Beth Israel Messianic Synagogue Blog

Special Events

Please join us for the following special events:

Rosh HaShana
Monday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m.: Erev Rosh HaShana Service
Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 10:30 a.m.: Rosh HaShana Service

Days of Awe ~ Prayer at the Synagogue:
Thursday, October 2:
7:00 - 8:00 a.m.;
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.;
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Friday, October 3:
7:00 - 8:00 a.m.;
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 5:
7:00 - 8:00 a.m.;
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Monday, October 6:
7:00 - 8:00 a.m.;
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.;
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 7:
7:00 - 8:00 a.m.;
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.;
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Yom Kippur
Wednesday, October 8: 7:30 p.m. Kol Nidre Service
Thursday, October 9: 10:30 a.m. Yom Kippur Service

Additional Yom Kippur Gatherings on October 9:
Yizkor Service ~ Immediately following day service
Neelah ~ Closing Prayers, 6:00 p.m.
Break the Fast with Dinner together, 7:00 p.m.

Sukkot
Saturday, October 18: 10:00 a.m. Congregational Sukkot Picnic at St. Johns Grammar School

Simchat Torah Service
Saturday, October 25 at 10:30 a.m.

Please note:
The office will be closed for the holidays on:
Tuesday, September 30,
Wednesday, October 1,
Thursday, October 9,
Monday, October 13,
and Tuesday, October 14

Daniel 21 Day Fast, March 24 - April 14, 2008

Purposes:
1. To make our hearts more willing
2. To give God our best
3. To strengthen our hearts for service to God by:
a. Dedicating all we love and hold dear to the Lord
b. Seeking the Lord through prayer and fasting
c. Receiving breakthroughs in any area that has resisted progress

Our agreement:
1. We will each pray and seek the Lord every day during the fast.
2. We will make an appointment with God, and set aside a specific time to meet with him each day.
3. We will start our prayer time with praise, adoration and thanksgiving.
4. We will read the Bible each day.
5. During this fast, we will eat primarily a vegetarian diet or eat with some restrictions, such as fasting sweets, certain tasty foods, chocolate, etc. However, each person will be free to fast in some other way because of personal, physical or health needs. We’ll each take our fasting inspiration from Daniel’s three week fast (Daniel 10:2-3).
6. We will talk with one of the other participants each day to agree together in prayer.

Topics for Prayer:
Personal:
1. We will pray that the Lord God will open our own eyes, and especially reveal to us things that we haven’t seen or understood before.
a. We will ask the Lord to help us understand things which are “mysterious” to us.
b. We will seek wisdom regarding these matters, so we know what to do, how to do it, why to do it, and the timing and sequence for our actions.
2. We will also pray that the Lord will give us his breakthrough in areas of our lives that have resisted change.
Congregation:
1. We will pray for the establishment of our congregation’s ministry leaders, and for each member to find his or her place of service in the congregation.
2. We will pray for land to build a new synagogue for Beth Israel.
3. We will pray for financial blessings and prosperity for all of God’s people who are participating in this fast, and for their families and loved ones.
4. We will pray for the health and healing of all who are fasting together this time.

Others:
1. We will pray for the peace of Jerusalem, that the government of Israel will make wise decisions, that Jewish hearts will be spiritually open, and that Jewish people will return to God through Yeshua the Messiah.
2. We will pray for the peace and well-being of our country and city. We will intercede for President George W. Bush and his cabinet members, and Congress, along with the governor of our State, Charlie Crist, and the mayor of our city, John Peyton. We will pray that our next president will have a heart for Israel.
3. We will pray that anti-Semitism in American and European society will be weakened and replaced by love and respect for the Jewish people, especially among Christians.

Important Prayer Meeting, March 7, 7-9pm

I want to invite all the members and regulars at Beth Israel to participate in a special prayer meeting on Wednesday evening, March 7, from 7-9 pm at the congregation.

This will be a time of consecrating ourselves to the Lord, freely offering ourselves in service to the Lord.

The Lord wants to take us individually, as families, and as a community to a higher level in our relationship with him, and in our ministry to him and his people.

If you are committed to the congregation, please adjust your schedule in order to participate. Cancel or reschedule anything which might conflict with this, so that you can personally be present for this holy time.

Please listen this week to my sermon, "Going to the Next Level" (Click below to listen)

from this past Saturday's service, in order to be prepared, along with the Saturday message from the previous week, "Strengthening a Willing Heart" (available at this Blog in a recent post).

Also, please dedicate Wednesday to fasting and prayer, so that you come ready.

See you Wednesday evening.

Rabbi David

Congregational Prayer Meeting

Please join us for our monthly Congregational Prayer Meeting on Wednesday, August 2, 2006 at 7:30 pm!

April 10, 2006 Congregational Fast

Here is the subject of this week's Monday fast:

Thanksgiving and Petition for the experience of God's Pesach victory in our lives

. Bringing us out of bondage
. Taking us as his people
. Redeeming us from slavery
. Bringing us into the fullness his Kingdom

Prayer and Fasting

Monday, March 6, 2006

Topic: That we would know practical steps to take so that the dross is removed-The Lord is refining us, using his fire to reveal the dross or schlock in our lives. It's important for us to know how to cooperate with the Lord so that we have victory.

We will pray this Monday for wisdom, understanding and knowledge:

o Some dross requires wisdom to deal with. We need to know what practical steps are required. When we don't have wisdom, we can connect with other people who do. So we can pray that we will know who to connect with.
o All of us have strengths and weaknesses, so we both have the ability to give help and to receive help. Let's pray that we'll be open to give and receive.
o Keep sharing your experiences with others. They can encourage you to keep moving forward, and your victories can help encourage others too.

Monday focus for Prayer and Fasting

February 27, 2006

Topic: How can you actively participate in God’s restoration of the Jewish people—We will fast and pray this Monday for each of us to find our place of service in God’s plan to restore the Jewish people, and to make the Jewish people a holy nation of priests. God’s refining process helps us take this place of active ministry, because his refining removes the dross that would hinder us from actively serving God’s restoration of the Jewish people.

Here are some thoughts to help you pray in this direction:

1. Both Jews and non-Jews can have dross that keeps us from serving this vision. For instance, Jews may want to assimilate or disappear from sight in order to avoid rejection, persecution, or the difficulties of being Jewish. This can happen to Jews in every walk of life, including Jews who attend synagogues or churches. And non-Jews can have dross that keeps them from serving this vision. They may be afraid of interacting with Jewish people about spiritual issues. Or they can be afraid of rejection or neglect or not being cared for inside the congregation, because they are not Jewish. If any of these kinds of dross is rising up in you, you can take comfort that the Lord is working right now to refine you.

2. Remember our congregation is a spiritual community with a calling. We are called to participate in God’s restoration of the Jewish people. Everyone who is called to this—whether Jewish or non-Jewish—can find their place in the congregation. If God called you to this congregation, you will grow in your understanding of how your ministry will reflect our vision and calling.

3. Your service to the Lord touches every aspect of life. So you can carry out your ministry in every part of your life. Don’t limit God’s work and don’t limit yourself.

4. Open your heart to receive the congregational vision and calling deeply inside of your heart, soul and even your body. Actively open up the different parts of your person. If you see that some part of you is closed, be deliberate in opening yourself up.

Shalom,
Rabbi David

Monday focus for Prayer and Fasting

Monday focus for Prayer and Fasting
February 20, 2006

Topic: Finding our place of service— We will fast and pray this Monday for the raising up of leaders in the congregation, and for each person to find his or her place in life and service to the Lord. God’s refining process helps us find our place so we can enjoy life more, and have greater satisfaction and contentment through better service.

Here are some thoughts to help you pray in this direction:

1. God has prepared good works for you to do, since the foundation of the earth. Spend time with the Lord, and ask him to show you what you were made for. Take deeply into your heart what he shows you. Keep track of what the Lord shows you. God's instruction is worth recording and preserving.
2. Your service to the Lord touches every aspect of life, including family, work, school, your friends and neighbors. Different seasons have different demands on your time. Enjoy your season of life and service.
3. The Lord can speak to us in many ways. All of our physical senses have matching spiritual senses. We have God-given abilities to hear, see, think, feel, understand, imagine, and more. We train our senses to “hear from the Lord” by responding to the Lord when we know for sure he's revealed something to us. Blessed is the man who hears and does.

Shalom,
Rabbi David

Prayer and Fasting

Topic: Personal refining—The Lord is refining us, using his fire to reveal the dross or schlock in our lives.

We will fast and pray this Monday for good attitudes and for mutual support. Here are some thoughts to help you pray in this direction:

We want to be simple and honest with the Lord when he shows us our dross, and ask him to take the dross out of our lives. We will freely confess our sin to the Lord, because this brings us forgiveness and cleansing.
We will show support to one another, rather than being critical or judgmental, since we are all being refined. This will help us stay encouraged as we grow.
As we are being refined, we will tell each other of our experiences of new closeness with the Lord. This will build us up and help us draw closer to each other, too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David Levine

Prayer Requests

You can share your prayer request, by sending an email to:

prayer-warriors@surfthe.net

After it is reviewed, it will be emailed to all the Beth Israel Prayer Warriors.