Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem

Have you ever heard the Easter story and although you’d never say it aloud, you think in your heart, “Haven’t I heard this story enough over the years? Why am I not as profoundly moved as I once was?”

The preparation rock at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

It happens.

We can get too comfortable, even with the most important parts of our faith.

That’s why it’s often important to visit this afresh with new eyes, new ears and a newly receptive heart.

We invite you to do that today on this special Easter edition.

We’re at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. This is the traditional spot where Jesus, our Messiah was crucified between two criminals.

In this message today, Hans brings both his pastoral ministry heart and his scholarship together to share with us some things you may never have heard before:

Today, we learn:

• Why Jesus referencing the prophetic words of Daniel 7: 13-14 was the last straw for the Sanhedrin.
• The three ways that Pontius Pilot attempted to avoid sentencing Jesus to death.
• What Barabbas means in Aramaic and Hebrew and why his name is symbolically important.
• Why the crown of thorns were biblically prophetic
• The lesson in knowing the Greek grammatical form of Jesus’ words, “Father forgive for they do not know what they do.”
• How Jesus words to John and his mother show how we become family at the base of the cross.
• The incredible sacrifice that Jesus made to proclaim eternal promises to the repentant criminal by His side.
• The profound importance of Jesus saying the phrase, “I thirst.” (Philippians 2:5)
• The eye-opening significance of Jesus saying “It is accomplished.”

Listen in today to this powerful message right from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The Easter message may come alive in your heart like it never has before!

Listen in below:

(See photos of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at the end of this post.)

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Let Us Know What You Think:

We’d love to hear from you so we can serve you better. Please send us an email to let us know what you think. Email us at info@breakforthjourneys.com.

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You’ll be inspired by beautiful photos of the Lands of the Bible, breaking news, stories of faith, and updates.

Photos of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (all Photos Arlen Salte and Adobe):

Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem, Israel. Ancient Olive Trees

Have you ever felt like you’re walking alone? Have you ever wondered if you’re stuck in a hopeless situation? Can there be beauty in agony?

The Traditional Stone in the Basilica of the Agony where Jesus prayed in Gethsemane (Photo: Arlen Salte)

If you can identify with any of these feelings, then today’s Break Forth Journeys Podcast is for you.

In this podcast episode, our group is on the quiet side (and seldom visited area) of the Garden of Gethsemane. We are surrounded by ancient Olive Trees that are at least 900 years old. This gives us a sense of what Jesus may have seen during His dark night of anguish.

Today, we learn:

• What the name Gethsemane means.
• The vital connection between Jesus’ sacrifice as the perfect lamb of God and the sacrificial lamb as a sin offering presented to the priest in the temple.
• The significance of the olive oil being pressed three times as it relates to Jesus’s night in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Join our group in the Garden of Gethsemane as we listen to Hans.

Listen in below:

(See an inspiring video of many of the places we visit on our Israel tours at the end of this post.)

Click below to play the Podcast (even better – subscribe in iTunes, Google Play or your favourite podcast player) 

Subscribe to our Podcast in iTunes

Let Us Know What You Think:

We’d love to hear from you so we can serve you better. Please send us an email to let us know what you think. Email us at info@breakforthjourneys.com.

‘Like’ Our Facebook Page:

You’ll be inspired by beautiful photos of the Lands of the Bible, breaking news, stories of faith, and updates.

Watch this Video of many of the Sites we Visit on our Israel Tours:

Aerial view of Capernaum, Town of Jesus, Galilee, Israel

Have you ever been in a foul mood? You know you have. We all have. Imagine Peter the professional fisherman. He’s fished all day without any success. Then, a carpenter, not a fisherman, shows up as Peter’s is giving up. He then begins to instruct him how to do his job.

Of course, Peter knew this was Jesus and he’d heard the miraculous stories. So, probably still in a foul mood, he follows Jesus’ guidance.

And he is forever changed.

So is Capernaum.

Listen in today as we visit Capernaum, the place where Jesus lived and based His ministry out of for over three years.

In this podcast episode, our group is close to the lake shore, perhaps somewhat close to where this life-transforming encounter took place.

Today, we learn:

• Why Capernaum was such a strategic location for Jesus to base His ministry out of.
• Why it’s good to pray for revival but we need to be prepared for his God wants this to happen.
• What is similar between Jesus and Mount Everest.

Join our group at Capernaum as we listen to Hans.

Listen in below:

(See photos of the Sea of Galilee at the end of this post.)

Click below to play the Podcast (even better – subscribe in iTunes, Google Play or your favourite podcast player) 

Subscribe to our Podcast in iTunes

Let Us Know What You Think:

We’d love to hear from you so we can serve you better. Please send us an email to let us know what you think. Email us at info@breakforthjourneys.com.

‘Like’ Our Facebook Page:

You’ll be inspired by beautiful photos of the Lands of the Bible, breaking news, stories of faith, and updates.

Photos of Capernaum (all Photos Arlen Salte and Adobe):

Capernaum Synagogue

Hans sharing at Capernaum

Capernaum – Peter’s House (below glass)

Peter’s House – view from underneath the church

The black pebble beach at the Sea of Galilee and the Church of the Primacy of St Peter, Tabgha, Israel.

Imagine you have rejected your closest friend. Imagine you had once committed to this friend that you would even die for them. Imagine the shame of then turning from them in their darkest hour and betraying them again and again. This is the Apostle Peter.

Yet, after Jesus is resurrected he appears to Peter again on the shores of the Sea of Galilee to remind him that he is loved beyond measure and forgiven without condition.

The cloak of shame falls off Peter. He is restored. That day, more than any other, Peter becomes the rock on which Jesus promises to build His church.

Listen in today as we visit Tabgha, the traditional location on the shores of the Sea of Galilee where this took place.

In this podcast episode, our group is along the shores as the waves lap in quietly. It’s an unforgettable experience as Hans shares.

Today, we learn:

• Why Jesus comes to us in the common things of everyday life.
• What it meant for Peter to put his cloak on before he jumped into the water.
• Three Greek words that bring illumination to the conversation between Jesus and Peter.

Listen in today to be encouraged just like Peter was.

Join our group on the shores of the Sea of Galilee now as we listen to Hans.

Listen in below:

(See photos of the Sea of Galilee at the end of this post.)

Click below to play the Podcast (even better – subscribe in iTunes, Google Play or your favourite podcast player) 

Subscribe to our Podcast in iTunes

Let Us Know What You Think:

We’d love to hear from you so we can serve you better. Please send us an email to let us know what you think. Email us at info@breakforthjourneys.com.

‘Like’ Our Facebook Page:

You’ll be inspired by beautiful photos of the Lands of the Bible, breaking news, stories of faith, and updates.

Photos from the Sea of Galilee (all Photos Arlen Salte and Adobe):

Elsa Salte prays in the Sea of Galilee at Tabgha

Our group meditates on the shores at Tabgha

Altar over the traditional stone where Jesus broke bread with Peter

The shoreline of the Sea of Galilee at Tabgha

Hans shares with our group at Tabgha on the shores of the Sea of Galilee

Sailing on the Sea of Galilee is one of the highlights of any trip to the Galilee area of Israel for pilgrims. Not only is it beautiful and peaceful, it is what Hans calls, “Jesus’ Classroom.”

In this podcast episode, our group is on a boat on the Sea of Galilee. We see the verdant hills surrounding the lake, we experience the peacefulness of the rolling waves and we realize again that this is one of the central places where Jesus taught some of His most important lessons.

Today, we learn:

• Why Jesus often gives us a mountaintop experience before He issues a call.
• Why we don’t always experience God’s presence in the midst of following the call of Jesus.
• Why we should be more like sinking Peter.
• Why you should be careful what you wear when an air raid siren goes off (this is a hilarious story Hans tells in this episode)

Listen in today to be encouraged in your faith, even when you don’t sense God’s presence in the moment.

Join our group in the boat now as we listen to Hans.

Listen in below:

(See photos of the Sea of Galilee at the end of this post.)

Click below to play the Podcast (even better – subscribe in iTunes, Google Play or your favourite podcast player) 

Subscribe to our Podcast in iTunes

Let Us Know What You Think:

We’d love to hear from you so we can serve you better. Please send us an email to let us know what you think. Email us at info@breakforthjourneys.com.

‘Like’ Our Facebook Page:

You’ll be inspired by beautiful photos of the Lands of the Bible, breaking news, stories of faith, and updates.

Photos from the Sea of Galilee (all Photos Arlen Salte and Lisa Forseth):

View of a boat sailing on the Sea of Galilee from the mustard fields on the Mount of Beatitudes.

Mary’s Well in Nazareth, Israel.

It’s in this once humble town of Nazareth where Jesus spent most of His life! For 30 years, he lived as “God Incognito.”

Here, Jesus spent almost 90% of his earthly life, walking in holiness and humility. Here, Jesus learned the demanding but highly-skilled trade of a tekton (Greek) alongside His father, Joseph.

Jesus’ quiet life suddenly changed when He stood up in the synagogue and proclaimed Himself as the Messiah.

Today, our group is standing in the courtyard of St Gabriel Greek Orthodox Church, close to Mary’s Well.  Here, Hans shares a word of hope and challenge to each of us to be open to God’s unexpected ways of answering our prayers.

Are we ready to hear?

Listen in below:

(See photos of Nazareth, Mary’s Well and the highly-regarded Nazareth Village at the end of this post.)

Click below to play the Podcast (even better – subscribe in iTunes, Google Play or your favourite podcast player) 

Subscribe to our Podcast in iTunes

In this Episode, You’ll Discover:

• The tie of Nazareth to the Hebrew name for Christian today.
• Jesus was more than a carpenter.
• How Nazareth is tied to Biblical prophecy regarding the Messiah.
• Some photos below from Nazareth 

Let Us Know What You Think:

We’d love to hear from you so we can serve you better. Please send us an email to let us know what you think. Email us at info@breakforthjourneys.com.

‘Like’ Our FaceBook Page:

You’ll be inspired by beautiful photos of the Lands of the Bible, breaking news, stories of faith, and updates.

Photos from Nazareth (Photos from Arlen Salte and Linnea Salte):

Hans speaks to us outside of St Gabriel Church, close to Mary’s Well

By the water source in St Gabriel Church

Nazareth Village

Nazareth Village

View from the Nazareth Village site to modern Nazareth

Weavers in Nazareth Village

Synagogue representation in Nazareth Village

Scroll in the Synagogue in Nazareth Village, open to Isaiah

Megiddo, or Tel Megiddo, is the site of an ancient city in northern Israel’s Jezreel valley. It is believed to be the place where the armies will gather for Armageddon. The picture shows an aerial view of Tel Megiddo. Photo by Itamar Grinberg.

It’s one of the most important sites in the world – Megiddo!

Megiddo stands at the very hub of history. It was a central stop on the greatest trading route of the ancient world, which crossed the land bridge of Canaan to link the far reaches of the Fertile Crescent – Egypt in the south and Mesopotamia in the north.

This is why Tel Megiddo was one of the most strategic posts in the known world thousands of years ago. It was said, “He who guards Megiddo controls the world’s trade route and this way, they control the world.”

Historians believe that more battles were fought at Megiddo (Tel Megiddo) and the surrounding Jezreel Valley than anywhere else on earth.

Egyptians, Israelites, Midianites, Amalekites, Philistines, Greeks, Muslims, Crusaders, Mongols, British, Germans, Arabs, Ottomons, Australians and Israelis have all fought and died here.

The names of the warring leaders reverberate throughout history: Thutmose III of Egypt, Deborah, Barak, Sisera, Shishak, Jehu, Joram, Jezebel, Josiah, Gideon, Saul and Jonathan, Jezebel, Saladin, Napoleon, and Allenby. These are just some of the most famous names and there are countless others whose names were never recorded.

Yet, there is a far greater military gathering coming here according to many Bible scholars than ever before in the history of the world.

That’s where Hans takes us today.

Our group is standing at an overlook on Megiddo, gazing at the valley floor below and the skies above. Megiddo is filled with scriptural prophecy.

Listen in below:

(See photos of Megiddo at the end of this post.)

Click below to play the Podcast (even better – subscribe in iTunes, Google Play or your favourite podcast player) 

Subscribe to our Podcast in iTunes

In this Episode, You’ll Discover:

• The strategic significance of Megiddo throughout history
• The birth pangs of the end times but the joyful end
• The harmony of prophetic fulfillment that brings trials and revival.
• Some photos below from Megiddo (Tel Megiddo)

Let Us Know What You Think:

We’d love to hear from you so we can serve you better. Please send us an email to let us know what you think. Email us at info@breakforthjourneys.com.

‘Like’ Our FaceBook Page:

You’ll be inspired by beautiful photos of the Lands of the Bible, breaking news, stories of faith, and updates.

Photos from ‘Tel’ Megiddo (Photos from Arlen Salte and Adobe Stock):

Tel Megiddo an historical, geographical, and theological ruins site between the Carmel Ridge and the Valley of Jezreel in the Western Galilee, Israel.

The reconstructed southern stables at Tel Megiddo National Park

Ancient Gates: Tel Megiddo, Israel

Ruins at the Tel Megiddo National park – a UNESCO work heritage site, northern Israel

Chariot: Megiddo

Water tunnel: Megiddo

Grain storage system: Megiddo

View over Jezreel Valley from Tel Megiddo National Park, Israel