In response to Peter’s confession in Matthew 16, Yeshua tells His disciples that upon that confession He will “build” His “church”. As this is the first time the Greek word for “church” (“ekklesia”) appears in scripture, many in mainstream Christianity assume this is the first time Peter would have heard this word used in a religious context. For this reason, they believe Peter would have understood that Yeshua was talking about a completely new institution that was separate from the “Jewish” religious institutions of the time. But is this really what Matthew 16 teaches? In this message, we discuss the pitfalls of system bias and the scriptural language barrier and their effect on how we interpret this passage, and then flip to other passages that seem to indicate that Yeshua was not the first to use the Greek word “ekklesia” in a religious context. This causes us to ask whether “ekklesia” is not a new concept at all, or if it is instead simply the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word for “congregation” used in the Old Testament. In addition, we discover several passages that seem to show Peter, James, and Paul all expected to find believers worshiping in synagogues on the Sabbath day! In the end, we are able to answer the question, “How ‘new’ really is the New Testament church?”

Part of the sanctification process includes putting to death the things that separated us from God prior to repenting of our sins and trusting in the person and work of the Messiah. Paul gives believers the command in Colossians 3:5 to mortify or put to death sin. We have the ability to do so because of the work of our Messiah.

In Part 2 of this two-part series, we continue to go through Hebrews 8:6-13 verse by verse. To do so, we turn back to Jeremiah 31 to study the passage Paul quotes from. In the process, we discover who the parties of the New Covenant are and how gentiles fit in; the distinction between the "House of Israel" and the "House of Judah; the significance of the metaphor of God's marriage to Israel; what it means when God says He will write his law on believers' hearts; how it can be that all Israel will one day know Yehovah; and finally, the promise of complete and total forgiveness of sins through the Messiah. Then, returning to Hebrews 8, we learn what Paul is really trying to say in verse 13 in context--and it's not that the Mosaic Covenant vanishes away. And in the end, we find the true reason the New Covenant is "new", and how it all applies to us today.

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As Grafted Branch Church, we desire to please God in all that we do by loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind and loving our neighbor as our self. We are a church in Le Sueur Minnesota, assembling together under the headship of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) to carry out His Great Commission. We are Bible-believing, unaffiliated, and boldly hold forth the truth of God's Word in love. We believe that the entire Bible (including the Torah) is relevant and applicable for all believers; celebrate the appointed times of Yehovah; believe in the exclusivity of the local church; use the King James Bible; sing Psalms; uphold and encourage the biblical family structure; desire to see people grow and be challenged; rejoice in lives that are changed and blessed by God; and look forward to and anticipate Yeshua the Messiah’s return.

For more information about Grafted Branch Church, additional messages, and articles, please visit www.graftedbranch.church.

You can email us at: [email protected].

Part 1 of a two-part series dealing with the "New Covenant" in scripture. Also known as the "Messianic Covenant", the role that this covenant plays in the bigger picture of scripture is the subject of much confusion within Christianity today. And Hebrews 8:6-13 is the focal point of the discussion. In this message, we study the context of this passage--from the verses leading up to 8:6, to a search of what the rest of scripture says about God's covenants with man--which we find is foundational for correctly understanding this passage. In the process, we uncover a little-known passage in Leviticus where God promises that the Mosaic Covenant will last forever. From there, we begin our study of Verse 6, where we find that the mainstream interpretation of this verse conflicts with the context and the rest of scripture. As we seek to reconcile these conflicts, we discover that much of the conflicting interpretation rests on the insertion of the word "covenant" by the translators--a word that does not even exist in the original Greek text.

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As Grafted Branch Church, we desire to please God in all that we do by loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind and loving our neighbor as our self. We are a church in Le Sueur Minnesota, assembling together under the headship of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) to carry out His Great Commission. We are Bible-believing, unaffiliated, and boldly hold forth the truth of God's Word in love. We believe that the entire Bible (including the Torah) is relevant and applicable for all believers; celebrate the appointed times of Yehovah; believe in the exclusivity of the local church; use the King James Bible; sing Psalms; uphold and encourage the biblical family structure; desire to see people grow and be challenged; rejoice in lives that are changed and blessed by God; and look forward to and anticipate Yeshua the Messiah’s return.

For more information about Grafted Branch Church, additional messages, and articles, please visit www.graftedbranch.church.

You can email us at: [email protected].

In Acts 3 Peter preaches the Gospel to those in the Temple. He clearly lays out that one needs to have faith in the name of the Messiah (Acts 3:16) and then goes on to describe who the Messiah is and consequently defining the object of one's faith. The Messiah is the Son of God [v 13], the Holy One [v 14], the Just [v 14], the Prince of Life [v 15], the resurrected one [v15], the Annointed [v 18], the Lord [v 19] and the Prophet [v 22]. Peter properly helps his hearers understand who their faith needs to be in. But then after explaining how many of his hearers had rejected the Messiah, he then tells them how they need to respond to his pointing out their sin of rejecting the Messiah. In verse 19, Peter declares that they need to, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." Peter's message is not, "just have faith". Rather Peter's message is to "Repent and be converted." Many individuals understand that having faith in the person and work of the Messiah is required for salvation. However, some fail to recognize the importance of repentance. Repentance has always been part of the Gospel. One needs to acknowledge their sin and desire to turn from it to be able to turn in faith to the Messiah. Peter presents this truth and reality here in this passage. Join us in this message to see how the Bible defines repentance, not only in the context of Acts 3, but also in other key passages in both the Old Testament and New Testament. __________________________ As Grafted Branch Church, we desire to please God in all that we do by loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind and loving our neighbor as our self. We are a church in Le Sueur Minnesota, assembling together under the headship of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) to carry out His Great Commission. We are Bible-believing, unaffiliated, and boldly hold forth the truth of God's Word in love. We believe that the entire Bible (including the Torah) is relevant and applicable for all believers; celebrate the appointed times of Yehovah; believe in the exclusivity of the local church; use the King James Bible; sing Psalms; uphold and encourage the biblical family structure; desire to see people grow and be challenged; rejoice in lives that are changed and blessed by God; and look forward to and anticipate Yeshua the Messiah’s return. For more information about Grafted Branch Church, additional messages, and articles, please visit www.graftedbranch.church. You can email us at: [email protected].