For a patriarchal society that greatly valued tradition, family, legacies, and birthrights, the ancient Israelites had something of a spotty track record when it came to fatherly relationships. Yet it also seems that the picture the Bible paints of these (and many others) less-than-stellar-fathers is juxtaposed with the picture of God, the perfect Father.

Kina Forman was born and raised in a Messianic home in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Both her Jewish father and her Gentile mother are deaf. Her father was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home and received Messiah after meeting her mother in 1970. However, growing up, Kina attended neither synagogue nor church, as there were very few places of worship for deaf people.

As she reached adolescence, Kina began to search spiritually. One afternoon, she noticed an old, beat-up station wagon with a sign in the back window citing Scripture. Curious, she inquired about it and the driver of the station wagon invited her to a local youth group meeting that evening.

At the meeting, she noted that the young people in the youth group were different from the average high school student; they had a purpose and drive that she envied. Kina was invited to return for another gathering at the youth pastor’s house the following Friday evening. She joined the group while they sang praise songs to God.  While surveying the room, she saw young people worshiping God as though He were real.  Kina asked God at that moment, “Are you who they say you are? If you are, would you show yourself to me right now?”

Then, she says, “The moment I prayed, the youth pastor said to the group, ‘There is someone here searching for the Lord! The Lord has heard you!’” Shocked that God had heard her prayer, she approached the pastor—but she wasn’t approaching the pastor as much as she was approaching the living God! She asked Jesus to be her Savior—her Messiah—and was born again.

By Mitch Forman

I guess like most of us, the memories of going to our grandmother’s home are filled with the delicious smell of food simmering on the stove all day.

My Nana, whose family had come from Poland in the early 1900s, was a great cook and she made the best stuffed cabbage! This sweet and sour cabbage soup was one of my favorite foods growing up.
In every restaurant where I cooked, I made this soup and always called it “My Nana’s sweet & sour cabbage soup.” It makes a great, light Friday night dinner, especially when eaten with a loaf of challah—braided egg bread traditionally baked for the Jewish Sabbath!

Enjoy these testimonies from our recent Passover Seders!

Thank you so much for the beautiful evening we spent at the seder dinner - the food was superb and the ceremony was spiritually very meaningful to us! At the end of the dinner, we were asked to fill out an address card. Our table was one card short, so my husband Dave was missing his. A friend insisted he fill hers out, and after some back and forth, he acquiesced. During the drawing to receive a seder plate, the winning card, to our delight, was Dave's!

We arrived home after midnight and Dave placed the plate, along with several Haggadahs, on our dining room table. The following afternoon, we had some neighbors over. Abigail (name changed) saw the plate, and asked with shock, "What are you guys doing with a seder plate?"

What followed was an interesting "God-incidence." Abigail was raised in a Reform synagogue, although her grandfather was an Orthodox Jew. She has been a serious student of Buddhism for years. She asked about our church and wanted to know what "evangelical" meant, and we talked for a long time about our beliefs. I know we have established a basis to revisit our sharing again – soon I hope!

- April and Dave K.

I was invited to conduct a "Messiah in the Passover" banquet at Folsom State Prison in California on Resurrection Sunday. The audience included 300 inmates (about half of them believers in Jesus). Speaking on bondage, redemption and God's grace in the midst of sharing the Passover elements with the inmates, I received a very positive response. Many inmates responded to the powerful message of Messiah in the Passover. At the end, I led the men in the sinner's prayer and was blessed to witness twenty inmates who made a decision for Yeshua (Jesus)! They all got very excited when I told them that they would be with God in "The New Jerusalem." L'Shanah Haba B'Yerushalayim - Next Year in Jerusalem!

- Olivier Melnick
Chosen People Ministries - California

I was able to attend a seder at the Yale Club in Manhattan sponsored by Chosen People Ministries. In the middle of the meal, the leader asked someone at each table to take a broken piece of matzah (unleavened bread) and to hide it. Towards the end of the meal, a child went to find the hidden piece. In response, all of us rejoiced in its finding and subsequently shared in the matzah.

This wasn't the only instance of group involvement in the seder. We also recited numerous Psalms together and sang a few hymns. This being my first seder, I was impressed with the community-oriented aspect. Although we each had individual plates on which to eat, we passed community plates of food. In order to eat this way ("family-style"), we had to share with one another. It was different from a typical benefit dinner, in which we would order individual portions with our own preferences – for me, no gefilte fish!

Yet which mimics God's community more accurately – the seder or individual plates? The seder is a more accurate representation because it recognizes our need for covenant relationships that lies deep in our hearts. Paul prays for the central requirement for such relationships, namely, love:

"And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)

- Bethany Jenkins is a recent graduate from Columbia Law School who has started a non-profit called The Park Forum

It has been a very busy month; this season always keeps me hopping, doing one Passover teaching presentation after another. I have been traveling from Maine to Georgia and from one end of Texas to the other. Each meeting seemed to have its own personality, but every single one saw the hand of the Lord upon it!

I was doing one "Messiah in the Passover" presentation in a small West Texas oil field town. After the close of the service, I was approached by a man who was clearly overwhelmed, and gave me the biggest hug I have had in a very long time. We sat down to talk, and I saw that he had tears in his eyes. This man had clearly seen his Messiah as never before. Witnessing the impact that the Messianic Passover presentation had on this man makes me to look forward to the next presentation and wonder how the Lord will touch the lives of those attending.

Dr. Al Reichman
Chosen People Ministries
National Ministries Representative

When I speak, I often ask that church members invite Jewish friends to hear the message - and this is most often true when I speak about Passover. After all, it was a message about Passover that prompted my father to begin his spiritual journey to the Messiah. This Passover, a Jewish man came with a friend and heard me speak at a church. He heard me assure him that he doesn't have to stop being Jewish if he believes that Jesus is the Messiah. After two lunchtime discussions, he was ready to receive Jesus. This is what I live for!

In another example, I am the leader of a young adult group in New York City and we have an annual Passover seder meal that is attended by both believers and seekers. This year we had over sixty young adults, five of whom are not yet believers, and heard me clearly express the Gospel through the Passover. I am currently meeting regularly with one of these young people and will be meeting with more as the weeks go by.

It is so encouraging because God has been faithful to share the Gospel with the Jewish people through the Passover for two millennia since Jesus, and I have the opportunity to highlight Messiah in the Passover for Jewish people to see. It is a great privilege!

- Ryan K., Chosen People Ministries - New York