Most people think of Hanukkah as the “Jewish Christmas,” a cultural celebration with candles, dreidels, and chocolate coins. But the real story is far older, far weightier, and far more connected to the story of Jesus than many Christians realize. 

Hanukkah is a story about attempted erasure, courageous resistance, and God’s unstoppable commitment to preserve His covenant promises.

In this episode, we walk through the rise of Antiochus, the Seleucid king who sought not only to dominate Israel but to erase its identity - banning circumcision, outlawing Torah, desecrating the Temple, and demanding assimilation. 

Yet when the majority gave way to cultural pressure, a few refused to bow. The Maccabees stood when others surrendered, preserving the line through which Messiah would one day come.

And 150 years later, during this very feast, Jesus walked in the Temple and declared Himself the Light of the World. The same God who preserved His people through the few stands faithful today. 

Hanukkah isn’t merely history; it is a lens for understanding the spiritual battles of our own moment and the hope of the King who will come again.

For many Christians, the divide between the church and the Jewish people feels ancient and immovable. But every divide has a story - and far too often, it’s a story Christians never heard. 

In this episode, we sit down with long-time friend and ministry leader Murray Tilles of Light of Messiah Ministries to uncover why Jesus remains such a point of pain for many Jewish families, and why the church’s calling toward Israel is more urgent than ever.

Murray shares his own journey from a deeply religious Jewish upbringing in North Carolina to the moment he prayed “in Jesus’ name” - words he never imagined he would say. 

His story isn’t abstract. 

It’s threaded with family tension, synagogue life, anti-Semitism, and the surprising power of Scripture to reshape identity. And it’s a window into the very real barriers Jewish people face when confronted with a “Christian” Jesus who feels historically disconnected from their people.

Together, we explore why the New Testament is far more Jewish than most Christians realize, why Paul’s “to the Jew first” mission still matters today, and how today’s rising anti-Semitism is creating unexpected openness among Jewish communities - if the church knows how to build trust. 

Murray helps believers move from abstract support to real relational bridge-building, from sentiment to substance, from generic evangelism to meaningful connection rooted in God’s covenant faithfulness.

In a world where Israel is headline news every day, most people are trying to interpret events through a fog of bias, misinformation, and instant reaction culture. 

We sat down with longtime Jerusalem-based journalist Nicole Jansezian to ask a simple question that’s not simple at all: 

How do we know what’s actually true? 

What unfolded was an inside look at the fractured media landscape inside Israel and the ideological forces shaping the region.

Nicole helps us slow down and understand why the Middle East defies the easy categories most Westerners reach for. 

Israel’s political divisions don’t map onto America’s left-right spectrum. Palestinian society is not monolithic. And both sides live with historic, cultural, and religious dynamics that rarely show up in the headlines. 

When we oversimplify, we miss the deeper story - and the deeper human reality.

This conversation is for anyone who wants discernment in an age of propaganda. We explore why speed has replaced accuracy, why influencers often outrun truth, and why we need a long view shaped by Scripture, not by algorithms. 

For Christians seeking to understand Israel, this isn’t just geopolitics - it’s about returning to the story God has been telling since Genesis and learning to see the world the way He sees it.

Most of us learned the Lord’s Prayer before we understood what it was doing. It became a ritual, something recited rather than lived. 

But when Jesus’ words are returned to their original world - the Jewish people under Roman rule, the long ache for redemption, the hope of a coming kingdom - the prayer opens up in ways most modern readers have never seen. It becomes less a mantra and more a mission.

In this conversation with Brad Gray and Brad Nelson of Walking the Text, we explore why context is not a luxury but a lifeline. 

Jesus wasn’t offering a poetic devotional. He was giving His disciples a framework for partnering with God, joining the story that began in the Exodus, and learning to embody the kingdom He announced. 

Every line reaches back to Israel’s history and forward to God’s future, shaping a people who would carry His reign into the world.

From the clash of kingdoms under Rome, to the Jewish practice of communal prayer, to the way the early disciples finally recognized the kingdom at Shavuot, this episode invites us to see the prayer not as ancient words but as a daily blueprint. 

This is what it means to bring heaven here - to live as a people formed by the Father, trusting His provision, forgiving like He forgives, and resisting the powers that distort His world.

Can you question what Israel’s government is doing and still stand with Israel in a biblical way? 

Many Christians feel trapped between blind support on one side and hostility on the other. In a noisy moment filled with slogans and hot takes, the conversation needs more covenant, not less.

In this episode we step back into the big story of Scripture to separate three things most people blur together: Israel’s government, the Jewish people, and God’s eternal covenant. 

We look at the prophets, at Jesus, at Paul, and at the Gospel of John to see how the Bible itself models sharp internal critique without ever erasing God’s promises to Israel.

You will come away with a simple “compass” you can use before you tweet, preach, repost, or debate. 

The goal is not to tell you what to think about every policy, but to help you think inside the covenant story of God, so that your words carry truth, humility, and hope for both Israel and the nations.

There’s a rising chorus of voices - some hostile, others simply misinformed - claiming that modern Jews aren’t the same people God called His own in Scripture. 

In this episode, we sit down with Messianic teacher Mottel Baleston to dismantle the Khazar conspiracy and explore the deeper theological question behind it: Are the Jewish people of today truly the covenant people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?

Baleston traces the Jewish story through Scripture, history, and even modern genetics to show that God’s promises have never been revoked. 

The Jewish people remain central to His plan of redemption, not as spiritual relics, but as living proof that God keeps His word. 

This isn’t just about disproving bad history - it’s about recovering biblical clarity for the Church and real love for Israel.

Why would God restore Israel to the Land if they don’t believe in Jesus? That’s the question many Christians wrestle with - and the one Ezekiel 36 answers head-on.

In this wide-ranging conversation with filmmaker and Bible teacher Stephen Briggs of Hatikva Films, we explore the prophetic timeline of Israel’s restoration, the continuity of God’s covenant with Abraham, and the flaws in replacement theology that blur the story of Scripture. 

Together we trace how the Hebrew nuances of Genesis 12, the promises of Ezekiel 36, and the disciples’ question in Acts 1 all reveal the same truth: God’s faithfulness comes before Israel’s faith.

Stephen shares insights from life in Jerusalem, stories from the “Blessing, Curse, or Coincidence” film series, and a clear-eyed view of what God is doing in our generation. 

Whether we’re talking about prophecy, politics, or discipleship, the message is the same - the restoration of Israel is the greatest evidence that God keeps His promises.