FRIENDS OF ISRAEL

I wrote the following before I knew that Pat Neff was not going to be able to make it to Dayton Center Church. I'm sure he would appreciate our prayers. Nonetheless, here's what I wrote for our bulletin:

Have you ever noticed how Israel is almost constantly in the news. The last few headlines I have seen involve the Israel’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and the violence in Gaza. It’s not uncommon to see the name, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, on Google News. And, hopefully, by now, we know the difference between Hamas (the Islamic group that governs the Gaza Strip) and hummus (made from chickpeas). Then, there was the US’ funding cut when Palestine was granted membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It may be challenging to make sense of it all, but it should not be surprising. Throughout history, the world has, by and large, been against Israel, and will continue to be until Christ establishes His millennial reign.

Today, we are privileged to have Bob Burkhardt’s brother, Pat Neff, ministering to us in the Word and sharing about Friends of Israel. Throughout his ministry, Bob has given us updates and prayer requests, but today we get to hear it all first hand.

If you are not familiar with Friends of Israel, here’s a short history from their website (http://www.foi.org/ourhistory):

The Friends of Israel was founded in 1938 by Christian leaders in response to the desperate needs of Jewish people afflicted by the raging torrents of Nazi hate.  Through this Christian ministry, funds were raised and aid was distributed to Jewish refugees in their darkest hours of need. Today, The Friends of Israel is an important evangelical Christian voice in opposing anti-Semitism, explaining the unique, biblical role of Israel in God’s plan and encouraging Christians to pray for Israel and support her biblical, historical, and moral rights to live within secure borders.

In His grip,
Pastor Decker