G‘day! Partakers Christian podcasts of Bible Teaching, Bible Readings, Worship, Prayer and Church History on Podbean to help enable and encourage you! Come listen and interact.
Episodes
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
PulpTheology Book
Glimpses Into Leviticus
The Partakers book, written by Dave Roberts, we are looking at this week is Glimpses Into Leviticus: a book of Joy. (part of the "Glimpses Into" series)
Leviticus is perhaps the most maligned, misunderstood and under-read book of the Bible today.
Andrew Bonar once said: "There is no book that contains more of the very words of God than Leviticus. It is God that is the direct speaker in almost every page; his gracious words are recorded in the form wherein they were uttered."
How are we to read this amazing book? Leviticus does have important things to tell us about God, sin, obedience and holiness. Perhaps most importantly it tells of God wanting to live with His people. Some of the words and phrases we commonly use in the English language, come straight from the book of Leviticus. Come! Let us glimpse into this marvellous book of the Bible together - Leviticus the book of joy! Why do I call it a book of joy? One reason is that it reveals a God who wants to live with His people. For other reasons, you will have to look inside and read it to discover why!
Here is what 1 Amazon reviewer said: "5 stars! A theological view of Leviticus as opposed to c]the view it is an archaic 'laundry list'. Whether you agree with some of the conclusions or not, it will help you want to delve deeper, think more deeply about this often avoided book."
Available in Hardback, paperback and Kindle!~
You can purchase this book at Amazon USA on this link:
You can purchase this book at Amazon UK on this link:
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Monday May 13, 2024
Monday May 13, 2024
Partakers Free Book on Kindle
This is the free #PulpTheology book this week for your #Kindle or KindleApp, until 18th May, 2024! Robbo the Rev looks into the History and Wisdom books of the Old Testament, giving a comment and key verses, using pictoral or illustrated theology. Come on over!
Click or tap here to download the book on Amazon
Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
PulpTheology Book
"God Gets His Hands Dirty: The Story of Christmas"
Free on Kindle until end of Wednesday 27th December 2023. Click or tap here!
G’day! The book this week is "God Gets His Hands Dirty: The Story of Christmas". Inside this little book, there is something for you to learn afresh or be reminded about, regardless of who you are.
Ahhh Christmas. When people around the world remember that moment in time when God Himself, got his hands dirty and entered our world. Christmas is the most wonderful time of year! Christmas, where the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated around the world - by Christians and others of all faiths and none. That is how God got his hands dirty. These celebrations are diverse and transcend cultures, peoples and languages.
Of course, most people stop with Jesus being a baby and continue no further with Him. Christians believe that Jesus’ birth was the culmination of thousands of years of God telling the world that He was coming and coming to show that God gets his hands dirty - transcending time and space.
In the Bible, the whole Old Testament is a united story which speaks about this event - the coming of the baby we know today as Jesus Christ. Written in short chapters and accessible language, we inspect together Christmas future through the eyes of Isaiah and Zechariah, before going on to look at Christmas past and Christmas present. Come inside to either learn afresh or be reminded of the people and events of the Christmas story - the why, how and who.
Whether you have not started the Christian journey yet, you are just starting your journey as a Christian, or have been a Christian for a while, you can either learn afresh or be reminded about the Church. Come on in!
"God Gets His Hands Dirty: The Story of Christmas" available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle with ISBN: 978-1506104348
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Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Our latest Partakers PulpTheology "illustrative theology book" tis free on #Amazon #Kindle until 22nd December... The Reverend Robbo and Alphy bring to mind some basic things about #Christmas. Can you figure out how Joseph is Mr Sensitive? What gifts did the Shepherds gave the baby Jesus? Merry Christmas to all because Christmas is for all!
Also available in paperback for £5.99
Click or tap here to visit the Amazon link
Sunday Dec 03, 2023
Sunday Dec 03, 2023
Messiah's Leadership
10:1 Ask of Yahweh rain in the spring time, Yahweh who makes storm clouds, and he gives rain showers to everyone for the plants in the field. 10:2 For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams. They comfort in vain. Therefore they go their way like sheep. They are oppressed, because there is no shepherd. 10:3 My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the male goats; For Yahweh of Armies has visited his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them as his majestic horse in the battle. 10:4 From him will come forth the cornerstone, from him the nail, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler together. 10:5 They shall be as mighty men, treading down muddy streets in the battle; and they shall fight, because Yahweh is with them; and the riders on horses will be confounded. (Zechariah 10:1-5)
During the time of Zechariah, the Temple was being rebuilt. The Temple was central to Jewish worship. But who would help give advice and solve the multitude of problems they were facing? Who cared about them? Well, Zechariah speaks into their situation with wise words. He has already likened the nation of Israel as being like sheep, and that God is their shepherd (Zechariah 9:16) "Yahweh their God will save them in that day as the flock of his people; for they are like the jewels of a crown, lifted on high over his land. ". Throughout Chapter 10, it is repeated again and again, that God will care for and bless them. But in order to receive the blessing and care, the nation of Israelites must seek, turn and follow.
Seek God
If the people need advice and help in times of trouble and need, the first place they should look, is to the Lord their God. They must seek and ask of Him! (10:1)! God can provide all things! He can control the weather, but these people need to stop being so independent, self-sufficient and start to rely on God and His infinite wisdom and resources.
Turn to God
In 10:2, Zechariah reminds the people of Israel, that following idols and false gods is foolishness. These idols are self-seeking, liars and deceivers. Israel needed to turn back to the One True Almighty God! Instead of following the glory of the Almighty God, they were turning to idols for worship, advice and listening to superstitious nonsense. And of course idols and false gods are mute! They cannot speak or give advice because they are not Gods at all!! The sin of idolatry particularly broke the second commandment! The people were to turn away from false gods and return to worship the One True Almighty God. They were also to listen to the true prophets of God instead of the false prophets who deceived by speaking words they wanted to hear.
Follow Me
These sheep, the nation of Israel were to follow God. Instead of wandering around aimlessly, they were to follow and obey God Almighty. The Jewish leaders and teachers were supposed to be leading the nation in worship of Almighty God, but were not doing so. Hence God in 10:3 being enraged at those who were in positions of trust who were deceivers, liars and only looking out for their own interests. Ezekiel 34 expounds this out in much further detail!
So who were the people of Israel to follow? They were to follow the coming Messiah. Not only was the Messiah a King, Prophet Servant and Disciple but He would also be a Shepherd: the Good Shepherd! From the lowliest tribe of Judah, will come this Good Shepherd "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2)
Messiah Cares
This Good Shepherd will be utterly reliable, responsible, faithful and being the sure foundation that the people of Israel need, particularly in a time of crisis. In 10:4 God will send this Good Shepherd to also be a cornerstone, nail or tent peg, battle bow and a source of all ruling authority. Cornerstone: all ancient buildings needed a chief cornerstone to ensure a sure foundation so that the building could not fall down easily. It held two walls together. The imagery fits in well with the building of the Temple. If you want to continue worshipping God, then you must get the foundations right.
The chief cornerstone of the building holds the building together. Not only that, it gives the building shape, strength and all other stones are adjusted by it. Nail: Another translation is that of tent-peg. Just as the chief cornerstone holds the building together, so does a tent-peg ensure that the tent stays fastened down during storms! This Good Shepherd would ensure that everything is held together if they stick to Him. Battle-bow: Probably referring back to 9:13, Zechariah now likens this Shepherd Messiah to a battle-bow! This Good Shepherd will fight to keep the wolves from harming His sheep. He will battle for them. This Good Shepherd will be brave, courageous and strong as he leads his people to victory!
How is Jesus this Messiah?
Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened." In other words, ask of God your heavenly Father and your needs will be supplied! That was how Jesus lived and obeyed, by being in constant communication with God the Father. That is how he could live a life of utter obedience to God, because He always asked, sought and knocked.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, hence Him saying in John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Again in John 10:14-17 "I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I'm known by my own; even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd. Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again."
Jesus is the Good Shepherd only through the sacrifice he must make for His sheep. Here Jesus is looking ahead to the sacrifice He makes on the Cross. His love for all of humanity compels Him to make the ultimate sacrifice. Just as all shepherds will endanger themselves for the safety of their sheep, so too will Jesus endure the pain and suffering of the Cross, so that people can be led into safety of God's kingdom. It is in this role of the Good Shepherd, that Jesus exhibits true leadership, which is self-less and sacrificial. Ezekiel 34:11 tells of God searching out for his sheep among all nations, and this is fulfilled through Jesus.
Through His perfect, obedient and voluntary sacrifice on the Cross, not only will salvation be available to the Jews but also to those of other nations. And Jesus is willing to fight for His people! He gives spiritual armour for all those who follow Him to wear. Christians are in a spiritual battle reminds Paul in Ephesians 6, and as the Good Shepherd, Jesus will fight and battle for us through His indwelling Holy Spirit! For as the Bible says in 1 John 4:4 "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world."
Jesus Christ is, as Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 2:8, the Cornerstone of faith - referring back to Isaiah 8:14. Jesus Christ is the dependable, sure foundation that all faith is to be ground upon. All Christians are living stones, but should be living on the dependability of Jesus Christ the chief cornerstone alone! It is only Him, who can give direction, assurance and be relied upon. It is Him that calls all people everywhere to seek for, turn to and follow obediently. Jesus Christ, Servant King, Servant Prophet, Servant Disciple, Servant Shepherd. Follow Him as the great leader He is and victory is assured! Whatever you are struggling with today, turn it over to God and ask for His help! He has promised to help! Remember that the battle belongs to the Lord! Amen! Just as Jesus said to Peter in John 21:19 "Follow Me!", so Jesus calls all those willing to follow Him, to follow Him for life. Follow and be led by Him and Him alone, regardless of what and where that might be.
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Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
PulpTheology Books
Jesus Who?
Available on Amazon in Paperback and Kindle
The title "Jesus Who?" was a question put to me by my father many years ago. He was asking me which Jesus I was talking about. The Jesus of Islam? The Jesus of the Anglicans or the Jesus of the Baptists? The Jesus of the imagination?
In this little book, we look at who I think Jesus was and is... It acts as a brief introduction to the greatest man who ever lived: Jesus Christ. Who was he? Why does he matter? What has he got to do with each of us? Jesus Christ. The name which is on everybody's lips at Christmas. But who was this man and so what? When the human we know as Jesus Christ was born, his name imbued the very reason he was born. His conception and birth were extraordinary at every level. Jesus very name, means “one who saves” and the entirety of his birth, life and death were centred on this very role. His role was to save all those who would follow Him.
Almost everyone has an opinion about Him. Jesus was born to confirm God's promises, to reveal God as a loving Father, invite people into His Sonship, and to be our representative before Almighty God. He gave us an example of how to live a holy life to the full. Jesus was not merely a man who received some special power, nor was he some strange creation that was half man and half God. As we will see together inside, He was much more than those ideas.
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Friday Aug 04, 2023
Friday Aug 04, 2023
PulpTheology Book
Church History - Heroes And Heretics Abound
I know what you are probably thinking! History is boring! Was I right? I have heard it a million times! I think history can be fascinating, particularly Church history. Why do I think that? Because how can anything with heroes and heretics be boring? More than that, the story of the Christian Church is your story! Yes! You, dear reader! Your story, regardless of where you are from and who you are. Your story, regardless of your belief or non-belief. Perhaps you know very little of it. No worries! This book is written with you in mind.
Before Jesus Christ ascended back to heaven, he commanded his 11 followers to go and tell others about Him and His work. They did, and we stand here today as a product of their obedience. But how did the Church get here today? Together we explore her birth, growth and development. Development to the point where today, she is worldwide and has at least 2 billion people who identify as a Christian, of one kind or another. All the while, striving to avoid the mistakes and embrace the joys of her history.
We also interact with some people of today, who tell about their relationship with the Church. Finally, we also interact with some of the great minds of Church history, looking at some of the prayers of the Church. As the Church of today and tomorrow, we can all learn something from this exciting story. Come on in!
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Available on Kindle and Paperback on US Amazon:
Available on UK Amazon:
Monday Jul 17, 2023
Monday Jul 17, 2023
Partakers PulpTheology on Amazon God's Two Words For You!
Straight talk about God's Two Words - Jesus Christ and the Bible...
Amazon have reduced the price of this #Partakers #PulpTheology paperback to only £2.58 in the UK.
Click here and come on over!
Also available on all Amazon sites including USA for $5.24
Friday Jun 23, 2023
Friday Jun 23, 2023
Times of Trouble
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4v16-18)
I wonder if sometimes you feel just like giving up, throwing it all away and just be buried by whatever is burdening you. I guess, almost everyone has felt like that at one time or another. Maybe its because you are undergoing troubles or suffering - physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually. Whatever it is, as a Christian you are to persevere. We persevere, because we are not alone in our troubles. Also, if we think about it, in the light of eternity, the time of endurance through these troubles, is but the blink of an eye! Wow!
How are you and I to respond to suffering and other troubles? Naturally, we either treat them too flippantly or far too seriously. Where is God in all of this?
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Wednesday May 31, 2023
Wednesday May 31, 2023
God - so what?
Ezekiel 36v22-28
1. A God who is holy (Ezekiel 36v22-23)
22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.
2. A God who gathers (Ezekiel 36v24)
36v24 "For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you to your own land."
3. A God who cleanses (Ezekiel 36v25) and operates (Ezekiel 36v26)
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
4. A God who indwells (v27)
27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
5. A God to live for (v28) 2
8 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
Conclusion - What about you?
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The Partakers book, Glimpses into Ezekiel, is also available on Kindle and paperback on Amazon by clicking or tapping here