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Israel Study Tour - Lake Almanor Community Church
November 10-21, 2017
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The great privilege
St Anne’s
Through out our day, we walked along the Via Dolorosa (“the way of pain”). This is the tradition route that Christ took as he went to the cross. As we began our day, we visited St Anne’s church and had the chance to sing and to hear other groups sing as well. This was one of the highlights for me. As I sang with our group and then Chinese and African believers, I was overwhelmed with the reality of the new heavens and the new earth. We will sing and serve with believers from every tribe, tongue and nation. This was a small picture of eternity. Out side of this beautiful church is the Pool of Bethesda. We learned that this name is a compound of two Hebrew words- Beth Chesed- this means house of mercy. We read the story of Christ’s healing power, but what is far greater, is his power to forgive sins and save all who would believe.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
This church is one of the most important places for the Christians. This is where Christ was both murdered and buried. There are six Christian churches that each has chapels and places of worship on this same site. I was able to find my way through the huge crowds and find different places to pray and reflect upon God’s amazing gift of grace through our savior. I had the chance to speak with an Armenian priest and he was very helpful in explaining a few things to me. While a very busy place, this church is an important stop for each Christian who makes the pilgrimage. The church was first built there in about 325 AD, but Christians have been worshiping there since well before that time.
Southern steps
Another stop in the afternoon was at the southern steps of the temple mount. We read each of the thirteen Psalms of Ascent aloud as a group and finished with communion together. This was a great way to finish our day around Jerusalem.
Southern Steps
An enormous flight of steps leads to the Southern Wall from the south. They were excavated after 1967 by archaeologist Benjamin Mazar and are the northernmost extension of the Jerusalem pilgrim road leading from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount via the Double Gate and the Triple Gate, collectively called the Huldah Gates. These are the steps that Jesus of Nazareth[2][3] and other Jews of his era walked up to approach the Temple, especially on the great pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. [2] The stairs that lead to the double gate are intact and "well-preserved."[4] The steps that lead to the triple gate were mostly destroyed.[4] / The risers are low, a mere 7 to 10 inches high, and each step is 12 to 35 inches deep, forcing the ascending pilgrims to walk with a stately, deliberate tread.[2] The pilgrims entered the temple precincts through the double and triple gates still visible in the Southern Wall.[5][2] Together, the double and triple gates are known as the Hulda Gates, after the prophetess Huldah.[2]
Israel Museum
There were two parts of the museum that we saw today. The first was the small- scale model of the Jerusalem. We had a quiz-show competition led by Ronen around the model. It was great to hear how much we had all learned. Next we visited the Israel Shrine of the book. This is a display of the Dead Sea scrolls. It was great to see some of what was discovered at Qumran.
One of the passages that came to mind often today is found in Ephesians 4:1–6:
[1] I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, [2] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, [3] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—[5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
We have the great privilege of being a part of Christ’s church worldwide. While many say that Jesus would have died just for me, He didn’t. He died for all who would call upon his name for salvation. We are in Him and therefore united with all other believers. We have the same body (the Church), the same Spirit, and the same Lord. We share the same baptism (even if we view baptism differently). What an amazing God! Let us strive to with all humility to love and serve each other and the world.
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