Partakers Christian Podcasts

Heaven What is heaven like? People, both believers and non-believers have an opinion about Heaven! To some its where everybody will meet up after death providing they weren't too bad in this earthly life! The caricature of the comedians is that heaven will be floating around on clouds and playing a harp! So what does the Bible, the foundation for all serious Christian thought, have to say about heaven? Physical Place: The first thing to say is that Heaven is a physical place! The Bible describes Heaven as a House (John 14:2); a Kingdom (Matthew 25:34); Paradise (2 Corinthians 12:2-4); Holy City (Revelation 21:2)!. These are all descriptions of Heaven's physical properties! Characteristics: Now, look & listen at all these characteristics the Bible offers about heaven! Joy (Luke 15v7-10); Rest (Revelation 14:13); Peace (Luke 16:19-25); Righteousness (2 Peter 3:12); Service (Revelation 7:15); Reward (Matthew 5:11-12); Inheritance (1 Peter 1:4); Glory (Romans 8:17-18). No sitting around on clouds there - for

Doctrine Paul writes in Titus 2:1: “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. “ The word ‘doctrine’ in a lot of places is unfashionable. They say that doctrine belongs to a time gone by, and that new experiences of God and miracles from God are all that matters. Some churches teach only what they think people want to hear, tickling the ears instead of exposing them to biblical truth led by the Holy Spirit and therefore stirring them into living transformed lives for Jesus Christ. What is Doctrine? The words translated as “doctrine” are found frequently in the letters written by Paul, primarily 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. The original words are didache (the act of teaching) and didaskalia (that which is taught). They are used fifteen times and are translated as doctrine. Doctrine is the study of God. For Christians, our doctrine is revealed through the pages of the Bible. The more you as a Christian learn about the God you have chosen to follow, the more you will be able to deal with the daily

Psalm 1 1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. 4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. 6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.   Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file

Psalm 41 to Psalm 45 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 41 For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the LORD delivers them in times of trouble. 2 The LORD protects and preserves them – they are counted among the blessed in the land – he does not give them over to the desire of their foes. 3 The LORD sustains them on their sick-bed and restores them from their bed of illness. 4 I said, ‘Have mercy on me, LORD; heal me, for I have sinned against you.’ 5 My enemies say of me in malice, ‘When will he die and his name perish?’ 6 When one of them comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it around. 7 All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying, 8 ‘A vile disease has afflicted him; he will never get up from the place where he lies.’ 9 Even my close friend, someone

Psalm 1 to Psalm 5 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 1 1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. Psalm 2 1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 3 ‘Let us break their chain

Mormonism - Part 4 Temple Rituals.   The Mormon Temple with its secret rituals and chants is the very centre of Mormonism Every Mormon who expects to become a ‘god’ in the world to come must be married in the eternal marriage ceremony. Whatever marriage has been entered previously is not counted. Following the entry into the temple males and females are separated. They remove all their clothes and replace them with a garment which is known as a shield. This is a loose fitting white garment. Their own clothes are then locked away and the key is pinned onto the shield garment. The temple assistants proceed to lay their hands on different parts of the candidates bodies invoking a blessing upon each part. The head is washed so that the brain and intellect can function correctly, the eyes that they may see clearly especially that which is spiritual. Other private parts are touched and blessed so that they may produce healthy offspring. Following this ceremony a special undergarment is placed upo

Mormonism - Part 3 Teachings contrary to the Bible   What are some of the teaching of Mormonism which differ from biblical Christianity? 1. They teach an addition to the Genesis account of the beginnings of mankind. The book of Mormon reads "A god and a goddess on another planet had a spirit called Elohim who was born into this world and because he obeyed the Mormon teaching became a god like his father. He eventually left this world and took a number of wives on another planet. Two spiritual children were born and were named Jesus and Lucifer. A discussion took place and it was decided by Lucifer that he thought all human beings be compelled to become gods. Jesus however objected. He said there ought to be free choice. Lucifer rebelled and took a third of the angels on his side. Because of this action they were cast out of heaven and into the earth and were not allowed to take human form. Those angels who had remained neutral in the battle of heaven became the black people of this world and were curse

Mormonism - Part 2 Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism.   Joseph Smith was the son of parents who were into selling blessings and fortune telling. Joseph himself had quite a reputation for telling tall stories. He was born in 1805 and at the age of fourteen was said to have had a divine visit from an angel and warned to have nothing to do with the established church. Visit from Moroni! Joseph was then supposed to have received a further visit from an angel whose name he said was Moroni. who gave him instructions to go to a certain place named Palmyra where he would receive a very special revelation from God. He would be told where to find some special gold plates with very special writing on. The writing would be in Egyptian so he would not have understood with out some kind of aid. Fortunately there just to the side of the gold plates were a pair of spectacles (glasses) and when Joseph looked through those glasses at the writing he would see it translated into his own language. In 1827 Joseph S

Mormonism - An Introduction The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints. Right mouse click here to download as a MP3 audio file     My first introduction to Mormonism was when visiting some homes in the Bournemouth area on behalf of a local evangelical church. Knocking on one particular door I received an extremely warm welcome. I was politely invited into a nice, well kept home and was made at home instantly. My first thoughts were "Wow! Surely here is a Christian home!" So what led me to that conclusion?" You may well ask, for surely there are polite atheists living in our district aren't there?. It wasn't because of their high interest in the Bible for that was surely evident.. No, I was perhaps thinking that way because the words they used concerning the things of God were very very similar. They seemed to use all the jargon that many Christians use. Yes, they talked like Christians yet there was something odd about them. Why do I say that? Because when I brought up in the conversation somet

Psalm 65 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. A song. 65:1 Praise waits for you, God, in Zion. To you shall vows be performed. 65:2 You who hear prayer, to you all men will come. 65:3 Sins overwhelmed me, but you atoned for our transgressions. 65:4 Blessed is one whom you choose, and cause to come near, that he may live in your courts. We will be filled with the goodness of your house, your holy temple. 65:5 By awesome deeds of righteousness, you answer us, God of our salvation. You who are the hope of all the ends of the earth, of those who are far away on the sea; 65:6 Who by his power forms the mountains, having armed yourself with strength; 65:7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. 65:8 They also who dwell in faraway places are afraid at your wonders. You call the morning's dawn and the evening with songs of joy. 65:9 You visit the earth, and water it. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water. You provide them grain, for so y

  Jesus Christ - No longer a baby 8. Jesus’ Relationship With The Christian So you have just become a Christian, been a Christian for a while, or are just interested in what this relationship with Jesus business is all about. I am sure you are aware that what you believe, affects what you do. Children behave like children, because that is what they are. Adults behave like adults, because that is who they are. So by remembering who we are as Christians, then we should also therefore behave like followers of Jesus Christ. You died with Jesus. Jesus not only died for you, but you have died with him. The reason for this is that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross also broke sin’s power over you. You are in Christ and one with Christ. Baptism, is a strong act of identification of this because it symbolizes your death with Jesus. You are raised with Jesus. It is an exciting fact that you are raised with him and you rule with him, seated at the right hand of the Father because of yo

Jesus Christ - No longer a baby 7. How To Be Assured You Are A Christian Now that you are a Christian, (if you are one), there may well be times when you doubt if you are God’s child. For no clear reason you don’t feel saved. But being a Christian is not to be based on emotional feelings but rather the clear and authoritative promise of God. God the Father has promised you salvation and given you his Spirit. He has promised to accept everybody who trusts in Jesus. God keeps his promises and he can be trusted. This means you have the right to enter Heaven one day, and that he will work out all things for your good here on earth as you live a life worthy of one who is his child. Jesus, the Son of God, promised you a life of abundance here on earth and a future in eternity! This is called ‘eternal life’ and it is a life of quality not only for your future home in heaven, but for your present home on earth. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven where he continually

  Jesus Christ - No longer a baby 6. How Do You Become A Christian - a follower of Jesus? If you want to turn to God there is no need for delay. God is ready and willing to take you as his own right now. You only have to ask him to forgive you and to give you help on the journey ahead which he will do by giving you the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a nurturing and personal partnership between God and yourself. The act of deciding to change course in mid-life, is what is called conversion. You may also know it as being born again, or deciding to be a Christian. When you place your faith in Jesus, becoming utterly dependent upon Him, you turn to God. That means that you have changed your intentions in the way you are going to live in future. However once you have made that decision, you leave behind your spiritual isolation and rebellion against him. As you live each day, becoming more involved with Jesus day by day, you will discover you are changing. You will find yourself doing things that pl

  Jesus Christ - No longer a baby 5. Was Jesus Christ Simply Just A Good Moral Teacher? Today we have another question? Was Jesus Christ simply a good moral teacher, and nothing more? It is often a statement often associated with Jesus Christ, that he was simply a good moral teacher. Nothing more. Nothing less. This thinking is also untenable and unworkable. How so? We start by asking ourselves, if Jesus’ teaching reflects a good way to live, and if they do, what did he teach? Jesus’ moral code, revolving around the part of the Bible we call the Old Testament, can be summarized as “do to others, what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12). Some people refer to this as the “Golden Rule“. However, Jesus with greater insight went further than anybody else. He goes on to say that it is not only the outward actions of a person that makes them morally good, it is also the internal attitude behind it (Matthew

  Jesus Christ - No longer a baby 4. Why Would God Become Human? A natural question now follows. Why would God become human? God Himself has taken on the responsibility for our sins. Jesus when he died on the cross bore our sins. Although he was sinless, he therefore became sin for us. By doing this, we are drawn to him in a personal way. God has shown that he loves us and wants us in a relationship with himself. God is one and therefore there could only be one incarnation - that is God taking on a human form – fully God and fully human. By doing away with the incarnation, could God’s salvation plan be fulfilled? No way! If Jesus was not fully God, then he would be part of the problem and therefore need to be redeemed himself! That would not work as there then would be no possibility of redeeming humanity so that they could have relationship and fellowship with God. God Himself has bridged the gap between the supernatural and the natural, the infinite and the finite. God did this

  Jesus Christ - No longer a baby 3. Jesus is fully Human We looked very briefly yesterday about Jesus being fully God. Today we go further and investigate very briefly at Jesus being fully human. That Jesus was a man who existed is not really disputable. There are a large variety of documents from that period of time about Him, including many and various sources outside the Bible. The primary historical documents about Him, the Bible, state Jesus Christ was born of a woman, which in itself tells us that before he was born he was nurtured and formed as any other male baby was and is. His genealogical line is given and he grew into maturity as any young Jewish boy did. These documents we know today as the Bible books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We know from these four ‘biographies’, or gospels, written about him, that in line with his humanity, Jesus exhibited normal human emotions. Emotions such as love, sorrow, joy, anger and anguish. Jesus ate and drank. He had a body and a sou

  Jesus Christ - No longer a baby 2. Jesus Christ - Fully God Yesterday we looked at what the name Jesus meant and how it was appropriate that he was called that. Today we are looking briefly at Jesus being fully God! God’s salvation plan for humans’ involved triumphant victory over sin, death and the grave. However no person could be found who was eligible or capable enough to do this. So God stepped into human history, so that this victory could be achieved. This is what we celebrate at Christmas. This God-man would be fully human, so as to live every feature of humanity, including suffering and death. This God-man would also need to remain fully God, so as to be big enough and powerful enough to defeat sin, death and the grave. A human could only die for their own sins. However God could die for the sins of all humanity. Jesus, being sinless, was this God-man, consisting as he did of two complete natures, the God nature and the human nature. Throughout the Bible, Jesus is ackno

  Jesus Christ - No longer a baby 1. What's in a name? I wonder what your name means. Parents often name their children after the hopes and aspirations they have for that child. For example, I know somebody called Grace, and her nature is full of grace. My name, David, means “beloved”. When my parents named me, it was meant to symbolize the love they had for me. Although when I put the cricket ball through the kitchen window or the time I crushed the vegetable patch whilst running after a football, I did not feel very beloved afterwards! When Jesus was born, his name expressed the very reason he was born. His conception and birth were extraordinary at every level. Do you think that his parents ever gazed upon him, and thought “How misnamed he is”! They did not, because they knew the very purpose for which he was born. Did Jesus ever think of how misnamed he was? Certainly not! For Jesus’ name means ‘the one who saves’ or ‘a rescuer’. In

When Jesus comes back as King Revelation 21-22 Introduction Right mouse click or tap here here to download as a MP3 audio file After His ascension, Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father! He is King and what a King. Jesus is coming again, not as a baby this time, but as King and judge.  Both ideas are affirmed by Jeremiah and John. We will do two things today.  Firstly, to give a very brief overview of Revelation 11 and then progress to the end of Revelation and give just three brief vignettes into what the reward is that John writes about in verse 18. Christ's reign Prepared! Purity (v.1-4) Pearly gates (v.21) Conclusion Be encouraged, heaven is for you if you are trusting and obeying Jesus and have Him as Lord of your life!  Remember.  Whatever your attitude and how you judge Jesus now, is how He will judge you when He returns!  Are you following Him and treating Him with respect and reverence?  If you aren't, then it isn't too late to change your mind and then the reward of eternal living in heaven

Partakers Friday Prayers! 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! Let us pray earnestly this prayer together to our great God!    Look upon us, O Lord, and let all the darkness of our souls vanish before the beams of Your brightness. ~ Fill us with holy love, and open to us the treasures of Your wisdom. ~ All our desire is known by You, therefore perfect what You have begun, and what the Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer. ~ We seek Your face, turn Your face toward us and show us Your glory. ~ Then shall our longing be satisfied, and our peace shall be perfect. Amen   Augustine (354-430AD) Right mouse click to save this Podcast in MP3.   Click on the appropriate link below to subscribe to this website Subscribe via iTunes