I want to recap last week’s trip to the Holy Land with some of the incredible places we visited.

We began this experience at the end, at the fortress city of Megiddo. Megiddo overlooks the valley of Jezreel, better known as the Valley of Armageddon. This is the site that Satan will make his final stand, and praise the Lord we know how the story ends, with Jesus the victor.

We then visited Nazareth. This was the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and where he grew up with his parents. This was also the place Jesus preached his first sermon in the synagogue.

The next two days we visited sites around the Sea of Galilee. Most of Jesus’ ministry was at the Sea of Galilee.

We boarded a boat to view the Sea of Galilee, which is 14 miles long by 8 miles wide and 157 feet deep. This is the place where Jesus walked on water and calmed the stormy sea.

The Mt. of the Beatitudes was our next stop. This is the site where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. This is recorded in Matthew 5:3-11 and forms the Beatitudes.

Capernaum was our next destination. Here the Romans built a synagogue for the Jews in the first century. Capernaum was Jesus’ ministry base in Galilee.

We traveled north around the Sea of Galilee to reach Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea Philippi is located at the foot of Israel’s highest mountain, Mt. Hermon. This is the place where we will see the headwaters of the springs, which make up the Jordan River.

The Jordan River was our next stop. This river is beautiful and lush.

Ein Harod was our fist stop on the next day. This is the place where Gideon chose his 300 soldiers.

Jerusalem was our next destination. On Palm Sunday we walked the Palm Sunday Path that took us from the Mt. of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane.

At the Temple mount we walked by the Dome of the Rock. However, this was not the main focus of this site, for it was here that the Second Temple of Jesus’ time was rebuilt.

We then visited the Valley of Elah where David fought Goliath and was victorious with nothing more then five stones and a sling.

Finally, we ended our trip to the Holy Land at Golgotha and the Garden Tomb.

Golgotha, or Skull Hill, was where Jesus was crucified. Although we sing that it was on Calvary’s Hill, he was not on a hill but at road level. Jesus was crucified at a major intersection north of Jerusalem. This location was chosen so the Romans could show everyone what happened if you defied them.

The Garden Tomb is the place Jesus was buried. Marth and Martha came here on Easter Sunday and found that Jesus was not there. The tomb was empty because He had risen! What a glorious picture of Easter. We know that Jesus is not dead, but has risen, and He is returning for us soon.

What a day here in Israel!
We began today at the Temple Mount. It was a sad experience to know that this place, where the Temple once stood, is now a Moslem holy site—the Dome of the Rock.

As we viewed the area of the Golden Gate, it was great to know the end of the story. One day Jesus will return and He will enter through this gate, regardless of weather it is open to the public or not. Others may have attempted to open this door with dynamite, but there is nothing that will stop Jesus from opening this gate.

Next, we visited the House of Caiaphas. This was a very powerful place to experience, where Jesus spent his last night in the dungeon.

We spent most of the afternoon at the Israeli museum. This museum remembers what happened during the Holocaust. It was a sobering reminder of the pain and oppression the Jewish people have suffered.

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It has been a great day in Israel.

We are going to the Garden Tomb tomorrow and then both flights are departing early the next day for the airport.

Today it was hazy all day. We were surrounded by a dust cloud at every location we visited.

We began our day with a surprise from our guides; they took us to visit the Valley of the Shadow of Death. The Valley lies between Jerusalem and Jericho. It is a dry barren place. It was an experience that we will never forget the next time we recite Psalm 23. After we all recited this Psalm, our guides recited it in Hebrew. This was the original language of our Lord and it was beautiful.

We then traveled to Masada, one of Herod’s three fortress cities. It is located in the wilderness of Judea close to the western shore of the Dead Sea.

We ascended Masada on cable cars.

Two of our group members, Kevin Gerlt and his son Matt, climbed to the top. This 1200 ft climb took them 45 minutes.

At lunch, several of our braver members experienced their first camel rides.

En-Gedi is a true oasis in the desert. There is fresh water emerging from an underground spring. This is the site where David took refuge in a cave from King Saul.

On our way to the Dead Sea we stopped at Qumran were the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the spring of 1947.

The last stop of the day was the Dead Sea. At its widest point, this body of water is 52 miles long and 14 miles across. Many in our group had the chance to cover themselves in mud that they say makes your skin silky smooth. Others experienced the added buoyancy of the water due to the 30% concentration of salt.

At the end of the day, I told our people that out of all the sights we had seen to this point, the best was still to come. Our journeys tomorrow will include the Temple Mount and The House of Caiaphas inside old Jerusalem.

Today is Palm Sunday. We began the day looking over the city of Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives. It was incredible. The area was crowded because of the special importance of the day. As we looked out towards Jerusalem you could not help but think about what will happen on this mountain when Jesus returns. Zachariah 14:4 says that when Jesus returns, “On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south.”

It was a beautiful Palm Sunday here in the Holy Land. We walked the Palm Sunday path after visiting the Mount of Olives.

As we proceeded on the path, we came to the Garden of Gethsemane. This was where Jesus often came to pray. This was also the place Jesus spent his last night on earth before he was crucified.

We had a chance to pray and to meditate for an extended period of time in a private place within the Garden. Here, I challenged our people with two words, burden and intercession.

I encouraged them to lift any burdens to God for something specific that was on their hearts. Just as Jesus lifted his burdens to the Father in this place, we also lifted our burdens to the Father.

I also encouraged them to intercede for their spouses, families, friends, and those that are in need of salvation. Just as Jesus interceded for us, we should intercede for others in our lives.

Jeana and I prayed for more than 600 prayer requests from members of our church. We lifted each and every request to God from this very special place. Church members, know that we do love you and that you are cared for, both by us and by our great God.

We entered the Old City of Jerusalem through the Lion’s Gate on the east side of the city wall. The Old City is incredible! Today we truly walked where Jesus walked.

We concluded the day at the Wailing Wall. This is the holiest shrine for the Jews, because this location was the closest a person could get to the Holy of Holies in the Temple.

Tomorrow we will visit Masada, Ein Bokek, En-Gedi and the Dead Sea.

Our third day in the Holy Land began with a journey in a wooden boat on the Sea of Galilee.

We set sail under the Israeli Flag, only to have it joined by the American flag after singing the National Anthem. It was awe inspiring to see both flags flying side by side.

The See of Galilee was incredible. I read the story of Jesus calming the Sea of Galilee from Mathew 8:23-27. As I did this, the sky was dark, the waves were jostling us about, and the wind was kicking the sea in our faces. This short clip is from the boat as when we were stopped in the middle of the Sea of Galilee.

The amazing thing is that after concluding my talk, I went to the bow of the boat, the sun came out, and the sea was calm once again. This must have been what it was like when Jesus calmed the sea. It’s incredible how fast the conditions can change on this body of water.

We then boarded our buses to the Mount of the Beatitudes. We have 80 people on our trip, so we need two buses to travel.

At the Mount of the Beatitudes, we had a special time of reflection on what Jesus taught from this place. I read Matthew 5:3-11 to our people. We reflected on what these verses mean to our lives.

The Mount of Beatitudes is one of the most beautiful places in Israel, and is located just above the Sea of Galilee.

Next we traveled to the Golan Heights. As we traveled there, you could see why this area is so important to the nation of Israel. It borders Lebanon and Syria. Lebanon is on the other side of this fence.

A year and a half ago when the nation of Israel fought the Second Lebanese war, Israel was attacked by 2050 Katyusha rockets.The Golan Heights are so important because Israel must protect themselves against this threat with this buffer.

This photo is near the border with Lebanon. Israeli tanks stand ready in case they are called upon.

For lunch we had St. Peter’s Fish. It is most like Tilapia, but here they prepare it with the skin, bones, and eyes still attached. This is Lindsey Givens eyeing her fish as it is eyeing her.

We concluded the day with baptisms at the Jordan River. Clint Smith and I baptized 26 of our people who braved the cold water of the Jordan.

The Jordan River is so beautiful. Just thinking that this is what Jesus saw when he was raised from the waters is spectacular.

Today was filled with wonderful locations. They were beautiful and meaningful in our lives. We ventured all the way around the Sea of Galilee, taking more then three hours by bus. It would have taken four hours for Jesus and the Disciples to go across the Sea of Galilee by boat.

We’re ready for bed after our exciting day, but looking forward to the Jordan Valley and Jerusalem tomorrow!

Today was a busy day for all of us, as we began in Caesarea, at Herod’s summer palace on the Mediterranean sea. This is the amphitheater next to Herod’s palace.

Next from the peak of Mount Carmel we view the valley of Jezreel, and the future site of the end-times battle of Armageddon.

We moved to the fortresses city of Megiddo, here we viewed the Valley of Jezreel from the south. I read Revelation 16, where it talks about the battle of Armageddon and how this valley will flow with blood 4 ½ feet deep.

I then encouraged our people to take a moment and reflect over what is going to happen in this place in the end times and what it means to our faith.

This was a sobering experience, one that I will not forget, but one to rejoice over, because we know that He will win this battle and walk out of this valley victorious.

We then traveled to Nazareth. This is where Jesus lived with his parents, attended school, and the location of the synagogue where he worshipped with his family on the Sabbath.

This location is where Jesus’ ministry first began, and the first place that Jesus preached a sermon.

This story can be found in Luke 4:16-31. I read this story to our people, and it’s incredible to think that Jesus preached from this very place. We are truly walking where Jesus walked!

The brief video follows my reading of Luke 4:16-31, I encourage you to read the passage in Luke and watch this video.

Tomorrow we have a full day. We begin by crossing the Sea of Galilee, then we will visit Capernaum where the Jordan River enters the Sea of Galilee. We will follow with The Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha, Peter’s Chapel, and Caesarea Philippi, the Golan Heights, and if time permits, we will be baptizing in the Jordan River.

What a blessing to be here in Israel.

We all arrived safely in Tel Aviv tonight! It has been a long day of flying for everyone. The fight I was on from Atlanta took 10 hours 50 minuets. After landing we made our way to our hotel on the Mediterranean Sea.

Tel Aviv is the New York City of Israel, with high-rise buildings and plenty of traffic.

On the way home we experienced a beautiful sunset, and the photo does not do it justice.

One of our guides for the entire experience is Avi.

He gave us a brief background of the city of Tel Aviv and the country of Israel as a whole. He is one of the best guides in Israel. He bases every place we go, and everything we see on the Holy Scriptures. He told us we will not need a map, because we already have one, the Bible.

Tomorrow we rise early to travel to Caesarea, Megiddo, the Valley of Armageddon and Mount Carmel. We will end our day in Tiberias at the Sea of Galilee.

Keep us in your prayers as we travel.

Our Holy Land travelers have arrived safely at their destination!

Pastor’s message was, “Just got home.” What a wonderful reminder to us all about the history, meaning, and importance of Israel in God’s plan!

Pray for them to get good rest tonight so that they can begin their exciting journey tomorrow. We will post more news and updates as we get them.