Congregation Shema Yisrael

The parsha for this week is entitled MiKetz, meaning “at the conclusion” and covers Genesis 41:1-44:17. Joseph has been in prison in Egypt on a bogus rape charge. Poor Joseph; betrayed by his brothers, enslaved in Egypt, imprisoned on false charges. But everywhere he went, Joseph conducted himself with integrity and God was with him. Eventually Joseph was given […] Source

Before the service started, a couple confided to me that their pastor didn’t want them attending our Chanukkah celebration – that there was something wrong, maybe even spiritually dangerous, about Christians celebrating Jewish holidays like Chanukkah. I want all my Christian brothers and sisters everywhere to know that Chanukkah is not spiritually dangerous! It’s an […] Source

The name of this week’s Parasha is Vayeshev, which means “and he settled.”  It covers Genesis 37:1-40:23, and provides us with several important events in the lives of Jacob and his family, who are now dwelling in the land of Canaan. Unfortunately, Jacob favored Joseph over the rest of his sons, which caused the brothers […] Source

Earlier in this letter, Paul had been teaching the Ephesians about the new unity between the Messianic Jewish remnant and the Gentile Christian remnant. Here, the Lord’s divinely inspired Representative goes into more detail. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Messiah Yeshua for the sake of you Gentiles – surely you have heard […] Source

This week Rabbi Glenn briefly reviews the major themes and provides a general outline of the book of Daniel.  He then reads and discusses Daniel Chapter 2. Source

Introduction Because human beings tend to think in pictures, we sometimes learn and remember a truth better when it is taught to us pictorially – by the use of images, symbols or metaphors. It helps explain why frequently the prophets of Israel employed parables, or else compared individuals, nations or situations to things that people […] Source

This week’s Torah portion is entitled Vayishlach which means, “And he was sent.” It covers Genesis 32:4 to 36:43. In the preceding chapter we learn that God’s purpose for the time being had been accomplished with Jacob in the house of uncle Laban. Now it was time to return to the land of his fathers […] Source

Gentiles, Who Were Far From God And Salvation, Have Been Brought Near; One New Humanity Of Jews And Gentiles; Gentile Christians Are Fellow Citizens With The Messianic Jewish Remnant; Together, We Are A Dwelling Place For God! Humanity is broken, fractured, divided. Deeply divided. Humanity has been divided since the tower of Babel. We are […] Source

This week’s Parasha is Vayetze and covers Genesis 28:10 – 32:3. In last week’s Torah portion, Jacob had deceived his father, and taken the blessing intended for his brother.  Then, fearing for his life, he had to flee his parents’ home, getting the opposite of what he sought in obtaining his father’s blessing. A recurring […] Source

Rabbi Glenn begins his study of Daniel with an introduction of the book. Source

Human Beings Are Spiritually Dead; Living In Opposition To The Ways of God; Participants In the Rebellion Of The Fallen Angels So That We Follow The Adversary And Are Demonized To Various Degrees; Our Nature Has Been Corrupted; We Deserve Wrath. But We Have Been Saved By Grace And Made Alive And Raised To Heavenly […] Source

Moses compiled eleven genealogies in the book of Genesis. The parasha for this Shabbat is entitled Toldot, translated generations, histories or descendants. This Parasha covers the 9th of these genealogies or toldot, which is the account of the generations of Isaac. Isaac’s wife Rebecca, like Sarah before her, had trouble conceiving. Isaac had learned from […] Source

This week’s parasha, Genesis 23:1 to 25:18, is Chayei Sarah, meaning “The Life of Sarah” the title of which is a little ironic, since it records her death (at 127 years of age). After grieving for Sarah, Abraham approaches the sons of Heth in nearby Hebron to negotiate the purchase of a field and a cave in Machpelah, […] Source

Rabbi Loren discusses recent Evangelism efforts at Shema related to this year’s High Holiday Evangelism. Text will be available at a later date. Source

Rabbi Glenn concludes Shema’s year-long study in Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles and discusses the intent of the inspired author and the application of the lessons learned to our own lives. Source

Paul’s Prayers For The Ephesians: For More Knowledge About God; For More Knowledge About The Hope Of Our Inheritance; For More Knowledge About The Power Available To Us At the beginning of this letter, Paul addressed the Ephesians as holy people, joined to the Messiah and faithful to Him. Now, the Lord’s divinely inspired representative […] Source

This week’s Bible Study focuses on the kings Manasseh, Amon, and Josiah. Rabbi Glenn contrasts the very good of reign of Josiah with the very terrible reigns of Manasseh and Amon as described in 2 Corinthians 33-35. Source

The text for this message will be in an upcoming Newsletter and added here afterwords. Source

This week’s Parashat passage is called Lech L’Cha, which translates as “go forth, yourself.”  If covers Genesis 12:1 -17:27.  In Chapter 12, God speaks to Abram, and tells him to leave his land and to go forth to a place that God will show him.  Prior to that, at the end of Chapter 11, we find that […] Source

Rabbi Glenn continues his study of Kings and Chronicles. This week’s Bible Study covers 2 Kings 13-15:26 and the beginning of 2 Kings 17. Source

This Parasha is entitled Noach (Noah) which means ‘rest’, or ‘quiet’. It covers Genesis 6:9-11:32. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation, Noah walked with God, despite living during a time of great unholiness. We ourselves must understand that we cannot use the excuse of the corruption of our times to justify the […] Source

Background: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon are sometimes referred to as the Prison Letters, since they were written during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment. For two years, Paul was kept in or near the barracks of the Praetorian Guard, or in rental quarters which he paid for. Messiah’s Community at Ephesus probably began with Aquila, who […] Source

The other day at the gym I had a nice conversation with an older Jewish gentleman. When he asked what I did for a living, I told him I was a rabbi. He asked what synagogue I was with, and I smiled and said “We’re a ‘black sheep synagogue’ – we’re messianic, you know, like […] Source

This week Rabbi Glenn leads the Sukkot Bible Study outside in the Shema Sukkah. Source

The following text is a series of messages given during the High Holiday Services in 2013. The audio above is one part of this series. This time of the year is a particularly good time to think about the most important issues of life – the meaning of life, sin and salvation, repentance, getting right […] Source