Israel Day Four: Yom Kippur Takes Over

October 7, 2011 by [Fight Pastor]

Today I am blogging early because we crammed a lot into the early part of the day due to Yom Kippur. The entire city is shut down for the holiday. Fortunately because everything was fairly close to Jerusalem we were able to see a lot. The above picture is a view of Jerusalem from the Shepherd’s Fields. Here is our fun (but short) day.

We started the day off by supporting the local economy in Bethlehem. Our tour guides kept encouraging us to wait on purchasing any gifts or souvenirs until we got to the birthplace of Jesus. They know the owners of the above shop and were encouraging us to support them. All I can say is this place was expensive! I was on the hunt for a gaudy olive wood sculpture that I could proudly display in my office but couldn’t find anything that wouldn’t require me to get a second on my house.

Christian decided to avoid the high prices of the shop and instead barter with the local street vender. This is his new look that he is planning to debut at church on Sunday the 16th! Don’t miss it.

After everyone maxed out their credit cards we made our way to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem which is the birthplace of Jesus. This is the church, which has had several additions over the century. Christian is with Ruth, who is Sophie Hake’s grandmother. Ruth is an amazing woman of God who has now been adopted as all of our grandmothers.

This is the entrance to the Church of the Nativity which sits on top of the birth place of Jesus. You will notice how small the entrance is. You have to bend over to enter so that you are in a position and attitude of humility.

This is the place where history was changed forever. The Word became flesh. God became man and walked among us. Galatians reminds us that Jesus was “the fullness of God in bodily form.” This is the place where it all began.

This is the entrance, inside of the church, which leads to the birth place of Jesus.

This is the exact spot where tradition teaches was the birth place of Jesus. While we were there people were kissing this spot.

The crowd that had gathered around the place where Jesus was born.

The natural next stop after visiting the birthplace of Jesus was the shepherd’s field. This is a church that sits near the place where the angels appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus.

The shepherd’s field is full of caves similar to this one. The shepherds would keep the sheep in caves at night to keep them safe.

Last stop of the day was the Mount of Olives. Jesus would stop at the town of Bethany which sits on top of the Mount of Olives and stay with Mary and Martha. The Mount of Olives has an amazing view of Jerusalem.

The Mount of Olives is covered with tombs. Instead of placing flowers on the tombs, people place rocks.

Near the bottom of the Mount of Olives is the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus came here with his disciples. He asked them to wait while he prayed. When he was done praying he found the disciples sleeping. Shortly after he was betrayed by Judas.

I found this somewhat interesting. The Russian Orthodox Church believes this is the actual column Jesus was tied to while he was being scourged (or whipped) with the 39 lashes. Our guides say this is highly unlikely but fascinating none the less.

That is our tour for today. Tonight and tomorrow we tour the Old City of Jerusalem. Check back tomorrow for that virtual tour!

Shalom from Jerusalem!

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Israel Day Three: Sensory Overload

October 6, 2011 by [Fight Pastor]

Day three was another whirlwind trip around Israel. We left Tiberias and started heading off to Jerusalem. Our first stop was Mount Carmel. The above picture is from on top of Mount Carmel.

For years I have loved preaching and teaching on the life of Elijah. I appreciate the prophet Elijah so much that I convinced my wife to name our second son Elijah. Many of the most amazing events from his life happened on Mount Carmel. Visiting this site was my favorite. Here is the statue of Elijah on Mount Carmel. Notice he is wielding a sword and standing on top of the prophets of baal!

This is near the point where Elijah heard “the sound of heavy rain” and began to pray for rain. He sent his servant to look for rain seven times. On the seventh time the servant reported that he saw a cloud the size of a man’s hand over the Mediterranean Sea.

Not the greatest shot but down below to the left you can see a little ridge. This is the spot where Elijah faced the prophets of baal. Down below it is the brook where he sent them down to gather water so he could poor it over the sacrifice. Elijah prayed down fire from heaven at that spot! AWESOME!

Over to the right is the Valley of Jezreel. After Elijah heard “the sound of heavy rain” he told King Ahab to load up his chariot. The power of the Lord came upon Elijah and he ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to Jezreel.

Off in the distance you can see Mount Gilboa. I have often preached from the passage about Gideon facing Midianites with his 300 men. This is near the point where Gideon had his men go to the stream and get water and whoever knelt down and cupped water in his hands that was his army. 300 hundred Israelites defeated the Midianites in an unlikely battle near this point.

Israel is the archeological capital of the world. They discover sites to be excavated in the most unique ways. On our drive to Megiddo we stopped off at these series of 1st century tombs along the side of the highway. They were discovered when the highway was being built! Notice the stone by the entrance!

The most excavated archeological site in all of Israel is at the city of Megiddo. Over thousands of years this city has been conquered and rebuilt. 27 times this city was destroyed and reconstructed. Each time on top of the other. Megiddo is also the place of armageddon in Scripture. The end times war will begin here.

The round structure is an altar to baal. You will also notice on the rock wall behind several different layers. Each layer is another build on top of the previous build. Again 27 different times! Archeologists from around the world come to excavate this area and the deeper they go the more they find.

Megiddo is so full of archeological finds that by accident you can stumble upon coins or pottery. Our guide, Andre, says to not even worry about the pottery you find because there is so much of it being unearthed. He said you only get excited when you find a handle of a clay pot. I found the handle of an over 1000 year old clay pot! Notice my excitement.

This excavated manger is exactly like the one that Jesus would have been placed in as an infant. Notice it is made of stone not wood. How often in Christmas plays is Jesus placed in a stone manger?

An archeological dig discovered the water tunnel that King Ahab had built under Megiddo. Our tour guide frequently reminds us that the two most important things in the first century were water and security. Megiddo was a secure fortress without water. Ahab had these tunnels dug under the city all the way to a spring. During wars, while the men were fighting, women would climb down into these tunnels and gather water.

Here is a view of the actual tunnel. Chipping away at this stone must have taken some serious determination!

The tunnel leads to this shallow pool of water. During the rainy season this is a lot more impressive.

After leaving Megiddo, our next stop was the Valley of Elah. This is the location of the famous battle between the Israelites and the Philistines where David killed Goliath! We are walking to the place where the Israelites likely camped and are about to gather smooth stones from the same place where David would have.

This is near the point where the Israelites would have encamped. At the end of this trail is the dried river bed where David would have found his stones. During the rainy season this is a river.

I found the perfect Goliath slaying stone. I am now running around this area trying to find someone really tall that I can throw it at. Don’t be surprised if your gift is a rock from the Valley of Elah.

We finally arrived in Jerusalem and after dinner a small group of us toured the Old City. At this point my brain was hurting and I couldn’t take in any more information. I was on complete sensory overload. We are spending four days in Jerusalem so a detailed explanation of the city will be forthcoming!

All the way from Israel!

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Israel Safe and Sound

October 5, 2011 by [Fight Pastor]

After a whirlwind 21 hour trip from Seattle to Israel we finally made it safe and sound! Since our trip is short in comparison to most Holy Land Tours we immediately began our tour. To help some of you live vicariously through us, I am going to try and update you daily on our adventures. Our first stop was Caesarea. The above picture was from Caesarea. You can see the Sea of Galilee in the background as well as some of the ruins of Herod’s palace.

This is the amphitheater at Caesarea. This was originally built by Herod the Great, it has since been rebuilt but there are many remnants of the original around. Gaetana went up on the stage and sang Amazing Grace. It was incredible how her unamplified voice was heard throughout the 4000 seat arena.

The Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea for over 2 years. He was eventually sent to Rome to face Caesar. This is the spot where Paul testified about Christ and eventually appealed to Caesar.

Christian and I are standing near the hippodrome at Caesarea. Herod, being a huge fan of athletic events, had this built for the people of Caesarea to gather to watch chariot races. This was HUGE! Back in the 1st century it seated over 20,000.

One of the more amazing sites was the raised aqueduct that Herod had built to bring fresh water to Caesarea. This incredible structure stretched from Caesarea all the way to Mount Carmel.

Day two began with a trip a few miles north of Tiberias to Kibbutz Ginosar which is the home of the Jesus Boat Museum. This is a picture from the boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It was a breathtaking experience for its spectacular views and the reality that this is same body of water that Jesus walked on and Peter fished in!

This boat was an archeological find in 1986. It was a fishing boat used in the 1st century. Who knows, this might have been a boat Jesus or one of the disciples travelled in!

At the Jesus Boat Museum I was given in a lesson in how to blow the shofar. Once I mastered the shofar I bought it as a memento of this trip. Don’t miss church on October 16th because I am planning to, humbly, show off my shofar blowing skills.

Next stop was the Mount of Beatitudes. This is the location where Jesus gave one of his most famous teachings, the Sermon on the Mount. I was excited to see area because we had recently taught through the Sermon on the Mount at Canyon Creek Church.

This is the Church of the Mount of Beatitudes. We were told ahead of time by our tour guide that the nun who runs the church is pretty intense.

My beautiful wife had a run in with the infamous nun and lost. She was banished from the Church of the Mount of Beatitudes because she wasn’t properly attired. Denied! Here is Di by the rules. Can you guess which one she broke?

Here she is. The sister that denied my wife access. I thought she was nice. I promised to tag this picture in Facebook.

Next stop was the great city of Capernaum. This is the location of many of Jesus miracles. One of my favorite stories is the healing of paralytic. Jesus was teaching in a room that was too crowded so the paralytic boys friends broke in through the roof and lowered him down. Jesus healed the boy by simply saying, “pick up your mat and walk.”

Tanya is peaking around one of the columns in the synagogue at Capernaum. It was this synagogue where Jesus did a lot of his public teaching while in Capernaum.

Just inside the city of Capernaum is this statue of Peter with the inscription, “Upon this rock I will build my church.”

Our last stop on the 2nd day of our tour was Mount Arabel. Mount Arabel has some of the most amazing views of the Sea of Galilee.

Di and I on top of Mount Arbel with an awesome view of the Sea of Galilee behind us.

The tour on day two started at 8am and was over at 4pm. We took the rest of the time to try and catch up on our sleep and get readjusted to the time change. For me I met up with Golan Freddy Hawk who is a famous tattoo artist in Tiberias. He continued the already great work done on my half sleeve.

*Please Note: My wife has not yet had the opportunity to edit these pictures so enjoy the raw footage but know better footage is coming!

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Fight Pastor Invades Israel

October 3, 2011 by [Fight Pastor]

I have wanted to visit Israel ever since I committed my life to Christ in high school. I tried to convince my fiance, now my wife, 20 years ago that Jerusalem would be a great honeymoon. In the years since, my desire to walk where Jesus walked, actually stand in the Valley of Elah where David defeated Goliah, or see firsthand the location where Elijah faced the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel has only increased. Finally, I can cross a trip to the Holy Land off of my bucket list. For the next 10 days a group from my church will visit Israel.

Over the next 10 days I will blog daily on the trip and post pictures highlighting our journey. To set everything up, I wanted to take a moment to share my upcoming itinerary. Feel free over the next week and a half to live vicariously through me as I visit the following Biblical sites.

Day One:

Ruins at Caesarea Maritima

Built by Herod the Great and named after Caesar Augustus. It was the capital of the Roman province of Judaea and the headquarters of the Roman troops. It was here that Cornelius the centurion was converted to Christianity through the influence of Peter. (Acts 10)

Sanhedrin at Tiberias

In the time of Jesus, Tiberias was the largest Jewish city in Galilee and the political and religious hub in which he based his ministry and performed many miracles.

Day Two:

Mount of Beatitudes

This is the likely location where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew 5-7. For more information on the Sermon on the Mount check out the message series I did earlier this year.

Capernaum Synagogue

Jesus was confronted by a demoniac while teaching here (Mark 1:21-27). In Capernaum, Jesus healed the servant of the centurion.  This Roman official was credited with building the synagogue (Luke 7:3). In this synagogue, Jesus gave sermon on the bread of life (John 6:35-59).

Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee is mentioned in the Bible under three names. 1) In the Old Testament it is called the “sea of Chinnereth” (Num 34:11; Josh 12:3, 13:27). 2) The “lake of Gennesarth” once by Luke (5:1). 3) John calls it the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1, 21:1).

Day Three:

Megiddo

Strongly fortified throughout the ages, Megiddo boasted a stone Syrian-type gate in the days of Canaanite inhabitation. This gate is later than the bent-axis gate (straightened to accommodate chariots) and earlier than the famous “Solomonic” gate, part of the construction of King Solomon described in 1 Kings 9:15.

Mount Carmel

This is probably the best view of the area of Elijah’s contest.  The monastery of Muhraqa is at the top of the hill, but tradition places the contest slightly lower near a spring.  The crowds of Israelites would have filled the spacious territory around to see whose God would win.

Jaffa

Jaffa was the port of entry for the cedars of Lebanon for both Solomon’s Temple (2 Chronicles 2:15), and the Second Temple of Jerusalem (Ezra 3:7). It was also the place where the prophet Jonah tried to “escape” to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3).

Valley of Elah

The Valley of Elah is best known as the place where the Israelites were encamped when David fought Goliath (1 Samuel 17-19).

Day Four:

Bethlehem

Bethlehem is distinguished above every other city as the birth place of “He who’ll be the shepherd of my people Israel” (Matthew 2:6). When Herod heard about His prophesied birth he sent soldiers to kill “all the children that were in Bethlehem” (Matthew 2:16).

The area to the east of the city is traditionally believed to be the area of the fields of the shepherds “keeping watch o’er their flocks by night.”  Several churches have been built to commemorate this event.

Western Wall

The Western Wall is the most holy place accessible to the Jewish people because of Muslim control of the Temple Mount.  Known in recent centuries as the “Wailing Wall,” this was built by Herod the Great as the retaining wall of the Temple Mount complex.  The plaza was created as an area for prayer when Israel captured the Old City in 1967.  At times tens of thousands of people gather here for prayer.

Day Five:

Mount of Olives and Kidron Valley

Separated from the Eastern Hill (the Temple Mount and the City of David) by the Kidron Valley, the Mt. of Olives has always been an important feature in Jerusalem’s landscape.  From the 3rd millennium B.C. until the present, this 2900-foot hill has served as one of the main burial grounds for the city.  The two-mile long ridge has three summits each of which has a tower built on it.

Garden of Gethsemane

At the foot of the Mount of Olives lies the Garden of Gethsemane. The New Testament, tells how Jesus and his friends sang together- “When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30). Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:9-12).

The Garden Tomb

While officially the Garden Tomb Association only maintains this as a possible site for Christ’s burial, some tour guides of the site are convinced of the authenticity.  They note the large cistern nearby, which proves the area must have been a garden in Jesus’ day.  They maintain that there are marks of Christian veneration at the tomb which also prove its sanctity throughout the ages.

Day Six:

Qumran Caves

This most famous of the Dead Sea Scroll caves is also the most significant in terms of finds.  More than 15,000 fragments from over 200 books were found in this cave, nearly all by Bedouin thieves.  122 biblical scrolls (or fragments) were found in this cave.  From all 11 Qumran caves, every Old Testament book is represented except Esther.

En Gedi

En Gedi is the remarkable desert oasis in which King David hid from King Saul (1 Samuel 24:1-2).

Masada

Masada was built for Herod as an escape palace, it later became known as the site of the Israeli last stand. This picture is of fifteen long storerooms kept essential provisions for time of siege.  Herod filled with them with food and weapons. Each storeroom held a different commodity.  This was attested by different storage jars and inscriptions on jars in rooms.  Wine bottles sent to Herod from Italy were found.

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea, unlike the Sea of Galilee to the north, does not figure prominently in the biblical narratives.  Its most important role was as a barrier, blocking traffic to Judah from the east.  An advancing army of Ammonites and Moabites apparently crossed a shallow part of the Dead Sea on their way to attack King Jehoshaphat (2 Chron 20).  Ezekiel has prophesied that one day the Dead Sea will be fresh water and fishermen will spread their nets along the shore.

Day Seven:

Hezekiah's Tunnel

A 1750-foot (530m) tunnel carved during the reign of Hezekiah to bring water from one side of the city to the other, Hezekiah’s Tunnel together with the 6th c. tunnel of Euphalios in Greece are considered the greatest works of water engineering technology in the pre-Classical period.

2 Kings 20:20 “As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city…”

2 Chron. 32:30 “It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David.”

Temple Mount

The present Temple Mount was constructed by Herod the Great beginning in 20 B.C.  Construction on it continued for 83 years until 64 A.D. when a halt was called to the project and 18,000 workers were laid off (riots resulted).  The Temple Mount is 1/6 the size of today’s Old City and covers 35 acres.  Construction of this rectangular platform required filling in a large part of the Central Valley.

Pool of Bethesda

The pool of Bethesda, taken from the south-eastern side. In this scene are stone baths, water channels, vaulted rooms and grottoes which were part of the healing center. Here, Jesus met the sick people bathing in the waters, and cured a paralytic (John 5, 3: “In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water”).

Church of Holy Sepulchre

Originally built by the mother of Emperor Constantine in 330 A.D., the Church of the Holy Sepulcher commemorates the hill of crucifixion and the tomb of Christ’s burial. On grounds of tradition alone, this church is the best candidate for the location of these events.  The Garden Tomb was not identified as such until the 19th century.

Wow, there you have it. Our whirlwind tour through the Holy Land. Most of this information was cut and pasted from Bible Walks, Bible Places, and some research Christian Lindbeck had done.

Be looking for daily updates!



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Reflections From The Lobby

March 20, 2011 by [Fight Pastor]

We have been teaching through the Sermon on the Mount at Canyon Creek Church. Today we concluded our Self Exam series with a teaching on Matthew 7:13-27

The Narrow and Wide Gates

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

True and False Prophets

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

True and False Disciples

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The Wise and Foolish Builders

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Jesus ends his most prominent teaching by encouraging everyone to watch out for false prophets. He then explains the types of people to be on the look out for.

1. Wolf in sheep’s clothing.

2. Fruit from a thorn bush.

3. House built on sand.

While Jesus was specifically addressing our faith, it also has broader applications. We need to be careful in EVERY situation who we listen to. People seem to want our ear in every facet of our lives; faith, finances, relationships, family, career…you name it.

It is important to always remember that few people care about your situation and circumstances more than you. So be careful who you listen to and watch out for people with ulterior motives. A sure fire way to quickly discover if some has ulterior motives is to tell them you want to take some time to think through this decision before making it. If someone gets frustrated or gives you the old “what do I need to do to get your business today” immediately realize you might be dealing with a “false” prophet. A great example is a stereotypical car salesman. Since I have purchased MANY cars in my life I am used to the high pressure tactics of car salesman.

After sharing a few of these stories, a guy in my church approached me in the lobby after the service. He told me he used to be a car salesman and that they had an insiders only strategy based around the 3 nevers. I couldn’t resist sharing this to once again remind you beware of who you are listening to! So here are the 3 Nevers of a car salemsman:

Never let the customer leave without letting the sales manager talk to them.

Never give them back their keys.

Never talk price on the lot.

Remember, beware of false prophets! They don’t just roam around the church! Hope this helps you next time you deal with a car salesman.

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