Sabbath (Shabbat)
Paul the apostle, when teaching the gentile believers about the faith they had found in the Messiah, wrote, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ (Messiah)." (1st Corinthians 11:1).
There's a lot of things that Paul and the Messiah did that we can't practically do: walk on water, thrive in a Roman dungeon... but that leaves a number of things that both showed us by their example, like meeting the needs of the poor and participating in synagogue worship during the Sabbath.
Lots of folks scoff at the idea. "We worship God on Sunday," they respond. If that's the case, then you're really not imitating Paul or the Messiah. Both men fully participated in the Jewish context of their faith.
We believe that worshiping in the same context as our Messiah, singing many of the very same songs and praying a number of the very same prayers is a very intimate time of worship, getting to know Him better, experiencing just a taste of the world that He knew as His home.
There's a lot of things that Paul and the Messiah did that we can't practically do: walk on water, thrive in a Roman dungeon... but that leaves a number of things that both showed us by their example, like meeting the needs of the poor and participating in synagogue worship during the Sabbath.
Lots of folks scoff at the idea. "We worship God on Sunday," they respond. If that's the case, then you're really not imitating Paul or the Messiah. Both men fully participated in the Jewish context of their faith.
We believe that worshiping in the same context as our Messiah, singing many of the very same songs and praying a number of the very same prayers is a very intimate time of worship, getting to know Him better, experiencing just a taste of the world that He knew as His home.
We meet together on Saturday mornings at 10 am (ish... sometimes heavy on the "ish") at a private building on the property of a member of our group. Of course, anyone is welcome to come and join us; but because there are people who are very actively opposed to the practice of our faith; it is a reasonable precaution that we ask you to contact us for directions.
Our worship service begins with a liturgy of Hebrew prayers, sang in Hebrew and sang or recited in English. Many of these prayers date back thousands of years and would have been enjoyed by our Messiah. Even the more recent ones (less than a millennium) were chosen to preserve the basic and essential elements of Hebrew worship Messiah and His first disciples would have expected to find.
We sing some modern and familiar songs of praise and worship (as well as a few modern Hebrew or Messianic tunes), pray together, and worship.
The center portion of our worship time is the reading of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) which we understand to be the foundation and center of our worship as well as our understanding of God and His Word. The Scriptures are read, from the Torah, the Prophets and the New Testament without editorial. We believe that we are to be taught BY the Scriptures, not simply be teachers OF the Scriptures. Afterward, there is opportunity to share what we have learned from the passages or ask questions concerning them.
We sing some modern and familiar songs of praise and worship (as well as a few modern Hebrew or Messianic tunes), pray together, and worship.
The center portion of our worship time is the reading of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) which we understand to be the foundation and center of our worship as well as our understanding of God and His Word. The Scriptures are read, from the Torah, the Prophets and the New Testament without editorial. We believe that we are to be taught BY the Scriptures, not simply be teachers OF the Scriptures. Afterward, there is opportunity to share what we have learned from the passages or ask questions concerning them.
The service is completed around noon with a blessing over the children and the traditional bread and juice passed around in fellowship. We then share a vegetarian meal (potluck) before going home to rest and enjoy the rest of the afternoon with our families. If there is something that wasn't satisfied regarding the Scriptures during the service and we were unable to effectively discuss it during the meal, we will get together in a home later in the afternoon.