GOD’S WORD TODAY — Our New DAILY Radio Broadcast!
This coming Monday, December 21st we are launching a new daily (Monday through Friday) radio broadcast called, God’s Word Today. This will be in addition to The Faith Once Delivered which is heard on Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings.
God’s Word Today will air Monday through Friday at 9:45 AM through December, and then on January 1st it will move to our permanent time slot of 9:30 AM Central Time.
In October of 2019, we launched a weekly radio program called The Faith Once Delivered. Less than a year later we doubled our air time and added a Sunday evening broadcast at 9:30 PM to our Saturday morning broadcast at 9:30 AM.
Now, less than fifteen months after The Faith Once Delivered went on the air, we are adding a daily radio program that will air Monday through Friday morning. The Faith Once Delivered is a twice-weekly thirty minute topical Bible study, while God’s Word Today is a daily fifteen minute Book by Book and verse by verse Bible Study, beginning with the Gospel According to Luke.
The Faith Once Delivered and God’s Word Today are broadcast on KCRO Radio, 660 AM in Omaha, and 106.7 FM in Lincoln, Nebraska. KCRO is Nebraska’s premier Christian radio station, and has been broadcasting for forty years now. KCRO’s signal is powerful, and can be heard throughout eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, and from southern South Dakota to northern Missouri.
However, there is even more good news! Through the Internet both of our radio broadcasts can be heard from coast to coast and all around the world!
If you are not in our listening area, simply go to the KCRO Radio website and click Listen Live. It’s free, and just like listening over the radio. Here is the link:
But there is still more good news!
We also pay to archive every episode of The Faith Once Delivered and God’s Word Today so they can be heard as Podcasts on demand, seven days a week and twenty-four hours a day — and of course there is no cost to our listeners.
Podcasts of The Faith Once Delivered can be accessed here:
https://thefaithoncedelivered.podomatic.com
And Podcasts of God’s Word Today can be accessed here:
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/godswordtoday
Through God’s Word Today and The Faith Once Delivered people throughout the world have access to solid Bible teaching seven days a week! Please share the news about these Bible teaching broadcasts with everyone you know, for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Use social media to spread the word. Plant a seed of faith and watch it grow!
HANUKKAH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT — God’s Salvation in Troubled Times (Six Minute Video)
The eight day festival of Hanukkah ends this evening (Friday, December 18th). Unbeknownst to most Christians, Hanukkah is an important festival for Jesus’ disciples. You can read about it in the Gospel According to John, chapter 10.
I am attaching for you a very helpful 6 minute video produced by the Messianic community in Israel about Hanukkah in the New Testament. It really is a Must See video. It will open your eyes, lift your spirit and give you hope.
Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39YQx98T-so
HEBREW GOSPEL PEARLS #12 — Matthew 4:23-25 (Video or Audio)
In Hebrew Gospel Pearls #12 (Matthew 4:23-25), Nehemia Gordon and Keith Johnson discuss what Second Temple period tomb inscriptions can teach us about the name Yeshua, why Hebrew Matthew includes a Greek form of the name Peter, and what a medieval Hebrew medical manuscript can teach us about these issues.
I have been a follower of the work of Nehemia Gordon for years, and I highly recommend this series on the Shem Tov Hebrew Gospel of Matthew. Each episode of this series is filled with information, but I believe that this is the best episode of this series so far.
You can see the video or listen to the audio, but don’t miss it! Here is the link:
THE ANGLICAN ROOTS OF THE MODERN MESSIANIC MOVEMENT
Our roots run very deep.
The only Hebrew-speaking Messianic congregation inside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City is “the congregation of the Lamb on Mount Zion.” They meet in the Anglican chapel of Christ Church, which is located just inside the Jaffa Gate, directly across from the entrance to the Tower of David, but the congregation does not belong to the Anglican Communion. Established in 1987, they see themselves as the successors of the first Hebrew-speaking congregation in Israel, which was in the same location from 1842.
The leaders of the congregation of the Lamb on Mount Zion are Reuven and Benjamin Berger, two brothers who grew up as orthodox Jews in New York. Similar to Paul the apostle, neither of them got married, and they live together in Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. “When I turned 30, I received a direct instruction from the Lord to devote myself only to him,” Reuven says.
The brothers see the Anglican Church as the vehicle through which the Messianic Jewish presence arrived to Israel. “The original congregation of Michael Solomon Alexander was like a grain that fell into the ground and died, because it was Anglican, and our congregation is the fruit of that labor. We are very thankful that there is a ‘holy mine’ in the history of this church, with a positive vision and relationship to Israel and the Jewish people and the restoration of Israel, both physically and spiritually. We are connected to something that has significance in divine history.”
Michael Solomon Alexander, was originally a Rabbi in Plymouth, who had come to faith in Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth, as the Messiah and was ordained to the Anglican ministry. In 1842 he arrived in Israel from England, and even though the church hadn’t been built yet, the first Hebrew-speaking church in Jerusalem met in his residence. Several Jews came to faith, including at least two Rabbis.
You can read all about the Anglican roots of this Messianic revival in a two part article from Israel. Here are the links:
Congregation of the Lamb on Mount Zion – Successors of the first Hebrew-speaking congregation in Israel (Part 1)
Congregation of the Lamb on Mount Zion – Successors of the first Hebrew-speaking congregation in Israel (Part 2)
HOLY CROSS — SEEKING THE OLD PATHS
Thus says the LORD:
“Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls (Jeremiah 6:16).
At Holy Cross parish we are not trying to reinvent the wheel. We are simply seeking to return to the faith once delivered in the first century (Jude 3) and to walk in the old paths where the good way is and where we will find rest for our souls.
Want to learn more?
I highly recommend the book, The Celtic Church in Britain, by Dr. Leslie Hardinge. This wonderful book is the best book on Celtic Christianity that I have ever read, and it is in its 95th edition!
The Gospel arrived in the British Isles directly from Jerusalem in the year 37 CE. It was brought to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea and his companions. Joseph of Arimathea was not only the man who buried Yeshua in his own new tomb, but he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council headquartered in Jerusalem.
This book is a history of Christianity before the arrival of Augustine of Canterbury and his Roman Mission in 597 CE. The book documents the British Christians conflict with the Roman Imperial Church of which Augustine’s mission belonged, and the subsequent pressure that was applied to make the British believers conform, and finally the persecution that drove them to the margins until Celtic Christianity was finally suppressed in the wake of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
Having come to Britain directly from Jerusalem, Celtic Christianity could be best described as Judaeo-Christianity. They lived “the faith once delivered” in the first century (Jude 3), and at Holy Cross we are trying to fully return to the first century faith and practice.
We have a wonderful Celtic heritage and patrimony at Holy Cross parish, and our English Spiritual Tradition has very deep roots indeed. We are so blessed by our incomparable Prayer Book liturgy and our Bible-centered faith.
What we are preaching and teaching at Holy Cross parish is nothing new. On the contrary, it is very ancient indeed. In the book, The Celtic Church in Britain you will see these beliefs and practices lived out in the lives of our spiritual forebears.
The Celtic Church in Britain is a fascinating and authoritative account of Celtic Christianity, its beliefs and practices based on Old Testament canon and the laws of the Pentateuch, including the keeping of the Passover and the Sabbath. It is illustrated with line drawings taken from the crosses which were a notable feature of Celtic church architecture, and with examples of documents of the period.
The Celtic Church in Britain is a scholarly book, and not an easy read, but it is well worth the effort. In this important book you will discover the first century Messianic faith and how it was lived out in Britain for a millennium.
You can order it from Amazon;
https://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Church-Britain-Leslie-Hardinge/dp/1572580348
Or from the publisher:
https://teachservices.com/celtic-church-in-britain-hardinge-leslie-phd-lsi/
Enjoy!
NATIVITY SERVICE — Christmas Eve, December 24th, at 7:00 PM
Our annual Nativity Service, celebrating the birth of the Messiah will be held on Christmas Eve, December 24th, at 7:00 PM. Because of the pandemic our Service will of necessity be somewhat subdued and there will be no Christmas party afterward.
Come to the stable with us. Jesus is the one and only Reason for the Season. Wise Men still seek him. Will you be among them?
I’ll be looking forward to seeing you on Thursday evening, December 24th, at 7:00 AM, and I’ll have a special message to share with you from the pulpit. Be sure to invite your family and friends. There may have been no room in the inn, but there is always room for more at Holy Cross. We have a place for you and yours.
Merry Christmas! Christ is Born! Glorify him!
POINSETTIAS — Donations are Invited
If you would like to donate one or more poinsettias to beautify our chapel for the Nativity season your donation would be warmly welcomed. The chapel is already beautifully decorated with a Christmas tree, wreaths and hangings, and the smell of pine fills the air. Poinsettias will add to the beauty and warmth. Just bring your donation with you on Sunday morning. We will see you then. Merry Christmas!
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK
New posts are made on the Holy Cross Parish Facebook page regularly. We hope that you will visit our Facebook page and check back with it often. Better yet, visit our Facebook page, Like it, and become a Follower. Just click Follow. That way you will not miss a single post!
You can access the Holy Cross Parish Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/Holy-Cross-Parish-362370402748
THE FAITH ONCE DELIVERED — Christmas and the Virgin Birth
Tomorrow’s broadcast is episode 64, and is titled, Christmas and the Virgin Birth. Believe me, even seasoned clergy will learn from this episode as we tie the Dead Sea Scrolls into the Nativity narrative. You will not want to miss this broadcast!
The Faith Once Delivered is a Full Message broadcast, bringing you the Bible in its proper Jewish and early Christian historical, cultural and linguistic context.You will not want to miss a single broadcast!
The Faith Once Delivered radio broadcast can be heard every Saturday morning at 9:30 AM and Sunday evening at 9:30 PM (Central Time) on KCRO Radio, 660 AM in Omaha, and 106.7 FM in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Not in eastern Nebraska or western Iowa? No problem! You can hear The Faith Once Delivered radio broadcast live over the Internet. Just go to the KCRO website and click Listen Live:
All of our radio broadcasts are archived for your use. You can listen to any or all of our past broadcasts for free, any time you would like. You can access them here:
https://thefaithoncedelivered.podomatic.com
GOD’S WORD TODAY — Inaugural Episode, Monday Morning at 9:45 AM Central Time
God’s Word Today is a daily fifteen minute radio broadcast. It is a Book by Book and verse by verse study of the Holy Scriptures. Not a single verse of the Bible will be omitted. We will begin with the Gospel According to Luke, chapter 1 and verse 1.
God’s Word Today can be heard Monday through Friday at 9:45 AM Central Time, beginning Monday, December 21st on KCRO Radio 660 AM in Omaha, and 106.7 FM in Lincoln, Nebraska. On Friday, January 1st, 2021 God’s Word Today will move to its permeant time slot of 9:30 AM Central Time.
Like The Faith Once Delivered, God’s Word Today can be heard from anywhere, coast to coast and around the world, by simply going to the KCRO website and clicking Listen Live. Here is the link:
Every broadcast of God’s Word Today is also being archived and can be heard on demand as a Podcast, twenty-four hours per day, seven days a week, at no charge to our listeners. Here is the link:
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/godswordtoday
OUR MISSION AT HOLY CROSS
At Holy Cross parish we are committed to proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 24:14), teaching the faith which was once delivered in the first century (Jude 3), and preparing a people for the Coming of the Lord.
If a “traditional” belief does not go back to the first century it cannot be apostolic and is instead a tradition of men. The faith was not delivered in the 16th, the 11th, or even the 4th century, but in the 1st century. Come and join us in our journey to the first century Messianic Jesus movement. Everyone is welcome.
Maranatha — O Lord Come!
KEEPING YOU SAFE AT HOLY CROSS
If you have been diagnosed with Covid-19, exposed to someone diagnosed with the virus, have a fever, cough, or any other symptoms of the virus you should not enter the building.
Before entering the building please be sure that you are wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth. You should wear your mask AT ALL TIMES when you are in the building, whether you are in the chapel, the parish hall or the sacristy. Masks should not be removed until after leaving the building. If you feel the need to remove your mask, please step outdoors to do so and do not re-enter the building until you have put your mask back on.
We have antibacterial soap in the restrooms, and hand sanitizer in two places in the chapel for your use. Please do not shake hands, and remember to keep a minimum of six (6) feet of social distance between households. Every other pew has been closed, but you will still want to stagger your seating between households so no one is directly in front or behind you.
By observing the common sense health measures outlined above we can continue to keep everyone feeling safe to attend Services, and continue to advance our mission of proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, teaching the faith which was once delivered in the first century, and preparing a people for the Coming of the Lord. Thank you!
EVERYONE IS INVITED AND VISITORS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!
Holy Cross is a teaching congregation. We take Bible study seriously and are a congregation of intentional disciples. Where else can you find such constant, and in-depth teaching from the pulpit, over the airwaves, on social media, in print, and by email? Believe me, it is rare. Holy Cross is very special!
If you want to be fed with spiritual food rather than milk, and want to grow in grace, in your understanding of the Holy Scriptures, in your faith in God, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ — Yeshua the Messiah — then Holy Cross is the congregation you have been looking for.
I hope that you will accept my personal invitation to join us this Sunday morning at 9:00 AM for Morning Prayer and a Sermon. Morning Prayer or Shacharit is our morning Service. It has its roots in the synagogue Services of Jesus’ time. It is an ancient and beautiful Service of Psalms, Canticles, two Scripture readings, a sermon, and prayer. Bring your Bible with you and be ready to learn!
If you haven’t attended Services for a while, or don’t have a church home, Advent is a wonderful time for new beginnings.
We are a faithful and friendly congregation, and we have a place for you. We hope to see you soon!
