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| Home Page  SPECIAL NOTICE: Microsoft is restructuring their website franchise; Office Live Small Business will be phased out by the end of Apr. 2012, with Office 365 taking its place. Therefore, we are going to try the trial version, and move our website to the new microsoftonline location. Unfortunately, the change-over will mean a 500% increase in what we pay for maintaining this website. So we are asking you, our readers and visitors, to help us determine whether or not keeping this website going is worth the expense, especially since our Ministry income has not been keeping up with increasing costs. Please share your opinions with us by responding to this notice at: Rabbi.Bob@Messianic-LITES.org. And if you are interested in supporting this Ministry, to keep this website going, please let us know in your email.
Thank you for your time. ******* ******* *******
LITES is an acronym for: The Living Temple Synagogue. While there might be some within the Church who are offended by our usage of the Greek term "synagogue," the word simply refers to a place of gathering, especially for worship services. In other words, while the Church is not made of brick and mortar or wood and nails, the synagogues in which the Church gathers are, indeed, made of such materials. We are a five-fold apostolic ministry, consisting of Messianic Jews and Christians.
Our emphasis of ministry is five-fold [Click on any one of the ministries listed below to activate each hyperlink]:
(1) RESTORATION While other congregations claim to believe the Word of the ALMIGHTY, we do our best to practice it by faith (John 14:15; Rom. 6:1-16; Jam. 2:12-26; see also Rom. 14:23; Tit. 2:14-15; 1 Jn. 2:3-7; 3:4-10; 5:3)... ___________________________________________________________________________ We advocate the usage of the SACRED Names of the ALMIGHTY (FATHER, SON, and the HOLY SPIRIT [RUACH HAQODESH]), because: (1) Throughout the five books of the Torah, the ALMIGHTY tells us what HIS Name is, over and over; (2) HE commands us to make a distiction between that which is Sacred or Clean and that which is Common or Unclean (Lev. 10:10; 11:47; 20:25-26; Ezek. 22:26); (3) The ALMIGHTY tells us that HE is Sacred (Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 1 Pet. 1:16); (4) We are not to profane the Most Sacred Name of YAHWEH our ELOHIYM (Lev. 18:21; 20:3); (5) The ALMIGHTY gives us HIS Name and Commands us to call upon HIM, by Name, in the midst of our worship and prayers (1 Chron. 16:8-13; Psa. 50:14-15; 91:14-15; 105:1-10; 107:1-9, 13-15; Zech. 13:9; Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:12-13); (6) HE is near to those who call upon HIM (Deut. 4:7); (7) There is only one Name given unto humanity, whereby, one must be redeemed (Acts 4:12), so it seems logical that we should be using the correct Name, rather than a man-made substitute; and (8) HE tells us not to even allow the names of other deities, or terms that are commonly used in reference to other deities, to be spoken from our mouths (Exod. 23:13). And yet, every religion has its own deity (or deities) to which the members of that religion refer to as "god". In fact, the word god, when translated into the Arabic language, is rendered as Allah. And I can guarantee you that YAHWEH (YHWH) ELOHIYM and Allah are not the same being, so out of respect and in obedience we prefer not to use such a common form in reference to the ALMIGHTY. Secondly, in ancient Greek and Roman folklore, there were at least three different pagan deities that were known as "Lord." While lord has come to be known as an English or British title, nevertheless, it was the name or a pseudonym ascribed to those pagan deities. Therefore, we prefer not to use this form in reference to the ALMIGHTY. And thirdly, in ancient Babylon, Medes, and Greece, a deity known as "Adonis" was worshipped. And Adonis is the term from which adonai was derived. And actually, in some cultures, adonai and lord are synonymous. So we prefer not to use this term in reference to the ALMIGHTY either. We take HIS Word and Instructions literally and very seriously. Nevertheless, not all of the ministries with which we may be affiliated and/or recommend on this website, do or believe the same. And yet, they are still good sources of information.
And as long as our hearts are united in love and devotion to the CREATOR of all that exists, we will not break fellowship, simply because we do not agree with what names or words they use in reference to the ALMIGHTY, nor will we look down on them for doing so. Let each one be fully convinced in his/her own heart as to which names and words are appropriate for references to the ALMIGHTY: If HE is in your heart, then HE can speak for HIMSELF. And then again, a lot of the time, the names and words that a person or group may use depends upon the audience to whom he/she/they are addressing the message [see 1 Cor. 9:19-23].
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| [website under construction] LITES Ministries The Living Temple Synagogue Phone numbers Rabbi Bob: (515) 284-0354 Pastor Ortiz: (515) Fax number Address Des Moines, Iowa 50321 | |  The Menorah-star-fish emblem is believed to be the oldest symbol of the Messianic Jewish faith, dating back nearly 2000 years, to the early part of the first century, CE (AD). It was the original symbol for the Christian Church, used at a time when Christians and Jews often worshipped together, in the same synagogues. | |
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