Sam Rotman in the Flesh
Sam Rotman (samrotman.com) was born and raised in a devout Jewish home and was very religious. Besides formal worship on Friday nights and Saturday mornings, he attended religious education classes 5 days a week for 8 years.
He began studying piano at 9 years old and was committed to becoming a concert pianist by the time he was 11. His dream was to be the greatest pianist in the world, and his pride increased as his skills grew.
Attending The Juilliard School as a young man, Sam was known as a very moral individual. He never drank alcohol, took drugs, or had pre-marital sex. This only served to enhance his proud, self-righteous self-image.
Although he was deeply committed to his Jewish faith and outwardly very religious, he did not live out the moral principles of his religion. He often took God’s name in vain, used foul language, and was a very skilled liar, either telling outright lies or exaggerating to show himself in a favorable light.
Sam Rotman Meets Jesus
At Juilliard, three Christian fellow-students started questioning his religious beliefs and in particular his attitude toward Jesus as the Messiah. Sam had never read the New Testament. He saw Jesus has the reason the Jews had suffered through their long, troubled history. Jesus could not be their hope, he thought.
During this time, he also began to sense that he was not morally on the inside as he appeared on the outside. So, he asked for a New Testament.
In his own words, this is what happened next:
”My habit had been to practice my music literally 10 hours a day. I completely stopped practicing as I read and re-read the New Testament, comparing it with Old Testament passages. I was determined to find out for myself who Jesus was, and instead of going to religious leaders, I went directly to the New Testament.”
He was shocked and convicted at what Jesus said about Himself and His deep compassion toward sinners (people who fail morally).
“Up until this point I only prayed in the name of Elohim (God). However, on May 21, 1971, I realized that I could no longer hide my sinful life from God. For the first time, I prayed to God in Jesus’ name to forgive me of my sins, and to take my life, and make me His. When I finished praying, I knew that God had heard and answered my prayers. I was completely changed. God cleansed my heart.”
His new found faith, however, presented a challenge. For years, he had been preparing to be the greatest pianist in the world. Now he had to consider what God wanted him to be. Some people encouraged him to play only religious music. After wrestling with this question, he eventually came to see that all musical abilities, even those of non-believing composers, were gifts from God. Playing their creations, Sam could give glory to God, the Creator, who had gifted both the composers and him.
Sam also found that being a classical musician gave him unique opportunities to share his faith with others and to be a light in the musical world. Today he continues to share his Christian testimony at all of his concerts, which he presents around the world.
Sam Rotman Collaborates with Sunlight Bibles
I (Sarah) attended one of Sam’s piano concerts in the Fall of 2015.
After the concert I shared with him an idea I had, to print his Christian testimony with the Gospel of John in a book. Sam agreed—almost before I finished talking: “One hundred percent, yes!”
A private donor offered to fund the printing, and Sam began giving away these books at his concerts. Because the donated supplies were limited, Sam was careful to give the books to people who would most benefit from them and would share them with Jewish family, friends, doctors, or neighbors.
After 8 years of this Bible book ministry, our private funding has run out. With Sam’s permission, I’ve decided to crowd-fund the next print run, to continue providing these books without cost to him. Donations are being collected through the secure ministry-supportive platform GiveSendGo.com.
This means YOU can be involved in Sam’s book ministry too!
If we raise just $850, we can print 500 Bible books for Sam Rotman to give away at his next concerts. If we hit the target goal of $1,800, we can get a bigger bulk discount on 1,500 books. If we surpass this goal, every dollar we receive will be used to print giveaway Bible books with Sam Rotman’s Christian Testimony.
How You Can Help
- Please GIVE generously, as you are able, to print more Bible books for Sam.
- PRAY that God’s Word will continue to go out.
- SHARE the GiveSendGo Campaign with your friends and family.
Click here to make a donation to print more Bible books for Sam Rotman.
Whether you give $5 or $500, pray, and share, THANK YOU for your support!
God bless you,
Sarah Kanz, Publisher
SunlightBibles.com