Partakers Christian Podcasts

Psalm 81 to Psalm 85 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 81 For the director of music. According to gittith. Of Asaph. 1 Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! 2 Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre. 3 Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival; 4 this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. 5 When God went out against Egypt, he established it as a statute for Joseph. Right mouse click or tap here to save/download these Psalms as a MP3 file Psalm 82 A psalm of Asaph. 1 God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”: 2 “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? 3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 5 “The ‘gods’ kn

Psalm 76 to Psalm 80 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 76 For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song. 1 God is renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great. 2 His tent is in Salem, his dwelling-place in Zion. 3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war. 4 You are radiant with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game. 5 The valiant lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands. 6 At your rebuke, God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still. 7 It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? 8 From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet – 9 when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. 10 Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained. 11 Make vows to

A Christian Response to Suffering & Sickness Jeremiah 37:11-16  After the Babylonian army had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property among the people there.  But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, "You are deserting to the Babylonians!" "That's not true!" Jeremiah said. "I am not deserting to the Babylonians." But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison. Quite possibly the biggest question Christian Disciples ask themselves or is asked of them by others concerns the problem of suffering. I will start out by saying I don’t have all the answers, but hope to give some idea as to what the

A God of Joy and His people Part 3: Today Holy Barrier: I wonder what the biggest fence, wall or barrier is that you have either seen! Perhaps one of the biggest walls in the world is the Great Wall of China. It is over 4000 miles long, about 25 feet high and up to 30 feet thick! It is huge!! I have seen it both up close and from the air! It was originally built to keep out invaders - for that is what walls and barriers do: Keep out enemies! However big the Great Wall of China is, there is one barrier that is even bigger!  Just as it was for ancient Israel, it is for us today.   The biggest barrier to exist is the one that separates God from all His creation. This barrier is holiness, for God is a holy God and people are inherently not!  The prophet Ezekiel gives a vivid picture of the holiness of God and describes it as a fire, a bright light, radiance, full of glory and majesty. If that is holiness, what is sin? Sin is both a heavy burden. Sin is like also toxic virus of the soul and a

A God of Joy and His people (Part 2) 2. Life worship -Leviticus 18v1-5; 19v9-18 In our first part, we looked at the ceremonial cleansing of God's dwelling place. Now Leviticus moves to the matter of personal & communal holiness and moral impurity.  Repeatedly in this book, God has frequently said "Be holy, for I am holy".  The ancient nation of Israel was to be an obedient example to the whole world, a unique concept or paradigm if you like!  God was present with them and they were to be His light in a dark world.  The people of Israel were to live a life that reflected the holiness of God!  God desired obedience over sacrifice! Be Holy! Holiness was to be a moral attribute of ancient Israel, much the same as it was for the holy God who dwelt amongst them.  In chapter 18, we see at least 3 characteristics of this relationship! Firstly there is the call to be loyal to God!  God's laws were not be obeyed slavishly but to obeyed joyfully and with effervescent vigour! 

A God of Joy and His people Part 1 We look again in the book of Leviticus. Some of the words and phrases we commonly use come straight from the book of Leviticus.  Words such as jubilee and scapegoat are commonly used today.  And what husband hasn't offered a form of guilt offering to his wife! Leviticus does have important things to tell us about sin, obedience and holiness.  Perhaps most importantly it tells of God dwelling with His people. So tonight we delve into Leviticus chapter 16, which is the centre and pinnacle of the book. So please do turn in your bibles to Leviticus 16. 1. Sacrifices & Atonement (Leviticus 16v1-10) Day of Atonement Chapter 16 describes the Day of Atonement! We know that God had chosen Israel to be His people and that they were to be a shining beacon of light and hope to the world!  As part of the covenant made with their leader, Moses, God said that He would be their God and they would be His people! What a contrast to the nations around them that wors

Leviticus 9~10 Obedient Service - Part 5 Called to service! Just as it was for Aaron and the Old Testament priesthood, when we serve and minister, God's honour is released. This is done because service is to show the beauty and glory of God to others. Serving, service and ministry are never to be about what we as mere humans can get out of it. When that is the motive, God is neither honoured nor glorified. God's glory and supremacy is to be the ultimate reason for service!  God is both zealous and jealous for His glory and honour to be upheld! Nadab and Abihu could testify to that I am sure! As Christians, as part of our life of true Joy, we are called to serve and minister.  We are called to exhibit and show our true Joy - just as Aaron and his family were called into a lifetime of obedient service to Jehovah God. Their JOY motto was to be "Jehovah Over Yourself".  For us, true joy is to be "Jesus Over Yourself".  Each of us here tonight is called to perform a unique serving and minister

Leviticus 9~10 Obedient Service - Part 4 So what's all this got to do with us today in the 21st century? Over and over again in the Old Testament, we see that the nation of Israel were to be a people of service separated out for God!  Under the terms of the covenant God made with them through Moses, that was the core of God's agreement with them. It commenced with the stipulation "Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me (Exodus 19v5)". This covenant was with the nation of Israel in order that those who believed God's earlier promise to Abraham could know how to live a life worthy of being God's people: to live a life relating socially to God and to other people. It was also to show how humanity could approach God on God's terms alone and not on their own conditions! God was and is a perfect and holy God! His people, Israel, were to be a holy and separated people of service and to reflect God's

Leviticus 9-10 Obedient Service - Part 3 A God of Judgement Now today, in the 21st century, we have a problem. We are quite comfortable with a God of love, peace, joy and kindness. In the movie Crocodile Dundee, Mick Dundee announces that "Me and God - we'd be mates".  If that is the limit of our vision of God, then may I suggest that our vision and opinion of God is too small? Perhaps our God is too nice and too comfortable. Yet a problem seemingly remains. How on earth can a God of love, peace, gentleness, kindness and joy act like this against two of his dedicated servants, Nadab and Abihu? Is not that a God who is at odds with himself? The first thing we can say here about God is that while He is most assuredly a God of love, kindness and peace, He is also a God of judgement - a God who judges. That is plainly evident from this passage. We need to acknowledge him as a great lover, but also as a terrifying Judge. Not just a friend, but also a Judge! The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us that i

Leviticus 9~10 Obedient Service - Part 2 Great tragedy! Leviticus 10v1-11 These two men, Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron the High Priest, start their duties. They take their pans, fill them with hot coals from a fire, place aromatic incense on the coals and offer this to God as an act of worship. The fire from the glory of the Lord comes out, engulfs them and they die. What happened? They hadn't followed the strict guidelines as given by the Lord and had therefore violated all the instructions given to them.  Strict regulations were required by sinful humans to be in and work in God's holy presence! How different can these two scenes be? In the first passage we looked at, fire represented God's presence and spoke of His love, warmth, purity and blessing upon His people. Here though, the fire represents a different aspect of His presence through his active holiness and therefore danger and judgement. Who were Nadab and Abihu? They were Aaron's eldest sons and had received a privileged upbringing.  Th

Prayer With those fires in Los Angeles, California on our minds, I can easily imagine the terror and fear of those people. I don't know anybody in their path, but I do have friends of friends who are. So we pray: Lord God, from your wellsprings of grace and mercy, give wisdom & knowledge to those fighting the fires, and help people at their points of need... May those wildfires and winds abate quickly. May it be so, Dad. Amen...   Click or tap here to download as a mp3 file.  

Leviticus 9~10 Obedient Service - Part 1 Introduction Here we witness together a scene of great and exuberant joy! The first seven chapters of Leviticus talk about the different offerings or sacrifices that the nation of Israel was to make to God. Then in chapter 8 we see the beginning of the priesthood and the joyful work of Aaron and the priests. Their main role of service was to act as mediators between a holy God and the people of Israel, particularly in the role of making those offerings and sacrifices. In fact, they were the ultimate multi-taskers, as they seemed equally adept as butchers, doctors, teachers, quality assurors and public health inspectors!  The passage we have in front of us tonight shows the culmination of this priestly ordination. Great joy! (Leviticus 9v22-24) Israel was a nation, chosen by God, to be His people and to be a shining light of God's glory to the world around them. This nation, God's treasured and precious people, however, way back in Exodus 19, refused to be a nat

The Lord's Prayer Matthew 6:9-13 “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." We come to perhaps one of the best known passages of the Bible, in what we call the Lord’s Prayer. Most of us here tonight are I am sure familiar with it, if not over familiar with it. It is a prayer which is common to all churches of all denominations, just as it is known to those of others faiths and indeed, no faith at all. Why the Lord’s Prayer? Personally, I find it helpful to regularly go back to basics, to what should be familiar territory for somebody who has been a Christian for over 40 years now. I need to be reminded of the things that we commonly call the basics. So reflecting upon and pondering upon what th

Psalm 71 to Psalm 75 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!   Right mouse click or tap here to save/download these Psalms as a MP3 file Psalm 71 1 In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel. 5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. 6 From my birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you. 7 I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendour all day long. 9 Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. 10 For my enemi

When Jesus comes back as King Revelation 21-22 Introduction At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus Christ coming to earth as a human. At Easter, we celebrate, Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension. We celebrate knowing that Jesus Christ is coming back again. His first coming was a baby.  Society in general, is comfortable with leaving Jesus as a baby.  However, Jesus is not a baby now. Jesus is a King and what a King.  Jesus is coming again, not as a baby this time, but as King and Judge. This idea is affirmed by Jeremiah in the Old Testament and John in the New Testament, as well as other writers in the Bible. Inside we see that Heaven is prepared, pure and with pearly gates. Be encouraged, heaven is for you if you are trusting and obeying Jesus and have Him as Lord of your life!  Jesus  Christ is our King of Righteousness.  Trust Him and live a life worthy of Him.   Look for His coming! Be expectant, the King is coming back for us soon!  Critics of the church sneer "Where is your God?" and "The end of the Chu

Happy New Year 2025 Prayer G'day! Welcome to Partakers Podcasts and Happy New Year to you where ever you are in this world! If we have helped you in some way in 2024, you are welcome and it is all to the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Today we are praying together as we enter into the adventure that will be the year 2024! Come! Let's pray together and say your "Amen!" or "May it be so, Lord!"   Click or tap here to download these prayers as a mp3

Glimpses of the Risen Christ A Testimony from China. An interview with Sharon about her meeting the risen Jesus Christ and glimpses of how He is relevant to her daily life. How did you become a Christian? What is your favourite piece of Christian worship? Who in church history do you most admire? When did God last answer one of your prayers? Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

A Christmas Sermon of Martin Luther the angel said to the shepherds, “Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David's town your Saviour was born—Christ the Lord! And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great army of heaven's angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:10-14 Good News Translation) You have heard today the story from the Gospel of St. Luke 2:10-14 of how it came to pass that our Lord Christ was born and then also the message of the angel, who announced who the boy was who was born. Now we shall go on and take up the message of the angel. So for today you have heard only that the child was born and that he is the Lord and Saviour. Thus we spoke of the story, how it unfolded, and who the persons in it were. This article is so high that ev

The Story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer   Today we hear the story of perhaps one of the greatest Saints of the 20th Century church - Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His books and writings have never been more influential than they are today. His fight to stand for the cause of Christ cost him his life. We do well to honour and remember him as an example to us all. Come and listen to his story of faith... Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file

The birth of Jesus – Partakers Christmas Bible Thought Merry Christmas to you and to your family and friends where ever you are in this world! This is Christ’s Mass. Christmas is about God sending ‘his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.’ ‘The Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world.’ (1 John 4:9, 14). Christmas is about incarnation. We will look further at what that word means after some readings from the Bible. 1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be b