Welcome to Grafted: Jewish Roots of Christianity! My guest is Matthew Janzen.
Host Stephanie Pavlantos interviews Georgia pastor-teacher Matthew Janssen of Ministers of the New Covenant about his testimony and Torah observance. Raised Pentecostal, Janssen began learning Torah through his father-in-law in the sacred name movement, adopting dietary laws, Sabbath-keeping, and using the Creator and Messiah’s Hebrew names; he later took over and grew a small assembly. He argues believers must trust Yeshua’s saving work yet practice his teachings, emphasizing “Torah and grace” together.
Focusing on Matthew 5:17–20, he explains “abolish” versus “fulfill” as first-century rabbinic terms, saying Torah remains until heaven and earth pass away, and verse nineteen defines abolishing as “relaxing” commandments. He distinguishes weightier and lesser commandments, stresses heart-level righteousness, repentance, and answers objections by urging Christians to imitate Jesus’ Torah-observant life.
Welcome to Grafted: Jewish Roots of Christianity! Host Stephanie Pavlantos interviews Ken Rank, an elder at Beit Minorah and longtime Hebraic-leaning Christian, about reading the whole Bible with first-century Jewish context and how New Testament writers frequently draw from the Old Testament.
They discuss division and toxicity in Hebrew roots and sacred-name debates, urging patience, humility, and focusing on weightier matters. Ken addresses whether Yeshua/Jesus is in the Old Testament, pointing to manifestations such as the Word (Logos/Memra), the angel of the Lord, Abraham’s visitor, the burning bush, and the fourth man in the fire, and connects New Testament claims to Old Testament passages (John the Baptist “prepare the way,” Isaiah 35, and “first and last”). They also discuss prayer, the Trinity analogy, God’s ability to take forms, the meaning of “name” as character/authority and applying knowledge through service.
Welcome to Grafted Jewish Roots of Christianity! Host Stephanie Pavlantos interviews Will Turner, a Messianic content creator and plumber, about interpreting Scripture in context, focusing on common readings of 2 Corinthians 5:8 and Philippians 1:23.
Will argues these passages are often used to teach immediate conscious life in heaven after death, but in context refer to the future resurrection and receiving an imperishable body, drawing on 2 Corinthians 5:1–7, 1 Corinthians 15:50–58, Philippians 3:21, Ephesians 4:22–24, and Ecclesiastes 9:5–10. They discuss how beliefs about deceased loved ones “in heaven” conflict with resurrection hope, emphasize enduring to the end, using spiritual gifts to bring others into God’s kingdom, and stress that Paul’s “all Scripture is God-breathed” originally referred to the TaNaK, underscoring the Old Testament’s importance for understanding Jesus and the New Testament.
Welcome to Grafted: Jewish Roots of Christianity! Host Stephanie Pavlantos welcomes returning guest Shauna Manfredine.
Shauna is an author, artist, teacher, and speaker with Lighted Way Ministries, which broadcasts each Shabbat and hosts annual feasts and retreats. Manfredine discusses her focus on archeoastronomy, arguing the heavens contain Yahweh’s intended story and that paganism distorted original constellation meanings tied to Scripture, the twelve tribes, and prophecy. She describes tracing star and constellation names, shapes, and “tapestry” scenes (e.g., the Bowman’s arrow into the scorpion) and connects figures such as Perot’s “the Breaker” to David and Goliath. She presents her book Ancient Hebrew in the Stars, claiming the twenty-two-letter original alphabet appears in constellations worldwide, with meaning also conveyed by letter frequency, including a Shema message in letters appearing once. They share links to her sites, books, free magazine, and video platforms.
Welcome to Grafted: Jewish Roots of Christianity! Host Stephanie Pavlantos interviews author, teacher, and pastor Jeff Brannan about his testimony, Torah-rooted teaching, and writing.
Jeff recounts coming to faith as a teen during his parents’ divorce, decades of ministry, and later intense study in Genesis—especially Genesis 6 and the Nephilim—which led him into Torah practice and cost him many ministry relationships. He describes his fiction series beginning with “Nephilim: A Giant Walkthrough History” and its prequel/sequel work “The End Is the Beginning,” connecting end-times themes like the Antichrist and deception, and he outlines teaching books on priestly garments and priestly service as allegories for salvation and spiritual life. Stephanie and Jeff emphasize humility, being teachable, and relying on the Holy Spirit for scriptural discernment. Jeff also summarizes his research-driven book “The Rise of Marcion,” tracing early heresies (including Marcion, Simon Magus, and Nicolaitans), their modern resurgence, and defenses of gospel authority.
