Day 2 - Galilee region

First off, I want to thank you all for your prayers. It was a good day. God literally shined down on us with beautiful weather.

It's amazing to hear the stories from the Bible. It's even more amazing when you are sitting where they happened while hearing the stories from the Bible!

We were up and on the bus by 7:15 this morning and headed north to Caesaera Philippi. It's in Golan Heights (and just miles from the Syria and Lebanon borders.) On the road there, Jim taught about the miracle of Jesus healing the blind man in Mark 8:22-26. Why did it take two tries? Why did he use mud? Why couldn't the man go back in to the village and tell others? Through the teachings in Mark and using Peter as an example, we learned that God can make some things clear to us but not open our eyes all the way, right away. When we are concerned with human traditions, our vision can be blurry.

While in Caesarea Philippi, Jim talked about the history of  "church" and how it dates back to the time of Moses when they assembled (ekklisia) around Mt. Sinai. He talked about Peter and how Jesus told him he would build his church (ekklisia) and how the church is the battering ram against the gates of hell. When we assemble together, the power of the Holy Spirit is present in a unique way. It's God's plan for rescuing the world. Basically, Jim's telling us to go to church! :)

We had this lesson in the courtyard of the Temple of Pan. It's a really dark place with a very dark history and was considered a gateway to hell. They did unspeakable things to appease the god of Pan (Panic). It wouldn't make sense to the outside world why Jesus would come to give his message about the church here... but He did it because He came to bring light to a dark world and what better place than one of the darkest?

We headed up to Dan, the most northern city in Israel. On the way there, our tour guide, Boaz, gave a more modern day history of Israel and the conflicts they have endured. He shared about his military experience and his community where he lives.

While in Dan, the talk about church continued. King Jeraboam set up a rivalry to the temple in Jerusalem to make it easier and more convenient for people to make their sacrifices. Instead of worshiping God, they worshipped two golden calves and held more conveniently timed festivals. It was also in the complete opposite direction of Jerusalem. We learned they also built a shrine in Bethel, which was almost all the way to Jerusalem...but not quite. Do you see where this is going? What did Satan do? He made it convenient to skip going to the Temple in Jerusalem. He distracted them, he made it easy for them to worship idols, he tried to make them think they could manipulate and move God. It's everything we still do today except Satan uses sports or lack of motivation or fighting in the car on the way to church or other lies and distractions. Basically, it's Satan's oldest trick in the book. He can't stop the Holy Spirit from showing up in church, so he'll try to stop us from going.

Next was Nazareth Village, a recreation of what a typical village would look like in Jesus' time. We saw how they would press wine and press olives. We saw a weaver and what a synagogue would have looked like. After seeing so many ruins, it was good to see what they would have looked like 2,000 years ago.

Our last stop was at Cana. We passed by the Cana Wedding Wine First Miracle souvenir store. Too bad we didn't have time stop. (Yes, I'm kidding!)

Once we situated ourselves on a hill overlooking Cana, Jim taught about 3 private miracles in John 1, 2 and 4. Sometimes God performs private miracles to build faith, so we can share with others and to open us up to bigger miracles. Then Lisa talked to us about a different way to read scripture using all of our senses. Using John 2:2-11 as an example, we thought about what the servants could have been thinking. Was it noisy? What would the servants have talked about? Why was Mary so passionate about the wedding host not being embarrassed by running out of wine? Lisa encouraged us to slow down and use our imagination when we read scripture. It was a good reminder.

It gets dark about 4:45 so we made the trip back to our hotel. We had a lovely dinner of Israeli cuisine at a local restaurant. I can cross lamb hot dogs with liver pate off my bucket list!

Here are some fun pictures taken en route today.

We are off to Mt. Carmel, Caesarea by the Sea, Bet Shemesh and Elah Valley tomorrow.

The Sea of Galilee by Lori Morley

Well, here we are. Team Calvary 2015 in the land of Israel. Some of us leaped out of the van with excitement saying, “This is awesome, guys!” (Craig) Others, like myself, felt like a little more like we hadn’t fully wakened from a dream. But that was yesterday. Today I think we were all “in the moment”.

First stop was the Sea of Galilee. I have looked forward to this day with anticipation to see the place where Jesus called the disciples, calmed the storm, and gave Peter a second chance. Imagine my surprise when, after sitting myself on a rock facing the water, the very first Bible passage that Pastor Jim taught from was from Mark 1 and John 1 where Jesus calls his disciples and says, “Come and see”. The very same verses that I referred to in this blog post only days ago! I guess I wasn’t the only one to think that the whole “come and see” thing was note-worthy. Jim took the “come and see” application to a new level. He used it to talk about the three stages of discipleship into which Jesus invites.

Stage One: Come and See In Mark 1, when Jesus calls Simon, Andrew, James, and John who were fishing in the Sea of Galilee, it wasn’t the first time that the disciples had met Jesus. Several of them had been disciples of John the Baptist. They had already heard Jesus’ teaching and seen him do miracles. They had gotten to know him and there was a point in time when they decided to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Stage one of walking with Jesus involves seeing Him at work and making the decision to believe.

Stage Two: Come and Follow Me In Mark 1, when Jesus calls the disciples, he says “Come and follow me.” Luke 5 also gives an account of a miracle that Jesus performed for his disciples. This is the miracle where they let their nets down into the water and caught so many fish that they couldn’t haul them back into the boat and indeed, it was enough to almost sink two boats. This was a very personal and specific miracle that Jesus did for them and it says that when Peter saw it, he said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.” And after that, Peter, James, and John left everything and followed him. Stage two of discipleship involves first, having a deeper, more personal connection with Jesus. Peter’s encounter with Jesus caused him to have a deeper understanding of his own sinfulness. Second, it involves obeying and leaving behind; surrender and sacrifice; a change in focus and occupation. Life is changed in a dramatic way because of a personal encounter with Jesus.

Stage Three: Come and Suffer In John 21, Jesus has died and been resurrected. He returns to the Sea of Galilee, the place where it all began, to reconnect with his disciples. He performed the same miracle that he had performed for them multiple times before and then, on the shore, he recreated the scene of Peter’s betrayal and offers him grace and redemption. He also foretells his death. Stage three involves suffering of some kind. To quote Jim, “No one learns how to love unless they suffer.” In stage three, you go from evangelism to discipleship; from fishing to shepherding; from sacrifice to suffering. The difference between sacrifice and suffering is that sacrifice is a choice that you make, but suffering is a choice that God makes for you and you must choose to accept it. The challenge that Jim gave us is first, which stage are we at currently? And second, what stage could God be asking us to graduate to? Would you leave behind your occupation if Jesus asked it of you? Is there some suffering that He is asking you to endure? Do you love Him more than anything else

Other sites we visited today: Mount of Beatitudes - We looked down on the Sea of Galilee and listened to the Sermon on the Mount read by Jim Samra. Bethsaida – The place where Philip, Andrew, and Peter grew up among a predominantly Greek and Hellenistic society. God can raise up obedient people from anywhere. Capernaum – The home place of Jesus during his adult ministry. We visited the synagogue where he taught and had communion while looking out on the Sea of Galilee. We ended the day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Lisa Samra invited us to think about the storms in our lives that Jesus wants to calm. After returning to the hotel, some of us donned our swimsuits and took a dip in the Sea of Galilee. What a great way to end our first day in Israel.

Day 1 - around Galilee

What a privilege it is to be here in Israel! Since it was dark last night when we arrived we all got our first glimpse this morning of the beautiful Sea of Galilee.

I think I could write a book about everything we learned today! I'll let your friends and family fill you in on their experience and use this blog to give you some highlights.

After a night's rest at the En Gev Kibbutz, we started our day right on the Sea of Galilee at the Primacy of Peter. This is where Jesus called Peter, James and John to be fishers of men and we were reminded how they immediately obeyed. It rained through that teaching but we got a beautiful rainbow in return. The rain stopped and we headed across the street - and up a mountain - to where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. Jim read the sermon to us (Matthew 5, 6 and 7) and it was awesome to sit on the Mount of Beatitudes and hear the words of Jesus. Just like the followers in Matthew 7, I was amazed at His teaching. 

We drove to Bethsaida and learned about Philip, Andrew and Peter. Did you know Bethsaida was influenced by the Greek culture? I didn't! But we saw how God used that in their ministry and how everything we go through was ordained by Him to bring Himself glory. We also learned about the miracle of feeding the 5,000 and it was so cool to see how Jim pulled out common themes for us: wilderness, disobedience, bread, temptation, stones...

We had a lovely lunch where we were served Musht (pronounced moosht), which is basically Sea of Galilee tilapia. I was glad for the lesson on how to eat it since you are given the whole fish. We also had some of the freshest and most delicious hummus I've ever eaten. Served with warm pita bread... Mmmmm. We ate our fair share. Ok, moving on.

In Capernaum we sat in the Synagogue ruins and learned about where Jesus lived. We walked where Jesus walked and saw where Peter lived. Peter's house is only steps from the Synagogue. There was a sweet time of communion right on the hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee. We sang praises to God and had time to reflect on everything we learned and had been challenged with.

Synagogue 

Peter's house

We did a quick stop to see a 2,000 year old boat that had been discovered and preserved before heading to take a boat ride of our own. Lisa read to us Isaiah 43:1-5a and we had time to pray, meditate and hear from the Lord. All while on a boat, watching the sunset over Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee.

Back at the Kibbbutz, some brave souls (myself included) took a quick dip in the Sea of Galilee It wasn't real for fun or refreshment; it was more so we could say, "I swam in the Sea of Galilee!!"

As we gathered tonight after supper to talk about our day, we heard stories about how God is moving. About how He is speaking. It's such a joy and encouragement to hear that God is teaching us all something on this trip.

Please pray for the group tomorrow as the schedule/timing has historically been a more challenging day. Thank you!

We arrived

The team made all of our connections and we have arrived safely in Tel Aviv, including Josh Phillips from Maine. All of the luggage made it, too!

We are all through passport control and on the bus waiting to depart for the hotel.

Thank you for your prayers.

An Invitation

By Lori Morley

An Invitation

On Sunday, I and a group of people from my church will depart on our journey to Israel. We each have our own stories of how we became part of this team. For myself, I did not seek to go on this trip. It found me. One of God’s gifts, so gracious and so extravagant, that I have trouble wrapping my mind around it.

I’ve been reading in the book of John lately. My purpose was to investigate the connection that Jesus had with His Father, the connection that He is also offering to us. In John 1, two of John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” To which Jesus replied, “Come and see.” The disciples then followed Jesus and stayed with him for the rest of the day. The phrase “come and see” grabbed my attention so I poked around the gospels to find more of the same. In Mark 1, Jesus saw Simon and Andrew fishing and he called to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” (NLT)

“Come and see…”

                          “Come and I will show you…”

These phrases speak to me of something personal. An invitation for fellowship. An invitation to be part of something that can be fully understood only by experiencing it. As I get ready to leave for Israel, I have a sense that God intends for me to experience a deeper level of connection with Him. Obviously, God is not calling all of us to take a trip to Israel. But I do believe that we are all invited into a deeply personal, experiential, and interactive relationship with Jesus.

Join us as we embark on our journey to Israel. On this blog, we will be sharing our experiences and the things that God is teaching us. We invite you to participate from wherever you are geographically. Walking with Him is the ultimate adventure.

Itinerary and prayer

Thank you for visiting the blog. Be sure to bookmark it and check in every day.

Download and print the itinerary.

We appreciate all of the people who have committed to praying for the group as we travel. If you would like to pray by name, here is the list of those going:
Chad
Josh
Aaron
Rob
Josh
Celeste
Lori
Mike
Brendan
Scott & Jody
Dave & Shayne
Mike & Nicki
Justin & Anna
David & Jennifer
Dan & Carole
Jon & Jodi
Dave & Charylene
David & Gloria
Jason & Holly
Jim & Lisa
Craig & Cheri