Partakers Christian Podcasts

Bible Thought - Luke Looks Back Part 6

Luke Looks Back Part 6 

Luke 4:31-5:26 - The Authority of the Messiah

This passage has been carefully structured by Luke around the idea of authority. It starts off with 2 episodes in which Jesus shows his authority by first driving out an evil spirit and then healing many people. It ends with 2 episodes in which Jesus heals a man of leprosy, a symbol of evil, and heals a paralysed man. In between these 2 pairs of episodes Jesus shows his authority by proving that he, a carpenter, can catch more fish than the fishermen can. This middle story is the most important because it shows the authority Jesus had most clearly.

First we read Luke 4: 31 - 44

Question 1: Twice in these episodes, when the man with an evil demon calls him 'the Holy One of God' and when the demons call him 'the Son of God', Jesus was more accurately identified by demonic powers than by ordinary people. Why was that? What are our modern day equivalents?

That is a hard question to answer. Perhaps the otherworldly powers were more sensitive to the power of Jesus than ordinary people were. Are we as sensitive to the things of the Lord as we should be?

Question 2: Why does Luke tell us that Simon's mother-in-law went straight back to the housework.

Luke tells us how complete and natural the healing was. Simon's mother-in-law was able to go back into the kitchen and work. In the ordinary way she would have needed time to recover from the fever. The healing by Jesus was very special. In the same way when he heals us of our problems, physical, mental or spiritual, he often heals us instantly.

The story of Luke 5: 1 - 11 is clearly the most important part of this passage. Fishing with nets in the Sea of Galilee was done when the fish rose to feed on the surface at night. There could only possibly have been a shoal near the surface in the daylight if a new fresh water spring had opened up in the seabed. (This is an area of volcanic activity). Jesus knew something nobody else did.

We read these verses now. 5: 1 - 11

Question 3: What might Simon and John have said to each other when they thought Jesus could not hear when he, a carpenter, told them to go fishing in broad daylight!

"Who does he think he is?" "Telling us where and when to fish indeed." "What does he know about it?" "He's only a carpenter." "Thinking because he is a prophet he knows where to fish. What rubbish!" And so on.

A boat of those days has been dug up. It was 8m long and 2m wide. So it would have needed a crew of rowers and would have held a lot of fish before it began to sink! So this was a very big catch meaning enough money for many weeks for the families concerned.

Question 4: What did Peter do which he must have done so that nobody else was able to share their good fortune (listen again to v 7)?

Signalling instead of shouting would have stopped other fisherman realising what had happened and joining in the big catch.

Question 5: What does this episode teach us about the relationship between money and spiritual commitment?

Practical rewards do sometimes follow devotion of time and energy to spiritual matters as they did in this case. But they do not always do so. We must be prepared to sacrifice things for the sake of the Kingdom.

Question 6: Peter wanted to distance himself from Jesus when he 'fell at Jesus' knees and said "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man"' because he thought the unclean contaminated the clean and he was unclean. How did Jesus view this? What is the implication for us?

Peter was following the teaching of the OT. Leviticus 10: 10 says, 'distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean'. These teachings were mainly about ceremonial cleanliness. Jesus ignored such things. He taught that the things that matter are love God and loving our neighbour. Ceremony is not important in the Kingdom of God.

Question 7: Peter recognised the authority of Jesus over him as a result of the events on the lake. How do we know Jesus has authority over us?

The disciples had seen a great miracle. But so do we when the Almighty God calls us to follow him and we respond. He then forgives our sins, promises us final salvation at the end of the ages and gives us his Holy Spirit to guide us until then. If we do not recognize his authority we are poor judges of what is good and great and what is of great advantage for us!

Read Luke 5: 12 - 26.

"Leprosy" in the Bible may not have been what we call leprosy these days but any of many skin diseases.

Question 8: Jesus said "I am willing" and touched the man. What does that tell us about Jesus?

Jesus entered fully into human life. He related easily to the outcast, leper man and touched him. That made him, Jesus, unclean under Jewish law but Jesus ignored that. He was interested in the realities of life not the details of religious practice.

Question 9: The paralysed man's sins were forgiven not because of his faith but of 'their faith'. Do you think one person's faith can work to heal someone else today?

If faith cannot work like that there is not much point in praying for anyone else - which we all do. It is lovely the way Jesus says 'I am willing' to heal someone and calls the guy on the stretcher 'friend' even although his friends have just made a mess of the roof of what was probably his, Jesus' , house.

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Thursday Testimony Story - God Said No

G'day and welcome to Partakers! Today we hear a testimony of how Partakers began! May 2007, in the final week before final dissertation submission at Moorlands College, I collapsed while at the GP. While unconscious I said "Dad, can I come home now?"

To which I was told by God, "No. Get up. We have a job for you to do." So I sat up, and the emergency paramedics came in, almost fainted and said: "You aren't supposed to be sitting up..." Collapse caused by sepsis due to ingrown hairs on my leg... Because of these events, we now do what we are doing, thanks be to God, reaching over 120 countries a year via social networks, paperbacks, ebooks, Podcasts and YouTube... Thanks for being part of our life, and I hope that I have shown in some way, that God loves you...

Come on in, listen to what happened next, how we began. By listening, you are sharing in the work that God has been doing through us!

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Bible Thought - Luke Looks Back Part 5

Luke Looks Back Chapter 5

Study 5 - Luke 4:14-30

The Announcement of the Messiah

We start off this study with a question. Question 1: Where was your hometown? What was, or is, memorable about it?

Read Luke:4:14 to 23.

Nazareth was the hometown of Jesus, where he grew up. It was a small village in the middle of the province of Galilee, mainly of Galileans but including some Jews from the far away province of Judea. The people of Galilee were often of mixed ancestry so there is likely to have been considerable antagonism between them and the purer blooded Judean Jews who regarded themselves as the only proper Jews. As a result Judean Jews of Nazareth, as the family of Jesus were, were most probably foreigners in their own community. The two slightly different peoples were probably not friendly to each other. That, not the best of places, was where Jesus spent most of his childhood days!

Luke uses the story of what happened when Jesus read from the OT book of Isaiah in the synagogue there, to start explaining how we are to understand the ministry of Jesus. Jesus had to deal with a strong expectation among ordinary people that the Messiah would behave in certain ways. He had a major job to change that expectation.

Jesus read just one and a half verses from Isaiah 6. We will read more verses to get the context of what he read. We may assume his listeners knew the passage well so that hearing the verses he read they would immediately remember the following verses. Listen carefully to the picture these verses give.

Isaiah 61: 1 - 7.

Question 2: What would those verses have made them think Jesus was going to do if he really was the Messiah? What would they have been expecting him to call on them to do?

Like many of the other passages in the Old Testament that talk about the Messiah these verses would have made them expect leadership in a successful military campaign against the Romans. Brothers, called the Maccabees, had led Israel against the Syrians 200 years earlier with great success. If he succeeded the men would expect to have to join his army. Of course, we know that such a venture would have been hopeless. The Roman armies were exceedingly difficult to beat. Only the most warlike of peoples in other parts of the Empire had any success against them, and then not for very long.

Question 3: The next half verse in Isaiah to the one Jesus read says 'and the day of vengeance of our God'. He stopped without reading that out. What would that have suggested to the people who listened to him?

I think they would have found it a great puzzle, which is why they listened to what he said next so carefully. He seemed to be promising that he would be a mighty spiritual leader but not a war leader. They would have thought of 'the day of vengeance' as the day when their God would bring the world they knew to an end with the defeat of the hated Romans.

Read Luke 4:24 - 30

Question 4: Jesus went on to remind them of the stories of the widow of Zarephath and Elijah (1 Kings 17: 2 - 10a the brook Kerith was east of Jericho, Zarephath was the other side of Israel near Sidon, a Phoenician city)) and of Naaman and Elisha (2 Kings 5: 1, Aram was another name for Syria ). Why did Jesus do that? What point was he making, apart from the obvious one of 'not in my hometown'?

All these places were outside Israel. He was saying that as they rejected him he was going to go to other people outside Israel. They did not like that idea at all. Quite why he did that is a bit of a mystery.

Question 5: If a politician, wanting to influence people and starting off an election campaign was nearly lynched - murdered by a mob - as Jesus was he would not be likely to get on very well.  The story does not give a good impression of Jesus. Why does Luke tell us about this episode when he could so easily not have done so? What is it about the ministry of Jesus that Luke wants us to think about?

Luke is expecting what he writes to be read mainly by Gentiles - Romans. He has emphasised that the 2 great prophets Elijah and Elisha helped Gentiles. Christian faith is for all peoples, not any special nation or people group. Probably the fact that Jesus was rejected by the Jews like this made him sound better to a Roman, like Theophilus! But, above and beyond that, Luke will have chosen this episode because it gives such a clear picture of what Jesus was going to do in his ministry.

Question 6: It says, "Jesus walked right through the crowd and went on his way". What does that suggest?

It tells us that Jesus had an unusual air of authority about him. Perhaps too, that angels protected him.

Question 7: Looking now at the whole story - what 2 things is Jesus emphasising by what he says and does that are of fundamental importance in our understanding of God and of faith?

He has appealed to the Scriptures of the Old Testament to establish who he is. And the Scripture he read emphasised the work of the Spirit both for preaching and healing. These are the 2 fundamental sources for our understanding too - the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit - though we have, of course, the tremendous advantage of having the writings of the New Testament as well as those of the Old.

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Bible Thought - Luke Looks Back Part 4

Luke Looks Back Chapter 4

Luke 3:19-4:13

The Preparation of the Messiah: his baptism

Luke rather oddly records the imprisonment of John (3: 19, 20) before the baptism of Jesus by John. He does this because only Jesus is really important in the rest of the story.

He continues his account of the preparation of Jesus for his ministry with first his baptism and then his temptation.

1)     Ice breaker. What was the most memorable part of your baptism (if you were old enough to remember it) or confirmation?

2)     Matthew tells us why Jesus was baptised (Matt 3: 15). Luke is only concerned with what happened when he was (v 21 - 23). Which major Christian teachings are important in what happened? Why is it important for us to hear about these before we hear about Jesus starting his ministry?

Genealogies were important in those days to show who someone was. Why this one is considerably different from the one that Matthew gives is not clear. Both are carefully structured around (different) multiples of seven. Probably Luke is most interested in his last line: Jesus was the son of God.

The main purpose of the three temptations is to teach us things about Jesus. Things like the order of the temptations, different in different Gospels, are not important. We will explore five emphases of the temptations in the following questions:

3)     The temptations make clear the nature of Jesus' work as the Son of God. In which verses in this story is Jesus called the Son of God? What sort of Messiah will the people have been expecting from texts like: Gen 49: 10; Num 24: 17 - 19; 1 Sam 21: 11 (an example of how a Davidic king was supposed to be); Ps 2: 6  - 12; Is 11: 1,4,10 - 14; Dan 7: 13, 14, 27; Zec 9: 9 - 17? How do the temptations show that what they were getting was very different from what they expected? Which were fulfilled then and which are still to be fulfilled?

4)     Share something of how your own understanding of Jesus has changed during your Christian life as you have learned more about him.

5)     The temptations of Jesus are very like some of  the great events of Israel's history. Read Ex 16: 2 -4; 17: 1 - 7; 32: 1 - 4; and 1 Cor 10: 1 - 7. Which story in  Exodus is like each one of the 3 temptations? What is the fundamental difference between each pair of experiences?

6)     The temptations demonstrate the antagonism of Satan to the Kingdom of God. In some churches Satan is never mentioned; some talk too much about him, blaming him for every thing that goes wrong even when it is a very human fault. How would you rate our emphasis on Satan: too much, too little or just right? How does it compare with the emphasis in Luke's story?

7)     The temptations emphasise that Jesus' ministry is the fulfilment of scripture. Identify how they do this. This emphasis is particularly important in the end of Luke's Gospel at  Lk 24: 32. What do you find the hardest part of reading and learning from scripture? What tips can you give other people to ease the problem?

8)     The temptations show Jesus' followers a way to  resist temptations. The basic ideas behind the three temptations are 1) using your faith for personal gain; 2) using it to make yourself look good before other people; 3) putting God to the test in practical ways. Look at each temptation and decide whether those are the right descriptions of them. If not, what is? In what ways, often trying to hide their real motives, do people sometimes try to put God to the test? Which of these temptations do you experience most?

9)     The devil left Jesus 'until an opportune time' (v 13). When, or under what circumstance, does he get a good opportunity to go after us? What can we do to discourage him?

 

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Bible Thought - Luke Looks Back Part 3

Luke Looks Back Chapter 3

Luke 3:1-18

Heralding the Messiah

Luke continues with his careful introduction to Jesus' ministry. He tells us all about John because John came before, and announced, Jesus. One thing he is going to make very clear throughout his book is that while John was a prophet Jesus was more than a prophet.

First we read Luke 3:1-9

Luke in 3: 4 - 6 uses Isaiah's great picture of hope in Isaiah 40:3-5, which prophesies the return of the Lord and his people to Jerusalem after the exile, as a picture of the coming of the Lord Jesus to the people of God. John is the voice. Jesus is the Lord.

An obvious first question to make you think, although it does not come directly from this passage is this:

What is your hope? How far does your hope change the way you live from day to day? Where should our hope be placed?

Obviously the first part of that question has an individual answer, not an only right one. Our hope should be placed on being with Jesus in his heavenly kingdom and then after our resurrection on being part of his kingdom when heaven and earth meet to form the new heaven and new earth that is our ultimate destination.

Second question: the basic message that John preached was 'a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins'.  How does this compare with the messages you hear preached these days? Are the differences only because John was preaching before the life and death of Jesus and the preaching you hear is from long after?  Or are there differences there ought not to be?

Again the answer to that question depends on your situation.

The last verse we read: ' the axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.' Is harsh.

Third question: in what ways can we see that happening in our day and in our society?

Yet another question where the answer depends on who we are and where we are. When you look at the world today and see what a mess it is in because of men's greed and lust for power it hasn't improved much since John's day.

Part B - Read Luke 3:10-18

When the people asked him how they were to live to show they had truly repented John gave them 4 practical examples in this passage. Two ways they were to look after the poor: giving tem clothes and food. Two ways they were not to be corrupt and to be good and honest in all things: the examples of the tax collectors and the soldiers.

Question 4: If he had been talking to us what examples would he have given? Were his examples, particularly the first two, really practical? (It would not be long before they ran out of spare clothes and food.) How realistic are the examples you think he might have given to you? How well can we follow these examples when we have to live in the real world we find ourselves in?

Pause.

Yet again the answers will all depend on who and where you are.

John talked about 3 things: a prophetic warning of coming judgement (flee from the wrath to come... the axe at the root of the trees ...); calling for justice and compassion in our dealings with others (sharing clothes and food ... honesty in all things ... ); and a right attitude to the coming Messiah (accepting the baptism of the Holy Spirit ).

Question 5: Different churches major on one or other of the present day equivalents of these.'  Which do our churches make the most of? On which do we fall short?

Pause.

Like all the questions on this passage we have to ask ourselves how they apply to us. And I cannot tell you what your answers should be!

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Bible Thought - Luke Looks Back Part 2

Luke Looks Back

Chapter 2

Not all the stories commonly believed about the birth of Jesus are true to the actual facts. He was born before Herod died in 4 BC ,in Bethlehem, which was not his parent's home village, probably in an ordinary house (the word translated 'inn' can mean a guest room or just the sleeping area in a house; the manger would be between the family area and the livestock area).

Not all the stories commonly believed about the birth of Jesus are true to the actual facts. He was born before Herod died in 4 BC ,in Bethlehem, which was not his parent's home village, probably in an ordinary house (the word translated 'inn' can mean a guest room or just the sleeping area in a house; the manger would be between the family area and the livestock area).

Luke 1:1-20

Question 1. Luke carefully says the birth of King Jesus occurred during the reign of Caesar Augustus (v 1), who was a great and good Roman Emperor who brought lasting peace to a world in which there had been many wars. What does he want us to learn from this? One of the main themes of this, as all the Gospels, is the collision between the kingdom of Caesar and the kingdom of God. Luke was writing to Christians who might be martyred for refusing to say Caesar is Lord because they believed Jesus is Lord. Luke wants us to understand the enormous significance of what was happening.

Question 2. Why does Luke choose to focus on the low caste shepherds rather than Matthew's high caste Wise Men? As we noted in the first study Luke emphasises the poor, the weak and the lost; not the rich, the healthy and the found. The title 'Christ the Lord' appears only here in the NT. The word 'Christ' has two meanings. It is a Greek word of the New Testament equivalent to the Hebrew word 'Messiah' of the Old Testament. Here, and generally in the Gospels, it is a title meaning 'the Anointed One'; later, in the Epistles it becomes part of Jesus' name. The most recent English versions use 'Messiah' when it is a title; 'Christ' when it is a name. Here it should be "the Lord Messiah". Our nearest translation in everyday words is "King Jesus". It is important to remember that when Luke uses this title he means 'the very special God-appointed Anointed One'.

Question 3. A lot of people travelled to Bethlehem: Joseph and Mary, the shepherds, the Wise Men. Why did each of them go? What did they intend to do when they got there? Why are we told these things? What are we meant to learn from what happened? They all travelled in the purposes of God. It was important that those from both the top and the bottom of the society of those days should be there to see the baby King. They probably had only the vaguest idea of why they were there; they were there for our benefit - so we could be told about them and marvel at the stories.

Luke 2: 21-52

Question 4. What does Simeon say (v 30 - 32) which introduces a new and important idea that neither Zechariah nor Mary mentioned? Simeon relates what is happening to the lives of ordinary people. They will experience salvation and the promise made to Abraham long ago that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" will finally come true.

Question 5. Remembering that the Romans occupied their country, what did Anna mean when she spoke about the 'redemption of Jerusalem' (v 38)? She was probably thinking in a very practical way that the Romans would be thrown out of Jerusalem. It wasn't going to work like that! She spoke something that was a true prophecy but not in the way she thought.

Question 6. In order to emphasise that Jesus came for both men and women Luke pairs up a story involving a man with one involving a woman at least 27 times in his gospel. Identify where he does this in these first two chapters. Which is the most important member of the pair on each of these occasions? Zechariah and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna. The men and the women are about evenly balanced in importance.

Question 7. What do the episodes from the childhood of Jesus (v 40, 46 - 48, 51, 52) tell us about Jesus? What are we being told here: he was God or he was a man? Which do you find it most difficult to believe? Why? His life as a human being is being emphasised here. Jesus appears to have been a particularly bright and intelligent lad.

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Bible Thought - Luke Looks Back Part 1

Luke Looks Back

Chapter 1

Introduction

Luke 1: 1 - 80 Preparations for the Advent of the Messiah This is the first of a set of studies of the life of Jesus written by a man called Luke. The studies are in the form of sets of questions for a group, or an individual, to think over and discuss. In his first 4 verses written in different, better Greek than the rest of the book, Luke announces what he is going to do. Luke makes it clear he is writing history by emphasising the way in which he has researched the life of Jesus and the surrounding events.  The other three Gospel writers write life stories more narrowly focused on Jesus. Luke was writing to a man called Theophilus who, judging by the formal way Luke addresses him, must have been someone rather important.

Study 1

Reading:  (Luke 1: 1 - 4), Here is the first question: Luke  wants to give Theophilus 'certainty' about the things he has been taught by Christians (v 4). Where can we get certainty about the things we have been taught? Theophilus's certainty was to come from what Luke wrote: facts of history. Our's comes from the same place: the record of how God related to his people and the world, told to us in the word of God, the Bible. Luke starts off with background information about Jesus, explaining the story of his cousin, John the Baptist. This sort of information is the way Greeks wrote history. Luke is being careful to fit in with the expected ways to write history of his day.

Study 2

First we get a description of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John in Luke 1:5-25. Second question: What were the good things about this couple that made them the right sort of people to be the parents of a prophet? There were also some things about them that were not so good. What were they? What are we meant to learn from these good and 'not so good' things? Notice here: The good things are obvious; the not so good ones less so. Childlessness was a great disgrace in their culture. We shall see that Luke keeps on drawing attention to people who were poor, of low status and generally disadvantaged. Luke, like Matthew, emphasises the very special and unique way Jesus was conceived

Study 3

Read  Luke 1:v 26 - 38 Question 3 . What would the village gossips have said had happened? (note what was said in Jn 8: 41 which probably refers to this. The village gossips will have concluded that Mary was not a virgin and Jesus was born illegitimately. The "no reputation" of some of the older English translations of Phil 2: 7 will have had a very literal practical meaning for Jesus and his mother. Question 4: Why was Jesus conceived this way? What difference did it make to who he was? Jesus had to be fully human so that he could share our humanity (Heb 2: 14) and to be fully God so that his sacrificial death could be effective for more than just himself. In the early church they said "Jesus was as we are and therefore he will help; in other ways he was not as we are and therefore he can help" Although the point is never made in the New Testament it is likely that only through the virgin birth (more accurately, the virgin conception) could he be both. The angel said he was to be called the 'son of God' (v 35). That was a very special title in those days. The king of Judea was considered to be a 'son of God' (Ps 2: 7). So was the whole nation of Israel (Hos 11: 1). The Romans called their Emperor the son of a god. It does not mean that God had intercourse with Mary. That is a dreadful thing to suggest.

Study 4

Read  Luke 1: 39 - 56. Mary's song is lovely. What can Mary possibly have meant by v 51 - 53? (Herod was still alive and a very dangerous man, half crazy and vicious to anybody he thought might challenge his rule.) Herod (the first Herod, Herod the Great) was a terrible man who killed many people including his favourite wife and his own sons on the merest suspicion of treason. Mary must have been speaking prophetically, going far beyond what could have been expected from the young village girl that she was.

Study 5

Read  Luke 1:57 - 80. What happened (v 62,63) was very like the late change of name that seems to have been a frequent mark of someone having something very special to do. (Abram = Abraham; Simon = Peter, Saul = Paul etc.) What would those who heard the prophecy of Zechariah have thought he meant by the first part of what he said where he praised the Lord (v 68 - 75)? And how would they have understood the second part where he spoke about the future of his baby (v 76 - 79)? Which part sounds like politics and which like preaching? It is important to remember that the whole life of Jesus took place against a background of continual trouble between the people of that country and the occupying power of Rome. There were many attempted rebellions against the Romans. The Jews did not understand how they could be the Lord's people and not be in control of their own country. Even the ordinary Jewish people were desperately hoping a strong man would appear and lead them in a military campaign against the Romans. There were major rebellions against Roman rule both before and after the time of Jesus all of them unsuccessful. Those about 40 years and 120 years after the death of Jesus were particularly unsuccessful and eventually led to terrible revenge being taken by the Romans and the deaths of millions of people. This background is reflected in what Zechariah said. I hope that at the news of the coming Saviour your heart has leapt within you as the baby John leapt in Elizabeth!

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Sharon’s Story from China - Partakers Bible Thought

The story of Sharon

The story of Sharon, from China, who converted to Christianity from Daoism/Buddhism. 

 

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Bible Thought Sermon - God and His Church

God and His church!

As Christian Disciples, we declare that we believe in God! That's what we have been doing in our praises and testimonies! Somebody asked last week what I meant by a WOWFactor of God! Just that - testimonies of how great is our God. As Christian Disciples, we declare that we not only believe in the existence of God, but that we can know God personally! We declare that we can grow in our knowledge of this great and Almighty God who is infinite and beyond our limitations of space and time! This great and awe-inspiring God we trust, obey, follow and worship, amazing as it sounds, is personable and knowable. This God we worship is a personal God and not a remote being or an un-emotive statue to place on a shelf. More than that, this God wants to be known. So with that said, just who is God?

1. Who is God?

God's Natural Attributes

God's Moral Attributes

2. Our Relational Response

God desires to bring people back into relationship with Himself! To do so, God established a New Covenant! This Covenant has four main features:

• Justification - Sins will be forgiven and removed.
• Promised Holy Spirit - God will live inside people and they will be led by Him.
• Regeneration -God will renew & restore people.
• Restoration - God will be their God, and they will be His people.

The Church

Fellowship

Worship

Evangelism

Jesus' WOWFactor

As I close, here is my own WOWFactor about Jesus, the Son of God. My Jesus is unique, majestic, tender, wise, strong, and lovely. My Jesus, whom I seek to serve and obey in every facet of life. I often don't achieve it, but I know that when I fall and fail, I can ask for forgiveness and He will grant it from His wellsprings of grace and mercy. It is this Jesus whom I depend upon and personally know to be totally reliable in every way. When people let me down, turn away from me, discourage me, think wrongly off me, or incorrectly assume my motives.
This Jesus always picks me up. He never turns me away. He always encourages and embraces me. At the end of the day, I know that Jesus has been dependable, going ahead of me throughout the day! I give Him thanks. Amazing! This Jesus who died on a Roman cross two thousand years ago was the same Jesus who was raised from the dead, without decay, into newness of life and ascended to the right hand of the Father. What is more, this Jesus is coming back to gather His followers, to Himself. Jesus is coming back, but not as a baby this time. There will be no kitchy-kitchy koo factor this time. No! Jesus the Son of God, is coming back as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Are you ready?

Amazing! This God-man, Jesus, is coming back and He will do the most extraordinary thing. We read about it in Revelation 21:4 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Isn't that just the most amazing verse of Scripture? Picture the scene! Jesus Christ taking your face in His scarred hands and wiping away your tears - tears of suffering and tears of joy. You will say to yourself, it was all worth it - the trials, temptations, sufferings and experiences I have had for the sake of Jesus Christ my Master. Are you ready for Him?

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What Christians Believe - Nicene Creed

This year, Christians around the world are observing the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea — an event that significantly influenced the Christian faith and continues to unify believers across centuries and traditions. Convened in 325 by Emperor Constantine in what is now modern-day Turkey, the Council of Nicaea resulted in the creation of the Nicene Creed: the first universal summary of Christian belief. We pray together and when Christians pray together, from different nations, different churches and different denominations - that reveals Church unity! Come! Let us pray and profess together!

Nicene Creed

What we believe as Christians...

 

We believe in one God,

the Father Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth,

and of all that is,

seen and unseen.

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We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God,

Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one being with the Father.

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Through Him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

He came down from heaven:

by the power of the Holy Spirit,

He became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,

and was made man.

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For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

He suffered death and was buried.

On the third day He rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures:

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

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We believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son,

He is worshipped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets.

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We believe in one, holy,

catholic (universal), and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come.

~

Amen

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