Sorry for the delay on this – our final day was a blur and so many of us jumped right back into the thick of it upon our return.

We began the day in Galilee, loaded up in the bus from our hotel and began to drive through the Jezreel valley. It was a leisurely drive and a wonderful way to end the trip.

Our first real stop was Tel-Meggido, or Armageddon as a Greek translation has made it. We watched a movie and then climbed the Tel and then walked through tunnels and a water system. Songs may or may not have been sung in the tunnel – but we have all been sworn to secrecy.

Our next stop was Caesarea Maritima, a manmade harbor and city created by Herod. The aquaduct and theatre were amazing, but the most were more interested in the ice cream and gelato bar nearby. So many were eating cold dairy foods by the bus as our tour neared an end. Some confused our camera man for a famous footballer and the resemblance was striking, but he definitely is not a footballer.

Finally, we arrived in Tel Aviv, checked into our hotel and many of us walked the beach of the Mediterranean before we had a farewell dinner in Jaffa – the location of Jonah’s boarding of a ship in his rebellion. It led to some interesting thoughts of whether we would take the call God gave us or run from responsibility. God is ultimately in control, but perhaps our best plan is to walk with Him and do what He has called us to do.

We had an early flight, so we left Israel in the middle of the night and made our trip home. A charter bus met us at the airport and brought a tired group of travelers to Park Hills to close the trip completely.

We started our morning off with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, which is really just a lake also called Tiberias or Kinneret (which means harp). After this, we baptized a big chunk of the group and celebrated with them as they took this step of faith.

Then we went to Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ earthly ministry and the home of Peter. Here Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, the paralytic through the roof, Jairus’ daughter, the bleeding woman, taught in the synagogue, etc, etc, etc. You could spend days in this tiny place to observe all Jesus did!

After this, we visited Tabgha and talked about the feeding of the 5000 and the feeding of the 4000 (this happened on the other side of the lake). We also considered Peter’s call and his reinstatement. A lot happens right here.

Finally, we drove up to Caesarea Philippi after a fish lunch. Here Jesus names Simon “Peter” and challenges the disciples understanding of Him as Lord. We talked Pan, Mt. Hermon, and the rock that Jesus used to explain a truth. We ended the day driving through the Golan Heights and thinking often about the wars Israel has faced since 1948.

Today on our way to the Galilee, we drove along the Jordan River, seeing Jericho and the amazing landscape of the river valley.

We then stopped in Beth She’an, a beautiful ruins with just a little Bible significance, but a sprawling metropolis that shows what Paul’s ministry would have been like as the Gospel message was spread.

Then we stopped in Nazareth for lunch and a look at the Church of the Annunciation. This populous city is nothing like the Nazareth of Jesus’ birth, so travel and viewing of sites can be difficult.

We then spent some time in Tzipori/Sepphoris, which was built around the time that Jesus would have been a boy/young man. Amazing mosaics are there, and a unique synagogue that asks some intriguing questions.

We ended the day with a short church service here by the Sea of Galilee/Lake Kinneret. Our hotel is right on the water and gets us ready and excited for some time tomorrow in this amazing region.

Today was a thoroughly Dead Sea day. We began at the end of the Jordan considering one possible location for the baptism of Jesus and having mixed feelings about the Jordan.

This led to time at Qumran, Ein Gedi and Masada. Then we rested at the hotel early with a Dead Sea float, a great dinner and some much needed and well-deserved downtime. Tomorrow we are off to Galilee!

Qumran is the home to the Dead Sea scrolls. We looked at the site and took in a movie.

Ein Gedi (or En Gedi) is where David fled from Saul and wrote some Psalms.

Masada is a fabulous fortress built by Herod the Great and last holdout for the Jews in the Great Revolt (66-73ce). Quite a location and a must-see when here!

We started the day outside Jerusalem and went to Herodium, a Judean fortress built by Herod and where Herod “moved a mountain” to celebrate a victorious battle against the Jews. The main reason for going here is the architecture, but a key secondary reason is to be able to see Bethlehem and Jerusalem from afar. It’s a hike, so only some of us ventured to make the hike.

Then we headed to Bethlehem for some time at the Church of the Nativity and St. Catherine’s, respectively a Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church, which are significant historical structures and where the famous Christmas services are held yearly.

We followed this with lunch at a Bedouin tent restaurant and a brief stop at Shepherd’s Fields. This location is unique and intriguing – were the shepherds nearby this location that night over 2 millennia ago?

We ended the day with Gethsemane and the Mt of Olives while also giving everyone the overview of where we had been the past few days and attempting to tie it all together. I’m grateful for this trip and group!

Tomorrow we head to the Jordan valley and Dead Sea region!

Today was a good day in Jerusalem! We began with a hassle-free visit to the Temple Mount. Seeing Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque is always neat, but you start to sense the tension in the region quite well. We enjoyed relative quiet and then got a quick look at a couple of gates on our way out. Our guide, Anna is amazing and is doing a great job of laying out ideas to develop over our time together.

We then took in Bethesda (John 5), St. Anne’s and part of the Via Dolorosa (the way of suffering – Jesus’ passion steps). The acoustics in St. Anne’s are amazing, and the group sounded great. Another great lunch followed in the Christian quarter in a district called Muristan. We were treated with Falafel, Shwarma, Pizza or Schnitzel.

In the afternoon, we went through the Jewish quarter and a place called the Upper Room today. Much to see, you feel like you could take it all in for days and still have things to see.

We ended the tour at Yad Vashem. Ask someone on the tour about this site. It’s heavy and leaves you wishing for earth to be better. Come, Lord Jesus.

We ended the time together with dinner and then a follow up discussion from our day in a small synagogue here at the hotel. It was great!

A wonderful breakfast at our hotel had everyone cheery and ready for a long day of exploration.

We began at one of the more interesting sites in Jerusalem: the western wall tunnels. This site has been upgraded so much since I was last here in 2017. So many unique features to observe in these tunnels and amazing displays to help make sense of how Herod developed the Temple Mount. Lots of walking, but worth it for the moments of historical significance.

Then a quick stop at the Western Wall was next on the agenda. The holiest site for Jews is always special and the wall was not overwhelmingly packed, so a group picture was in order. We snapped that and headed across the street.

Here we arrived at the City of David. This is the oldest and perhaps most significant archaeological dig happening in Jerusalem at the moment. So much to learn from the ancient city – from the king’s toilet to the cistern David used to ambush and defeat the city – the City of David is special.

After this, we split into two groups. Some of us hiked through Hezekiah’s Tunnel – water and all – and others of us did the dry tunnels of the Canaanites. We all met up at the end thankful for good water systems and grateful to be done with tunnels for the day.

After this, we headed to lunch and had shawarma, falafel or pizza for lunch with tea or soda and a unique sweet pita dessert. Delicious for sure and then we were off to our next site.

This was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – a site which could be the place of the death and burial of Jesus, but we focused on the purposes of the church and a neat 1st century tomb in an Orthodox Church that is the most authentic part left in the building. Many are still wrestling with their thoughts on this site – which is right where we want to be. Are we chasing Jesus or the places built to honor Him? Tough question for sure!

Finally, we finished the day at Gallicantu, the site associated with the first trial and imprisonment of Jesus and the denial of Peter in the courtyard of this house. We were also greeted with amazing views of Jordan and the Dead Sea in the distance. It was beautiful!

Another great dinner at our hotel rounded out the night. We had a couple of people fall today in different locations. One fall led to a few stitches and a visit to a local hospital. All is well at this hour, but I am grateful for Pastor Rich giving up the end of his tour today to help out and am going to bed soon praying for sure feet and rested bodies tomorrow.

Jerusalem can be very uneven, so we will take our time tomorrow for sure. I will let everyone share their story in their time, so please don’t ask for details, just pray for a great and safe rest of our trip!

Well, we arrived. Everyone did great on the two long flights and I’m sure almost no one will be able to keep track of what day it is today. Already, it is early in the morning on Wednesday here in Israel and we are staying at the Prima Royale hotel. The staff welcomed us with a tremendous meal last night and I am praying for everyone’s health and mental focus today. Please join me in this! We will post pictures, etc from today later. For now, we are 4 hours from starting the day and have many sites to take in once we get this group moving. There are 53 in all and everyone seems eager and excited.

Our biggest praise from the first part of the trip is the way that our travel went so smoothly. From getting to O’hare quickly to getting through security, transferring well at Zurich and then breezing through customs with the help of Esther (thank you!), we are off to a great start. Thank you for praying!

If you are from Districts and interested in more teaching – check this out! Feel free to follow, etc.

Yamcast – Here’s our podcast made for our Yound Adult Ministry small group (hence YAM)

Here’s a helpful list of Amazon links for all the reference materials we threw your way:

• The Bible Project
• Genesis Unbound – Sailhammer
• Missing the Mark – Mark Biddle
• The Epic of Eden – Sandra Richter
• The Unseen Realm – Michael Heiser
• Sabbath as Resistance – Brueggemann
• Introduction of the Old Testament Prophetic Books – Bullock
• Knowing Him – Edwards
• Living Jesus – Luke Timothy Johnson
• Jesus Monotheism – Crispin Fletcher Louis
• The Jesus Creed – McKnight
• Lord Jesus Christ – Hurtado
• Prophetic Jesus, Prophetic Church – Luke Timothy Johnson
• Drama of Scripture – Bartholomew
• The God Who is There – DA Carson
• Echo the Story
• Evil and the Justice of God – NT Wright
• New Testament Christology – Matera
• Old Testament Theology – Goldingay
• The Blue Parakeet – McKnight
• How we Read the Bible – Laidlaw
• The True Story of the Whole World – Bartholomew and Goheen
• The Very Good Gospel – Lisa Sharon Harper
• Shaped by the Story – Michael Novelli
• Podcasts: BEMA and Naked Bible podcast
• Websites: Michael Goheen (missionworldview.com) (thedramaofscripture.com)