GTI is growing... again! We've added another staff person, one whose voice you should recognize - Jerrell Jobe! Jerrell and his family recently have moved from south Texas to west Michigan. As "Director of Development", Jerrell will oversee our pre-trip and post-trip curriculum and lead Signature Tours, among other things. On this episode, he and Rich discuss how going to the Land is meant to further discipleship and point people back to the Word. Like bookends to your tour, our pre-trip and pos...
Oct 05, 2023•44 min•Ep. 76
For our first episode of Season 4, Rich Liverance and Jerrell Jobe join Rich Ferreira to discuss a very special country: Egypt! Did you know that Egypt is mentioned more than any other place in scripture besides Israel? It's mentioned over 700 times in the OT alone! GTI will be returning to Egypt Feb. 2024 for the Egypt/Jordan Signature Tour following the Footsteps of Moses. This amazing tour will be led by Jerrell Jobe and Rich Liverance! It not only includes the Pyramids of Giza but also the G...
Sep 21, 2023•54 min•Ep. 75
Rich Ferreira introduces Season 4 of our GTI Tours Podcast which begins September 21. These 6 episodes will feature some familiar voices like Richard Liverance, Jerrell Jobe, and Chad Bird, as well as a few surprises. Stay tuned to hear us Bring the Land and Lessons of the Bible to Life!
Aug 28, 2023•2 min•Ep. 76
Rich Ferreira and Rich Liverance recently visited Saudi Arabia. Although Mount Sinai has been identified with a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt since the 4th century A.D., several biblical passages seem to indicate that Mount Sinai is in Arabia. Could the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites have taken place in Arabia rather than Egypt? Rich and Rich explored not only the possible Mount Horeb from Exodus 19-20, but also several other sites that align with the text. These sites includ...
May 05, 2023•56 min•Ep. 73
Bible teacher and author Marty Solomon returns to the podcast today. He and Rich discuss his new book, Asking Better Questions of the Bible . The Bible was written to a particular people in a particular place in a particular time; we must ask the right questions to understand the authors and their audiences. This book helps us ask better questions and gives us new tools to understand the Word of God. In addition, a level of humility is required to admit that we don't have all the answers. Decons...
Apr 27, 2023•40 min•Ep. 72
GTI has a new staff member! It's someone you may be familiar with since he has been our podcast guest several times... Rich Liverance! Rich shares with Rich Ferreira about God's leading and perfect timing in his career journey. We as a staff are so excited for what Rich Liverance brings to the table! His experience and expertise as a pastor, teacher, student and archaeologist will bless and benefit so many. Visit https://gtitours.org/podcast for photos, links, and more from this episode. Rich ca...
Apr 13, 2023•24 min•Ep. 71
Sean Glore of the 222 Foundation was on the January 2023 Pastors' Familiarization Israel trip along with several seminary students. Based on 2 Timothy 2:2, the 222 Foundation seeks to bridge the gap between seminary education and successful long-term ministry to help leaders, who will make more leaders, thrive. What better way to invest in a ministry leader than to bring them to Israel? To learn more, go to https://222foundation.org/ Bear Mills (not to be confused with Bear Grylls) was also on t...
Mar 30, 2023•41 min•Ep. 70
Craig Hill is an affiliate Assistant Professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is also a member of the adjunct faculty at Biola University in New Testament. Hill has taught in university and seminary settings for 20 years and has served for over two decades in youth and pastoral ministries. He also works with Standing Stone Ministry, a ministry that provides pastoral care for pastors. Hill serves on the Board of Directors of Hume Lake Christian Camps, one of the largest youth...
Mar 16, 2023•44 min•Ep. 69
Rich and Heather discuss what they learned in Israel as well as the ways they honored Dave's memory: by bringing along a 19 year-old pastor to invest in his ministry, and by planting an olive tree in the land. The Flaigs believe in the pillars of hospitality, family, community, history and legacy, and so does GTI. There is no better place to place to learn about and celebrate these than in Israel! Heather inspires us to learn from the past, be present in the present, and invest in the future. No...
Mar 02, 2023•38 min•Ep. 68
The Bible, especially the Old Testament, was written in pictures! Whether or not people can get to Israel, they should still be able to visualize the land and the places mentioned in scripture. Through God's leading and provision, GTI is now partnering with former pastor Andy Cook. Andy has created a ministry called Experience Israel Now as well as the amazing visual resource of ibiblestock.org. He and Rich discuss how it all came about to offer hundreds of high quality photos and videos of the ...
Feb 16, 2023•40 min•Ep. 67
Chad Bird is a Scholar in Residence at 1517. He has served as a pastor, professor, and guest lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew. He holds master’s degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary and Hebrew Union College. He has contributed articles to Christianity Today , The Gospel Coalition, Modern Reformation , The Federalist , Lutheran Forum , and other journals and websites. He is also the author of several books, including Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul , Your God Is Too Glorious:...
Feb 02, 2023•40 min•Ep. 66
Jerrell also draws a beautiful contrast between the "smiting pose" of the Pharaohs vs. the loving kindness of the shepherding God of Israel. This poses the question, "Which one do we imitate in our leadership?" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medinet_Habu Would you like to see Egypt for yourself and learn about the Exodus? Consider joining our "Footsteps of Moses" Signature Tour of Egypt and Jordan! The 2023 trip is already full, but please keep the 2024 trip in mind. You'll be glad you did! Follo...
Jan 19, 2023•52 min•Ep. 65
If you're interested in coming to Israel and seeing some of these off-the-beaten-path sites, consider joining our "Homesick for Israel Tour"! The dates are September 3-14, 2023.View the itinerary and register here: https://gtitours.org/trip/signature-homesick-for-israel-2023 If you'd like to read the blog to learn more about the trip, follow this link: https://gtitours.org/tour-journal/signature-homesick-for-israel Matt Bach the Pastor of Christian Development at Bridgeway Christian Church in Ro...
Jan 05, 2023•27 min•Ep. 64
https://netbible.org/bible/Isaiah+58 https://www.gotquestions.org/Sabbath-made-for-man.html https://store.focusonthefamily.com/that-the-world-may-know/ Would you like to experience Shabbat in Israel? Joining the September 3-14, 2023 "Homesick for Israel" Tour will allow you to do that! One of our many cultural experiences on this trip is participating in a Shabbat dinner with a Jewish family. You will also be able to see the amazing Mehane Yehuda Market as people prepare for Shabbat. See, smell,...
Dec 15, 2022•44 min•Ep. 63
Visit https://gtitours.org/podcast for photos, links, and more from this episode. https://netbible.org/bible/Isaiah+58 https://www.gotquestions.org/Sabbath-made-for-man.html JUC online class list for Spring 2023 semester: https://www.juc.edu/juc-online/semester-learning/ Would you like to experience Shabbat in Israel? Joining the September 3-14, 2023 "Homesick for Israel" Tour will allow you to do that! One of our many cultural experiences on this trip is participating in a Shabbat dinner with a...
Dec 01, 2022•50 min•Ep. 62
In the first episode of our new mini-series "Characters of Christmas", Pt 1: Town of Bethlehem, Brad examines some of the flawed thinking that has crept into the Christmas story. By the end of this episode, you’ll gain new understanding and see that the town of Bethlehem welcomed Jesus with wonder! To view the Discussion Questions for this episode, please go here http://bit.ly/characters ofchristmaspt1 If you'd like to watch this episode, go to YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/c/WalkingTheText F...
Nov 17, 2022•27 min•Ep. 61
The holidays are quickly approaching! If you'd like to order one or more of these titles for the littles in your life, follow this link: https://www.freshwindstudios.com https://www.bibleplaces.com/bethlehem/ Watch trailers for the books here: https://youtu.be/YOFj4VJI3dU https://youtu.be/gr4vBp_mLJg https://youtu.be/SVqif689uWg As parents of two small children, Eric and Meredith Schrotenboer created Fresh Wind Studios out of the desire for them to fall more in love with God’s words. They quickl...
Nov 03, 2022•39 min•Ep. 60
Casey also teaches on Shiloh (pronounced SHEE-LOW in Hebrew), a biblical site where the Ark of God rested for over 300 years. Like Casey's teaching? Join her on her trip to Israel November 5-16, 2023 and check out her website! https://gtitours.org/trip/96bb493c-82bc-4a43-bf74-5b7c7e000f8f www.caseyjordan.com https://www.bibleplaces.com/shiloh/ Next year's Homesick for Israel Tour dates are September 3-15, 2023. Registration now open ! If you'd like to read the blog from the previous trip to lear...
Oct 20, 2022•48 min•Ep. 59
For the past two decades, Matt Davis has been married to his beautiful wife Marilee (the story of them meeting is fantastic!), and together they have three outstanding kids. Matt is a graduate of BIOLA University and Talbot School of Theology. After serving in a church for the past two decades as a Teaching and Executive Pastor, he started The Jewish Road with his dad (the guy below). One of Matt’s greatest joys in life is bringing families on legacy trips to the Middle East to teach them about ...
Oct 06, 2022•49 min•Ep. 58
Melissa’s story is a great example of how a trip to Israel can be a springboard for your faith and personal Bible study. Perhaps most inspirational is her challenge to loosen our grip on our passions and plans. It's so easy to get carried away with doing things "for Jesus" that we lose focus on the fundamentals of following and obeying Him. Melissa's recommended resources: “Sitting at the Feet of the Rabbi Jesus” by Lois Tverberg “Listening to the Language of the Bible: Hearing it Through Jesus’...
May 05, 2022•36 min•Ep. 57
Is it safe? Is it comfortable? Is COVID still a factor? Bad jetlag? How's the food? Becky answers these questions and more from her perspective as a wife, mother, and traveler. She also gives some great descriptions of the Ferreira's Favorites: Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba, the Dead Sea, and Mount Nebo. Seeing the Bible come to life will be a treasured memory for their family. We can trust God and His plan no matter where our travels may lead us! Visit https://gtitours.org/podcast for photos, links, a...
Apr 21, 2022•32 min•Ep. 56
https://archaeology.huji.ac.il/tel-abel-beth-maacah https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel-beth-maachah https://www.bibleplaces.com/hazor/ https://christiananswers.net/dictionary/hazor.html
Apr 07, 2022•37 min•Ep. 55
View the Hope in the Holy Land trailer https://hopeintheholyland.com https://www.graftedministries.com View the Promise Land trailer Todd's bio: Todd Morehead is the Founder and Director of Grafted Ministries and is from Southern California, where he lives with his wife and four children. He is a graduate of Talbot Seminary with a M.A. in Biblical & Theological Studies and has over twenty years of experience in ministry. Ever since Todd can remember, he’s had a love for the Jewish people and...
Mar 24, 2022•37 min•Ep. 54
Dr. Hersey holds a Ph.D. in Old Testament Theology and an M.A. in Biblical Archaeology both from Trinity Evangelical Divinity Seminary. He is passionate about providing opportunity for students to see and understand the context of the Bible so they can grow in their relationship with God and His story. Oliver has over 15 years of experience teaching Bible in a variety of settings including youth camps, college classrooms, and churches. He and his wife Andra and their two children live in Jerusal...
Mar 11, 2022•39 min•Ep. 53
This story is an adaptation of the Shema, God's centerpiece prayer for his people from Deuteronomy 6:4-9: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You...
Feb 24, 2022•32 min•Ep. 52
Context is key to understanding the ancient world, so that is the focus of Brad's annual conference, the Infusion Bible Conference. Even if you can't be there in person, the good news is that the material is now available online! Virtual registration includes a plethora of notes, insights, timelines, and resources, all in one convenient place! Whether you attend in person or online, the goal is to help you grow not only in your knowledge of the Bible but in faithfulness. Infusion Conference Digi...
Feb 10, 2022•39 min•Ep. 51
Mark L. Strauss (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary San Diego. He is the author or coauthor of several books and numerous articles, including How to Read the Bible in Changing Times, Four Portraits, One Jesus: An Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels, How to Choose a Translation for All It's Worth (with Gordon D. Fee), The Essential Bible Companion (with John Walton), and commentaries on Mark's Gospel in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary Series and Ex...
Jan 27, 2022•38 min•Ep. 50
CHRISTOPHER D. STANLEY is a professor at St. Bonaventure University who studies the social and religious history of the Greco-Roman world, with special attention to early Christianity and Judaism. He has written or edited six books and dozens of professional articles on the subject and presents papers regularly at conferences around the world. The trilogy A Slave’s Story , which grew out of his historical research on first-century Asia Minor, is his first work of fiction. He is currently working...
Jan 13, 2022•38 min•Ep. 49
A few principles of GTI Tours that are mentioned... God is in the business of restoration God is our CEO "If it's God's will, it's God's bill" You can't out-give God A GTI Tour is not a product but an experience Part 1 was released on Thursday, December 23 so we encourage you to go back and listen if you missed it! Visit https://gtitours.org/podcast for photos, links, and more from this episode.
Dec 30, 2021•48 min•Ep. 48
*This podcast is a repeat from our original release January 14, 2021* This week’s episode is extra special as our GM Rich Ferreira interviews our company Vice President and former GM, Tom Harrington. Rich and Tom answer some age-old questions such as, “What does GTI stand for?” and “How did this company begin?” Listen as Tom shares the story of his experience in the travel industry, his personal loss, and how God wove the pieces of his past into a new and different plan, a plan that included GTI...
Dec 23, 2021•35 min•Ep. 47
