Partakers Christian Podcasts

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

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

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. Matth

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

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 t

Psalm 91 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 91:2 I will say of Yahweh, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust." 91:3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence. 91:4 He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart. ~ 91:5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day; 91:6 nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday. 91:7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. 91:8 You will only look with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked. ~ 91:9 Because you have made Yahweh your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place, 91:10 no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. 91:11 For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in a

Highlights in Hebrews (with Roger Kirby) 39. Hebrews 13:1–7 - Keep on … don’t forget … remember … Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it. Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. Give honour to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith. There is no one outstanding highlight in these verses but they constitute a

Highlights in Hebrews (with Roger Kirby) 38. Hebrews13:8 - Jesus, Son of God Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (NLT)   Taken as it is this doesn’t say too much! We all have a yesterday and a today. Yet when we hear it or read it it seems to say much more than that. There is a very similar statement in Revelation 1, usually translated as about ‘he who is, and who was, and is to come’. One version translates this, as ‘I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come.’ So we read our passage here as: Jesus Messiah had a very different yesterday from ours since he existed from before creation; he is today very different from us because he is the Lord of Glory and plays a big part in this world of ours; then tomorrow on one future day he will lead us forwards into a very different and wonderful future. Our writer has said all these things on his way through his writing. He started off with ‘through the Son he created the universe.’ (Hebrews 1:2). Then he said ‘The Son ra

Highlights in Hebrews (with Roger Kirby) 37. Hebrews 12:22–24 Our wonderful destination you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24 NLT The most astonishing two words in these verses are ‘have come’. Not ‘will come’ looking forward to some future date. Not tomorrow; not next year; not when we die; but now. We are already there. Wow! What is it that we have already come to? Our writer’s words form something of a purple patch in his description

Highlights in Hebrews (with Roger Kirby) 36. Hebrews 12:7 - Discipline   As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? (Hebrews 12:7 NLT ) Discipline, now there is a dirty word – in much of the West, anyway. Several hundred years go the great thinkers decided that men and women do not really need God. We are all quite capable of working everything out for ourselves. This idea was called the Enlightenment and began back in the 16th century. Since then that idea has spread and now determines what people think in most of Europe and North America. If we are capable of working everything out for ourselves that means that the way you work things out may be different from the way I do. And the way children work things out may well be different from the way their parents do. So the parents cannot discipline their children for doing something different from what they would. The result is not good.

Highlights in Hebrews (with Roger Kirby) 35. Hebrews 12:1-3 Keeping spiritually fit. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. NLT If the writer to the Hebrews had known that we all have a mix of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles throughout our body he might have used them as an illustration of what he wanted to say. If, like me, you are short of the fast-twitch type you always come in at the back of all the sprint races. You may, however, do much better at the cross-country races. He would have been asking us to ensure that we develop as much slow-twit

Highlights in Hebrews (with Roger Kirby) Hebrews 11:32-40 - Ups and Downs How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They w

Psalm 128 A Song of Ascents. Blessed is everyone who fears Yahweh, who walks in his ways. For you will eat the labor of your hands. You will be happy, and it will be well with you. Your wife will be as a fruitful vine, in the innermost parts of your house; your children like olive plants, around your table. Behold, thus is the man blessed who fears Yahweh. May Yahweh bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel.   Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file

Highlights in Hebrews (with Roger Kirby) Hebrews 11:23-28 - One like Moses By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. Moses said that, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the Lord your God .... And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18: 15, 1

Psalm 32 32:1 Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven,  whose sin is covered.  32:2 Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh doesn't impute iniquity,  in whose spirit there is no deceit.  32:3 When I kept silence,  my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  32:4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me.  My strength was sapped in the heat of summer.  Selah.  32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you.  I didn't hide my iniquity.  I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh,  and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.  32:6 For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found.  Surely when the great waters overflow,  they shall not reach to him.  32:7 You are my hiding place.  You will preserve me from trouble.  You will surround me with songs of deliverance.  Selah.  32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go.  I will counsel you wi

G'day and welcome to Partakers! Today we hear a testimony of how Partakers began! May 2007, in the final week before final dissertation submission at Moorlands College, I collapsed while at the GP. While unconscious I said "Dad, can I come home now?" To which I was told by God, "No. Get up. We have a job for you to do." So I sat up, and the emergency paramedics came in, almost fainted and said: "You aren't supposed to be sitting up..." Collapse caused by sepsis due to ingrown hairs on my leg... Because of these events, we now do what we are doing, thanks be to God, reaching over 150 countries a year via social networks, paperbacks, ebooks, Podcasts and YouTube... Thanks for being part of our life, and I hope that I have shown in some way, that God loves you... Come on in, listen to what happened next, how we began. By listening, you are sharing in the work that God has been doing through us! Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file ~ You can now purchase our Partakers books! Please

Psalm 68    For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David. 1 Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies. Let those who hate God run for their lives. 2 Blow them away like smoke. Melt them like wax in a fire. Let the wicked perish in the presence of God. 3 But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God's presence. Let them be filled with joy. 4 Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the Lord- rejoice in his presence! 5 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows- this is God, whose dwelling is holy. 6 God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. 7 O God, when you led your people out from Egypt, when you marched through the dry wasteland, 8 the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain before you, the God of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. 9 You sent abundant rain, O God, to refresh the weary land. 10 There your people finally settle

Highlights in Hebrews (with Roger Kirby) Part 31 - Hebrews 11:13-16 Faith in the dark All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. NLT. Church can be very boring, can’t it! (That’s a statement you wont often see.) Perhaps you have been going to church for many years, decades even. Every pastor has a cycle length, that is, after a certain length of time they have said all they know and are really just repeating themselves even when the scripture being preached from is different. A weak pastor may only last for

Highlights in Hebrews (with Roger Kirby) Part 30 - Hebrews 11:8-19 The obedience of Abraham The obedience of Abraham It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. Hebrews 11:8-19 (NLT) A few daft people (like my wife and I used to) love to go trekking and sleep on the ground in a small mountain tent. But that is not most people’s idea of an enjoyable way to spend their holidays. The amazing thing about Abraham is that he not only set out on a long trek, sleeping in tents himself but also persuaded all his family, including his father, to do so. It was, of course, the senior male

Highlights in Hebrews (with Roger Kirby) Part 29 - Hebrews 10:32-39 - The power of faith! Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. NLT With chapter 11 we start into the writer’s great gallery of Old Testament saints. The introductory verse starts off with 2, or is it 3, great words. The most important one is ‘hope’, then to support ‘hope’ we have ‘faith’ but that is not sufficient as just one other word. ‘Faith’ in common usage is often thought to be the same as ‘believe’ but believing all takes place in our heads. The following list of people of faith clearly shows that there is more to it than just what happens between our ears! There is a great deal of activity involved as well. We can call this either ‘endurance’ (10: 36), ‘trustworthiness’ or ‘faithfulness’. Let’s settle for the last of those - which is part of the meaning of the Greek word, which also means ‘faith’ in the more restricted sense. To see what ‘faith’ has to do with ‘hope’ we must th