Audio Teaching Notes The Priestly Blessing The Blessing is said by the Priest, but it comes directly from God. Num. 6:23-27 CSB "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites. You should say to them, 24 "May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face... Continue Reading →
Audio Teaching Notes Wilderness: The Place of Hearing This week's portion, along with the Book of Numbers in Hebrew, is called Bemidbar, meaning "in the wilderness." MidBar has a root of dabar, meaning word. It's in the wilderness that we hear the Word - that we hear God speak. We tend to think of the... Continue Reading →
Audio Teaching Notes Salvation and Sanctification As we come to the end of our study of Leviticus, you may be overwhelmed by the amount of instruction in these twenty-seven chapters. It's important to remember that Exodus, not Leviticus, is the picture of our salvation. We are not saved by works; we are saved by the... Continue Reading →
Audio Teaching Notes Lev. 19:2 CSB "Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy." Lev. 22:2 CSB "Tell Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to me, so they do not profane my... Continue Reading →
Audio Teaching Notes A New Heart and the Renewal of the Mind "You may have heard it said that your head knowledge needs to become heart knowledge, but that's actually backward. Ezekiel 36:26 tells us that the new covenant is being given a new heart and a new spirit. Romans 12:2 tells us to be... Continue Reading →
Audio Teaching Notes The Sweetness of God's Word Part of the blessing over Torah study is, "make the words of Your Torah sweet in our mouth." 2 Timothy 3:16 Heb. 4:12 Psa. 119 An Interesting Portion How do we, as Christians, find the "sweetness" of a portion that deals with a woman's ceremonial impurity after... Continue Reading →
Audio Teaching Notes Keywords and phrases blood (3:13; 4:5, 17, 25, 30; 6:27; 7:2, 14; 8:23, 30) - atonement seven times (4:6, 17; 8:11; ch. 14) - redeemed from the curse (Deut. 28; Gal. 3:13-14) offering (four types) - fellowship and forgiveness sweet savor (1:9, 13; 2:2; 4:31; 8:21) -obedience oil (2:4; 7:10, 12; 9:4;... Continue Reading →
Audio Teaching Notes Psalm 119:105 KJV "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Proverbs 6:23-24 KJV "For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: 24 to keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman."... Continue Reading →
Audio teaching Notes Rom. 12:1-2 Ex. 25:1-8 Ex 25:2 KJV "...of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart..." The main part of the portion is about the construction of the Tabernacle and its furniture, but it begins with an offering. God wanted to dwell with His people. Giving is the Hebrew word Terumah,... Continue Reading →
The central point in the Exodus story is not any part of leaving Egypt but the destination, Mount Sinai, to receive the Torah, The Word of God. The portion that gives us the Ten Commandments is not named commandments or laws; it is named after Jethro, Moses's father-in-law. Deuteronomy 18:8-12 "In order to encourage him... Continue Reading →
Audio Teaching Notes The Waters of Baptism: Ex. 14:9-25 CJB I. A New Way of Life Go Forward "The splitting of the Sea of Reeds is generally viewed as the archetype of a miraculous and supernatural event. Yet even in this case, there had to be a natural action to catalyze the miracle: God instructed the... Continue Reading →
Audio Teaching Notes Premise No. 1: As Christians, we must understand the story as the Egyptians. We dwell in darkness before salvation, and we are the mixed multitude who hooked ourselves to Israel and their God. Premise No. 2: We are now also connected with the Israel part of the narrative as it shows us the outine... Continue Reading →
Message Audio NOTES Introduction This week's portion begins with the words, "Ya'akov continued living in the land where his father had lived as a foreigner, the land of Kena'an." (Gen. 37:1). This Parsha begins the story of Yosef, yet we start with Jacob, Ya'akov. This serves as a reminder that each story is connected. The... Continue Reading →
Message Audio NOTES Genesis Recap Abel was different than Cain in his offering. Noah was righteous in his generation. Abraham and Lot separated. Isaac's mother didn't want him tainted by Ishmael's idol worship. Esau didn't value the birthright and calling of the firstborn, and Jacob did. Genesis 32:24-32; 33:15-20 ESV Jacob prepared to meet Esau.... Continue Reading →
I've always had many questions concerning Jacob and Esau's story. I wondered how Jacob could "steal" the birthright and blessing yet not be reprimanded. I knew the blessing was promised to Jacob, but there was so much I hadn't understood until today. Today, I read from the Blue Chumash and better understood the story. I... Continue Reading →
Casey D. Bell 