Passover

Celebrating a Christ-Centered Passover with Kids

Written by Holy Branches on April 8, 2025. Posted in Passover. No Comments on Celebrating a Christ-Centered Passover with Kids

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Passover is such a rich and meaningful Celebration for Christians, because it reminds us of God’s sovereignty and faithfulness to His people through both the Passover in Exodus as well as through our Savior, Jesus.

One of the reasons God tells us to celebrate Passover is to teach our children about Him through it (Ex. 12:24-27). We don’t have to add to the story of Passover to make it interesting. It’s an amazing story of an awesome God showing His supernatural power in order to rescue His people from a life of slavery to a life of freedom in Him! Here’s a brief overview of the Passover story if you need a reminder.

Kids and the Bible

I know there are some parents, grandparents, and guardians out there that worry about teaching children the more harsh parts of the Bible. This story contains death, sacrifice, blood, plagues, etc. and I understand how that seems like inappropriate material for kids.

But here’s the thing, guys. We need to keep our eye on the goal here. Why do we spend our precious time teaching our children stories from the Bible anyway? Because we want them to develop a relationship with the God of the Bible and to come to know Jesus as their Savior. We can’t reach these goals without telling them the Gospel story, that of Jesus’s crucifixion – the one where he bled and died and became the sacrifice that atones for our sin. If we were to leave this story out, we’d be wasting our time entirely.

So, are there any parts of the Bible we should leave out when teaching children? It does depend on their age and ability to handle difficult subjects. Some of the stories that include sexual sin, such as the story of Judah and Tamar (Gen. 38), or the specific gristly details like Judas’s intestines spilling out in Acts 1:18 could be left until the kids are older. But though we increase the detail in which we relay the stories as they mature, both the Gospel story and that of Passover can (and should!) be told age-appropriately to children.

As with anything difficult they may encounter in life, be ready to discuss it with your children. Questions about death, sacrifice, the wrath of God, plague details, etc. will come up. God’s holy Word does not return void when it goes out, so be wise in addressing your young audience but be cautious never to censor the words of God!

They Learn Through Stories

Why is it that we teach children Bible stories? Is it just to give them a collection of stories to carry around in their heads for the rest of their lives? No!

The purpose of the stories in the Bible are for us to get to know God through reading them. In Genesis, we meet God as the creator. In Exodus, we meet Him as our almighty God, our rescuer, and our provider. The story of Jesus’s death and resurrection introduces us to a God that forgives, despite His perfect justice and in Revelation, we learn of God’s supernatural side, His eternal sovereignty, and His desire to be with His people.

It’s not just children that learn best through stories. Even Jesus knows that we all learn better this way! He very often taught in parables to give us pictures of spiritual concepts using objects and situations we’re familiar with.

3 Takeaways

Just to make sure we stay focused while teaching our kids about Passover, here are a few of the most important points we need to make sure to convey.

1. God is All Powerful

In the Passover story as well as throughout the Bible, God’s infinite power is dramatically displayed. Although kids will pick up on this in the story, be deliberate in pointing it out so they can’t miss it. You can even teach them the long word omnipotence which means just that – all-powerful.

2. Jesus Died to Pay for Our Sins

Note the parallels in the Passover story between the Passover lamb and Jesus. This isn’t just a cool idea, it’s the amazing thing that caused John the Baptist to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah (John 1:29). Both Jesus’s and the lamb’s blood saved and protected the people from God’s wrath. Jesus and the lamb were both pure and innocent. Both Jesus and the lamb had to die for us to be saved. There are more but these should get you started.

3. God Loves His People

It’s out of His love for us and the Hebrew people that God provided a substitute when His wrath would have destroyed us. Although God is completely just in punishment for sin, He also loves us enough to provide a way for us to be forgiven. He wants a relationship with us despite our choices to distance ourselves from Him but requires action on our part (blood on the doorway and accepting the gift of salvation) to initiate that connection.

Passover Resources for Kids

The Passover & Unleavened Bread Activity Book

Here are some wonderful resources I’ve found for teaching your children about Passover. You can just teach them the story and the concepts or you can lead them through a Passover Seder, which teaches the same thing through a multi-sensory re-telling of the story. Click on the item’s name below for more information or to order.

Bible Pathway Adventures Passover & Unleavened Bread Activity Book

I use Bible Pathway Adventures to teach my children (ages 2 through 12) about many Bible concepts and stories. I love that the printable and bound books include various activities on so many subjects. This one covers the Biblical Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread as well as a bit on Passover Seders.

Passover Fun Box

Made by a sweet friend of mine, these boxes come with everything you need to both tell the story of Passover and make a decoration for your home during the Passover season!

Ultimate Sticker Book: Passover

It’s sometimes difficult to find an educational activity that holds the interest of toddlers and preschoolers but they love stickers! This book provides vivid pictures and an opportunity to have conversations about Passover while also keeping little hands busy.

Seder Plate Puzzle

Here’s another idea for the little ones! You can talk through the meaning of each element on the plate while they get their fine motor skills on.

10 Plagues of Egypt Toy Kit

This kit is helpful as a visual aid while teaching the Passover story or during the Seder. Each of these fun and interesting items creates opportunity for a discussion on the themes of Passover as well as the details of the story.

The Prince of Egypt Movie

Watching this movie (with plenty of popcorn!) has become a pre-Passover tradition in our home. This movie is unusual in that it’s pretty accurate Biblically, yet fun and entertaining for all ages! It gets the conversation about the upcoming celebration rolling in a family-friendly way.

A Christian Seder Meal: For Kids and Their Whole Family

This short book can just be read to teach children about Passover or used during a Seder to explain what’s going on and why. Not just for children, it contains simple yet meaningful explanations that even adults will find illuminating!

Ten Plagues Story Craft

I love this craft from Torah Sisters! It’s simple enough for my scribblers but my older kids get into it too. It’s also very versatile in that you can print it in color or allow the children to color it themselves. You could have them cut out the circles and attach them to a poster, banner, or other project, or glue popsicle sticks to them and use them when reading the Bible story or during the Seder.

Sing Dayenu

Dayenu is a Hebrew word meaning basically “it would have been enough”. It’s sung over and over with different verses, saying that if God had even only done one of the billions of things He’s done for us, it would have been enough. But we know, and Passover reminds us, that he didn’t just do one of those things. He’s forever faithful to us from the beginning of time throughout eternity!

Passover Ten Plagues Hand Puppet Kit

This kit comes with everything you need to make 10 puppets – 1 to represent each of the plagues in the story. You could tell the story while they’re busy assembling their puppets or use the completed puppets for the story or Seder.

Ella and Noah celebrate Passover: sticker activity book

Matzo House

We’re planning on trying this one this year. We made sukkahs out of graham crackers during Sukkot and my kids loved it! We always have a lot of leftover matzah so these cute houses would be a great way to use it up. It’s also a great opportunity to discuss the significance of unleavened bread and the picture the Bible gives us about yeast symbolizing sin in our lives.

Passover Page on jewishkids.org

A website made by Jewish parent site, chabad.org, this page contains many activities, books, songs, etc. for kids that relate to Passover. Although from a Jewish perspective, it will provide useful activities and information for your children on both the Passover story and Seder.

Whether it’s your first Passover with your kids or you’re a pro at this, you’ll find many helpful resources out there as you plan to introduce your children to the God of the Passover. I’m sure you’ll be so glad you did and you may even learn something yourself in the process!

Finding a Messianic Haggadah for Your Christian Passover Seder

Written by Holy Branches on April 8, 2025. Posted in Passover. No Comments on Finding a Messianic Haggadah for Your Christian Passover Seder

The celebration of Passover is such a valuable tradition for Christians! When planning your Passover Seder, a Haggadah is necessary, as it’s the booklet allowing each participant to follow along as the Seder proceeds. I’ve been asked which Haggadah I recommend for Christians exploring the Hebrew Roots of their faith so I decided to put my list of recommendations all in one place to help others out there who are looking for one.

The word Haggadah means “the telling”. It’s usually a booklet that both gives a background on Passover and leads participants through a Passover Seder meal. Although most Haggadahs are made by and for Jewish people, there are now numerous options for Christians as well, as many are making Passover a tradition in their families and churches.

Here are a few of the great Messianic Haggadōt (plural for Haggadah) I’ve found:

The Messianic Passover Haggadah

I list this one first because it’s the favorite of my audience. It’s very commonly used by Hebrew Roots Christians and is highly rated. The theme throughout is redemption and it includes songs to sing during your Seder and uses the Complete Jewish Bible as the translation for quoted verses.

Messianic Family Haggadah

This is a free download from Chosen People Ministries. It can be used for either (Messianic) Jewish or Christian participants and focuses on the deliverance and redemption

Christ in the Passover

This is another favorite of Christians who celebrate Passover. Made with first-timers in mind, this pamphlet leads the reader through a Passover Seder and also explains the symbolism of each element. It’s focused on teaching the connections between the Passover and Jesus’s sacrifice and how a Passover Seder reminds us of both of these.

Broken For You

One of my family’s favorites, this Haggadah is written by Matthew Van Els of Founded in Truth Ministries. We’ve used this one for two of our Seders and found it such a great way to lead them. It is deep enough to spiritually lead the adults through it but clear and simple enough for the children to follow as well.

Messiah’s Seder: Passover Experience for Christians and Messianic Jews

By Rabbi Jason Sobel, author of Mysteries of the Messiah, this Hagaddah walks you through the seder with the goal of having all participants grow closer to Jesus. It’s easy to follow even with little previous seder experience and has explanations for each step.

The Master’s Table

Written and published by First Fruits of Zion, this is a beginner and Christian-friendly book to guide your family or even a large group through a Passover Seder.

Cup of Redemption

Focusing on explanation and clarification of Passover and the elements of a Seder, this Haggadah is easy to follow and will lead both beginner and experienced participants. The author, Darren Huckey, is the director of Emet HaTorah.

The Christian’s Guide to Passover

This simple guide is useful for beginners, easy to follow, and can be used for a short Seder and for more advanced participants as well. This one has a Kindle version to download into your most convenient device in addition to the booklet form.

Behold the Lamb

This non-traditional Haggadah boasts that it tells the Passover story through scripture. It’s a unique way to re-tell the story and celebrate Jesus, our Passover Lamb. This one includes Matzah recipes and an interactive craft for kids!

Have a favorite Messianic Passover Haggadah? Share it in the comments!

A Very Basic Christian Passover Seder Guide

Written by Holy Branches on April 8, 2025. Posted in Hebraic Roots, Passover, Traditions. 13 Comments on A Very Basic Christian Passover Seder Guide

So, you’ve decided to incorporate the celebration of Passover into your Christian home. Now what? Where to begin? What to buy? Whom to ask? What to say? What to eat? I know only a couple of Christians that were raised with Passover as a family tradition. What a great blessing! Unfortunately, the rest of us must figure it out on our own. But recent years have produced a large number of resources for Christians interested in Passover. This is a great time to introduce Passover as a tradition in your family and to get started passing it on to future generations. Here’s a simplified, step-by-step guide to help you hold your own Christian Passover Seder. As you continue to learn and grow in this practice, you can involve more of the elements and customs as you see fit for your family.

Get a free printable version of this seder guide here!

Pray

Let God know your intentions. Ask Him to help you find the resources you need to observe Passover with your family. You’ll be surprised at His response!

Read the story of the Passover

Make sure you know what you’re celebrating and why. Even if you know the story, go over it again. Obviously, it’s no substitute for the bible but here’s a quick summary. Don’t miss the supernatural awesomeness of God displayed in this story! The point of all this was to show God’s power and proclaim His name throughout the earth (Exodus 9:16). Make sure that gets done through your Passover celebration. Make sure God gets all the glory.

Collect supplies

Here’s a short list for a simple Seder.

A Haggadah – 1 per person (A booklet to lead participants through the Seder)
Bowl of water and towel for hand washing
A Seder Plate – 1 for each table or each participant (can be an actual Seder plate like this one but can also be any large plate)
Matzah – about 5 pieces per participant
Cloth (napkin or otherwise to wrap 3 pieces of the matzah in)
Parsley or celery – 1 piece for each participant
Salt – enough to make saltwater
Small dishes for saltwater – 1 per participant or per every few participants
Charoset – about 1/2 c. per participant
Bone – 1 for each Seder plate (usually a roasted lamb shank bone but we use a drumstick)
Horseradish – about 1 tablespoon per participant
Wine and/or juice – enough for each participant to have 4 glasses/cups
Glasses and/or cups – 1 for each participant
Full meal to eat (other than the Seder elements, usually pork-free and yeast-free)

Set up

Decide who will lead the Seder. Traditionally, it’s the man of the house, but it doesn’t have to be. This person will be praying, pouring wine, etc., so he or she may have to brush up on how to do a Seder ahead of time. Here’s a great video for that.
Fill hand washing bowl with water and have towel accessible.
Put Matzah on a plate so that everyone at the table has access to it.
Wrap 3 pieces of matzah in the cloth and set it at the leader’s place.
Make saltwater in either individual or shared bowls and place on the table.
Prepare Seder plate(s). Place bone, parsley or celery, charoset, and horseradish on the plate.
Place glasses/cups on the table.
Place wine/juice on the table to have it more easily accessible.
Make sure everyone has a Haggadah.

Rite Lite Blue & White Curlicue Seder Plate With Gold Accents

Simplified Summary of the Christian Seder

Pour the first glass of wine. Open with a prayer, thanking God for freeing us from slavery, both through the Exodus from Egypt and from sin through our Messiah, Jesus. Optional: say the HaGafen blessing together.
Pass the washing bowl around, and each participant should wash and dry their hands. This signifies that we must approach God with a clean and pure heart.
Dip the parsley in salt water. Tell participants that this reminds us of our tears in slavery. Eat it after the leader has praised God for the vegetables. The HaAdamah can be said at this time.
The leader removes the middle piece of matzah from the 3 pieces of matzah that have been set aside. It should be broken in 2, and the larger piece wrapped in the cloth. In some homes, it is hidden somewhere in the house for the children to find later. This reminds us that Jesus was broken, wrapped, and buried.
Everyone then lifts a piece of matzah. The blessing over the bread, the HaMotzi, can be said at this time. The leader then explains that the bread is like the bread that the Israelites had upon leaving Egypt. The absence of yeast represents the absence of sin in our lives due to the redemption of that sin through Jesus. Set the matzah down.
Pour another glass of wine. At this point, the youngest child in the house who is able to read should read The Four Questions.
1. On other nights, we don’t dip our food. Why do we dip our food twice tonight?
2. On other nights, we eat regular bread. Why do we eat only matzah tonight?
3. On other nights, we eat other vegetables. Why do we eat parsley tonight?
4. On other nights, we sit in chairs. Why do we recline tonight?
The leader then responds that tonight is different because tonight, we remember that God rescued us from slavery and the slavery of our sin. We dip our food to remind us of the tears shed in our slavery, and we dip again to remember that we are free. Eating matzah reminds us of the Hebrew people hurriedly leaving Egypt and the sinlessness of Jesus. Horseradish reminds us of the bitterness of slavery – both in Egypt and in our sin. We recline as if we’re royalty because we are free people.
The leader tells the Passover story. During the part recalling the plagues, the participants dip their finger in the wine and drop a drop of wine onto a piece of matzah as each plague is recalled (blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and the death of the firstborn). The leader should emphasize the actual Passover part of the story (lamb’s blood on the doorpost saving God’s people) and that Jesus’s blood allowed our exodus from the slavery of our sin.
Each person should hold up a piece of matzah. The leader should again say that we eat matzah because the Israelites left with no time for their bread to rise. The matzah is also like Jesus, who wasn’t “leavened” with sin so that he could be a sacrifice for ours.
The leader should raise the horseradish and tell everyone that this reminds us of the bitterness of slavery. The leader then puts the horseradish down. The leader should then explain that the charoset reminds us of the mortar used by the Israelite slaves to build brick buildings for the Egyptians.
Everyone lifts the second cup of wine. The leader praises God for saving us and for the fruit of the vine. Then everyone should drink and eat the matzah.
The leader should praise God for the reminder of the bitter herbs. Then all participants should put horseradish on their matzah and eat.
The leader thanks God for the food and for this time to remember the Passover and Jesus, our Passover lamb. The meal is now served.
After the meal is the 3^rd cup of wine. You’ll recognize this part from the Last Supper recorded in the Gospels. If the middle matzah was hidden, now is the time to find it. The leader breaks the once-hidden broken matzah into pieces and gives each believer at the table a piece. Another glass of wine is poured, and everyone should hold the matzah and wine. The leader should summarize the Last Supper and then quote 1 Cor. 11:24 and Mark 14:22, where Jesus said, “This is my body which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Then, everyone should eat their piece of matzah and hold their cup of wine up. The leader should then quote 1 Cor. 11:25 and Mark 14:24, where Jesus said, “This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” Then all believers should drink the 3^rd cup.
This is usually the time for a song of praise. Some say a Psalm or sing a hymn. My kids cannot let this moment pass without singing Dayenu until we eventually have to stop them. Ha ha!
The leader now pours the 4^th cup of wine, praises God for the fruit of the vine, and everyone drinks it.
The leader concludes, reminding everyone that tonight’s feast reminds of God’s deliverance for us, not only from slavery in Egypt but also from our sin and the death we deserve. We are redeemed through the blood of Jesus just as the blood of the lamb in the first Passover redeemed the Israelites.

I know there are some out there reading this thinking “A simple overview?!?!”. I was there once too! There’s more to a full Seder, but this post includes just what I consider to be the most important elements. It’s difficult to introduce this tradition if it’s new to you, but if you’ve been convicted that this is something you should be doing with your family, please do it anyway. My family’s first Passover didn’t go as we planned, and we stumbled through it, but we all have learned a LOT since then! Expect a challenge as you start and continue this rich tradition, and I’m guessing you’ll be blessed by your perseverance.

Get a free printable version of this seder guide here!

I love this pamphlet by Rose Publishing called Christ in the Passover! It explains why Passover is meaningful to Christians and the significance of the items and story behind the Passover Seder.

Happy Passover!

The Feast of Unleavened Bread vs. Passover: What’s the Difference?

Written by Holy Branches on April 8, 2025. Posted in Passover, Traditions. 56 Comments on The Feast of Unleavened Bread vs. Passover: What’s the Difference?

Are Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread the same thing? Although many think they are, they’re described as two separate Feasts in the Bible. The Feast of Unleavened Bread follows right after Passover, though the two events overlap, as I’ll explain below.

Both Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are meaningful celebrations for Christians as we explore our Hebrew roots and grow in our faith. Our Savior and what he’s done for us can be clearly symbolized through both of these Feasts, and if they’re not yet traditions in your home, I highly recommend you consider adopting them! They give such vivid pictures of who Jesus is and why we need him!

While often referred to as such, Passover isn’t a week or even a day, but a meal held on the 14th day of the month of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. This corresponds to a date in March or April on our Gregorian calendar.

Although the original command can’t be kept since it includes the sacrifice of the Passover lamb at the Temple, an annual celebration allows us to remember what God did for His people in Egypt.

The meal for Passover, called a Seder, isn’t merely to nourish those who partake, but to serve as a memorial to what God did for His people in the Exodus from Egypt. It’s to be eaten on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, at twilight. It’s important to note here that days on the Hebrew calendar start at twilight the night before.

Rite Lite Marble Seder Plate Design Ceramic Passover Pesach Seder Dish

The Passover lamb in Egypt foreshadows Jesus, our Passover Lamb, and this is clearly shown during the Seder. Just as the blood of the Passover Lamb rescued the Hebrew people from slavery, it’s the blood of Jesus that saves us from the slavery of our sin as well.

Unleavened Bread

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is to start on the 15th day of Nisan, the same month as Passover, at twilight. This is a 7-day feast, and the first and last days are to be Sabbaths. These Sabbaths differ from the weekly Sabbath (Saturday) and may occur on any day of the week. Which day of the week they’re on changes from year to year, but no matter what day they occur on, the same rules apply as for the weekly Sabbath – rest and keeping the day holy.

The command for this feast says to eat unleavened bread for seven days and to remove all leaven from your homes before the feast begins (this is the period where the Feast of Unleavened Bread overlaps Passover). In our home, we get rid of anything leavened as well as any leavening agents. For the rest of the 7-day period, all meals and snacks don’t contain any leavening agents or leavened products.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread gives those who participate in it such a great picture of the sin in our lives! The Bible often uses “yeast” or “leaven” to signify sin. In the process of cleaning it out of our homes, we realize very quickly how difficult it is to find and remove it all. There are crumbs in the corners of our pantries and even under our refrigerators. In a house like mine, with seven people, is it even possible to get it all?

But this is the part of this feast that points us right to Jesus. When we see how difficult it is to get all the leaven out of our homes, we realize just how difficult it is to get the sin out of our lives. It’s easy to find the obvious loaves of bread in the pantry but you have to really hunt for the Cheerios between the couch cushions (those of you who have toddlers understand. The rest of you stay with me on this). In the same way, it’s easier to get the big, obvious sins out of our lives, but more difficult to get the hidden, seemingly small ones out before they fester.

Even though we can’t get all of the sin out of our lives, we have Jesus to cover them all. Though we should still strive to live in a way that pleases God, if we believe in Jesus as our Savior, he even forgives the sins we’d rather leave in the dark places under the fridge. Even if the “home” of our life is sparkling clean, chances are that there’s some leaven hiding somewhere.

Sherrie’s Favorite Unleavened Recipes: For Passover and The Days of Unleavened Bread

This is why we need Jesus! He’s the only one capable of perfectly cleaning the “homes” of our lives, which allows us to have a relationship with a holy God. What a wonderful picture!

Just like all of the Seven Biblical Feast Days, Passover and Unleavened Bread both point to our Savior in different but clear ways. My family’s faith has grown so much since we included these important days or “Appointed Times” in the Bible. If they aren’t yet traditions in your home, I encourage you to include them, and I’m sure you’ll be glad you did!

Why Celebrate Passover as a Christian?

Written by Holy Branches on April 8, 2025. Posted in Passover. 6 Comments on Why Celebrate Passover as a Christian?

Passover is a very significant event for the Christian believer. As followers of Jesus, we desire both to walk in his footsteps and to celebrate the sacrifice he made for us. A Passover Seder (traditional “meal” in which the story of Passover is told) is a wonderful tradition in which Christians can both remember God’s faithfulness and celebrate our Savior!

Note: If you’re not familiar with the story of the Passover in the Bible, I recommend you review it, as this article and the celebration of Passover are based on it. The story of the Passover is found in Exodus, chapters 3-15. Here’s a Quick Overview of the Passover Story, but please read the real story in the Bible when you get a quiet moment. It’s amazing!

Here are some of the reasons the celebration of Passover is beneficial to our Christian Faith.

It Points to Jesus

Slavery and the Passover Lamb

Just like the Hebrew people were enslaved by the Egyptians, we all were once slaves to our sin. Romans 6:6 highlights this parallel.

“…our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with so that we would no longer be slaves to sin…”

But like the Hebrew slaves, God sent a savior for us. For them, the blood of the Passover lamb saved them from the last plague, the death of the firstborn. This foreshadowed Jesus’s blood saving us from our sins. John the Baptist recognized that Jesus would fulfill this role for us.

“…he [John] saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

During a Passover Seder, we have two lambs to celebrate. We both remember the lambs whose blood saved the Hebrew people and Jesus, the Lamb who gave his blood to save us.

The timing of Jesus’s crucifixion also shows us why he came and was crucified. His being crucified during Passover was no coincidence. God shows us through this that he truly is our Passover Lamb whose blood is worthy to take away punishment for the sin of all!

The Afikomen

Although much of the Passover Seder points to Jesus, a very interesting part is what’s known as the afikomen. The word means “the coming one,” and it’s the name for the middle piece of matzah (unleavened bread) in a group of three set-aside pieces.

This matzah piece is then broken, wrapped in cloth, hidden, and then found again. When doing this, we remember that Jesus was broken when crucified, wrapped, buried, and rose again! Read this last sentence again if you’re not awestruck by the parallel in this tradition!

The Leaven Clean-Out

Prior to Passover comes one of the best ways I can think of to picture sin and its effect on our lives. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15), which occurs during Passover, is when we not only eat bread without yeast or leaven but also clean the leaven out of our homes entirely!

If you’ve never done this before, let me tell you—it’s difficult, especially if you have a bunch of little people living in your house like I do, who tend to leave crumbs everywhere!

The Bible often uses yeast or leaven to signify sin. Here’s an example.

“…Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Cor. 5:6-8

Here, Paul tells the Corinthian people that sin spreads. Even a little bit of sin will spread throughout a family, church, community, etc., just as it takes just a bit of yeast to leaven a whole lump of dough. When you try to clean every bit of the leaven from your entire home, you realize just how hard it is – and that you can never get it all!

This is just like our sin. We come before a perfect God, desiring to be accepted by Him, but we’ve got sin tucked in all the nooks and crannies of our lives. This is why we can be so grateful for Jesus! He covers all of our sin, even the dirty nooks and crannies, so we can appear before God as clean and acceptable!

Jesus Himself Participated

The story of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem is celebrated by Christians on Palm Sunday. This is when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, and the people laid palm branches in his path and waved them, saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!”.

Why was Jesus headed into Jerusalem that day? To celebrate the Passover! This can be found in all four Gospel books in the New Testament. It was during their Passover Seder that Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and instituted communion. In three of the four Gospels, he even said that he’d celebrate Passover again with us someday!

As believers in Jesus, we have the common goal of being more like Jesus. In celebrating Passover, we’re not only walking in his footsteps but also practicing and preparing for a Passover feast with Jesus himself one day! Wow!

God Tells Us to Remember

**Obedience – a Result of Salvation**

God’s people want to please and obey Him. We obey not to try to earn our salvation but because we have a God who knows our needs intimately enough to have provided us with a Savior. It’s out of that same love that God provided us with many commands in the Bible. Being our creator, He knows what’s best for us and has shown us how to live.

So, one wonderful reason to celebrate Passover is because God told us to! He knows that it’s in our best interest and that our celebration can bring glory to Him!

The Command

The command to celebrate Passover is found in many places throughout the Bible. We know that the most important or notable things in the Bible are repeated. God must have placed high importance on the annual celebration of Passover because the command is repeated many times!

Passover is to be observed on the 14th day of the first month (Nisan) at twilight. It should also be noted that many of the places Passover is commanded specify that it’s to be done forever – not just while wandering in the desert, not just until that generation was gone, and not just until Jesus comes. Forever. Throughout all generations.

Speaking of generations, some of these commands come with an explanation that we’re to teach our children about Passover and answer their questions about God by recounting the Passover story to them. What an effective way to teach them who God is!

The command to observe Passover includes the sacrifice of the Passover lamb at the Temple. Since we currently have no Temple that we have access to for this, we unfortunately can’t fully obey this command. We can, however, obey God when He said to remember when God rescued His people from Egypt. We can also obey Him in teaching our children what God did and who He is through the Passover story.

When we have a Passover Seder, we do just that. We remember what God did for the Hebrew people as well as what God did for us when He sent Jesus to die to atone for our sins. The Bible doesn’t mention a seder, but it does tell us to recall the events of the Passover to our children to teach them about God (Ex. 12:25-27). The seder serves to do just that – to remember what God did and to teach our children so generations after us don’t forget who God is and what He does for His people.

Here’s a list of the verses in the Bible that include a command to observe Passover:

– Exodus 12:14-17, 24-27; 13:3, 6-8, 14-15; 34:18, 25

– Leviticus 23:4-8

– Numbers 9:1-14; 28:16-17

– Deuteronomy 16:2-3

– 2 Kings 23:21-22

– 2 Chronicles 30:1

– Ezekiel 45:21

– Matthew 26:26-29

– Luke 22:17-20

– 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; 11:23-26

To Get to Know God

We read and study the Bible not for our own intellectual advancement but to get to know God. As we see Him interact with His people throughout the Bible, we can learn His character. It’s in learning who He is that we can develop a relationship with Him. The story of Passover is just one example.

God explains more fully why Passover shows us who He is.

“Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” Ex. 6:7

God used His supernatural power to free His people from slavery to show them that they were His people, He was their God, and He was faithful to them. Every year, He wants us to retell the story to our children and remember it ourselves so that we know that the Creator of the universe, the one who freed His people from the Egyptians, will be our God. We will be His people, and He will be forever faithful!

If you’re planning a Passover Seder, check out my calendar for the dates. It’s on this list as an 8-day celebration, like it will be on most calendars but the Seder is traditionally held on the second day. The date of Passover stays the same on the Hebrew calendar but changes yearly on our Gregorian calendar.

If you’d like a short, simple, yet Christ-centered guide, here’s the link to my Basic Christian Passover Seder Guide.

If you’re new to the concept of a Gospel-centered Passover, the book Christ in the Passover by Ceil and Moishe Rosen and Jews for Jesus will further explain the themes I touched on here.

How Do the Biblical Feast Days Point to Jesus?

Written by Holy Branches on January 14, 2025. Posted in Hanukkah, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Sabbath, Shavuot, Sukkot, Yom Kippur. 5 Comments on How Do the Biblical Feast Days Point to Jesus?

You may have heard many Christians started observing the Biblical Feast Days. You may even have heard them claim these seven Feast Days point to Jesus as our Messiah. Since the connection between the commands to observe these days in Leviticus and our faith in Jesus as our Savior can be confusing, here’s an overview of these important days and how each relates to Jesus and, thus, to our faith.

I must add that salvation is not found in keeping the Feast Days or God’s commands. Salvation through works is a significant misconception about the Hebrew Roots Movement and the source of many people’s objection to Christians keeping The Holy Days or following the commands of the Torah. Salvation is found in Jesus alone and is based on the grace we’ve been given through Jesus’s sacrifice, not on our adherence to God’s laws (Eph. 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5). We follow His laws only out of love and respect for God and His commands and because His grace has saved us, not because the obedience itself will save us. On the other hand, although the laws don’t save us, we shouldn’t blatantly disregard the way God wants us to live. We should instead delight in His perfect laws (Psalm 1:2, 19:7, and 40:8)!

This article is a basic overview; the verses I give for each refer only to the command. All these observances are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible as well. Click on the day’s name for a more in-depth explanation of how it relates to the Christian faith and can be celebrated in a Christian home.

Celebrating Jesus in the Biblical Feasts Expanded Edition: Discovering Their Significance to You as a Christian

The Sabbath (Lev. 23:3 and Ex. 20:8-11)

Known as “Shabbat” in Hebrew, this Feast Day occurs weekly. The Sabbath is a day to rest and to keep holy – that is, to focus on our God and Savior.

Jesus said that he is “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8 and Mark 2:28). In addition to revealing his divine nature in this verse, having been there at the creation of the universe, Jesus took part in the creation of the Sabbath when God first declared it (John 1:1-5, Gen. 1:26 and 2:3).

Jesus is our “Sabbath rest” (Hebrews 4). As believers, we can rest in our salvation and observe the Sabbath just as God did. We should strive to align our behavior with what God desires of us despite and because of our salvation. However, we can rest in the mercy and grace we’ve been given and approach God with no shame after repenting and turning from our sin.

Passover (Lev. 23:5 and Exodus 12)

“Pesach” in Hebrew, this Feast is a remembrance of the Passover and the resultant exodus from slavery in Egypt. During the Passover, the blood of the Passover Lamb on the doorposts of the Hebrew people saved them from the final plague of the death of the firstborn.

John the Baptist prophetically calls Jesus “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). After Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection, Paul refers to him as “our Passover” (1 Cor. 5:7). What these two men realized is that the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb that saved the Hebrew people foreshadowed the sacrifice Jesus made that saves us today!

Jesus also tells us he’ll celebrate The Passover with us again someday (Mark 14:24-25 and Luke 22:15-16). Wow! What an exciting Feast to look forward to!

Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:6-8 and Exodus 12:15-20)

Also called “Chag HaMatzot,” this week-long Feast occurs during the week of Passover. It’s generally a time to remember the Passover further. Being in a hurry to leave Egypt when Pharaoh finally allowed them to, they didn’t have time to leaven their dough and had to cook and eat unleavened bread.

The command for this Feast is to remove all leaven (also called “chametz”) from one’s household and to eat none for seven days. “Leaven” or yeast is a biblical reference to sin or corruption. When something is described as “unleavened,” it’s pure or uncorrupted.

For example, when yeast is placed in bread, it spreads until it is in the entire batch. Think about people you know who have let a minor sin enter their lives; likewise, it spreads and spreads and sometimes ends up ruining lives. Think about a married man who friends an old girlfriend on social media and what damage this tiny action can lead to.

Jesus, our “bread of life,” was able to be the only atoning sacrifice for our sin because he was “unleavened” or uncorrupted by sin. Having adhered to the entire law (Torah), his perfection made his crucifixion the one-time blood sacrifice that could cover the sins of all mankind forever.

In 1 Cor. 5:6-7, Paul explains that a bit of leaven leavens the whole lump. Even if we lead perfect lives, we cannot achieve perfection, causing us not to be able to experience true communion with God. Having to clean out all the leaven in every nook and cranny of our homes reminds us that even the tiniest bits of sin left in the nooks and crannies of our hearts must be dealt with. If not, they will indeed “leaven the whole lump” and spread throughout our lives and those around us.

How blessed are we? Jesus has dealt with each crumb of leaven in our hearts so that we can approach God pure and “unleavened” as well!

First Fruits (Lev. 23:9-14)

Called “Yom Bikkurim” (the Day of First Fruits) or “Reshit Katzir” (beginning of the harvest) in Hebrew, this Feast Day is the dedication of the future harvest to God, which was demonstrated by waving a sheaf of green barley before God. It begins the 49-day countdown to The Feast of Weeks, the next Feast. The command also includes sacrificing a blemish-free male lamb as well. However, this part can only be done with the Temple.

Here’s another Feast Day that Paul sheds light on for us. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, he tells us that Jesus is the “first fruits” to both the dead and those “in Christ” when Jesus returns to Earth. Just as the First Fruits Feast offerings looked forward to the future harvest, so did Jesus’s resurrection. He came to save us and will raise the dead and rule the Earth when he returns! What a glorious day that will be!

Feast of Weeks (Lev. 23:15-21)

“Shavuot,” in Hebrew, means “weeks,” and is another name for this Feast. It’s more commonly known among Christians as Pentecost (which means “fifty”). It marks the 50th day after the original Passover, the day God gave His law (Torah) to His people on Mount Sinai. It’s called the Feast of Weeks because the counting was to be done in weeks. The command says to count seven Sabbaths (seven weeks) from the Day of First Fruits until this Feast.

Before his ascension into Heaven, 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus foretold what would happen on the day the apostles celebrated The Feast of Weeks. In the first chapter of Acts, Jesus tells them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promised Holy Spirit.

Sure enough, just as he said, the apostles were celebrating the Feast of Weeks ten days later, thanking God for giving His Word on Mount Sinai. During this celebration, they received the Word in their hearts just as was prophesied (Jer. 31:31-33 and Joel 2:28-29). While they thanked God for His Word, His Word entered their hearts as the Holy Spirit indwelt them.

Jesus said that he had to leave so that they could receive the Holy Spirit, and that’s precisely what happened. The Word was given on Mount Sinai, then lived among us, personified in Jesus, and then the Word was given to each believer personally through the Holy Spirit!

Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:23-25)

A Shofar or Ram’s horn. A type of “trumpet” discussed in the Bible.

Commonly called Rosh Hashanah due to its designation as the first day of the Jewish New Year, this day is called Yom Teruah in the Hebrew Bible. The command says it is a Sabbath, and trumpets (or shofars – rams’ horns) are to be blown, along with a sacrifice brought to the Temple. Biblically, it’s not the New Year but is a method of numbering and counting the years.

Generally, the creation of the universe is celebrated, and it marks the beginning of the “Ten Days of Awe,” which continues over the year’s remaining Feast Days. This ten-day period is a time of introspection where each person evaluates their life, repents for sin, and resolves to live more according to God’s will.

HalleluYAH Yemenite kudu Shofar From Israel Plus Free Bonus Ram Horn

We must first understand the “Teruah” to fully understand this Feast. More than just the noise of a trumpet blast, this was the same call made by the priests when the wall of Jericho fell. It’s the one used when King David returned the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and it will be the one heard on “the Day of The Lord” (Zeph. 1:16). This type of trumpet blast (or even shouting) is like a call to war or a celebration of a victory of God or His people.

The Feast of Trumpets is when we anticipate Jesus’s return to Earth. Jesus gives a chilling explanation of this day in Matthew 24. He says that after the sun, moon, and stars are darkened, and the powers of the heavens are shaken (woah…), the trumpet call will bring his elect from the Earth’s four corners. “His elect”? That’s us, Christian Brothers and Sisters! And so we remember to blow our trumpets yearly on The Day of Trumpets. And in the meantime, we wait… And listen for the trumpets…

And in the meantime, we wait… And listen for the trumpets…

As we think of a new year beginning and prepare our hearts for Yom Kippur, we can focus on repentance and re-aligning our lives with God’s will. An honest and prayerful examination of our lives can highlight the sin we must deal with and the changes we must make.

This process will naturally bring us to a state of thankfulness for our Savior. We can repent, turn from our sin, and know that his unselfish sacrifice on the cross covers it.

Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:26-32)

Also called Yom Kippur (the Day of Coverings), this was the only day of the year that the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies and make a sin sacrifice for God’s people. He was the only one who could stand between them and God to make atonement, and only on this day, according to specific procedures. Without the Temple to make these sacrifices today, the Jewish people see this as the day that God writes our names in the Book of Life or the Book of Death, depending on which we deserve.

As Christians, we see this day a bit differently, of course. While focusing on repentance, we can also celebrate and be grateful for the sacrifice that made atonement for our sin, Jesus. He is also our high priest (Heb. 4:14-15 and 8:1-6) and is therefore qualified to make atonement for our sins. Furthermore, if we profess Jesus as our Savior, we know that our names are already written in the Book of Life, so we can thank God for that!

Prophetically, we can also look forward to the day when Jesus returns as judge. Although one judgment was carried out when Jesus was crucified, there remains a Judgement Day for those who have rejected him. There are also a few places in the Bible (Matt. 12:36-37, 1 Cor. 3:13, and 2 Cor. 5:10) indicating that, as Christians, our actions will be judged as well (although not with gravity equal to those not in Christ). Because of this, we all must closely examine our actions and the fruit of our lives and further align with God’s will.

Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-36, 39-43)

This Feast is also referred to as the Feast of Booths or Sukkot (“booths” or “tabernacles” in Hebrew). It’s traditionally a time to remember God’s provisions for His people and His dwelling or “tabernacling” with His people. The command includes living in a temporary dwelling for the week.

Celebrating Biblical Feasts: In Your Home or Church By Martha Zimmerman

Many Christians use this time of the year to celebrate the time Jesus spent tabernacling with us, from birth to resurrection. Sukkot is a time to celebrate God’s dwelling with His people. Jesus was precisely that! He is God and came to Earth as a man to walk with us!

We can also thank God for His provision and blessings during this time. Yes, He gives us more than we need in a material sense, but He also does in a spiritual sense. Being the sinful people we all are, we’re separated from God and in dire need of a way to Him that we can’t provide ourselves. Although we’re undeserving of it, God chose to give us a second chance. He sent Jesus so we could approach God even though we were unworthy. That’s the best blessing of all!

Many places in the Bible foretell a time when God will dwell with us again. The Feast of Tabernacles is when we can look forward to the Wedding Feast in Revelation. Jesus—the groom—will finally be united with us, his people—his bride—and there will be a great, joyful Wedding Feast! What an event to behold! I can’t wait, can you?!

All these Feasts point to Jesus in powerful yet unique ways. Bringing these traditions into your Christian faith will provide reminders of the part we all have in God’s Kingdom and of our eternal Savior and what he’s done in the past, what he’s doing right now, and what he will do in the future. Celebrate Jesus throughout the year—on the Feast Days and every day!

Holidays for Christians to Observe in Honor of Their Hebraic Roots

Written by Holy Branches on December 26, 2024. Posted in Hanukkah, Hebraic Roots, Passover, Purim, Rosh Hashanah, Shavuot, Sukkot, Traditions, Yom Kippur. 1 Comment on Holidays for Christians to Observe in Honor of Their Hebraic Roots

If you’re just here for the free printable calendar, get yours here!

The celebration of Passover has become more common among Christians in recent years. This celebration is so beneficial because Passover has many elements that point to our Messiah and highlight the greatness of our God and His love for us!

But did you know other holidays celebrate our God and Savior while honoring the Jewish history of our faith? Some of them are Biblical, and others are traditionally Jewish in our culture but also have implications for us as Gentile believers.

Adding these significant days to your family’s legacy can enrich and deepen your faith and help you pass it on to your children and others. It can even bring you and your family closer to God and Jesus as we learn more about them through observation of these meaningful times.

Here are some that are the most directly connected to the practice of our faith as Christians, especially as it relates to our Jewish roots.

Purim (פּוּרִים)

Purim is the celebration of God’s deliverance of the Jewish people through Queen Esther. A man named Haman was plotting their destruction, but Esther bravely approached the king and revealed her identity as a Jew to encourage him to save her people. He did and had Haman executed instead.

As Christians, we’re familiar with persecution and how God orchestrates historical events that affect His people. We can celebrate that Esther was in the place she was because God knew what the need for her to be there would be and made her an instrument for His plan.

Purim is a fun celebration. Both children and adults dress as characters from the story and act it out in dramatic fashion. It is held on the 14th day of Adar on the Hebrew calendar, corresponding to February or March on our Gregorian calendar.

Passover (פֶסַח- Pesach)

This celebration commemorates God’s rescuing the Israelites from slavery under the Egyptians. Its relevance to Christians is very basically two-fold. Firstly, since we are also God’s people, we have a part in this history, and secondly, we have been rescued from the slavery of our sin by the blood of Jesus.

Biblically, Passover is to be celebrated on the “fourteenth day of the first month.” On the Hebrew calendar, it starts on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan, which corresponds with our Gregorian calendar, which is sometime in March or April.

Holocaust Remembrance Day (יוֹם הַשׁוֹאָה – Yom HaShoah)

This somber observance was established in 1953. It’s a national holiday in Israel to remember the Holocaust in Europe during World War II and the murder of over six million Jewish people, including children. This remembrance occurs on the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, during March or April.

Why should Gentile (non-Jew) Christians observe Holocaust Remembrance Day? Romans 1:16 tells us that salvation came first to the Jew and then to the Greek (Rom. 1:16). Christians are the Gentile believers that are “grafted in” to the promises to God’s people described in Romans 11.

Throughout the Old Testament, God clarifies that the Jewish people are His chosen people. He made a covenant with Abraham concerning their lineage throughout history and brought the Savior to the world through the Jewish line. God also says that He will never abandon the Jewish people.

If the Jewish people are this important to God and are the roots of the tree we’re grafted into; we must be concerned with their well-being in our day and throughout history. The tragedy that struck as the Holocaust brutally and senselessly extinguished the lives of so many people precious to God (Jews and others) must never be forgotten, and its horrors never repeated.

Pentecost and Shavuot (שָׁבוּעוֺת)

I combine these two celebrations because they’re similar in meaning and history. Before the Holy Spirit appeared as tongues of fire and inhabited the Apostles in Acts 2, this time was known as Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks.

It was commanded in Leviticus 23 and was a type of harvest festival that was to occur 50 days after the Passover. Also recognized on this date is the gift of God’s Laws being given to His people on Mt. Sinai. Shavuot is what the Apostles were celebrating when they were “gathered” when God’s Spirit was given to them.

They would have realized the significance of the gift of God’s Spirit being given specifically on this day during a celebration of the gift of God’s Word being given as well. Jesus also foretold it when he said they’d be baptized by the Spirit in Acts 1:4-5.

The command says it is to take place on the 6th and 7th of the month of Sivan. It is to be observed 50 days (or 7 Sabbaths and one day) after the Day of Firstfruits during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (when the Passover and Exodus from Egypt occurred).

Rosh Hashanah (רֹאשׁ הַשִּׁנִה)

This holiday is commonly known as the Jewish New Year and is called Yom Teruah in the Bible. It was designated the first day of the new year primarily for year-counting purposes, but it’s also one of the commanded Feasts in Leviticus 23. It was a two-day festival during which trumpets (shofars) were blown and sacrifices were performed.

Today, it marks the beginning of the High Holy Days in Autumn. It’s a time when people examine their lives, seek to rid them of their old, sinful ways, and make a change for the better. In this way, it’s a lot like the American New Year, but it’s also a type of Judgment Day or the beginning of a season of judgment for the Jewish people.

Christians can remember on Rosh Hashanah that we will be judged with Jesus as our substitute. We can also examine our lives and see whether we’re living in a way that expresses the joy of this salvation. The command to blow a trumpet on this day should cause us to look forward to the day when Jesus has returned and the dead are raised (1 Cor. 15:52).

The Feast of Trumpets occurs on the 1st and 2nd days of the month of Tishrei on the Hebrew calendar and in September or October on the Gregorian calendar.

Day of Atonement (יוֹם כִּיפּוּר – Yom Kippur)

This Holy Day is another of the commanded Feasts in Leviticus 23. It’s observed ten days after Rosh Hashanah and is a day of confession and repentance. Biblically, it was a day when sacrifices were offered for the people’s sins. As Christians, this is a day we can celebrate the mercy we have been given in having our sins fully atoned for by Jesus!

The date is the 10th of Tishrei, which occurs in September or October.

Feast of Tabernacles (סֻכּוֺת- Sukkot)

Another Holy Day from Leviticus 23, Sukkot, is a seven-day celebration, five days after the Day of Atonement. Also known as the Feast of Booths, it is a time when people leave the comfort of their homes and live in temporary shelters.

This celebration serves to appreciate God’s provision for us and to celebrate God being among His people on earth. Christians can be even more thankful at the time of Sukkot for Jesus, who, as God, came down to earth to be with us.

Eighth Day (שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת – Shimini Atzeret)

This day is the day just following the last day of Sukkot. It’s on the 22^nd day of Tishrei, which falls in September or October. It is the final commanded Feast in the List in Leviticus 23.

It’s a day to remain with God and rest in His provision, even after the previous seven have been focused on Him. This day is more spiritual and considered greater than the 7 of Sukkot. A formal prayer for rain is often said, and it’s said to be a time to store the memories of what God has provided in our hearts.

Simchat Torah (שִׂמְחַת תּוֺרָה)

This celebration is not in the Bible but is a great way to thank and praise God for giving us His Word! It’s held on the 22nd day of Tishrei and is also known as “rejoicing in the Torah.”

Jews and Christians enjoy the immense blessing through the words and commands God Gave us in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and the rest of His Word. Simchat Torah’s joyful celebration marks the end of the annual Torah reading cycle and the beginning of a new one. When celebrated in a synagogue, there is dancing and singing, and it’s a beautiful time of worship.

Hanukkah (הֲנֻכָּה)

Although not a commanded Holy Day, Jesus celebrates it in the Book of John. It commemorates the dedication of the rebuilt temple after the Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s temple.

The story of Hanukkah is miraculous. The Jewish people were vastly outnumbered as they decided to fight against the destruction of their people and culture and the blasphemy of God. God was with them as they fought, and they were victorious!

Celebrated from the 25th of Kislev to the 2nd or 3rd day of Tevet on the Hebrew calendar, Hanukkah falls in late November or December.

Christians can celebrate God’s power displayed in His people and the victory over persecution. We are also interested in this day as we can see Jesus having shown up in Jerusalem for its celebration, translated as the Feast of Dedication. At this time, Jesus said that his sheep would never perish and that no one could snatch them out of his or His Father’s hand.

Here’s a calendar of the dates of these important days. Print out the free PDF version to keep handy in planning for these days.

Having a Jewish calendar to see what holidays are approaching and plan for them is helpful. Many are out there, but I like the First Fruits of Zion calendar best!

I hope observing these holidays brings you joy, deepens your Christian faith, and provides yet another way to pass your faith on in your family’s legacy, as they have for my family. I’ll continue to post ways for Christian families to observe these meaningful days on the Hebrew Roots Mom website, so stay tuned!

Resolutions: The New Year and Beyond

Written by Holy Branches on December 26, 2024. Posted in Hanukkah, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Sabbath, Shavuot, Sukkot, Traditions, Yom Kippur. No Comments on Resolutions: The New Year and Beyond

This time of year, it seems everyone’s thinking about resolutions – losing weight, quitting smoking, reading their bible more, etc. But we’ve also heard that statistics show these resolutions often don’t last long. People stick to them for the first few weeks or months of the New Year and then return to their previous ways.

But what if there was more than one New Year’s Eve? What if there were a few more times in the year marked for a reassessment of our lives and the making of resolutions with the overall goal of bettering ourselves? Just think of who we’d be and what we could accomplish if we routinely adjusted the direction of our lives.

A GPS navigation system recalculates our route if we get off track. If we take a wrong turn or go straight instead of turning left, the system recalculates the course, ensuring that we still reach our destination despite deferring from the path we should be on.

Fortunately, we can do the same with our lives! Though we may be dedicated to God and genuinely want to follow His plan, we all veer off the route He has for us. It takes repeated examination, re-dedication, and re-adjustment to stay where God wants us.

Enter the Holy Days

Recalculating the route is what I love about celebrating the Biblical Holy Days. That’s one purpose of them – introspection and examination of our lives, re-aligning them with God’s plan. Each of these set-aside times also points us back to Jesus! This re-alignment is done many times yearly, and celebrating these days helps my family and I continually recalculate the routes our lives are on. Here are some of those times.

The Sabbath

God commands us to “remember” the Sabbath and keep it holy. But what exactly are we to remember? Ezekiel chapter 20 (verses 12 and 20) tells us that the Sabbath is a sign that we belong to God. Keeping the Sabbath is our acknowledgment of the covenant God made with us.

Our activities on the Sabbath should then point us to Him and remind us of Him and His goodness. The Sabbath, combined with Bible study and attending services, should encourage us to look at our lives weekly and see where we need to make changes to adhere more closely to the will of God.

The Sabbath also provides a time to rest before the next busy week. It gives us time to plan the days ahead and make the necessary changes to help us be more effective weekly.

Passover

The themes of Passover will also encourage close examination of our lives. That we are no longer slaves to Egyptian captors or to sin causes us to recall all God has done for His people. We could never have obtained this freedom for ourselves. Just as the blood of the lamb freed the Hebrew people from Egypt, Jesus, our Passover Lamb, freed us from the sin that enslaved us.

Think of God’s faithfulness to all His people. In the most challenging times, God can free you from what afflicts you, often working a miracle in your life as he did throughout Exodus. Nothing is too hard for God, and there is no limit to how good your life can be when following Him.

Passover brings a question of identity to mind. Who are we? Or, instead – whose are we? The answer for Christians is that we belong to God. He is the one who rescued us and the one who provided a way to Him despite our sinfulness. As His people, we mature in our faith and begin to learn to look at ourselves through His eyes. While He loves, accepts, and forgives us with our flaws, our desire to obey Him grows as our love for Him does.

Unleavened Bread

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is seven days where leaven (yeast) is not only not eaten but also cleaned out of homes altogether. The Bible often uses leaven as a symbol of sin or wickedness. Cleaning leaven out of your home and diet for seven days is difficult! Think of all the crumbs in your pantry or even under your fridge!

The cleanout of leaven causes us to look closer at the sin in our lives. If we’re honest, it’s there on the surface but also in the dark pantry-type corners of our lives! We must constantly be on the lookout for the crumbs of sin in our lives and get rid of them before we end up with a filthy mess. We must also do the more unpleasant cleaning in the parts of our life we’d rather ignore – like that mess under the fridge. During this period, we should sincerely evaluate our lives and identify where sin has been festering, then work to make ourselves more pleasing to God.

Cleaning sin out of our lives should also awaken us to the grace we’ve received. Isn’t it amazing that God knows we aren’t capable of a flawless cleanout and has provided us with a perfectly leaven-free Savior – a gift so indescribably good it makes even a clean home seem like chopped liver!

First Fruits

First Fruits is a Spring festival that celebrates the fertility of the land as a blessing from God. Part of this new growth (a lamb without defect along with wine and bread) is given back to God as an offering and show of gratitude for His blessings. In the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 explains that Jesus is the first fruits.

Just like the Holy Day of First Fruits, which is to recognize ahead of time the blessings that God will give, Paul shows in Corinthians that Jesus’s resurrection assures us of the blessing we’ll receive in the harvest at the end of time. We look ahead to when we’ll commune with God, and Jesus will rule.

Looking forward to this time in the future should prompt us to be grateful and prepare ourselves as offerings. We need to do all we can to align our lives with what God wants of us and be continually and earnestly hunting for what that looks like.

Shavuot

This celebration commemorates the Law God gave to the Hebrew people on Mount Sinai. Also known as The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, this is what the apostles were celebrating when the Holy Spirit was given in Acts 2. Shavuot is a reminder that God gave us His Law as a blessing and that the Holy Spirit is the Law written on our hearts that was prophesied by Jeremiah (31:33).

Messianic Calendar For 2024 And 2025 Includes Torah Days And Holy Days: Plus Jewish Holy Day Explanations (Hebrew, Jewish and Messianic Calendars for Jew and Gentile)

But do we see God’s Laws as a blessing? Or do we compromise, justify our disobedience, and declare that certain ancient Laws don’t apply to us? Shavuot is a time to thank God for His Law and to delight in it as the Psalmist does in chapter 1, verse 2. It’s a time to take a close look at our actions and see whether there’s truth in saying that we aim to obey them and delight in them. We should reflect on how God’s Law has improved our lives and its blessing for all his people. How can we better please God by following his commands?

Shavuot is also when we thank God for the gift of His Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit dwelling in us serves many functions, confirmation of our salvation being just one of many. He’s also our guide and convicts us when we need to change the course of our lives. As we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, we pay special attention to whether we’re listening to this conviction and guidance and adjust our hearts, minds, and actions accordingly.

Yom Teruah

Also known as Rosh Hashanah, this Feast gives many reasons for introspection and re-calculation of the routes of our lives. Celebrating our names being written in the Book of Life, remembering the story of Abraham almost sacrificing Isaac (Gen. 22), casting off sin, and calling attention to trumpet blasts are all themes of this celebration.

These themes should make us want to audit our behavior and encourage us to make adjustments. The Bible says the names of the righteous are written in the Book of Life. Sin in all our lives prevents us from being wholly righteous, which is why we can celebrate the gift we have in Jesus, who stands in our place just as God provided a ram to stand in Isaac’s place.

But just because we have Jesus as our substitute does not mean we don’t try our best to obey. It’s not to earn our salvation that we obey but out of love for God. Focusing on repentance provokes change. I always tell my children when they say apologize that sorry people change. If they’re genuinely sorry, I’ll see it in their actions, not just their words. It’s the same with us and God. Being genuinely sorry will change us noticeably.

We also focus on trumpet blasts at this time. The original command for this celebration includes the blowing of trumpets. This trumpet blowing is not just for musical enjoyment or celebratory noise. This type of trumpet blowing, using a ram’s horn or shofar, is Biblically an indication that God’s about to do something big! Other times trumpet blasts of this type are used is when the wall of Jericho was brought down or when Jesus returns (Joshua 6:20 and 1 Thess. 4:16-17, respectively)!

We often forget the supernatural aspects of God, and the trumpet blasts remind us that the miraculous events in the bible are REAL and not just stories. If we believe that, we should look forward to Jesus’s return and listen for the accompanying trumpet blasts, for real! If this doesn’t motivate us to ponder our lives and make necessary adjustments, I don’t know what will!

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is also known as the Day of Atonement because it’s on this day that confession of and atonement for sin is to be made. This atonement is as a people, not necessarily an individual level. We’re apologizing for the things we’ve done to turn away from God as His people, not just for the individual disobedience in our own lives.

There are two things a Christian can focus on during Yom Kippur. The first is the honest and humble confession of sin. Yes, we can do this on any day of the year, but this day, set aside for confession, reminds us to do so when we may otherwise forget. Some pray and fast on Yom Kippur because it’s a time when we’re genuinely sorry and commit to change.

The other focus is that Jesus has eternally atoned for our sins! While we’re repentant, we’re also grateful for the undeserved grace we’ve been given. Even if we were to maintain a “good” life, we cannot earn our salvation and deserve condemnation. But that’s not our destiny if we’ve received Jesus as our Savior, and that’s something we should be humbly grateful for.

Sukkot

If we take even a glance at our lives, we’ll see that God has richly blessed us. This day is to celebrate what God has given us – food, shelter, and everything we need. He not only meets our needs; He goes above and beyond to provide for His people. In our culture, we often take these things for granted, and his graciousness is difficult to see, but Sukkot encourages us to see it for what it is – lavish blessings on His people!

He not only meets our physical needs but, more importantly, our spiritual needs. Among all other provisions, He’s also provided Jesus as a way for our sin debt to be paid. A theme of Sukkot is that God tabernacled with His people in the desert. He didn’t just observe them from Heaven; he was with them on their travels, guiding them. This guidance is the same thing Jesus does for us! He came from Heaven to Earth to live among us and become the provision for our sin.

Sukkot prompts us to look around again and see what God has done. He’s met and continues to meet our needs, especially the most desperate – the need for a Savior. Acknowledging this should alter the way we live. If we’re grateful, we will grumble and complain less about what we don’t have. We’ll show our gratitude for forgiveness by extending it to others, as well as repenting for sin and striving to live obedient lives.

Hanukkah

While not one of the seven appointed times in the book of Leviticus, Hanukkah is also an excellent time for resolutions. This celebration is all about re-dedication – both of God’s Temple and ourselves. Hanukkah celebrates the amazing things God has done for His people and our re-dedication to Him of what was His in the first place.

Hanukkah is a time to consider what or who we stand for. Having to state what we stand for seems optional when we live in a time and place that’s one of comfort and little persecution. But Christians everywhere don’t enjoy this type of comfort now, and we probably won’t experience it forever, either. Even our daily actions will show what we stand for, though. An honest review of our lives will show who we serve and where we need to get back on track.

So, go ahead and make that resolution for the New Year. But revisit it soon! If you don’t already celebrate the Biblical Holy Days, getting started is easier than you think! Visit the pages linked above to read more about each Holy Day on this website. Happy New Year!

The Israel Bible Haggadah: Support Israel with this Passover Haggadah

Written by Holy Branches on April 7, 2023. Posted in Hebraic Roots, Passover. No Comments on The Israel Bible Haggadah: Support Israel with this Passover Haggadah

As we study the Bible, we realize the importance of the Nation of Israel. We see the prophecies about the people of Israel returning to their land in the Bible, and we live in a miraculous time where that’s taking place! What an awesome God we have!

Israel365

The Jewish people’s return to Israel hasn’t been easy. They experienced violence, persecution, and hardship once they reached their homeland. Israel365 is an organization that connects Christians who know God’s heart for Israel with a hands-on way to support the Nation. Providing a dependable source for Israeli news and opportunities to provide aid to Israelis who need it, such as Holocaust survivors, children, and widows, are some of the ways Christians can support Israel through Israel365.

Use coupon code HEBREWROOTSMOM to receive a 10% discount
on your Israel365 Passover Haggadah!

Passover

During Passover, we remember another time God returned His people to the Land he had prepared for them. After being rescued from Egypt, then wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites settled in the Promised Land. Our Bibles tell us that God intended for them to live there, but they were forced out for a time, which is currently coming to an end!

As Christians, Passover is significant to our faith. It’s a celebration of God’s faithfulness and desire for His people and the salvation and redemption He offers! During a Passover Seder, a booklet called a Haggadah is used for the leader and participants to engage in the story and follow along with the Seder.

The Israel365 Haggadah

Israel 365 offers a Passover Haggadah that’s beautiful and meaningful and helps support the Nation of Israel. In memory of Amit Ben Yigdal, an IDF soldier killed in the line of duty in 2020, this Haggadah differs from others. It contains highlights of the IDF and Amit’s life, and the history of the Nation of Israel. This Haggadah’s photos, maps, and charts are beautiful, informative, and high-quality, making it a treasured keepsake and an ideal gift for someone who loves Israel.

This Haggadah is useful for leading a Passover Seder or for instruction. It includes descriptions and explanations of each element of the Seder and the order of the Seder in both Hebrew and English. If you have a heart for Israel, this Haggadah is a valuable addition to your Passover celebration and library.

Use coupon code HEBREWROOTSMOM to receive a 10% discount
on your Israel365 Passover Haggadah!