We are excited to be hosting a long awaited and exciting Bible study in our home. It’s a 10 week long discipleship course and we are really excited about it! Students who have been through the study are very excited about it, too. You can read some of their responses here. We will meet together in our home on Sunday evenings and plan to include dinner and Bible study as well as some time for fun after our study is complete.
The study is called HaYesod which means The Foundation in Hebrew. The HaYesod Discipleship Course is designed to be a study introducing the average Christian to the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith, but it is also a great study for those who are already familiar with the Jewishness of the Gospel of Messiah. Each lesson is supported by respected Jewish and Christian sources to help students gain a comprehensive understanding of the land, the people and the Scriptures of Israel. Together we will dive into the historical and cultural context of various aspects of the Bible in a fun and interactive setting. But the study is not to be feared or to be intimidating! It is a gentle introduction and each session will build upon the lessons taught in the previous sessions.
The HaYesod Discipleship Course assumes that those participating in the study have a basic level of biblical literacy and are personally invested in their spiritual growth and maturity in God’s Word. The study will excite and strengthen students’ faith in and devotion to Jesus (Yeshua) the Messiah and encourage all believers to live holy and godly lives while together we wait for the return of our Messiah.
Discipleship groups are forming now. If you are interested in finding a group in your area, browse the Study Group Directory to find a group in your area.
So, just what are the topics of study? I’m glad you asked.
Lesson 1: Our Foundation—His Torah
The main points in Lesson one discuss the revelation, inspiration, infallibility, inerrancy, and authority of the Bible. Lesson one teaches students that Torah means “instruction” and not “law” and the function of the Torah for both believers and unbelievers.
Lesson 2: Our Birthright—His Salvation
Lesson two teaches about the new identity we receive through the righteousness of Messiah when we become believers. We learn that grace and law are not opposites, however grace and legalism are opposites. Progressive revelation and the means of salvation in the “Old Testament” are also discussed.
Lesson 3: Our Connection—His Covenants
The Bible is the story of a series of covenants. Lesson three teaches us what covenants are and how they were used in the ancient near east. Various covenants in the Bible are compared and we discover that later covenants are built upon previous ones and do not cancel them out.
Lesson 4: Our Rabbi—His Teachings
It is one thing to know Yeshua as Savior; it is something else to know him as Teacher. The fourth lesson will introduce students to Torah teacher and Rabbi, Yeshua of Nazareth, within His first-century context. Yeshua our Messiah is the Living Torah, He came to properly interpret the Torah – not to cancel or replace it.
Lesson 5: Our Call—His Yoke
What does it mean to be a disciple? Lesson five brings students back to a first-century Jewish understanding of discipleship. We learn about the relationship between a Rabbi and his Disciple, a Teacher and his student and how that applies to us today.
Lesson 6: Our Identity—His Apostle
What about the Apostle Paul? Lesson six introduces students to Paul, the misunderstood man, and digs a little deeper into the major issues that defined his life. Because Church theology is based more on the teachings of Paul than on even the teachings of Yeshua the Messiah, it is important to understand Paul and his relationship to Judaism.
Lesson 7: Our Mail—His Letters
Lesson seven clarifies several key passages in Paul’s epistles by placing them back into their original context. This lesson will discuss texts from Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians.
Lesson 8: Our Calendar—His Appointments
Lesson eight introduces the times that God established for assembly and worship, and that these times create a cycle of sanctification. These appointed times are a foreshadow of things yet to come.
Lesson 9: Our Boundaries—His Commandments
Lesson 9 demonstrates the simple wisdom of living according to God’s instructions by highlighting a few simple commandments that are found in the Torah. The difference between applicable and non-applicable commands are discussed and how the Torah teaches us to love God and love our neighbor.
Lesson 10: Our Walk—His Path
Lesson ten explores the relationship of Christianity and Judaism while revealing the place of the believer in the midst of the people of Israel. We will examine the prophetic destiny of the Jewish people and of Gentile believers. We will discuss the concept of being “grafted in” to Israel and sort through some implications for both Jewish and Gentile believers. At the conclusion of lesson ten, a new yesod (foundation) for a life of study and growth in God’s Word has been revealed.
Here’s how we plan the evenings:
- Dinner together, potluck style. The early church recognized the importance of sharing meals together as one important form of fellowship. Besides, evening studies often make dinner time difficult and we want to help reduce the stress and hustle of the evening for everyone. If everyone brings something small, together we’ll have enough. Whether you pick something up on the way or start something in a crock pot that morning, it’ll all work out fine. We’ll start with our evening meal at 6:00.
- 60+ minute study session The study includes a portion of teaching by video and group discussion. We’ll start our study session promptly at 6:30. If you cannot join us for dinner, please join us on time for the study.
- Ending our evening with some fun “A quick game or dessert anyone?” Who said study groups have to be boring and lifeless? We’ve got an air hockey table and other short games downstairs for students (or parents!) to challenge one another to a quick game and for those who would rather sit and talk, we’ve got comfy chairs and coffee or tea as well.
- Time? – The whole evening is intended to run from 6 to 8 so you can get home at a decent hour. We will do our absolute best to begin and end on time because time is a very valuable commodity, and we recognize that.
- What about the kids? We want to encourage families to study and learn together, even those with younger children. We have in the past studied with families that have young children who sat at a small table next to their parents and colored or played quietly with their toys while we study the Word. We have not had any trouble with this arrangement in the past and we don’t expect we would have any trouble this time either. Children are not a distraction, they are a blessing.
Some important things you may be wondering about:
- There are student manuals that each student will be required to purchase. These manuals will assist you, the student, as you walk through this study with us. The beautifully illustrated workbook includes detailed lesson outlines, a glossary of terms, pertinent Scripture quotations, references and citations, additional sources and more.
- Should interest in this study be large enough, we will host the HaYesod Study Group two nights a week, adding the second night once we have enough registered students.
- Also, if there is enough interest we will have a Young Adult group (for those in their teens and early 20′s) led by our young adult children. We need at least 5 young adult students to commit to the study before we will begin a separate evening for young adults.
- Our study is not intended to draw anyone away from their current church home! This study is a supplement to your own walk with the Father. We realize that of our friends, family, co-workers and neighbors come from different backgrounds and that each of us has our own personal walk with the L-RD. We also recognize that each person involved in this study will bring valuable and unique insights, experiences and testimonies to how G-d has worked in their own lives. We encourage our study group members to share together and learn from one another. While our study time will be based on the HaYesod program, there is much we can learn from one another in our fellowship times and as we share life together. Each one of us has valuable things to share and each of us has things that the Father wants us to learn. We are all “on the same team”, serving the same Master.
- If you are interested in this discipleship study group but you are not in Bellingham or Whatcom County, you can browse through the HaYesod Student Group Directory to see if there is a group in your area.
