At the end of 2025 the population of the world was estimated at 8.3 billion. With that many human beings inhabiting our planet at one time, it is understandable that many would feel terribly insignificant.

And yet, the Scriptures make it clear that in God’s sight, no one is insignificant. In fact, the best known verse in the Bible makes this point when it says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) The apostle John reminds us that God loves the world and everyone, every single one, in it, so much that He sent Jesus to provide the path of salvation.

In this episode of the series, “Six Really Ordinary Men: The Overlooked Half of the Apostles,” we focus on two of the twelve who might certainly have considered themselves to be insignificant. In fact, the first of the two even had a nick-name based on his inferior status, and the other had a nick-name equally unflattering. The first has not one of his spoken words recorded in scripture and the second has just one question of less than twenty words recorded.

And yet, the names of these two will be engraved into the foundation stones of the wall surrounding the city of the New Jerusalem which will stand forever, according to Revelation 21:14.

And so it is that we can be assured that in God’s sight there are really no “little” people, and that’s the title of this episode, “No Little People. . .Really!” With that, let’s begin.

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

“Oh, he’s a ‘Doubting Thomas” or “Don’t be a ‘Doubting Thomas”—We’ve all heard the expression and maybe even used it ourselves.

Of the twelve men chosen by Jesus to be with Him and to be sent out by Him, one has seemingly distinguished himself by his negative attitude, not exactly what he might prefer.

However, in the description of this REALLY ordinary man, we find a heavy measure of encouragement for all of us who are followers of Jesus.

In this fourth in the series, “Six REALLY Ordinary Men: The Overlooked Half of the Apostles,” we zero in on one known as “The Twin,” whose story reminds us that regardless of personality, including the negatives, God can use anyone who will say to Jesus, as did he, “My Lord and my God!”

With the gospel record open before us, we delve into this study of the ups and downs of this interesting man in an episode entitled, “From Doubts to Certainty.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Nearly everyone has had the experience of meeting someone who appears to be warm, engaging, and deeply interested in others, but later learning that the initial impression was based on a veneer, under which was a very different person, one who is really much more interested in his or her own advancement than in anyone or anything else.

Such an experience can lead to a sort of skepticism regarding others we might meet along the way, causing us to wonder, “Is there anyone who is really genuine and authentic—the real deal?”

In this third episode of the series, “Six REALLY Ordinary Men,” we learn of one of the twelve individuals Jesus called to follow Him, to be with Him, and to be sent out by Him, who actually was “the real deal.” From the time Jesus first met him He recognized: “This is a plain-talker, not a phony, and what you see is what you get!”

So, let’s turn to a careful study of one about whom there is very little known, but one who displays this rarest of qualities: authenticity and sincerity, a man in whom there is no deceit. We call this episode, “REALLY Ordinary, but Really Real!”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

It’s not often in this series of podcasts that the listener will hear the speaker singing a song! However, this episode begins with that unusual feature as I lead the “Shmooze, News, and Views” group in singing a little “ditty” from years gone by, designed as an aid in remembering the names of the twelve apostles.

The first of the six “overlooked Half of the apostles” to be considered is Philip, about whom not a great deal is known. In fact, all of the information we have about him is found in only one of the four gospels, the gospel of John.

However, tucked into the compact package of information about Philip is a powerful lesson for each one of us as we wonder, “Do I have what it takes to be used by God?”

The answer to that question is the “takeaway” from this second study in the series, “Six REALLY Ordinary Men: The Overlooked Half of the Apostles.” Feel free to join in the singing as we begin this episode entitled, “The Boy from Bethsaida.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

The nineteenth century New England poet Emily Dickinson began her brief poem with this quip:

“I’m nobody; who are you?”

So many of us can identify with Miss Dickinson’s self-recognition, noting that there are seemingly disadvantages being “a somebody,” of whom there are far fewer than “the nobodies,” though sometimes we might like to try it for ourselves!

The Gospels introduce us to twelve men who could certainly be considered “nobodies,” but who were used in extraordinary ways after meeting Jesus and being called and prepared by Him.

In this next series of six studies we will consider six of the twelve apostles, the ones to whom there has been given little attention, but who must be included in the group of “nobodies” mightily used as Jesus’ human instruments to “build His Church.”

And in this there is great encouragement for all of us “nobodies” as we move into a series entitled, “Six REALLY Ordinary Men: The Overlooked Half of the Apostles,” with this first study we call “Getting To Know the Nobodies.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

At a time when so many nations and individuals are turning away from Israel and vilifying the Jewish state and the Jewish people, it is both remarkable and refreshing to hear from those who continue to have “a heart for Israel.” Such a one is Paul Valerio, an American Gentile who, along with his young wife Traci, decided to visit Israel for three weeks and ended up living and working there for eighteen years!

I recently had the privilege of sitting down with Paul during a few days with us in Pennsylvania as a stop between his home in Georgia and a visit with family (and running in a half-marathon) in Connecticut where he grew up.

With each of us enjoying a cup of coffee and a bagel with a “shmear” of cream cheese, I asked Paul to share how he and Traci surprisingly ended up in Israel and to describe the development of his deep interest in, and love for, Israel and the Jewish people which continues to this day. I also asked him to share from his heart his concern and hope for both the Jewish State and its citizens.

I believe you will be blessed and challenged as you listen in on this conversation which is this next Bagel-side Chat in an episode with the intriguing title, “Three Weeks, Two Back-Packs, Plus Eighteen Years.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Over these past months at various times you have been invited to join me, Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship, for an informal conversation about matters related to Israel, the Jewish people, and how they fit into God’s plan and purpose for the world as revealed in His Word, the Bible.

Loosely modeled after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (FDR’s) “Fireside Chats” in his radio addresses to the American people from 1933 to 1944 during the Great Depression and World War II, these talks have a “Jewish flavor” (read that “Bagel-side”) to them.

In this eleventh “Bagel-side Chat” I focus on the example of the Ten Boom Family in the Netherlands during the terrible time of the Holocaust and its connection to what lies ahead for the Jewish people as foretold by the Old Testament prophets and Jesus Himself in the Olivet Discourse.

In this present time when so many nations and individuals have turned against the State of Israel and the Jewish people, it is especially important to ponder how Jesus would have us respond in practical ways to the circumstances and needs of “His brethren.”

So, settle in with a beverage and a bagel with a “shmear” for this eleventh “Bagel-side Chat” entitled, “Corrie’s Tree and Me.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Of the five supernatural revelations recorded in the Old Testament Book of Daniel, the prophet’s vision described in chapter 8 is certainly one of the most astounding, astounding in its specificity in predicting future events, covering a span of over five hundred years and beyond.

Two vitally important truths emerge from an understanding of Daniel’s vision:

• Every earthly kingdom, no matter how seemingly indestructible, will fall as surely as it arose. . .with one notable exception.
• If all of Daniel’s predictions were correct, with the exception of the one yet unfulfilled, surely that one will be fulfilled, as well, though sometime in the indefinite future.

With these truths in mind, we turn to Daniel 8 in this last in a six-part series entitled, “When Worlds Collide: Studies in the Book of Daniel,” an episode we call “Precision Prophecy.”

Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message. If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners. Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.