Hebrew Roots Teaching

This 12-lesson series covers the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith, as taught by Pastor Tom Miller at Light a Fire Studio in 2008. View or download the PDF of these teachings free here. (The file is some 12 Mbytes.)

If you are intersted in obtaining a hardcopy version of the lessons, please email Tom. Hardcopy costs $ 25, including shipping and handling.

Topics covered:

1. Retelling the Stories of the Patriarchs - How do Jewish sages interpret the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?  What are the key sources of information used today for the study of Hebrew thought and teachings?  

2. The Covenants of God - God made covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David that still affect our lives today.  What can we learn from Jewish understanding of these promises? How does the “New” Covenant relate to the “Old” in light of Hebrew Roots teachings?

3. The Torah of Moses - What exactly is the Torah?  The Torah was given to Moses. . .or was it?  What are the different ways it can be observed?  How does it relate to Christians today?   

4. Hebrew Views of Time, the Calendar and the Seasons - God set forth appointed times for festivals at Mt. Sinai, but the Gentile church later changed the Biblical calendar.  What are God's appointed times? Are they still important to Christians today?  

5. Celebrating Shabbat (the Sabbath) - God declared the Sabbath holy in Genesis and made its observance one of the 10 Command­ments.  Why was it changed to Sunday by the church? How do Jews celebrate Sabbath today? How can we honor the Sabbath better?

6. The Early (Jewish) Church - How Jewish was the 1 st century church?  What really happened at the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15?  Are there lessons here for how God intended His church—the Bride of Christ—to look and act?

7. The Rise of Anti-Semitism - How is modern anti-Semitism rooted in Biblical experience, and how did it arise within the church?  Where do we see the strongest anti-Semitism today?  What should we do about it?

8. Difficult Sayings of Jesus - Scholars are re-examining some of the challenging sayings of Jesus by re-translating the Gospels into Hebrew and then re-interpreting key texts through Jewish understanding.  We'll explore these findings.

9. The Kingdom of Heaven and End Times Scenarios - Hebrew teachings about the Kingdom of God are intimately linked with Messianic expectations for the end of the age.  Jews and Christian alike agree we are now living in those times.  What can we learn here from Hebrew understanding?

10. Ancient Hebrew Values for Modern Living – Modern Western culture is steeped in Greek thinking that some believe has had a corrosive effect on family values. But Hebrew culture has preserved family values and prosperity for Jews for over 4,000 years despite incredible persecution. What can we learn and apply from Jewish experience to improve the way we live our lives today?

Recent Events

Concluded in July 2008 - Worship Dance Workshop with Jean Mabry
Jean Mabry, from Bethlehem, Israel, and Knoxville, TN, led worshop dance, silk flag making and Israeli folk dancing workshops for about 60 people from July 14-20th. Visitors of all ages came from Binghamton, Rochester and Mexico, NY. for this terrific series. Jean's humble spirit and gentle leadership ministered to us all. Some folks especially liked the billowing silk flag worship, seen in this photo.

Concluded in June 2008 - Ballet Intensive Workshop with Ashley Rollinson
Ashely Rollinson, Director of the Light of the World Ballet Company, Syracuse, NY, led over 20 young and adult students, from beginners to advanced levels, in dance instruction during this week-long workshop, June 9-14.

Light of the World Ballet presented two powerful ballets May 4th at Kulp Auditorium Ithaca High School. Thank youto all who attended this event, which raised over $1000 in support of Light of the World Ballet Company's dance outreach to Kazahkstan in Central Asia scheduled for summer 2008.

Special thanks go to these churches for helping launch this powerful event: Agape Bible Church, Convenant Love Community Church, Enfield Baptist Church and Reach Out For Christ Church.