Our Rabbi Jesus https://ourrabbijesus.com/ His Jewish Life and Teaching Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:45:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 31550207 The Book I’m Working on with Dr. Milly Erema Maturu https://ourrabbijesus.com/the-book-im-working-on-with-dr-maturu/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/the-book-im-working-on-with-dr-maturu/#respond Fri, 17 Apr 2026 23:09:16 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=14370 If you’ve been reading my newsletters and articles in the past few years, you know that I’ve become friends with an Old Testament professor from Uganda, Rev. Dr. Milly Erema Maturu. We are now working on a book for Zondervan that is tentatively titled, Reading the Bible as an Insider. The title comes from the […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/the-book-im-working-on-with-dr-maturu/feed/ 0 14370 Yet Another Thing I Learned from Passover https://ourrabbijesus.com/yet-another-thing-i-learned-from-passover/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/yet-another-thing-i-learned-from-passover/#respond Tue, 07 Apr 2026 20:40:58 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=14341 Last week I went to a Passover dinner at a Baptist church in western Michigan. They opened this potluck to all the families who wanted to join them, and over 130 people attended. They asked everyone to bring a dish that was without leaven and somewhat kosher – no pork and no mixing of milk […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/yet-another-thing-i-learned-from-passover/feed/ 0 14341 Ugandan Names are Interesting and Complex https://ourrabbijesus.com/about-ugandan-names/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/about-ugandan-names/#respond Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:40:49 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=14243 I’m now working on a book with my Ugandan colleague Rev. Dr. Milly Erema Maturu and I realized that I was making a mistake with her name that I needed to correct. In older articles, I used to refer to her as Dr. Erema, but now I realize that she really should be referred to […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/about-ugandan-names/feed/ 0 14243 A Couple of Conversations I had with Lecrae, Christian Rapper https://ourrabbijesus.com/a-couple-of-conversations-i-had-with-lecrae-christian-rapper/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/a-couple-of-conversations-i-had-with-lecrae-christian-rapper/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2025 17:55:01 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=14200 A few months ago I saw a surprising comment on Facebook: “Did I just hear Lois Tverberg’s name on Lecrae’s newest album, Reconstruction?” Being the out-of-touch nerd that I am, I didn’t realize that Lecrae is a famous Christian rap artist who has had several best-selling albums and won multiple Grammy awards, and he’s even […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/a-couple-of-conversations-i-had-with-lecrae-christian-rapper/feed/ 4 14200 With Joy You will Draw Water from the Wells of Salvation https://ourrabbijesus.com/with-joy-you-will-draw-water-from-the-wells-of-salvation/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/with-joy-you-will-draw-water-from-the-wells-of-salvation/#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2025 18:54:50 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=14049 Right now is the Feast of Sukkot, (Tabernacles), when Jews build small booths in their yards to live in (or at least eat their meals in), to celebrate the harvest and to commemorate their desert wandering. Each year the celebration takes place during September or October, after Israel has experienced at least six months without […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/with-joy-you-will-draw-water-from-the-wells-of-salvation/feed/ 2 14049 Israel Matters: Why Christians Must Think Differently about the People and the Land https://ourrabbijesus.com/israel-matters-a-book-i-highly-recommend/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/israel-matters-a-book-i-highly-recommend/#comments Mon, 06 Oct 2025 21:15:33 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=14122 Friends – It’s not often that I read a book that I feel so strongly about that I decide to offer it from my own website store. I just did this for Israel Matters: Why Christians Must Think Differently about the People and the Land by Gerald McDermott (Brazos Press, 2017) List ($22.00) ($14.99) Why? […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/israel-matters-a-book-i-highly-recommend/feed/ 3 14122 Watch my Recent Talk called, “The Good News Starts in Genesis” https://ourrabbijesus.com/join-lois-by-zoom-on-sep-10-for-the-good-news-starts-in-genesis/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/join-lois-by-zoom-on-sep-10-for-the-good-news-starts-in-genesis/#respond Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:55:41 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=14004 I recently spoke for CMJ-UK’s Shofar Event on Wednesday September 10 at 2 PM EDT/ 7 PM UK time. My talk was called “The Good News Starts in Genesis.” You can now watch my talk below: This is actually the introduction to the series of talks I’ll be giving next July at the CMJ-UK conference […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/join-lois-by-zoom-on-sep-10-for-the-good-news-starts-in-genesis/feed/ 0 14004 Two Ideas that Changed the World – Watch the Video https://ourrabbijesus.com/join-us-aug-9-for-two-ideas-that-changed-the-world/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/join-us-aug-9-for-two-ideas-that-changed-the-world/#respond Fri, 01 Aug 2025 18:58:52 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=13966 We did a seminar in Holland, Michigan on Saturday, August 9, 2025 called, Two Hebraic Ideas that Changed the World: Walking (with God) and Repentance Two big ideas permeate both testaments of the Bible, the need to “walk” with God and the need for repentance. Both ideas are foundational to Judaism and Christianity, yet were […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/join-us-aug-9-for-two-ideas-that-changed-the-world/feed/ 0 13966 Wildfires in Israel force Scholars to Evacuate https://ourrabbijesus.com/wildfires-in-israel-force-scholars-to-evacuate/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/wildfires-in-israel-force-scholars-to-evacuate/#respond Fri, 02 May 2025 20:43:54 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=13867 Have you heard the recent news about wildfires in Israel? A few hours ago I received a worrisome email from David Bivin. He and his wife live a few miles outside of Jerusalem and was evacuated because of the recent fires there. David is the editor of the journal Jerusalem Perspective and author of New […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/wildfires-in-israel-force-scholars-to-evacuate/feed/ 0 13867 Meditating on Psalm 90, the Groundhog Day Movie, and Life https://ourrabbijesus.com/meditating-on-psalm-90-the-groundhog-day-movie-and-life/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/meditating-on-psalm-90-the-groundhog-day-movie-and-life/#respond Thu, 06 Mar 2025 20:50:51 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=13837 Psalm 90 begins with some hard-to-hear words about our lives that are troubled with sin and all too brief, but then culminates with profound ideas about what brings life joy despite our difficulties. It is an excellent psalm for Ash Wednesday and Lent, because this is the time of year when we think about how […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/meditating-on-psalm-90-the-groundhog-day-movie-and-life/feed/ 0 13837 Truly Impressive Resources from BiblePlaces.com https://ourrabbijesus.com/truly-impressive-resources-from-bibleplaces-com/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/truly-impressive-resources-from-bibleplaces-com/#comments Tue, 17 Dec 2024 01:03:59 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=13709 The fun part of going to academic conferences like that of the Evangelical Theology Society (ETS) and Society for Biblical Literature (SBL) is the enormous exhibit of book publishers and other religion-related businesses that we can visit when we are not in sessions. A couple weeks ago when I attended this year’s meetings in San […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/truly-impressive-resources-from-bibleplaces-com/feed/ 3 13709 Reading the Bible as an Insider – Zoom Seminar Video https://ourrabbijesus.com/reading-the-bible-as-an-insider-zoom-seminar-video/ https://ourrabbijesus.com/reading-the-bible-as-an-insider-zoom-seminar-video/#respond Mon, 28 Oct 2024 03:49:12 +0000 https://ourrabbijesus.com/?p=13634 Over 250 people joined me and Rev. Dr. Milly Erema Maturu,* of Uganda Christian University for a zoom presentation that we did on October 22, 2024. We gave a seminar called “Reading the Bible as an Insider” that shared some insights from my current writing with Dr. Maturu. The Bible is tough to understand for […]

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]]> https://ourrabbijesus.com/reading-the-bible-as-an-insider-zoom-seminar-video/feed/ 0 13634