Help support our friends in Israel in their time of need.
Israel Study Tour with The Forge
March 4-16, 2018
Led by Jared Schuler, Matt Lantz
Subscription options are no longer available for this tour.
Trip Blog Posts
Coming back changed
posted on Friday March 16 2018 at 1:38 am UTC
Well family, friends and to those who have jumped right into our journey, today was the biggest day of all! As always and unsurprisingly, it was BIG because we dove into the deep waters of God's word and all of His magnificence, it was BIG because we had some joyful and harmonious moments as a community...
Shalom from Jerusalem!
posted on Thursday March 15 2018 at 1:26 am UTC
It’s been said before, but today was a BIG day. In one 10-hour period, we went to the Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock, the Western “Wailing” Wall, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, the Holocaust Museum, the Tomb Garden, and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. That being said, I cant expect to do today...
Will we tell our story?
posted on Wednesday March 14 2018 at 1:00 am UTC
Today, friends, was a big day! Sure, everyday in the Holy Land is big, but today was especially impactful as it hit some of the most iconic and important sites in the Bible. Starting in modern day Nazareth, and ending on the shores of the Mediterranean, our small cadre wrestled with the underlying...
Faulty devotions
posted on Tuesday March 13 2018 at 4:20 am UTC
We started our morning overlooking the Sea of Galilee, considering the question: what does it mean to be devoted to the Lord? When I consider devotion to God, I have an image of being fully given over to Him. We are not able to attain perfect devotion, but we can be committed to following Him. How then...
Very forgetful people
posted on Monday March 12 2018 at 4:27 am UTC
Friends and Family, It really is a task to distill a full day's "firehose of information" into a succinct blogpost. It's no wonder we normally assign Forge students to do so on a regular basis. . . Today played host to another beautiful hike; this time alongside the Jordan River, crossing waterfalls...
His works are real
posted on Sunday March 11 2018 at 2:57 am UTC
Friends and Family, Carson here: As I write this (just to set the scene and maybe provoke some jealousy), I am sitting on my porch watching the sun set over the Golan Heights, the city of Tiberias, Mount Arbel and the Sea of Galilee. I’ll let that sink for you in the same way I am attempting to...
Relentlessly pursued
posted on Saturday March 10 2018 at 1:10 am UTC
Today, we walked where Jesus walked. We visited four sites around the Sea of Galilee including Mount Arbel, Magdala, the Mount of Beatitudes, and Tabgha. In each of these locations, Jesus spent a significant amount of time doing His ministry. Literally, today, we walked where Jesus walked. Our hike...
The LOVE He has for US
posted on Friday March 09 2018 at 12:35 am UTC
"I don't understand...the graciousness of the Lord; that He would give us living water when, given the choice, we so quickly dive into the Dead Sea..." (Becca Beless) A pair of calves, huge patches of fresh weeds and hundreds of loose river rocks made up my view for most of our hike through Ein Gedi....
Israel: A Place of Rest
posted on Thursday March 08 2018 at 5:09 am UTC
God brought the Israelites to the wilderness not just to bring them out of Egypt, but to get Egypt out of them. For 430 years they were enslaved in Egypt, entangled in their culture and traditions to the point of finding comfort in the familiar day-to-day as a slave. SO comfortable, so complacent in...
Genuine faith
posted on Wednesday March 07 2018 at 1:43 am UTC
Shalom! The Israel trip has surely started off with a bang! One of the first places we went to was Bet Shemesh, where we hiked up onto a hill overlooking the Soraq valley. This is where we sat down and Matt Lantz had us turn to Judges 13-16. “Samson! Wow, one of my favorite stories.” I thought...
Preparing for Israel
posted on Wednesday February 14 2018 at 10:44 pm UTC
Our trip to Israel will be here before you know it! Once we're on the ground in Israel, we'll post periodic updates and photos. Check back often or get update notifications using the subscribe options on this page. We'll be sharing our travel experiences online with you, our friends and family,...