Watch visiting evangelist from Israel Simon Sabbah give a talk at the Chapel on the evening of May 14, 2023. Simon is an Arab Israeli Christian. He talked about some experiences in his life including sharing Jesus.
Here are free Christian Resources – books and tracts at the Chapel. What’s on the table occasionally changes. In different seasons, we have different things featured. If you come and don’t see what you’re looking for, ask for Paul. We may have it somewhere else.
Free Christian Resources at the ChapelHere’s a brief description of each of the items available.
Friendship with God Hymnal – This is the hymnal we use. We have more details about it in this Post Here.
Changed by Tom Cantor – This short book is Tom Cantor’s testimony. Tom teachers at the Chapel. For more details and a link to a copy online read This Post.
Cambiado by Tom Cantor – This is Tom’s book Changed in Spanish.
Whosoever Will vs. Fatalism by Tom Cantor – This book presents a Provisionist understanding of salvation (soteriology) that is neither Calvinist nor Arminian. It is commonly called Provisionism. While this is the statement of faith of the Chapel, people with different beliefs attend and participate in ministry. This short book presents God‘s love for all, our need to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, and everyone’s ability to respond to God for salvation. It has a number of Bible verses and offers very practical application. You can also read it online at Friendship With God.
More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell – This is a popular apologetics book. Christian apologetics is giving reasons to believe. This book center is on the Lord Jesus Christ. You can read more about it On This Post.
Our Daily Bread is a popular daily devotional. It has a daily Bible verse, short devotional, application, prayer, and references for reading though the Bible in a year.
How to Recognize the Messiah: a gospel tract. This presents six prophetic requirements by which the Messiah (Christ) can be identified from the old testament (Hebrew scriptures). It talks about Jesus and presents the gospel.
Why should you believe the Bible? Reasons From Romans: a gospel tract using the epistle to the Romans. It gives seven reasons why to believe, and a seven point “bridge of salvation.”
¿Pro qué debes creer la Biblical. Razones en Romanos: the same gospel track as above but in Spanish.
Have you Heard The Good News? A clear gospel tract
¿Has Oído Las Buenas Nuevas?” The same track as above but in Spanish.
“Passover and Jesus Our Passover Lamb“ by “Grandma Joelee” Chamberlain. This is a Children’s Bible Audios-Stories for Kids free audio. You can listen on SermonAudio
In this audio, first she tells the story of the original Passover in Exodus. Then, she connects this with John the Baptist to the Lord Jesus Christ being “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.“ She tells of Christ’s crucifixion and relates Passover to it as a type, a “picture-prophecy.”
She then goes on to connect the work of Jesus Christ to the Feast of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. She develops the number of points and connections in a way that a child can understand and enjoy.
Passover and Jesus Our Passover LambThis offers apologetics for kids through fulfilled prophecy and type. It is specifically an Easter apologetic. It can we listen to Jess for enjoyment, part of homeschooling, or other schooling. Many kids like listening to them when they go to bed.
This is part of her Holidays & Other Stories Series. But as this audio has fulfilled typology, you could also go with her Apologetics for Kids Series. And it fills out her Escape from Egypt (the Book of Exodus), too.
Here is an Isaiah 53 gospel tract by Tom Cantor. This chapter of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible or Tanakh [Tanach]) been called “The Fifth Gospel.”
Tom Cantor is a Jewish believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Tom is also a teacher at Mission Valley Community Chapel. He usually teaches our adult Sunday school class. He also gives the sermon on the first, third, and any fifth Sunday of the month.
You can read it at Israel Restoration Ministries
Isaiah 53 Gospel TractThis tract presents seven references from this passage to present the gospel of Jesus Christ (the Messiah). It is a good tract that you could share with someone this Passover/Easter season. We also have a variety of gospel tracts at the Chapel.
This tract uses verses from this prophecy to give the sacrifice needed, the sacrifice presented, the sacrifice examined, the sacrifice offered, the sacrifice’s purpose, the sacrifice accepted, and the sacrifice personalized. Its focuses on the Lord Jesus Christ and his work. It concludes with our need for him as our Savior and Lord.
Here here’s a blog post we have on a booklet on Isaiah 53 How a Jew Learned the Meaning of Isaiah 53 by Tom Cantor
Read more posts on Jewish Evangelism
Passover Lamb by The Liberated Wailing Wall is a great song from their second album is a great song about Passover and the Messiah.
You can listen to it on YouTube. You can buy this song or the whole album “I am Not Ashamed” at Jews for Jesus.
Passover Lamb
Words by Sam Nadler & Stuart Dauermann, music by Stuart Dauermann
Pharaoh had us all enslaved, lab’ring in his land.
The Lord God heard our cry and freed us by His hand.
And by the blood of the pure and spotless Lamb
We’re free; we are all set free.
Passover’s Lamb’s blood upon the door,
Forming a cross to seal us from death’s jaw.
And by the blood of the pure and spotless Lamb,
We’re free; we are all set free.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
God of Abram,
Thank you for the Lamb.
God gave us Israel, but we turned away.
God gave the Law to us, but we disobeyed.
God gave His only Son to come and set us free.
We’re free, we are all set free.
Yes, we all did turn away and we all were lost.
So we took a perfect Lamb and nailed Him to a cross.
And by the blood of the pure and spotless Lamb
We’re free, we are all set free.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
God of Isaac,
Thank you for the Lamb.
Three days He lay; then Jesus did rise.
So all who will believe never have to die.
And by the blood of the pure and spotless Lamb
We’re free, we are all set free.
Passover Lamb’s blood upon the door,
Forming a cross to seal us from death’s jaw.
And by the blood, of the pure and spotless Lamb,
We’re free; we are all set free.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
God of Jacob,
Thank you for the Lamb.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
God of Israel,
Thank you for the Lamb.
This is a great song from Jews for Jesus from the early 70s. It is off their second album, “I am Not Ashamed.” We do not have this one in our Friendship With God Hymnal. Next, some analysis.
This song has three verses and one course that is repeated in varying ways. The first verse is about the Exodus and the Passover lamb. The second verse is about Christ our Passover lamb dying for us. The last verse is about his resurrection (First Fruits/Easter). These verses have a pattern of seven, six, six, four, seven, six, six, four feet to them. This complexity reminds me of Joni Mitchell’s early folk music. The course is repeated once after each of the first two verses and twice after the last. The God of Abram, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel is praise. Note how alleluia is used instead of hallelujah. This is because the open vowels in alleluia work better here.
This is another great song by Stuart Dauermann co-authored with Sam Nadler.
We have a monthly prayer meeting for Israel at 7:00p.m. Join us in prayer for Israel, for missionaries and evangelists to the Jewish people, and for the salvation of Israel.
As the Apostle Paul said, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.” (Romans 10:1)
Get directions on our website HERE
Mission Valley Community Chapel
6964 Mission Gorge Road
San Diego, CA 92120
We are an Open Plymouth brethren (Christian Brethren) assembly. From their beginning, the Plymouth Brethren have had a focus on the prophecies given to Israel and their future salvation and restoration. From Pastor Jim Mader’s founding of Mission Valley Community Chapel, reaching the Jewish people with the gospel has been important to us. This work was often done in connection with the San Diego Hebrew Mission. Now Tom Cantor, a Jewish believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, teaches at the Chapel. He is also the founder of Israel Restoration Ministries.
We have free books and tracts for Jewish evangelism at the chapel. You can also read more blog posts with free online material about Jewish Evangelism
Here is an article by Jews for Jesus reasoning for the Trinity from the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) A Jewish View of the Trinity Based on the Hebrew Scriptures
I’ve read a number of books on this topic, and this article from Jews for Jesus had some good arguments I hadn’t heard. It’s a good apologetic for the Trinity being in the Old Testament.
It quotes numerous scriptures and discusses the names for God, pronouns, plural nouns with singular verbs for God, plural nouns with plural nouns for God, different Hebrew words for one, and many other interesting points. It is done in a way that is easy to read.
One thing I found interesting was the examples of God having both a plural noun and plural verb. Usually in the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)God is in the plural with a singular verb. This article gave some exceptions along with noting the more standard usage.
This article should be good as a resource for Jewish evangelism. It should also be useful in talking with other people who deny the Trinity like Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Muslims.
You can find posts like this on our website under Jewish Evangelism
“Hark The Herald Angels Sing” is a great Christmas hymn that we sang last Sunday, with some notes about it following it.
“Hark the Herald Angels sing”
Words by Charles Wesley & music by Felix Mendelssohn
Hark the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King:
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
First, “hark” is an old word meaning “hear”.
Charles Wesley, who lived in the 1700s, wrote the lyrics was brother to John Wesley. They were founders of the Methodists which had a big influence in spreading Christianity including in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were a big part in spreading a revival in England during their lives.
Felix Mendelssohn, who lived in the early 1800s, wrote the music that was used for this piece. He was a classical composer and a Jewish believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is best known for the song that is commonly called “The Wedding March;” this was music he wrote to go to Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
I like the picture here that we see two believers, Jew and Gentile, whose works are used to praise the birth of the Messiah. This fits with the biblical accounts in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke in which Jews and Gentiles did this originally.
“Hark The Herald Angels Sing” in the hymnal has a pattern of 77. 77. 77. 77. w/refrain. This means that it has four verses with two couplets of seven syllables each and a refrain. It is useful in seeing what other music might be used with it. This is why hymns can be song to different tunes. Of course, I can’t imagine singing this song to any other tune!
We can analyze the structure further by saying there are three verses; each verse is made up of four rhyming trochaic tetrameter couplets that end on a male stress. This is just a poetic way of saying that there are eight lines that are rhymed in groups of two. These lines each have four stressed-unstressed feet (dum-de) with the last one ending on a stress.
Something neat about the course or refrain is note all the long vowels in it. For example, see how long you can say “Hark” versus “Christ“ (first word of verse two). These allow for the words to be sustained which has a strong effect for the course. Of course, they’re not as long as the ones in the course of another Christmas song we sang last Sunday “Angels We Have Heard on High” – “Gloria In Excelsis Deo,Gloria In Excelsis Deo.” But it’s hard to beat Latin for long vowels!
The content of this song is really good, too, and that’s a key that makes it a good song. The first verse calls all to proclaim the birth of Christ; the second tells of his incarnation and birth; and the third of his glorious work. There is significant biblical language and theology in this. For example, note verse three-
“Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!”
Prince of Peace is one of the titles of Messiah given in Isaiah 9:6
“Hail the Sun of Righteousness!”
Sun of Righteousness is another title for the Messiah at his glorious second coming giving in Malachi 4:2
“Light and life to all He brings,”
This is a reference to the Gospel of John (1:4, 9) where the Lord Jesus is said to be the light gives life to all.
“Ris’n with healing in His wings.”
This is another reference to the Prophet Malachi 4:2 speaking of the work of Messiah at his return.
“Mild He lays His glory by,”
This seems to be a reference to the Apostle Paul‘s Epistle to the Philippians (2:6-8). This passage (2:6-11) may actually be an early hymn of the church.
“Born that man no more may die,”
This seems to be another reference to the Gospel of John, the account of the raising of Lazarus (John 11:26).
“Born to raise the sons of earth,”
This looks like a reference to a dialogue of the Lord Jesus Christ recorded in the Gospel of John (6:40).
“Born to give them second birth.”
This refers to the Lord Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus in the Gospel of John chapter 3.
There are a number of ways to sing and enjoy songs like this. One way is to sing it as if you’re singing it for the first time and you’ve never heard of any of it before. Another way is to sing it with the knowledge of all the references and all that is stated and implied in each reference forming a sort of spiritual counterpoint to the experience.
“Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel” (or “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”) is the first Christmas song we sang at the Chapel this Christmas season.
“Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel”
Text: Latin him from the 1300s; tr. John Mason Neale
1. Oh, come, Oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain: Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
2. Oh, come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Refrain: Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
3. Oh, come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
And drive away the shades of night,
And pierce the clouds and bring us light!
Refrain: Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
4. Oh, come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high
And close the path to misery
Refrain: Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
This version has four stanzas each followed by a refrain. There are 4 feet per line and feet are iambic (de-dum, de-dum). The first two lines of each stanza rhyme with each other, and the last two lines of each stanza rhyme with each other, too. Also, the two line of the refrain rhyme with each other.
There is so much biblical imagery in this poem. For example, Emmanuel is from the prophet Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew meaning “God with us.” “Rod of Jesse” is another messianic title (Isaiah 11:1-2). “Key of David“ is also from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 22:22).
Ceil Rosen, the wife of Moshe Rosen (The founder of Jews for Jesus) has a connection with this song, too – “The winter I was sixteen, my high school chorus had a major role in our school’s Christmas program…Dressed in long skirts and head scarves to approximate biblical garb, we moved across the stage in a kind of slow dance, singing, ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel.’ Though we had rehearsed those words many times, I suddenly found myself pondering their meaning. Was there something true about Jesus being for us Jews?”
You can read the rest of her testimony and how she helped lead her husband to Jesus the Messiah at Jews For Jesus
Music and singing is not only very enjoyable but a powerful influence, too.
We have free evangelism resources for this Christmas at the Chapel.
These include Christmas bracelets that say “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.”
Also, two Christmas buttons with “Jesus, our Living Hope – Merry Christmas” or “Jesus, He came for you – Merry Christmas.” Pick the one you like, they both have a good message. Jesus did come for all of us, and He is our living hope, for He rose from the dead.
We also have two gospel tracts you can give out during the Christmas season. One is a general Christmas gospel tract, “Jesus – The Real Meaning of Christmas.” This one presents the gospel in a Christmas context with a number of Bible verses from the Old and New Testament.
The other is “How to Recognize the Messiah.“ This one would be good for anyone but is particularly for Jewish people. It presents the gospel with a number of fulfilled messianic prophecies particularly about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
