October
Newsletter, 2001
Shalom from the En-Gedi Resource Center!
The leaves in Michigan are at their peak, and harvest images are everywhere. We have been reminded of God's wonderful provision for the past two weeks as a beautiful sukkah has been standing in my back yard for the feast of Sukkot. Fruit and vegetables hang from the leafy roof, and the walls made of corn stalks are covered in golden cobs of corn. The squirrels have been having a feast of their own this season!
We are glad for all of you who came to "Come to the Feast" and said that you were blessed by it, and learned many new things (See the pictures on the recap page). One person said that both her 10 year old son and her 70 year old mother enjoyed it, which was pretty unusual! And thanks also to the 60+ people who were involved! We are still working on editing the video. Let us know if you would like one.
I have two important items
for you this month:
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Visiting Scholar - Randall Buth! www.biblicalulpan.org
We
are excited to give you an invitation to learn from one of the best scholars
in Hebraic studies, Dr. Randall Buth, an expert on biblical languages
and culture. After 20 years as a Bible translator in Africa, Dr. Buth
now lives in Jerusalem where he has been teaching biblical languages at
Jerusalem University College and Hebrew University. He has written numerous
articles on Bible translation,
including many in regard to understanding Jesus within the language and
culture of his day. He is relaxed and approachable, and filled with fascinating
insights into the cultural context of the Bible. He will be visiting our
area from November 6 -12. He will be speaking publicly on a couple occasions,
and he will also have a workshop for those interested in spending more
time with him:
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 7 -
8 PM: "Digging Deeper Bible Study"
(Open to the public) Holland Heights Christian Reformed Church,
836 E 8th St, Holland. (Map
to Holland Heights CRC)
Saturday, Nov.10, 9 AM - 2 PM - En-Gedi Workshop: "Learning to Listen to Jesus, the Master Teacher" - Providence Christian Reformed Church, 821 Ottawa Ave, Holland. (Map to Providence CRC)
Dr. Buth will discuss some teachings of Jesus, and give some explanations from first century language and culture that shed new light on these sayings. Some examples of topics he may discuss are:
- Why did Jesus answer "What
must I do to inherit eternal life?" the way he did??
(Mk 10:17, Lk 10:25, Lk 18:18)
- To Jewish ears, what did Jesus mean that Peter was the rock on which
he would build his church? (Mt 16:18)
- How should we read the parables to understand them as Jesus' listeners
would?
If you enjoy more in depth study, please consider joining us. We are asking a $30 donation to contribute toward Dr. Buth's travel expenses, and for lunch, which will be provided. Please RSVP by November 5th to: egrc@egrc.net.
Sunday, Nov 11, 4 - 5:30 PM - "Hearing Jesus as His First Listeners Did" (Open to public) Christ Memorial Reformed Church, 595 Graafschap Rd, Holland, MI (Map to Christ Memorial)
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Festivals for the Family Series
After
the Feast event, we had many people say that they want to learn more about
the biblical feast season, how it points toward Christ, and some of the
Jewish customs surrounding it. We are therefore planning a series of activity
nights called Festivals for the Family for adults. These are for
people who want to have more general knowledge of the festivals, and who
want to share it with children in the classroom or home. We will also
discuss how Christians can enrich holidays like Christmas biblically.
We will have presentations, activities and demonstrations, and discuss
how ideas can be adapted for families or classroom settings. Sessions
will be held in the activity center at Christ Memorial Reformed Church,
595 Graafschap Rd, Holland, MI, from 7 - 9 PM (See web site for map).
Tuesday, October 23, 2001 - Feast overview and discussion: "Can Christians celebrate them?"
Tuesday, November 13,
2001 - "A Truly Thankful Thanksgiving: Sukkot"
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
- "Enriching Christmas Biblically"
(and
a little bit of Hanukkah)
If you would like to attend, please register by phone (616 355-2200) or by email (egrc@egrc.net) by Friday, October 19th. There is a $10 fee per session, payable at the door. Check-in will be at 6:45 for the first session so that we can start at 7 PM.
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Other News:
- Our Torah study celebrated Sukkot together a couple weeks ago in our sukkah, and last week began again the reading year, starting at Genesis 1:1. We are still close to the beginning - if you would like to join us, it is a great time to do so! Email us if you are interested. We meet from 7 to 9 PM, Thursday evenings.
- Our web site now has a "Latest Features" button on the upper right on the front page. That page has links to the new additions to the site so that you can find our site updates easily. Soon the site will have articles and links to feast-related material, and new articles on other topics.
- The pastor's breakfast series will be having Tim Brown as our guest speaker this week, who will be speaking on "Preaching and Ancient Hospitality". That will be Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 AM at Holland Heights CRC. It is not too late for pastors to RSVP if they are interested. Email or call for details.
This fall has been blessed, but difficult financially for us. We appreciate all of the emails you are sending, and those who are praying for us. Thank you for all your encouragement and kindness.
May the Lord bless and keep you --
