Audio Series: Train Yourself for Godliness

A series of teachings on the relationship between physical discipline and spiritual discipline and the path of meseret nefesh.

For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8)

1 Whose Life Is It Anyway? Recorded 08/09/2018

Your soul's purpose in this world is to serve God. That's why it was given a body. This purpose implies that there is a foundational commandment in the Torah that many of us may be neglecting. The soul is like an astronaut in a spacesuit. Is an astronaut concerned with maintaining his spacesuit?

In the interest of proper credit, some inspiration for this teaching came from this page. Beth Immanuel does not necessarily endorse everything on that site (which appears to be from a Breslov perspective).

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whose_life_is_it_anyway.mp3

2 Not by Bread Alone: The Power of Fasting Recorded 08/04/2018

Enhance your prayer life, enhance your spiritual growth, develop self-discipline, and improve your health, all at the same time! This teaching about fasting gears us up for the Forty Days of Repentance. Based on a text in parashat Ekev, we take a look at fasting not only as a spiritual discipline but also at as a source of physical benefits for health and longevity.

Here are some useful links about the health benfits of Intermittent Fasting and OMAD (One Meal a Day).

Time Magazine: What Is Intermittent Fasting And Is It Actually Good For You?
Healthline: Intermittent Fasting 101
The Beginner’s Guide to Intermittent Fasting
One Meal a Day Diet
Delay, Don’t Deny

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not_by_bread_alone.mp3

3 Messianic Jewish "Lent" Recorded 08/07/2010

Forty days in the wilderness! The season of repentance is often referred to as the Jewish version of Lent, but which came first? This teaching from 2010 makes the case that the Christian season of Lent was originally based on the Jewish season of Teshuvah. This teaching calls upon us to employ asceticism and meseret nefesh in a forty-day face-off with the devil as we train for Yom Kippur.

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messianic_jewish_lent.mp3

4 Cleansing the Bodily Temple Recorded 08/18/2018

Have you ever heard of the "Hudson Twenty"? Beth Immanuel's new associate pastor, Toby Janicki, speaks about some of the "weighty matters" of Torah in this teaching from Parashat Shoftim, encouraging us to lighten up.

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cleansing_the_bodily_temple.mp3

5 The Glutton and the Drunkard Recorded 08/25/2018

Why was Yeshua called "a glutton and a drunkard"? Discover the meaning behind the cryptic passage, "We played a flute for you, but you did not dance; we sang a dirge, but you did not mourn," and learn about the path of meseret nefesh, asceticism, and self-control.

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the_glutton_and_the_drunkard.mp3

6 Choose Life Recorded 09/01/2018

If Yeshua came to die for our sins, then why did he pray that the cup of suffering might be taken away from him? This teaching on Parashat Ki Tavo's curses and blessings reaches into the kingdom to obtain some help for our physical condition in the world today.

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choose_life_part_one.mp3

7 Lightsome Recorded 09/08/2018

Are you carrying a heavy burden? It might not be just sin and guilt. This teaching speaks about the need to train the animal side of the human being and bring it into subjection. Part two of the Choose Life teaching and the conclusion to the Train Yourself for Godliness series, just on time for the high holidays.