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The Difference Between a Messianic Congregation and a Church | Episode 20

So, what’s a Messianic congregation really like? And how do you decide if you should go to one? 

In today’s episode of A Jew and A Gentile Discuss, Ezra and Carly talk with Rabbi Seth Klayman about the why and how of Messianic congregations. Who’s Seth Klayman, you ask 

Seth is a secondgeneration Jewish Believer in Jesus, which means that, given this time in history, his parents were a part of pioneering modern Messianic Judaism in AmericaSeth earned his degree in Jewish Studies at Ohio State University. He also studied at Oxford University and later in Israel and earned his Masters and PhDfrom Duke University. He now leads Sha’arei Shalom Messianic Synagogue in North Carolina and has some insightful things to say about identity, worship expression and what that means to Jewish and Gentile Believers. 

Ezra asks Seth about: 

  • His background and faith story as the son of Jewish Believers 
  • His calling into Messianic leadership 
  • His congregation 
  • Christians being involved with a Messianic Jewish congregation  
  • His view on how Jewish Believers and Gentile Christians should interact with each other 
  • What he’d say to a Christian who discovers they have a Jewish background and feels confused 

Carly goes on to ask Seth a question that other Gentile Christians may secretly be asking too: 

  • Why does there have to be such a thing as a Messianic congregation? Why can’t a Jewish person who believes in Jesus just go to a church? 

Along the way 

As they discuss, you’ll also learn  

  • What Seth believes are core essentials about Jewish faith in Jesus 
  • Reasons why a Jewish Believer may resist attending a Messianic congregation 
  • The importance of calling 
  • How identity and diversity within the Body of Messiah point to who Jesus is 

Words you might learn in this episode 

Yeshua, Shaarei Shalom, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Chanukah 

Hear other exciting conversations between “a Jew and a Gentile” wherever you listen to podcasts or go to www.ajewandagentilediscuss.org for more information.  

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