Heavy on the Leaven: The Feast of Pentecost

When All Else Fails, Look Up!

There is a “catchy” little gospel song that has been around for a long time, but originated among troubled people in a very difficult time. “Do Lord, O Do Lord, O Do Remember Me” has been sung joyfully, performed, and recorded by many, many people over many, many years, but it was African slaves in the mid-nineteenth century, prior to the War Between the States, who first put those words to music.  With lives full of  seemingly endless toil, despair, and hopelessness, they looked to the future, to the end of their lives and sang. . . “I’ve got a home in glory-land that outshines the sun.” It was that hope that enabled them to face each wretched day, and they couldn’t help but ask God in song to remember their hope and trust in Him when they were called into His presence. Throughout many centuries the Jewish people have likewise been in the most desperate of circumstances when the only real source of strength and comfort was the deliverance and joy awaiting them in the future.  They, too, likely cried out, “Do Lord, O Do Lord, O Do Remember Us!” God sent a prophet to the Jewish people at a crucial time in their history when they greatly needed encouragement and strength, and the very name of that prophet characterized the message he would bring to them.  Zechariah, meaning “God remembers!” And that is the title of this series of studies from the Old Testament Book of Zechariah, chapters twelve through fourteen, beginning with this first episode entitled, “When All Hope Is Lost, Look Up!” Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production [http://studiod.co/] and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Heavy on the Leaven: The Feast of Pentecost

Roger Wambold here:  Once again as your host in this series of podcasts, “Ancient Words, Modern Message” I have the privilege of settling in at my desk with a bagel and a beverage for an informal chat about things Jewish. With tongue-in-cheek one Jewish pundit opined that “We Jews have a blessing for everything!” In a similar humorous vein, another Jewish observer theorized that “Since every Jewish holiday includes special foods, and since we Jews love to eat, we had to come up with lots of Jewish holidays!” While it is true that the Jewish calendar does seem to have an inordinately large number of “special days,” some of these “special days” were ordained by God and commanded in Scripture. It is the subject of one of these divinely-commanded “special days” that is the focus of this new “Bagel-side Chat.” So. . .I invite you to join me—maybe even with your own bagel and beverage—for this episode entitled, “Heavy on the Leaven:  The Feast of Pentecost.” Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production [http://studiod.co/] and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Who Is on the Lord’s Side?

God’s people throughout history have always used the medium of music to express their praise, worship, and gratitude to God.  And so it was when Israel’s fourth judge, Deborah, the “stout-hearted woman,” reflected on a glorious victory over the Canaanite Confederacy “against all odds” more than three millennia ago, the details of which are recorded in Judges, chapter four.  The next chapter provides a record of the song of praise that she wrote and sang on that occasion.  The last verse—really the chorus—of the song is Judges 5:31:  “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!  But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.”  In essence, Deborah is declaring that in every contest between God and man, between good and evil, the final score is always the same:  “God wins, and His enemies lose!”  So the question that begs to be asked of every one of us is:  “Which side am I on?”  Many years after Deborah’s song, another song writer, Maltbie Babcock, reminded himself and all of us that, “Though the wrong seems oft’ so strong, God is the Ruler yet.”  A few years after that, Eugene M. Bartlett gave us his musical reminder of “Victory in Jesus”:  I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory, And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea;  About the angels singing, and the old redemption story, And some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory.  So the question remains: “Who is on the Lord’s side?”    And that is the title of this sixth and final episode in the series, “Stout-Hearted Men and Women:  Studies in the Book of Judges.” Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production [http://studiod.co/] and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Deborah’s Song

It is significant that the longest book in the Bible is a songbook, referring, of course, to the book of Psalms in the Old Testament, which is a collection of songs of praise written by various  men (and possibly women) of God to be sung to His glory.  It is also significant that there are so many examples in Scripture of God’s people “breaking into song” in response to demonstrations of God’s greatness and goodness on their behalf.  And so it is in the book of Judges when, against all odds, God delivered Israel from twenty years of oppression at the hands of the Canaanites.  When the dust settled after the heat of battle, Deborah the Judge composed lyrics and music for a song of praise.  Though we don’t have the tune, we do have the words to that song recorded in Judges, chapter five.  And so, let’s enjoy and be challenged by these words in this fifth in our series, “Stout-Hearted Men and Women:  Studies in the Book Judges,” an episode entitled simply, “Deborah’s Song.” Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production [http://studiod.co/] and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

The Hammer of Justice in the Hand of the Brave

There are those who avoid reading and studying the Old Testament due to the misguided opinion that it is boring and irrelevant. The current episode of “Ancient Words, Modern Message” will certainly demonstrate that such a thought could not be farther from the truth. This portion of the Book of Judges recounts what might well be considered one of the most intriguing and dramatic scenes to be found among the narratives of Israel’s many conflicts with their enemies in the nations surrounding them.   And yet, the two principal players in this scene are not battling warriors, but a sleeping general and a woman with camping gear! Out of this incident comes yet again a reminder that God delights in using the most ordinary of people and the most humble of instruments to accomplish His plans, so that there can be no doubt as to the source of success. With this in mind, let’s turn to the fourth chapter of the Book of Judges to meet another of the “Stout-Hearted Men and Women” in this fourth study in the series, an episode we call “The Hammer of Justice in the Hand of the Brave." Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production [http://studiod.co/] and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.