For 35 centuries, the Jewish people have been celebrating Passover. It is considered the oldest and most important religious festival in Judaism, and to them, it commemorates God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and his creation of the Israelite people, a people set apart.

At the Iowa United Methodist Church on Sunday, March 19, 4 p.m., Michelle Beadle, a first-generation American and daughter of German Holocaust survivors, will share the perspective of someone who has always celebrated Passover. Today, she does so with an awareness of the prophetic in the words, gestures and symbols used long before the birth of Christ. She will also share her testimony, and how a woman she had never met quickened her spirit with the question, “Do you know Jesus.”

Iowa United Methodist Church member Patti Ezell has heard the presentation before and looks forward to it every year, she said.

“Michelle goes through details of Passover, for instance the three pieces of Matzo, the four cups of wine and how – when the Hebrews would have marked their doorways so the angel of death would pass over their household – the drops of blood from making those marks would have formed a cross beneath the lintel. I like to think about what the disciples must have seen, felt and heard during those final hours with Jesus during Passover, before his death, burial and resurrection,” Ezell said. “We can draw the parallels because we’re on this side of history.”

Beadle’s talk will include the historic, prophetic and spiritual implications of the Passover for the person of faith today, and she’ll have some of the items used during Passover at the presentation.

“If the goal is to better understand and know Jesus, I think it’s important to understand his cultural and religious background,” Beadle said.

She is from CJF Ministries, an international organization dedicated to sharing the love of Yeshua (Jesus) “to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16). Its daily radio broadcast, Messianic Perspectives, can be heard around the world. The acronym CJF came from the former name of the organization, Christian Jew Foundation, founded in the 1940s by Charles Halff, a Jewish person who was also a Christian and became affectionately known in evangelical circles as “the Christian Jew.”

The Iowa United Methodist Church is located at 301 S. Kinney Ave. in Iowa. The pastor is Rev. David DeWitt. To reserve a seat, call or text Valrae Duhon at 337-302-1203.