Grace & Knowledge Blog

My ongoing battle with the strep A bacteria continued this week.  Sunday night an infection showed up in my left hand.  It was not as bad as the one in April, but it was bad enough.  I went into the hospital on Monday, and the surgeon wasted no time in drawing out the infection.  He didn't want to give it any chance to become "flesh-eating."  He waited until Wednesday night to close it up, making sure the infection was all gone. 

Before the second surgery, I told the anesthesiologists that they had to be sure I woke back up, since I still needed to finish paying for the 5 times they knocked me out in April.

Maybe all these general anesthetics will help me get ready for death.  I've trusted the anesthesiologists to wake me back up each time.  How much more can I trust Jesus to wake me up from death!.

On October 10, the Church of the Messiah held its annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration at Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene.  

The festivities began at 9 AM with some worship music.  Then Dwight Pryor began a talk on the book of Ecclesiastes, a text traditionally read during the Feast.  Following Walter Kaiser's excellent commentary,  Dwight intended to explain why Ecclesiastes is a very appropriate book for a season of rejoicing, since it identifies the only source of lasting joy.  Unfortunately he wasn't feeling well and was not able to complete the remarks he had prepared. (He was taken home and felt better after getting some rest.)

Next Lois Tverberg gave a presentation on Jewish prayer in the time of Jesus, summarizing the material in Chapters 6 and 7 of Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus.  In particular, she discussed the meaning of the Lord's Prayer and explained the Jewish practice of saying short prayers of thanksgiving throughout the course of each day.

After eating a light lunch that we had packed, we took a walk around the neighborhood before the afternoon events.  After lunch, Keren Pryor talked about how the annual cycle of festivals helps us to walk in...

Tags: church of the messiah, dwight pryor, feast of tabernacles, lois tverberg, rabbi jesus

Today was the first day of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles.  A special guest at the Church of the Messiah was Dr. Lois Tverberg.  Lois noted that she had enjoyed celebrating the Feast with the Church of the Messiah since 1998.  (The same is true for me.)  That year Dwight Pryor gave a wonderful in-depth teaching on John 7:37-38, where Jesus proclaims at Sukkot in Jerusalem:

On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, Jesus stood up and shouted out,  “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.  Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him will flow rivers of living water.’ ”  (NET Bible)

Lois revisited the background of this verse, exploring the significance of water in Jesus' culture. 

She noted that the Feast has traditionally symbolized both the abundance of the fall harvest and Israel's 40-year sojourn in the desert, an unusual juxtaposition.  But this combination makes more sense when we realize that the Feast in Israel comes at the end of a lengthy dry season. 

Because rain in Israel is both scarce and crucial, prayers for rain have always played an important role in Jewish festival observance.  (Lois noted that modern Jewish...

Tags: church of the messiah, lois tverberg