Nazarene Israel News (16 Feb 2024)
Shabbat shalom, Nazarenes.
1. PRAISE REPORTS, PRAYER REQUESTS, UPDATES: 16 FEB 2024.
We have been working on a new website for months. And praise be to Yahweh, we have officially launched! And so far, everything seems to be working well, praise be to Yahweh!
If you have not had the opportunity to view the new NI website yet, we hope that you will visit soon! We believe the new navigation and the operation system will provide easy, efficient access to studies and the most current updates. We thank Yahweh for the provision and pray that it blesses you and your family in your walk with Him.
1b. Registration Reminder!
If you were previously registered on the former NI website, it will be necessary to re-register on the new NI website in order to have full access to studies and the Revelation News. Registration is free, like always. And registering is fairly easy. Simply go to www.nazareneisrael.org and choose the “log-in” option under the “Join NI” menu. Then choose “register”. Or for your convienence, please click the corresponding link below. (If you were already subscribed to NI newsletters, it is not necessary to resubscribe for the newsletter.)
Register for the new NI website here!
Log-in to the new NI website here!
1c. Continued Website Work
We appreciate your prayers as we continue work on the new website. We are thankful to Yahweh to officially launch! However, there is still a lot of work to do. For example, all previous studies all must be reviewed by the NI work-team in order to manually update links that corresponded to pages from the former website. NI has a lot of studies, so that means a lot of updates! Also, there are some new navigation tools that the team must adapt to. So far, everything is running smoothly and we are making good progress! (Thanks to Yahweh!) And we are pressing forward. If you are viewing a study on the new website, and a link inside the study does not work, don’t panic! Studies can be found by direct nagivation through the menu options or the ‘search’ tool bar. With the Father’s help, we plan to have all updates done as soon as possible. (Thank you for your prayers!)
1d. Calendar updates: See Section 3 below!
STUDIES.
2a. Updated Study: About the Peshitta
Sometimes we receive questions about whether the Aramaic Peshitta is the inspired text. We had an older study which explained why, while we believe in a Semitic (i.e., Hebrew or Aramaic) inspiration, the short answer is no. We do not believe that either of them are inspired. Norman recently updated this study to include more details. To find out more, please read About the Peshitta V3 in Nazarene Israel Scripture Studies Vol. 2.
2b. Parasha Vezot Haberakhah: The Power of Prayer!
In this week’s Parasha Vezot Haberakhah we analyze the Disciple’s Prayer that Yeshua dictates in Matthew chapter 6. Through our study, we learn three things. First, we learn how prayer strengthens our bond with Yahweh. Second, we learn the proper way to structure our prayers. Thirdly, we learn the deep effect prayer has on our lives.
2b. Previous Studies:
Parashiot videos (2023-4)
Video Studies
Video Shorts
Book Studies
2c. Beit Sefer Children’s Publications (Home Page):
(To receive activities in Spanish, please sign up for the Spanish newsletter.)
For Children’s Parasha Activities, please click here.
For Children’s Tanach Activities, please click here.
For Children’s Brit Chadasha Activities, please click here.
For Children’s Hebrew Lessons, please click here.
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SABBATHS, NEW MOONS, AND CALENDAR EVENTS:
3a. New Moon of the 1st Hebrew month (Rosh HaShanah) or 14th Hebrew month:The next new moon is expected to be visible on 11 March. 2024. We are currently watching reports from Israel that will determine whether the new moon in March will be Rosh HaShanah, or the beginning of a 14th Hebrew month. For more details and links to reports from Israel, please visit Torah Calendar News 2024. (More information in 3c.)
3b. Upcoming Discipleship Meetings: All meetings are at 8 AM Colombian time (always UTC-5, but watch your Daylight Savings Time adjustments). The Discipleship Meeting is a discussion between disciples. It is generally 1-hour long but may run longer depending on how the Spirit leads. For more on NI’s description of discipleship, please see NI’s Discipleship program.
12 March (expected)- New Moon meeting of 1st Hebrew month (Rosh HaShanah) OR 14th Hebrew month.
Note: If the monthly Discipleship Meeting coincides with the weekly Shabbat Meeting, the Shabbat Meeting will take precedence, and new moon discussion will be combined with the Shabbat meeting. However, in the case of a Feast Day Meeting coinciding with a Shabbat meeting, the Feast Day Meeting will take precedence.
3c. Torah Calender News Updates.
Please visit Torah Calender News Updates for the possible schedule for Yahweh’s feasts for year 5784-5 / 2024, if the 11 March Rosh HaShanah (Possible Scenario) is later confirmed. We emphasize that the 11 March scenario schedule lists expected dates only. Scripturally, we cannot make an official Rosh HaShanah declaration until the time of the new moon sighting in the land of Israel, with a coinciding report that the barley will also be ready (in its aviv stage) within the 15-21 day time frame after the new moon sighting (in time for HaHaNafat HaOmer, or the Day of the Wave Sheaf Offering).
Currently, cold, wet weather has returned to Israel. We have not received any reports of barley nearly the aviv stage at this time, (and cold weather slows down barley’s growth rate). Therefore, it should be noted that a 14th Hebrew month remains possible. (And we cannot predict what Yahweh will do, we must watch and wait upon His timing.)
While we cannot confirm a March Rosh HaShanah until the day of the new moon, we also understand that many Nazarenes living in the dispersia hold jobs in the Babylonian system, where it is necessary to submit time-off requests in enough time for Yahweh’s celebrations in which He commands no servile work to be done. We hope this 11 March Rosh HaShanah (Possible Scenario) will be helpful for our Nazarene brothers and sisters in planning for Yahweh’s special days, whether Rosh HaShanah is declared in March, or whether we will have a 14th Hebrew month. (In the instance of a 14th Hebrew month, a new schedule will be posted for a Rosh HaShanah declaration in April.)
