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Let us pray. By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13.15 Dear Lord, through Your sacrifice on the cross, You made atonement for my sins, then brought me forth into eternal life with You. I surrendered my life to the One who loves me more than anyone ever will.
You have given me the honor of serving you in this life. As your ambassador, you have invested me with special gifts and talents and positioned me among those who need to hear my testimony of love divine. The most holy sacrifice I can bring in exchange for your sacrifice is offering my thanks. I will render the fruit of my lips as my sacrifice of praise.
The blessings you have granted me through Christ are so abundant and inexhaustible that you can never be sufficiently praised for them. I will lift up your name and honor all that you have done for me to all those I meet along the way in my life's journey. I was dead in sin, and you gave me life through your Son, Jesus Christ, and drew me with cords of love into your eternal kingdom of love.
It is your desire that none should perish and have made a way of escape for all of those who will receive your plan of salvation. Your goodness leads us to repentance, and your goodness is what I praise you for each day of my life. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening to today's daily prayer. For more inspiration and an incredible message from our feature pastor, stay tuned to Pray.com's Sunday service.
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Hi, I'm Megan Marcelino with Curt Landry Ministries, and I'm so honored and excited to be here today with Rabbi Curt Landry. And I know that if you guys are watching this, you just came through Thanksgiving. So I hope that you had an amazing Thanksgiving celebration with your friends and your family and just came through that season of gratitude. Today, we're here to talk to you specifically about Hanukkah, which is coming up now in just a few weeks.
and we want to talk to you about Christians celebrating Hanukkah, kind of what that looks like. And I really can think of no one better who can kind of share his heart on that and what we feel like is the Lord's heart towards us as believers. Yeah, well, we joke about in our family, and this is our daughter, but also COO of Curt Landry Ministries, and we're a ministry of Jew and Gentiles at Walk One in Messiah. We're born again, spirit-filled, united,
Jewish believers and we've worked with humanitarian aid in Israel for 34 years. We started out with early Aliyah, bringing Jewish people back from Russia, back to Israel in the early 90s. And, uh,
And we have a full-time ministry in Israel doing humanitarian aid during this time of the war where we take care of all the people that are there that have humanitarian needs. But one of the reasons I was saying that about being a Hanukkah Christmas Jew is –
people laugh about that, but both of our families, the Marcelino side, Megan's husband, they're believing Jews and they celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. And so do we. And so it's like, well, how do you do that? And why would you do that? And so that's kind of what I want to
share with you. So probably we should probably share the Maccabees story. Yeah, absolutely. Because you got people here who maybe who don't even know the story of Hanukkah. They may think it's like the Jewish Christmas, which it's not. So what is the story? And from the angle of I'm a believer, but what does it have to do with me? Because
You know, if you're a mom out there, I get you. Like, why? You don't need, like, one more thing in the season. Like, it's enough to go from Thanksgiving to end of school to Christmas to New Year, then to add in an eight-day celebration. Like, it seems like a lot, but I'm going to tell you, it's so, there's so much richness there for your family, and it can be really, really simple. So talk to us about the Maccabees. Who were they, and what part do they play in history?
And so before I forget, also go to CurtLandry.com forward slash Hanukkah Guide. And then if what we're saying interests you, you can get that free download. It will help you.
So let me give you a little brief history around 164 to 160 BCE. There was a Hellenization of the world coming through a Syrian called Antiochus IV. And you can read about this in the first book of Maccabee that actually is in the Catholic Bible, but it's not in our Bible. But it's still accurate history.
So basically this ruler, Antiochus IV, you know, a narcissistic leader who wants to control the world in a dictatorial ship. And basically what he's doing is he's having trouble controlling these Jewish people because they are monolithic, meaning they only worship one God. His control was, we'll worship all these statues, Zeus and everything else so I can control you. But these Jews, he couldn't control.
So what he did was he actually found compromised Jewish priests to go into the temple there in Jerusalem.
And they had temple prostitutes and all sorts of defilement of the temple, you know, with Jewish people and obviously his Greek thinking Syrian people. And they defiled the temple. And then shortly after they did this, they were bringing a garrison into an area of Israel called Moda'in, which is between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to this day.
and they came to a family called the Maccabees. These were a priestly family. This priestly family was on a Shabbat. The garrison came in and for time's sake was saying, you're going to sacrifice this pig on your altar at Shabbat. Judah Maccabee says, you know what? Enough is enough. We're not going to do it. They killed the garrison and they didn't sacrifice. And now they're in a war.
And that war would start and they said, "Listen, we're outnumbered. We're priests. We're not really warriors. We'll go and we'll take through the mountains up to Jerusalem." They got to the temple.
They remove the statue of Zeus, they sanctify and cleanse the temple, throw out all the corrupt priesthood, bring in a royal priesthood, and there's a great Hanukkiah, an eight-branched menorah that's there. And as the story has it, the legend has it, there's only a jug to fill one night of oil.
And so the key is, is that as priests, they knew according to the law of Moses that they would have to have the oil according to the law of Moses. Now, understanding they're at the in Jerusalem, right there at the in the temple, right?
And even to this day, as you can see, you can go down the Kidron Valley up to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus is going to return one day and put his feet upon the Mount of Olives. Well, the Mount of Olives, there's a garden called Gethsemane. That's an actual where Jesus went and prayed. After Passover, he went and took some of his disciples and asked them, could you tarry not one hour? He was in an olive press or an olive grove.
In that grove, they could have gone down that valley. I don't know how far it is, probably maybe two, two and a half miles at best. That would be zigzagging, walking. You could have gone down and got jugs of oil, but they chose not to. What they did is they chose to trust the Lord, use the oil to light the menorah in the new sanctified temple and believe God for eight nights.
And so the story about this is, is how a small garrison of priests actually have the ability to restore the worship and the atonement of God on the earth and their dedication. That's what Hanukkah means. It's the feast of dedication. And one of the reasons I think
for us as Christians and Jews celebrate Hanukkah is to remember the miracle that God always provides for those who will stand with God's light. You know, we read about it in the Bible in John 10,
Jesus celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in John 10. That's where he made the declaration, which I'm sure you're familiar with, where he said, I am the light of the world. But he also talked to us in the Gospels about not only that he's the light of the world,
But he said to us, his disciples, those who will follow after him, he said, you will be the salt of the earth, meaning you are being used like salt, not just a flavor, but to preserve the earth forever.
And you do that by understanding the light of the world, that you are also going to be little lights of the world. So that's one of the reasons for us as a family, we celebrate Hanukkah and we also celebrate Christmas because we have Christmas tree in our house and a Hanukkiah. But that tree, I know it has pagan roots in the, uh,
from the winter solstice and where that comes from out of Rome and out of Europe. But let's look at it this way. That tree, there is a tree that we all remember and the birthday that we generally celebrate. I understand it wasn't on December the 25th,
And most believe that it was most likely when Jesus was born would have been during the Feast of Tabernacles because he would have been in a booth where he would have been born. But anyway, that's for another time. But here's the key is when I see that tree in my house, I realize there was a tree at Calvary.
and that the light of the world hung on that tree, so all of us could become the salt of the world, and also we could become the light of the world. And we take the ornaments we put upon the tree. Every good deed that we do is kind of hanging on a tree, so to say, so that we can all hear one day, because of the blood that was shed on that tree, we can hear, well done, good and faithful servant.
Amazing, beautiful. There really is such an amazing connection between the message of Hanukkah and for us as believers. You know, you might ask yourself, what does it look like for a Christian to celebrate Hanukkah? Or for us, we would say, like, what does like a one new man, one new humanity Hanukkah look like? And I can tell you for us as a family, it's as simple as, sure, we have some fun Hanukkah traditions. But again, like I said, you know, we're not
We are dedicated to holiness. We are dedicated to waiting on the Lord. We are dedicated to identifying as true believers. Because you see, like, we're not trying to add more to your holiday season.
what Rabbi said, the Maccabees were not only fighting against this Greek Hellenization, which Hellenization is basically, they wanted them to embrace a Greek way of thought and a Greek culture and to give up their Judaism or to give up any culture that was not Greek. And I think, you know, you and I can relate to that, right? In the world today, it's like,
You must accept this culture. You must accept this doctrinal belief or this system. And if you don't, then it's like there is no room for you. And that's the same thing the Maccabees were fighting. So when we stand up for that as a family this year, how amazing, what an opportunity for us to talk to our children and say, yeah, no, that is not, that is not how we choose to identify ourselves. We choose to identify ourselves as true believers who wait on the Lord. We're not going to, you know, make, uh,
false oil, we're going to wait on God to provide a miracle. Hanukkah is truly a season of miracles. And so if you're needing a miracle, maybe it's something big, maybe it's something small, this is like really an incredible time to just, you know, you light. So the first night you'll light your center candle, which is your servant candle or the helper candle. And then you'll light the first candle. And then every night from there on, you know, you're going to light two candles, three candles, four candles, all the way until the end. And
And you're going to see that your family is going to experience the light of the world through this exercise. It's really simple, but it's really, really beautiful. And maybe it's the first time you're doing it, but there's a first time for everything. And I can tell you, as a family who's like embrace the one new man, one humanity culture, there are some clunky things. Sometimes it feels foreign. It doesn't feel familiar. It doesn't feel like home.
oh yeah, like Christmas morning. But after a few times doing it, it does. Because traditions are just things that we repeat over and over. So this is really an amazing year to start and to start like the education process of, you know, defining what really matters for your family and that expression. Yes. And so let's pause right here and let's bring that Hanukkiah up.
All right. Nathan just did us a solid and brought us a Hanukkiah so that you could see exactly what it looks like. So thank you, Nathan. We appreciate you doing that. Thank you. I just shared with you, this is your center candle. This is your servant candle. And this is how you would light. This is your first night and your second night. And you light that night's candle first. So this would be, if you were the second night, you would light your center candle. And then you're going to go light night two, light one. And then
Three, two, one, and through. But Rabbi's going to take us through really a beautiful prayer. And just this is kind of our tradition as a ministry, our tradition as a family. Let's talk about the eight nights and how we might pray and kind of identify with the practice and the richness that is Hanukkah as you choose to celebrate as a believer this year. Yeah.
So what I'm going to do is I'm going to take the servant candle. It's the Shamus candle. Maybe I'm not going to take it. We melted it in really good. So it wouldn't be crooked. Yeah. Okay. So I want you to imagine that I'm going to take that servant candle. And what I'm going to do is I just kind of want you to experience it from
a believing perspective of what we do. Okay, so I'm just going to pray each one of these candles, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Each number has a biblical significance. And so I'm going to decree those out over us. Okay, so that's what I'm going to do here. Sorry, just trying to bump your mic. Yeah, okay. Father God, in the name of Jesus.
I thank you for Jesus, the servant candle, and also in Hebrew it's the helper, the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to light the first night, which is the unity that we acknowledge that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through Jesus Christ is the Lord. Thank you, Lord, that the second night we come in union to his agreement. We set our life with the Lord in agreement in Jesus' name.
Lord, we thank you that on the third night, when we set ourselves in agreement, the third night, that you heal us body, soul, and spirit, and that you are God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the Trinity of God.
The fourth night, four, is creation or a door. Thank you, Lord, that when we give our life to you in unity and we come in agreement that our body, soul, and spirit, through the power of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, opens doors for us in our life.
That brings us into five, which is grace. Lord, thank you that as we open the doors in our life to you as the Lord, it brings grace. Six, the sixth night is understanding and recognizing the weakness of our humanness, our manliness.
manhood, if you want to call womanhood, that Lord, as men and women, we do have weaknesses, but we thank you for the grace of God that brings us to seven. Seven is perfection, that we know that it's Christ in us. That's our hope and glory. And eight is new beginnings.
So I would encourage you with your children to say, accept the Lord, come in agreement with his ways. He will heal you, body, soul, and spirit. You will know him as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He'll open doors in your life that will bring grace to overcome the weakness in your manhood, to bring perfection in Christ Jesus, to open up a life of new beginnings. That's being born again, and all things are made new. Amazing.
I feel sure that after you've joined us for today that you can see the richness that is available to you for Hanukkah. You know, Hanukkah is a little bit of a different celebration in that it's not like one of the main feasts that we honor as a family as well. Like it's not one of the main ones that's part of our faith structure, but it's
It's an opportunity. And that's kind of what I love, what you always share with us about the Feast of the Lord. It's like, do I have to do this? No. No. It's not an issue of salvation, but why wouldn't you want to? That's my question. It's like it's an opportunity to kind of sit at the Father's table and have this amazing time with your family. Or maybe it's just you, but it's still that opportunity.
dedication to be present in the season and that grounding and that pattern. So this is really an invitation. I hope that you feel like you've learned about Hanukkah. You mentioned that we have a free download. We also, we have a book that you can purchase, but we have a free download. It's curtlandry.com.
forward slash Hanukkah guide. And it will take you through all of the history of Hanukkah, some of the beautiful spiritual principles that you've led us through. But it's really an opportunity for you to learn more and potentially embrace a part of your culture that you didn't even know that you were missing. Absolutely. So I want to say to you, happy Hanukkah. Yeah.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you. May the Lord bless your family richly in this new year that's coming. And may the light of the world, Jesus, which he said when he celebrated the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah, in John chapter 10, he says, I am the light of the world. May that light shine brightly in you and to all your paths. And may he deliver you from all darkness in Jesus' name. Amen.
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