Category: Blog

We had a powerful time of ministry at Summit 2015! We gathered together to hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to this generation. His word tells us that the world without knowledge of Him, is in trouble! Thanks be to God as we studied the words of Scripture, we were encouraged by faith, hope, love, and expectation!

We see signs all around us that indicate the return of the Lord may be near. Our special guests Paul Wilbur, Jess Gibson, and Susan Michael, led us deeply into the word and challenged us to know where God stands concerning Israel. We were encouraged to live courageously, to step out in faith and be all that God desires for us to be! Pastors and ministers were inspired to accomplish the work of the Lord with strength and determination, continuing His good work until our Lord returns.

If you would like to purchase this powerful teaching, please call Christ Chapel at 574-968-1566 or email us through the contacts page. You will be glad you did!

Make plans to join us next year for Summit 2016!

What shall I do and where shall I go? We discover the answer to this question through prayer and study of the word. “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) We pray trust and listen, by the Spirit, to The Voice of the Word and The Voice of the Spirit. We learn to follow His directions. “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21)

Ministry is a calling, it is also a walk of faith. We prepare, (2 Timothy 2:15) trust and believe for clear instruction from our Lord. He is The Voice of the Word! (John 1:14) Scripture tells us, “Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5) Commit your ways to the Lord is simply praying about everything! “Your ways” are all things pertaining to life and ministry.

At times it seems the “world” and the church are in the same boat! Both in the water, and without a rudder. Concerning the church, this should not be. We have a Leader, indeed we have a Champion, who will go before us and lead us, if we will learn to listen. He is the Voice of the Spirit, and His Word is our rudder which steers us in the right direction. He is also our anchor, securing us always and especially in the time of a storm.

The Voice of the Lord is continually speaking… Are we listening? May we lean into Him, listen and learn to hear. As we wait on Him, “trusting in the Lord with all our hearts, and not leaning on our own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5-6) we will receive clear instruction and direction for our lives and our ministries. “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” (John 10:3-4)

Today was another beautiful day in Israel. We were up early today as we had an appointment to tour the tunnels along the Western Wall. Our group arrived with a few minutes to spare after breakfast and the short bus ride from the hotel to the Old City. After checking in for our time slot we descended a few stairs and were given the history of the site. We then started walking along amazed by the sheer magnitude of some of the stone blocks in the walls and weighing more than 20 tour buses! Talk about engineering! Probably the most moving aspect of this tunnel tour was that there are still original stone walks dating back to the time of Jesus that we were able to walk on.

Back on the bus and our Aaron drove us down the 3,000 vertical feet to the desert of En Gedi. Sound familiar? This is the area where David and his men hid while King Saul was trying to hunt him down. Our first stop here was at the AHAVA factory and outlet store. AHAVA produces many skin care products which are derived from the salt, minerals and mud of the Dead Sea. After stocking up for ourselves, family and friends, we continued along the Dead Sea to Masada.

Masada is a large rock area which stands about 1400 feet above the Dead Sea. It was here that a remnant of the Jewish people tried to resist the Roman Empire. After an extended siege the Romans were finally able to conquer them. King Herod actually built a palace on Masada after that time. It was such a luxurious place that the Romans even had a bath house complete with a cold bath, a medium temperature bath and a heated steam room.

Next it was time for us to take a dip ourselves. In to the Dead Sea! A ten minute bus ride and we arrived at the place to take the plunge. Well, more like the float. Once you are in the Dead Sea, it is impossible to sink. Why? Due to the salt content being 10 times that of a regular sea or ocean. We couldn’t go to the Dead Sea without giving ourselves a little mud treatment so most people who went in took advantage.

Wow, another day is done. Our tour is going so fast and we will be home very soon. Tomorrow is our last day of touring Israel and Jerusalem and it could be the most impactful. Want to find out why? Just check back later to find out!

So much history, so little space! Jerusalem is packed with so much history that you can’t get away from it. We ate breakfast, hopped on the bus and were at the City of David in less than 10 minutes. Once there we were amazed at how our Bibles were once again coming alive before our eyes. Yes we were looking at rocks, rooms, artifacts and even a 3,000 year old toilet that didn’t look too comfortable, but all of these point to the Bible and King David.

To get to our next location we traveled all the way across the street. Literally, across the street. Until less than 8 years ago this location was a parking lot full of cars in a space deprived city. Now after a few years of excavation and reaching 25 feet down, ancient remains of houses, water cisterns and grain silos are available to look at and learn from.

At the North West corner of that new archeological dig is an unbecoming set of stairs which our guide took us down. After a few twists and turns at the bottom we started heading north while in an underground tunnel. The tunnel kept going and going while getting shorter and narrower. Pretty soon the walls were bumping both shoulders and everyone had to walk crouching down or leaning over. The questions started coming, “Where are we going?” “How far does this go?” How exciting! We almost felt like explorers. A few minutes later we came to a set of steep stairs with light streaming in from about 15 feet above.

With squinting eyes we climbed the short staircase and emerged into the bright sunshine. Letting our eyes adjust we looked around. We had walked under a busy main street of Jerusalem and under the walls of the Old City. Our adventure let us out right at the South West corner of the Western Wall! The wall towered above us with it’s imposing stone blocks the size of cars. Needless to say everyone’s cameras started capturing the amazing sites.

After a short jaunt for lunch we came back inside the Old City through the Dung Gate. Walking around to the South Wall of the city we rested our legs on a large set of stairs that led up to nothing. Why did our guide Eli bring us there? To see more old rocks? No. To connect with the Bible and most importantly with Jesus. Archeologically these steps date back to the time of Jesus. During that time with the original walls and gates, the gate here was used by all pilgrims walking up to the temple and every other common person to access the Temple Mount. That included Jesus. As one of the common people of his day he would have had to use these same stone stairs. Talk about walking in the footsteps of Jesus!

Next on our itinerary was a short walk around the corner to one of the most iconic sites of Jerusalem, the Western Wall. In keeping with the established custom men went to the left and women to the right. We stood and took in the site. We walked up and put prayer written requests in the cracks. Most importantly, we prayed.

Finally our day ended with a special stop at King of Kings Church in downtown Jerusalem. We joined the congregation for their evening service. It was a great mix of worship songs in English and Hebrew followed by a sermon on Romans 11. Tomorrow we have an early appointment at a relatively recent archeological discovery. Time for some rest!

Our day is summed up in one word – Jerusalem. I don’t think one blog post can say enough about it. There are so many places to see, so much architecture to enjoy, so much history to learn and so much biblical importance to understand. Our group wanted to give it all a try.

After another delicious breakfast we took a short bus ride to our first stop of the day, the house of Caiaphas and the dungeon where Jesus spent the night before his crucifixion. According to inscriptions on artifacts this was definitely where Jesus spent that final night in a lonely, dark, rock floor in a hole. We were able to read the scriptures here and try to comprehend one of the many trials that Christ went through on his way to crucifixion.

Leaving the dungeon we excitedly went to the wall of the Old City and in through the Zion Gate. Walking along we quickly started to learn about the four quarters of the Old City: the Armenian Quarter, the Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter and the Christian Quarter. We saw people in all four quarters who live and work in the old city. Not only that but we quickly realized how much of a melting pot Jerusalem is for the world. The languages we heard all day were Spanish, Swedish, German, Hebrew, Aramaic, and French to name a few. People come here from all over the world for many reasons.

Winding our way through the Old City we followed the Via Dolorosa, or the Way of The Cross. Stopping at many of the Stations of the Cross we heard from our guide Eli about their importance or distinction. We ended our walking journey at the Pools of Bethesda where Jesus healed the man who was crippled for 38 years! What an incredible thought, standing at the site of one of Jesus’ miracles. It made us think about what Jesus wants to do in our own lives.

Just as we entered the Old City through one of the gates we left through one of the gates, The Lions Gate. Right down the hill our bus driver met us and whisked us away to our hotel in downtown Jerusalem. Our group ate dinner together and then met in an intimate conference room there we talked about our days experiences, sang worship songs and discussed what God was showing us on the trip. Finally Pastor Steve read and discussed a few scriptures that related to the Biblical places visited today and ended with a great time of prayer. Now it is off to bed. Tomorrow we soak in some more of Jerusalem!  

After three wonderful days we packed up and headed out of Tiberias and the area of Galilee. On to Jerusalem!

Along the way we still had many things to see and experience. Our first stop was the current and ancient town of Beit She’an. The ancient town was actually twice the size of current Beit She’an. The Biblical significance of this town is found in 1 Samuel 31 where it tells of the death of King Saul and three of his sons. They were then decapitated and the bodies hung on the city walls as trophies of the Philistines. This was a thriving metropolis with paved streets, an amphitheater, a hippodrome, covered walkways and even complete with sewers.

After spending a couple hours in Beit She’an we continued our drive to Jerusalem. What a beautiful area! We passed camels, flourishing agriculture, which included beautiful fields of date palms, and we even had to slow down to let a flock of goats cross the road. With mountains to the East and West of us we had a great view of the country of Jordan and even saw the Dead Sea.

For lunch we made a spur of the moment decision to stop at a local cafe. What a great idea! We ended up eating with the locals and had some of the best food of the trip so far. Jumping back on the bus we quickly arrived at our next stop, the Qumran Caves. Here a 17 year old shepherd boy stumbled upon a cave which housed 10 clay pots as he searched for a lost sheep. 8 of the pots contained sand, one was empty and one held some old scrolls. Long story short, no one would buy them from him so he went to a cobbler to make a new pair of shoes out of the scrolls. What a colossal mistake! Thankfully the cobbler grew suspicious and eventually found out they were in fact ancient scrolls of the Old Testament.

Now we were ready to complete our day’s journey. As we drove along climbing the 3,000 vertical feet we passed Bedouin shepherds living on the hillsides raising sheep. Up until a few decades ago their practices had remained the same as those practiced by Moses’s in-laws thousands of years ago. Now they are adopting some of the current advances such as pre-made tents, solar panels and purchased water in tanks. Once we crested the final hill our hearts stirred as we caught sight of Jerusalem! We had finally arrive at the place of such importance historically, politically and most of all, biblically. Our driver Aaron took us directly to the Mount of Olives. Here we took some great pictures and started the walk down to the Basilica of Gethsemane and the Garden of Gethsemane. There are currently olive trees growing there which have the same roots as those at the time of Jesus!

What a day. Thankfully we took lots of pictures and videos to capture it all. Our bus met us at the bottom of the Mount of Olives and whisked us through Jerusalem to our hotel. Along the way we were even passed by the motorcade of the recently re-elected Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Talk about living history! After another delicious dinner we sought refuge in our rooms to relax and get some rest. Tomorrow we discover more of Jerusalem.

Our journey in Israel continued today with stop after stop in the Gospels! The Mount of Beatitudes was our first destination. Our bus climbed the hillsides of Galilee until we arrived at Matthew Chapter 5. With the amazing views of the Sea of Galilee and a gentle breeze flowing along the surrounding hillsides, we read together the Beatitudes. Our imaginations took us back to when Jesus himself said those words in the very same area!

From there we drove down to the seashore to find our boat and crew waiting to take us out on the Sea of Galilee. We sailed along as we listened to worship music and took in the amazing views. After the boat came to a stop we turned to God’s Word. Matthew 14:22-33 was read aloud and we remembered Jesus walking on water while we sat on the very place he did it! After sailing back to shore we stopped in at a relatively new exhibit. It houses the boat that two brothers walking along the seashore discovered. This boat is about 2,000 years old which puts it at the time of Jesus and his disciples!
Back on the bus we went and back on the road along the Sea of Galilee. The road passes right by the hillside that Jesus sent the swine down into the sea after casting the demons into them. This account is found in Matthew 8 and Luke 8. Our next stop was for lunch. What better thing to eat than St. Peter’s fish! Unfortunately no one in our group found any four-drachma coins like in Matthew 17 but it was tasty none the less.

After lunch we made a quick stop by Tabgha. This is the location found in Luke 9 where Jesus feeds the 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. From there we headed to Capernaum. You can read an account of great faith at Capernaum by the centurion in Luke chapter 7. There are many great excavations at this site but the most important or special one is the ruins of Peter’s home. What an incredible thing to find where Peter The Rock lived!

We ended our touring day with a special time at the River Jordan. With catfish swimming by and horses playing on the opposite bank, seven members of our tour were baptized! Worship songs were sung and tears were flowing as these seven people declared with their actions what has happened in their hearts.

Back at the hotel we filled up with another amazing buffet dinner. To cap off the evening we all met together in a conference room where our guide Eli met us with his accordion. Together we sang songs and even did some dancing. Who knew after a day of touring we could still make some moves on the dance floor! Now it is off to bed to recharge for tomorrow.