Bagels and Blessings

John McKee (B.A., University of Oklahoma; M.A., Asbury Theological Seminary) is the editor of Messianic Apologetics, a division of Outreach Israel Ministries.

He is a 2009 recipient of the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award for Greek. He is the author of numerous books and commentaries, dealing with a wide range of topics that are important for today’s Messianic people.

Since 2014, John has been a member in good standing at Eitz Chaim Messianic Congregation of Plano, TX, where he teaches the annual New Members Class. In 2019, John was licensed as a Messianic Teacher with the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues (IAMCS), and was officially ordained as a Messianic Teacher in 2022.

He presently resides in McKinney, TX, just north of Dallas.

 Growing up in the suburbs of a small town on the east coast of the United States, Carmen Patches was led to a relationship with the Messiah, Jesus/Yeshua, at a crisis pregnancy center at the age of seventeen. She soon married and proceeded to have eleven children to teach and train up.

     Carmen has written a children's series about God's redemptive plan of salvation based on the feast days found in Leviticus 23 in rhyme.  This book series has started with the creation story with the book BIG HOORAYS - God's Creation Days, which goes through the days of creation in a fun and engaging way.

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     Grandma Patches' desire is that these books will be used as an encouragement to young believers and families everywhere. They are designed to undergird the them and bolster them in their faith in the Messiah and the promises HE has for those who trust in HIM.

Nancy

Nancy

Greg’s father was a Russian-Polish Jew and his mother is Italian-American.  Greg remembers accepting Yeshua while visiting his grandmother’s church at eight years of age. 

As a teenager and college student, Greg attended a wide variety of churches.  He also gained proficiency in gospel music during these years.  Greg graduated from college at the University of Massachusetts with a B.A. in both Vocal Jazz & Gospel Music as well as Psychology.

In 2001, while studying classical choral conducting for a Master’s degree at Temple University, Greg was invited by a friend to visit Congregation Beth Yeshua, one of the flagship Messianic synagogues in the United States.  From the moment he arrived, he felt spiritually as though he had “come home.” 

Greg ministered full-time at Congregation Beth Yeshua from 2004-2010.  In Summer of 2010, the Silverman family moved out west to Tucson, Arizona. Greg had been accepted with full scholarship into the prestigious University of Arizona doctoral program in Choral Conducting.  Dr. Greg Silverman completed the doctoral degree in December 2013.  He served as a Music Professor and Choral Conductor at Eastern University.  Dr. Greg presently is the President of his own ministry as well as the Director of Worship Arts at Desert Hope Lutheran Church in Tucson (www.deserthope.org).  As part of his work in Silverman Ministries, Inc., Dr. Greg offers worship concerts, recordings, and training for other worship leaders and artists.  Visit https://gregsilverman.com/about/ministry to learn more about Silverman Ministries, Inc.

Lisa and her husband Scott are the head of the musical group "The Nesbitts."  With ancestral origins from Scotland and Ireland nearly a millennia ago, The Nesbitts and their music ultimately migrated to America and settled in the Hills of Tennessee where, today, their Old World heritage continues to shape their songs.

Fronted by Scott Nesbitt on lead vocals and guitar, Lisa Nesbitt on tambourine and vocals, Megan Nesbitt on bass, guitar, and vocals, Sarah Nesbitt on violin and vocals, and Mikel Nesbitt on drums/percussion.

The Nesbitts’ debut album "Sweet Surrender" weaves a tapestry of musical influences that include Americana, Country Gospel, Scottish-Irish Roots and Messianic Mountain Soul to give the listener a rich and authentic worship experience.  

In this interview Lisa shares her faith journey and her love for the Jewish people.

Dr. Amy-Jill Levine was raised in a predominantly Catholic neighborhood in Massachusetts.  She grew up with an appreciation for many aspects of the Christian tradition, though she was raised in a Jewish home.She completed her undergraduate work at Smith College, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and held honors in both religion and English She earned her doctorate at Duke University.

She has held office in the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Biblical Association, and the Association for Jewish Studies.

Her publications include The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus (HarperSanFrancisco, 2006), the edited collection, The Historical Jesus in Context (Princeton University Press, 2006), and the 14-volume Feminist Companions to the New Testament and Early Christian Writings (Continuum).  Dr. Levine has also written Jesus for Everyone:  Not Just Christians.

Dr. Levine does not yet profess a belief in Yeshua, but holds Him in high esteem and encourages others to do so.