Who Is The Tabernacle?

I chose to do my religious ethnographic study at my home church, Tabernacle Baptist Church in Youngstown, Ohio on Sunday, May 8, 2016. Tabernacle is an 112-year-old historic Black Baptist church located on the lower Northside of Youngstown surrounded by a mixed income housing development, homeless shelter, Youngstown State University, and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. I would say the average age of a Tabernacle member is 55 years old. About 70% of the members at this church are “middle-class” families. Until about five years ago, its membership was almost exclusively middle class. There has seen an influx of membership in working class individuals and students since the arrival of Tabernacle’s young, vibrant pastor, Rev. Christopher McKee, Jr., three years ago. The church is attentive to the needs of this demographic but remains true to its historic Black Baptist church roots. The church previously struggled with this conundrum until it came to the reality that an exclusivist mindset around worship is detrimental to the body of Christ when it did not have a pastor for over three years. The church was dying because no one was welcome to it and it did not have a leader. Though it was difficult, this reassessment was beneficial in making Tabernacle more relevant and welcoming to the community it is blessed to serve.

The ancient tabernacle of Moses was a sacred and holy place for the people of Israel. It served as a tool for the people to remember God and to look forward to their promised Messiah. The tabernacle was so integral to the lives of the Israelites that they even built the tabernacle in the center of their encampments during their journeys (Yom Kippur). The tabernacle also served many purposes for the Israelites in their rituals, ceremonies, and beliefs of their religion. Many practices that the ancient Israelites performed in and for the tabernacle anciently, may seem peculiar to the modern thought process or many beliefs today. The main focus of the tabernacle was the day of Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement. On this day, the Israelites would gather and watch as a high priest performed the rituals in the tabernacle that would rid the sins of the people of Israel. This day and ceremony was a very important aspect to Israelites’ beliefs and the tabernacle was the main tool for their ceremonies. The tabernacle and the day of Yom Kippur served many purposes in helping the Israelites to remember their God, learn from symbols, and to help them strive to obey their God’s commandments.

John also reveals Christ’s identity, “In the beginning the Word (logos) already existed. He was with God, and he was God…He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn’t make. Life itself was in him and this life gives light to everyone.” (John 1:1, 3-4)

Everybody that works with freaks becomes a suspect. Scully and Mulder approach the “Tabernacle of Terror”. The dark room covered with dusk, the light only entering in from the entrance and exit. The art manager was working at his workbench on a head with a screaming face. He is killed in his storage room by a slithering figure with the face of a monster. Blood is everywhere. Each time a murder occurs they make you believe that the freaks are responsible. They set the scene in a frightening space to pull the view in and make you think it must be the freaks. What this is saying is that even if you work in a horrible place such as the “Tabernacle of Terror” that it doesn’t make you a terrifying person. That often people who look different are

Hebrews 1:2-3 says, “But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (NIV). In an article in The Christian Crier, author Jack Wellman gives a great description of Jesus.

There are thousands of stories in the Bible, but one stands out in particular; the story of Joseph. The Hebrew meaning of the name Joseph is “may Jehovah add, give increase.”1 Through the life of Joseph we see God add meaning and purpose to his life, just as God adds meaning and purpose to all our lives. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”2 Joseph obediently followed God’s plans through trials and tribulations whereas many other figures in the Old Testament faltered in their faith. Joseph, son of Jacob, is the single most important human being in the Old Testament because of his impeccable faith to the one true God and his story of forgiveness that set the stage for God’s chosen people.

What term is used in St. John's Gospel to describe the second person of the Blessed Trinity?

On November 22nd I went to Brooklyn Tabernacle with my best friend and her mother. I knew prior, going to this service would count as legitimate performance so much so that I could write a review on it since firstly, I remember whilst watching Obama’s 2012 inauguration ceremony on television that this church choir performed and phenomenally at that. I also knew the gist of what to expect in view of the fact that the two that I attended the church with, regularly attend Brooklyn Tabernacle’s Sunday service.

     The details of Jesus’ childhood were skipped by Matthew, most likely to show how significant his years of ministry were. The next important moment in the life of Jesus was his baptism. He went to the Jordan River where he met his cousin, John the Baptist, who was a prominent preacher of the time. John knew that Jesus was the Son of God, so he found it difficult to baptize him. He felt that Jesus should be the one baptizing him, but Jesus made it clear that it was his Father’s will that it should be done. As Jesus was baptized, the presence of God was felt among Jesus and the crowd. Matthew 3:16 tells of the heavens being opened up and the spirit of God descending upon him in the form of a dove. In Matthew 3:17, God said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” To anyone who is unfamiliar with Jesus, this is strong evidence of his powerful presence in the world to do the work of God.

Jesus was declared to be the Mighty God and Everlasting Father long before he was ever conceived in the womb of Mary. The Everlasting Father became the child and son born in the manger. Therefore Jesus truly is Immanuel, God with us. Jesus is Almighty God become a man.

The aligning story of refuge in Egypt can be found in Matthew 2:13-15. Mary is presented as a woman of innocence, meek and pious, but she along with Joseph, keep the details of Jesus’ miraculous birth hidden from him. Joseph is presented as the wise patriarch, the “head of the household” in which the whole family obediently follows, although there are other men who do hold some authority as well. However, Jesus calls Joseph, “Big Joseph,” because he was taught from a young age not to call him Father, although he does not quite understand why.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 This was Isaiah’s response to King Ahaz, who refused to ask the Lord for a sign, but this was also a prophecy of how the Savior would come. God gave King Ahaz as well as the world a sign of hope which a virgin will conceive. “God with us,” is the meaning of Immanuel which the son shall be named. This gives hope that God will always be with us even through His son. This prophecy of Jesus’ being born of a virgin was fulfilled in the New Testament in the book of Matthew 1:20-23 which states, “But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be

At the start of Jesus ministry, he ended up passing the water of the baptism of John, As Jesus was finally baptized he came up from the water and said this is my son. God had instructed Moses to deliver a message to the Pharaoh and by this text, Matthew has left his audience to believe in the identity of the relationship between Jesus and God.

The council of Jerusalem was a Christian Apostolic Age council that was held in Jerusalem and dated to around the year 50 AD. It is considered to be one of the more important and special council among the ancient “pre-ecumenical councils” in that it is considered by Catholics and Orthodox to be a blueprint or a stencil of the later Ecumenical Councils and a key part of Christian ethics. The council decided that Gentile converts to Christianity were not obligated to keep most of the Law of Moses including the rules concerning circumcision of males. The Council did, however, retain the prohibitions on eating blood, meat containing blood, and meat of animals not properly slain, and on fornication and idolatry, sometimes referred to as the Apostolic Decree or Jerusalem Quadrilateral. This is a major stepping stone in the church because people are forever going to use this as a blueprint/prototype for the councils that still have to come.

The first name or names I would like to discuss is “Jesus” and “Immanuel”. The reason I am counting both of them as one is because they seem to be interchangeable in the Bible. “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)” (Mat. 1:21-23, ESV). As stated in the Scripture, Immanuel means “God with us.” Important to note, is that Jesus was the name given by God whereas Immanuel was the name by which man called Him.