Partakers Christian Podcasts

Psalm 21

(as read by Richard A)

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

1 The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh! How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.
3 For you meet him with the blessings of goodness. You set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked life of you, you gave it to him, even length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great in your salvation. You lay honor and majesty on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever. You make him glad with joy in your presence.

7 For the king trusts in Yahweh. Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from among the children of men.
11 For they intended evil against you. They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.
12 For you will make them turn their back, when you aim drawn bows at their face.
13 Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength, so we will sing and praise your power.

 

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Minor Prophets - Hosea

Today we are looking at the book of Hosea! Hello, welcome back to our series looking at the books of the minor prophets. If you have ever felt that God is distant, disinterested, and aloof from his crea-tion, or you’ve thought that God is a cruel, heartless God who punishes his creation harshly, then the book of Hosea has truth for you. This short prophetic book contains heartrending descriptions of God’s feelings for wayward Israel. It is one of the parts of the Bible that most vividly demonstrates the intensity of feeling and the depth of emotion in the heart of God.

Hosea prophesied during the latter half of the eighth century BC. This was one of the most turbulent and difficult times in Israel’s history, just before the captivity to Assyria. The nation of Israel went through six kings in about 30 years. There was violence, political intrigue and great instability.  

Hosea’s words speak to us today. Come and listen to find out more of how these ancient words speak to you!

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Psalm 8

¹ O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

² Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings

hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies,

that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

³ When I consider thy heavens,

the work of thy fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which thou hast ordained;

⁴ What is man,

that thou art mindful of him?

and the son of man,

that thou visitest him?

⁵ For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,

and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

⁶ Thou madest him to have

dominion over the works of thy hands;

thou hast put all things under his feet:

⁷ All sheep and oxen, yea,

and the beasts of the field;

⁸ The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea,

and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

⁹ O Lord our Lord,

how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

 

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Minor Prophets - Amos

Today we are looking at the book of Amos! Amos was a prophet during the time of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam of Israel. His prophecy came somewhere roundabout the year 760 BC, give or take a few decades! At this time Israel and Judah were enjoying an unusual spell of prosperity and political stability. This was especially the case in Israel, where the land was very fertile and abundant crops were growing. The threat from the kingdom of Assyria seemed to have lessened, at least for the time being, so life was pretty good. 

Amos’ words speak to us today. Come and listen to find out more of how these ancient words speak to you!

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Psalm 125

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

¹ Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion;
they will not be defeated but will endure forever.

² Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever.

³ The wicked will not rule the land of the godly,
for then the godly might be tempted to do wrong.

⁴ O Lord, do good to those who are good,
whose hearts are in tune with you.

⁵ But banish those who turn to crooked ways,
O Lord.Take them away with those who do evil.

May Israel have peace!

 

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Minor Prophets - Jonah!

Today we are looking at the book of Jonah! Of all the books of the Minor Prophets Jonah is perhaps the one that people are most familiar with, or at least they think they are familiar with the story line. Many people will have heard about Jonah and the giant fish. But there is a lot more to the book of Jonah than this! Come and listen!

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Psalm 126

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

1 When the Lord brought back

his exiles to Jerusalem,

it was like a dream!

2 We were filled with laughter,

and we sang for joy.

And the other nations said,

"What amazing things the Lord has done for them."

3 Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!

What joy!

4 Restore our fortunes, Lord,

as streams renew the desert.

5 Those who plant in tears will harvest with

shouts of joy.

6 They weep as they go to plant their seed,

but they sing as they return with the harvest.

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Minor Prophets with Tabitha

Introduction

 

I met Jesus when I was 11-years-old. God had blessed me with a believing family and I sung in church choirs from the time I could read. But I didn't have a personal relationship with Jesus until a certain day in 1990. I'd gone to a violin exam, which was being held in a local church. Waiting nervously for my turn to perform for the examiners, I picked up some leaflets that were sitting on a table in the church foyer. I read one of these leaflets on my own later that day. The message of Jesus dying and rising again for the sins of all people was not brand new to me, as I'd heard it many times before, but at that moment, it was like I heard it and understood it for the first time. I cried my 11-year-old eyes out and then asked my mum if I could get my own Bible. Of course, she agreed! I’ve always identified very strongly with the words in Amazing Grace, “I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see”, because that’s exactly what it felt like. I made the decision to follow Jesus from that day onwards.

Over the last couple of decades God has been teaching me from the Bible with the help of the Holy Spirit and many great human teachers. It’s gradually become clear to me that my primary spiritual gift is teaching. I feel very privileged to be able to share in the ministry of Partakers.

Over the next few months I'm going to be taking a tour through the books of the minor prophets. I reckon that if you lined up the Bibles of a sample of believers (myself included!) and looked at the pages that looked least worn and thumbed you would find that the minor prophets account for a substantial proportion of the most pristine pages! Even those prophets that we feel more familiar with, like Jonah, have often only featured in our Christian lives in the form of Sunday school stories. Well, it's time to do something about that! The books of the minor prophets are full of incredible truths which will help us to understand the character and heart of God. If you've ever felt intimidated or confused by these particular books in the Bible then I hope you will join me as I give an overview of each book and I really hope you'll be inspired to have a closer look at each one for yourself.

The minor prophets are no less important than the major prophets (such as Isaiah and Jeremiah) but their prophetic books are shorter in length and therefore referred to as 'minor'. The books of the minor prophets were written over a long time span, ranging from the eighth century BC to the fourth or fifth century BC. We're going to look at them in roughly chronological order, which is a little different to the order they appear in the Bible. The dating of certain books, such as Obadiah and Joel, is uncertain and scholars disagree about when these books were written. So please forgive me if the order in which I tackle the books is not the precise order that you expect!

It's first helpful to consider what the role of a prophet is. When we think of the word 'prophecy' we often think about predictions relating to the future. Now, the prophets did sometimes speak about things that had not yet happened, but much more often they spoke about present events and announced God's thoughts and messages to the peoples of Israel and Judah. Prophets were not generally regular teachers of God's word (that was the task of the priests). Instead prophets were raised up at particular times and for particular situations, to speak God's words to the people. They were able to see things and understand things that other people could not.

As we look at the 12 books of the minor prophets we will see some common themes emerging. The prophets repeatedly spoke of the fact that God had chosen Israel for a covenant relationship; they declared the sad truth that the majority of Israel had sinned against God and turned away from him; they warned about coming judgement; and they declared the promise of renewal and restoration that would follow judgement, both in the immediate future and at the end of history.

As we study each book we need to first look at what book meant to the people who first heard the message. When we have understood this we can then consider how each book speaks to us today. Our first study will begin next Thursday in the book of Jonah. I hope you'll join me then!

Tabitha

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Psalm 20

20:1 May Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble.

May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high,

20:2 send you help from the sanctuary,

grant you support from Zion,

20:3 remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice.

Selah.

20:4 May He grant you your heart’s desire,

and fulfill all your counsel.

20:5 We will triumph in your salvation.

the name of our God, we will set up our banners.

May Yahweh grant all your requests.

20:6 Now I know that Yahweh saves his anointed.

He will answer him from his holy heaven,

with the saving strength of his right hand.

20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses,

but we trust the name of Yahweh our God.

20:8 They are bowed down and fallen,

but we rise up, and stand upright.

20:9 Save, Yahweh! Let the King answer us when we call!

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New Testament

Book of Revelation

Key Verses

Revelation 1:19 -Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter;

Revelation 19:11 - I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war.

Revelation 19:13 He is clothed in a garment sprinkled with blood. His name is called "The Word of God."

Revelation 19:16 He has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

Summary

The Apostle John writes about the prophetic program, which centres on Christ and extends from John's day until the enthronement of Christ as the Father's king in the millennium and in eternity. The book reveals what John has seen - Jesus Christ's glories; the things which are - regarding the seven churches referred to by name; and the things that will be: tribulation, second advent, millennium, and eternity