Ancient Words, Modern Message

Two Sticks, One People, One Promise

The title of this six-part series of studies in the Old Testament Book of Ezekiel, “True Grit, Great Glory,” is a spin-off from the 1969 film, “True Grit,” starring John Wayne in the role of Rooster Cogburn, the living embodiment of “true grit,” getting the job done, no matter how difficult.
 
Arguably the best example of “true grit” in the Old Testament Scriptures is the prophet Ezekiel who “got the job done” in spite of adverse circumstances, “the job” being that of proclaiming God’s message concerning the future of Israel and the Jewish people.
 
Ezekiel’s stye was certainly eccentric, though admittedly driven by God’s unusual demands on him, but his obedience was unwavering and his message was clear and powerful.
 
Who would think that a clear and powerful message could be drawn from a handful of sticks, but that is exactly the point of our study of Ezekiel 37:15-28, the last in this series, an episode we call, “Two Sticks, One People, One Promise.”
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Lessons from Death Valley

There may not be many folks within the sound of my voice who are old enough to remember the television western series, “Death Valley Days,” but I am!
The series, first aired in 1952, was set in what has been identified as the hottest place on earth in the summer, a place where dry, lifeless, parched bones are scattered, a reminder of the irreversible nature of death.
It was to such a place that the prophet Ezekiel was taken in a prophetic vision where he received a revelation of the future of national Israel and the Jewish people displayed in a strange, but vividly dramatic way.
Many people are familiar with this story of Ezekiel and the dry bones—even those who don’t know much else about the Old Testament prophets—but most are unaware of the real message contained in the story, namely that God is not finished with national Israel and the Jewish people as a whole, that their ultimate future is as amazing and miraculous as dry bones in Death Valley restored to vibrant life.
Especially now, as once again the state of Israel is surrounded by enemies bent on its destruction, it is important to turn to God’s Word for a glimpse into the future to provide strength for today.  Let’s do that as we consider Ezekiel 37 in the fifth segment in this series, “True Grit, Great Glory:  Studies in the Book of Ezekiel,” an episode entitled, “Lessons from Death Valley.”
 
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

History’s Greatest Heart Transplant

The Bible is replete with accounts of dramatic transformations of individuals, of which perhaps the most stunning is the conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the Road to Damascus, thereafter known as the Apostle Paul.  In each case it can certainly be said that there was a “change of heart.”
 
While taken together, all of these accounts dealing with single individuals, are certainly astonishing and demand our attention, far more remarkable though is an event in the future foretold by the Prophet Ezekiel, when not just individuals, but an entire nation will have “a change of heart.”
 
Thanks to the great advancements in medical science, a successful surgical heart transplant is no longer such a remote possibility and rare event, though certainly noteworthy and a great accomplishment.  However, far more striking is the transplant at the “heart” of national Israel.
 
With this in mind, let’s turn to Ezekiel 36:25-38 in this next part of the series, “True Grit, Great Glory:  Studies in the Book of Ezekiel,” an episode entitled, “History’s Greatest Heart Transplant.”
 
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Tough Love in the Holy Land

As parents of young children recognize, after sternly correcting and disciplining a son or a daughter, it is important to then provide a warm hug—literally, figuratively, or both—and the assurance of love, with a strong dose of encouragement.  This is the essence of “tough love.”
 
The sixth century B.C. Old Testament prophet Ezekiel—a truly stout-hearted man of true grit—pulled no punches in addressing his own Jewish people with the message of divine discipline, but following it up with encouraging words as assurance of God’s everlasting love for them.
 
In this third installment of the series, “True Grit, Great Glory—Studies in the Book of Ezekiel,”  we consider the prophet’s message to the Jews of the Southern Kingdom of Israel at a very discouraging time in an episode we call, “Tough Love in the Holy Land.”
 
So, with a Bible open to Ezekiel, chapter thirty-six, let’s carefully consider these “ancient words” and their “modern message.”
 
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

God’s Plan for the People and the Place

Of all of the Old Testament prophets—and they were indeed a colorful and “quirky” bunch—it can most certainly be said that the “quirkiest” and the “true-gritiest” of them all was Ezekiel!
 
In today’s study of the book of Ezekiel we consider the prophet’s address, not to the people, but to the very land of Israel, from his exile in Babylon.  We will note the God-ordained connection between the Jewish people and their ancient homeland, a connection seen throughout history, but one that becomes more and more prominent in modern history, leading up to the day when Israel’s Messiah, the Savior of the World, will reign from there.
 
So, with Bibles open to Ezekiel thirty-six, verses one through fifteen, let’s listen in as we move through this second study in the series enittled, “True Grit, Great Glory,” an episode we call “God’s Plan for the People and the Place.”
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.
 
 

‘A man’s gotta’ do what a man’s gotta do’ : Ezekiel, Episode One

Though all of the Old Testament prophets could aptly be described as “colorful,” arguably the one who stands out as the most “colorful,” or even the most “eccentric,” would be Ezekiel.
 
Long before the actor John Wayne displayed “true grit” in the 1969 movie by that name, this young priest, exiled from his beloved homeland to far-off Mesopotamia, boldly carried out God’s instructions to proclaim, in some very unusual ways, a message to his fellow exiles and many generations to follow, a message of judgment and of deliverance.
 
So now, let’s begin with an introduction to this fascinating man and his relevant message in the first of six parts in a series entitled;  “True Grit, Great Glory.”  With a Bible open to the beginning of the Book of Ezekiel, welcome to an episode entitled, “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Bagel-side Chat #6: The Summer Before the Shout

In today’s edition of “Ancient Words, Modern Message” you are invited to join Roger Wambold for his sixth “Bagel-side Chat” as he draws our attention to the cycle of special days on the Jewish calendar commanded by God in Leviticus 23.  You may be surprised to learn that the observance of these times has a much deeper meaning than just the religious traditions of the Jewish people.
 
In fact, as this edition of the podcast is scheduled to launch the week before summer officially begins we will be reminded that this seasonal lull in special days on the Jewish religious calendar is actually a call for God’s people to be working hard and looking up.
 
So. . .with a Bible in one hand and a bagel in the other, let’s consider “The Feasts of Israel” in an episode entitled, “The Summer Before the Shout.” 

Sifted, but Not Discarded

In God’s economy, great privilege demands great responsibility.
 
The Scriptures make it clear that the Jewish people are greatly privilege to be identified as “the Chosen People,” but with that great privilege has come great responsibility.
 
There are those who say that Israel’s failure to act responsibly, even to the point of not accepting Jesus as their Messiah, has resulted in their rejection by God and removal from His plan for them as a nation.
 
However, throughout the writings of the Old Testament Prophets it is clear that God is NOT finished with Israel, but in fact has a plan for their future in fulfillment of His many promises to them.
 
This message is powerfully pronounced by the prophet Amos as we will see in this sixth and final study of the book in a series entitled, “Amos:  Simple Man, Profound Message.”
 
So, let’s open the Bible to the book of Amos, chapter nine in a study entitled, “Sifted, but Not Discarded.”

What God REALLY Wants

Years ago there was an ad used by distributors of Coca-Cola based on the premise that their competitors were producing beverages which were false imitations of America’s favorite soft drink.  The ad referenced the prevalence of “phoniness” in the commercial world, popularizing the phrase:  “Coke:  It’s the REAL thing!”
Without a doubt, there is a great deal of “phoniness” all around us, including in the world of religious activity.
Over 2700 years ago this same “phoniness” abounded in the days of Amos, God’s prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but it was especially obvious in the false religiosity of his day among his fellow Jews.  
It was in this setting that Amos courageously confronted his society by declaring the message that God hates phoniness, in general, and phony religiosity, in particular, and that what God REALLY wants is the REAL thing!”
We’ll consider the prophet’s message in this fifth episode in the series, “Amos:  Simple Man, Profound Message,” an episode entitled “What God REALLY Wants.”
But first, allow me to mention again that we would be delighted to send a complete set of the printed notes for all six of the episodes in this study of the Book of Amos without charge upon request, available by contacting us through e-mail at HCF1033@aol.com, by phoning our office at 215-256-4500, or by dropping us a line at:  Hebrew Christian Fellowship, P.O. Box 245, Harleysville, PA   19438.
With the Bible open to Amos 4 and 5, let’s consider these ancient words with a modern message to us today!

More Than Matzo!

Each year in the springtime nearly every Jewish family in the world gathers in their homes to celebrate Passover which begins with the traditional evening meal called the Seder.  Though there is great diversity within the Jewish community regarding their level of religious practice, Passover is one time when they are unified, moving together through the various components of the traditional Seder, as has generation after generation of their ancestors, with virtually no variation.
 
Using a guidebook, a haggadah, Hebrew for “the telling,” written in whatever language they are most comfortable with, they move through “the telling” of the story of the first passover in Egypt 3500 years ago when their forefathers were released from centuries of slavery in Egypt through a series of plagues.
 
But the Seder has an even deeper meaning and an even more important message for the Jewish people.  It’s not just about family, friends, and remembering Egypt.
 
In this episode of” Ancient Words, Modern Message,” in his fifth “Bagel-side Chat,” the Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship, Roger Wambold, shares some thoughts about the amazing symbolism of the broken matzo at the Seder table.
 
So let’s settle in with a cup of coffee, and maybe a bagel, for this episode called, “It’s More Than Matzo.”