The Pool is Still Providing Healing
In May 2025, a retinal artery occlusion stroke struck without warning, leaving me completely blind in my right eye. From mid-May until the end of the month, darkness covered my vision. On May 27, Dr. Jennifer Turcott at Jacobson Eye Care in Cumberland, Wisconsin, confirmed the diagnosis: my artery had blown apart. She offered only […]
From Jerusalem to Rome: How the Church Became Detached From Its Jewish Roots
Christianity did not begin in Rome. It began in Jerusalem, among a Jewish people, with a Jewish Messiah, Jewish apostles, Jewish Scriptures, and a church that understood itself within the continuing story of Israel. Jesus was not separated from the covenantal world of Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets. His first followers worshiped in the […]
Mary’s Song and the God Who Remembers Israel
Mary’s song in Luke 1:46–55, known as the Magnificat, is one of the most moving songs of worship in the New Testament. Many Christians rightly read it as Mary’s own outpouring of praise, and it certainly is. She is filled with gratitude because God has looked upon her with mercy and set her apart for […]
An Unlikely Dinner in the Nation’s Capital
Twenty or thirty years ago, a dinner like this would have been nearly impossible to imagine. A rabbi, an evangelical pastor, a Catholic theologian, and a 12-year-old boy walk into a kosher restaurant in Washington, D.C. It almost sounds like the beginning of a joke. But on the evening of Israel Advocacy Day, it felt […]
From Qumran to Washington: Why Seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls Moved Me So Deeply
There are moments that stay with us not because they are loud or dramatic, but because they awaken something deeper than words can easily capture. My recent visit to Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., during Israel Advocacy Day was one of those moments. Before our event officially began, there was a brief window […]
When Jewish People Are Afraid to Be Seen
One of the most troubling moral realities of our time is that society increasingly makes Jewish people feel unsafe simply for being visible. A person wearing a kippah, a Star of David, speaking Hebrew, or simply being perceived as Jewish may be mocked, stared down, cursed at, or ridiculed in ordinary public spaces. Restaurants, sidewalks, […]
Are Jews Colonizers to the Land of Israel?
In today’s debates about Israel, pastors are hearing phrases that sound persuasive but often carry serious historical problems. One of the most common is the claim that Jews are “settler colonizers” with no true connection to the land of Israel. In a time when war, protests, rising antisemitism, and global arguments over Israel’s legitimacy fill […]
If Israel Was Israel When God Judged Her, Why Is She No Longer Israel When God Promises to Restore Her?
A growing refrain in Christian teaching today is that ethnic Israel belongs to the past, while spiritual Israel belongs to the present. The Jews of the Old Covenant are often reduced to misrepresentations of Pharisees and failure. They disobeyed and therefore inherited judgment. The Church, we are told, succeeded where Israel failed and therefore inherited […]
Why Zechariah Helps Christians Think About Jerusalem
In a season when Jerusalem is again appearing in headlines because of war, missile threats, diplomatic strain, and public debate, many pastors are asking how the church should think and speak about the city. Some believers respond with strong certainty, treating every development as though its meaning were obvious. Others avoid the subject altogether, assuming […]