Messianic Teachings from Nachamu Ami Messianic Synagogue

Is forgiveness a part of repentance? If I've been wronged, and no one has apologized, how can I be expected to repent? When we see repentance for what it really is, a turning, forgiveness fits within it. When we decide to turn, we see the true power and freedom of forgiveness in our lives.

There are 4 steps to repentance. We've covered the first three, but the fourth part is considered the most important, the commanded component — confession. But why? What's happening when we confess our transgression? What does “I'm sorry” really accomplish?

The season of repentance is in full swing now. The month of Elul brings our focus to repentance and positive change. Sounds great, but how do we do it? How do we succeed?

Press on, make progress, don't look back. These are common themes in the teaching at Shalom Macon. But there is a time to look back and do some serious soul searching. That time is starting very soon, as we begin our journey through Elul and enter the fall festivals, the High Holidays. It starts with seeing the path, so let's get started!

Last week we talked about the value of teaching through repetition. This week we are connecting the Promised Land to our obedience. The Promised Land produces fruit if properly tended… but obedience to God is directly tied to its productivity. You may be asking, what does The Land have to do with learning lessons 101 times? And what does that have to do with us? This is what we will discuss in this lesson.

Hillel said, “One who reviews his studies one hundred times is not comparable to one who reviews his studies one hundred and one times.” What does this mean? Judaism is a faith of repetition: Shabbat every week, the festivals every year, prayers every day. Why? What is the value of teaching through repetition? Let's learn this together.

The last two teachings have given us a better understanding of the purpose of tests/trials and how our response to them can either open up space for God to move on our behalf or cause us to repeat the same trials over and over. This final message is focused on turning God's interventions into milestones that will help navigate us to our ultimate reward.

In our last message, we talked about the purpose of tests and trials. Now that we know the purpose, we need to figure out how to navigate them. This requires hard work. But if you want to break out of the endless loop of trials and testing that you're currently in, then you need to learn how to pass your test and “level up” for greater things that God has for you. You can definitely do it, but you'll never know if you're not aware of what the Lord is trying to tell you.

Life has its twists and turns and is constantly full of surprises. We all have to endure tests and trials to various degrees. Are they an attempt to destroy us or is there a greater purpose they serve? How are we supposed to stay focused on the spiritual side of life when things are falling apart all around us? Part one of this series takes a look at trials and their purpose in each of our lives.

We all want to be “happy.” In the last three parts of this series, Rabbi Damian taught you practical, biblical ways to work toward this goal in your life. This concluding episode brings it all together with the most important components of a happy, content life and challenges you to consider—and possibly change—“who you are listening to.”

Korach provides us with a perfect example of what NOT to do if we expect to be content in this life. Entitlement, lack of humility, and comparison are all fatal flaws in his attitude. It's what he's missing that makes the biggest difference. We'll explore some connections and make life-changing applications in this message.

In Part 1, we learned about not letting the grumblers and complainers get us down. But there's a more important part of this battle that needs to be explored. You must become the master of your own thinking. Here's how to do it.

The children of Israel were headed for the Land. The goal was about to be realized. All was going well and then… the complaining. In hindsight, we know the outcome. The negative chatter derailed the mission and the hope. Poor Israel, right? Well, we're just as vulnerable. Who are you listening to?

Judaism asks questions. Even in things that are presumed to be good and holy. We ask questions to understand and apply. The Nazirite vow is no exception. It's described as a good thing in Torah, how could there be any other way to view it?! We'll investigate the discussion that has occurred through the ages and find a modern application along the way.

Is Shavuot really the time of the giving of the Torah? We examine the Torah to see what it say explicitly about the holiday, what the rabbis have created, and where to find the most significant evidence behind the connection of Torah and the Festival of Shavuot.

Part 4 of "He Died That I Might Live…" concludes the series by putting practical application to what we have learned in the last three sessions: How now shall we live?

The Omer controversy seems completely irrelevant to our lives in 2023. But digging beneath the argument itself, we discover something amazing about freedom. This Shavuot message takes a concluding look at the omer, the manna, and the loaves of Shavuot to point us to happiness in our lives.

Counting the Omer is controversial. This argument goes way back, too. Sadducees (along with others like them) were fighting this out with the Pharisees in Yeshua's time. Amazingly, it still goes on. We'll learn here about the argument, some evidence for a position, and lay the groundwork for an upcoming Shavuot message that will hit home for us all.

You shall count. 49 days of counting. Sickle to grain. Waving an offering. It's omer time again. But why? What does this mean for me? This message brings some revelation and perspective that should help.

The biblical festivals in Leviticus 23 are often called the Jewish holidays, but the text clearly identifies them as God's appointed times. So whose are they? The Lord's or the Jewish people's? Of course, the Jewish answer is “Yes”. This teaching explores the implication for what this means.

Join Darren & Sabrina Huckey as they share about the recent Shalom Macon Israel Tour and the spiritual lessons they took away from their experience as Messianic Gentiles in the Land of the Jewish People.

Tzaraat, or biblical leprosy, is a bizarre disease of many different forms. It infects houses, furniture, clothes, and people… what is it? Why did the Torah have the priesthood diagnose and treat this instead of the physicians? Why do the Torah and Apostolic Writings use the words “purified” or “cleansed” instead of “healed” when someone is cured from it? And what possible application does this have for us today?

We often assume we understand the atoning work of Yeshua. But we might have some misunderstanding. Part 3 of this series explains an important function of blood as it relates to covenant and atonement, and connects it powerfully to the work of our Messiah.

Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. It's a foundational thought for many believers, drawn from Hebrews 9. Is that true? We'll answer that question in this teaching.

This is the introduction to a short and powerful series on sacrifices, the blood of forgiveness, and the work of Messiah Yeshua.

In the midst of one of the most exciting and eventful portions in the Torah, we find a couple brief references to the Shabbat. Why does the Sabbath deserve any attention in this parsha? Turns out it's one of the most important lessons God is teaching us here.

The Bible is about God. But curiously, the mention of God is starkly absent in the book of Esther. Was this removed from the text as the Septuagint translation seems to suggest? Or is there a deeper lesson we are supposed to be learning from the intentional absence of God's overt presence?

God gave specific instructions for the meeting place He desired His people to build. Very specific! So specific that many people gloss over or skip these “Tabernacle” chapters all together. Would God spend so much time explaining something that had no value? Of course not, but what is the value, especially today? Let's find out together.

This week's Torah portion presents a bit of a problem. God had just brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt and released them from slavery to Pharaoh. Yet our current Torah portion opens with God giving them instructions on how to handle their slaves. How do we reconcile these two seemingly opposing concepts in the framework of God's goodness and mercy?

In parsha Yitro, Moses learns a valuable lessons about leadership and delegation from an unlikely source — his Midianite father-in-law, Jethro. But through this, Moses teaches us an even more important lesson about humility and how to become wise in this life.

Birthday For Trees - Part 2: Application by Shalom Macon - Messianic Jewish Teaching

Few people know that Judaism celebrates a new year for trees called Tu Bishvat. The next logical question many would ask is, “Why?!” It all starts with Torah, but there are many beautiful lessons we can glean from this special day. We'll discuss them in this two-part teaching.

Last week was Moses' fear. This week, it's his failure. But you might say, “Moses didn't fail!” We can say that because we know the end of the story. But along the way, Moses clearly struggled and his persistence teaches lessons about what it takes to succeed when things don't go our way.

Moses is the Torah's great hero. His story begins this week in Parsha Shemot. But Moses' hero journey does not seem to get off to a great start. Between arguing with God about why he can't do it and then failing to convince Pharaoh to let Israel go, Moses seems destined for failure. He has some lessons to learn and some hard steps to take on the way to his status as hero. His journey though this is a lesson for us all in conquering fear and failure.

In this closing portion of Genesis, Joseph again demonstrates his extraordinary character in dealing with his brothers. It's captured in just one line of Torah, but the lessons are life-changing as we consider our interactions each and every day and how we are all connected in the stories of our lives.

The Midrash connects Amos 9:13—"the plowman shall overtake the reaper"—with Judah's confrontation of Joseph at the beginning of this week's Torah portion. It sees this encounter as a foreshadowing of the World To Come with Judah representing the plowman and Joseph being the reaper. How does this work and what does it have to do with us? We'll find out together in this message on the Torah portion of Vayigash.

There's a Yiddish expression that says, "Man makes plans and God laughs." While that may not be entirely accurate, we often find that our plans don't always line up with what God has in mind. The straight path toward what we perceive as our goal often winds around the forest and climbs through valleys and over mountains before ever reaching sight of that goal. Joseph's life was the perfect example of life taking unexpected turns. But yet, through it all he was able to give God glory. How? We'll discuss in this message on the Torah portion of Mikeitz.

How could an unmarried woman who dresses up as a prostitute and seduces a man in order to get pregnant be thought of as acting righteously? The story of Tamar and Judah certainly raises some questions that we'll consider in this message.

The Jacob and Esau conflict reaches its climax in Vayishlach. Why did Jacob cross the Jabbok ford? What's up with the pugilistic angel? A unique consideration on Jacob's wrestling match offers some incredible insight into our own daily struggles.

Situations arise in life that create a dilemma for us — "Should I stay or should I go?" In other words, do I sit still and wait on God to move or should I take an action to get things going? We know the story of “the deception” involving Jacob. But who was actually behind the decision to take action? Was it a good move? What if it hadn't been done? Behind the answer to those questions is an application for our lives that we'll uncover in this teaching.

From a surface reading of the story of Jacob and Esau, it really seems Esau got the short end of the stick by being cheated out of the double-portion entitled to the firstborn. But we never read about Jacob receiving this either. What he receives is given by God and it's far greater than material blessings. Join us as we unravel this complex story of brothers and birthrights.

In the Torah portion of Chayei Sarah, Abraham purchased a field and a burial curve for his beloved wife, Sarah. But in reality it was so much more. Abraham, the father of many, had an incredible eye for the future and for the generational mission he had been given. Shalom Macon is taking a lesson from Abraham in this. Learn all about it here.

Abraham is affectionately called Avraham Avinu, "Our Father Abraham." Paul says he is the father of "all who believe." Is this just a title or are there expectations that come along with being children of Abraham? Our Torah portion reveals a lot to help us answer this question.

Noah's success in the mission of survival was a great success. But there was a second mission, revival. How did he do? Was Noah the hero that God was looking for? The Torah uses small clues to point to the answer.

It's at the top of the list of favorite Bible stories — Noah's Ark. It's obvious that righteous Noah had a big job to do, a mission from God to build this boat and survive the flood. He was faithful to the task. But Noah had multiple missions and the Torah makes them pretty clear if we look carefully. This teaching explores the multiple missions of Noah and how well he succeeded in accomplishing them.

As the Torah cycle starts with Genesis, we once again marvel at the mystery and majesty of creation. One mystery is particularly unique. The text says, "Let us create man in our image." This teaching explores interpretations of this curious text, introduces a challenging new interpretation and reveals a profound shadow of the messiah.

After the High Holidays, we made some decisions and commitments to take action to become our better self. There's always one challenge that rears its head as we move forward in this direction. The sages of Israel use the valuable illustration of the horse and rider to teach about it. In this message, Rabbi Eisner brings that idea home as the conclusion to this series.

You have an illness. Actually more than one illness. It's not just sin, but a host of other maladies that keep you from living up to the potential that God intended for you when He created you. What's the remedy? The Great Physician has it waiting on you if you'll be honest about your symptoms.

When it comes to making resolutions to change, sometimes it feels like a losing battle, a hopeless cause. We look back at the list we made the year before and think, "What's changed?" But if haven't given up, but continued the struggle, we'll eventually see something on our list that has changed. It may be small, but it's progress. And a little progress over time can go a long way to changing your habits and ultimately your identity.

Is all of humanity damned by default because of original sin? This is what traditional Christianity teaches. But what does Judaism teach and where should Messianic Judaism land on the topic? This controversial message addresses this subject going all the way back to the very definition of sin.

Too often we try to break bad habits or change patterns of behavior but fail. Why is this? Maybe it's because we haven't dealt with the root of it all: our identity.