By Pastor Bobby Blakey
Israel Day 2
Taking A Stand
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This morning everyone was eager to begin our first full day of touring. Stop number one was the ancient city of Caesarea along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It was here that Paul made his defense before King Agrippa in Acts 26. Pastor Pete preached to us about the intensity of Paul’s trial as we sat in the theater and imagined it happening. Paul was willing to take a stand on the fact that people should repent of their sins and prove it by their deeds (verse 20). He even had the boldness to ask King Agrippa if he wanted to become a Christian!
Our second stop was Mt. Carmel where there was an Old Testament showdown between Ahab, the most wicked king of Israel up to that time and Elijah, the righteous prophet whose name means “My God is Yahweh.” I had the privilege of preaching on this event from 1 Kings 18. Elijah had the confidence in God to challenge 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah to a prophecy showdown. Whoever could get their deity to send down fire to consume a sacrifice would win. The loser would be killed for being a false prophet. Of course, no matter how hard the prophets of Baal tried, even to the point of cutting themselves, they could not get the sacrifice lit. But as soon as Elijah prayed, Yahweh showed that He was the true God of Israel when the fire came down. The people all fell down and worshipped and the false prophets were slaughtered. It was a great victory in the name of the Lord!
After these first two stops, I thought about how bold these men were to take a stand. They were standing up to kings who seemed to have the authority and the power on there side. But Paul and Elijah knew better! They trusted in God Almighty. I wonder if we are willing to take a stand in the same way today:
Romans 1:16 - I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
This weekend Pastor Mike is going to begin a new series about being Gospel Crazy. We need to ask ourselves if we are really sold out for the gospel? Do we really believe it is the power of God to save? If so, we will take a stand for it! We will not bow down to the prevailing opinions and powerful arguments of our day. Instead, we will boldly follow the example of our spiritual forefathers and be unashamed in the name of Jesus Christ! May God use our church, and each one of us as individuals, to take a stand!
For more photos from day one of the trip view the Israel 2008 photo gallery!
Awesome!
Pastor Bobby,
What a gift these videos are to us who are not on this trip with you. Keep them coming, please! Concerning the question of Falafel vs. Taco Bell?….TACO BELL!
Good stuff. Being there makes the Bible really come alive. Enjoy Galilee. That was my favorite place, but, Bobby, don’t try to walk on the water.
Great stuff. Alicia, Rick… liked the songs. You guys are fortunate to have Pete and Bobby for teaching.
Bobby and Brad - Thanks for these great updates to keep us tuned in to whats going on over there! hahaha… Falafel vs Taco Bell! I cant wait for more!!
hahaha….bobby….its ok….taco bell is pretty good….ive never had a falafel so i cant really say….
thanks for the update!!
God bless!
Bobby and Pete just to let you know “true north” rocked last night with 29 high school kids at the Burke house. 15 girls and 14 boys enjoyed pizza and a great time of fellowship. The group prayed for your amazing trip to the holy land and that the Lord would keep you safe.
Wow sounds like you guys are having an amazing time up there! It is so good to hear! I am praying for you guys daily and I hope you all get even closer in your relationships with the God of Israel! God bless you guys!!!
Bobby, amazing job with these blogs and videos! I totally love following along with you guys as you travel the Holy Land!! Thanks for all the updates!! We’re praying for you back here at church!!
These videos stirr a lot of great memories Though not the falafels. The only vacation I ever took and lost weight goes to Israel
Great videos
Cant wait for northern Israel video.
What an awesome group. Have a great day!
One of my favorite parts of these two videos has been the brief personal “interview” segments with people from the group sharing something with us about being over there. Looking forward to Day 3 and praying for you guys!
Elijah and Paul! Great role models for us as we strive to be more like Jesus and less like our worldly selves… Thanks so much for sharing your hearts and pictures in God’s Holy Land. Your family back here is praying for your safety and personal growth in Christ for everyone on the trip!
P.S. when having the fish dinner - check for coin before inserting in mouth! You never know FROM where God will provide the next shekel… But He always does!
Dave, Sue, Max, Trevor and the Reec-A-nator
I’m with you Pastor Bobby - TACO BELL ! ! ! Give them a couple more days of falafels and they’ll be back on the Taco Bell bandwagon.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but Taco Bell vs. Falafel is a mute point, a point that many of us don’t even care about. Give me the Five Crowns for a center cut or maybe even an end cut, for a nice juicy piece of an ancient dish you might have heard about….. ‘Primaeus Ribaeuso’.