Partakers Christian Podcasts

Church History Part 6

Part 6

All Change Under Constantine!

Last time we looked briefly at two main enemies from within the church: systemic disorganization and chaos within leadership and structure of churches and false and heretical teaching which was creeping in surreptitiously.

We move on today to a landmark period in the life of the church. Remember that one of the main persecutors of the Church was the Roman Empire. Now we come to the Emperor Constantine. This period is described by Diarmaid MacCulloch as “crucial for the Christian Church” (A History of Christianity). Constantine was pronounced as Emperor by the Army in 306AD following the death of his father, Constantius 1. Under the rule of Diocletian, the Empire had been reorganized into a team of 4 emperors under his leadership.

However civil war soon re-commenced. During this time at the battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, Constantine overthrew his rival, Maxentius, and became the Emperor of the Western Empire. He had been a worshipper of the 'Unconquered Sun', but before this battle he saw a vision of the cross of Christ and had a dream commanding his soldiers to fight under the name of Jesus Christ. He made his soldiers shields with a monogram of Christ, the first 2 letters of Christ's name in Greek. Constantine went on to restore property to the church in his domain which had been confiscated by previous Roman emperors.

Then in 313AD Constantine and his ally, Licinius, made a proclamation whereby those identified as Christians would be treated equally with those who were not Christians. This proclamation also declared a new policy of toleration for all religions throughout all the Roman Empire. FF Bruce writes in The Spreading Flame “This led to Christians once banished to return from exile. Their property was restored; their demolished church edifices rebuilt. The last round between Christianity and Roman paganism had been the most desperate of all; but it ended with the acknowledgement that Christianity had won.”

Constantine, according to Shelley in his book "Church History in Plain Language", also made many changes in his private life. This including raising his family as a Christian family. He was baptized by Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia. After his Baptist, he refused to wear the imperial purple again and chose to wear his baptismal robes. He died shortly after in 337AD but not before establishing Constantinople as a new capital of the Roman world. A quick look at the historical writing of Eusebius sees Constantine epitomised as an superlative Christian leader and almost envisages a new age of salvation! Here are some of the ways Eusebius describes Constantine from his writings.

• “Constantine, the mightiest victor, adorned with every virtue of piety…”
• “For Constantine, like an all-gracious emperor, giving him evidences of true favour…”
• “God was the friend, protector, and guardian of Constantine, and bringing the plots which had been formed in secrecy and darkness to the light, he foiled them.”
• Constantine was “the protector of the virtuous, mingling hatred for evil with love for good, went forth with his son Crispus, a most beneficent prince, and extended a saving right hand to all that were perishing.”

Constantine brought both significant advantages and disadvantages for Christianity. These include: Advantages for Christianity.

• Religious tolerance and freedom
• Restoration of church property - a major church building program by the Emperor e.g. St. Peters Basilica in Rome.
• Christianity became the favoured religion in the Empire, since Constantine was at the very least nominally Christian. In 312 AD he declared Sunday a holiday.

Disadvantages for Christianity.

• Christianity became nominal, and it was fashionable to be called a Christian.
• Many pagan ideas were intermingled with Christianity - incense, images, candles, vestments, veneration of saints & martyrs, and Mary idolised like a goddess.
• The emperor exercised his authority in the church as head of the Roman religion, Pontifus Maximus. This set an unfortunate precedent for involvement of government in Christianity which we will see later causes great trouble for the church and Christianity.

While Constantine did not enforce others to join Christianity, that didn’t last long. After Constantine’s death, belief in Christianity was made a matter of imperial command under the regime of the emperor Theodosius. He had new church buildings designed in order to stress the new hierarchy of Jesus Christ and the Roman emperor. There were also heavy penalties enforced upon those who were not Christians and from other religions. Theodosius enforced the thinking that the there was a close connection between the will of God, his own will and a connection with the Roman empire. How does the church itself react to all this? How was the thinking and theology of the church growing and/or adapting? Well for the answer to that, you will have to wait until the next Podcast!

Tap or lick here to save this as an audio mp3 file

Church History Part 5

Part 5

Lets Get Organized and Remain One!

Last time we looked at the expansion of the early church in spite of the endemic persecution by the Roman empire. They were the ‘enemy from outside the church’. But there was also another enemy lurking, two main enemies from within the church! Our first enemy was the systemic disorganization and chaos within leadership and structure of churches. If there is no organization then chaos would rule supreme. That was partly why during this time the Apostle Paul helped form the leadership and organizational structure of the church. We see from his writings that 1st century Church government consisted of a 2 fold order of leadership. ~

• Elders - Presbyteros (Presbyter) - Elder - Jewish background referring to the character & spiritual maturity of the leaders. Episcopos - Bishop - Greek background referring to the role of the elders as overseers or shepherds. These 2 words are used interchangeably in the N.T. (Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5-7; Phil. 1:1). There were a number of bishops or elders in the early Church.
• Deacons - Diakanos (servant/minster) (1 Timothy 3:12-13)

The second century Church government followed a 3 tier order of leadership which consisted of one bishop presiding over a group of elders & deacons. This was mainly towards the end of the 2nd century.

Reasons for the development of the episcopate

• Chairman of the elders.
• Church organisation similar to Roman government.
• Local Church representatives.
• One bishop could trace his authority back to the apostles.

Relationships between the Churches. For the first 3 centuries the local Churches were largely autonomous linked in fellowship without a formal structure. Bishops occasionally met for discussion on doctrinal matters.

Apostolic succession began in the early 2nd century to prevent division and false doctrine entering the Church. Each bishop could trace his teaching back to apostolic origins. Later on, it was said that special powers were said to be passed on to the bishop at his ordination. Despite the formulation of Apostolic succession however, within all this disorganization and chaos, several false and heretical teaching were becoming a threat.

Here are the 5 main heresies of the time which was creeping into the theology and practise of the church.

a. Gnosticism – This was the big one! Gnosis simply means knowledge. The gnostics stressed the intellectual side of Christianity and believed the earth was surrounded by 30 spheres each with its own god. The 'god' god, was on the outer sphere, was totally unknowable, self-existent, infinitely remote and the 'bad' creator was on the inner sphere. The ‘gods’ in each sphere grew more evil as they approached the earth. They taught that the Old Testament ‘god’ was evil and they suggested Jesus Christ came to liberate the divine spark in each one of us. Since they believed that the physical (as in the body) was evil, they lived an austere and ascetic lifestyle. They believed that this knowledge was only available to the spiritually elite. There were 3 levels of Gnostics:

• Pneumatic/Spiritual - Divine or superior people
• Psychic - Those who cannot get beyond faith - prophet/good Jews.
• Hylic - Majority of the human race. Hopeless bondage to satan and their own lusts and desires.

b. Docetism’s philosophy & theology taught that the physical world, the body, was inherently evil. Therefore Jesus Christ could not have taken on real human form because of this concept or philosophy. As a result, Jesus Christ was therefore an allusion or phantom. However, Genesis 1 teaches us that physical creation is 'very good.' This teaching also denies Jesus full humanity. ~

c. Montanism - Stressed the inspirational side of Christianity. In response to formality in the Church, they strongly promoted the more 'exciting' gifts of the spirit especially prophesy, tongues and religious excitement. Montanus their leader claimed to be the mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit. They were probably more fanatical than heretical, but were quickly excommunicated. Montanus was in Phrygia, in Asia Minor, in 172 AD and they also taught against celibacy. ~

d. Marcion - In the 2nd century Marcion taught that the Old Testament was the product of an evil god and eliminated the Old Testament and New Testament references with a Judaistic influence. This encouraged early Christians to examine the Scriptures and find out what really was the Word of God.

e. Notation Schism - Some Christians denied the Lord under severe persecution of Decius (251 AD), but later repented.

The Church split over whether to accept these Christians back into fellowship or not. This division lasted until the 6th century. ~ In one form or another, these heresies are still prevalent today, even within the church, and particularly within all the cults such as Jehovah Witnesses and Mormonism. That is one reason we should be looking at church history so that we don’t make similar mistakes, in both our theology and practise! How will the young church continue to go forward? Well for the answer to that, you will have to wait until the podcast tomorrow!

Click or tap here to save this as an audio mp3 file

Church History Part 4

Church History Part 4

Church Persecution and Growth

~ Today in Part 4, we look briefly at the scattering of the church and the church’s relationship with the governing force which was the Roman Empire! The church at the time seems to be in a bit of a rut. They still haven’t spread far and wide from the centre, Jerusalem. They still did not understand that the Gospel message of Jesus Christ was for all of humanity, ultimately including the Gentiles! So God brings out his plan. Enter Saul the Persecutor (Acts 8:1-4)! God used the persecution upon the church by Saul to scatter the Church! As they went out eluding persecution, they preached the Gospel effectively! ~ We read in the book of Acts how the Gospel had spread to:

• Samaria - Peter, Philip and John evangelised.
• Gentiles - Peter and Cornelius evangelised.
• The Gospel message also spread out to Antioch, Phoenicia & Cyprus - part of the uttermost (Acts 11:19-30)
• Within 10 years of its birth, the Church was thriving in Antioch. Missionaries from Cyprus were the first to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Greeks in Antioch. Barnabas goes to Antioch

~ Then God seemingly pulls another surprise out of the hat! Saul, the main persecutor of the church, has a life-changing encounter with the risen and ascended Jesus Christ! Paul becomes a follower of Jesus, accepting that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Christians were claiming! WOW! Saul changes his name to Paul and he becomes God’s man to reach out to the Gentiles, the non-Jews! WOW! Good one, God! ~ Paul was God's chosen instrument to carry the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). It was Christianity and its Gospel of Grace versus Judaism and the Levitical Law. Paul took up the challenge. We read through the Book of Acts and in his letters, that Paul engaged in 3 missionary journeys over a period of about 12 years. ~ Quelle Surprise!

• Galatia (South Turkey), Cyprus, Galatia 46-48 AD Acts 13-14
• Macedonia, Greece & Corinth 49-52 AD Acts 15:39-18:22
• Ephesus (3 years and briefly to Greece 53-57 AD Acts 18:23-21:16

~ For the first 30 years of its birth, the Roman empire viewed Christianity as a part of Judaism and was therefore tolerated by the Romans. During this period however, Paul was teaching that Christianity was separate as an ongoing religion from Judaism. This was to cause some trouble particularly with the Roman Empire! Judaism was an accepted and declared a 'legal' religion by the Romans. This was most unusual, as the majority of religions were banned except for the Roman state religion. During this time Rome had a great fire and was burned in 64AD. The Roman Emperor Nero blamed the Christians because they were intensely disliked. ~ It was into this context that Peter writes to encourage the Christians (1 Peter 1:3-7). Shortly afterwards in 70AD, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and Judaism was finished as a major religion within the Roman Empire. ~ Intense persecution of the Christian Church by the Romans occurred over the next 3 centuries. Here are a few examples of how certain Roman emperors dealt with Christians.

• Domitian (81-96), liked to be known as our 'Lord and God' and during his reign, the Apostle John was exiled on Patmos.
• Trajan (98-117) corresponded with Pliny the Younger, governor of Bythinia, on how to deal with the rapidly spreading Christianity.
• Decius (249-251) Supported the theory "One empire/One religion". In 250 he passed an edict that everyone had to worship the state gods and receive a certificate to signify that they had done so. Many Christians suffered intensely for refusing. However some Christians worshipped the state gods and later repented. The Church split over the question of whether these people should be allowed back into fellowship.
• Diocletian (284-305) - In 303 he ordered the destruction of all Church property and Scriptures. He ordered that everyone worship the state gods or face execution. This saw the most intense persecution of the Church.

~ As we see, the church is under pressure from outside forces in the Roman Empire. That was to be expected as Jesus Himself taught that this would occur. But there was also extreme pressure from within the church, particularly threatening to the unity it had enjoyed! But what happens? Well for the answer to that, you will have to come back tomorrow!

Tap or click here to save this as an audio mp3 file

Church History Part 3

Church History Part 3

Church Begins!

Today in Part 3, we look briefly at the beginnings of Jesus’ church and its rapid spread across the Roman empire and beyond. History is the story of the human family. From the Christian perspective all of history is encompassed in 2 statements “In the beginning…” and “I will come again…” Christianity is a historical religion, which stands or falls on the basis of historical fact that God entered into history in the person Jesus Christ. His life, death and resurrection are open to investigation. Disprove and of those facets and Christianity falls. The history of the Church is one of both glory and failure, depending on how closely if followed the teachings and practice of Jesus Christ.

Paul writes in Galatians 4:4 “When the time was right, God sent His Son.” How was the time right for when Jesus came?

• Common language through much of the Roman Empire (Greek) allowing good communication.
• There was relatively free travel throughout the Empire allowing the quick spread of God’s Good News.
• There was discontent with the religions of the day.
• Many Jews expected the Messiah!

Key thinking about the Church!

• The Church's Foundation - Mt. 16:17-20 "On this rock, I will build my Church...". Christ loves the Church, builds the Church and nothing will prevent the building and growth of the Church.
• The Church's Commission - Mt. 28:18-20 "Make disciples of all nations..."; Acts 1:8 "Be my witnesses..."
• The Church's Mission - Acts 1:8...Jerusalem (Home), Judea (Home State/Province), Samaria (Neighbouring State/Province), Ends of the Earth (Overseas).
• The Church's Authority - Matthew 28:18 - All authority is given to Jesus, He is with us as witnesses.

With the Church’s Authority established the Church spreads The Gospel Message (Acts 2:36-38) that Jesus is the Lord and the Christ; Acts 20:21 "Repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ. As we saw last time, the Holy Spirit came at what is called Pentecost! (Acts 2:8). There the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ was preached to an international audience as Jews from every nation under heaven was there to witness this great event! Many were saved and thus returned to their home nations with this good news that Jesus was their Messiah! WOW!

In Jerusalem alone, according to Acts 4:4 5000 men were added to the Church in Jerusalem. Persecution & scattering come upon the early Church as it would have been normal for the Christians to make Jerusalem the focus of their ministry. For whatever reason, they still did not understand that the Gospel was also for the Gentiles. However, they soon discovered that the Gospel was indeed for the Gentiles and for throughout the world! How did God achieve this with His church? For the answer to that, you will have to wait for the next in our series HAHA where we will see the Church spreading and getting organized!  ~ ~

Tap or click here to save this as an audio mp3 file

~

Bible Reading - Psalm 141

Psalm 141

 A psalm of David.

 

^1-2 God, come close. Come quickly! Open your ears-it's my voice you're hearing! Treat my prayer as sweet incense rising; my raised hands are my evening prayers.

 ^3-7 Post a guard at my mouth, God, set a watch at the door of my lips.
Don't let me so much as dream of evil or thoughtlessly fall into bad company.
And these people who only do wrong- don't let them lure me with their sweet talk!
May the Just One set me straight! May the Kind One correct me!
Don't let sin anoint my head. I'm praying hard against their evil ways!
Oh, let their leaders be pushed off a high rock cliff; make them face the music.
Like a rock pulverized by a maul, let their bones be scattered at the gates of hell.

 ^8-10 But God, dear Lord, I only have eyes for you.
Since I've run for dear life to you, take good care of me.
Protect me from their evil scheming, from all their demonic subterfuge.
 Let the wicked fall flat on their faces, while I walk off without a scratch.

 (From the Message)

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

You can also click or tap here to visit this page on our site and download all Psalms as CD quality MP3

~

You can now purchase our Partakers books! Please do click or tap here to visit our Amazon site!

Church History Part 2

Church History Part 2

Birth of the Church

The Promised Holy Spirit Comes!

~ G’day and welcome to Partakers and to our series, HAHA – Heroes and Heretics Abound. Together we will look at the story of the church from its origins to the Age of Reasoning in the 18th century. Today we look briefly at the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church – the start of its history.

Jesus has ascended back to the right hand side of the Father! The apostles have been commanded to go make disciples! But they were first told to wait. Wait for what, or rather, who? They were to wait for the coming of God the Holy Spirit who was being sent! Throughout His ministry Jesus had talked about how after He had departed that God the Holy Spirit would be sent to indwell those who follow Him (John 15v26). This would be in fulfilment of Ezekiel 36:27 “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Here is the start of the church! A wow moment in church history – the birth of the church – the body of Christ! Acts 2:1-2 “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.”

No more waiting! The Holy Spirit came and the church was born and empowered! That is how the church has maintained a presence for the past 2000 years – only because of the presence of God within the believers. So what is the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church? ~ The Holy Spirit’s prime role is to see that Jesus Christ the Son of God is praised and glorified (John 16v13-14). The Holy Spirit testifies for Jesus Christ (John 15:26) and witnesses for Jesus Christ and His salvation (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, the Comforter! The Holy Spirit is one who is called to stand alongside Christians (John 14v16). Jesus said it would be better for Him to go away and send the Holy Spirit to live within his followers (John 16v7). The Holy Spirit ministers to Christian in the same way as Jesus would be to us if Jesus were here in person. Declares God’s Word: The Holy Spirit has a prime role in revelation and declaring the Word of God. It was He that spoke through the prophets (Ezekiel 2v2) and it was He who inspired the Bible (2 Peter 1v21).

Further to this, the Holy Spirit interprets and illuminates God’s Word (John 16v12-15; 1 Corinthians 2v10-16) to people!

Conviction: The Holy Spirit is sent to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8)

Salvation: Christian Disciples are born of the Holy Spirit and are known as regenerated (John 3v3-8)!

Indwelling: God lives inside each Christian Disciple through the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, a person cannot be a Christian Disciple (Romans 8v9; Gal 2v20; Colossians 1v25-27)! WOW! God is a personal God, lives within His people and is not merely a statue to be placed on a shelf.

Sealing / Ownership: The Holy Spirit indwelling the Christian Disciple is assured proof of being God’s possession (2 Corinthians 1v22; Ephesians 1v3)

Security: The Holy Spirit is a deposit, guaranteeing our future redemption, salvation and inheritance (Ephesians 1v13; 2 Corinthians 1v22).

Filling: This speaks of the Holy Spirit’s control or domination of our lives. The imperative here is that we are to be filled (Ephesians 5v18), and go on being filled. He gives power to enable Christian Disciples to evangelise (Acts 1v8; 4v8, 31).

Sanctification: The Holy Spirit transforms us into the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 7-18), as we walk, live in, and are led by the Spirit (Galatians. 5v16; Romans 8v13).

Baptism: This expression occurs 7 times in the New Testament. It occurs 4 times in the gospels, referring to Jesus baptizing with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 1 Corinthians 12v13 states that we are all baptized with the Holy Spirit into one body.

Service: The Holy Spirit equips us for service. God is working in you to will and to act accordingly to his purpose (Phil. 2v13), to be my witnesses (Acts 1v8).

As we look together at the church down through history, we will see evidence of the Holy Spirit being at work in people’s lives, the global spread of Christianity and the development of the Church over time.

Right Mouse click or tap here to save this as an audio mp3 file

Bible Reading - Psalm 139

Psalm 139

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹ O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

² You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.

³ You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.

⁴ You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.

⁵ You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

~

⁷ I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

⁸ If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the deepest hell, you are there.

⁹ If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

¹¹ I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night-

¹² but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

~

¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it.

¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

¹⁶ You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

¹⁸ I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

~

¹⁹ O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!

²⁰ They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name.

²¹ O Lord, shouldn't I hate those who hate you? Shouldn't I despise those who oppose you?

²² Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Right mouse click to save/download this Psalm as a MP3 file

You can now purchase our books! Please do click here to visit our Amazon site!

Church History Part 1

Church History Part 1- Introduction

~ Together we will look at the story of the church from its origins to the Age of Reasoning in the 18th century back to its origins. One aim of this series is to give a broad overview of church history to those who know very little or perhaps none of it. Of course there will be a Protestant European bias as that is my church background, but we will also include looks at other denominations including the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox streams of church. Another aim is so that we as the church of today and tomorrow, can learn some of how the church has developed, avoid the mistakes made and embrace the joys which can be found. We start today by leaping straight into the 18th century. We will see together how the Church’s practises and theology has developed.

Jesus’ Authority

Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ authority is a major theme. Where Matthew records Jesus doing miracles, this is to highlight Jesus authority in action and not just merely in words. Matthew records Jesus’ authority to forgive sins (Matthew 9v6) and He imparted authority to His disciples for a short time when they went on a mission in Matthew 10. Jesus has authority (Matthew 28:18) over all things, all people, all circumstances and happenings. Jesus has authority over all spiritual beings, whether angels or demons. Jesus has authority over all nations, governments and rulers. Jesus has authority over all earthly and spiritual authorities. Jesus has the authority. ~ This means regardless of what ever the Christian Disciple faces, Jesus is in control. Therefore, as Christian Disciples, we can obey him without fear of retribution from those who would seek to harm us. We can obey Him regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. It is a great comfort to know, that He is in control of everything!! Through His death on the cross and His rising from the dead, Jesus has conquered all enemies.  Now people sometimes confuse authority with authoritarian. Authoritarian means severe, rigidity and a dictator. None of these apply to Jesus. The authority of the church is a common theme down through history as we will see. ~ The early church exploded numerically as the twelve disciples exercised Jesus’ authority and His power. We read about the growth of the early church in the Book of Acts. Christianity is a faith whereby all Christian Disciples are to tell others of the goodness of God. Indeed God Himself is a missionary God.

Ever since Genesis 3 and the fall of mankind, God has been on a mission to bring and call people back to Himself. That was the purpose of the nation of Israel, to be a light to all nations of the goodness and glory of God! That was purpose when God, who is outside of time and space, entered human history taking on human flesh and restricted Himself in a human body as the man we know as Jesus Christ. Jesus whole mission was one of calling people back to life in God. That was the message told by the early church - showing and telling others of God’s message of reconciliation for them. It was also to be the role of the church in history. It never was meant to be forcing people to adopt Church standards (1 Corinthians 5:12) or to a message to simply join the church as a symbol of good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). ~ The coming of the Holy Spirit was prime for the explosive growth of the early church and His hand is evident throughout church history, as we will see. ~

Jesus' church...

• The Church's Foundation - Matthew 16:17-20 "On this rock, I will build my Church...". Christ loves the Church, builds the Church and nothing will prevent the building and growth of the Church.
• The Church's Commission - Matthew 28:18-20 "Make disciples of all nations..."; Acts 1:8 "Be my witnesses..."
• The Church's Mission - Acts 1:8 .Jerusalem (Home), Judea (Home State/Province), Samaria (Neighbouring State/Province), Ends of the Earth (Overseas).
• The Church's Authority - Matthew 28:18 - All authority is given to Jesus, He is with us as witnesses.
• The Church's Message - Acts 2:36-38 - Jesus is Lord and Christ; Acts 20:21 "Repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ.

~ Thanks for reading and listening! This series continues next Saturday! Come back every day where there is something new added to aid your development as a Partaker of Christ. Thank you. ~

Click or tap here to save this as an audio mp3 file

Bible Reading - Psalm 118

Psalm 118

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
² Let all Israel repeat: "His faithful love endures forever."
³ Let Aaron's descendants, the priests, repeat: "His faithful love endures forever."
⁴ Let all who fear the Lord repeat: "His faithful love endures forever."

⁵ In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.
⁶ The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?
⁷ Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
⁸ It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people.
⁹ It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

¹⁰ Though hostile nations surrounded me, I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
¹¹ Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
¹² They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire. But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
¹³ My enemies did their best to kill me, but the Lord rescued me.
¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.

¹⁵ Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
¹⁶ The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
¹⁷ I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done.
¹⁸ The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not let me die.

¹⁹ Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord.
²⁰ These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there.
²¹ I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!
²² The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
²³ This is the Lord's doing, and it is wonderful to see.
²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵ Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success.
²⁶ Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.
²⁷ The Lord is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
²⁸ You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you!
²⁹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

 

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

Highlights in Hebrews 40

Highlights in Hebrews

(with Roger Kirby)
40. Hebrews 13:20-21 - Farewell greetings.

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21) ESV
(Unfortunately the NLT translation uses a word in the middle of this passage that is not exactly every day English, so I have used the ESV instead.)

The word that is common to nearly every New Testament benediction (literally a good word, finishing a letter or other writing) is peace. As this brief comment goes out from Dave’s web site it may be read, or listened to, by people in many different situations. Some of you will be able to live a quiet and peaceful life with little difficulty. But some of you may be reading this in situations that are far from peaceful. It is almost impossible to write anything to both groups.

Let those of us who dwell in peaceful parts of the world, offer our prayers for those who do not know peace. Our hearts go out to you. You may be struggling to relocate to another country hoping to find a great deal more peace than you are able to in the country of your birth and life so far. You are therefore a refugee. May you be sure of the Lord’s purposes for you and may you be able to follow him through thick and thin until you can find a reasonable amount of peace. Even as I write that I am aware that I should be exhorting you to find peace even in the most difficult of circumstances through your reliance on Jesus as your champion who initiates and perfects your faith. Remember he too suffered greatly for his faithfulness to the terrible task that his Father had sent him to complete. That is the theory. To actually put it into practice is no easy thing. May you be able to do so in rich and richer measure in the days ahead.

For those of us who do not labour under such difficulties the word from our writer is that we should do the Lord’s will, working on things which are pleasing in his sight because he has equipped us to do so. In many ways that is a much easier task. It is also a much easier task to avoid, to slide by, to overlook, to pretend we have not seen and understood what we should be doing.

None of us will ever be completely satisfied in our own eyes by what we have done in the days and the circumstances he has given us. He will be even less satisfied with us. Fortunately these are not the criteria by which he accepts us and loves us. Those things happen because the great shepherd of the sheep was seen to have completed (confirmed, or as the NLT has it ratified) his work through the blood of the eternal covenant.

May God’s grace be with you all.

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