Episodes
Wednesday Jul 30, 2014
God Loves You 06 - 主耶稣爱我、主耶稣爱你
Wednesday Jul 30, 2014
Wednesday Jul 30, 2014
God Loves You 06
主耶稣爱我、主耶稣爱你
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“For God so
loved the world, that He gave is one and only Son, so that who ever
believed in Him would have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
Today we have Cathie from Hong Kong and London! 主耶稣爱我、主耶稣爱你
God loves you. God is beckoning you to love Him in return. He wants you to be in
relationship with Him. Nothing you can do will make Him love you more than He
already does. If you are not in relationship with God already, now is the time!
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Think Spot 28 July 2014
Monday Jul 28, 2014
Monday Jul 28, 2014
Think Spot - 28th July 2014
Revelation 22:12-13 “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Do you believe this? Do you really believe this? If you do, then how are you doing at telling and showing others the gospel of grace of Jesus Christ?
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I was in London recently. A busy place! But I did notice something. The only people I saw doing any kind of outreach, were members of the Jehovah Witnesses cult. They do it out of slavish obedience to the Jehovah Witnesses Governing body. It is not out of love for others as we as Christians are to! But… Where were the Christians? For sure they were operating the foodbanks, looking after the homeless and others in need. Practical evangelism and outreach – and rightly so. But where was the verbal witness of Christians? We are commanded to go and tell – so evangelism is not just looking after the physical needs of people but also telling them verbally. Two days in London and we didn’t see one Christian evangelising. Where I live in the UK, I have lived in our current location 4 years and not once have I been presented with the Gospel. Why? I would suggest apathy. A sense of loss of urgency in the UK church today.
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As the church, God’s representative body, here on earth, we have a mission. The church is all those who call Jesus Lord and let Him be master over there life. We have a mission. Our mission is to tell other people about a God of love and that this God of love wants people to come into a relationship of love with Him. God is a missionary God! The Father sent the Son on a mission! The Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit on a mission! We are to emulate the God we claim to love, by being on a mission to tell others about this amazing God of love who wants all people to be in relationship with Himself. If you don’t tell that person, who will? They may not get another opportunity to hear! The church as a whole, particularly in the West, seems to have lost its sense of urgency to tell and show others this missionary God of love.
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Why urgency? Because Jesus, who is the Lord of the Christian and Lord of the Church, is coming back again. Coming back to gather to Himself all those who are engaged in a loving and dynamic relationship with Himself. Coming back soon. Could be today! Could be tomorrow, this week, this month, this year, this decade, this century! Nobody knows! But Jesus is coming back. Be ready for when He does and I hope there is at least one other person there because you took a risk and told somebody about Jesus.
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As the church, as Christians, we have this message of life, and yet so often we neglect to take the opportunities to tell and show others. When was the last time you said to somebody “God loves you. Will you love Him back?” We are, by all means possible, to get this message out. Go. Tell. Show. The Gospel. GodLuvsYou.com Go into this week and tell at least one person somewhere & somehow about God’s love. Thank you.
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O Father God, I pray that this week, each of us will do all we can to tell and show the Good news of your Son. Enable us through your Holy Ghost who lives within us, to see the opportunities to tell others that you love them and want them to be in relationship with you, O Loving God! Help us through the power and wisdom of the Holy Ghost to tell about the love mission done by your Son two thousand years ago. I ask this O God my Father, through the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit who lives inside all those who have a relationship with you. Amen
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Thanks for listening! Come back every day to Partakers where you will find resources to help you live the Christian life where you are.
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Friday Prayers 25 July 2014
Friday Jul 25, 2014
Friday Jul 25, 2014
Partakers Friday Prayers!
25th July 2014
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 Prayer Service
Opening Prayer
1 John 1:8-10
Confession
Lord's Prayer
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Prayers for those facing challenging situation
Prayers for those grieving & in despair
Prayers for those imprisoned
Prayers for Churches Worldwide
Prayers for the world
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Time for your own prayers
The Creed
Benediction
Closing Prayer
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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Creation Book Corner 24 July 2014
Thursday Jul 24, 2014
Thursday Jul 24, 2014
Claire's Creation Book Corner
24 July 2014
Our Christian faith is about much more than turning up on Sunday mornings or growing our churches. Each and every one of us is called to make the world a better place. The only trouble is, if only we all knew how!
With 7 billion people on this planet, human life is complicated and very very large. What can one person do to make a difference?
Some individuals, like Martin Luther King, can make a big difference to an entire country. But most of us are not called by God to act on such a large scale - because small scale makes a difference too. When large numbers of people choose to do the good they're capable of, the world becomes a much kinder place.
Lots of people nowadays are talking about how Twitter and Facebook have changed our outlook. With these social media we can watch and communicate with those in power in an unprecedented way. It's an amazing thing, but also far too seductive.
As a Christian have you ever wasted hours of your time being indignant online because you think it's going to help a cause of social or environmental justice? I have.
I've no doubt that making a noise for justice online is a good thing and that for some people it is a special calling from God ... but for the rest of us it's a lot of effort in an arena where we may not be at our most effective.
This week I've decided to try something different. I've realised that my main power to make a difference rests not in how much noise I make online, but in which corporations I vote for with my money.
When I buy food from a farm that genuinely loves animals, that is a powerful vote of support for animal rights. In my opinion it's worth more than a hundred tweets or Facebook posts.
So, I've decided to try an experiment. For two months I'm going to stop making a noise for social and environmental justice online. I'm going to put all that campaigning energy into making shopping choices that support justice for all Creation.
I've got quite a big task ahead of me. Among other things I've got to cut down on the amount of packaged food I buy and check carefully whether animal products are ethically sourced. Whew! I feel exhausted just thinking about it!
But the question is. What are you going to do?
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Ask Dave - Question 8
Wednesday Jul 23, 2014
Wednesday Jul 23, 2014
Question 8
What Happened In 2013 on the WOW USA trip?
(as interviewed by Mrs Heidi Trotman)
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Think Spot 21 July 2014
Monday Jul 21, 2014
Monday Jul 21, 2014
Think Spot - 21st July 2014
G'day! Welcome to Partakers Think Spot at the start of new week on Monday the 21st July 2014!God's love in the Bible is seen as unfailing, everlasting, intimate, sacrificial, unbreakable, all-conquering, personal, great, immeasurable and all-knowing. This is seen supremely in the Cross of Jesus Christ, when He died for the sins of the world. Supreme love overcoming all that is not love. Even when great acts of evil are committed in the world, love is all around. Love continues despite such acts.
How are Christians to respond to this love of God?
The apostle John writes in 1 John 4v15-16 - If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.Our motivation as Christians is to love and to be love. This is a love, which is sacrificial and self-less. It is tough love which is of service to other people. Loving and serving others, are the primary ways of showing you love God! It is easiest to love your friends. But Jesus commanded that his followers also love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-45)! Now that is very radical and can be difficult! We see constantly in the media and elsewhere, that regards our enemies, we are to be confrontational or at best to just ignore them!
Love and serve everyone
How is it possible to love our enemies? It is only with the help of God and His abundant grace towards us! We depend on the Holy Spirit who lives inside all Christians to empower and guide! To only love those who love you is what is expected by people everywhere as normal behaviour. But as a Christian, you are to do more! You are to be seen to love more than other people. You don't have to like others as friends, but you do have to love them as fellow human beings!Go!
Go into this week, being prepared to show your love of Jesus Christ, remaining close to Him and serving other people generously with abundant grace-filled love! By loving and serving others, you become God's arms and legs in a physical world. One of the greatest limitations you face in loving and serving other people is a severe lack of imagination! So as you go into this week, ask God to expand your imagination to love and serve; as well as asking for the opportunities to do them. Loving and serving are hallmarks of an authentic Christian life. Love continues even amidst chaos and turmoil all around. Go and be part of the continuing of love. Thank you.Right mouse click here to download as a MP3 audio file
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Friday Prayers 18 July 2014
Friday Jul 18, 2014
Friday Jul 18, 2014
Partakers Friday Prayers!
18th July 2014
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 from St Mark's Liturgy
(From the 2nd century)
O Sovereign and Almighty Lord,
Bless all Your people, and all Your flock.
Give Your peace, Your help,
Your love toward us Your servants,
The sheep of Your fold.
That we may be united in the bond of peace and love,
one body and one spirit,
in one hope of our calling,
in Your divine and boundless love.
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Creation Book Corner 17 July 2014
Thursday Jul 17, 2014
Thursday Jul 17, 2014
Claire's Creation Book Corner
17 July 2014
Do I sound like an overheated Brit? I feel like one. We're having a very warm summer. You may disagree with mainstream scientific opinion about the causes of climate change, but you can't disagree that it's happening. That's clear for all to see in the Arctic.
People in Greenland, Alaska, Northern Canada, Siberia and far Northern Europe are all reporting big changes in their local environments due to the warming of the planet. There's no land on the very top of the world. Animals that live there rely on the thick sea ice. Polar bears travel long distances across the ice to hunt out food for their young.
Unfortunately there's been overall decrease in the amount of ice cover since 1978. People who live in the Arctic region report that more polar bears are coming into their towns and villages, taking their food and putting lives at risk.
Another animal that's suffering is the walrus. These enormous lumbering beasts have started gathering on land, and crushing each other to death in terrible stampedes because there isn't enough sea ice.
The change in climate is affecting people too. It's becoming more dangerous for indigenous people to hunt out on the ice. The warmer temperatures mean that it isn't as stable as it used to be. Houses are also suffering from subsidence as the ground melts underneath them.
It's a shame that in some powerful countries like the United States, climate change has become such a political topic. Political tensions stop people from recognising that regardless of what's caused climate change, the places most affected by it need our help. That's why many people are campaigning for the Arctic seas to be made into a wildlife sanctuary. If this happens it means that animals there will have the chance to adapt to their new environment without humans making it worse for them.
As it is, now that there is less ice than there used to be, big businesses are making plans to exploit the Arctic. They want to send to send container ships through its waters and drill for oil in the seabed. It will be impossible for them to do that without making the Arctic dirty with oil, fuel residues, sewage and trash. The Arctic seabed is a unique environment and the small other worldly creatures that live on it evolved to survive extreme cold, in isolation from those on seabeds in other parts of the world. They are extremely sensitive to pollution from human activities.
It'd be a shame to lose beautiful creatures such as the polar bear, the walrus and their unusual looking seafloor friends. It will happen if we let money and the accumulation of riches matter more than the protection of the Arctic. Can you and your church community do something to support the call for an Arctic sanctuary?
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Think Spot 14 July 2014
Monday Jul 14, 2014
Monday Jul 14, 2014
Think Spot 14 July 2014
G’day and welcome to Partake! Welcome also to Monday and our Think Spot together!
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We have the start of a new week! Its Monday! If you are a Christian, Jesus Christ wants to be number one in the life of all those who choose to follow him! Jesus wants supremacy over everything in our lives, including family, friends, and possessions!! Alas, that’s a cost too high for some! Within the Gospels, there is the story told of Jesus’ encounter with a man, who we shall call, Basil. Basil runs up to Jesus and wants eternal life, wants it now and asks Jesus about how to get it. He has fully kept the commandments listed by Jesus.
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However when Jesus said to Basil that in order to follow Him, he would have to give up all his wealth and possessions in order to have treasure in heaven and eternal life, Basil leaves disconsolate and shattered. The life of Basil, this rich young ruler, reflected a life of absorption with his own self-interest and self-importance!
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It was a step too far for Basil. He wanted his riches and also everlasting life, but Jesus said he couldn’t have both. He remains the only person that we know of, who left Jesus’ presence sorrowful, and that due to putting his trust in himself, his riches and wealth alone. Now riches, in and of themselves, are not necessarily wrong! But for Basil, well, he was not willing to make the sacrifice required to follow Jesus. He couldn’t count the cost of following Jesus– it was too high a price for him to pay!
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What have you given up in and as a result of your decision to follow Jesus? Making sacrifices to follow Jesus is all part of following of Jesus. Jesus demands His being number one and supreme over everything else in your life - yourself, family, others and material goods including money and possessions. Those areas of your life which God calls sinful, but you call it your right, your nature, just the way you are. God wants all of you for Himself! You can hand all things over to Him and if you ask the Holy Spirit to help you, it will be done much easier and with less struggle than if you try to do it in your own strength! Go into this new week, determined to be living for God in all facets of life, and then you will be salt and light for God in your community.
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Father, I pray that You would help us to trust in You and that You would help us to love You and others more fully, handing over to you those areas of our life which we are keeping our hands on! I ask this through the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit who lives inside all those who have peace with you. Amen
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Listen to and/or download the mp3 file below to hear this short podcast to help you into this new week!
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Sunday Jul 13, 2014
Sermon - Aspects of Covenental Love
Sunday Jul 13, 2014
Sunday Jul 13, 2014
Aspects of Covenantal Love
(Song of Solomon 8:5-7)
Schedule
Introduction
1. Dependency (Song of Solomon 8v5a)
2. Data (Song of Solomon 8v5b)
3. Desire (Song of Solomon 8v6)
4. Devotion (Song of Solomon 8v7)
How can we respond?
Song of Solomon 8:5-7
Friends
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness
leaning on her beloved?
She
Under the apple tree I roused you;
there your mother conceived you,
there she who was in labour gave you birth.
6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of one’s house for love,
he would be utterly scorned.
Introduction
We started this journey together at Song of Solomon 2:3-14 and Life under the Apple Tree. We saw together that Jesus, the tremendous lover, wants to hear the voice of His people and to be their king. Then we continued the journey, looking at Song of Solomon 5:9 - 6:9. There we saw together that Jesus is the best of the best and that Jesus is altogether lovely in every aspect - his birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, exultation, holiness, glorification, grace, protection, tenderness, power, wisdom, vengeance, judgment, redemption and pardon! Altogether: lovely and glorious.
There are 3 main ways to interpret this book. Firstly as a story about the joys of biblical love between a man and woman. That bit even I can see. Some would say that it was erotic, but as a white Australian male, I just don't see it! Secondly, the earliest commentators and readers saw it as an allegory about God's love for His people Israel, particularly with their coming Messiah in mind. The third way shows that this Song of Songs speaks not only on a physical level about the importance of human love and intimacy between a man and a woman, but also the intimacy that exists, blossoms and grows between a person and Jesus Christ.
Martin Luther called it the "noblest of all songs". Historically this book has been interpreted in 3 ways We move on tonight, to perhaps, what could be considered the key verses of this book. The couple have now entered a covenantal relationship - a relationship committed to one another.
So please do open your bibles and let us read the Song of Solomon 8:5-7. These three verses are the key verses of the Song of Solomon or the Song of Songs as other people call it. As the couple, the Lover and the Beloved, have now entered into a Covenant of love, we are, tonight, going to look at 4 Dimensions of Covenantal Love. A Covenant is a contract - a promise. Throughout Old Testament history, God had made covenants with people - people such as Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses. The original readers and commentators would have known that and understood that.