G‘day! 🌟 Welcome to Partakers Christian Podcasts! Tune in for Bible Teaching, Bible Readings, Worship, Prayer, and Church History. Our mission on Podbean is to enable and encourage you on your faith journey. Come listen, interact, and be inspired!
Episodes
Saturday Dec 24, 2022
Saturday Dec 24, 2022
24. Mary's God – Partakers Christmas Bible Thought
In our last podcast, we looked at Mary’s response the visit of her relative Elizabeth, and discovered that in response to Elizabeth’s exclamations, Mary spontaneously bursts into song! A song seemingly of renewal, revolution and reformation. Today we look more at the God of Mary whom she worships and what that has to do with us today. Mary knows that her God is called Almighty. We know it as well through our study of the Bible and in our own lives, I am sure. But how is God, “Almighty”, and just as importantly, why? God being Almighty, can be summed up in 3 words: Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. Come and listen to find out more about God and Mary's relationship with Him, in this part in the Christmas story!
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
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Friday Dec 23, 2022
Friday Dec 23, 2022
23. Mary’s Song, the Magnificat
In our last podcast, we looked at Mary visiting her relative Elizabeth. Today we continue the Christmas story and discover that in response to Elizabeth’s exclamations, Mary spontaneously bursts into song! A song seemingly of renewal, revolution and reformation. God is on the march and God is going to do something new! Some scholars believe Mary is looking back on all the stories she has heard about how God has dealt with people in the past. Others think that she is being prophetic and only looking ahead to what God will do. I personally think it is both. Come and listen to find out more about this part in the Christmas story!
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home
You can also read more about this in our PulpTheology Book on Amazon! Come on over!!
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Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
22. Mary visits Elizabeth
In our last podcast, we looked at Mary’s call from God to be the mother of Jesus Christ. Today we continue the Christmas story and see that Mary has gone to see one of her relatives, Elizabeth, who is also with the child whom we later know as John the Baptist. Mary stays there 3 months before returning home. Come and listen to find out more about this part in the Christmas story!
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!” (Luke 2:39-45)
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Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
21. Mary is called by God
Today we continue looking at the people of the Christmas story. Today we start a series of 4 podcasts looking at Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary, to whom was given the great privilege and awesome responsibility of carrying and giving birth to God’s Son, the Messiah.
Mary was probably a teenager when she received this visit from the angel Gabriel to tell her that the Lord had chosen her for this very special purpose. Come and listen to find out more about this part in the Christmas story!
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants for ever; his kingdom will never end.’
34 ‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’
35 The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.’
38 ‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38)
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Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
20. Joseph
Today we continue looking at the people of the Christmas story. Today it is Joseph, the future husband of Mary. Joseph is quite often the forgotten man of the story. We meet and learn about Joseph in both Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts of the birth of Jesus. He is the quiet man in the story but also a spiritual person who wished to live his life and make his decisions in accordance with God’s will. Joseph’s role was secondary to Mary’s. Nevertheless, it was an important one. Come and listen to find out more about his part in the Christmas story!
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: his mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’
22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25)
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Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
19. The Magi or Wise Men
Today we continue looking at the people of the Christmas story. Today we look at the Wise Men or Magi! These men were travelling towards Christmas and probably for quite a long time, for it seems they originated in what we now call Iran but used to call Persia. These Wise Men, or as they are also known as Magi, were sort of priestly group - not kings, as is usually supposed in traditional Christmas presentations. They were men who studied the night skies for signs of what was going to happen. Come and listen to find out more about their part in the Christmas story!
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written:
6 ‘“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.’
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (Matthew 2:1-12)
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Sunday Dec 18, 2022
Sunday Dec 18, 2022
18. The Shepherds
Today we start looking at the people of the Christmas story. Today we look at the shepherds! They were down-to-earth, rugged, hard working men, who tended and took care of flocks of sheep, mostly belonging to rich people. Come and listen to find out more about their story in the Christmas story!
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:1-20)
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Thursday Dec 15, 2022
Thursday Dec 15, 2022
17. Harmony of the Gospel Accounts
Today we have a harmony of the Christmas Nativity from all 4 Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each Gospel gives us a section of the story, therefore telling it from different perspectives.
Our Gospel readings are:
1. Pre-existence of Christ - John 1:1-18
2. Gabriel visits Mary - Luke 1:26-38
3. Mary visits Elizabeth - Luke 1:39-56
4. Angel visits Joseph - Matthew 1:18-24
5. Birth of Jesus Christ - Luke 2:1-7
6. Shepherds visit Jesus - Luke 2:8-20
7. Magi visit Jesus - Matthew 2:1-12
In the next Podcast of this series, we start looking at the people involved in this series!
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Friday Dec 09, 2022
Friday Dec 09, 2022
The O Antiphons - 7. Emmanuel
In some parts of the church they use as part of their Christmas worship, these seven O antiphons. Each of them addresses Jesus Christ using a Messianic title drawn from Old Testament prophecy. Read backwards, the initials of each title in Latin form the words “Ero Cras” or "Tomorrow I come" – looking forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The seven antiphons which we will look at individually over the next 7 days are:
- Sapientia - Wisdom
- Adonai - Holy Lord
- Radix Jesse - Root of Jesse
- Clavis David - Key of David
- Oriens - Morning Star
- Rex Gentium - King of the Nations
- Emmanuel - God with us
Today our Antiphon is Emmanuel.
6. O Emmanuel – God with us, our King and Law-giver, desired of the nations and their salvation, you came to save us, Lord our God.
Old Testament reading:
Isaiah 7:13-14 - Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).
New Testament Readings:
Matthew 1:23 - ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Acts 4:11-12 - Jesus is ‘“the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.’
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Thursday Dec 08, 2022
Thursday Dec 08, 2022
The O Antiphons - 6. Rex Gentium
In some parts of the church they use as part of their Christmas worship, these seven O antiphons. Each of them addresses Jesus Christ using a Messianic title drawn from Old Testament prophecy. Read backwards, the initials of each title in Latin form the words “Ero Cras” or "Tomorrow I come" – looking forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The seven antiphons which we will look at individually over the next 7 days are:
- Sapientia - Wisdom
- Adonai - Holy Lord
- Radix Jesse - Root of Jesse
- Clavis David - Key of David
- Oriens - Morning Star
- Rex Gentium - King of the Nations
- Emmanuel - God with us
Today our Antiphon is Rex Gentium.
O Rex Gentium - King of the Nations for whom they long, the corner-stone who makes of both one, you came and delivered humanity whom you made from clay.
Old Testament readings:
Genesis 2:7 - Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Isaiah 2:4 - He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more.
Isaiah 9:7 - Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 28:16 - Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.Haggai 2:8-9 - “The silver is mine and the gold is mine,” declares the LORD Almighty. “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the LORD Almighty. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the LORD Almighty.’
Old Testament readings are:
New Testament readings:
Ephesians 2:14-16 - For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.