United Bn2A

The synagogue was the place where Jews gathered for instruction and worship in New Testament. The word 'Synagugue' means 'assembly' and can refer simply to the gathering of people itself(James 2:2) or to the building in which they gather(Luke 7:5). The origins of the synagogue are obscure but they probably extent back at least to the period of Ezra. At the time of the New Testament, Synagogues were found throughout the Roman Empire as local Centers for the study of the Law and for worship. As such, they served a different role in the life of the Jewish people than did the Jerusalem temple, with it's focus on the sacrificial cult.

   You may be overflowing with vision for your ministry, but there is a point where you have to stop thinking about it and talking about it, and instead, start doing something about it− moving your vision toward a tangible reality. I've met thousands of pastors with incredible vision for ministry in their community, but sadly they never got past the thinking stage.    What good is a vision when it stays stuck in your head? Or if it languishes in the "talk stage" and never launches into the sea of faithful action? The vision behind Saddleback Church would be nothing more than that− a vision− without the steps of faith taken to plant, and then grow, the church.    God rarely asks you to take leaps of faith; rather, he encourages you to take small steps that grow larger as your faith grows larger. But you've got to take the first step to get to all the other steps!    In the opening chapters of Joshua, the Israelites faced a faith-step: They stood just across the Jo