Mayim Chaim "Living Water" Messianic Fellowship! [Click Here To Return To The Home Page]

Our Purpose
The purpose of Mayim Chaim Messianic Fellowship Church is to glorify haShem (G-d) by fulfilling the Great Commission of Yeshua haMashiach (Jesus Christ) — We aim to Raise Up Talmidim (Disciples) For Messiah Yeshua By Walking Out Emunah Through Obedience; proclaim the Gospel (Good News) to non-believers and point them to Yeshua as their Redeemer; nurture believers through the teaching of the Word of G-d; encourage and facilitate worship, study, and prayer for both individual and corporate growth and community fellowship; and engage in outreach and service to our faith community, local community and beyond.

What We Believe
The Text (Bible)
We believe that the Hebrew and Apostolic Text of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation (All sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments) are the inspired and authoritative Word of G-d, that the Torah and the Gospels are inerrant in their original autographs, and that the same is the supreme and final authority and source of truth in all matters of faith and practice. As such, we believe that the instructions / commandments (Torah) given by haShem to His people are still relevant for today, and we actively seek to live lives of obedience in alignment to those instructions. (Deut. 6:4-9; 2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12)

Elohim — The Trinity in Unity
We believe there is only one G-d, haShem, the eternal G-d and Creator of the universe; the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the only true and living G-d, who is infinite and perfect. He is one (echad) and has revealed Himself primarily through the triune nature as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh). (Gen. 1:1, 2; 1:26; Deut. 6:4; Psalm 2; Prov. 30:4-6; Matt. 3:16, 17; John 1:1-5; 14:26; 1 Cor. 8:6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; Col. 1:17)

Yeshua haMashiach (Jesus Christ) — The Messiah for Israel and the Nations
We believe in the deity of Yeshua the Messiah, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal return in power and glory.

We believe that Yeshua is the only way to both G-d and salvation. As the only begotten Son of G-d, He is incarnate, without sin or blemish. He is fully G-d and fully man. Yeshua was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Jewish virgin Miriam (Mary). (Isa. 7:14; 53 [entire chapter]; Matt. 1:20-23; Luke 1:27-32; John 1:12, 14, 45; 3:36; Heb. 9:11-1; Gal. 4:4, 15; 1 John 4:9)

Yeshua died, was raised bodily from the dead on the third day, ascended into Heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of G-d, where He serves as mediator between G-d and man, making intercession on our behalf. Through His death, He made it possible for all mankind to be reconciled back to G-d the Father. He is awaiting the time for His return, when He will rule and reign for 1,000 years from Jerusalem. (Lev. 17:11; Isa. 53 [entire chapter]; Dan. 9:24-26; Ps. 110:1; Matt. 24:29-31; 28:6, 7, 18; Mark 12:36; 13:24-27; 14:61, 62; 16:6, 19; Luke 20:42, 43; 22:69; 24:34; Acts 1:9-11; 2:33-44; 5:31; 7:55, 56; Rom. 5:8; 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:3-8; Gal. 1:4; Phil. 2:9-11; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:1-4, 13; 8:1; 9:26, 28; 10:12; 12:2; 2 Tim. 2:8; 1 Peter 3:22; Rev. 20:4-6)

There are two “comings” of the Messiah spoken of in Scripture: (1) His coming to atone for sin, as promised in Dan. 9:24-26, et al. (Dan. 9:24-26; Isa. 53; Rom. 3:21-31; Heb. 9-10; John 3:16, 17). (2) His coming in the air to receive the believers to Himself (1 Thess. 4:13-18; John 14:1-6; 1 Cor. 15:51-57)

Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit)
The Ruach HaKodesh is a co-equal and co-eternal manifestation of G-d, along with G-d the Father and Yeshua the Messiah. He indwells all believers, empowering them to live a life of holiness, have love for others, witness and obey G-d, and be convicted of their sin. He equips believers for service with different gifts, endows them with His fruit, and transforms them to be more like Yeshua. (John 14:15-21; Acts 1:4, 5, 8; 2:1-18, 38, 39; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:8-10)

Creation
We accept the creation account set forth in Genesis as true, literal fact. G-d created everything, and without Him nothing has existence. (Gen. 1, 2; John 1:3)

Humankind
G-d created human beings in His divine image to rule over and care for His creation, giving them free will to choose right or wrong. He walked with them in the Garden of Eden, and they enjoyed personal fellowship with their Creator. (Gen. 1-26-28; 2:15; Eph. 1:4-6)

The Jewish People
G-d set the descendants of Abraham (the Israelites, who we now refer to as Jews) apart by entering into an everlasting covenant with them, giving them His Torah to guard and protect, and sending His Messiah through them so that all the nations of the world would be blessed, and through belief and acceptance of Yeshua experience redemption and eternal life. He also gave the Jewish people the Land of Israel as an irrevocable inheritance and pledge of the blessing of the World to Come. (Gen. 12:1-3; Jer. 31:31-37; Rom. 11:28, 29)
Israel
lthough many Jewish people have rejected their Messiah, G-d has preserved a remnant and is continuing to bring more and more into the truth and fulfillment of the promised Messiah of Israel. G-d has an end-time plan for both the nation of Israel and the world, which includes the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel, as taught in the Scriptures. The prophetic clock began ticking again with the rebirth of Israel as a nation in 1948 and all will be fulfilled as set forth in G-d’s Word. (Ezek. 34:11-31; Chapters 36 and 39; Hosea 3 [entire chapter]; Amos 9:11-15; Zech. Chapters 12, 13 and 14; Is. Chapters 11, 43, 54, 60-62 and 66); Rom. 11:1-34)

Sin
Mankind chose to exercise its free will and disobey G-d, which resulted in separation from Him. The result was violence, disorder, death, sickness, despair, and all people being born with a sinful nature. (Gen. 2:17; 3:2-24; 4:8; 6:5-7; Rom. 3:9-12, 23; 5:12; 8:20-22)

Heaven, Hell, and Eternity
We believe in a literal heaven and hell. We also believe in the resurrection of both the redeemed and the lost: the former to reward and everlasting life, and the latter to eternal separation from G-d, a state of everlasting punishment for unrepented sin. (Ps. 9:17; Job 19:25-27; Dan. 12:2-3; Matt. 10:28; John 3:36; 11:25, 26; 2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 20:5, 6; 10-15; 21:1, 2; 1, 7, 8)

Teshuvah (Repentance) / Redemption / Salvation
We believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Yeshua haMashiach alone and His atoning sacrifice, and that all who believe in and confess Him Lord and Savior are born again, given the gift of the Ruach haKodesh, and become children of God. We hold the tradition of Mikveh, or full water immersion (Baptism) as the public demonstration of proper teshuvah (repentance) and obedience in submitting our life and will to our Creator and receiving the gift of salvation and the forgiveness of our sins through the atoning death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua. All humankind are sinners by nature and in need of salvation. We are unable to save ourselves, so G-d made a way for our atonement and paid the penalty of our sin (death) by taking on the form of a man in the person of Yeshua (His Son). Each person has the free will to either accept or reject G-d’s gift of salvation. It is a free gift of G-d, although in order to receive it we must acknowledge Yeshua as our Messiah, teshuv (repent), and confess our sin, a process that results in our being regenerated by the indwelling of the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) and being born anew spiritually. (Joshua 24:15; Luke 1:69; 5:32; John 3:3, 7, 16-18; Acts 5:31; Rom. 1:16; 3:23-25; 10:9, 10; 2 Cor. 7:9, 10; Eph. 2:4-10; 1 Thess. 5:9; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 1, 19, 23; 2 Peter 3:9)

Olam Habah — The World (Life) to Come
Yeshua will return to reign and rule from Jerusalem on the throne of David in the Millennial Kingdom for a thousand years, after which G-d will make all things new. The dead will be raised and judged. Unbelievers will be eternally separated from G-d, while believers will enter a life of eternal joy in fellowship with G-d in the New Jerusalem. (Is. 9:4, 5; Luke 16:22-31; John 5:28, 29; Rom. 8:18, 19; Rev. 14:11; 20:11-15; 21:1-4)

Messianic Jews and G-d Fearers (Gentiles) Together
Messianic Judaism is a modern term for the original faith of the First Century disciples that began strictly within the confines of First Century Judaism in approximately AD 30-33. The term Messianic comes from the Hebrew word Mashiach, which translated into the English word Messiah. It means Anointed One, so a Messianic believer is someone who has become a follower of the Messiah. Messianic Judaism is rooted in Biblical Judaism (as opposed to Rabbinic Judaism, which developed after the destruction of the Temple in AD 70) and reflects our belief that Yeshua, having fulfilled the prophecies of the Tanakh, was indeed the promised Messiah of Israel.

The vast majority of the first believers in Yeshua were Jewish. Yeshua Himself, a observant Jew within First Century / Second Temple Judaism, after His death and resurrection, just prior to His ascension, instructed His disciples to go into the nations and proclaim the redemption that was available in Him.

Messianic believers were referred to by different names in the early days, including The Way and the Nazarenes. They were never considered to be part of a separate religion, but instead were a sect within broader Judaism. That continued even after Gentiles began coming to faith in great numbers, beginning in Acts Chapter 10. Soon the number of Gentile believers surpassed the number of Jewish believers; however, the Movement continued to be led primarily by Jewish believers throughout the First Century.

Messianic Judaism differs from Christianity in that it is firmly rooted in Judaism. Messianic Jews do not separate from their Jewish roots when they accept Yeshua as Messiah, but instead maintain their Jewish identity. Whereas Christians often do not conduct their lives in accordance with the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), Messianic Jews continue to do so, observing the seventh-day Sabbath, celebrating the feasts established by G-d, and adhering to the dietary restrictions as commanded by Adonai in the Torah. Messianic Jews understand that salvation is by faith in Messiah only and that ritual observance to commandments do not lead to salvation, but believe that adherence to G-d’s commands should be the natural byproduct of faith. In other words, we strive to keep the commandments not as a way to gain salvation, but because we are saved.

We also believe each person should remain in the condition he or she was when called, as taught by Rav Sha’ul (the Apostle Paul) in 1 Cor. 7:17-20:
17 Only let each person live the life the Lord has assigned him and live it in the condition he was in when G-d called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the congregations. 18 Was someone already circumcised when he was called? Then he should not try to remove the marks of his circumcision. Was someone uncircumcised when he was called? He shouldn’t undergo b’rit-milah.
19 Being circumcised means nothing, and being uncircumcised means nothing; what does mean something is keeping G-d’s commandments.
20 Each person should remain in the condition he was in when he was called. (CJB)

Simply put, Jews are to remain Jews, and Gentiles are to remain Gentiles. Gentiles were never instructed in the Bible to become Jewish, and neither were Jews instructed to renounce Judaism. This is also clearly evident in the Jerusalem Council’s verdict in Acts 15.

Despite the belief by many that Paul did just that, when Scripture is read in its proper context, we see that he did just the opposite. After his encounter with Yeshua on the road to Damascus, Paul continued to live according to Jewish traditions and customs, even taking a Nazirite vow, proclaiming in the present tense that “I am a Pharisee” (not “used to be a Pharisee”), and upholding the Torah. And he was not alone. Acts 21:20 (which occurred around 55 CE) tells us that tens of thousands of Jews came to faith in Yeshua and continued to be faithful to the Torah of Moses. Some historians believe that number may have been well over one million. Regardless of the exact number, it was substantial, and the book of Acts tells us that Pharisees and many priests were part of the early Messianic Movement.

Mission
Provide Jewish and Gentile believers in Messiah a ministry that brings them together in community. To worship together, learn together, and live together in all the richness of G-d’s Word (Genesis through Revelation), especially the revelation of G-d’s Son, Messiah Yeshua. We do this in the culture of Judaism (which is the culture our Messiah lived out His days on earth during His first coming) to better understand His teachings so we can live out His teachings in our daily lives.

Disunity, Disputes, and Offense
Disputes, disunity, and offenses within the Body of Messiah should be handled in accordance with the process established by Yeshua in Matt. 18:15-18.

Tithes and Offerings
The command to give a tithe (one-tenth) and to give love offerings to support the work of G-d is still applicable today. (Leviticus 27 [entire chapter]; Malachi 3:10; Luke 6:38) However, we do not regulate the giving of the members of our fellowship; we believe that the when, where, how often, how much, and to whom of giving are between the giver and haShem.