CMJ USA: Glory & Light

What is Lent? And what does it have to do with the Jewishness of Jesus? CMJ contributor Aaron Gann explains how Jesus' 40-day wilderness experience connects with the Israelite wilderness wanderings and points to his identity as the King of Israel. To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit cmj-usa.org.

Jesus sent all his followers to tell others the Good News that God loves us. We see God's love in Jesus coming and dying to pay the penalty for our rebellion. Rev. Philip Bottomley reminds us that the best and only Good News there is is that God raised Jesus from the dead and will forgive anyone who trusts in Jesus and makes him Savior and Lord of their life. Any other so-called means of salvation is false and fake news. In Romans 10:15, thinking of runners who in ancient times carried the news, Paul says that those who carry this Good News about Jesus have truly "beautiful feet." So let us go and tell the good things of God! To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit cmj-usa.org. Music credit: Still You by Joel Loopez Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7410-still-you License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Many of us know about the 12 days of Christmas, but what about the 40 days of Christmas? In the Gospel of Luke, the birth narrative doesn't end with the manger, with the shepherds or even with Messiah's circumcision. It only ends once Luke has told us how Mary and Joseph had fulfilled all the Law of the Lord related to childbirth. What does this Torah-faithfulness and Jesus' Jewish DNA have to say to Christians in the 21st century? This sermon was given by the Rev. Cariño Casas on the Feast of the Presentation at Grace Anglican Church near Pittsburgh. Cariño serves as the Communications Director of CMJ USA and as a deacon in the Anglican Church of North America. To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit cmj-usa.org. Music credit: Still You by Joel Loopez Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7410-still-you License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Today we will share with you a short essay by Angela Winter on how Christians can meaningfully remember the Holocaust and stand against antisemitism today. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is on January 27. As our Jewish friends and neighbors mourn the Holocaust this month, we must mourn with them, acknowledge the antisemitic failures of the Church, and be ready to stand and suffer with the Jewish people. Angela Winter, CMJ USA board member, is a former features reporter with The Baltimore Sun who teaches classes in churches about the history of Christian antisemitism. She writes about Jewish-Christian relations, Protestant Christian theology, and the Holocaust. Reading by Cariño Casas. To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit http://cmj-usa.org. Music credit: Suspenseful Calm Piano And Cello by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/8826-suspenseful-calm-piano-and-cello License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

On the Church Calendar we will soon be entering into the season of Epiphany, a time when we focus on God’s manifestation to the Gentiles in the person of Yeshua the Messiah. Many have claimed to be the Messiah of Israel, but most of those claimants have not had any interest to Gentiles or brought the light of God to the Nations. It is only Yeshua of Nazareth that is known for both His Jewish and Gentile followers, a truth celebrated in the season of Epiphany. To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit cmj-usa.org. Music credit: Still You by Joel Loopez Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7410-still-you License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

In this season of Advent, as we look toward Christmas, we share a short sermon on Zephaniah 3 by Rev. Cariño Casas. In Zephaniah, God calls out the sin of Judah and the nations. Though God's holiness is rightly angered by our wickedness, God's character of mercy makes a way to mercifully cleanse us through the redeeming work of Jesus the Messiah. To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit http://cmj-usa.org.

Today, we finish our Psalm study with Aaron Gann as we look at Book Five of the Psalms, chapters 107 through 150. In this section we encounter the Egyptian Hallel, the Songs of Ascent and the Great Hallel. While the Psalms have served as an inspired hymnal for the Jewish people and the followers of Jesus, what do we see when we read the Psalms as a book of prophetic poetry? To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit http://cmj-usa.org. Music credit: Still You by Joel Loopez Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7410-still-you License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Today, we look at Book Four of the Psalms, chapters 90 through 106. Last time, we ended on a mournful note as the psalmist questioned the Lord's timing and faithfulness. Aaron Gann shows us that the gloomy questions find hopeful answers in Book Four. To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit http://cmj-usa.org. Music credit: Still You by Joel Loopez Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7410-still-you License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Today, we look at Book Three of the Psalms, chapters 73 through 89. Aaron Gann shows us that this section of the Psalms, which include passages by the Sons of Korah, includes a lot of word play and collective asks God, "How long must we wait for redemption?" To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit http://cmj-usa.org. Music credit: Still You by Joel Loopez Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7410-still-you License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Today, we look at Book Two of the Psalms, chapters 42 through 72. Aaron Gann shows us that this section of the Psalms opens with a lament and pleas for help in the face of exile and oppression. We'll also encounter psalms written by authors other than David and psalms pointing to the long-awaited Redeemer. To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit http://cmj-usa.org. Music credit: Still You by Joel Loopez Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7410-still-you License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Today, we look at Book One of the Psalms, chapters 1 through 41. We usually treat the Psalms as an anthology of sacred poetry. However, the collector of the Psalms ordered the psalms with purpose. Aaron Gann will show us that there are chapter groupings that point to larger themes. He will also discuss briefly David as a prophet. To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit http://cmj-usa.org. Music credit: Still You by Joel Loopez Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7410-still-you License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Today, we start a six-part series on the Five Books of the Psalms by Aaron Gann. We all love the Psalms. They speak to our deepest emotions and teach us how to pray. We all have a favorite. What we call the Book of the Psalms is actually five books, each with its own structure and message written in its organization. Sages have compared the five books of the Psalms to the five books of the Torah. Martin Luther said the Psalms is the whole of the Bible in miniature. To learn more about CMJ USA, to sign up for our newsletters, or to make a donation, visit http://cmj-usa.org. Music credit: Still You by Joel Loopez Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7410-still-you License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Welcome to Glory and Light, the podcast of CMJ USA, the Church's Ministry Among Jewish People. CMJ USA is dedicated to proclaiming the good news of Jesus the Messiah, the revealing light to the nations and the glory of his people Israel. To learn more about CMJ USA, visit http://cmj-usa.org. Music credit: Still You by Joel Loopez Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7410-still-you License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license