Tikvat Israel Sermons

Sponge, Funnel, Strainer, or Sieve?Which kitchen tool will help you live?God is faithful, a patient planter, and loyalAre you rocky, thorny, or fruitful soil?In Matthew 13, Yeshua invites us into the classroom of the Kingdom—where learning isn’t passive, and growth takes intention, patience, and discernment.This week at Tikvat Israel, we’ll explore how parables, kitchen tools, and soil all point to the same question: will we simply notice the lesson, or will we bear fruit thirty, sixty, and even one hundred fold? Check it out in this week’s sermon from Rabbi David on the New Covenant Parsha (Matthew 13): What Kind of Student, Soil, and Kitchen Tool are You?

A king sends his humble son to teach the people the heart behind the law — love, forgiveness, restoration, and compassion. Some welcome him. Others think they already understand everything. In Matthew 9, Yeshua calls a tax collector, eats with sinners, and challenges the religious: “Go and learn what this means — I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Messiah comes not to affirm what we know, but to teach us what we’ve missed. He calls the outsiders, confronts the insiders, and invites all of us to follow, to unlearn if necessary, and to become teachable again. Because the kingdom of God isn’t built on experts — it’s built on learners. Check out our latest sermon from Rabbi David, “Go and Learn” based on the New Covenant parsha. #besorah #podcast #tikvatisrael #RVA #messianic #synagogue #judaism #yeshua #Matthew #parasha #parsha

“I wouldn’t want to be part of any club that would have me as a member.” — Groucho Marx What if faith sometimes feels like that too?This week we talk about belonging, rejection, and how Yeshua teaches us to live with lovingkindness on the margins. Check it out in our most recent sermon from Rabbi David. Faithful on the Margins: Following Yeshua with Humility, Discernment, and Hesed (Matthew 7:1-12)

What if the most famous prayer in history wasn’t meant to be memorized—but practiced?When Yeshua teaches his disciples to pray, he simply says: “Pray like this.” This past Shabbat, we explored the Lord’s Prayer as a deeply Jewish prayer—conntected to the Siddur, echoed in the Talmud, and alive in the hopes of Israel. From Our Father to Daily Bread, we’ll discover how this prayer connects heaven and earth, invites the nations into the kingdom, shapes our hearts, and teaches us to trust God one day at a time. If you’ve ever wanted to pray but weren’t sure where to begin, this prayer offers a foothold—a simple, relational way to talk with God and be transformed from the inside out. Check out our latest sermon from Rabbi David, “Pray Like This” from Yeshua’s teaching in Matthew 6:1-18.

Not one yud is wasted. From hidden menorahs to the words of Yeshua, discover how both the Torah and the Prophets come to fullness—and how God’s faithfulness reaches across generations to make all things right. Check it out in this past week’s sermon from Rabbi David on the New Covenant portion, Matthew 5:17-26: “Torah from the Mountain: The faithfulness of God across generations.”

What exactly is the good news? This week we follow the reading cycle to the Gospel of Mark, where we explore this very question. Straightened paths, submitted citizens, belief and action, righteousness grounded in trusting, and the same way of salvation for all. Check it out in this week’s sermon on the New Covenant parsha from Elder Scott Moore

Before Yeshua healed a single person, before He preached a single sermon, and before He called a single disciple—He waited. Thirty silent years. And when the heavens finally opened over Him, the very first thing the Spirit did was not send Him into ministry… but into the desert. Why? Because the wilderness reveals our hunger and because Yeshua is walking out another story. In Matthew 4, the Adversary whispers to Yeshua, “Turn these stones into bread.” But Yeshua answers with the lesson Israel forgot, the lesson Adam and Eve rushed past, the lesson Esau traded away, the lesson Saul failed—and the lesson we still struggle with: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” We avoid waiting. We fill the silence. We numb the hunger. But in the desert seasons—ankles breaking, plans collapsing, blessings disguised as disasters and vice versa—God does His deepest work. Gam Zu L’Tovah. This too is for the good.

As a first grader once said, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him tap dance.” The way that Yeshua fulfills the expectations and prophecies in the Hebrew Bible is both expected and unexpected. This whole year we are learning about the Gospel of Matthew. We dove into Matthew Chapter 2 this week; let’s see how this very Jewish story fulfills the Israel story, shows the divinity of Yeshua, and transforms our lives.