Jewish holidays are a time of celebration for all who believe in God. These holidays are celebrated with festivals that may last throughout days or longer. You will recognize the major holidays by the fact that they have Yom Tov, or “festival day” associated with them, especially the six that are biblically mandated. There are several holidays that are still observed by the Jewish community and they are the ones that virtually everyone has heard of. They are all a time when family comes together, and people savor foods and music while celebrating God.
Hanukkah
Although not written as part of the Hebrew Bible, this holiday still brings people closer together. One of the biggest stories from the books written about Hanukkah is that a one day supply of olive oil managed to burn for eight full days. It is celebrated around the time of year that some now call “Christmas”, and though it is not a huge celebration, people enjoy celebrating it. They set a specific type of candle up, the Hanukkah menorah and eat foods that have been prepared in oil. It is a reminder of the oil that burned so much longer than expected. People often play dreidel during this time and children are given money as gifts for Hanukkah gelt. The Dreidel Song and Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah are two of the most popular songs to be enjoyed during this time of the year.
Yom Kipper
The holiest day of the Jewish year is the day of Yom Kipper. It is a day that is devoted to reconciliation and atonement. During this time, the Jewish community will fast, not even allowing themselves to take a sip of water as long as they are healthy adults. Adults do not bathe, wear perfumes, or take part in a variety of other things. The sole purposed of it is to ask for atonement from God. It is only a single day holiday, but most feel that it is one of the happiest days of a year.
Fast of the Firstborn
This holiday is devoted to remembering how God killed an Egyptian firstborn and spared a Jewish firstborn. First born children attend a huge feast after they have fasted. It is a holiday which is followed by Passover, a week-long celebration during which all leavened foods are avoided. People must get rid of any breads or dough before Passover begins. Instead of eating normal bread, people will eat matzo, maror, and four cups of wine. If you live outside of Israel, you will spend a full eight days celebrating the Passover.
Other Important Holidays
As stated, there are several very important days in the Jewish calendar year. Numerous holidays are celebrated with feasts, while others are celebrated through fasting. There is the Jerusalem Day, Israel Independence Day, Memorial Day, and the Holocaust Remembrance Day. On Remembrance Day, all public entertainment areas are closed to remind us of the loss of lives during the Holocaust. Not all of these holidays have food and music, but those that do are very significant times to rejoice for all Jews.
A church is often a place in the community that has a dedicated group of people attending it. Most encourage their faithful attendees to spread the word about what they have to offer the community and how it can make a community stronger. Sometimes, this is enough to draw in newcomers, but often it takes the church doing a little more. For this, they may start with adding fun to the church and then take further steps to provide attractive yet effective church upgrades.
Some of the most common types of upgrades for a church is generally the sound system and a stage where people can worship through sound. Some have also been known to set aside a “dancefloor” where people who feel moved by the music can stand, sway, and praise God in their own way. This live entertainment is usually effective at making people curious about the church.
One easy way to encourage more people in a community to join the church is to show that it isn’t all about praying with your head held low. For this reason, many churches select certain members to become church basketball and baseball leagues. They may host outdoor pot luck dinners to ensure that the smell of good foods will fill the neighborhood. Outdoor Bible study sessions are also frequently enjoyed by some members of the church. When outdoors, the may upgrade the lighting to include a
We all like to be prepared for things. It is just a part of who we are on the inside. It is a universal truth that we all feel it is important to have things with us when we set out on adventures. Faith is no different. It is this idea that pushes us to seek out other necessary tools for worship.
You may not think that it takes much to worship or have faith, but it does. You need a Bible and absolute belief in the fact that the creator exists. Without these two tools, your faith wouldn’t be as much a part of your life as it is. However, you may also feel that you cannot properly show your faith without going to a church. You may feel that in order to pray and rejoice, you must be with friends or family in a pew or doing good things for those in the community. A tool could also be the pastor who tells you about God and Heaven or Hell. Whether you feel that way or not, it may become very important for you to have those things. The thing is, your faith is best shown with these tools, but what about other aspects of your life? What tools do you use there?
When you and your church go out for a day of fun, you use tools to enhance the activities you are taking part in. A picnic in the park is not much of a picnic if you forget the baskets and blankets. A bird watching outing or a nature hike isn’t much fun without a good pair of binoculars. Camping in the woods with your church group to become one with nature isn’t going to be great if you don’t take the time to find a good tent, a dependable multi-tool, and other things to take along. For a respectable multi tool choice read this
Churches are something we often think about as being indoors. We imagine sitting in pews and listening to someone tell us about heaven and hell. We think about being bored at times and in some cases listening to loud music for such a small, enclosed place. Instead, what you should be thinking about is the outdoor gospel sessions that many churches are hosting. These are often the best sermons because it takes us out of the church and into the world where we can truly rejoice in living our life.
Nature, whether sunny or stormy, is natural and beautiful. It is a piece of something tangible that we can touch, but not control. We simply know that it is all around us. It is the same thing that preachers preach each Sunday when they have a full group of people listening to their words. The belief that God is all around us. Something we can see, but not control. Something we simply have to just know is there for us, no matter what challenges we are facing. God and nature are both pure. This makes the outdoors a place where concerts can sing his praises and where baptisms can be held to signify the purity or a new beginning.
Outdoor gatherings are less formal, but they do still require some effort. However, what you may need will depend on the event. For instance, for a baby baptism, you will want the water tank, chairs for the guests, a speaker with a quality microphone so that others can hear the blessings, and perhaps tables set aside for refreshments after the baptism. If you are hosting a concert, you will want the chairs, space to dance in, speakers, and other sound equipment, and a stage. You may also want to create a stage for the performances. To keep things as natural as possible in the great outdoors, you may want to consider building a wooden stage with stone steps like the ones you will find with
Even before Christianity was accepted as a religion, there were places, and buildings, where people would go to worship. Even early Romans built beautiful temples where they believed that they could go and worship the Roman Gods. Often, during certain eras, these temples were made of marble, silver, and even a little gold. They wanted the Gods to look favorably upon them and therefore, made their “churches” as beautiful as possible. Today, we generally do not use marble and gold to build our church, but it is still important that we put effort into building the perfect house of worship.
Before you build a church, you must first have a plan. Most all churches have a kitchen and dining area, smaller rooms for Sunday school, a daycare area for parents of small children, and of course; the main area. They may also have a choir area, but often that it is simply built in the main area. Many churches have stained glass windows. Statues, pews, and more are all made of different types of material. There are people who set out specifically to design and build beautiful places of worship. However, if your dream is to have a church built, you can do so with a simple build, since we now know that a place of worship can be built anywhere.
There are many old, wooden churches around, but most people choose to build them out of concrete and bricks. For this reason, places like