Koinonia Institute Small Group Fellowship (KISGF) The Week of March 30, 2015 Dan Stolebarger

Transcription

1 Koinonia Institute Small Group Fellowship (KISGF) The Week of March 30, 2015 Dan Stolebarger

2 Introductory YouTube KISGF To sign up for KISGF just go to koinoniainstitute.org/subscribe and click the KI Small Group box

3 Upcoming Israel Tours BEREAN TOUR APRIL 26 - MAY 4, 2015 For more info check out the following YouTube at

4 Tonight s Worship Hold Me Together list=plfpk8ndmxbhzuryqf3efekpae1rjycvt-

5 Koinonia Institute Small Group Fellowship ISSACHAR REPORT The Week of March 30, 2015 Dan Stolebarger

6 Obama-Mania President Obama s hostility towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is creating a backlash in congress, Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ)told The Washington Post in an interview published on Friday. This backlash is beginning to damage the President s agenda with respect to Iran and Israel. ALGEMEINER Obama: Netanyahu s anti-arab remarks risk eroding Israeli democracy. President dismayed by PM s Arabs voting in droves comment, says he has to rethink policy given Netanyahu s ruling out of Palestinian statehood The TIMES of ISRAEL

7 A reporter for the Associated Press questioned State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki on Tuesday about the harsh tone the administration has taken towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while letting Iran s leader slide for chanting death to America last week. Why are you just willing to let that slide, basically, and you are holding the prime minister of Israel to comments that he made and has since changed but you refuse to comment on the Ayatollah leading the chants DEATH to AMERICA? ALGEMEINER

8 White House Was Part of Bid to Oust Netanyahu The White House is driven by three main motives, the senior official said. The first is revenge [over the Congress speech]. The second is frustration: It s no secret that they were involved in an attempt to bring down the Netanyahu government something that we have clear knowledge of and failed. The third [motive] is the administration s attempt to divert attention from the negotiations with Iran to the Palestinian issue. The TIMES of ISRAEL

9 J-Street Conference White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough at the J Street annual conference, in which he stated that "an occupation that has lasted for almost 50 years must end." The editorial noted the fact that public comments made by the chief of staff must almost certainly be approved by the president himself, adding that it is "all the more distressing that Mr. McDonough would talk about Israel in language usually associated with Palestinian terror groups." The Journal went on to say that Obama had hoped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not win re-election and added that "the president did what he could to help that defeat along," but that after Netanyahu's victory, Obama did not "soften the rhetoric and seek to restore relationships" as would be expected. "Instead," the piece continued, "the president and his team seem out for revenge. ISRAEL HAYOM

10 Bomb Threat Uncovered Israeli security personnel arrested six Palestinian men suspected of belonging to a Hamas cell in the West Bank that was plotting to carry out bombings in Israel, the Shin Bet security service said Sunday. A joint operation by the Shin Bet security service, Israel Police and IDF uncovered the cell in the West Bank city of Nabulus and found dozens of pounds of sulfur and several grams of mercury fulminate, components for explosives, the security agency said in a statement. The TIMES of ISRAEL

11 Hamas Tunneling Frustrated residents on Israel s border with Gaza have reported hearing sounds of digging coming from under their houses, Israel s Channel 2 said on Monday. According to the report, the locals are convinced that Hamas, the terror group that controls the coastal enclave, has returned to its construction of terror tunnels at full pace. ALGEMEINER

12 Hezbollah Preparing for War The Lebanon-Israel border has been relatively quiet over the past several months, with no incidents recorded since January. But war could be on the way - and it will cost billions of shekels. Military Intelligence officials, and the IDF, are all preparing for an inevitable full-fledged war with Hezbollah, due, at least in part, to the increasing boldness of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. "Today more than ever, Nasrallah is willing to take risks with Israel that could get out of hand, instead of being perceived by Israel as weak," a senior defense official told the daily. As such, Hezbollah has become more brazen in its open readiness to attack Israel, military sources stated. According to several IDF reports, Hezbollah terrorists have begun openly patrolling up and down the border - sometimes in civilian clothing, sometimes wearing Lebanese Army uniforms - and documenting on camera what happens each day on the border fence and documenting "engineering work. THE EMET REPORT

13 Rivlin to Task Bibi to Form New Government Sixty-seven MKs endorsed Likud leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel's next prime minister while only 29 recommended Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog for the position, as President Reuven Rivlin on Monday concluded his consultations with the delegates of the parties elected to the 20th Knesset. ISRAEL HAYOM

14 Obama s Best Friends REMOVE MOSQUES FROM WESTERN COUNTRIES Speaking to a delegation in Kuwait, Sheikh Abdullah, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, called for the destruction of all churches in the Arabian Peninsula after legislators in the Gulf state of Kuwait moved to pass laws banning the construction of religious sites associated with Christianity. (This call was made by high-ranking representative of Saudi Arabia - the 'best friend' of President Obama!) The SHAMRAK Report THE BEST FRIEND HAS ENEMIES IN CHARGE! US President Barack Obama is "committed" to a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Kerry held talks with PA president Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II on the Middle East peace process (Israel was excluded). The four leaders discussed creating an environment to push forward (force Israel) the peace process to reach a comprehensive and just peace in the region. (Is Obama "committed" to return South-Western US to Mexico or Hawaii to Japan? They have more legitimate claims than the fake Palestinians on Jewish land, Eretz-Israel!) The SHAMRAK Report

15 New Poll A new survey of Palestinian attitudes show that the vast majority harbor exceedingly violent feelings against Israeli Jews. While over two-thirds of respondents said they favored rocket attacks and 37% supported an armed intifada against Israel. When asked how the Palestinian "resistance" movement should be handled, only 30% responded that non-violence was the appropriate way. The poll results were published Thursday. Poll: 68% of Palestinians support rocket fire against Israel

16 Sources Jerusalem Post Israel Hayom The Times of Israel PMW Jerusalem Connection The Emet Report Behold Israel - Amir Tsarfati Algemeiner Jane Ben-Ari Caroline Glick Michael Utterback Tisha Michelle Yaniv Bar Earl Cox Ynet Shamrak Report The Israel Project

17 Koinonia Institute Small Group Fellowship BEREAN DEVOTIONAL The Week of March 30, 2015 Dan Stolebarger

18 Berean Devotional COMMENTS: Last week we sat through a teaching from the book of Jonah given by a dear Jewish friend. However there was one phrase that comes to mind when he was speaking about the repentance of the Ninevehites: They repented from what was in their hand not from what was hidden. 14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You. 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. Jonah 1:14-16

19 11 Make vows to the Lord your God, and pay them; Psalm 76 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When a man consecrates by a vow certain persons to the Lord, Lev When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22 But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. 23 That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth. Deut. 23:21-23

20 Reflections Comments: The major lesson is that God expects us to keep our commitments to Him and to be honest in all of our dealings with Him. Vows are voluntary, but if a promise is made to God, it is essential that it be fulfilled! What is true repentance? How does making vows fit into all of this? We know that Jesus paid it all but do we have a part to play in Restoration? How often is our repentance like those from Nineveh - repent just enough to avoid judgement? The darkness of the days we are entering require that we clean up our acts and become beacons that will shine brighter than ever. Friends just remember these two words - BEHAVIOR MATTERS!

21 SG Discussion Questions MATTHEW 1. Why do you think it is so IMPORTANT to know your Bible? (Matthew 4) 2. What does it mean to you to hunger and thirst after righteousness? (Matthew 5) PSALMS 1. What are your reflections on Psalm 77? What are you remembering in regards to the works of the Lord in your life? 2. Psalm 78 (as well as the Passover Seder) speaks of teaching our children the wonderful works of the Lord. What personal stories can you tell in regard to how God has dealt with you? LEVITCUS 1. What pictures of Jesus do you see in Leviticus 24? 2. What does Leviticus 25 say in regards to the so-called two state solution?

22 Prayer List HEALING John Hill - cancer Sandy Brazil - cataract surgery Daniela Lillie - Cancer in her lung and liver / radiation starts soon Sharon Stolebarger - sprained wrist Trevor Stolebarger - healing from gastroparesis Lucas Stolebarger - healing of body, soul and spirit Jane Ben-Ari - complete healing and recovery from aneurysm Katie Stolebarger - healing for stage 4 breast cancer Dick Suedkamp - Healing, self forgiveness and family reconciliation Nancy Missler - complete healing Mark Missler - complete healing Barrie MacConnell - complete healing from cancer Chuck Hughes - shoulder surgery Ronnie Thacker s marriage Errol Block - Healing/Replacement of my heart, liver, kidneys and spleen David Essing-further healing and reduction of pain David Barton-heart problems Elain Vangrevenhof-cancer Renee Holly - chest pains and lost feeling in her legs Frances Drake - Complete healing Richard Morgan - continued healing John Minor - complete healing SALVATION Rita May - salvation Cesar Mardueno Demitrix Elias Traci - family members, James, Chandra, Trashawn, Semaj, Lani, Gertie, Marsha, Mark, Albert, Andrew, & Pete Jacob Wendel EMPLOYMENT Ken Matthews - Please pray that I would be able to obtain a government job in Baltimore to alleviate my long commute to Washington DC. Peter Morgan Peggi Underwood Enoch Campbell Brad Winters OTHER Mona Lisa Hogg - to find a new home Bruce Wilson - starting a new Study Group Jessica- new, but sincere believer with many obstacles. Ev True - buyer for his house due to several health complications Deborah Jones - mission trip Mount Zion Rd. Church of the Brethren-search for a new pastor. Unity of congregation. Susie Meyerink - raise up Christian Leaders for the MOPS Mandurah GROUND Engineering - pray for the dismissal of lawsuits For the Peace of Jerusalem - Psalm 122:6 Persecuted Christians specifically in Northern Iraq and worldwide Yaniv and Miri Bar - Friends in Israel Ted and Linda Walker - New Ministry Opportunity in Israel Spring Israel Tour Our Talmidim Work Crew who will be arriving in March Nick and Veronica's marriage Healed Marriage for Duval Healed Marriage for Johanna Lopez Healed Marriage for Sam and Frances Jackson The KI German translation team

23 Thanksgiving Thanks and praises-david Essing-it looks like this may be the end of the surgeries and God's work in the recovery is obvious. Pastor Jerome Harris came through the bone marrow transplant successfully. Tyson Brooks - Successful ankle surgery 2015 ISOD - Great memories 2015 TALIMIDIM - Jobs WELL DONE! Mark Lillie (Daniela s husband) got a job close to home!

24 February Reading Schedule Mar 30 Matthew 9 / Psalm 81 / Numbers 2 Mar 31 Matthew 10 / Psalm 82 / Numbers 3 Apr 1 Matthew 11 / Psalm 83 / Numbers 4 Apr 2 Matthew 12 / Psalm 84 / Numbers 5 Apr 3 Matthew 13 / Psalm 85 / Numbers 6

25 For more information about Koinonia Institute go to koinoniainstitute.org For more information about any of our upcoming Israel Tours, please contact Sharon Stolebarger at: