“Pastor Scudder, why do you talk so much about Israel?” a young lady recently asked.
asserted
lady → talk → Israel
“It’s quite simple” I replied.
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I → ’ → ?
“From Israel came what is most important to me.”
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what → come → me
This question seems to be on the minds of many people today.
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question → seem → people
Should Christians support Israel?
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Christians → support → Israel
The reason our church in the Chicago suburbs publicly supports Israel and the Jewish people is because our savior is Jewish.
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savior → support → Israel
Our Bible is almost exclusively penned by Jews.
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Bible → pen → Jews
Without the Jews, we don’t have these two things that are most dear to us.
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that → have → us
As Israel is increasingly in the daily conversation of the world, usually disparaged instead of extolled, now is a prime opportunity for the three organizations that I represent — Quentin Road Baptist Church, Dayspring Bible College & Seminary, and InGrace Ministries — to be leaders in helping Christians and churches understand the importance of standing with the family of Jesus.
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Christians → disparage → Jesus
As the third anniversary of the barbaric Hamas attacks on Israel approaches, we have decided to become a flagship location for “Flags of Fellowship,” an important initiative of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
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we → approach → Christians
This public display of thousands of flags on our lawn will further foster goodwill and engagement between Christians and Jews.
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display → foster → Christians
Flags of Fellowship is a way to publicly honor and remember the innocent lives lost on that horrific day.
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Flags → honor → day
Now, in its third year, this memorial has turned into a movement with over 3,000 churches across America and the world to publicly and boldly stand with Israel and the Jewish people.
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memorial → turn → Israel
One thousand two hundred flags displayed on thousands of church lawns represent a remembrance of the 1,200 lives lost in the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, but remembrance also carries responsibility and what we as Christians are willing to carry forward in their memory.
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we → display → memory
While some ministry leaders are hesitant to be public in their support for Israel, we feel the opposite.
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we → feel → opposite
We believe in and desire the blessing of Genesis 12:3: “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:
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that → believe → thee
and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
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families → bless → earth
It is clear that the one true creator God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel) unconditionally and unilaterally promised an eternal homeland called Israel to the Jewish people, and blessings to those who agree with his sovereign decision.
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who → promise → decision
I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I’m not foolish enough to oppose God!
uncertain
I → ’m → God
In the last four years, our ministry has worked hard to develop friendships with the Jewish community around us.
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ministry → work → us
And these new friendships have emotionally enriched us.
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friendships → enrich → us
Recently, my wife and I attended the dedication ceremony for a food pantry called “Hersh’s Fridge.”
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wife → attend → pantry
This pantry is named in honor of Hersh Goldberg‐Polin, the Israeli American who was injured near the Nova festival in Israel and eventually killed in captivity.
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who → name → captivity
Hersh was hiding in a bomb shelter near the festival with many others.
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Hersh → hide → others
He, along with his friend, Aner, were throwing grenades back out of the shelter, heroically saving lives.
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He → throw → lives
At the ceremony, his mother, Rachel, emotionally spoke of her son.
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mother → speak → son
We were glad to see how Hersh’s tragic death has sparked many good things, including this new food pantry.
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death → see → pantry
We were also reminded of the evil in the world, and how antisemitism and Jew hatred is inexplicably on the rise in America and around the world.
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antisemitism → remind → world
Hersh and so many others that day were attacked, captured, and killed for only one reason: because they were Jewish.
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they → attack → reason
Sitting there listening to Rachel reminded me that God will judge us on how we treat others, especially how we treat Israel, the “apple of His eye.”
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we → sit → eye
God smiles when we show compassion on the downtrodden, the poor, the widow, and the orphans.
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we → smile → downtrodden
The more that I am around Jewish people, the more that I see that is their heart as well.
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that → see → people
Organizations like the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews help Holocaust survivors, orphans, the elderly, and victims of terrorism and war.
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Organizations → help → terrorism
I believe they are the most unfairly maligned people group in the entire world.
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they → believe → world
The Jews are the favorite target of evil men, blamed for everything, and are hardly ever lauded for their generous and giving spirit.
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Jews → blame → spirit
So how should Christians repay our Jewish friends for blessing us so richly with Jesus — the “Rock of our salvation”?
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Christians → repay → salvation
Have special church services to honor the heritage that is rooted in Israel.
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that → have → Israel
You will be blessed, as we have been, when you boldly support Israel.
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you → bless → Israel
God promised it.
asserted
God → promise → it
And he always keeps his promises!
asserted
he → keep → promises
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
