Since 2005, I have been leading group tours to the Holy Land. After all these years people sometimes ask me, why do I still go? They ask haven’t I been there enough? I answer that question honestly. I still go because I enjoy seeing how those with me are changed, challenged and impacted by this once in a lifetime trip. This is more than an international journey; this will change the way you read and understand Scripture. It will deepen your walk and relationship with Jesus. To be on the very land, possibly in the very spot that Jesus once taught or performed a miracle. I ask, how do you put that experience into words? You can’t!

Years ago, as I studied the land of Israel, I read that the land could be considered the fifth Gospel. At the time I did not understand that statement UNTIL I walked the land and saw what the words spoken in Scripture referred to and meant.

Going to Israel will cost money and take time away from work or school. So WHY go? Here are just a few of the reasons:

You will have the opportunity to be baptized in the very same waters as Jesus was.

You will walk the Via Dolorosa (The way of the cross) and stop on the spot where the Roman soldiers gambled for Jesus clothes, mocked Him, and placed the crown of thorns on His head.

You will walk through Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown, and see the house where Gabriel spoke to Mary and enter the house where Joseph was a carpenter. This would have been where Jesus grew up.

You will walk through Capernaum, where Jesus taught and miracles happened. You’ll see where Peter fished and Matthew collected taxes. You’ll walk the street where the woman with the blood issue was healed just by touching Jesus’ garment. You step into the synagogue where Jesus taught and the man with the withered hand was healed.

You will enter into Caiaphas', the high priest’s, house and you will descend into the prison cell where Jesus was held as He was being tried.

From Caiaphas' house you will walk down the very same steps the Lord came down with His disciples after the Last Supper, only to be brought back up those very same steps, this time as a prisoner of Roman soldiers.

You will cross the Sea of Galilee in a replica of a first century boat. This experience will allow you to understand how the disciples lived and what made them so afraid the night Jesus walked on water.

You will read the beatitudes on the Mt. of Beatitudes. Hear what those in attendance heard. Did they realize this was the Sermon on the Mount?

You will go to the top of Mt. Carmel and see where God defeated the prophets of baal (1 Kings 18:1-40) as you gaze over the Jezreel Valley, also known as Armageddon. 

From the Mount of Olives, you will walk down the Palm Sunday path and you will have time to privately pray in the Garden of Gethsemane.

You will go to the top of Mt. Tabor – the site of the Transfiguration and visualize Jesus in all His glory! 

You will see the “Rock” of Caesarea Philippi, and you will have the opportunity to answer the same question Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do YOU say I am?”

You will have the opportunity to float in the Dead Sea as you look over into Jordan and see Mt. Nebo, the last place Moses stood.

You will have the opportunity to have a wedding vow renewal service in Cana, the place of Jesus’ first miracle.

You will visit the Garden Tomb and take communion as you sit in the fragrant garden, looking up at Skull Hill, and stepping into an empty tomb.

You will walk among the ruins of Masada, see where the Romans breached the wall only to find nothing but silence.

You will visit the City of David and walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, the tunnel where water still flows to this day. Walk the path that allowed Jerusalem to be saved as the Assyrian army was divinely cut down outside the city walls.

You will see an amazing scale model of first century Jerusalem and a replica of the scroll of Isaiah from the Dead Sea scrolls.

You will visit En Gedi where David hid in caves from Saul and see where the hidden oasis provided for David and his men.

You will stand on top of the Mt. of Olives, the site where Jesus ascended and one day will return! You'll be able to look across the Kidron Valley and see the temple (as Jesus did).

You will visit the pools of Bethesda where Jesus told the man who had an infirmity thirty-eight years, to take up his bed and walk. (John 5)

You will stop in Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. These documents prove that the Bible we have today are the same words Jesus read and taught.

You will sit in an outdoor theatre built by Herod in Caesarea and see where the Apostle Paul was imprisoned. This is the port Paul set sail from and where the first Gentile convert was promised eternal life as Peter was commissioned to go to the house of Cornelius, a centurion. (Acts 10)

You will visit the port of Joppa, where Jonah tried to run from God and eventually return to begin his journey to Nineveh.

You will visit Megiddo – also known as Armageddon, and see an ancient Canaanite altar, the underground water reservoir and the site where Josiah died in battle.

You will walk through the Old City of Jerusalem.

You will be able to pray at the Western Wall, and you will tour the tunnels of the Western Wall.

You will have a Sunday Worship service in a shepherd’s field in Bethlehem and see what David saw as he opened the 23rd Psalm.

You will have memories that last a lifetime. 

Shalom!
Pastor Dave