Partakers Christian Podcasts

Evangelism Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file What is evangelism? Evangelism is telling & showing others of God’s message of reconciliation to all people of all time. Down through the ages, the church has made two mistakes when it comes to evangelism. Firstly, it is not forcing people to adopt Church standards (1 Corinthians 5v12) and nor is it simply a message of join the church as a symbol of good works (Ephesians 2vv8-10). God has a message for all people. This message from God says that everybody has sinned against God (Isaiah 53v6; Romans 3vv10-11); nobody can earn their reconciliation with God (Ephesians 2v9); that God sent His Son Jesus to be born, crucified and resurrected so that salvation can be had by all people of all time (John 3v16; 1 Timothy 1v15); Because of that, it is only by acquiescing to God, by faith in Jesus alone that people are saved (John 5v24; Acts 16v31). That is the message of evangelism. Finally, evangelism is also lifestyle! Jesus

Partakers Prayers   Today on Partakers we are praying together a prayer of Martin Luther! As you listen to these words, make them your own! Come and pray! Behold, Lord, I am an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My Lord, fill it. I am weak in the faith; strengthen me. I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbour. I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times, I doubt and am unable to trust You altogether. O Lord, help me. Strengthen my faith and trust in you. In You I have sealed the treasure of all I have. I am poor; you are rich and came to be merciful to the poor. I am a sinner; you are upright. With me, there is an abundance of sin; in You is the fullness of righteousness. Therefore, I will remain with you, of whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give. Amen Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file You can now purchase our Partakers books! Please do click or tap here to visit our Amazon site!

Born Again! Come hear the explanation of today's WOW Word "Born Again"! It confused an ancient and educated Jewish leader, Nicodemus! It continues to confuse some people even today! Perhaps you?  Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.’ Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’ ‘How can someone be born when they are old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again.” (John 3:3-7) Tap or Right Mouse click here to save this

Thursday Story People meeting Jesus  The story of Life from the Faroe Islands... We continue apace into the twentieth century and hear the story of a friend of mine. Her name is Life and she is from the Faroe Islands. Let's look together at how and why she started her Christian journey and the relevancy of Jesus Christ to her life! Come and listen to her story of faith... Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file

Joel This is our penultimate podcast in the minor prophets series! This week we are looking at the book of Joel. I had some degree of dilemma about where to place Joel in the roughly chronological order of the series and that’s because the estimates of when the book was written vary widely from the 9th to 4th century BC. After looking at the content of Joel’s prophecies, I decided to go with the scholars who argue that Joel was written after the exile to Babylon, dating it somewhere around the year 500 BC. Joel evidently has knowledge of Judah and Jerusalem and it seems likely that he was from Judah himself. His name means “Yahweh is God” and we are told that his father was called Pethuel. Other than that, we know little about Joel himself. ~ Joel is similar in style to several of the other minor prophetic books, being written in the form of oracles of judgement and salvation, mostly in poetic style. Joel appears to have written during a time of national calamity for Judah. Key themes of his book are the Day

Wednesday Wisdom Proverbs 18 G’day! Welcome to Partakers and to Wednesday Wisdom, where we are listening to what the Bible has to say through the Wisdom literature of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. Come on in! Today we are listening and learning from Proverbs 18. 1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeks and intermeddles with all wisdom. 2 A fool has no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. 3 When the wicked comes, then comes also contempt, and with ignominy reproach. 4 The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. 5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment. 6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calls for strokes. 7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. 8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. 9 He also that is slothful in

God of Judgment   We all have at some point liked to think of God as being all love and never judging. People say “It will be alright in the end, because the love of God conquers all.” Well, remember also, that love involves judging! God is the judge of all the earth, the writer of Hebrews reminds us (Hebrews 12v23)! This judgment has several aspects to it: Unbiased God shows no favouritism (Romans 2v11). God is eternally just and righteous. It is a reflection of His mercy, that nobody can claim God is unfair. Unavoidable Jesus Christ will judge the whole world with justice (Acts 17v31). People are destined to die once and after that to face judgment (Hebrews 9v27). What is common to all people, is a universal sinfulness (Romans 2v1). What is in the murderer or the thief is in all people, everywhere and of all time. That is sin and it must be judged. Judgement will be before the Great White Throne of Judgment (Revelation 20v11-15). Universal Judgement covers both unbelievers and believers:   Judgment of unb

Psalm 136 to Psalm 140 Often we hear the Psalms one by one, but today we offer you the chance to hear a group of Psalms read as a collection! Psalm 141 A psalm of David. 1 I call to you, LORD, come quickly to me; hear me when I call to you. 2 May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. 3 Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. 4 Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies. 5 Let a righteous man strike me – that is a kindness; let him rebuke me – that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it, for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers. 6 Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken. 7 They will say, ‘As one ploughs and breaks up the earth, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.’ 8 But my eyes are fixed on you

Partake - Words in Scripture Explored - Remember The ability to remember is a wonderful gift of God to all people! Memories can bring about the full gamut of emotions -sadness, bitterness, anger, joy, ecstasy and love! I wonder what your ability to remember is like! Perhaps you are like me, and your memory sometimes fails. Sometimes I will think I have remembered something, but it turns out to be a false memory of an event that never occurred. Or other times I will forget to remember something, and then miss out on something important! So I have learnt to write things down, in order to remember! As a Christian, sin still tries to entangle us, but remembering certain things will help the Christian to live a righteous Christian life. One of the reasons why we still sin after becoming Christians is because we forget who we are! By remembering who you are as a Christian, not only will you behave as a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ, but you will have the assurance, only a living and dynamic relationship brings

An Almighty God of Almighty Love Throughout the Bible, God is proclaimed as one! We hear the cry echoing throughout! This one God is also frequently called Almighty! How is He Almighty? God is Almighty, in that He is an Almighty God of Almighty Love. In the Bible, God’s love is revealed. 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. 1 John 4:16 We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. Did you note that the Apostle John in does not simply say that God loves, but rather he writes “God is love.” There is s a difference! God is love and God loves because that is His very nature. We love God because He first loved us! Throughout the Bible, God’s love is described as an unfailing, everlasting, intimate, sacrificial, unbreakable, conquering, immeasurable and all-knowing. How is God’s love seen? Download the mp3 to find out more! Reading 1 - Mark

  A Simple Way To Pray Martin Luther Study 13 The Ten Commandments The Ninth and Tenth Commandments: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house." Similarly, "his wife," etc. This teaches us First that we shall not dispossess our neighbor of his goods under pretense of legal claims, or lure away, alienate, or extort what is his, but help him to keep what is his, just as we wish to be done for ourselves. It is also a protection against the subtleties and chicaneries of shrewd manipulators who will receive their punishment in the end. Second, we should render thanks to him. Third, we should repentantly and sorrowfully confess our sins. Fourth, we should ask for help and strength devoutly to keep such divine Commandments These are the Ten Commandments in their fourfold aspect, namely, as a school text, song book, penitential book, and prayer book. They are intended to help the heart come to itself and grow zealous in prayer. Take care, however, not to undertake all of this or so much that one becomes

Freedom to Live Romans 8:18-39 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Sp

  A Simple Way To Pray Martin Luther Study 13 The Ten Commandments The Eighth Commandment: "You shall not bear false witness." This teaches us: First of all, to be truthful to each other, to shun lies and calumnies, to be glad to speak well of each other, and to delight in hearing what is good about others. Thus a wall has been built around our good reputation and integrity to protect it against malicious gossip and deceitful tongues; God will not let that go unpunished, as he has said in the other Commandments. Second, We owe him thanks both for the teachings and the protection which he has graciously provided for us. Third, we confess and ask forgiveness that we have spent our lives in ingratitude and sin and have maligned our neighbor with false and wicked talk, though we owe him the same preservation of honor and integrity which we desire for ourselves. Fourth, we ask for help from now on to keep the Commandment and for a healing tongue, etc. (‘A Simple Way To Pray by Martin Luther’: Prayer,

Saturday Story People meeting Jesus  The story of Jenny from Taiwan... We continue apace into the twentieth century and hear the story of Jenny from Taiwan. Let's look together at how and why she started her Christian journey and the relevancy of Jesus Christ to her life! Come and listen to her story of faith... Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file~ You can now purchase our Partakers books! Please do click or tap here to visit our Amazon site!

  A Simple Way To Pray Martin Luther Study 13 The Ten Commandments The Seventh Commandment: "You shall not steal." First, I can learn here that I must not take my neighbor's property from him or possess it against his will, either in secret or openly. I must not be false or dishonest in business, service, or work, nor profit by fraud, but must support myself by the sweat of my brow and eat my bread in honor. Furthermore, I must see to it that in any of the above named ways my neighbor is not defrauded, just as I wish for myself. I also learn in this Commandment that God, in his fatherly solicitude, sets a protective hedge around my goods and solemnly prohibits anyone to steal from me. Where that is ignored, he has imposed a penalty and has placed the gallows and the rope in the hands of Jack the hangman. Where that cannot be done, God himself metes out punishment and they become beggars in the end, as the proverb says, "Who steals in his youth, goes begging in old age," or, "Stolen gain goes down th

The Hour Is Near Matthew 26:36-46 Opening Prayer Father, as we come to your written word, keep our eyes and minds awake by your Spirit, so that we can engage with, and learn more, about your living Word, Jesus Christ, apply that learning to our lives so that you receive all glory and honour due your name. Amen. Introduction Well, I don’t know how you are coping with this lockdown due to CoronaVirus, but not much has changed for myself, as I am used to working from home. I have been praying with people regularly online and have done interactive Church services every couple of days as people want. If you think that internet Church, isn't Church, well that is ok. You can think of it as simply an interactive time on the internet, between people in different physical locations, meeting at the same time, where God is worshipped, prayed to and studied in the Bible by each of them simultaneously. My biggest problem is forgetting to take breaks, unlike in normal practise, going off to the coffeeshop for a couple of h

  A Simple Way To Pray Martin Luther Study 13 The Ten Commandments The Sixth Commandment: "You shall not commit adultery." Here I learn once more what God intends and expects me to do, namely, to live chastely, decently, and temperately, both in thoughts and in words and actions, and not to disgrace any man's wife, daughter, or maidservant. More than this, I ought to assist, save, protect, and guard marriage and decency to the best of my ability; I should silence the idle thoughts of those who want to destroy and slander their reputation. All this I am obliged to do, and God expects me not only to leave my neighbor's wife and family unmolested, but I owe it to my neighbor to preserve and protect his good character and honor, just as I would want my neighbor to do for me and mine in keeping with this Commandment. Second, I thank my faithful and dear Father for his grace and benevolence by which he accepts my husband, son, servant, wife, daughter, maidservant into his care and protection and forbids s

Zechariah     This week we’ve reached the book of Zechariah. After spending a couple of weeks in the very short books of Obadiah and Haggai, I found Zechariah to be quite a contrast. It’s a much longer book with 14 chapters, and the style of prophetic writing is quite different too. There is so much that we could choose to look at in this complex, beautiful book, but it would be beyond the scope of this podcast to look in detail at all the prophesies that Zechariah received. Instead I’ll start with a brief historical background and an overview of some of the main themes of the book, and then I’ll focus on some of the prophecies that were fulfilled most clearly in the life of Jesus. We’ll end with some thoughts to take away for our own lives. Zechariah came from a priestly family. We are given the names of his father and grandfather, Berechiah and Iddo. His grandfather’s name appears in Nehemiah 12:4 where he is listed as one of the Levites who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel in about 538 BC, according

A Simple Way To Pray Martin Luther Study 13 The Ten Commandments The Fifth Commandment: "You shall not kill." Here I learn, First of all, that God desires me to love my neighbour, so that I do him no bodily harm, either by word or action, neither injure nor take revenge upon him in anger, vexation, envy, hatred, or for any evil reason, but realize that I am obliged to assist and counsel him in every bodily need. In this Commandment God commands me to protect my neighbour’s body and in turn commands my neighbour to protect my own. As Sirach says, "He has committed to each of us his neighbour". Second, I give thanks for such ineffable love, providence, and faithfulness toward me by which he has placed this mighty shield and wall to protect my physical safety. All are obliged to care for me and protect me, and I, in turn, must behave likewise toward others. He upholds this command and, where it is not observed, he has established the sword as punishment for those who do not live up to it. Were it not fo

Wednesday Wisdom Proverbs 17 G’day! Welcome to Partakers and to Wednesday Wisdom, where we are listening to what the Bible has to say through the Wisdom literature of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. Come on in! Today we are listening and learning from Proverbs 17. 1 Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than a house full of sacrifices with strife. 2 A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causes shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. 3 The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord tries the hearts. 4 A wicked doer gives heed to false lips; and a liar gives ear to a naughty tongue. 5 Whoso mocks the poor reproaches his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished. 6 Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. 7 Excellent speech becomes not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince. 8 A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that has it: where ever it turns,