Sunday, May 8, 2016

Methodist Church - Star of David? - InSPIREd Sunday

 Old Methodist Church, Hillsdale, WI


Last week, on an extremely bright day, when I took a photo of this old church a few miles from our home, I noticed the Star of David window on the east side.  So how does it make sense to have a Star of David, a commonly-recognized symbol of Judaism, incorporated into the window of a Christian church?

Believing Jews and Christians alike are children of the promise, by faith in the Messiah. The promise was given to Abraham long before the Jewish law, or Torah, was given, that through his family all the earth would be blessed. 

Remember in Genesis 22 where Scripture tells us that God tested Abraham, to see if he was willing to sacrifice even his beloved son Isaac to God, and that at the last minute, as he was just about to do so, he was stopped by an angel of the Lord... 

Scripture goes on to say, beginning at verse 16: “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. 

"And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,  (My note: What a profound truth - that the Messiah Jesus, our risen Savior, has control over even the gate of his enemies - so how can his enemies possibly harm us who trust in Him? How can they hold captive those whom the Liberator has freed?) and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”


And then in Romans, Paul writes: (Romans 4:13-17)  "For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified;  for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.
 
"For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist."

Bottom line? The Christian's faith is the same as 'the faith of Abraham' (which is: faith in the Messiah). In Jesus, the Messiah, we have life, forgiveness of sin, freedom, peace with God, and hope.

'So now you know...the rest of the story,' as Paul Harvey would have put it.  

And now I'm wondering: if you could ask someone who once attended that little Methodist Church in Hillsdale about the Star of David window, whether they would give you the answer I did, or if they'd say, 'What?? No....we just got a good deal on that window!'  

Have a blessed Lord's Day, friends.

And Happy Mother's Day to all you moms! 





Jesus - King of Kings
Lord of Lords

Judy

Linking to:  InSPIREd Sunday and Roses of Inspiration

19 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

i like it. :)

Lowcarb team member said...

That is a lovely old church.
I like your blooms too.

Happy Mothers Day

All the best Jan

eileeninmd said...

Hello, I like the church and the window. Happy Mother's Day to you!

Happy Sunday, enjoy your new week ahead!

Linda said...

Beautiful. Happy Mother's Day, friend.

MadSnapper said...

it is known as the Star of David, tranlates to shield of David. and per Google the star of David was used by Christians as far back as the 17th century and it said that many Christian churches used it before the Jewish religion started to use it. in wikipedia it said it is used by many middle Eastern religions... i never thought about it before, but the church in GA that my dad went to was built in 1885 and has one on it...

Anonymous said...

I was happy to read "the rest of the story". Happy Mother's Day!

Terri D said...

It only makes sense to me, since it is where we all came from (so to speak). I am impressed with how you pulled this together for us, using scripture and teachings. As I mentioned...it only makes sense!! Thanks for a thought-provoking post that has inspired a couple of us to research a little more!

Happy Mother's Day!

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

A nice post Judy and I am aware of what Sandra wrote in that the this symbol was used by Christians long before it was utilized by the Jewish people.
I hope you're having a nice Mother's Day.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

Lovely post and LOL I HOPE that they wouldn't say they just got a good deal :)

Michelle said...

A lovely church, Judy! Have a blessed week ahead!

Butterfly 8)(8 Bungalow said...

Pretty church. I hope you had a wonderful day. xoxo Su

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I hope they'd give the answer you did!!

Lady Fi said...

What a gorgeous church! Lovely shots.

Christine said...

Great answer, Judy. Christ alone is the Bright & Morning Star.
Sad to say, Methodism has fallen away here, & I doubt many would be able to answer as you did.

Lynne said...

Love the Star of David window in the Methodist Church . . .
Says something positive in my thinking . . .

Sara - Villa Emilia said...

It's always sad to see an abandoned (?) church, but this post was very beautiful and inspiring. Thank you, Judy!

BeachGypsy said...

I love traipsing around old abandoned churches and old churchyards and cemeteries. So much amazing history there, so much to learn. Love your picture of the old church. Wouldn't you love to hear the stories it could tell?

Optimistic Existentialist said...

I hope that you had the most wonderful of Mother's Days :)

Paula said...

I love that little Methodist church. Do they ever have church there? Would be great if someone would scrape it and paint it white.

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