Partakers Christian Podcasts

Partakers Bible Thought - Psalm 37

Psalm 37

37:1 Don't fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.
37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
37:3 Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
37:4 Also delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
37:5 Commit your way to Yahweh. Trust also in him, and he will do this:
37:6 he will make your righteousness go forth as the light, and your justice as the noon day sun.
37:7 Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don't fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don't fret, it leads only to evildoing.

37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land.
37:10 For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more.
Yes, though you look for his place, he isn't there.
37:11 But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
37:12 The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth.
37:13 The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming.
37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to kill those who are upright in the way.
37:15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Their bows shall be broken.
37:16 Better is a little that the righteous has, than the abundance of many wicked.

37:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Yahweh upholds the righteous.
37:18 Yahweh knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever.
37:19 They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
37:20 But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish- vanish like smoke.
37:21 The wicked borrow, and don't pay back, but the righteous give generously.
37:22 For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.
37:23 A man's goings are established by Yahweh. He delights in his way.
37:24 Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for Yahweh holds him up with his hand.

37:25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.
37:26 All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His seed is blessed.
37:27 Depart from evil, and do good. Live securely forever.
37:28 For Yahweh loves justice, and doesn't forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.
37:30 The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom. His tongue speaks justice.
37:31 The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide.
37:32 The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to kill him.

37:33 Yahweh will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
37:34 Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
37:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
37:36 But he passed away, and behold, he was not. Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37:37 Mark the perfect man, and see the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.
37:38 As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together. The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh. He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
37:40 Yahweh helps them, and rescues them. He rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, Because they have taken refuge in him.

Right mouse click or tap here to save this Podcast as a MP3.

 

Bible Thought - Luke Looks Back Part 10

Luke 7:1–50 & 8:40-56

Faith and faithfulness Part 1

The whole of chapters 7 and 8 make up one section of Luke’s narrative so we will read them together though we will only look at chapter 7 in detail in this study. Not least because of the striking similarities and differences in the people involved between the first and last passages 7:1–17 and 8:40–56.

1. Jesus Restores Health and Life! (Luke7:1–17 and 8:40–56)

Question 1.What is the second passage about? How does it differ from the first passage?

The second passage is about healing of a woman and the bringing back to life of a man’s daughter. Remember: the first was about the healing of a man and the bringing back to life of a woman’s son. Luke has obviously put these particular stories at the beginning and end of this section very deliberately. He has carefully constructed the whole section. The important question is why has he done this–apart from the fact that this was the way that they wrote things in the Roman world of those days? When we look at the two chapters together we will see that he has built them so that the stories of the second part reflect the first part. The first part has two healings, 7:1–17; an account of the doubts of John the Baptist. 7:18–35 and then tells us about contrasting attitudes to Jesus, 7:36–50. The second part reverses that order telling us about contrasting attitudes to Jesus, 8:19–33, 38, 39; then the doubts and rejection by the Gerasenes, 8:34–37 and finally the two healings we have already looked at in 8:40–56. In the middle is a parable about the man who sowed some seed, getting different reactions from the different types of soil.

We can think of this as a reflection because the second half is the mirror image of the first half. There are many of these reflections in the Bible. One very obvious example is in Amos 5: 4b–6a, although unlike most of the Biblical reflections that one does not have an important middle. In most of them the middle is important to explain why the second half is different from the first. In our example here in Luke the middle, the parable, is clearly very important, though it does not alter the second part significantly.

Luke wants us to see that the whole section is about faith and faithfulness. One Greek word has both meanings whereas we split the two apart in English. By ‘faith’ we mean mainly mental agreement with the teachings of a religion–‘faith’ goes on in our heads. By ‘faithfulness’ we mean living in a way that follows the teachings of that religion–‘faithfulness’ goes on mainly in our actions. We will look at that more in the next study.

2. Jesus and the Centurion (Luke7:1–17)

Not for the last time Luke has a story about a centurion. He wants Theophilus (and us) to understand that Christian faith was acceptable to these significant people in the Roman world.

Question 2.We are told many good things about the centurion (7:2–5). We are told nothing about the widow of Nain. What can we learn from that?

There will have been plenty of people around with a vague faith in God who kept the religious laws, but this Gentile Centurion recognized that God was at work in Jesus and was prepared to act accordingly by trusting Jesus. Are we prepared to turn a vague faith into action when God works? Just possibly Luke knew the centurion because he joined the early church, but the widow of Nain did not, so he did not know her.

3. Doubts of John the Baptist (Luke 7:18–35)

Question 3. John expected the Messiah to act like his idea of what a Messiah would do. Jesus quotes Isaiah 35: 5,6 and 61: 1,2 to tell him he is wrong. In what ways was John wrong? What did they expect the Messiah to do? What was Jesus doing that was unexpected?

John evidently shared the general expectation of what the Messiah would do. John will have understood himself to be the messenger of Malachi 3: 1 –3; 4: 1–3 and therefore that all that those verses suggested would happen. Particularly if you live in a hostile society it is important, and encouraging, to remember how hostile the society in which Jesus and the early church lived and worked was.

4. Jesus and Debts! (Luke 7:36-50)

Question 4.What does Jesus mean when he talks about debts (7:39–43)? Do we have big or small debts to be cancelled? (We probably think we have only small debts to pay (v 41,42) but big or small counts the same!) Do we show as much love as we should for Jesus who cancelled our debts?

Jesus was talking about the way in which those who followed him and were members of the people of God needed to remember that they were in debt to God. We, living later, know that we rely on Jesus dying for us to cancel the things in our lives, which stop us, being accepted by God. Since ‘all have sinned’ it does not matter whether our sins are big or small they still stop us being accepted by the Lord. Only in Christ can we have acceptance by God.

5. Jesus, the Pharisee and the woman! (Luke 7:36-50)

Question 5. The Pharisee in the final episode of this chapter (v 36–50) is clearly much more concerned with things and ideas. The woman is only concerned with people. What can we learn from these two stories?

It is important to remember that some people are very concerned with people but some (a smaller number), find their interest is taken more by ideas and things than people. Both sorts of people are necessary in a healthy church and a healthy society.

Conclusion

Question 6. In what ways has this chapter stressed faithfulness?

Nearly all this chapter (and the next) is about people acting out their faith as a result of what they saw Jesus do. They were in a very positive way following him, not just thinking about him. That is faithfulness. The message to us must be that we have to follow Jesus, not just go to church on Sunday.

Tap or click here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Partakers Bible Thought – Towards Healed Emotions in the Christian

Partakers Bible Thought

Christian Disciple and Healed Emotions

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23 to 24)

5 If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent – not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9 Another reason I wrote to you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven – if there was anything to forgive – I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

God wants all parts of you to be following Jesus! That includes your thinking, your actions and your attitudes! It means your mind; your body and will are all to be under the control of the Holy Spirit! This includes your emotions. It must be said that this is contrary to some modern thinking, which stipulates that showing emotions can be a ruinous thing! In Scripture, God reveals Himself as emotional! Our Lord Jesus Christ displayed the full gamut of emotions

In the podcast today we look at the Christian Disciple working towards having healed emotions. What are some of the evidence of damaged emotions in the life of the Christian? How can they be overcome? What are some of the principles to bear in mind so this aspect of your life can be in submission to God?
Please do listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more about this aspect in the life of the Christian.

Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file

Bible Thought - God the Holy Spirit

God The Holy Spirit

Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this Podcast as a MP3 file

"When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.” (John 15v26)

 

The Holy Spirit is God, and a member of the Trinitarian Godhead. He is spoken of as God (Acts 5v3-4; 1 Corinthians 3v16). The attributes of God are ascribed to the Holy Spirit life (Romans 8v2), truth (John 16v13) and love (Romans 15v30). It was He who spoke through the Old Testament prophets and induced godliness (Ezekiel 36), and equipped God’s leaders for service (Judges 13v25; Zechariah 4v6).

The Holy Spirit is also a Person: Some people refer to the Holy Spirit as “It”, but they are clearly wrong and in error! The Holy Spirit is always referred to as ‘He’ in the New Testament (John 16v14). He relates to us as a person for He is comforter, guide and teacher (John 14). He can be blasphemed against and be grieved (Ephesians 4v30), and wherever the Holy Spirit is, the Father and Son are also present because they are one. (John 14v18-23).

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

What is the ministry of the Holy Spirit and what does He have to do with Christian Disciples?

1. Glorify Christ

2. The Paraclete – Comforter

3. Declares God’s Word

4. Conviction

5. Salvation

6. Indwelling

7. Sealing / Ownership

8. Security

9. Filling

10. Sanctification

11. Baptism

12. Service

 

For more to think about please do read 1 Corinthians 12v1-10. Ask yourself the following questions, writing them down if you can, and see how you respond or react to them. Then why not share your answers with your spouse or a close friend, so that you can pray over any issues together.

 

Q1. What are my spiritual gifts and am I using them for God’s glory or my own?

Q2. How do I give more of myself to the Holy Spirit?

Q3. How can I as a Christian disciple make the Holy Spirit more active and visible to others?

Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this Podcast as a MP3 file

Bible Thought - Luke Looks Back Part 9

Luke 6: 27-49

The New Way of Jesus

Part 2. Kingdom Ethics

Luke’s Sermon on the Plain continues. We read together Luke 6: 27-49

This is a shorter version of Matthew’s sermon but it still contains no less than 22 separate points! We will look at them in groups.

1. Love your enemies v27, 28

It is easy to miss some of the practical implications of these statements. They mean, for instance, that a Christian will never refuse to speak to someone, whatever they may have said or done. And it will affect our behaviour towards someone who wants the same job as we do.

Question 1: What effect will it have on us if we force ourselves to speak kindly in those sorts of situation? Where else can you think of where obeying Jesus might have some positive results in our everyday and family life?

Pause.

Even if we have to force ourselves to speak well in that sort of situation doing so will have a good effect on our underlying attitudes towards that person. If we fall out with someone at work we must be careful to greet them in exactly our usual cheerful way the next morning. They will find it very hard to respond in anything other than the same way. It is hard to obey Jesus when the inevitable problems of family life occur. Are you the person who is always the first to try and mend a damaged relationship?

2. Not standing up for our rights v29-31

Is it really possible to act like this in the real world? What happens if someone takes my bicycle? Do I give them my motorbike? Perhaps Jesus is making one of his outrageously impossible statements (camels through needles; plucking out eyes etc.) so that we remember better the principle behind what he said. Total obedience to what Jesus taught here would rapidly lead to us having no money at all!

Question 2: What should we do in the practical things of every day to put the principle behind these statements into practice?

Pause.

I think the only possible answer to this is to say we have to be careful not to put ourselves first in what we do but put others in front of ourselves. It is, of course, a great deal easier to say that than to actually do it in the real world we live in. It is also, of course, a great deal easier to hear it said and mentally agree than to go out and do it!

3. Doing better than expected v32–35a

Probably ‘lending’ in that culture, as in many, was a nice way of talking about giving somebody something.

Question 3: Should we ever lend like that without expectation of a return? Shouldn’t we call it what it is from the beginning if that is what we intend, rather than using such double talk?

Pause.

Not all the things our culture wants us to do are necessarily what we should do as followers of Jesus. In some cultures it is more important to say something that pleases the person we are talking to than to tell the truth. Jesus said he was “the way, the truth, and the life”. That means we must be in all things as truthful as we can possibly be even if that is against our culture and traditions.

4. The results of this behaviour v35b, 36

We will probably see that we will have all sorts of problems in living up to what Jesus said. It is so difficult to obey what he said and still live life in the real world. Perhaps it is impossible. But Jesus was probably doing this deliberately to make us see that we can never in ourselves be good enough to appear before the Lord God. We can only rely on his mercy and goodness consequent on the self-sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross for our acceptance.

Question 4: Why does Jesus call us sons, or children, in this context (v36b)?

Pause.

This is to emphasize that we are in a personal relationship with the Father God. And that again can only be through the acceptance that Jesus obtained for us by his death on the Cross. When we call God our Father that means we accept all our fellow Christians as our brothers and sisters.

5. What we give will be what we get v37, 38

The first sentence in v37 is sometimes used to suggest we should never judge anything or anybody at all. But, of course, we do! If we didn’t, how could we ever correct anyone and life in and out of the church would be impossibly difficult.

Question 5: How should we understand v37 in such a way as to be realistic and yet follow Jesus properly?

Pause.

Matthew adds ‘in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’ (Matt 7: 2). If we are prepared to face the truth and be judged by it we may make other people face the truth. If not, not!

Verses 37b and 38 could be taken to mean simply the better you are the better your life will be. Life is never as easy as that (Ps 73: 1-5, 13, 14).

Question 6: How, then, do we understand what Jesus meant?

Pause.

Some people teach a false gospel which promises obvious material blessing to the believer. This is clearly not the way the Kingdom in the world works as Ps 73: 2, 13, 14 points out. The book of Job and Luke 13: 1 –5 say much the same. What we are promised is reward for faithfulness in the day of the Lord when the world comes to an end. We are to look to our own reward and not make judgments on what should happen to other people.

6. How to live for the Kingdom v39–45

The parables of the blind, the student and the plank all, in different ways, emphasize that we need to be walking in the Way of Jesus if we want to be good and do things that matter in the kingdom of the Spirit. We need to be able to see, to be properly trained and not be blinded by things that should not be there. Then the parable of the good tree emphasizes that we need to be the right sort of tree. Being a better thorn bush will not lead to fruit, just bigger thorns!

Question 7: How can we tell whether someone, or ourselves, is the right sort of tree?

Pause.

When we set out to follow Jesus we are told that we shall be saved at the final day. But we are also told that account will be taken of the whole of our lives as followers (Rom 14: 10, 12; 2 Cor 5: 10). It is hard to see how these two teachings fit together. It is best to take them both as the Lord’s word to us and strive to live in the light of both of them.

7. The Summary v46-49

Luke’s version of this story is slightly different from Matthew’s perhaps more familiar one. It is often called ‘the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders’. That is a good title for the parable in Matthew, not so good for this one of Luke’s!

Question 8: What title would more accurately summarize this parable? Pause.

The word ‘foundation’ is the most important one in this parable. It ties this parable to many other Biblical verses. Perhaps the most significant is Isaiah 28: 16 which refers to the temple but is used by Peter (1 Pet 2: 6) of Jesus. In Peter’s little picture Jesus is the all important foundation. Peter, like Jesus, emphasises that we are to do the building.

 

Click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Bible Thought - Luke Looks Back Part 8

Luke Looks Back Chapter 8 (Luke 6:17 – 6: 26)

The Way of Jesus: blessings and woes

Luke wrote his own version of Matthew's more famous Sermon on the Mount. It is much shorter and was preached in 'a level place'. Probably Jesus, like any travelling preacher, used much the same material many times and these are two slightly different reports of what he said.

Please do read Luke 6: 17 - 26

The biggest differences occur in the list of blessings and the woes that Luke, but not Matthew, has after them. Luke has only 4 Blessings and 4 matching Woes. Understanding them can be tricky!

Blessing 1 (v 20).

Question 1: Say which of the following statements are true or false comments about this Blessing? And why? a. All poor people are already in the Kingdom because they are poor and therefore can be sure they will be saved when they die. b. All the poor people who met King Jesus as he walked round Galilee were in the Kingdom because they had met the King and therefore would be saved. c. Jesus was only talking about those who were, and are, spiritually poor - they would be in the Kingdom (Matt 5: 3). d. Jesus didn't say anybody is 'in' the Kingdom he told them who it belongs to. That means it is wide open for the poor but they still have to set out to follow Jesus whole heartedly to be 'in' the Kingdom.

 

It is certainly true that Jesus had a special feeling for the poor people he met and got on better with them than rich people but just poverty by itself does not let anyone into the Kingdom so the first 3 are all false.  To "follow Jesus" is the all important way into the Kingdom which is about what the fourth statement said.

That first blessing was about something that was happening then (present tense). The next 2 blessings 2 and 3 are about the future (future tense).

Blessing 2 (v 21a):

Jesus was talking to a big crowd. In those days many people did not get enough to eat and would be hungry. Matthew interprets this as being about hunger and thirst for righteousness and we should probably understand this that way. The difficult word righteousness is about establishing a relationship (the basic meaning of the word translated righteousness) between the Lord and his people. Which can only be done by making a person good and holy before God, which, fortunately, God by his grace will do for us, for we could never be good enough ourselves.

 

Question 2: Are you hungry, in this spiritual sense, now? Are you prepared to wait to be satisfied later? When will 'later' be? Or are you in too much of a hurry?

 

The Bible consistently teaches that the final justice of God at the judgement day will right all wrongs, particularly for the poor and the hungry who trust him now. But of course most of the answer to this question is something you are going to have to meditate on yourself.

Blessing 3 (v 21b):

Someone has said "those who wish to serve him best are conscious most of sin within".

Question 3: Is it worth weeping over our sins now for the promise of laughing later? Have you any advice for yourself and others as to how to think more about the future and make that a more important factor in the way you live?

Blessing 4 (v 22, 23)

The most important point about all the Blessings only comes in this last one.

Question 4: What is the great condition of this Blessing and all the others (here it is again)? Are the problems of this Blessing certain to happen for the true follower of Jesus?

 

Our joy depends on following the Son of Man, as Jesus called himself. Whether we will be hated, despised, insulted and rejected depends on where we have to live in this world. Some of us have it easy, others do not.

4 Woes. v24 - 26.

Jesus does seem to have a rather poor view of life. He seems to think being rich, well fed, cheerful and well thought of are all bad things. Most of us probably disagree and would defend our right to disagree. What then can we make of these sayings? Perhaps we can start this way - you probably know somebody who is rich, fat, always cheerful and in the middle of a group of people and yet you would not at all like to be that person. Why is that?

Question 5: What are the bad things about being rich, fat, always in the middle of a group of people? Why then did Jesus make these his woes?

You will need to think hard about this one. People like this all too often are what they are because they are careless of other people. They think only of themselves and what they can get out of life, regardless of how many people they hurt and offend on the way. But they have a sort of life force that seems to push them through life successfully. The Psalmist in psalm 73 grumbles about these sort of people and comforted himself saying "God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever".

Right mouse click or tap here here to download as an audio mp3

Bible Thought - Pentecost Sunday

The Holy Spirit Comes

G'day! Today is Pentecost Sunday where Christians around the world remember and celebrate the coming of the promised Holy Spirit! Happy Pentecost!

Jesus has now ascended back to the right hand of the Father. The 12 apostles are now back in Jerusalem and waiting. Waiting for the Holy Spirit to come. The coming of God the Holy Spirit is in fulfilment of the promise that Almighty and All-powerful God would indwell all those people who chose to follow Him. This event was prophesied many years before. An example is from the prophet Ezekiel:

“And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:27)

Throughout His earthly ministry Jesus had talked about how after He departed that God the Holy Spirit would come (John 15:26). Starting today and over the coming few days we will look at the Holy Spirit and into the book of Acts seeing how the Holy Spirit worked within and through the early Church. Let's look together!

Click or tap here to download this podcast as a mp3

Saturday Testimony - Salvation and Healing

Saturday Story

People meeting Jesus 

A story of salvation and healing

Today on Partakers, we 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.

Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file~

Bible Thought - Luke Looks Back Part 7

Luke Looks Back Chapter 7

Luke 5: 27 – 6: 16

The Way of Jesus: people and problems

This passage is a mix of good things about people and some problems Jesus has for us to consider before we start on his positive teaching in the next passage.

The Call of Levi

First there is the story of the call of Levi and a strong suggestion that what he did was good. Then two more stories in which Jesus was challenged over the things he did that people thought he should not do:

• Luke 5:27 - 32   Eating with those with whom one should not eat!
• Luke 5:33 - 39   Eating when one should not eat!
• Luke 6:1 - 11     Doing what one should not do!

Finally Luke gives us the complete list of the Apostles.

First Jesus was eating with those with whom one should not eat - according to those we will call 'the serious' because they were serious about their religion. We read Luke 5:27-32: eating with those with whom one should not eat!

Levi seems to be the same person called Matthew in the other gospels and therefore the person who wrote what we call Matthew's Gospel.

Question 1: What Jesus said to Levi was extremely brief. Just two words: "follow me". How does that differ from what one would expect a religious teacher to say to a possible disciple?

This is not a call to follow a system, a philosophy, or a religion. It is a straight call to follow one person: Jesus. The true call to discipleship is just the same today. There are many half-hearted Christians in the world today. A good question for them is "do you follow Jesus?".

Question 2: Meals are particularly important in Luke's Gospel. Only Luke calls this one a "great banquet" and says the serious people "complained" about who was there. Why does Luke emphasise what happened here so much?

Luke recognises that, for Jesus, life and faith were all about including people in as much as possible rather than turning them away as not good enough, not learned enough, not old enough - anything else for which people are 'not enough'. Doing that still upsets people who consider themselves serious in matters of religion!

Jesus and rules!

In the next story Jesus did not argue against the principles of the Law of Moses but against all the many little rules that people had added to it. He knew that if people are given many rules they will forget the greater principles they should be thinking about. So concern for all these detailed rules would hide the new things he was teaching, particularly those relating to the work of the Spirit. The challenge to us is to identify which of our rules, written or unwritten, get in the way of what we should really be doing. All too often we continue to do the things that our parents and grandparents decided were the right things to do when they were young. But the world we are living in is changing all the time, perhaps faster than it has ever done before. The things that are not part of the necessary centre of our faith may need to be changed. Jesus explains that in some very vivid and exciting short sayings.

Read Luke 5: 33 - 39  : eating when one should not eat!

Question 3: What would you identify as your problems - as a group or as an individual? What are your 'old wine skins' that need to be changed? How? In what way?

The answers to both this and the next question are going to depend very much on your circumstances.

Jesus said "the old wine is better". He is being sarcastic. He knows many think old things are better than new things as old wine is better than new wine but he is challenging his followers to new and better things.

Question 4: What are the things that tend to prevent you, together or individually, moving on to the new and better things of faith? Remember Paul said "if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

The last two stories Luke 6: 1 - 5 and Luke 6:6-11 are both about Sabbath keeping. The Sabbath was the Saturday religious day of the Jews. The early Christians changed their day of celebration to Sunday, the first day of the week, in memory of the resurrection of Jesus. This was one of the three things (keeping the food laws, Sabbath keeping, circumcision) Jews of that time did to show that they really were the people of God.

We read Luke 6: 1 - 11: doing what one should not do!

Question 5: What do Christians in your culture do to show that they are Christians? In particular, what things do they do that are really just a matter of custom and tradition and not really necessary to show they are Christians? Are those things good things of themselves or do they really hinder other people becoming Christians?

Question 6: What did Jesus think about Sabbath keeping? What did Jesus think was more important than rules like that? What would Jesus think about the rules you have identified in your world?

Micah, an Old Testament prophet said "what does the Lord desire of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" and said that the Lord did not want offerings and sacrifices. Although Jesus never actually quoted those words he often alluded to them.

Jesus chooses and appoints his disciples.

Read Luke 6: 12 - 16.

Of those 12 men only one, John, is certainly known to have died of old age. Peter was crucified upside down (because he did not want to be crucified the same way up as Jesus) in Rome, Thomas probably got the furthest and was killed in south India, the rest died here and there in the ancient world as they proclaimed the good message of Jesus.

Question 7: In calling the Twelve Jesus commissioned them not only to action on his behalf but imitation of him in both life and work. So it is today. Which part of the Christian way do you find most difficult?

Tap or click here to download as an audio mp3

Prayers Ukraine Russia War Молитви за Україну - Molytvy za Ukrayinu

 

G'day! Today we are praying a series of prayers concerning the Ukraine Russian conflict and war. Молитви за Україну / Molytvy za Ukrayinu

Come! Let's pray together and say your "Amen!" or "May it be so, Lord!"

Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file