Best of Israel Pictures

Best of Israel Pictures
These are a compilation of the top pictures of my Trip to the Holy Land!

Home from the Holy Land

I'm home from the Holy Land,
I'm hoping to have a review of my trip in the next couple of days!
Thanks for checking out my blog, last group of pictures are posted.

Day 9 - 10 of Israel Trip

Pictures of my Holy Land Trip Day 9 -10

Upper room singing

Group singing in the Upper room

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer

Video of Bells from Lutheran Church of the Redeemer

Last post from the Holy Land

This is my last official post from the Holy Land.


We are getting ready to pack up and load the bus at the hotel. We will be out and about all day and head to the airport in Tel Aviv around 7:00 p.m. tonight (11:00 a.m.Central Time). Then it's off to Atlanta for a 5:00 a.m. touchdown in Atlanta (4:00 a.m. Central) then a 7:00 a.m. flight and landing around 10:00 a.m. at DFW.
I will post pictures when I get home on Thursday.


Thanks for your prayers and i can't wait to share stories of my trip when I get back home.

Mount of Olives and Via Dolorosa Revisited

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"  Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

John 20:11-18 NRSV

Today was designated as a free day with an option to go to Masada (Herod the Great palace near the Dead Sea) and to swim (or actually float) in the Dead Sea.  I decided to pass on that to spend some extra time in the city of Jerusalem.  This was well worth my time as we visited the Mount of Olives again, stepped inside a couple of churches we didn’t have a chance to visit and re-walk the Via Dolorosa, again being able to take our time and step into some different churches along the way.  Today we saw the beautiful Russian Orthodox Church/Convent of Mary Magdalene (dedicated to the Mother of Czar Alexander the III), revisited the Church of Gethsemane and Dominus Flevit.  

The one surprise was the chance to visit the Church of the Assumption which is Saint Mary’s Tomb.  This came by accident, we were waiting on our bus and I looked down among the cemeteries by the Mount of Olives and I saw this old church down in the valley.  We walked down several steps and walked into this beautiful building.

On the Via Dolorosa, we had a chance to stop at the church of the Flagellation, which was closed for Mass yesterday and the Greek Orthodox location of Christ Prison.  Instead of a hurried frantic day rushing to and fro, it was nice to be able to contemplate a little more and really think about the stations of the cross.

Tomorrow we will visit the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, Gordon’s Calvary and the Garden Tomb in the afternoon.  The morning we will either visit King Hezekiah’s Tunnel, or I may try to make it up to the church of the Ascension and the Church of the Pater Noster. Hopefully tonight we will head back to the Wailing wall to see the start of the Shavout, Pentecost and the celebration of God giving Moses the 10 commandments.

Thanks for reading my blog and looking at my pictures. 

One more day in the Holy Land!

Day 8 of Israel Trip

Pictures of my Holy Land Trip Day 8

Via Dolorosa

And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; then they sat down there and kept watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." Matt 27:33-37 NRSV

Today was the day we walked the Via Dolorosa (The Way of Suffering). The traditional path that Jesus took on his way from Pilate’s headquarters, the Antonia Fortress, to Golgotha to be crucified. I’ve heard about the distance and the uneven path.  I can imagine the difficulty Christ had making all the way to Golgotha and really am surprised he made it all that way after all of the torture he received at the hands of the Roman soldiers.

The one feeling I had while walking the Via Dolorosa and visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is that this journey was all about Christ death.  Even though we spent time around the empty sepulcher I walked away from the church thinking more about the cross than the empty tomb.  Wednesday afternoon before we start our journey back home, we will have a chance to visit Gordon’s Calvary (the second site of the Crucifixion) and the Garden Tomb, I’m looking forward to the contrast I hear so much about.

Tomorrow is an open free day with an optional trip to Masada and the Dead Sea.  Even though I have originally planned on going on this expedition I’ve decided to hang back in Jerusalem.  There are so many churches that I would like to see and while the Dead Sea and King Herod’s Masada palace is something to see, I feel like my pilgrimage must continue in the city, to soak up all I can of the rich church history in Jerusalem.

Thanks for reading… 3 more days.

Day 7 of Israel Trip

Pictures of my Holy Land Trip Day 7

1st Century Jerusalem

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers."  For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, "Peace be within you." For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good. Ps 122:6-9 NRSV

Today was kind of a down day as we looked at 1^st Century Jerusalem.  We started going up to the Temple Mount and walked around the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.  I got to see Gethsemane from the Temple Mount and also pray at the Wailing Wall.  The highlight of my time around the Temple Mount would have to be when we went to the excavated 2^nd Temple steps dated back to 1^st Century Jerusalem. 

Our guide told us a story of Neil Armstrong who went to the Holy Land in the 80’s.  As his guide was showing him around the Old City, he was being shown the traditional site of this event in Jesus’ life and the traditional site of that event.  He asked the guide can you show me just one place that you know that Jesus actually was at.  His guide took him over to this newly excavated place and led Neil Armstrong onto the steps leading up to the 2^nd temple.  Neil Armstrong said that standing on the steps that Jesus actually stood on was more important to him then the steps he took on the moon. 

I can’t verify the accuracy of the story, however it sounds really cool.  I would have to say that standing under the temple mount on the steps that Jesus actually walked up and down is one of my highlights to this Holy Land trip.

If you take a look at my pictures, you will see several dedicated to the 60 AD Jerusalem model at the Israel Museum of Art. This is a 50:1 scale model of the city of Jerusalem circa. 60 AD. Ten years before the city was destroyed by the Romans.  This model showed what Jerusalem looked like when Jesus was on earth and helped bring together stories of the Gospels together.  Please take a look at the pictures posted below, I tried to give as much explanation as I could to the pictures, but I know I may be a little inaccurate with some of the captions, I will look them over again to check accuracy.

Tomorrow we visit the Pool of Bethesda, walk the Via Dolorosa, and finally the Visit to Jericho and the Qumran. Thanks for reading… 4 more days ‘till I’m home! 

Day 6 of Israel Trip

Pictures from my Holy Land Trip, Day 6

video

Video shot for Grace UMC, Sherman, TX from The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem

Mt. of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane and Bethlehem

As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.  Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side.  They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God."  Luke 19:41-44 NRSV

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 NRSV

Today was a mix of experiences, instead of making our way to Jericho and the Qumran Valley, we started out day at the Mount of Olives, walking the path that Jesus would have taken down to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Stopping at the place where Jesus wept over Jerusalem we then moved over to the Garden of Gethsemane.  If you watched the video Adam Hamilton put together about the last 24 hours before Jesus Christ was crucified, the video did not do it justice at all (I don’t know why I am surprised, I’m sure my pictures won’t do the area justice).

From there we headed over to the Palestinian Authority where Bethlehem is to visit the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherds’ Field.  There we saw the mixture of three different denominations that see over the cave where Christ was born. Green Orthodox, Armenian, and Roman Catholic influences are all over the church and the difference is immense. The only down side of the trip to the Church of the Nativity is that we couldn’t spend a lot of time down in the cave where Christ was born. Massive crowds lined the sanctuary of the church to go down to see the birth place of Jesus Christ.  On the upside, we did get to observe an Armenian worship service while we were at the church of the Nativity.

From there we went to the Shepherds’ Field to visit the place that the angels visited the Shepherds to proclaim that Jesus Christ was born. This filed is also important because it is the field that Ruth met Boaz (Ruth 2). Once again showing how tightly connected the Hebrew Bible is with the New Testament.  Another treat was having an impromptu worship service with the priest of the Church of the Shepherds’ Field and Christians from Ecuador.  We listened to the Christians from Ecuador chant in the church then the priest led us all in Angels We Have Heard on High. Needless to say it was beautiful.

Tomorrow we will visit the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mound followed by a trip to the Israel Museum and I believe Jericho. God bless you tomorrow as you head to worship.  I wish I could be there to hear Wilson from Kenya give his testimony.  

Thanks for reading, more to come tomorrow.

Day 5 of Israel Trip

Pictures of Day 5 from my trip to Israel

Northern Israel

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,  to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."  Luke 4:14-22 NRSV

After we packed up and left the Sea of Galilee, we climbed up to the city of Nazareth, passing through Cana (the place Jesus performed his first miracle). Unfortunately, we did not have time to stop at that Holy site or at the Church of the Annunciation (I do have a picture of the Church of the Annunciation unfortunately I don’t have one of the churches in Cana). However we ended up at the Mount of Precipice.  This is the place where following the above scripture, the people of Nazareth chased Jesus to and tried to throw him over the side, but he escaped through the crowd.

From this mountain, there is a 360 degree view of Lower Galilee and the Jezerel Valley (also known as the Valley of Armageddon).  From this place you are connected with stories of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. First of course is the childhood home of Jesus and where Mary heard from the Angel she was to give birth to Jesus.  Just to the east, almost like a suburb of Nazareth is the home town of the prophet Jonah.  Moving Clockwise from Nazareth around the 360 degrees, also in chronological order we see Mt. Tabor where the prophet Deborah took on the Canaanites in Judges 4, next is the hill of Moreh where Gideon took on the Middianites in Judges 7. The next Mountain visible is Mountain Gilboa where King Saul came to his death by running into his sword (1 Samuel 31). Finally to the West you can see Mt. Carmel where Elijah took on the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). It is easy to imagine an elder of Nazareth sitting down with the children and pointing to these mountains and sharing the stories with them over centuries.

Please take a look at my pictures there is a link in the post before.  There are pictures of above, Tel Megiddo, Caesarea by the Sea… which is gorgeous, and a couple of pictures of Jerusalem when we arrived this evening.

Tomorrow we celebrate the nativity as we head to Bethlehem, Jericho and the schedule says Qumran… I guess we will see. Thanks for reading!

Day 4 of Israel Trip

Day 4 of Israel Trip Pictures.

Top Ten List from Tracy

Tracy and one of her co-workers wrote me this Top 10 List for Israel... enjoy

Top 10 Things Chris shouldn’t do while visiting the Holy Land

#10 – pull on someone’s beard at the Wailing Wall.

#9 – Pee in the Sea of Galilee (I think I get bonus points on this one since it rhymes)

#8 – Call the American Consulate and ask him if his refrigerator is running! 

#7 – Order a pulled pork sandwich at a kosher restaurant.

#6 – with a side of fried pork skins!  And a diet coke

#5 – Ask a rabbi if the thing on his head is a really bad toupee. 

#4 – write his prayer on toilet paper for the Wailing Wall (am I obsessed?).  they do have toilet paper don’t they?

#3 – Carve “Chris wuz here” on everything he sees

#2 – Jam on his Ipod in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and sing out loud a little.

#1 – Plaster a poster in every synagogue that depict an Uncle Sam version of Jesus with the caption “I want YOU!”

The Sea of Galilee

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.  Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught."  So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs."  A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep."  He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.  Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."  John 21:1-19 NRSV

Today, we kicked it into gear…. After a short jog along the coast of the Sea of Galilee, we visited 7 sites around the Sea of Galilee.  First the Church of the Beatitudes, followed by the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish, then the Church of the Primacy of Peter, then we traveled to Jesus’ home base of Capharnaum, then on to the Sea of Galilee for a short cruise, the ruins of Bet She’an and finally the Jordan River. 

While this may sound like a lot of driving most of these sites are extremely close to each other on the North Side of the Sea of Galilee.  It is said that Jesus did 80% of his ministry in a triangle area stretching from Migdal (home of Mary Magdalene) to the west, Korazim to the north and Beit Saida to the East. Jesus’ home in Capharnaum is located almost halfway between Migdal and Beit Saida.  The approximate distance between Migdal and Beit Saida is 16 km, (I’m way too tired to do the math into miles so go for it).

Being on the Sea of Galilee, reading through the story of Peter walking on the water has been the highlight of the day.  Seeing the churches we visited earlier from the boat and imagining what the disciples might have thought as we sat out on calm still waters off of the beach where Jesus was cooking fish was an experience that I will treasure for always.  I find that I can be like Peter and the other disciples, I get so busy in my work, distracted in my problems, too worried about the future that I fail to see Christ right there in front of me.

Today has been quite a journey. I hope you are able to look at the pictures I’ve posted below.  Tomorrow we visit Nazareth, Megiddo, Caesarea and end up in Jerusalem where we will stay for the rest of the journey. Thanks for reading.

Day 3 of Israel Trip

Pictures of Day 3 in the Holy Land.

Day 1 -2 of Holy Land Trip

Day 1 & 2 pics

Geography and Connections

When he had gone through those regions and had given the believers much encouragement, he came to Greece, where he stayed for three months. Acts 20: 2-3 NRSV



After four movies, two 30 minute sitcoms and approximately 1 hour sleep. We are getting close to Tel Aviv. The airline has a satellite map that tracks the process of the trip. Iceland is fine, no ash from the volcano and during this last leg of the trip, I have visions of Mr. Ruff’s 7th grade social studies class and the many assignments of tracing and labeling maps around the world. Looking at the screen I remember labeling Italy, Greece, Crete, the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.


It is quite a sight to see from the air under the broken clouds the definition of the Mediterranean shore line at the heel of Italy’s boot. Flying over Greece and thinking about Paul’s missionary journeys, but that is another trip for another time.


So far, I have met some ELCA Lutherans from Sheboygan Michigan, and United Methodist from Germantown, Tennessee. Germantown is just outside of Memphis and two summers ago our youth group stopped at this church on our way back from our mission trip to ASP. They graciously hosted us for the evening as we wrapped up our week of mission in Kentucky.


As I’m writing this, we are about 1 hour away from landing in Tel Aviv where we will gather our luggage and then make our way to Tiberius next to the Sea of Galilee.

Travel

Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went.  Acts 8:26-27a NRSV

I am not equating my trip to the Holy Land to that of Phillip and his encounter with the Ethiopian, however when I think about this “pilgrimage” I am on, I think of how Phillip’s life was interrupted after  his ministry in Samaria.

It doesn’t sound like Phillip was looking to go somewhere else, the Lord just told him to go.  As I ride the DART train to DFW listening to The Robbie Seay Band on my IPOD. I am thankful that God has told me to go.  I wasn’t planning on taking this trip, really never crossed my mind… Sure, as a pastor I’ve thought that it would be nice to visit the Holy Land, but never thought I would be able to follow through and take this trip. But God always has a way of interrupting lives and if we listen and follow, takes us on extravagant journeys our own minds can’t comprehend.

I am going to miss my wife and family, however I know that God is with them and also with me while I’m on this trip and I’m looking forward to the many surprises God has for me as I walk in the places Jesus walked, see the holy sites and take pictures and collect stories from this trip.

My plane takes off here in about one hour and twenty minutes to Atlanta, where I will pick up my flight to Tel Aviv. Arriving there around 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon (10:00 a.m. Central Time).

I pray that this trip, this blog leads to powerful ministry and a strong testament of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

T-minus 1 week

A week from today, at this time, I will be sitting at DFW airport waiting to board a flight to Atlanta then off to Israel.  I'm very excited about this trip and am looking forward to walk through the Holy Land and visit the historical sights of the Bible.

Growing up, this was my view of "The Holy Land." Over my childhood and youth, and yes even twice as a youth director, I visited the Great Passion Play and what they called the Holy Land Tour.  It was entertaining and educational. Walking around a replica of the Exodus temple and see a layout of the upper room brought my heart and mind close to the stories of the Bible and even though I was in Arkansas, I developed ideas of what it might have been like to walk in the same places Jesus walked.


I know this is an understatement, but this trip is going to blow Eureka Springs, Arkansas out of the water.  I won't be imagining Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jericho, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, I will be sailing, wading, walking and experiencing the Holy Land for myself.


Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing my thoughts, adventures, stories, pictures and hopefully some video of my trip.  I'm doing this mostly for my own record of the trip, but if you would like to come along and comment and share your thoughts, please feel free to comment below.