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Episodes
Saturday Nov 19, 2016
Saturday Nov 19, 2016
Gems in the Gospel of John
Part 76 - John 18:11
Peace
Nearly 300 years ago there was a considerable war in the Caribbean between Britain and Spain. Yes, the loss of an ear caused a war and many deaths! Historians know it as the ‘war of Jenkin’s ear’. Certainly that particular war did have quite a background. The Jenkins involved may well have been a smuggler and the Spanish ship that challenged them was a customs vessel, and it was several years before the incident was worked up to be a cause for war.
There was no such time lag involved in this incident. An armed posse of various people, full of excitement and of doubtful discipline, was chasing a much smaller group in the middle of the night. When they caught up with them they will have surrounded them. Swords were drawn, one rather foolishly by the ever impetuous Peter. There was a cry of wrath and pain from one guy, Malchus.
What happened next? One would expect that there would have been a general set to; several people hurt or killed, mainly from the smaller party. But it didn’t happen. We know what Jesus said in rebuke to Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me”. We know that he healed the ear - Luke tells us that - but we do not know what he, or anybody else, said to restrain the larger party. But there was no general scrap, no casualties, no unfortunate effects of that one blow. Why?
Because in the midst of the group, at the very centre of all that was happening was the Prince of Peace himself. And so, against all the odds and what might have been expected peace prevailed, even in the dark and all the confusion that might have been expected with hot-heads on both sides, .
This is our Lord. this is the one we seek to follow and serve. Let us too live in peace with all men and women so far as within us lies, and even further than all expectations might suggest we will and should.
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Friday Nov 18, 2016
Friday Nov 18, 2016
Partakers Friday Prayers!
18th November 2016
We pray together and when Christians pray together, from different nations, different churches and different denominations - that reveals Church unity! Come! Let us pray together!
O God, most glorious, uncreated One,
O God, eternal, beatific One,
O God, O infinite and hidden One,
O God, immense, O God the Living One,
You, wisdom of the Everlasting One,
You, ever-loved and ever-loving One;
Make me, O holy God, Thy treasured one;
Make me, O glorious Lord, Thy precious one;
Make me, O highest Good, Thy longing one;
Make me, O blessed Light, Thy chosen one;
Make me forevermore Thy loving one.
My soul is dark away from You, my own;
My eyes are dim in seeking You, my own;
My flesh doth pine away for You, my own;
My heart leaps up with joy to You, my own;
My spirit faints receiving You, my own.
Where in the height of heaven, is light like You?
Where in the breadth of heaven is bliss like You?
Where, in the depth of heaven, is peace like You?
Where, in the home of love, is love like You?
With all my heart I give myself to You;
And waiting, wait, O King and Spouse for You,
Till I am one for evermore with You.
O sweetest Jesus, bring me home to You;
Free me, O dearest God, from all but You;
And break all chains that keep me back from You;
Call me, O thrilling Love, I follow You;
You are my all, and I have nothing but You.
O hidden Love, Who now is loving me,
O wounded Love, Who once was dead for me,
O sun-crowned Love, Who is alive for me,
O patient Love, Who never wearies of me —
Alone of all, You weary not of me —
O bear with me till I am lost in You;
O bear with me till I am found in You.
Amen
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For we ask these things O Father God, through the name of Your Son, Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. Amen
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Monday Nov 14, 2016
Monday Nov 14, 2016
Monday Think Spot
14 November 2016
Today on Partakers Think Spot, I have invited a good friend, Anne, to share some afterthoughts concerning the outcome of the USA Presidential election held last week in which Donald Trump won and is the President-elect...
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Sunday Nov 13, 2016
Sunday Nov 13, 2016
WOW Tour USA 2016
Minnesota - let's go WOW!
We are in a series for these Sundays, whereupon I give some personal reflections on my recent 7 weeks tour of the the USA... During that time in the USA, I sought to enable and encourage others in their faith byteaching, training and most of all, WOWing for God! It is my prayer that I was able to do that for the glory and honour of God alone.
Today I talk briefly about my time in Minnesota - preaching, WOWChurching, making people's jaws drop in amazement and the newspaper reporter! Come on in to listen...
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~
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Saturday Nov 12, 2016
Saturday Nov 12, 2016
Part 75 - John 18:10
Malchus
There wa a brief clash of swords – which must have been a dangerous business in the dark. As a result one of the temple servants loses a bit of his ear. We read, “Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)” This leads to the rebuke by Jesus of Peter who was acting, true to his usual nature, with unwanted impetuosity.
Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me.”
The most extraordinary thing about that statement is that John has told us what the name of the wounded man was. Very few people, except the apostles and a few of the closest women to the group, are named by John or any of the other Gospel-writers. John names some apostles, some women, Nicodemus, Lazarus and Joseph of Arimathea. Elsewhere we hear about blind Bartholomew but that is about it. Why then do we know the name of Malchus?
There would seem to be only two possibilities:
1) John, or the person who may have told him all about what happened that night, knew his name because they were obviously closely acquainted with the members of the senior households;
2) Malchus was a well known person later in the story of the early church, and although he must have been distinctly old by the time John was writing was sufficiently important to merit this mention.
Of these only the second would seem at all likely. Why would John mention the name if Malchus was only a servant in the governor’s household 40 or 50 years earlier? He would be of no importance to John’s original readers and the fact that Jesus healed his ear was only one of many such healings. No! It is a safe guess that Malchus became a Christian and of sufficient stature in the very early church to be mentioned by name. What are we to make of that?
Two things come to mind: first, that no one is excluded from the fellowship of the Kingdom and therefore of the church. They weren’t in those early days and they should not be now. There can be problems in some cultures, where if any stranger comes into a church meeting there is always a concern that they may be a spy sent in to see who is involved. It is impossible to set down any guidelines as to what should be done in such cases. The people involved can only use their best wisdom in what they do – but they must be careful not to exclude any genuine person.
The second thing is this: it is you and I who must ensure that no one is excluded who should not be. It is a difficult trap - the closer the fellowship in a particular meeting of the Lord’s people the easier it is to overlook the stranger, the incomer, the new convert. It is so easy to let them stand round the edges of the group while all the close friends talk together in a close knit huddle. Only by having some whose duty it is to lookout for such people is it possible to make sure that all are drawn into the centre of the fellowship. Watch out for it in your church. It will be surprising – and good – if you cannot see it happening.
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Friday Nov 11, 2016
Friday Nov 11, 2016
Partakers Friday Prayers!
11th November 2016
We pray together and when Christians pray together, from different nations, different churches and different denominations - that reveals Church unity! Come! Let us pray together!
Why do we do this? For this reason:
“At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month the guns fell silent on the Western Front, to bring to an end the First World War. Our nation and commonwealth has recalled that moment through our Armistice and Remembrance events down the decades, decades during which the men and women of our armed services have continued to pay the ultimate sacrifice."
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~Click on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!Monday Nov 07, 2016
Monday Nov 07, 2016
Monday Think Spot
7 November 2016
Tomorrow is the Presidential election in the United States of America! Most of us in the western world would be aware of that! So today I thought we would look at what the Bible has to say about Government? Are you ready? Come on in!
Daniel 4:25, Daniel reminds King Nebuchadnezzar that “the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
After you have heard this, you may like to ask yourself the following questions:
Q1. In what way can I influence and encourage my government
Q2. How can I help my government authorities to protect, punish and promote?
Q3. When was the last time I actively prayed for those in authority over me, whether Christian or secular?
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Saturday Nov 05, 2016
Saturday Nov 05, 2016
Gems in the Gospel of John
Part 74 - John 18:5
The man in the garden
It is impossible to tell how much of this was done by prior arrangement between Jesus and Judas. Perhaps Jesus had quietly made it completely clear to Judas that they were going to follow their usual practice of walking in the garden in the cool of the evening even although the city was in a somewhat dangerous tumult and he was the centre of the problem.
Anyway, when they got there the posse turned up, as expected, and Jesus asked who they were after - as if he didn’t know!
The answer they got surprised them. “I am he” as the NIV has it. Basically ‘I AM’, once again the Old Testament name for God. ‘ego eimi’ in the Greek.
Seven times John has told us about an occasion when Jesus said of himself ‘I am, something’, or as the scholars say ‘I am - with a predicate’. Six times he has told us that Jesus said of himself plain ‘I AM’, even if it was not always clear that it meant any more than ‘it’s me’. On this the last and most significant occasion when Jesus says those two words it was quite clear to the arresting posse what he meant. They ‘fell to the ground’’. They immediately recognized, even in the dark only illuminated by flaring torches, that here was someone very special indeed. Part of the Triune God, of the Trinity, stood in front of them - though of course they would have had no idea that that was the true situation. It is a mighty puzzle how they managed to recover themselves so that they could arrest him. (I wonder whether they actually tied his hands together or anything until they had to do so when they met the top people in Jerusalem.)
The message for us is crystal clear. This was God. God the Son was on his way to his great sacrifice for our sins - for yours and for mine. The world would never be the same again. To that point men and women had had no satisfactory and satisfying way out of their inability to live good decent and upright lives. All had been clouded by their inability to do so. Now as Jesus led them out of the garden (I am sure he must have walked in front, leading the way!) the great process that would change all mankind’s situation was beginning. The personification of God in this world of ours was about to present himself as a sacrifice for sin – yours and mine. Praise be!
You can now purchase our Partakers books including Roger's latest -
The Puzzle of Living - A fresh look at the story of Job!
Please do click or tap here to visit our Amazon site!
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Friday Nov 04, 2016
Friday Nov 04, 2016
Partakers Friday Prayers!
4th November 2016
We pray together and when Christians pray together, from different nations, different churches and different denominations - that reveals Church unity! Come! Let us pray together!
For we ask these things O Father God, through the name of Your Son, Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. Amen
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~Click on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!Monday Oct 31, 2016
Monday Oct 31, 2016
Monday Think Spot
31 October 2016
We read this in Luke 2:42-52 - Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they travelled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
And later on in his life, this event occurred!
Matthew 13:53-55 - When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?
Wise
Jesus is the ultimate wise man! As we read the Gospels, we see that when Jesus spoke words, people were amazed! They were astounded that He spoke with wisdom, elegance and yet with authority. They had never heard anyone speak like He did - with both grace and authority. The same is true today, if we are listening. That is why we read the Bible to find out what He would say to us. That is why we seek to hear Him speak to us and why we speak to Him. That is why preaching is to be seen as an act of worship - by both the preacher and the listener! Jesus' wisdom meaning I can ask Him for advice and seek His imagination to solve problems!As you go into this week ask Jesus to help you, guide and speak to you through the Bible, regardless of what situation you face! Jesus, Son of God, the ultimate wise man!
Prayer
A prayer to help you into this new week. Father, we thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ! We thank you for the Bible! We thank you for godly men and women who preach and teach this wisdom of Jesus to us, explaining and exploring how we can put this wisdom into practise! May the Holy Spirit within each believer, rebuke and counsel, as that believer seeks to live a life worthy of Jesus Christ. Amen!Thanks for joining us on Partakers ThinkSpot! See you again real soon!
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