Partakers Christian Podcasts

Saturday Story - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Story

of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

Today we hear the story of perhaps one of the greatest Saints of the 20th Century church - Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His books and writings have never been more influential than they are today. His fight to stand for the cause of Christ cost him his life. We do well to honour and remember him as an example to us all. Come and listen to his story of faith...

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Thursday Story - Jenny from Taiwan

Thursday Story

People meeting Jesus

The story of Jenny from Taiwan...

We continue apace into the twentieth century and hear the story of a friend of mine. Her name is Jenny and she is from Taiwan. Let's look together at how and why she started her Christian journey and the relevancy of Jesus Christ to her life! Come and listen to her story of faith...

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Sermon - Remember Who You Are

Colossians 3v1-4

“Remember Who You Are!”

3:1 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.

3:2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.

3:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

3:4 When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.

 

In the year 1993, I slipped into a coma on a Saturday evening during my sleep.  But that story is a bit of a bore and not really important. After a couple of days in hospital, I woke up and there was a face of a pretty woman peering down at me, smiling and asking "Do you remember who you are?"  My response was "Of course I do!!  But who are you, and what have you done with my wife". And that is a similar story for those of us who are Christians.  If we are listening, we are constantly being reminded by God the Holy Spirit, of our status before God if we are His children.  The Holy Spirit is always there behind us, reminding us, that we are now His children and not His enemy, and therefore to stop living as if we were His enemy.  In these verses, Paul reminds us of our identity. This morning we are going to look at primarily our new identity and five facts about our Christian identity...

1. What are we to do with this Jesus if we claim to be his followers and in relationship with him?

a. We died with Christ (3a).
b. We are raised with Christ (1a).
c. We live with Christ (4a). 
d. We are hidden with Christ (3b). 
e. We will be glorified with Christ (4b).

2. Jesus - fully human

3. Jesus - fully God

 

Recapitulation

• Remember who you are.
• Remember your identity.
• Remember you have died with Christ,
• Remember you have been raised with Christ.
• Remember you have new life in Christ - NOW!!.
• Remember you are hidden with Christ - NOW!!.
• Remember you will be glorified with Christ when He comes again.

Conclusion

Therefore let us conclude.  We are to focus our minds on Him for heavenly reasons.  We are to let heaven fill our thoughts. In another translation, verse 2 reads "habitually set your mind on things above".Jesus was fully-god and fully-man.  It is this Jesus we claim to follow.  Be assured of your identity. Remember who you are.  Stop sinning and remember who you are - a child of the living God.  Cast off all that hinders your Christian growth.  Live for Him and make a difference in a world that is dying without knowledge of Him.  Most of all, as a motivation to aspire to live a perfect life in honour of Him  - remember who you are, and I don t mean just your name!!  Remember....

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Saturday Story - CS Lewis

Saturday Story

People meeting Jesus 

The story of CS Lewis...

Today, we hear the story of perhaps one of the foremost Christian thinkers of our age – CS Lewis. Let’s look together at how and why he started his own Christian journey and the relevancy of Jesus Christ to his life! It may not be what you have heard it said to be! Come and listen to his story of faith...

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Saturday Story - Greg

Saturday Story

People meeting Jesus 

The story of Greg from Scotland...

We continue apace into the twentieth century and hear the story of a friend of mine. His name is Greg and he is from Scotland. Let's look together at how and why he started his Christian journey and the relevancy of Jesus Christ to his life! Come and listen to his story of faith...

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Thursday Story - Salvation and Healing

Thursday Story

People meeting Jesus

A story of salvation and healing

We continue apace into the twentieth century and hear the story of salvation and healing coming to a house! Come on in, and listen to this amazing story about the relevancy of Jesus Christ to this woman's life.

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Interview with Hope FM

This is an interview from 15 February 2009 that I did with Hope FM, a local radio station from the communities of Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch talking about Partakers Ministries, Podcasts and Virtual/Internet Church.

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Psalm on Demand - Psalm 45

Psalm 45

45:1 My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.

45:2 You are the most excellent of the sons of men. Grace has anointed your lips, therefore God has blessed you forever.

45:3 Strap your sword on your thigh, mighty one: your splendor and your majesty.

45:4 In your majesty ride on victoriously on behalf of truth, humility, and righteousness. Let your right hand display awesome deeds.

45:5 Your arrows are sharp. The nations fall under you, with arrows in the heart of the king’s enemies.

45:6 Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom.

45:7 You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.

45:8 All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia. Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.

45:9 Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women. At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir.

45:10 Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear. Forget your own people, and also your father’s house.

45:11 So the king will desire your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord.

45:12 The daughter of Tyre comes with a gift. The rich among the people entreat your favor.

45:13 The princess inside is all glorious. Her clothing is interwoven with gold.

45:14 She shall be led to the king in embroidered work. The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to you.

45:15 With gladness and rejoicing they shall be led. They shall enter into the king’s palace.

45:16 Your sons will take the place of your fathers. You shall make them princes in all the earth.

45:17 I will make your name to be remembered in all generations. Therefore the peoples shall give you thanks forever and ever.

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Church Leadership 12 - God and the leadership team

Church Leadership

Session 12:

What can God do with a leadership team

that is totally committed to Him?

Welcome to the final session in this series on Church Leadership. I trust they have all been a blessing to you and helpful as you continue on in your walk with God. I want to end on a positive note and look at what God can do when leadership teams are totally committed to Him and united in their service for the Boss – the Head of the Church.

In the book, The Trellis and the Vine (Marshall and Payne (Matthias Media 2009) – ISBN: 978 1 921441 58 5), the writers compare the work of planting, watering, fertilising and tending the vine to that of Christian ministry. ‘The basic work’, they continue, ‘of any Christian ministry is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of God’s Spirit, and to see people converted, changed and grow to maturity in that gospel’.

However, they also acknowledge the essential need to tend and maintain some sort of framework to help the vine grow. The authors put it this way: ‘as the ministry grows, the trellis also needs attention. Management, finances, infrastructure, organisation, and governance – these all become more important and more complex as the vine grows.’ The book provides a balanced perspective on these two sometimes competing demands on leaders.

Let us be encouraged to keep in mind our ultimate goal – to see men, women and children won to faith in Christ. But at the same time, let’s not forget to tend, repair, watch over and maintain the trellis, or the vine will have nothing to grow on.

Today, in our churches, are we achieving this ultimate goal? Are we, on a regular basis, seeing people converted, changed and grow to maturity in that gospel?

Do those of you who are leaders have a vision of what God, by the power of His Spirit and in the Name of Jesus can achieve in His church in your community?

A Senior Pastor asked his leadership team three questions when they were considering the impact of future growth:

1. Can you see it?

2. Do you want it?

3. Are you prepared to do everything it takes to achieve it?

Powerful questions! Do we have such a vision from the Head of the Church that we are gripped by the prospect of many coming to faith in Christ, that we will go to any lengths to make sure it happens? Of vital importance is that the vision is from God – a “God idea” not just a “good idea”. More than once we read in Acts that, after the church had prayed about a particular matter, “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” Incidentally, when was the last time, after you have prayed, “the place where [you] were meeting was shaken. And [you] were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31)?

God gave dominion to the human race and He is longing for us, through redemption and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, to enter once again into that creation purpose. Jesus promises that the power of the Holy Spirit will result in our words having the same authority and wisdom as His own. Just think for a moment of what such a vision means to Jesus. He sees us - His own Body in the future exercising all of this and doing it to a greater extent than He could possibly do in His own human body. So after His resurrection, Jesus commissions the disciples. The promise of Jesus is: 'Your proclamation will be validated by signs and wonders that accompany it.' So those who refuse to believe will have no excuse. They will be condemned. (This raises questions about the nature of our own gospel proclamation in these days – but we don’t have time to discuss that now).

Like the early disciples we are called to go to the ends of the earth and for us, seeing the suffering that there is throughout the world, it is even more imperative than for them, that we should go to the ends of the earth and proclaim the good news of Jesus. Only then will the end come and our Lord return.

We have been placed on this earth to fulfil the destiny that God has for us, that we should exercise His authority and through the exercise of that authority, through His praise and worship and His power in our lives, we should bring down the powers of darkness and see satan's kingdom finally destroyed and the Lord's return set in train.

All this is ours! If that does not produce a 'Wow!' in your spirit then there must be something wrong with you. “Rejoice little flock. It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom” – Jesus said (Luke 12:32).

Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus: “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3: 14 – 21)

I can do more that repeat that prayer for you and the churches where you serve.

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Church Leadership 11 - What happens when it all goes wrong?

Church Leadership

Session 11:

What happens when it all goes wrong?

Welcome to session 11 – probably the most difficult of all to deal with. Sadly, there are, all too often, times when things go wrong in church and I want us to think about some of those today. This is never going to be a comprehensive treatise on these matters – but I hope it will be helpful to those leaders going through difficult times and for those in churches where leaders are causing problems.

 

There are two main areas that I want to consider – those where the leader has served to the best of his ability but things have not worked out or illness has been a part of the situation – and those where the leader has not acted in a way that befits their office and thus damaged their calling and brought the Name of Christ into disrepute.

 

I have taken some “case studies” that I have been involved with to illustrate some areas where things have not turned out well – either for the individual or the church concerned.

 

The Minister was struggling. His sermons, while theologically sound, were more like lectures and his pastoral skills were not the best – and the numbers coming to church were shrinking rapidly. But he really believed he had been called to pastoral ministry. I was asked to talk to him and eventually he accepted that, perhaps, he had misheard his calling and ought to look for something else that would use his obvious teaching ability. In due course, he found a post as a lecturer at a university and, the last time I heard, he was doing well. The church was supportive and sent him on his way with their blessing. But this “knocked him for six” and it took a while for him to recover. If it is not working for you as a leader, seek counsel from someone you can trust and don’t be ashamed to say “I got it wrong”. God is in the restoration business!

 

Sometimes a church leader is good at what they do, believe they have a genuine calling to this type of ministry – but the rest of the leadership team don’t see it that way. I was asked to “referee” a dispute between the elders of a church and their pastor. Some of the elders had been in the church for a very long time and were strong characters and they persuaded the rest of the leadership team that the pastor was not “vibrant enough, nor did he have an exciting vision for the future”. In the end, I advised the pastor that it was time to go because once you have lost the trust, confidence and support of the other leaders, it will be impossible to achieve what you want to do in God. This sort of activity grieves the Holy Spirit and hinders the growth of God’s people. Incidentally, that church went through a very lean period for some years – but God used the pastor in significant ministry in other churches. The command of Jesus to “love one another” was aimed at all of us – and applies to leadership teams also. Seek God’s face always – and even more so when the course you seem to be taking looks as if it is not one that the Spirit of God would endorse.

 

It seems to me that stress is more prevalent than it used to be (probably because we didn’t recognise it so clearly back then – we called it a “nervous breakdown”) and “burnout” has become an accepted physical/mental/spiritual condition. Church leaders are not immune from this and I have witnessed the devastating effect that this has had – both in my ‘day job’ and those called to full-time ministry. I am not qualified to discuss the medical details – but I have found a book I have referred to earlier (Freedom to Lead – see session 9) very helpful in this area. A young man was full of enthusiasm for the children’s ministry he was involved in – he worked hard and long and seemed to thrive. He was invited to join the leadership team in his home church, even though most of his ministry was with other churches. Soon he was being asked to do more and more - eventually he succumbed to the pressure and had to come to dead stop and cease doing anything. His family and church were supportive but some others were less so – after all, he had “let them down.” Asking him why this had happened he told me that he thought that, in God, he could do anything and everything – he forgot that he was a frail human being and that he was not superman. He didn’t blame God for this – he now understands the importance of rest, good time management and having the common sense to say “no”. As fellow leaders we need to watch others on the team that they are not getting overburdened and as churches we must not expect too much of our leaders.

 

The devastation that sexual immorality causes to the leader him/herself, to their families, to the church where they lead and to the wider Christian community is enormous– but it is not the only reason why leaders do not maintain the standards expected of them.

 

Sexuality is a powerful force and, when not confined to the marital state, can be devastating, damaging and ‘reputation-killing’. Much has been written about this and I don’t have time to say very much here – but leaders must be always on their guard against this temptation.

 

Then there other addictions that damage the people of God, including leaders, such as gambling, pornography, substance abuse etc.

 

When discovered, or confessed, there must be an acceptance that that leader has “disqualified” him/herself from office and must stand down immediately. With true repentance, counselling and prayer, such a one can be restored to fruitful ministry after a period on the sidelines. Paul said: “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1).

 

Let me repeat what I said in session 3: “Most of the saints of old got it wrong from time to time – Abraham lied about Sarah, Noah got drunk, Moses lost his temper, David committed adultery, Elijah was suicidal, Jonah ran away, Thomas doubted, Peter denied Jesus, Paul persecuted Christians – need I go on? The amazing thing is that God forgave them as they repented and He continued to use them. All of us, as leaders, are constantly in need of the grace of God as we battle with sin and failure. Praise Him – He is the God of the second (and third and fourth and fifth etc etc) chance as we submit to Him.”

 

I’m conscious that this has been all too brief and there is so much to be said – but all of us must remain on our guard against the wiles of the devil. Keep short accounts with God, seek help from those you trust and maintain regular devotional times.

 

Today, I’m going to leave you with a prayer (based on Psalm 31) that I used when I and my family went through a very difficult time.

 

• O LORD, we trust in You – may we never be disgraced.
• Save us because You do what is right. Listen to us and save us quickly.
• You are our rock of protection – a strong fortress to protect us. For the honour of Your Name, lead us and guide us.
• Set us free from the trap that has been set for us because You are our protection. We give you our lives. Save us, LORD - You are the God of truth.
• We trust only in the LORD. We will be glad and rejoice in Your love, because You see our suffering and You know our troubles. You have not handed us over to our enemies but have set us in a safe place.
• LORD, have mercy, because we are finding life tough - our eyes are weak from so much crying and we are weary from grief. Our life seems to be full of sadness and our days are spent in crying. Our troubles are sapping our strength – provide strength to our bodies.
• We trust You and we affirm that You are our God. Our lives are in Your hands. Save us from our enemies and from those who are chasing us. Silence their lying lips. Show Your kindness to us – we are Your servants. Save us because of Your love. LORD, we call to You - so do not let us be disgraced.
• How great is Your goodness that You have stored up for us because we fear You - protect us by Your presence from what people plan against us and shelter us from evil words.
• Praise the LORD! His love to us was wonderful when we were being attacked. In our distress, we said: "God cannot see us!" But You heard our prayer when we cried out to You for help.
• We love the LORD, because we belong to Him. The LORD protects us because we truly believe. We put our hope in the LORD and we will be strong and brave.
  
• Amen

 

 

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