|
in signing up to
list, make sure that
info@outreachisrael.net
and info@tnnonline.net
are not on your
blocked list!
Newsfeed Ticker
Archives |
|
|
|
|
NOW
AVAILABLE!
In an effort to expand our outreach to the
masses who are searching for and needing
Messianic instruction, we are now offering
online Bible studies, delivered by TNN
Online editor J.K. McKee. Every Wednesday a
new teaching which deals with pertinent
topics for today’s Messianic Believers will
be presented. For the most part, these
studies will be focusing on specific books
of the Bible, but may from time to time deal
with critical subjects as well.
Click
here to access audio teachings
now available on
iTunes!
Starting 17 March 2010:
Pastoral
Epistles Bible Study
Unlike some
of the other letters of the Pauline corpus,
there has been no significant demand for a
detailed, Messianic examination of the
Pastoral Epistles of 1&2 Timothy and Titus.
Many of today's Messianic teachers and
leaders think that they already know what
these letters mean, and so putting out the
effort of analyzing them beyond a cursory
reading or survey is thought to probably not
be needed. Sadly, today's broad Messianic
movement is largely unaware and uninformed
of a literal factory of academic proposals
and perspectives, from over the past fifty
years, regarding 1&2 Timothy and Titus. Much
of this scholarship has affected various
trends present in evangelical Christianity,
the clergy of the contemporary church, and
the debate over complimentarianism and
egalitarianism. It is time for our faith
community to join into these discussions.
This
lengthy study of the Pastoral Epistles will
take into consideration much of what has
been offered by various scholars, not only
in terms of the ancient setting of 1&2
Timothy and Titus, but also with how these
epistles should be accurately applied in a
modern setting. It will be our intention, as
we probe these letters, to weigh our
Messianic strengths and weaknesses of them,
in an effort to be a faith community that is
no longer lacking an adequate understanding.
What are the things that we have actually
interpreted correctly from the Pastoral
Epistles, and what needs to be improved
upon? How might some Messianic congregations
and fellowships look if we took a good, hard
look at 1&2 Timothy and Titus, and made a
few required changes?
AUGUST 2010
 Dear
Friends:
One of the things
I learned a long time ago is that you cannot build a ministry
upon a foundation of refuting the teachings of other ministries.
There may be times when you have to state a position of
agreement or disagreement, but it is inappropriate to focus all
of your efforts just to prove yourself right, and others wrong.
Not only can it be a waste of valuable energy, but it only stirs
up negative emotions. If you really intend to speak on a
topic, it is not educationally viable for people to see the
position you are trying to defend presented in terms of a
response or counter-response to someone else. Bible teachers
have to learn the art and science of addressing the issue and
going to the Scriptural text. As they do this, it may be
necessary to engage with the thoughts of an opposite or
dissenting voice. But, the focus of a reader's attention should
always be on the core issue at hand, and not that some kind of
"revenge" is enacted against a different viewpoint.
This is the
dilemma that I have found myself in for much of the past year,
especially given some of the controversies that have erupted
over ministry shifts and politicking occurring in our broad
Messianic faith community. I have been asked many times: Are
you going to write a response to this...? My consistent
answer has been: We will address the issue. Why spend
most of your time refuting a specific ministry or specific
persons, when the controversy might be forgotten two to three
years from now (and certainly ten years from now)? Why not
evaluate what the actual issue is, so today's Messianic
Believers can learn what the Bible says about a subject, in
conjunction with the thoughts and opinions of a range of
respected scholars? This, of course, takes longer as a teacher
has to separate himself from an emotionally-charged environment
(sometimes rife with accusations and mud-slinging) and stick to
the actual subject. The reason it has taken me a while to
assemble this month's lead article, "One
Law for All," was not only because it had to be
added to my queue of ongoing projects; I wanted to take my time
so I could stand above the anger, contention, and territorialism
which so often manifests when this subject is brought up.
Is the Torah
relevant instruction for all of God's people, or only some of
God's people? As you prepare to read "One
Law for All," you are going to see a significant
feature that has been lacking in most of the responses and
counter responses: an analysis of the relevant passages
from Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. This article is the only
evaluation that I know about to date which has considered not
only academic Jewish opinions, but also those of evangelical
Christian and liberal/critical scholarship. Of course, I would
be keen to point out the One Law topic is not the only issue out
there in the Messianic world where attention is not given to a
variety of Scriptural passages--which have become mere sound
bytes--rather than a place to begin an examination and evaluate
the trajectory of salvation history.
I believe many of
you are going to appreciate the article "One
Law for All." Outreach Israel Ministries and TNN
Online do affirm that both Jewish and non-Jewish Believers
should be instructed from the Torah or Moses' Teaching. We
believe it is relevant for those who know their ancestors stood
at the base of Mount Sinai, and those from the nations who have
recognized the Creator God. Yet, we also think that some of the
positions represented per the One Law debate in recent days, have
missed some important things. These include, perhaps somewhat
disturbingly, the centrality of Yeshua the Messiah and His
sacrifice to our faith, and the work of the Holy Spirit in the
lives of God's people. A Torah observance that does not help
people to really understand the love and mercy of God even
more, and how our personal behavior is to reflect itself to
a lost world, is often not an emphasis. A third solution between
the two polarizing positions of Divine Invitation and Covenant
Obligation is presented, which is more in tune with the ethos of
the New Covenant era in which we live. Never to be forgotten is
the requirement for God's people to make a positive difference
in society, and for us to serve as a small representation of the
greater redemption to come to the cosmos.
This month will
also feature the soon release of the new commentary
Acts 15 for the Practical Messianic.
We are very excited about this, and know that it will help many
people, answering various questions about the Jerusalem Council
and its significance for today's Messianic movement. Stay tuned
for the official announcement so you can order your copy!
Until next
month...
J.K.
McKee
Website Update Archives
(2005-present)
NEW/FEATURED FAQs FOR AUGUST 2010
MCHUEY BLOG, & YOUTUBE:
Pastoral Epistles Study: Half Way Report
08.25.2010
NEW/FEATURED FAQs FOR JULY 2010
MCHUEY BLOG, & YOUTUBE:
Fourth of July Worship and
Prayer 07.05.2010
NEW/FEATURED FAQs FOR JUNE 2010
MCHUEY BLOG, & YOUTUBE:
June 2010 Editor's Update
06.10.2010
NEW/FEATURED FAQs FOR MAY 2010
MCHUEY BLOG, & YOUTUBE:
Hebrews 10:23-25
05.17.2010
May 2010 Editor's Update
05.13.2010
1 Timothy 2:8-15 Thoughts
05.12.2010
Evil for Good
05.10.2010
NEW/FEATURED FAQs FOR MARCH 2010
MCHUEY BLOG, & YOUTUBE:
Pastoral Epistles Opening
Thoughts 03.24.2010
March 2010 Editor's Update
03.22.2010
Everyone
is wrong but me!
03.18.2010
Gifts, the Big IF
03.15.2010
NEW/FEATURED FAQs FOR FEBRUARY 2010
MCHUEY BLOG, & YOUTUBE:
February 2010 Editor's
Update 02.23.2010
A Few Thoughts on the
End-Times 02.09.2010
NEW/FEATURED FAQs FOR JANUARY 2010
MCHUEY BLOG, & YOUTUBE:
Shaken Leadership
01.28.2010
January 2010 Editor's
Update 01.28.2010
Acts 15 Concluding
Thoughts 01.27.2010
A Place Where Everyone Can
Belong
01.18.2010
The Need for Mutual
Submission
01.07.2010
PREVIOUSLY FEATURED ARTICLES FOR 2010:
AUGUST:
One Law for All (PDF)
JUNE:
The Message of Philippians (PDF)
JUNE (BONUS):
The Message of Colossians and Philemon (PDF)
JUNE (BONUS):
The Message of Ephesians (PDF)
MAY:
Micah 4:1-3; Isaiah 2:2-4:
"The Torah Will Go Forth From Zion" (PDF)
APRIL:
What Does "Under the Law"
Really Mean?
(PDF)
MARCH:
The Last Sedar and
Yeshua's Passover Chronology (PDF)
FEBRUARY:
Is Messiah the Termination
of the Torah? (PDF)
JANUARY:
Matthew 5:17-19: Has the
Law Been Fulfilled?
(PDF)
|
