Reunion Roadmap

What do you know about grace ? Is it an undeserved gift we receive, or something that requires action? Or is it something that empowers us to take action? These are among the questions Barry Phillips and David Jones ask in their conversation about one of those foundational elements of our faith walk that we probably don't understand very well. Thanks for listening to Reunion Roadmap! We have...

Context is everything when it comes to understanding the scriptures. But what exactly is context? Is it simply reading an entire chapter, or studying related passages? That helps, but a serious contextual study takes into account the historical, linguistic, and cultural context surrounding the text. That's what Frank Houtz and David Jones explain in this thought-provoking conversation. Thanks...

There’s an interesting prophecy from Obadiah that is becoming relevant in our day: "The exiles of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev." Obadiah 1:20b Sepharad is the Hebrew name for Spain, and the origin of the name for Sephardic Jews who trace their ancestry to Spain and Portugal. Many of those Jewish families have returned to Israel already, which makes...

Could it be that David Crockett was fighting against the Spanish Inquisition when he died at the Battle of the Alamo? Could the Texas Revolution have been a war against the long arm of the Inquisition? That may not be as strange as it sounds, considering the impact of the Inquisition in scattering the Jews of Spain to the New World and pursuing them to the furthest reaches of the Spanish Empire. R...

Why is it that Mexican grandmothers don’t want to talk about their families’ history? Could it be that there is a Jewish element in their ancestry, and they are still afraid it might be discovered? This is one of the topics Revis Daggett addresses in the third part of our conversation about the Hidden Jews, or Anusim, of the Americas. As she explains, elements of Jewish and Hebraic identity have f...

Was Christopher Columbus Jewish? If so, did his voyage of discovery in 1492 have any connection to his Jewish identity? That’s one of the questions Revis Daggett addresses in this second part of our conversation. Revis has learned much about the Anusim (Hidden Jews) of the Americas, and in her learning, she has arrived at conclusions about the clues in our language and folklore that might point to...

Remember Cinderella? She’s a servant in her own home, oppressed by her adopted family, and unable to access her true identity as her father’s heir. We like that story because Cinderella finally steps into her noble identity and receives everything that has been kept from her. But it’s a fairy tale, right? Nothing like that could ever happen in real life. Revis Daggett can tell you that this is no...

We're supposed to help our brothers and sisters and neighbors, and Yeshua gave us some good teaching about who our neighbors and brethren are. We're also supposed to help the poor, the sick, and the suffering. But what do we do if those in need of help don't want to make any effort toward getting the relief, healing, or whatever else they need? Are we still obligated to help? That&a...

We learn many very good things in the church. That's a point we don't always remember when we begin to understand the Hebraic or Jewish roots of our faith and start learning how the Torah applies to us all. That's why it's good to go back from time to time and see if there's anything important we might have missed in our transition from traditional Christian expressions of...

Have you figured out the meaning of life? If so, you probably won't need to listen to this conversation with Barry Phillips and David Jones. But in case you still have some questions about why God put you on this earth, our Elders share some thoughts and observations that just may be useful. Thanks for listening to Reunion Roadmap! We have more resources available on our B'ney Yosef Nort...

Does God expect us to rejoice when it's hot and we're tired? That's an important question. If we have trouble being nice to God when we're back in our daily routine and it's hard and uncomfortable, then how can we be nice to other people? So how do we cope with the long, hot days of summer, when the joyful spring feasts of Passover and Shavuot are finished, and the festive...

In 2017, in the midst of a devastating series of natural disasters that struck the United States, Frank Houtz and Barry Phillips wrestled with the difficult questions that always come up in such circumstances - questions like -  Why do bad things happen - especially to good people? Is God's judgment the reason for adversity?  Are extreme disasters signs of Messiah's imminent return?   Fr...

Is morality dependent on circumstances, or is there an objective standard? What does God think about situational ethics? Is there an unchanging standard of behavior for God's people, or does the standard change with time and cultural norms? We may not want to think about this topic, but it's necessary because our answers to these questions - both in our words and actions - reveal our hea...

What happened at the first annual Israel Summit in Tennessee? Al McCarn and David Altman were two of the B'ney Yosef North America representatives at the Summit. In this roundtable discussion with Tzefania Pappas and Solomon Lopez of Beyond the Mountain , Al and David share some insights and action points from this historic event. Historic? Yes - and more than that. In years to come, the Isra...

We expect to find blatant anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment in places like progressive college campuses and radical Islamic countries, but what are we supposed to do when such sentiment pops up in a public school in rural North Carolina? That’s the question that opens this final part of our conversation with Bev Hall. She also has a heart for her Jewish and Christian family, so when there is m...

Bev Hall has a heart for guiding children in God’s truth. That’s what inspired her to become a teacher, and it’s what inspires her to continue teaching after retiring from professional education. These days, Bev not only teaches children on Shabbat and in Sunday church, but also shares what she knows about Torah and how she is blessed to keep it. This is part of the process of taking the Torah to...

At the age of 75, Bev Hall doesn't show any signs of slipping into a comfortable retirement! She has already lived a full life, and as a widow and retired educator, no one would blame her for stepping back and relaxing. She explains why in this three-part interview. In the first segment, Bev tells how she found herself confronted with the choice of withdrawing into grief and isolation, or ans...

What does "redemption" mean? That's another word we use to explain our faith in Messiah Yeshua. We are redeemed people, and that identity shapes our worldview. But do we really know what we are redeemed from, and redeemed to? It's a bigger question that we might realize, as we hear in this conversation with Barry Phillips and David Jones. Thanks for listening to Reunion Roadmap...

Do we ever stop to think about the words we learned in our Christian background? Those who grew up in the church are familiar with words like redemption, salvation, and repentance, but do we know what those words mean? That's what Barry Phillips and David Jones talk about in this discussion. There are deep meanings to these words, all rooted in scripture, which speak to an identity and destin...

What was the reason the whole nation of Israel - meaning both Houses of Israel and all twelve tribes - were conquered, exiled, and scattered to every nation on earth? We can name several issues, such as idolatry, wickedness, and unrighteousness, with all the symptomatic sins associated with those things. But what about divisiveness?  Psalm 133 speaks of the high priority God places on His people d...

Fiction may be the most powerful kind of literature. Things that seem unbelievable and outlandish in real life become acceptable and even plausible in a well-written story. This is especially so when such things are woven into the fabric of a novel grounded in historical fact and filled with fascinating characters developed from real people. That’s exactly the kind of fiction Susanne Ratcliffe wri...

What is the best way to improve Jewish-Christian relations? Gidon Ariel has some excellent ideas about that based on his years of experience as founder and CEO of Root Source , an organization dedicated to promoting respectful relationships between pro-Israel Christians and Jews. This is a crucial topic for everyone who loves Israel, especially in this time of escalating anti-Jewish sentiment and...

What is the historical basis for the migration of Israel’s tribes into Europe – and especially the migrations of Dan into Denmark, the country that bears the tribe’s name? That premise is foundational to Susanne Ratcliffe’s novel, Stones of Wrath: The Tapestry . In this final segment of our interview, Susanne discusses what is known about the migrations of the Ten Tribes, and how the story she wea...

Authors might describe the process of writing as the process of sharing with their readers the inspiration that moved them to write. Often that inspiration comes from personal experience. The best novels, for example, reflect the author's life journey. That is exactly what we find in Stones of Wrath: The Tapestry , Susanne Ratcliffe's debut novel developed around the theme of Israel&apos...

Fiction may be the most powerful kind of literature. Things that seem unbelievable and outlandish in real life become acceptable and even plausible in a well-written story. This is especially so when such things are woven into the fabric of a novel grounded in historical fact and filled with fascinating characters developed from real people. That's exactly the kind of fiction Susanne Ratcliff...