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Posted in , Partakers, Church History on Jun 29th, 2013 Comments
G’day and welcome to Partakers and to our series, HAHA – Heroes and Heretics Abound. Together we are looking at the story of the church from its origins to the Age of Reasoning in the 18th century. Last time we looked at some of the leading Christian figures in Britain.
Today we see a new religion, some would say threat, coming towards Christianity – Islam!
Islam is a religion strictly following one God. The adherents of Islam, Muslims, follow their book, the Koran (the verbatim words of Allah) and the Sunnah (teachings and examples give by Mohammed, the last prophet of God.)
Background
In Arabia at the time, the religious background was like this:
Mohammed 570-632
Into this comes the main man and founder of Islam – Mohammed. He was born in Mecca in 570. It was while he was seeking solitude within the Arabian Desert, that he claimed to have received messages from God, via the Angel Gabriel. Mohammed claims to have received the whole of the Koran (Moslem Scripture), which was claimed to have always existed in heaven but was now on earth. He was to be the message of Allah! Mohammed was given the task of telling others about Allah and what Allah had said in this book, the Koran. Mohammed preached from the Koran when he returned to Mecca, but was initially rejected by the masses. That was soon to change!
Mohammed's message.
Basic beliefs
A Muslim is one who lives according to God's will as expressly given in the Koran. Islam is submission to God. Islam accepts parts of Judaism & Christianity quoting extensively from the Old Testament in the Koran. Jesus Christ is accepted as a prophet of God, but not the Son of God. Mohammed is the last and greatest prophet. They do not believe Jesus Christ was crucified and died, but that there was a substitution done for him. They do however broadly accept his miracles and virgin birth. While there are some similarities with Christianity, they miss the whole point of God's revelation to man in Christ & Christ's death for our sins. There is no plan of salvation apart from works.
Islam's spread
Despite being initially rejected by people, Islam and the message of Mohammed soon spread quickly. Raiding parties from Arabia, captured neighbouring lands and Islam became the religion of these peoples. The Islamists treated their captured people well, therefore Islam grew in acceptance. Within only 12 years, Egypt, Syria and Iraq were occupied by Muslims, quickly spreading to North Africa and Spain. The spread into Europe was checked however at the battle of Tours in 732 when Charles Martel led Christian armies into victorious battle.
For more in-depth information and knowledge about Islam, we have a series on this site and you can find that by clicking here!
Next time in our series HAHA, we will look at the church in Britain reaching out into Europe! Thanks for listening! Come back to Partakers, where every day there is something new to encourage your walk as a Christian in the 21st century.
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Posted in Partakers, Friday Prayers on Jun 28th, 2013 Comments
~Partakers Friday Prayers!
28th June 2013
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!
Order of Service
Opening Prayer
Confession
Time for Your Praises
Time for Your Petitions & Requests
Benediction
Closing Prayers
G’day and welcome to Pauline's Thursday Ponderings!
Where do your security, self worth and significance come from? If they come from God it means you will be able to deal with whatever tragedies life throws at you with an inner peace and a trust that an omnipotent Father is working behind the scenes in your best interests. It does not mean that you won’t get upset or confused or angry. When you break a bone, it hurts, no matter how good your relationship with God. In the same way we feel emotional pain but we won’t go under and our emotions won’t be totally ruled by our circumstances.
Some of us use shopping, or our husbands or possessions to give us a sense of value. Others use their career to give them a sense of significance. Others turn to food or alcohol for comfort or courage. Take some time to reflect where you try to get your deepest needs met. Esther is a good example of a Jewish woman in the bible whose security is in God. She is faced with an edict from her husband the King that all Jews should be put to death. Esther 4:15-16 describes how she reacts to the news: Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go; gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
Esther listens to God and follows his plan. As a result she and all the Jews are saved from death. What an example of emotional stability and dependence on God. If you don’t get your security, self worth and significance from God ask for his forgiveness and ask him to show you how to do so. I will be sharing more about this over the coming weeks.
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Posted in Partakers, Think Spot on Jun 24th, 2013 Comments
G'day! Welcome to Partakers Think Spot at the start of new week!
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God- the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name's sake.
The first word I would use for Jesus is that He is unique - totally unique! Never before and never to be repeated again - ever! Jesus Christ is the standout person from all of history! In all of human history, Jesus Christ is incomparable!
Yet in human form, we read that during his earthly ministry he had no physical beauty that would draw people naturally to himself. We read that Jesus' body on the cross was disfigured and tortured beyond that of human likeness. His perfect life, His salvation work on the cross and His subsequent rising from the dead, is what makes Jesus Christ unique - a once and for all lifetime Messiah or Saviour for the entire world! This great God of creation, stepping into His creation as a human, with the purpose of reconciling the world back to Himself! WOW!! Jesus' uniqueness meaning I can have an active and dynamic relationship with God.
As you go into this week may your relationship with God be active and dynamic! Go and thank Jesus Christ for his uniqueness which allows this to occur.
Father, we thank you for Jesus Christ your Son! We thank you that because of Him, we can enter into a dynamic and active relationship with you! We ask this prayer and give you praise, through your Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit who lives inside all those who are following! Amen!
Thanks for joining us on Partakers ThinkSpot! See you again real soon!
