G‘day! 🌟 Welcome to Partakers Christian Podcasts! Tune in for Bible Teaching, Bible Readings, Worship, Prayer, and Church History. Our mission on Podbean is to enable and encourage you on your faith journey. Come listen, interact, and be inspired!
Episodes
Saturday Dec 18, 2021
Saturday Dec 18, 2021
Partakers Christmas Thought
18 December 2021
A Christmas Thought
of John Chrysostom
In the Podcast today we are listening to the thoughts and wisdom of John Chrysostom of the 4th century, concerning the events of Christmas.
Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file
You can now purchase our book about the story of Christmas by clicking or tapping on this link here which will take you to Amazon!
Thursday Dec 16, 2021
Thursday Dec 16, 2021
Partakers Christmas Thought
16 December 2021
The Spirit of Christmas
by Henry van Dyke – Chapters 5 & 6
In the podcast today we conclude listening to the short story “The Spirit of Christmas” by Henry van Dyke, with Chapters 5 and 6. The book is in the Public Domain.
You can download the text of the story by clicking or tapping here
Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file
You can now purchase our book about the story of Christmas by clicking or tapping on this link here which will take you to Amazon!
Wednesday Dec 15, 2021
Wednesday Dec 15, 2021
Partakers Christmas Thought
15 December 2021
The Spirit of Christmas
by Henry van Dyke – Chapters 3 & 4
In the podcast today we continue listening to Chapters 3 and 4 of the short story “The Spirit of Christmas” by Henry van Dyke. The book is in the Public Domain.
You can download the text of the story by clicking or tapping here
Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file
You can now purchase our book about the story of Christmas by clicking or tapping on this link here which will take you to Amazon!
Tuesday Dec 14, 2021
Tuesday Dec 14, 2021
Partakers Christmas Thought
14 December 2021
The Spirit of Christmas
by Henry van Dyke – Chapters 1 & 2
In the podcast today we start a short story over the next 3 podcasts, “The Spirit of Christmas” by Henry van Dyke. We commence with Chapters 1 and 2. It is in the Public Domain.
You can download the text of the story by clicking or tapping here
Click or Tap here to listen to or save Chapters 1 and 2 as an audio mp3 file
You can now purchase our book about the story of Christmas by clicking or tapping on this link here which will take you to Amazon!
Sunday Dec 12, 2021
Sunday Dec 12, 2021
Partakers Christmas Thought
12 December 2021
Looking Ahead to Christmas – Part 15
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion –
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy
instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendour.(Isaiah 61:1-3)
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ they asked.( Luke 4:14-22)
Here the prophet Isaiah gives two contrasting certainties: “the year of Yahweh’s favour” and “the day of vengeance of our God”. The year of honour, as we shall see has already started. We don’t know when it will end, but we know that it will. The day of vengeance will be in the future sometime. Again we don’t know when that will be either. But we know it will all happen quickly, suddenly and without warning (Isaiah 60:22). Therefore people need to be ready and alert! The time of when it will occur is not known, but it is known who will end it – Almighty God.
The Servant Messiah speaks without being introduced this time, and is the preacher in the year of the Lord’s favour. This preaching is probably a referral to the rams horn that ushers in the Year of Jubilee as established in the Mosaic Covenant (Leviticus 25:8-55). The Servant Messiah’s preaching will usher in a time of grace, justice and freedom – just as the ram’s horn introduced the Year of Jubilee. The phrase to “proclaim liberty” is used in both the year of Jubilee and in this the year of the Lord’s favour. This proclaimed year of the Lord’s favour starts when the Messiah comes the first time and will cease when He returns again. The word “year” is not a fixed period of time as we know it, but is rather to be seen as symbolic of an extended period of time.
This Servant Messiah is anointed with the Holy Spirit of God. This Good News was to be preached to the humble, the poor and poor in spirit – the Good News is news of freedom, liberty, grace and justice! The comfort they will receive should the offer be taken up, is one of being released from condemnation for sin through the Messiah’s offer of forgiveness – that is grace! Because of this grace, three things will be occur for these people who have accept the offer, here referred to in Isaiah 61:3 as “trees of righteousness” : they will display or reflect the Lord God’s glory and splendour; they will be priests of the Lord God service; and will inherit all things!
In the podcast today we continue looking ahead to Christmas and its consequences, by seeing what the prophet Isaiah had to say concerning the proclamations of the coming Messiah Saviour. What were these proclamations? How does this Messiah Saviour speak these proclamations and to who? What relevancy does this have with Jesus Christ?
Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file
You can now purchase our book about the story of Christmas by clicking or tapping on this link here which will take you to Amazon!
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Partakers Christmas Thought
10 December 2021
Looking Ahead to Christmas – Part 13
1 ‘Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labour on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendour.’ 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.(Isaiah 55:1-7)
Recently we looked at the City of God which is to come. It will be a time where all those who have accepted God's invitation into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, will live and worship the Lord God Almighty for ever! Who is this invitation for? This invitation to join is to all people of all races and nationalities! But they have to respond to the call! Have you responded to this call? It is still not too late!
“Come”, cries Almighty God through the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 55:1). Come! The gates to my City are open to all who believe! There is no entry charge, its free! This food is free for all! What is this food? It is mercy and pardon. Mercy from God and pardon for sin for all those who respond to the call God has put out. The invitations have been sent! Have you accepted this invitation yet?
This is the everlasting Covenant (Isaiah 55:5-6) or the new Covenant we have talked about and was proclaimed by other prophets such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Just as each of the previous covenants had a symbol to authenticate the agreement, so does this! Noah’s covenant had the rainbow, Abraham had circumcision and Moses had the sprinkling of blood. This new and everlasting Covenant will also have a sign! The sign is disclosed in Isaiah 55:13 as an everlastingly transformed universe! Amazing! This is the climax of Isaiah so far! Therefore, the Messiah Servant must suffer in Isaiah 53! This new everlasting covenant does not cancel the other covenants, but rather fulfils them. The result of the Messiah Servant’s work will be everything that Almighty God has promised, and all promises of God will find their Amen in the Servant.
In the podcast today we continue looking ahead to Christmas and its consequences, by seeing what the prophet Isaiah had to say concerning the God’s invitation to the world via the coming Messiah and an everlasting Covenant between God and humanity! How does Isaiah talk of this Covenant? What are the details of this everlasting Covenant? How does this relate to the future promises of God? What relevancy does this have with Jesus Christ?
Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file
You can now purchase our book about the story of Christmas by clicking or tapping on this link here which will take you to Amazon!
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
13 November 2021
The Lord’s Prayer 05
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
(Matthew 6:11-12)25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 ‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34)21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ 22 Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21-22)
Today we continue looking at the Lord’s Prayer and we are looking together at we should mean when we say "Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Please do listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more about this aspect in the prayer life of the Christian.
Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file
You can now purchase our book on Prayer by clicking or tapping on this link here which will take you to Amazon
Monday Oct 04, 2021
Monday Oct 04, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
4 October 2021
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. (Genesis 2:8-10; 15-22)
“ 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:1–5)
There is a marvellous unity to the Bible story even though it was written by many different people over many hundreds of years. It began, after the Creation, with the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2) and it ends with a Garden City (Revelation 22). There are two great differences between them: the Garden of Eden had only 2 people in it; the Garden City is full of people, all those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Only God walks in the Garden of Eden, whereas Jesus Christ, the Lamb, walks with him in the city and the people walk by the light of the lamp, which is the Lamb. Wow!
Today we are looking at the Church of the future – the Church to come of which we are a part. We explore together questions such as: In the light of the Church of the future, what should we as Christians be doing? What will the Church of the future be like? What differences are there between the Garden of Eden and the Garden City of Revelation 22? What sense can we the Church today, make of the Church to come? What promises are there for the future Church, which includes the Church today?
Listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more in this part of telling the Bible’s big story, the Temple and what that has to do with Christians today.
Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file
~
You can now purchase our Partakers books! Please do click or tap here to visit our Amazon site!
Click or tap on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!
Sunday Oct 03, 2021
Sunday Oct 03, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
3 October 2021
1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;
I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honoured in my sight,
and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:1-7)
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20))
We live in an amazing and very exciting period of church history. There are more Christians of every sort alive today than ever before; in fact, more alive now than all that have ever lived and died; one third of all the people on the earth. This is mainly because of the recent huge growth of the church in Africa, South America and, to a lesser but increasing extent, in Asia. At the same time the old core areas of the Faith in Europe and North America have declined somewhat, so the centre of gravity of the World-Wide Church has moved south and east.
Today we are looking at the Church of the present day. We explore together questions such as: How is the Church today fulfilling the vision of Isaiah 43? How is the Church obeying the Great Commission as commanded by Jesus Christ? What are some of the questions we should ask ourselves where we need to grow in obedience in faith as the Church today? Listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more in this part of telling the Bible’s big story, the Temple and what that has to do with Christians today.
Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file
~
You can now purchase our Partakers books! Please do click or tap here to visit our Amazon site!
Click or tap on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!
Saturday Oct 02, 2021
Saturday Oct 02, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
2 October 2021
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:41-52)
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. (John 2:13-22)
So far in our Big Story of the Bible, we have traced through the story of the decline of Israel before Jesus appeared. We now pick up the story of the great Temple in Jerusalem in the days of Jesus we find some fascinating things. The extent to which the people of Jesus’ day centred life on the Temple is amazing. We know that Jesus and his family visited the Temple in Jerusalem annually (Luke 2:41). In a mixed family party that was probably 5 days walking each way – a considerable time not to be working and earning.
Life in first century Israel revolved around the Temple building to an astonishing extent. They clearly thought that God was there, and more accessible there, than anywhere else. It was what some people would call a ‘thin place’, that is a place where it feels much easier to get close to God than most places because heaven and earth have only a thin gap between them (which isn’t really the case but it can feel that way if we are somewhere where we have often met with the Lord).
Today we are looking at Jesus and the Temple in Jerusalem. We explore together questions such as: What did Jesus say about the Temple? How much longer after Jesus’ Ascension did the Temple last before the Romans destroyed it? With the Temple gone, what was to replace it? Listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more in this part of telling the Bible’s big story, the Temple and what that has to do with Christians today.
Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file
~