Partakers Christian Podcasts

Investigating Jesus Part 8 Witnesses to Jesus In our last episode, we looked at the witness of John the Baptist, as to the true identity of Jesus Christ. Today we continue by looking at 2 more witnesses: God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Witness 2 & 3 Jesus presents Himself John for baptism. John at first refuses to do it (Matthew 3:13-15). Why so? Because John knew that Jesus was the perfect Son of God, and as such had no need to repent of sin. Through his baptism, he identified with all sinners that he came to save. We have seen already that it is the start of his public ministry (Acts 1:21-22, 10:37-38). But why did Jesus get baptized? In replying to John’s initial refusal to baptize him, Jesus said: “…it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). This looks forward Jesus’ death on the cross, because it is only through the baptism of suffering that Jesus endured on the cross, that God can fulfil all righteousness. The “us” referred to means Father, Son and Spirit

Readings and Prayers of Lament 19 You, LORD, reign for ever; your throne endures from generation to generation. 20 Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? 21 Restore us to yourself, LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old 22 unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure. (Lamentations 5:19-22)   Right Mouse click or tap here to save Podcast as an audio mp3 file We are reading Scripture together, particularly Psalms of lament and repentance as well as the book of Lamentations. As each Scripture is read, listen in an attitude of prayer, and perhaps repeat the words to yourself. Feel the very raw emotions of the words and agony of the original writer and at the heart of God Himself. Yet also listen out for those little words of joy and hope that are hidden within. Then after listening, pray to God using that piece of Scripture. Lamenting can be part of our worship & prayer life – as individuals and corporately - just as it was for the anc

Investigating Jesus Part 7 Witnesses to Jesus 21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” 23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.  Luke 3:21-23 Jesus’ baptism, is the commencement of Jesus’ public ministry. Jesus is now about 30 years old. John the Baptist precedes all Gospel accounts of the start of Jesus’ ministry, and this is because repentance before God is the key to starting a new life in God’s Kingdom. Witness 1- John the Baptist When John came (Luke 3:1-2) – When John the Baptist appeared on the scene, no prophetic voice had been heard within Israel for almost 400 years. His coming was part of God’s perfect timing, for everything that relates to God’s Son is always on time (John 2:4; John 13:1; Galatians 4:4). How John came (Luke 3:3) – Dress

Readings and Prayers of Lament 1 How the gold has lost its lustre, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at every street corner. ----- 16 The LORD himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honour, the elders no favour. (Lamentations 4:1, 16) Right Mouse click or tap here to save Podcast as an audio mp3 file We are reading Scripture together, particularly Psalms of lament and repentance as well as the book of Lamentations. As each Scripture is read, listen in an attitude of prayer, and perhaps repeat the words to yourself. Feel the very raw emotions of the words and agony of the original writer and at the heart of God Himself. Yet also listen out for those little words of joy and hope that are hidden within. Then after listening, pray to God using that piece of Scripture. Lamenting can be part of our worship & prayer life – as individuals and corporately - just as it was for the ancient people of Israel and the early Church. There is much to

Investigating Jesus Part 6 Who is Jesus? Jesus is the most talked about person in history. Almost everyone has an opinion about Him. He was born to confirm God's promises, to reveal God as a Father, and to be our representative before Him. He gave us an example of how to live life to the full. He was not merely a man who received some special power. He was not some strange creation that was half man and half God, with his human nature somehow absorbed into the divine. He was much more than those ideas as we will discover as we continue in through our studies about Him in this book. God’s salvation plan for humans involved triumphant victory over sin, death and the grave. However, no person could be found that was eligible or capable to do this. Therefore, God stepped into human history, so that this victory could be achieved. This God-man would be fully human, so that he would be able to live every feature of humanity, including suffering and death. This God-man would also need to remain fully God, so that

Readings and Prayers of Lament Day 3. Lamentations 3 1 I am the man who has seen affliction     by the rod of the Lord’s wrath. 2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; 3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. ----- 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:1-3, 21-23) Right Mouse click or tap here to save Podcast as an audio mp3 file We are reading Scripture together, particularly Psalms of lament and repentance as well as the book of Lamentations. As each Scripture is read, listen in an attitude of prayer, and perhaps repeat the words to yourself. Feel the very raw emotions of the words and agony of the original writer and at the heart of God Himself. Yet also listen out for those little words of joy and hope that are hidden within. Then after listening, pray to God u

Investigating Jesus Part 5 Jesus' Birth The writer of the Gospel of Luke, tells us this about the birth of Jesus Christ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. 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. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. (Luke 2:1-8) That Jesus was a human male is not really disputed. The birth of Jesus is extrao

Readings and Prayers of Lament Day 2. Lamentations 2 1 How has the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger! He has cast the beauty of Israel down from heaven to the earth, and hasn’t remembered his footstool in the day of his anger. 2 The Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob without pity. He has thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah. He has brought them down to the ground. He has profaned the kingdom and its princes. (Lamentations 2:1-2) Right Mouse click or tap here to save Podcast as an audio mp3 file We are reading Scripture together, particularly Psalms of lament and repentance as well as the book of Lamentations. As each Scripture is read, listen in an attitude of prayer, and perhaps repeat the words to yourself. Feel the very raw emotions of the words and agony of the original writer and at the heart of God Himself. Yet also listen out for those little words of joy and hope that are hidden within. Then after listening, pray to God

Investigating Jesus Part 4 Jesus in the Four Gospels   In the New Testament, we have four accounts of the life of Jesus Christ which are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These are called Gospels. But what is a Gospel, how are the four accounts different or similar and what were the main points each writer sought to communicate? Firstly, they are called Gospels, because they gave substance to the Gospel or Good News about Jesus Christ as described by one of his early followers, the man we know as the Apostle Paul (Romans 1:16) We know that during his time on earth Jesus Christ wrote nothing formally. Yet after his ascension, the stories about Him were preserved and passed on by his disciples and other Christian teachers and evangelists. For the first thirty years or so, these stories were possibly collated and stored together. That would explain the similarity in the four accounts of Jesus’ life. They are not an exhaustive biographical detail of all that Jesus did. Similarly, the Gospels are also not diarie

Readings and Prayers of Lament 1. Lamentations 1 Today we start a series leading up to Easter, where we are reading Scripture together, particularly Psalms of lament and repentance as well as the book of Lamentations. As each Scripture is read, listen in an attitude of prayer, and perhaps repeat the words to yourself. Feel the very raw emotions of the words and agony of the original writer and at the heart of God Himself. Yet also listen out for those little words of joy and hope that are hidden within. Then after listening, pray to God using that piece of Scripture. Lamenting can be part of our worship & prayer life – as individuals and corporately - just as it was for the ancient people of Israel and the early Church. There is much to lament in the world at the moment. But as we lament, we also know that God is in control and that He has not left us alone in our lament but is by our side, embracing us and wiping our tears. Today we are reading and praying Lamentations 1. Come on in! Right Mouse cl

Investigating Jesus Part 3 Welcome back to this series “Investigating Jesus Christ”. Together we are exploring the life of the most amazing person who ever lived - Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We will investigate together who this man was and why he matters. Today we continue looking at some of the evidences outside of the Bible for the existence of the man we know as Jesus Christ. Josephus (37-101AD) Jewish Antiquities, 18.3.3 “Now around this time lived Jesus, a wise man. For he was a worker of amazing deeds and was a teacher of people who gladly accept the truth. He won over both many Jews and many Greeks. Pilate, when he heard him accused by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, (but) those who had first loved him did not cease (doing so). To this day the tribe of Christians named after him has not disappeared.” Jewish Talmud (400-700AD) (b. Sanhedrin 43a) “Jesus practiced magic and led Israel astray” “It was taught: On the day before the Passover they hanged Jesus. A herald went befo

Investigating Jesus Part 2 Welcome back to this series “Investigating Jesus Christ”. Together we are exploring the life of the most amazing person who ever lived - Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We will investigate together who this man was and why he matters. Today we continue looking at some of the evidences outside of the Bible for the existence of the man we know as Jesus Christ. Mara Bar-Serapion (70AD) from “Letter to his son”) “What benefit did the Athenians obtain by putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as judgment for their crime. Or, the people of Samos for burning Pythagoras? In one moment their country was covered with sand. Or the Jews by murdering their wise king? After that their kingdom was abolished. God rightly avenged these men…The wise king…Lived on in the teachings he enacted.” Pliny the Younger (61-113AD) from “Book 10, Letter 96” “The Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn

Investigating Jesus Part 1 G’day! Welcome to this series “Investigating Jesus Christ”. Together we will explore the life of the most amazing person who ever lived - Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We will investigate together who this man was and why he matters. When the human we know as Jesus Christ was born, his name imbued the very reason he was born. His conception and birth were extraordinary at every level. Jesus very name, means “one who saves” and the entirety of his birth, life and death were centred on this very role. His role was to save all those who would follow Him. Jesus is the most talked about person in history. Almost everyone has an opinion about Him. Jesus was born to confirm God's promises, to reveal God as a Father, and to be our representative before Him. He gave us an example of how to live a holy life to the full. Jesus was not merely a man who received some special power, nor was he some strange creation that was half man and half God. He was much more than those ideas. That Jesus is

Happy New Year 2026 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

Adoption The word for today is adoption. Imagine you are an orphan left on the streets. You are hungry and thirsty. Begging for scraps of food. Your last job you were treated like a slave, so you escaped. Even your only friend, a stray dog, has abandoned you! You are friendless, lonely and miserable. Then one day a big stretch limousine pulls up beside you. You recognize the limousine. It is the one you scratched with a key because you were bored and belongs to the enemy of your former boss. The driver asks you to get in, and reluctantly you do. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The limousine drives and eventually goes through some large gates and there is a huge house on top of the hill. The owner is there to greet you. He tells you that you are now part of his family now, if you want to be. You have no need to go back to begging for scraps. You are part of his family now, with all the legal standing as one of his children. That is adoption in the Christian sense. If you are a Christian, G

Reading The Bible With Confidence Click or tap here to save/download this talk as a MP3 file Aim: to discuss briefly the following things regarding the Bible. 1. What is the Bible? Bible can be used and abused Bible in history & society. Richard Dawkins & Dan Brown Other claims to be the Word of God - Koran, Book of Mormon 2. How did we get the Bible? 3. How did God give us the Bible? Revelation Inspiration Illumination 4. How to look up the Bible? 5. Why interact with the Bible? The Bible helps us know God more 6. How should we interact with the Bible? Keys to understanding the Bible · Read it Inerrant No explicit contradictions Context matters 7. Some practical interactions with the Bible! Public & private reading. Memorizing Meditating or thinking about it Obeying it! Preaching & teaching. Tap or click here to save/download this as a MP3 file

Why I am a Christian! The Apostle John, writing: "We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." 1 John 5:9-12   Today I share the reasons I am a Christian, a follower of Christ. Come and hear my story!   Right mouse click to save/download this testimony as a MP3 file

Messiah's Kingdom 14:1 Behold, a day of Yahweh comes, when your spoil will be divided in your midst. 14:2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city will be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go out into captivity, and the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 14:3 Then Yahweh will go out and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 14:4 His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in two, from east to west, making a very great valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 14:5 You shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azel; yes, you shall flee, just like you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Yahweh my God will come, and all the holy ones with you. 14:6 It will happen in that day, that

Messiah's Proclamations 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are bound; 61:2 to proclaim the year of Yahweh's favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 61:3 to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified. 61:4 They shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. 61:5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners shall be your ploughmen and your vinedressers. 61:6 But you shall be named the priests of Yahweh; men will call you the ministers of our God: you will eat the wealth of the natio

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