to the question of whether it is right to pay taxes to Ceasar - even more amazing if you understand his culture.

These talks are available in a 3-cassette album, along with a booklet of the passages and references. If you are interested in ordering a set for $20 + tax + shipping ($23.20), email egrc@egrc.net and give us your mailing address.

En-Gedi Pastor's Breakfasts

This spring we are continuing our breakfast series for pastors with the goal of exploring the cultural background of the Bible and sharing it with congregations. We were very encouraged by the enthusiastic response it had last fall, and hope to keep providing excellent presentations. The breakfast will be from 7:30 to 9 AM at Holland Heights Christian Reformed Church,
836 East 8th St, Holland, MI. If you are a pastor, pastoral intern, or are in seminary you are welcome to attend. Please RSVP if you plan to come.

Our next breakfast will be Thursday, January 17th when Bill Boersma, of Christ Memorial Reformed Church, will be presenting Using Hebraic Resources in Teaching and Preaching: A Look At Luke 5 - He will discuss ways he has used Hebraic and Israel-related resources in his preaching. Pastor Boersma will be using one sermon that he gave lately as an example of how he has been able to enrich his preaching by incorporating the passage's cultural context. He will talk about where he got his material and what has been most helpful in adding the "pictures" that make the text come alive. This will be a practical, interactive session on where to find these types of sermon materials. (Yes, you can RSVP at the last minute if you still want to come.)

On Thursday, March 7th, Lois Tverberg, the Director of the En-Gedi Resource Center will be presenting at the breakfast. Her talk will be called The Passover / Easter Connection: Sharing our Jewish Heritage. She will give a talk on some of the rich biblical imagery from the Seder and Passover celebrations, and explain where pastors can find resources to incorporate some of those lessons.

On Thursday, April 11th, Dwight Pryor, Director of the Center for Judaic Christian Studies, will give a presentation called Behold the Man -- For twenty centuries Christians have related to Jesus primarily as risen Lord and Savior and as the transcendent second person of the Godhead. What would it mean to our faith and ministries if we were to take equally seriously "the Man," Jesus of Nazareth? Looking through first-century Jewish eyes, Dwight will help us to behold anew the Man, His Mission and His Message. Because of this special opportunity, we have asked Dwight if he could expand his presentation into the morning. He will give a talk during the normal 7:30 - 9 AM breakfast time, and then for those are able to stay until later, the discussion will continue until about 10:15 AM.

I hope that your new year is going well. I hear from our friends in Jerusalem that it snowed there. What a thought! Please keep praying for peace in Israel, and for us too.

Blessings --
Lois Tverberg

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