November 2005

Shalom Friends -

The brilliant leaves are at their peak in our area of Michigan, and we hope your area shows you the splendor of God’s creation at this time as well. We have many new things to share with you this month!

Fellowship Dinner, Friday Dec. 2 with Bruce Okkema

Many have been asking when they can hear the whole story of Bruce’s adventure in Africa when he put in the Living Water units in Uganda and Kenya. You are all welcome to join us to next month at our next Fellowship Dinner:

God’s Victory in East Africa
The Trials and Triumphs of Bringing Living Water to a Dry Land

This fall, Bruce completed En-Gedi’s four year project of bringing clean water to Uganda and Kenya. He will share some fascinating stories from his two-month trip to install seven purification units that will serve up to 30,000 people. He will tell about the many struggles and breakthroughs along the way, and show many amazing pictures, including those of his work among the Masai, a very traditional African tribe.

Once again, our dinner is offered at no cost and will be potluck-style - free-will donations will help with expenses for the facility. We just ask you to bring a dish to share - we will provide tableware and beverages. We also ask that you RSVP by email (egrc@egrc.net) or phone (616) 355-2200 with the names of those planning to come, to help us plan for seating and make name tags. Location: Zeeland’s Howard Miller Community Center, 14 S Church St., Zeeland, MI. Click for a map.  If you can't make it to the dinner, you can read his daily reports with pictures, go to
the Letters from Africa page.

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A Taste of Hebrew w/ Dr. Randall Buth

On Wednesday, November 9, from 6:30 - 9:00 PM at Zeeland Christian School Media Center
334 W Central, Zeeland we will be hosting a fun night of studying Hebrew together. In just a couple hour's time, Dr. Buth will teach everyone some biblical Hebrew through interactive techniques that all ages can learn from and enjoy. Whether you know a lot of Hebrew or none at all, you are welcome to come experience this innovative method of teaching Biblical Hebrew. If you want to keep studying in this way, you will be able to find out more about his self-study course, which will be available for purchase ($150 at the event), as well as summer classes at the Biblical Language Center in Israel. There is no fee, but space is limited.

New CD available: Jesus and the Law:
   2-part recorded seminar by David Bivin

A. Jesus' Technical Terms About the Law: Several of his sayings contain technical terms and idioms used by other rabbis of his time, like "abolish," "fulfill," "bind," and "loose." Understanding these can yield surprising insights about how Jesus' words would have sounded to his first-century listeners.
B. How Kosher was Jesus? How observant was Jesus of the rulings of other rabbis of his day? Did he reject their teachings? A closer reading shows that he lived within the laws and traditions of his time. Knowing more about the Jewish practices that Jesus observed can help us understand him much better.

Special Offer!
Order New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus  
+ the Audio CD, Jesus and the Law, as a Set - only $18!

Nov 1, 2005: National Release of New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus

We are now celebrating the official release of En-Gedi’s third book, New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus: Insights from His Jewish Context by David Bivin. Bivin is the founder and editor of Jerusalem Perspective, a magazine (now online) that explores the Jewish context of the Gospels. He has traveled and spoken internationally for more than 25 years, and written dozens of important articles on Jesus’ life in JP. We’ve taken some of the very best of his writing from JP and edited it for a general audience. To see the table of contents and read the foreword written by Dwight Pryor, see this link at En-Gedi.

Marvin Wilson, author of Our Father Abraham, Professor of Biblical Studies at Gordon College, writes about the book:

“In Jerusalem, David Bivin has interacted for decades with some of the best Jewish scholarship in the world. This book displays many of the brilliant Hebraic gems the author has mined that help illuminate the pages of the Gospels. Clearly written and very readable, Bivin shows why Christians need rabbinic sources if they intend to know and understand Jesus in his first-century Jewish setting. New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus is a valuable resource for every serious student of Scripture.”

The book is now available online through our bookstore for $12.95. Several other ministries and bookstores in the US and internationally are also now carrying it, including:

Center for Judaic-Christian Studies
Follow The Rabbi
Bridges For Peace
Baker Book House
Amazon.com
Jot and Title (UK)
Diakonia (Hong Kong)

We think the book will be a blessing to many in the years to come! Thanks for your support in this project.

Pastor’s Breakfast, Thursday, Dec. 15 with Halvor Ronning

Pastors, we have a special announcement for yet one more international speaker before the end of the year. Please join us for this special treat:

Thursday, December 15, 7:30 – 9 AM

Seeing the Text Through the Land

Halvor Ronning, Home For Bible Translators, Jerusalem

Ronning is a scholar and pastor who has been a professional tour guide in the land of Israel for over 35 years. As the founder of the Home for Bible Translators, he also brings native language speakers to Israel to learn how the land, language and Jewish culture impacts Bible translation. He will share from his wealth of knowledge about the land and culture and how it sheds light on the text.

Halvor Ronning taught for several years at Jerusalem University College and has a unique perspective on how preaching can be impacted by knowing the land and culture. Tim Spykstra, pastor of Haven CRC in Zeeland, studied with him on an Israel trip last summer and is very enthusiastic about his speaking – Tim’s comment: “I could listen to him all day long!”

We hope that you can join us one more time before the end of the year! Once again, it will be at the Zeeland (Howard Miller) Community Center, 14 S Church St, Zeeland, MI. (See www.egrc.net for a map.) There is no charge - a free-will offering basket will be available. Please RSVP by email (egrc@egrc.net) or by phone (616 355-2200) so that we can plan for food and make name tags.

Sukkot 2005 Festival in Dayton, OH, October 28-29

Last weekend En-Gedi’s directors drove to Dayton, Ohio for the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) Celebration at the Church of the Messiah. En-Gedi’s directors Lois and Bruce led one of the workshops, called “Listening to God’s Word through Jesus’ Ears,” where we spoke about reading the Bible more Hebraically by knowing more about the language, culture and issues of the day. We met many new friends there and enjoyed sharing our materials at our “En-Gedi Resource Shuk” which was inside a sukkah, a booth. (A shuk (pronounced SHOOK) is a middle eastern marketplace, which is how the booths were decorated.) The conference was excellent, and well worth the drive. There was fabulous Hebraic worship on Friday and Saturday evening, and excellent teaching with Dwight A. Pryor, President of the Center for Judaic-Christian Studies, on Saturday.

Later this month, En-Gedi’s directors will be traveling to Philadelphia, PA for the Society for Biblical Literature meeting. En-Gedi’s new book New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus by David Bivin will be available there as well as the Evangelical Theological Society meeting the week before then.

Come with us to the Land! Israel Study Trip May 20 – June 2, 2006

Start thinking now about whether you would like to join En-Gedi’s directors on a study trip to Israel next May, called “A Study in New Testament Backgrounds.” Our guide will be Dr. Steven Notley, who lived in Israel for 16 years and taught at Jerusalem University College, where he was chair of New Testament and directed student land study programs. He recently published a landmark work called The Sacred Bridge with Anson Rainey, a highly acclaimed historical atlas of the land of Israel. Now at Nyack College in New York, he is one of the most knowledgeable scholars on Jesus' Jewish context in the world. From living in the land and taking hundreds of trips with students, Dr. Notley will show us the important, "non-touristy" archaeological sites that you can't see with others.

The cost of the 14 day trip will be $2,900 from Grand Rapids or $1,600 for just the land portion of the trip + plus air travel for international participants. Prices for travel from other starting points are: Chicago ($2,800), Dallas ($3,075), LA/SF ($3,100), New York ($2,750). (Cost are still subject to confirmations.) This is an outstanding value, and our guide will be one of the best. Travel arrangements will be made by Emmaus Educational Services, who is partnering with En-Gedi to sponsor this trip. For more details, see the www.emmausonline.net website, specifically the May 2006 En-Gedi Study Trip information.

May you be truly thankful for a year of good things -

Bruce and Lois