Messianic Shabbat - The Harvest Mark McLellan

When the prophet John saw Jesus he exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Who would have guessed that the Lamb that would be slain, would not only rise again, but would become King of kings and Lord of lords? The world who mocked Him, tortured Him, and crucified Him, would now answer to Him for what it did. But for those who would repent, humble themselves, and ask Him for forgiveness, to them He would bless, forgive, and redeem. Those whom He saved would be exalted as His children and join Him in ruling and reigning over creation. This is the story and glory of Passover and where it ultimately leads to.

In the month of spring when life emerges everywhere, God ordained that this would be the beginning of the year for His people. It is marked by an eight day celebration known as the week of Passover! It memorializes Jesus as savior, redeemer, and deliverer of Israel as well as all others who embrace Him as their Lord and Savior! This holy week is filled with joy, festivity, fellowship, and rest. Jesus is the reason for the season! It is all about Him, His people, and His redemption. Join us as we explore Jesus as the fulfillment of Passover.

Passover is the first of the annual holy days of our Father in Heaven. It is a week-long memorial to Him as our Savior and Deliverer from slavery in Egypt which is a picture of our slavery to sin and shame. Passover is fulfilled in Jesus! In this memorial, Jesus is revealed, exalted, and glorified among all who keep it. God commands us to observe it because He loves His Son who accomplished our redemption by His own bloody sacrificial death on the cross. As we keep it, we are kept. It centers us and our children in Jesus the Savior of the world. Happy holy week of Passover!

Easter is the day that approximately 1.4 billion Catholics and 1 billion protestants will celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. People ask us every year why we are not celebrating Easter. The short answer? It’s complicated! We do celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus but in a different context and on a different date! As Messianic Jews and Gentiles, we follow the biblical calendar. This is the calendar that God gave to Israel and as members and citizens of Israel (Eph. 2, Rom.11), we embrace and celebrate this ancient calendar with its revelatory holy days. Holy days matter, so join us in this overview of the Biblical calendar and why it is life changing for those who believe.

God is a God of order. He expects all of his children to honor and respect authority. The story of Esther give us a paradigm of how to relate to secular authorities as well as address abuses of power. We learn from Esther, that God gives us authority and power to use for the benefit of the oppressed and persecuted. How we exercise power is as important as the power itself. Join us as we explore the proper use of authority and power through the story of Esther.

We are called by God to influence our world for Him. The great commission outlines how we are to do it. Our national context determines the strategies in accomplishing it. Join us as we look afresh at our great commission and how to best accomplish it at this time, in our national context.