May 2002
Shalom, friends -
One of the verses we apply to our ministry is, "For the
earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as
the waters cover the sea!" (Habakkuk 2:14). The rabbis used to
believe that this "living water" is spiritual understanding
from the Lord. So, we have lots of little "springs" to share
with you this month. We hope that our articles, resources, and speakers
will all be sources of living water.
Helpful Resources for Study
We have been adding links to our site, including a section on the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) on the topical articles page. Christians will be celebrating it Sunday, May 19th. If you want to read more about the remarkable way God used the imagery of the ancient biblical feast of Shavuot when He poured out His Spirit, check out these articles.We have added information about the Year of Jubilee as well. On April 27th, the Zeeland Classis of the Reformed Church invited En-Gedi to give a presentation on this subject at the opening celebration for their Jubilee year. We spoke about the "Year of the Lord's Favor", how Jesus used it to explain His mission, and how we can live it out today. See the related Director's article.
A couple of resources you may be interested in from other sources:
If you do much teaching or study, you may be want to take advantage of a deal on Encyclopedia Judaica on CD-ROM. It has a wealth of information about Israel, archaeology and the culture of the Jews from biblical times to present. The paper version is a 16-volume set for over $1000. The CD-ROM has been $295 to $395, which seems cheap. But right now it is on sale by one web store for $199. See http://www.jewishsoftware.com/products/66.asp.
The website of the Biblical Archaeology Society announced a special sale this month. All back issues of Biblical Archaeology Review are for sale this month only for $1.00 each. As far as we know, there's never been an offer even half this good. You can also purchase all available back issues (83) for $83 (normally $245). Combined with the index ($5), the set is an invaluable source of information, with beautiful photos of sites and artifacts. Available for the same price are sister magazines Bible Review and Archaeology Odyssey. For more information, see http://www.bib-arch.org/bswbMktBack.html.
Speaker from Israel at our next Fellowship Dinner - May 23
We are now planning our second En-Gedi Fellowship Dinner for Thursday, May 23rd. This relaxed, potluck-style gathering is for folks to get to know our ministry and for En-Gedi's friends and members to have some fellowship together. It will again be at 6:30 PM at Zeeland Christian School at 334 West Central St in Zeeland. map to Zeeland Christian . Once again we will ask you to bring a dish to share and tell you about some of the recent happenings in our ministry. (Our next dinner will be in September.)
For
this occasion, we will host a special guest from Israel who has a powerful
story to tell about what God is doing to bring healing in the Middle
East. Jonathan Miles is an American who is the head of a ministry called
"Light to the Nations". He works with teams of Jewish doctors
to perform life-saving open heart surgeries for free for Palestinian
babies dying of heart defects. He himself transports children through
volatile check points. Jonathan is an evangelical Christian of great
spiritual depth, and is widely admired by both Israelis and Palestinians.
His ministry was featured in the Jerusalem Post.
If you can't make it to the dinner but would like to hear him, he will be speaking several other times in our area. Location addresses and other details are available on our [Calendar Page.]
Jonathan Miles is a wonderful example of one who has learned to follow Christ. We believe that his story will be a way for us to learn how to be better disciples of Jesus.
If you would like to come to the May En-Gedi Fellowship Dinner, please RSVP by email or phone (616) 355-2200. And, bring a dish to pass!
Living Water Flowing in Uganda
Many of you know that the name En-Gedi comes from a beautiful oasis in the desert of Israel, and we use this image of "living water" to describe our ministry. About a year ago, we were put in contact with a ministry called Water Missions International (www.watermissions.org), who also use the image of "living water" to describe their ministry. They make and send water purification systems to third world countries to help the terrible disease problems that come from contaminated water. Over 25,000 people die each day from water-borne diseases like cholera and dysentery. We had a sense that the Lord had put our "living water ministry" in touch with theirs, and wondered why. Recently we got a hint:
We
have gotten to know Titus Baraka, a pastor from Uganda who has an evangelistic
ministry that has reached thousands all over Africa. He has been in
western Michigan for a year, and he has taught En-Gedi much about how
Jesus' Hebraic, Eastern culture resembles that of Africa even today.
Rev. Baraka's area is also plagued with disease that comes from unclean
water. Women walk over a mile each way to a contaminated river to get
water. "Coincidentally" (!), WMI has decided to target Uganda
this year for water purification units. En-Gedi is now working on raising
funds for a system for Pastor Baraka's area. We have a goal to raise
$12,000 which will include a unit and shipping costs.
It is important to not only study Jesus,
but to do like Jesus. Here is a way you can share a cup of cold "living
water" and make a real difference in the lives of thousands of
people everyday. If you would like to make a tax deductible contribution
toward this project, you can do so through our Online Resource Center
using your credit card or you can mail a check specifying "Living
Water System" to En-Gedi (Box 1707, Holland, MI 49422).
Link
to the ORC Living Water Project
Note: Pastor Baraka will be speaking at
the En-Gedi Pastor's Breakfast this Thursday (May 16) at 7:30 AM at
Holland Heights Christian Reformed Church (836 E 8th) about how Eastern
cultures understand the atonement of Christ. If you are a pastor or
seminarian who would like to come, please let us know.
map
to Holland Heights CRC
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Finally, we are already working on lining up speakers for the fall. We are excited that two of the most respected authors in the field of Hebraic studies will be leading seminars in Holland this fall. Dr. Steven Notley, Professor of New Testament Studies at Nyack College, will be here in September, and David Bivin, editor of Jerusalem Perspective and founder of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research, will be here in November. More information will be coming soon.
Thank you for continuing to keep us in your prayers.
Shalom -
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.