Beit Yeshua
2016
January to June
LINKS
PURIM
The Feast of
Esther
PESACH
The Feast of
Passover
Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you.
Psalm 132:13-18
For Adonai has chosen Tziyon, He has wanted it as his home. "This is my resting-place forever, I will live here because I so much want to. I will bless it with plenty of meat, I will give its poor their fill of food. Its cohanim (priests) I will clothe with salvation, and its faithful will shout for joy. I will make a king sprout there from David's line and prepare a lamp for my Anointed One. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on Him there will be a shining crown." Deuteronomy 16:11
And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there. PURIM - The Feast of Esther
Beit Yeshua gathered on Friday, March 18th, 2016, at the home of Chuck & Janice Anthony, in Lincolnton, NC, to celebrate the Feast of PURIM. Purim, also called "The Feast of Lots", is mentioned in the book of Esther and tells us how GOD used Queen Esther, a Jew, to save the Jewish people from annihilation by the evil Haman, an Agagite. Janice welcomes the Sabbath as she lights Shabbat candles
Thanking the Father for His blessings and welcoming the Ruach/Spirit of GodChuck says the blessings over the bread and wine
Everyone participates as a remembrance of Yeshua's sacrifice for us
"Here's Looking at You, Esther" The 2016 Purim Shpiel (Play) was a parody based on the 1942 movie "Casablanca"
King enjoys some root beer while Sam plays the piano - All is going well in ShushanKing sends for Vashti - wanting to show off her beauty to all in Shushan
King sends his trusted officials, Aladin and Teresh, to fetch Queen Vashti
Vashti, however, refuses to go - even though her friend Jasmine encourages her to go
So, King decides to "dump" Queen Vashtti and choose a new queen - a "younger" queen
A beauty contest was held in Shusham where all the beautiful girls in the kingdom came
Teresh and Aladin served as Master-of-Ceremonies - I think it went to their heads "just a little"
Not only were the contestants beautiful, they were also VERY talented - Miss Chaldea sang a song she has written just for King
"I love Root Beer, yes I do… I love Root Beer, how about you? I love Root Beer, it’s so fine … and I drink it all the time."
Miss Babylon planned to re-enact the creation of the universe using homemade finger puppets
We had heard she was quite talented but she never could find those finger puppets in her pocket book
I heard she did finally find them - but not until the Beauty Contest was over - and then it was the wrong puppets Miss Shushan showed us her talent as a contortionist - There for a while we were a little afraid she was gonna hurt herself!
We heard she was the "daughter" of Miss Babylon - which should have immediately disqualified both of them from the contest
Miss Persia Media was the dancer in the group - She even invited the audience to join her as she danced "The Chicken Dance"
That was SOMETHING to see!
If you missed our Purim Celebration and want to learn this widely popular dance
CLICK HEREMiss Lincolnton was a renowned linguist - well know for her ability to not only speak, but also able to understand "Southern"
BUT, that girl was bind as a bat! I don't know how many pairs of glass she had to borrow before she could finally read that script!
A poem in "Southern" by Miss Lincolnton "You-uns should-a knowed me when I was yung
With a fair complexion and purdy hi-ya
I was so hot, I was almost on fi-ya"TRANSLATION:
You should have known me when I was young
With a fair complexion and pretty hair
I was so hot, I was almost on fire.King finally saw the girl he wanted as his new queen - Her name was Esther
But he was tremendously distraught because she was standing with a man that King assumed was her husbandKing was pleased to learn that the man with Esther was her cousin Mordechai - So Esther was crowned Queen of Shushan 
As time passed, King promoted Haman to the position of Top Advisor to the King
But, Haman hated the Jews - and made a plan to have all of them killed - including MordechaiQueen Esther was concerned for her people when she learned of Haman's plans
No one knew that Esther, herself, was a JewSo, she went to King to plead for her life and that of her people - When King asked her who she was talking about
She said, "It's that evil man over there - Haman!"When King learned what Haman had planned, he order that he be hanged! 
King ordered that Mordechai be elevated to the top position in the kingdom - and become his royal advisor
after which King announces that he and Vashti are taking a trip to Disney WorldMordechai and Sam sit back and enjoy of bottle of Root Beer GROUP SHOTS King's Royal Court
Queen Vashti (Janice), King (Grady), Jasmine (Lynda) and Sam (Doug)King & Sam with the Beauty Contestants
Miss Chaldea (Susan), Miss Shushan (Allie), Miss Persia Media (Myrl), Esther (Debbie), Miss Babylon (Iline) and Miss Lincolnton (Rita)Others in King's Court
Haman (Kirk), Teresh (Dan), Aladin (Sean), Esther (Debbie), King (Grady), Mordechai (Chuck) and Sam (Doug)As always, everyone enjoyed the parody songs that Curtis had written to accompany the play 
A Few of Our Fun Songs SONG: The Purim Bunch
Tune: The Brady Bunch
It’s the story of a Feast called Purim,
Comes in Adar, each and every year,
And the plans by Haman to kill the Jews,
They lived in so much fear.
It’s the story of a Jew named named Esther,
Who decided to go before the King,
Even though she knew it could mean her life,
She had to do this thing.
Well the King heard what Esther was saying,
On the day that she invited him to lunch,
And this story is written in the Bible,
And the way they all became the Purim Bunch.
The Purim Bunch,
The Purim Bunch,
God delivered them all at Esther’s lunch.SONG: King Needs a Queen
Tune: Singing in the Rain
Oh, King needs a Queen,
Oh, King needs a Queen,
The prettiest gal that he’s ever seen,
Vashti’s gone, now he’s on his throne,
Spending his days and his nights all alone,
The stars up above, Say he’s ready for love,
He looked at the new, but they wouldn’t do,
Still all the girls in the kingdom want to see,
Just who this new Queen will be.
SONG: King, Oh King
Tune: Bicycle Built For Two (Daisy)
(Haman & Men)
King, Oh King, Give me your answer do,
I’m half crazy, all because of those Jews,
They won’t even bow to me,
Your wrath they need to see,
If you’ll do this, I can live in bliss,
And a wonderful King you’ll be.
(Esther & Ladies)
King, Oh King, Give me your answer do!
My life’s in danger, just because I’m a Jew,
Haman gave your decree,
It even affected me,
Without you, What would I do
A dead Queen I’d surely be.
Thanks to Paul Miles for taking our photos and to all those who attended and participated in the 2016 Purim Celebration PESACH Beit Yeshua celebrated their 16th annual Pesach/Passover Seder on Friday, April 22, 2016, 7:00 to 9:45 p.m.
205 guests registered for the event and about 185 actually attending.We've used "low seating" as part of our Pesach experience for the last 10 years, but 2016 was the year we went with all "regular seating"
We kept the round tables, but replaced the low tables at the front with regular rectangular tablesEach table was arranged with Haggadahs, a bowl of water and cloth for hand washing, candles and a Seder plate
The Seder plates held the traditional items of Pesach - Parsley, Salt Water, Horseradish, Charoset, Roasted Egg and the Shank Bone of a Lamb
Guests chat as they wait for the events of the evening to begin - including Alex, Tim and Paul 
Curtis chats with Ze'ev Nevo, of Israel Media Ministries, and enjoyed the opportunity to meet his wife and children - as did many others
Ze'ev is a Jewish Believer from Israel with a wonderful testimony and ministry
Myrl add parsley to all the Seder plates while chatting with guests We're always so blessed to have Cathy Hargett of Highway to Zion Ministries and her guests with us at Pesach
I'm please to say that Beit Yeshua and Highway to Zion frequently minister and serve together
Cathy leads annual tours to Israel - If you've never been, you should definitely go with Cathy
In the background, Carolee chats with Fran (who also had a number of guests at the 2016 Seder
Robbie chats with Barbara as well as DeniseAnn and Rick 
(Left to Right) Jeff with Gloria & Brittany; Gloria with Doug & Cami; Tim and Jonathan 
Thanks to Dora and Alfredia and all the guests who came with them; Many of these folks had never been to a Pesach Seder before 
Shofarot are sounded to announce the first night of Pesach Guests are invited to sing The Sh'ma and recite The Blessing for Salvation in Messiah Sh'ma Yisrael
Sh’ma Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad.
Baruch shem kvod Malchuto, Le’olam va’ed.
Hear, O Israel! The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
Blessed be His Name & His glorious kingdom forever and ever.
Blessing For Salvation in Messiah
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech Ha’Olam,
Asher natan lanu et de-rech ha’Yeshua B’Mashiach Yeshua,
Baruch Hu. Amein!
Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe,
Who gave to us the way of salvation in the Messiah Yeshua.
Blessed be He! Amen!Some found the Hebrew a little challenging, but most were willing to give it a try 
Chuck welcomes everyone and introduced special guests In addition to Cathy from Highway to Zion and Ze'ev from Israel Media Ministries,
we were also pleased to have Pastor Bill Carrier, Pastor Ryan Kirby, Pastor Brenda Miller and Bishop Nathaniel Miller with usPaul tells everyone in attendance a little bit about Beit Yeshua Curtis introduced Ze'ev Nevo and asked him to share briefly about Israel Media Ministries 
Curtis always leads the group in a time of Praise, Worship and Israeli Folk Dance
There is always a spirit of freedom at Pesach - even the men and boys are willing to get up and participate in the dance 
2016 Pesach Dance Video 
The Seder Once again, Curtis and Doug co-led the Seder at Beit Yeshua
One of their favorite things about the 2016 Seder was being able to sit with their wives and family
Susan led the ladies as one lady at each table was asked to light Pesach candles Susan, Mary and Angel lit Pesach candles at their tables 
The first cup of juice, the Cup of Sanctification, is poured, bless and drunk 
We wash our hands during Passover because we are priests before the LORD and the table before us is His altar
Who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy Place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart. (Psalm 24:3-4)
Pesach/Passover is a holiday that comes in the springtime, when the earth is becoming green with life. This vegetable, called karpas (parsley), represents life, created and sustained by Almighty God. Life in Egypt for the children of Israel was a life of pain, suffering, and tears, represented by the salt water that was on each table. As everyone dipped the parsley into the salt water, they were reminded that life is sometimes immersed in tears.
James, Jennifer, Dewey, Kaleb, Bianca and Glory share the experience together 
Kara Jane asked the Four Questions 
1. On all other nights we eat bread or matzah. Why on this night do we eat only matzah?
2. On all other night we eat all kinds of vegetables. Why on this night do we eat only bitter herbs?
3. On all other nights we do not dip our vegetables even once. Why on this night do we dip them twice?
4. On all other nights we eat our meals sitting or reclining. Why on this night do we eat reclining?
The middle piece of matzah is lifted up and broken 
These three matzot are wrapped together for Passover. There are various explanations for this ceremony. The rabbis call these three a “Unity”. Some consider it a unity of the patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Others explain it as a unity of worship - the priests, the Levites, and the people of Israel. We who know Messiah can also see in this the unique tri-unity of Yahweh – the Father, Yeshua – the Son, and Ruach Ha Kodesh – the Holy Spirit. Three in one. In the matzah we can see a picture of Messiah. See how it is striped. See how it is pierced. Just as the middle piece of the "bread of affliction" is broken, Messiah, too, was afflicted and broken. One half is now called the Afikomen - the dessert. It is wrapped in a white cloth just as Messiah’s body was wrapped for burial. Just as the Afikomen will be hidden, so, too, Messiahw as placed in a tomb, and hidden for a time. But just as the Afikomen will return to complete our Passover Seder, so the sinless Messiah rose from the dead to ascend into heaven and will return for His Bride.
After the matzah is tasted, Curtis hands Andi the Afikomen to hide Doug lifted up the Maror/Horseradish and asked everyone to scoop some onto a piece of matzah 
On all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but on Passover we eat only maror, bitter herbs. As sweet as our lives are today, let us still remember how bitter life was for the children of Israel in the land of Egypt. As we scoop some maror (horseradish) onto a piece of matzah, let us allow the bitter taste to cause us to shed tears of compassion for the sorrow that the children of Israel knew thousands of years ago.
Families All Around the Family Life Center Taste the Matza and Horseradish
We encourage them to get a BIG scoop of horseradishRita, Miriam, Tim and Crystal Doug, Lisa, Iline, Stacy and Merryl - with the Jimison and Ulrich families in the background Gideon, Christy and Kara Jane Everyone is asked to scoop horseradish and kharoset onto a piece of matzah 
On all other nights we do not dip our vegetables even once, but tonight we dip them twice. We have already dipped the parsley into the salt water. Now we dip the bitter herbs into the kharoset. The children of Israel toiled to make treasure cities for Pharaoh, working in brick and clay. We remember this task in a mixture called kharoset, made from chopped apples, honey, huts, and wine. Let us once again scoop some bitter herbs onto a small piece of matzah. But this time, before we eat, let us dip the herbs into the sweet kharoset. What is the spiritual meaning of eating the bitter herbs and kharoset together? We have all had bitter experiences in our lives. The message God is communicating to us is His desire for us to press through the bitterness to experience the sweetness. The horseradish represents the trials and tribulations which come into our lives. Like the horseradish, many trials and tribulations are so bitter they make us cry. If we allow these trials and tribulations to make us bitter toward God, we will never experience the sweetness of God’s deliverance for our life. However, if we press through them, with God’s help, we will taste and experience the sweetness of His promises contained in His Word for us.
James, Jennifer, Dewey, Kaleb, Bianca and Glory share the matzah, horseradish and kharoset Carolee, Alex, Andy, Jane, Dan and Mary 
(Left) Jay, Natalia, Stacy and Jace; (Right) Pastor Carriers Family - Lisa, Mildred, Emily and Amy 
Bonnie, Ambrosia, Cayla, Jonathan and Andi Our 4 Readers (Alex, Carolyn, Janice and Chuck) told the story of Passover 
As the 12 plagues of Egypt are recited three times, a drop of grape juice in placed on a napkin 
"Blood, Frogs, Lice, Beasts, Cattle Disease, Boils, Hail, Locusts, Darkness, Death of the Firstborn" 
The shank bone from a lamb and the egg were explained 
The traditional songs "Dayenu" (It Would Have Been Enough) and "Eliyahu Ha'Navi" (Elijah the Prophet) were sung After Doug blessed the LORD for the food, we paused for the covered-dish meal - Two sets of tables were set up to expedite food service 
It's hard to manage a "kosher for Passover" covered-dish meal - especially when we have so many guests who have never been to a Seder before
Guest were encouraged to avoid cooking with any type of leaven and those things made with wheat, flour, oats, etc.After the covered-dish meal, the Afikomen was "redeemed" from the little girl who found it and the last part of the Seder resumed 
The fourth cup of juice, the Cup of Praise, is drunk and the Seder ends with the traditional greeting,
"La’Shana ha ba’ah bi Yerushalayim" - "Next Year in Jerusalem"Thanks to everyone who helped make the 2016 Beit Yeshua Passover Seder a success. It was a very "sweet" meeting this year. Our greatest thanks the LORD for meeting with us. We also want to thank those of you who helped with set-up and clean-up; those of you who invited guests and then took the responsibility to explain to them how to cook for Passover; those of you who traveled great distances; those who did our sound, worked with the overhead and took photos; to those Pastors and Minsitry Leaders who took time out of your busy schedule year-after-year to be a part of Beit Yeshua's Passover Seder. We love you all. "Part" of the 2016 Pesach/Passover set-up crew Zechariah 12:2-3,10
2“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3“It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.
10“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
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