Showing posts with label Dr Erez Soref. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dr Erez Soref. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

The Gospel in Gaza - ONE FOR ISRAEL




Dr Erez Soref President of  ONE FOR ISRAEL 
Shalom!

Yeshua, the Prince of Peace, urges us to be peacemakers and to pursue peace. But what does that look like? 

True peace is only found in God himself, through the Messiah. The ministry of reconciliation (reconciling people with God) is making peace in a 'vertical' direction - between us and God. But helping people resolve their disputes is another way of making peace in a 'horizontal' direction. We have some great news to tell you about a different kind of peace process in the Middle East - something you won't hear about on the news!

"Blessed are the peacemakers, 
for they shall be called Sons of God". 
(Matthew 5:9)



PEACEMAKERS - A COURSE IN MEDIATION

Resolving disputes of any size is not easy. But Israel College of the Bible has recently held a course in Mediation which, when accompanied with relevant experience, qualifies graduates to assist in all kinds of situations in Israel. This might include disputes between landlord and tenant, an individual and an institution, or a dispute between neighbors, for example, as a way of preventing such matters going to court. The body of Messiah is also no stranger to conflict, and these newly trained students now have another tool in their belt to help resolve the trouble that bubbles up from time to time in congregations. 

A nationally known expert in the field was invited to teach the course, which augments the studies in Christian Counselling already available. Head of the Department of Counselling, Keren Silver, explains, "Counselling and mediation are very different - mediation is very practical. We teach students how to be as neutral as possible in the conflict, and what steps need to be taken in order to find a solution that all sides can agree on". 

Twelve students graduated last Thursday and received their certificates, half of whom were Messianic Jewish and half Christian Arab. Even within the class there are widely differing viewpoints on various subjects, but along with the training in counselling which enables students to identify emotions, reactions and solutions, this training is helping students to put out fires of controversy and dispute, and restore peace. Perhaps not on a national scale, but we now have some well-trained firefighters and peacemakers in our communities and in the Kingdom!


GAZA GETS TO HEAR ABOUT THEIR SAVIOR


Many of us have seen the tragic images of Gaza and the suffering of the people there. Persecution of Christians is serious - a few years ago a Christian bookshop was burnt down and the owner shot dead. There are a few believers, but many never get the chance to hear the Good News about Yeshua.
However, we are very excited to tell you that our new videos in Arabic have enjoyed a great deal of exposure in Gaza in particular, where Facebook is used even more than in Israel. 
Here's a message from Carlos Damianos, who heads up the Arabic media work:

I want to thank the Lord for His goodness, and for leading us to this moment to upload videos to reach the Arab world. The first video has already gained a lot of attention in the closed world of Gaza. God is able to break through every boundary, as he says in Isaiah 45:2,  "I will go before you and make crooked places straight. I will shatter bronze doors and cut through iron bars." Tens of thousands of Muslims have seen it and there have been hundreds of comments and questions - many raised by genuine seekers. 

We have a couple of prayer requests:

1) That the Lord would work through the power of the Gospel, through the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all who are exposed to videos. Well over 50,000 have watched the video so far.

2) We really need two more people to join the team to help with photography, editing and responding to all those who are commenting and actually searching for the truth.

OUR RUSSIAN STUDENTS GET READY TO GRADUATE

Did you know there are over one million Russian speakers in Israel? That means 1 in 8 Israelis speak Russian! 

Four years ago we developed a two-year "Certificate of Biblical Education" in the Russian language, equipping Russian speaking believers to reach new levels of effective ministry. Here is the class of 2017 that will graduate tomorrow.

This program is taught under the leadership of Dr Oleg Korotki, and consists of ten courses (30 credits):
  • Introduction to Theology
  • Hermeneutics and Exegesis
  • Homiletics
  • Soteriology and Christology
  • The Book of Romans
  • Family and Counseling
  • Leadership
  • The Old Testament Survey
  • The New Testament Survey
  • Pastoral Studies
Some of the students will continue their studies with us in order to gain a associate degree in Theology.


A SHORT HISTORY OF MESSIANIC JUDAISM


Ever since the first Jewish disciples of Yeshua, there has always been a remnant of Jewish people who believed in him, even though for most of history they would simply assimilate into Christian churches and become invisible as Jews. It was once assumed that one had to choose between being either Jewish or Christian, and many left their Jewish identity at the threshold when they came to church. Today, things for Messianic Jewish believers are very different. What changed? Continue reading...
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ONE FOR ISRAEL, 47 Pinkas david St. POB 13401, Netanya, 42138 Israel

Monday, May 15, 2017

Being an Ambassador for Messianic believers - in the British Embassy in Israel! - ONE FOR ISRAEL


Being an Ambassador for Messianic believers - in the British Embassy in Israel! - ONE FOR ISRAEL

May 15, 2017

Dr Erez Soref President of  ONE FOR ISRAEL 
Shalom!

Recently I had the pleasure, along with other spiritual leaders in Israel, to attend an event at the British Embassy in honor of the Archbishop of Canterbury's visit to Israel.

It was an unexpected honor since Messianic Jews are not officially 
 recognized or accepted in Israel. Due to a divine appointment that had happened just days earlier where a representative from the Embassy met a spouse of one of our staff, I received an invitation to the Embassy, to my great surprise! The important matter as far as I was concerned was that Messianic Jews were represented at such an official event. Pictured below is (from right to left) the Archbishop Justin Welby, along with Canon Hatem Shehadeh, an Arab brother who studied in our pastors' MA course, myself and Victor Kalisher, another Messianic believer who heads up the Bible Society in Jerusalem.


The chief rabbi of the UK, Ephraim Mirvis, also came to Jerusalem with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the two prayed at the Western Wall and visited the Holocaust Museum, Yad VaShem. 

In the face of all the controversy about the importance of Jerusalem to the Jewish people, Archbishop Justin Welby affirmed; 

"The Temple Mount is the site of an historic temple and that is the heart of the people of Israel over many, many centuries, millennia in fact... We recognize the ongoing presence of the Jewish people and our eternal right to the city. It's the spiritual capital of the Jewish people and we're going through another episode of dispute." 



Why not come see for yourself the miracle of modern Israel! Join us on a ministry trip, where you will not only see the sites, you will serve the people as well. 

ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry Trips not only show you the famous biblical sites of ancient Israel, we also provide once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to bless the people of modern Israel, both Jews and Arabs, through hands-on volunteer activities throughout our trips. 

Service opportunities may include such activities as visiting the sick at an Israeli hospital, packing food for those in need, or putting on a program for Holocaust survivors. And whereas most tours to Israel only show you the ancient stones, we bring you face to face with "living stones" as well, Jewish and Arab Israeli believers who are a testament to God's faithfulness to Israel. With your believing tour guide leading you, you'll meet members of the body of Messiah in Israel and get a glimpse into what it is like to be a believer in Israel. 

When you return home, you'll not only have memories of seeing places in Israel where God worked in the past, you'll also have stories of how God is working in Israel today! 

So how do you get in on such a special trip? Simply go tooneforisrael.org/about-us/ministry-trips, select a trip, and follow the instructions to sign-up! We still have openings for our June and November trips and we'd love to have you join us!



LIVING STONES OF JERUSALEM

By sunset, Jerusalem's stone walls are radiant with rosy golden and tawny hues, making it glow like a city of gold. There is a law passed during the time of the British mandate forbidding building using any other stone other than Jerusalem stone in the area, to preserve the heritage of the beautiful city. But do you know what this famous "Jerusalem stone" is made of geologically? Continue reading...
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ONE FOR ISRAEL, 47 Pinkas david St. POB 13401, Netanya, 42138 Israel

Monday, April 3, 2017

Preparing for Passover - ONE FOR ISRAEL




Dr Erez Soref President of  ONE FOR ISRAEL 
Shalom!

Spring is a lovely time of year in Israel - the flowers are blooming, and the weather is pleasant before the intense heat of summer. It was great to get out of the classroom with our students to explore the land of Israel together.

Sitting in an amphitheater that was likely standing in the time of Yeshua, quite close to his home town of Nazareth, the students learned about local history, archaeology and also enjoyed some teaching on the Gospel of Mark from Dr Seth Postell, our Academic Dean. 

Now we just have one more week of studies before the Passover holiday next week!


10 MILLION VIEWS: "JEWISH MAN TURNS TO JESUS AND EXPLAINS WHY IN A WAY YOU NEVER HEARD BEFORE!"

Eitan explains how it all started: "A simple partnership that turned into perhaps the most effective tool to ever exist in reaching the Jewish people with the message of the Gospel, and blessing many gentiles as a blessed side effect!" Continue reading...



STAFF IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Varya Plashko, Online Studies

We would like to introduce you to Varya, who heads up our Online Studies department. Varya has a background in linguistics and is fluent in three languages, but for her Masters degree she studied the subject of her passion: Land of Israel Studies.

She studied Israel's history along with the land itself with all its beautiful nature at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, considered one of the best for subjects pertaining to Israel, the Jewish scriptures and heritage.

Varya loves to be in nature, and goes hiking all around the land of Israel at every opportunity, but when she has to be in her office, she brings as much of nature inside to join her as she can! She loves to help people learn about Israel, the Bible, and the history of the Jewish people and is always excited to see people signing up for online courses. 


DID YOU KNOW SPRING CLEANING IS COMMANDED IN THE BIBLE?!
 
Changes are happening in Israeli supermarkets - cleaning products are on special offer, and sections of "Kosher for Pesach" goods are appearing with no traces of yeast in them. At this time of year, everyone gets busy spring cleaning, as the Festival of Unleavened Bread approaches, and the Bible commands that all leaven must be removed from the house. 

In Passover tradition, leaven represents sin, and we remember the miracle of the Angel of Death passing over the Hebrew houses that were protected by the blood of a lamb. Isn't it funny that about this time of year, Yeshua also gave the House of God a good spring clean? Continue reading...


SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE PASSOVER?

Whether or not a Christian celebrates Passover is a matter of personal conscience. Like all other Jewish Feasts, it is a foreshadowing of Yeshua... Passover speaks of his atoning work as the Lamb of God. Colossians 2:16-17 tells us that we should "let no one judge us in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths..." Christians are no longer bound to observe the Passover Feast the way the Jewish people were commanded to, but it is very interesting and beneficial to dig into the symbolism nonetheless. Continue reading...


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ONE FOR ISRAEL, 47 Pinkas david St. POB 13401, Netanya, 42138 Israel