Congregation Shema Yisrael

The name of this week’s parasha is Nitzavim, which means “those taking a stand,” and covers Deuteronomy 29:9 through 30:20.  Moses stresses to the Israelis the importance of following the terms of this covenant.  Everyone there was standing in Adonai’s presence to enter a covenant with Him affirming they will be His people, and He […] Source

Tomorrow evening begins Yom T’ruah, the Holiday of Trumpets, more commonly known as Rosh HaShanah, and with it the High Holidays and the beginning of the new year 5779. My hope is that it won’t be a “new year – same old” scenario, but rather that Adonai will continue transforming us from the inside out, […] Source

Rabbi Glenn this week decided to cover some of his biggest “Pet Peeve” verses. Those that are most likely to be taken out of context. Source

This week Rabbi Loren and Rebbetzin Martha Jacobs, along with Rabbi Glenn and Rebbetzin Alexandra Harris discussed Proverbs 16. Source

Several years ago I was on an Orthodox Jewish website doing some research. During my browsing I discovered their “Ask the Rabbi” section and an article caught my eye. The question concerned whether motives mattered when giving tzedakah. The person writing was concerned because they had been giving regularly, but lately were giving in the […] Source

Jerry Weinstein covered the Bible study this week for Rabbi Glenn. He surveyed briefly scriptures involving false teachers and teachings.  He also shared and discussed this article from the Gospel Coalition on 7 Traits of False Teachers. Source

Not too long ago, someone from Shema attended a church service in which the pastor said God is not a fighter. His purposes are not achieved through fighting, but through sacrifice, sharing and generosity. The implication is that we should not be fighters too. While at first hearing it sounds right, it’s not right. Here’s […] Source

This week’s Parasha is Ki Teitzei, translated: “When You Go Out”. It covers Deuteronomy 21-25:19. In these chapters, we find 72 of the Torah’s 613 commandments. Chapter 21 includes the command that when you went to war against your enemy, and the Lord delivered them into your hands; if you saw a beautiful woman, and […] Source

A.W. Tozer believed that the truest measure of a man is how he thinks about God. Perhaps the truest measure of a nation is how its judicial system functions. When innocent people go to prison because ambitious prosecutors suppress evidence, or officials commit perjury, or judges allow their political biases to influence cases, the judicial […] Source

Yeshua is the Most Amazing Man Who Ever Lived. I like so many things about Him. Here are some of the things I like about Him that come from the biography written about Him by His friend and disciple, John. I like when a king makes a grand entrance. I especially like Yeshua’s triumphal entry […] Source

This week Rabbi Glenn covered Scripture Twisting exposing misuses of Scripture by cults (and even some well-meaning Christians). Source

Our parasha passage for today is entitled Re’eh, meaning “See” and covers Deuteronomy 11:26 – 16:17.  The title “see” comes from the first verse of the parasha, where Moses reminds the people, saying, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse…” And this is the key theme of the parasha.  Blessings […] Source

Serving the needs of Messiah’s Holy Community and those outside the Faith Good morning, and welcome to the sermon everybody dreads: what it means to serve. You’ll recall that last Shabbat I spoke about the amazing system of water cycles that Adonai has designed into Creation. Every lake and ocean in the world is both […] Source

This week Rabbi Glenn completed the study in the Life of David by recapping his life, the lessons we can take from it, and the ways in which David foreshadowed Messiah Yeshua. Source

This morning I’ll be sharing the first of a two-part message on what it means to serve; serving within Messiah’s Community, and serving those outside the Faith. Serving, not grudgingly, but gratefully. And to illustrate how crucial it is to your soul that you serve others, let’s talk about water. I grew up in southern […] Source

This week our parasha is Eikev, which means “consequence”, and covers Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25.  In this parasha we will see the importance of making choices and the consequences that it brings depending on how we choose. Our parasha begins in chapter 7 continuing the speech Moses is giving our people before we begin to take possession […] Source

This week the study covered 1 Kings 1:1-2:12, completing the life of David. Source

Many interesting people have lived during the past 6,000 years. My brother-in-law David loves biographies, learning about some of those interesting people and the interesting things they have said and done. I asked him for his three favorite biographies, and he responded: Wow. I have many – but if I had to pick three I […] Source

The name of this week’s parasha is Vaetchanan, which means “and I pleaded”, and covers Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11. Moses asked God to allow him to enter the Promised Land, but Adonai was angry with him because of his conduct at Meribah in Numbers 20. Because Moses hadn’t honored God for providing the Jewish people water there, […] Source

This week covered 2 Samuel 24 which included David’s sinful census and the aftermath. Source

This week Parasha is entitled D’varim, meaning (words). It covers Deuteronomy 1:1 – 3:22. The book of Deuteronomy is the fifth and final book of the Torah. Moses gives Israel the first of three discourses to reiterate that these are the words- of the Law. In this week’s parasha, we will focus only on two […] Source

Many interesting people have lived during the past 6,000 years. My brother-in-law David loves biographies, learning about some of those interesting people and the interesting things they have said and done. I asked him for his three favorite biographies, and he responded: Wow. I have many – but if I had to pick three I […] Source

This week’s Bible study covered 2 Samuel 23, David’s last song, and the recognition given to David’s mighty men. Source

The names of this week’s double parasha are Matot and Masei, meaning “tribes” and “journeys” and cover Numbers 30:2-36:13. Moses gave Israel Adonai’s commands regarding vows in chapter 30. If a woman made an impulsive vow, it could be revoked by her husband or father. However, widows and divorced women didn’t have this option and […] Source

Preview: Deficient theology leads otherwise good, well-intentioned people to think they need to ‘help’ God by repackaging the Gospel in a way that attracts people. Entertaining, stylized, shallow services instead of substance Trying to ‘fit-in’ with culture (‘hipster’ dress/talk) Latching onto the latest fashionable media-driven issue It’s not only inauthentic, but it trivializes Yeshua’s death! [...