May 19th, 2019 by davegroberts
Has your love gone cold?
Revelation 1:12-16
- I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
That figure is the risen and ascended Jesus Christ! The one we Christians down through history have proclaimed as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! He was the greatest gift of all, freely given, in order to save the world! Salvation, as a gift of grace, imparted to all those who would accept Jesus Christ as saviour! And one group of people had taken Him up on that offer, a church we read about in Revelation 2:1-7
Revelation 2v1-7 - "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favour: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
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May 18th, 2019 by davegroberts
Highlights in Hebrews
(with Roger Kirby)
38. Hebrews13:8 - Jesus, Son of God
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (NLT)
Taken as it is this doesn’t say too much! We all have a yesterday and a today. Yet when we hear it or read it it seems to say much more than that. There is a very similar statement in Revelation 1, usually translated as about ‘he who is, and who was, and is to come’. One version translates this, as ‘I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come.’
So we read our passage here as:
Jesus Messiah had a very different yesterday from ours since he existed from before creation; he is today very different from us because he is the Lord of Glory and plays a big part in this world of ours; then tomorrow on one future day he will lead us forwards into a very different and wonderful future.
Our writer has said all these things on his way through his writing. He started off with ‘through the Son he created the universe.’ (Hebrews 1:2). Then he said ‘The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.’ (Hebrews 1:3). Now, as we reach the end of his writing he says we, ‘have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, … You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. … You have come to Jesus,’
We have all, no doubt, done many things – some good, some bad in our lives so far. No matter, we rest in the arms of the one who always was, is now and ever will be, who will one day take us to be with himself in a better life, the one still to come.
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May 17th, 2019 by davegroberts
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!
Lord, because you have made me,
I owe you the whole of my love;
because you have redeemed me, I owe you the whole of myself;
because you have promised so much, I owe you my whole being.
Moreover, I owe you as much more love than myself as you are greater than I,
for whom you gave yourself and to whom you promised yourself.
I pray you, Lord,
make me taste by love what I taste by knowledge;
let me know by love what I know by understanding.
I owe you more than my whole self,
but I have no more,
and by myself I cannot render the whole of it to you.
Draw me to you, Lord, in the fullness of your love.
I am wholly yours by creation;
make me all yours, too, in love.
Amen
(A prayer of Anselm 1033-1109)
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May 16th, 2019 by davegroberts
PulpTheology Book
Dear Church: Wake up!
"Remember what you have been taught and have heard. Hold firmly to it. Turn away from your sins. If you don't wake up, I will come like a thief. You won't know when I will come to you." Revelation 3:3
Dear Church. Wake up! The midnight hour for believers in Jesus Christ is almost here. A lot of the Christian Church today appears asleep and all comfy cosy. But a time is coming when they will need to be the people that God has truly called them to be.
Inside we will look at 12 issues for the modern Christian. Issues which signify that parts of the Church need to be awoken from their slumber regarding these matters. Are you ready?
The 12 issues we look at together are: Chocolate Church
- Government
- Guidance
- Individualism
- Materialism
- Radical Church
- Self Interest
- Standing Alone
- Times of Trouble
- Universalism
- Words
- Worship
You can purchase this book at Amazon on this link:
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May 15th, 2019 by davegroberts
WOW Word - Growing as a Christian
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Today Alfie talks about the WOW Word - Growing!
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Galatians 5:16-26 - "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
What is the response of a Christian to be to these words of Jesus?
Let Alphy the WOWChurch cat explain to you!
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May 14th, 2019 by davegroberts
Psalm 95
(read by Carol)
95:1 Oh come, let's sing to Yahweh.
Let's shout aloud to the rock of our salvation!
95:2 Let's come before his presence with thanksgiving.
Let's extol him with songs!
95:3 For Yahweh is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
95:4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth.
The heights of the mountains are also his.
95:5 The sea is his, and he made it.
His hands formed the dry land.
95:6 Oh come, let's worship and bow down.
Let's kneel before Yahweh, our Maker,
95:7 for he is our God.
We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep in his care.
Today, oh that you would hear his voice!
95:8 Don't harden your heart,
as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
95:9 when your fathers tempted me, tested me,
and saw my work.
95:10 Forty long years I was grieved with that generation,
and said, "It is a people that errs in their heart. They have not known my ways."
95:11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
"They won't enter into my rest."
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May 13th, 2019 by davegroberts
Think Spot 13th May 2019
As part of our living as followers of Jesus, here is something which has the capability of affecting every person on the planet.
Jesus, our Master, said in Matthew 12:36-37 "But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgement for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Jesus took words and thoughts extremely seriously. Jesus’ words encouraged others gently towards paths of right living. He spoke words of love, kindness, rebuke, forgiveness, encouragement and blessing upon and to others. Jesus is to be our guide and Master in the use of thoughts and words.
In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus equates calling somebody a fool with the physical act of murder. Murder has its beginning in anger developing into uncontrollable rage. Improper attitudes, words and thoughts can lead you and I to sin if we don’t stop their destructive use quickly. May the words we communicate and think about, be like those of Jesus – “full of grace”. How is your WOW factor of Jesus now?
When Jesus Christ called you to follow Him, He called you to follow Him wholeheartedly and be committed to only Him. Jesus calls you and I, to love God and be totally committed to Him.
Here is a brief prayer to help us into the new week.
Father, help us this week to be totally committed to you in all aspects of our lives. May those we live with, work with and interact with, know we are your child by the words we speak. We ask this, through the mighty name of your Son, Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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May 12th, 2019 by davegroberts
Count Your Blessings, Christian!
Romans 5:1-11 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Not only so, but let us also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Introduction
Part 1
1. We have peace with God.
2. We have access to God.
3. We have a glorious hope.
Steve Testimony
Part 2
4. We develop Godly character.
5. We have God's love.
6. We have the Holy Spirit.
7. We have salvation from future wrath of God.
8. We have reconciliation with God.
Part 3 - Recap and Conclusion
What are we to do with these blessings? Download or listen to the mp3 now to see and hear what I said!!
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May 11th, 2019 by davegroberts
Highlights in Hebrews
(with Roger Kirby)
37. Hebrews 12:22–24 Our wonderful destination
you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24 NLT
The most astonishing two words in these verses are ‘have come’. Not ‘will come’ looking forward to some future date. Not tomorrow; not next year; not when we die; but now. We are already there. Wow! What is it that we have already come to? Our writer’s words form something of a purple patch in his description of it. He does it all with a half-concealed contrast to what happened to the Israelites as they left their slavery and travelled to the promised land so that there they might build the Temple which was to be the resting place of the Lord.
We are already there, on Mount Zion, that is we are living in the city of God - wherever we may be living in this world of ours. So we are at the place where the Lord God will be. There are countless thousands of angels already worshipping all around us even though we cannot hear them or see them. We are surrounded by God’s first-born children - that is by all those with whom we are in fellowship, world wide. We have only ever met the tiniest fraction of them, a few dozen or a few hundred at most. But they are there, all around us, none the less real because we have never met them. We have met with the Lord, or perhaps we should rather say that he has met with us when we were converted and turned to follow him. He is the judge over all things, but that does not frighten us because we have been accepted through the blood of Jesus. At that same time we met the ‘spirits of the righteous ones in heaven’, that is we entered the spiritual world. But above all we met Jesus.
We are, each of us, one tiny bit of Jesus, the Lord of Glory. Paul says in Philippians 3: 3: 9 he (Paul) had become one with him (Jesus). Turning it the other way round Jesus represents us, every one of us who are his. In all this wide world of ours there is nobody and nothing with which we are in closer relationship than we are with Jesus.
This is because we are now members of the Kingdom, the unshakeable kingdom where no earthquake will ever disturb us, as it did the Israelites as they camped round Mount Sinai. We are now present in the very Temple of God, which is Jesus, a far superior temple to those built in Jerusalem.
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May 10th, 2019 by davegroberts
Partakers Friday Prayers
10 May 2019
Come and join in praying for the world and yourself, offering praises to God through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit!
Order of Service
Opening prayer
Confession
Psalm 65
Prayers for Churches and Christians worldwide
Prayers for others
Silent time (Prayer for your own concerns)
Prayers for the world
Prayer of Benedict of Nursia
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