PulpTheology Book

Living Life Right

The book we are looking at this week, is What's It All About Alphy: The Lord's Prayer

Alphy the WOWChurch Cat explores the depths of what we call the Lord's Prayer! It is probably the most known Christian prayer in the world! But how many people really understand what they are praying when they say it? Let Alphy the WOWChurch Cat help you understand this amazing prayer more.
It is a great book for those just learning about Christianity, as well as comprehensive enough to challenge mature saints. This is the Large Print Edition! It is also available as a regular edition and on Kindle! In this adventure, will Alphy find something that is a reminder to you? Or indeed, will Alphy discover something new for you? Mee-WOW! Words are for adults, but the full colour illustrations can be used to explain the prayer to children! Great for family learning times together!

Review 1: "I received my books this week and I was very impressed with the layout of it. The illustrations and colours chosen, make the words come to life as you read it. I was captured with how well the writer has explained this age old prayer in modern day simple language. It's a great book that I believe will appeal to all ages and walks of life and the illustrations not only capture children's interest, but they actually help adults to understand what all the different parts of The Lord's Prayer actually means . I would by more books explaining the bible done in this way most definitely."

Review 2: "This book has everything anyone who loves God & wants to learn more of the Bible, the illustrations are clear & concise, matching the text opposite exactly. The font of the text is clear well-spaced & easy to read. The book appeals to both adults & children, an added bonus is it's perfect format for anyone with learning disabilities.
The content of the book is very scripturally sound, & has helped me a Christian of many years to understand more about the Lord Prayer & of its importance in our Christian lives."

Review 3: "I absolutely love this book! The font is so clear and easy to read, being large and double spaced, with fantastic original graphics that help aid understanding for children and adults alike, and aid re-telling too. Perfect for a Sunday School lesson, or even a whole series of lessons.
Also great as a gift for families whose children attend the Sunday School to make learning the Lord's prayer easier to remember and fun to learn at home. Is great for adults with learning difficulties. Going to suggest buying some for a literacy class. I don't like cat's usually, but I love Alphy! Go on, buy it, you won't be disappointed!"

Review 4: "Loved this fun to read book explaining the Lord's Prayer scriptures of the Bible. Dave Roberts has an amazing talent for making God's Word come alive with his easy to read and easy to understand writing. I highly recommend this book and this author. Dave has had over 4 million hits on his online writings and podcasts."

Available in paperback or Kindle, Amazon and all good bookstores: ISBN: 978-1507801116

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WOW Word - Idolatry

Images of Idolatry

I wonder if you are like me and when you hear the word idolatry, you imagine somebody bowing before a statue and worshipping it. A good example is the story of the Israelites worshipping the golden calf, as recorded by Moses in Exodus 32. Or perhaps in our own time when seeing people bow down to the statue of the Buddha or one of the many Hindu gods.

Therefore, we tend to think that idolatry is worshipping statues or worshipping in other religions such as Islam, Jainism and Zoroastrianism. However, the Bible is very clear, certainly Jesus was, that idolatry is a threat to living and partaking of the Christian life. How can that be, you may very well ask?

Christian Idolatry

As a Christian, you are to love God and love others. Anything that replaces your love of God as your first priority, is an idol, and therefore, is idolatry. For idolatry is not merely worshipping statues. Idolatry is the transference of allegiance to something apart from God. It is worshipping created things, and not worshipping God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son of God in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Idolatry can be anything! For anything can take first place in your life! It may be your computer, your car, your books, your family, your church, a Christian leader, entertainment, celebrities and even love of yourself! These are all good things, in and of themselves, but they are not good things if they remove God from first priority in your life. These things can turn out to be idols, because they relegate your thinking of Almighty God to below first place.

Idolatry is the mind’s sin

Paul writes to the Roman church in Romans 1:18-25

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is for ever praised. Amen."

In that passage of scripture, Paul links idolatry with immorality. Immorality is the outer sins and idolatry is the inward sin. Idolatry is an attitude inside you that says to God “You are not first place, this other thing is”. Somebody who commits the sin of idolatry is a slave to that something else, and is not a slave to God through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, idolatry is not just worshipping in another religion and bowing down to statues. Idolatry is relegating God to second place, in both actions and attitudes. Therefore cast off anything that is blocking your relationship with Almighty God. As idolatry is primarily the sin of the mind, those depraved ideas turn to sins of lusts and idolatrous physical pleasures. Be renewed in your thinking and have a renewed mind, so that you can worship Almighty God through Jesus Christ the Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

How’s that for a WOW Word?

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Psalm 141

 A psalm of David.

^1-2 God, come close. Come quickly! Open your ears-it's my voice you're hearing! Treat my prayer as sweet incense rising; my raised hands are my evening prayers.

 ^3-7 Post a guard at my mouth, God, set a watch at the door of my lips.
Don't let me so much as dream of evil or thoughtlessly fall into bad company.
And these people who only do wrong- don't let them lure me with their sweet talk!
May the Just One set me straight!
May the Kind One correct me!
Don't let sin anoint my head.
I'm praying hard against their evil ways!
Oh, let their leaders be pushed off a high rock cliff; make them face the music.
Like a rock pulverized by a maul, let their bones be scattered at the gates of hell.

 ^8-10 But God, dear Lord, I only have eyes for you.
Since I've run for dear life to you, take good care of me.
Protect me from their evil scheming, from all their demonic subterfuge.
 Let the wicked fall flat on their faces, while I walk off without a scratch.

 (From the Message)

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Think Spot - 15 July 2019

Last Monday we looked at serving God where ever you are with a clear conscience. How did you get on with doing it?

Today we look at a follow on from that to meekness. What is meekness? Isn’t meekness, merely weakness? That’s what we are told often enough by people outside the church! Yet meekness is not weakness! Meekness is giving up our personal rights to God alone!

A meek person is one who claims no personal rights of their own, and who is willing to yield all possessions and personal rights to God. A meek person sees these things as being loaned by God for His work and glory. Being meek in all situations takes a strong character, for example Moses (Numbers 12:1-3).

Giving up your rights and all you own to God alone, is talked about often in the Bible. Some of the results of giving up your rights to God can be found in: - Psalm 22:26; Psalm 25:9; Psalm 37:8-11; Psalm 149:4 Isaiah 29:19; Matthew 11:28-30. (1.15)

As followers of Jesus you and I need to give up our own rights and possessions to Him because:

• You and I belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)#
• We are instructed to be meek by Jesus (Luke 9:23)
• It follows the example. of the New Testament church (Acts 5:32)

When we insist on our own personal rights and those rights are violated, the main consequences are anger and anxiety. They occur when we try to control or change something God never intended us to change or control. When we react and resist, we deny God His right to do what; He wants to do. When we get angry and when we worry, these are signs that there are rights God wants us to yield to Him.

How do you yield rights and possessions over to God?

Firstly, identify them! Check where in your life anger and or anxiety exist. Then ask the Holy Spirit to work on your heart, prayerfully considering each area, yielding all to Jesus. When you do that, God becomes responsible for those areas.

Secondly, expect God to test His rights. Having handed them to God, He may allow situations to occur which will deny you these rights, to see if that right was really given to Him. It may be necessary to once again yield that right to Jesus. As you respond to each test, meekness develops.

Go into this week, knowing that God is at work in you! You are to be His servants and you are not your own! You were bought at a price by God! Through the meekness of Jesus Christ’ work on the cross.

Father I pray that as we give our personal rights to you, that you give us strength to overcome with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us as your children. We ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ! Amen!

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Teachings of Seraphim

 
Part 7. Mercy

It is necessary to be merciful to those wretched and wandering. The great light givers and Fathers of the Church took great care concerning this. In relation to this virtue we must try by all means to fulfil the following law of God: "Be merciful, as your Father also is merciful," and, "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice" (Luke. 6:36; Matthew 9:13).

The wise heed these saving words, but the foolish do not heed them. For this reason the reward is also different, as is said: "He which sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6).

Giving alms to those in need must be done with a spiritually kind disposition, in agreement with the teachings of St. Isaac the Syrian: "If you give anything to him who asks, may the joy of your face precede your alms, and comfort his sorrow with kind words."

An excerpt from the teachings of Seraphim of Sarov of the 18th & 19th centuries. He was one of the most renowned Russian saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Seraphim extended the monastic teachings of contemplation, theoria and self-denial to the layperson.

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So Great A Salvation

 
Part 1 – What is Salvation?

29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household. (Acts 16:29-34 New King James Version)

Salvation has two sides to it. There is God’s side, which may seem obvious. But there is also the human side of salvation. God provides the salvation, but it is the human’s responsibility to take it.

Salvation includes several parts. Initially there is a call (Romans 8: 30) when the Spirit starts to speak to, and be heard in, the life of the individual. That then leads to conversion, or as Jesus put it in Matthew 18:3: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” That means a voluntary change, turning from sin to God. That is the concept behind repentance. From there, that point of beginning the life of a Christian Disciple, it is a dynamic life and not passive. But what does this entail in regard to salvation?

What must I do to be saved is a question asked in the book of Acts. “Believe in the Lord Jesus” is the reply according to Acts 16:30-31. To believe does not mean just head knowledge; but believing in the heart (Romans 10:9), relying on the finished work of Christ for salvation. That is the human response to God’s offer of salvation.

But what is God’s part of the deal? That is for next time!

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Partakers Friday Prayers!

We pray together and when Christians pray together, from different nations, different churches and different denominations - that reveals Church unity! Come! Let us pray together!

A prayer of Xenia of Rome from the 5th century.

O God, who is worshipped and glorified at all times
and in every hour in heaven and on earth;
who is most patient, loving and kind;
who loves the just and shows mercy to sinners;
who calls all to salvation through the promise of the blessings to come.

Lord, at this time receive our prayer
and direct our lives according to Your will.
Bless our souls and bodies.
Correct our thoughts and purify our minds.
Protect us from all evil and distress.
Surround us with Your holy angels, that guided and guarded by them,
we may attain the unity of the faith
and the knowledge of Your unapproachable glory,
for you are blessed forever and ever.
Amen.

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PulpTheology Book

Living Life Right

The book we are looking at this week, is Living Life Right.

Do you find that making decisions to follow God closely to live life right is sometimes like walking a tightrope - a balancing act? Well here is some good news! Here in chapter 12 of his magnificent letter of the Bible we know as Romans, the Apostle Paul gives some practical advice for Christians.

Christians who are to live whole lives worthy of following and belonging to God and showing this love of God by loving all others. This involves taking risks particularly in the world today where the existence of God is often denied and who is, at best, ignored.

This book contains 30 days of studies to help you live life right in the 21st century. Come inside and spend some time each day gleaning some clues about living life right as a Christian today and reflecting God's love to all those we come into contact with.

Available in paperback or Kindle, Amazon and all good bookstores: ISBN: 978-1507614174

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WOW Word - Living Water

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In the book of Leviticus, God commanded that the cleansing of a defiled house required sprinkling with a mixture of blood and ‘living’ water, the bird having been slain over the water (Leviticus 14:51). Elsewhere we read of the ‘water of cleansing’ (Numbers 19), which is also called ‘living water’.

This was water that had been sprinkled with the ashes of a young cow, and was kept aside for purification by sprinkling those who had touched a dead body. In both cases, this water had been cleansed by the shedding of blood and sacrifice. The cleansing was to be through the blood of sacrifice, applied through the sprinkled water. For there is no cleansing without the shedding of blood.

Let us look to Jesus in his earthly ministry! What did Jesus say about being living water? Speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus said: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10

Elsewhere in John 7:37-39 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Now moving forward to seeing Jesus as He is and will be - Revelation 7:17 - For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Download the audio and discover more about this weeks WOW Word: Living Water!

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Psalm 136

for his loving kindness endures forever.

for his loving kindness endures forever.

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever;

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever;

for his loving kindness endures forever;

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever;

for his loving kindness endures forever;

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever;

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever;

for his loving kindness endures forever;

for his loving kindness endures forever;

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever;

for his loving kindness endures forever:

for his loving kindness endures forever.

for his loving kindness endures forever.

Psalm 137

1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down.

Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

2 On the willows in the midst of it,

We hung up our harps.

3 For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs.

Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy:

"Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

4 How can we sing Yahweh's song in a foreign land?

5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,

Let my right hand forget its skill.

6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

If I don't remember you;

If I don't prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy.

7 Remember, Yahweh, against the children of Edom,

The day of Jerusalem; Who said,

"Raze it! Raze it even to its foundation!"

8 Daughter of Babylon,

doomed to destruction,

He will be happy who rewards you,

As you have served us.

9 Happy shall he be,

Who takes and dashes your

little ones against the rock.

Psalm 138

A psalm of David.

¹ I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;

I will sing your praises before the gods.

² I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.

I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;

for your promises are backed

by all the honor of your name.

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³ As soon as I pray, you answer me;

you encourage me by giving me strength.

⁴ Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,

for all of them will hear your words.

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⁵ Yes, they will sing about the Lord's ways,

for the glory of the Lord is very great.

⁶ Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,

but he keeps his distance from the proud.

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⁷ Though I am surrounded by troubles,

you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.

You reach out your hand,

and the power of your right hand saves me.

⁸ The Lord will work out his plans for my life-

for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.

Don't abandon me, for you made me.

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