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Episodes
Wednesday Sep 29, 2021
Wednesday Sep 29, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
29 September 2021
32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
(Mark 10:32-34)
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.” (John 19:28-37)
Jesus Christ died, falsely accused of plotting to destroy the temple, committing blasphemy and threatening insurrection against Rome. None of those things were true – at least in the way those who heard him interpreted them.
Today we are looking at the death of the Messiah, Jesus Christ and look back on the series so far and see how this is part of the culmination of the big story of the Bible. We explore together questions such as: How do the events we have looked at together so far meet at the death of Jesus Christ? What is the glory of his death? What has been achieved through His death? Was Jesus’ death, an end, or was it simply a beginning? Listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more in this part of telling the Bible’s big story and the death of the long awaited for Messiah, Jesus Christ.
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Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
28 September 2021
1 I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.
2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant,
4 ‘I will establish your line forever
and make your throne firm through all generations.’”
(Psalm 89:1-4)
1 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” (Matthew 11:1-6)
We are now approaching the climax of the Biblical story: the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. But there is a curiosity here. The ancient creeds of the Christian church say things like: "… born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate …" without a word about his life in between. We, too, give a great deal of attention to Christmas and Easter, but probably not so much to his life in between. Yet, at a rough count, there are only 4 chapters in total in the 4 Gospels about his birth, 14 about his death, but no less than 73 about his life in between. What, in our excitement about his birth as a human being, the incarnation, and his death, for our salvation, are we missing?
Today we are looking at the coming of the long awaited for Messiah, Jesus Christ. We explore together questions such as: Who was this Messiah that the nation of Israel had been told to wait for? What would this Messiah do? What is going to happen to the Kingdom of God? Listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more in this part of telling the Bible’s big story and the coming of the long awaited for Messiah, Jesus Christ.
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Monday Sep 27, 2021
Monday Sep 27, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
27 September 2021
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”
20 After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 33:17-22)
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
“He is good; his love endures forever.”(2 Chronicles 7: 1-)
Most of the Old Testament is taken up with the steady decline of the life and faithfulness of Israel from the high point of the Exodus and their understanding, experience and the closeness of the Lord. To trace that decline we will follow the story of the place where the Lord was: the tent of meeting, the tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple.
Today we are looking at the long and steady decline of Israel away from closeness with the Lord God. We explore together questions such as: We explore together questions such as: How were Ancient Israel to worship God? How would God be present at the middle of His people, Israel? What occurred to show God’s displeasure with Israel’s unfaithfulness? What hope was there still to come?
Listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more in this part of telling the Bible’s big story, the long and steady decline of Israel away from closeness with the Lord God.
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Sunday Sep 26, 2021
Sunday Sep 26, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
26 September 2021
3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:1-6)
8 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said. (Exodus 7:8-13)
The next major action in the Biblical story is the return from Egypt of all the descendants of Jacob/Israel 400 years after Joseph took them there. What are most interesting are not the details of their history but the way in which God, the LORD, reveals himself to them. He does this in 3 ways:
- He tells them his name
- He carries out many overt acts demonstrating the power of his activity on their behalf
- He stations himself in the middle of his people to travel with them.
That is knowledge, action and presence. Today we are looking at how and why God reveals Himself. We explore together questions such as: In what way does God reveals Himself to Moses? Why does God reveal Himself? In what way is knowledge, action and presence part of God’s working with Moses and Israel? Listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more in this part of telling the Bible’s big story, God revealing Himself to Moses.
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Saturday Sep 25, 2021
Saturday Sep 25, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
25 September 2021
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you; I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. (Genesis 12:1-9)
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. (Romans 4:1-5)
Amazingly God’s original plan had not worked out. God had created a perfect world, so perfect that he said it was ‘very good’. Into it he had put a man and a woman and, because they were made in his, God’s, image they had the power of self-will and decision making. And it had all gone wrong. Mankind was unable to relate to God because God was holy and pure and they were neither. What could God do about it – working within his self-imposed limits that it would be done through human beings? What God chose to do was to take a man from whom would come a family, and from that family a nation, and give him the responsibility to turn it all around and make it work. That man was Abraham.
Today we are looking and exploring Israel and Abraham. We explore together questions such as: What is God’s plan now that humanity have fallen into sin? What does God’s promise to Abraham contain? How was Abraham credited with righteousness? Where does Israel fit into that plan and promise? Where do we in the 21st century fit into this plan and promise of God? Listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more in this second part of telling the Bible’s big story, Israel and Abraham.
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Friday Sep 24, 2021
Friday Sep 24, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
24 September 2021
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Genesis 3:1-11)
19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Romans 8 :19-22)
What has been your biggest disappointment? The moment when something really special you had planned, or made, or hoped for did not work out and your dreams came crashing to the ground? It seems rather extraordinary but that seems to be what happened to God, the Designer and Creator of all that is.
He had planned and built the perfect world for Adam and Eve and their descendants, put them in the most perfect garden ever, and they – the two of them – had immediately spoiled it and brought the whole scheme crashing to the ground. I know we say God knows everything including the future but in the introduction to the story of the Flood we read that the LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth and his heart was deeply troubled (Genesis 6:6-7). God was disappointed – whatever the systematic theologians may say are his attributes. Adam and Eve were the first to get it wrong and therefore most at fault.
Yesterday, in our last podcast, we looked at Creation. Today we are looking and exploring what we call the Fall of humanity. We explore together questions such as: What does the Bible say happened in what we call “the Fall”? Is there any hope for reconciliation between God and humanity? Did God really regret making humanity? What is the true nature of humanity? Listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more in this second part of telling the Bible’s big story and the fall of humanity.
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Thursday Sep 23, 2021
Thursday Sep 23, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
23 September 2021
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1:1-5)
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. (Psalm 19:1-6)
In His wisdom God has told us about himself through stories, some connected, some disconnected, some big, some small. Quite how we can come to understand something about God this way is not clear but we do. By story I do not mean something that is not true.
The Bible is one huge story, the greatest story ever told. But we tend to read it and hear about it only in small, disconnected chunks and have never heard any attempt to put the most important parts of it together as a big, continuous story. This set of studies aims to put that right! (Even although much modern thinking rejects the idea of big stories, thinking they only function as a method of control. But then perhaps God knows better than the moderns.) at best this story will only partly succeed because the Bible is so infinitely varied everyone sees different, hidden depths in it.
There are 5 major parts to the story which we will explore together over the next 2 weeks. They are: the Creation, the Fall, Israel, Jesus and the Church.
Today, we explore together questions about Creation such as: What does the Bible say the story of this world and humanity begin? How did everything commence? Why was everything started? What does all this mean to us in the 21st century? Listen or download the mp3 podcast to find out more in this first part of telling the Bible’s big story.
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Wednesday Aug 04, 2021
Wednesday Aug 04, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
4 August 2021
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” (John 10:25-30)
4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:4-6)
As a Christian, you are called to persevere! Did you know that? Perseverance is the continuous operation of the Holy Spirit in the believer, by which the work of divine grace that is begun in the heart is continued and brought to completion.
The New Testament has a lot to say about perseverance and the Christian! How can Christians persevere despite all that life throws at them? Why should Christians persevere and for what reason? What does perseverance mean for the Christian and their life of following Jesus Christ?
Come and discover more about the Christian persevering by listening to the podcast!
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Sunday Aug 01, 2021
Sunday Aug 01, 2021
A Strategy to Cope With Covid19 Pandemic
It is almost 40 years now since I first became a Christian and started following Jesus Christ. I haven't fallen away from Him in that time, but I have known some people who have. How can we, as 21st century Christians, keep from falling away from Jesus Christ, particularly at this time when we have a global pandemic due to COVID19. The answer I believe, is what I would call the COPE strategy: Consider, Persevere and Encourage.
1. Keep Considering! (Hebrews 3:1-6)
2. Keep Persevering! (Hebrews 3:7-12, 15-19)
3. Keep Encouraging! (Hebrews 3:12-14)
Conclusion
If you would call yourself a Christian and you are unsure where you are, then please do look back and remember what Jesus has done for you. Consider Him as you look back to your first profession of faith in Him. Consider that just as He died, you died in the waters of baptism. Consider that just as He rose to physical life, you rose from the waters of baptism and will also rise again when you physically die. Consider that just as Jesus will be glorified, so too will you be glorified before the Father - if you hold out until the end.
Be assured of who you are - you are a child of the living God - hold out to the end. He has a firm grip on you, so maintain your grip on Him! Remember who you are! The way to cope with the rigours of 21st century life as a Christian believer is to keep considering, keep persevering and keep encouraging others.
Download and listen to the mp3 to discover more as we explore together how as 21st century Christians, we can keep from falling away from our faith. Particularly at this time when we have a global pandemic due to the Corona Virus. Come and listen as we discover more about Considering, Persevering and Encouraging!!
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Saturday Jul 24, 2021
Saturday Jul 24, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
24 July 2021
15 ‘If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever – 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17)
12 ‘I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.’ (John 16:12-15)
God the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Trinity, as we saw together in the Podcast yesterday. As such we do not refer to the Spirit as “it” or “that”, but rather Him! Wherever the Holy Spirit is, the Father and Son are also present because they are one (John 14:18-23). However, in some Christians circles, He is almost the forgotten person of the Trinity as well, alas!
Come and explore what the Bible has to say about the Holy Spirit and in particular the ministry that the Holy Spirit has in His relationship with the Christian. What does it mean to be “filled with the Spirit?” How is He the “Comforter”? in what way is the Holy Spirit assured proof that you, as a Christian, are God’s child? What is the best evidence for the work of the Holy Spirit in your life? These and other questions we seek to answer! So come on it! Let’s discover together more about the relationship between God the Holy Spirit and the Christian by listening to the podcast!
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