Partakers Christian Podcasts

Developing Intimacy With God 11. Jesus’ Teaching About Prayer (Part 1) “9 ‘This, then, is how you should pray: ‘“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 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.” (Matthew 6:9-13) This is, quite possibly, the prayer that is most frequently used, and repeated, by those professing to be Christians, as well as those who are not. It is often called the “Lord’s Prayer”. This is not, however, because Jesus would have prayed it. As He was without sin, He would have had no need to have asked God for forgiveness of sin. It is the Lord’s Prayer, because it was given by Jesus, to serve as a model for His Disciples to know what prayer is to be like, hence Jesus saying, “How You should pray” (Matthew 6:9).

Developing Intimacy With God 10. The Function of Prayer The function of prayer, which is the act of communicating and conversing with God, reveals a constant hunger for God’s help. An inner yearning, just as a child yearns for its parent. It is consolidating my desire towards the ultimate goal, of eternal life, joy, worship and knowledge of God – and of being fully known by God. It is also through the Bible that my desire to know God and be known by God, evolves and develops. That is why prayer and Bible reading go hand in hand. Prayer emits my words and thoughts to the God I seek to know, in response to His reaching out to me. Through prayer, God can comprehend the Christian Disciple, regardless of language, grammar or oratory skill, if the Christian Disciple approaches with a correct attitude. Words, however, are not just to be a mental action but also an emotive act, conveying emotions and feeling. Prayer is a way for me to convey my deep emotions, feelings and expressions to God, regardless of my langu

Developing Intimacy With God 9. Prayer - Some Thoughts As Christian Disciples, followers of Jesus Christ, we are engaged in spiritual warfare. That can easily be seen in the prayer Jesus taught His disciples, what we call the “Lord’s Prayer”, which we look at together later in this series. If you and I are engaged in spiritual warfare, that means we are to have weapons. Prayer, along with studying and reading the Bible, are our weapons of spiritual warfare! Prayer is at the centre in the relationship between God and the Christian Disciple, consequently building friendship and intimacy between God and ourselves. Prayer is to be the major action of fellowship between God and humans – of you and I communicating with God, both in talking and listening (Genesis 18:33) – as individuals and with other people. Not just as certain times of the day but also throughout the day – constant communication and not just for 30 minutes in the morning. Prayer is also a way of “letting God in” to the life of the Christian Di

Developing Intimacy With God 8. The Bible Helps You To Get To Know God’s Will God has a program for the universe and it is revealed only in the Bible. The overall will of God, is that all people should come to believe and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and their Saviour. After starting the Christian life, you discover God’s program by humbly reading his written word, the Bible. You become aware of how God wants you to live and what God wants you to do. God’s initial will for those who believe, is the changing and conforming of the believer into the likeness of Jesus. But this is only the beginning of God’s work in the believer! This serves as merely an elemental introduction into the lifelong process of becoming like Jesus Christ, the Son of God – your Saviour. Paul writes “being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ;” (Philippians 1:6). God will not abandon you, but he will keep working in you, transf

Psalm 125 A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. 1 Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever. 2 Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever. 3 The wicked will not rule the land of the godly, for then the godly might be tempted to do wrong. 4 O Lord, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are in tune with you. 5 But banish those who turn to crooked ways, O Lord.Take them away with those who do evil. May Israel have peace!   Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this Psalm as a MP3 file

Developing Intimacy With God 7. The Bible Helps You To Get To Know God Better One of the very key teachings from the Bible is that God is love and that he can be known personally. That is why we know that he has spoken to humanity through his two WOW Words – Jesus Christ and the Bible. People are not naturally born possessing this knowledge, even though they know that God exists. That knowledge is not the same as knowing God personally. In the same way that I know about Queen Elizabeth II, I don’t know her personally. That is the same state that some people are in with regards to God. Personal knowledge of God is ultimately crucial however, since knowing God personally and developing that relationship is what being a Christian is all about. As a Christian believer, you should be rejoicing that God earnestly desires you to gain this knowledge of Him, and to know him more and more. For this reason, He has spoken to you through his written Word, the Bible, revealing Himself and disclosing how you may know

Friday Prayers 4 May 2018 Order of Service! Opening prayer Praise time Prayers for those grieving and lonely Prayers for justice and peace Prayers for those facing challenging situations Prayers for churches and Christians worldwide Prayers for healing Time of silence for your own prayers Benediction 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!

Developing Intimacy With God 6. The Bible Helps Equip You To Serve God One of the main ways that the Bible helps you, is by equipping you for active service! There are at least four ways, in which the Bible does this in your Christian life! Firstly, the Bible also equips you for doing battle with Satan and resisting temptation. Paul likened this believers’ spiritual armour to that used by Roman foot soldiers (Ephesians 6:11-17). In Paul’s pen-picture here, the Bible is compared to a soldier’s sword. A sword is not only used to defend, but also used to attack. Jesus defended Himself from satan’s attack by using Scripture to show the devil how wrong he was (Matthew 4:3-4). Secondly, is that the Bible equips, and is useful for, evangelism and pointing others to Jesus Christ. In Acts 8 we read that the Ethiopian was puzzled by Isaiah 53. It was in explaining about that, that Philip could talk to him about Jesus Christ and bring him to faith. (It is also thought by some that he was responsible for starting

John's Story "Feeling on the path to nowhere but there is a light at the end." Today our testimony is from John... John is 32 years old, lives in the UK with his wife Nicole and has learning difficulties and epilepsy due to Tuberous Sclerosis... Play or download the mp3 file to hear how John came into a dynamic relationship with God because of Jesus Christ. John - a 21st century Christian because of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Why not make a comment below to encourage John? Right mouse click to save/download this testimony as a MP3 file   You can now purchase our Partakers books! Please do click or tap here to visit our Amazon site!

Developing Intimacy With God 5. Keys To Understanding The Bible You may well be asking a particular question by now. Just how does God the Holy Spirit illuminate the Bible to you. What is it that the Holy Spirit uses to help make the Bible easier to understand? The answer is prayer. Pray and ask that the Holy Spirit will help you as you read. That is a major part of his role in your life as a believer. He will use the Bible to enlighten and illuminate your mind, heart and will as you seek to be obedient to the Lord. Remember the Bible is inerrant and infallible. That is, it does not mislead in matters of faith and practice. It does not contain errors or mistakes in its original form. It is the Bible that God intended us to have. God speaks through it so it is totally trustworthy. That statement strictly speaking, only applies to the original manuscripts and languages. Because of that, we are to maintain the Bible as our final authority over all things. We can do this because if any part of the Bible a

Psalm 22 (as read by Kathrine D) For the Chief Musician; set to “The Doe of the Morning.” A Psalm by David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer; in the night season, and am not silent. But you are holy, you who inhabit the praises of Israel.   Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted, and you delivered them. They cried to you, and were delivered. They trusted in you, and were not disappointed. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,   “He trusts in Yahweh; let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.” But you brought me out of the womb. You made me trust at my mother’s breasts. I was thrown on you from my mother’s womb. You are my God since my mother bore me. Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near. For there i

Developing Intimacy With God 4. God Speaks By Illumination   God has spoken and he has communicated his Written Word to us. Firstly, by revelation when God spoke to the writers. Secondly, through inspiration as the writers were divinely guided by God, in the process of writing his message. However, to understand God’s revealed and inspired message, illumination is required. This is where God causes the Bible to be understood by both the human heart and the mind. Why do we need illumination? Without illumination, the reader is blinded both by their own nature and by satan. Just as a light bulb needs power to give light, so the Bible needs somebody to provide the power! The person, who does this illuminating, is God the Holy Spirit. He was promised by Jesus to illuminate the Bible to the hearts and minds of all those people willing to listen, both Christian and non-Christian. Take for example the event recorded for us in Acts 2. This is where the Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to illuminate sinners at Pentec

Developing Intimacy With God 3. God Speaks By Inspiration The actual word ‘inspiration’ is found only once in the New Testament, when Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16 explicitly states, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” or more literally “is God-breathed.” The word ‘inspiration’ is in fact, not a good translation. The original Greek word says that God ‘breathed out’ his Word. Divine inspiration naturally proceeds from divine revelation. We looked at revelation last week. While through revelation God speaks to humanity, it is by inspiration that God works the pen, ergo ensuring that the message is God breathed and written correctly. This process of inspiration has several theories attached to it. One theory called the content theory, suggests that the author was given the main idea by God, but God allowed the writer to choose his own words. Another is the natural theory. This is where the Biblical writers were inspired in the same sense Shakespeare was inspired, but that doesn’t agree with the ‘God-br

Developing Intimacy With God 2. God Speaks By Revelation "Then the LORD replied: ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that whoever reads it may run with it." (Habakkuk 2:2 New International Version) Last time we looked at the God who speaks and a reason why we should develop our intimacy with Him. He is a God of love and to hear him speak we need to read and understand the Bible. We continue with that today, by looking at the first of 3 words which describe what we mean when we say that God has spoken. The word for today is “revelation”. The Bible, as God’s written word, is revelation. Revelation is how God has communicated truths to people, who otherwise would not know them. The story of creation in Genesis 1 and 2 is a good example of this. As humanity was not created until the sixth day, it must have been God who revealed the knowledge about what occurred on the first five days to the author of Genesis, or it would not be possible to know what occurred. We know God spoke to thos

Developing Intimacy With God 1. The God Who Speaks “And so 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.” 1 John 4:16 Today we are starting a new series where we will seek to help our relationship with God, to develop our intimacy with Him. We will start with 8 studies about reading and understanding the Bible, where God speaks to us. Then we will go on to prayer, where we speak to God but He also, again, speaks to us. We start today by looking at the God who speaks and the basis on which we are to develop our relationship with Him through reading the Bible and praying to Him, listening to Him. Let me know what you think! I won't mind what you say... Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file

Psalm 30 (as read by Adam Skirton) Pastor of Poulner Baptist Chapel) A Psalm. A Song for the Dedication of the Temple. By David. 30:1 I will extol you, Yahweh, for you have raised me up, and have not made my foes to rejoice over me. 30:2 Yahweh my God, I cried to you, and you have healed me. 30:3 Yahweh, you have brought up my soul from Sheol. Y ou have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 30:4 Sing praise to Yahweh, you saints of his. Give thanks to his holy name. 30:5 For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning. 30:6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” 30:7 You, Yahweh, when you favored me, made my mountain stand strong; but when you hid your face, I was troubled. 30:8 I cried to you, Yahweh. To Yahweh I made supplication: 30:9 “What profit is there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise you? Shall it declare your truth? 30:10 Hear, Yahweh,

Words In Scripture Explored – Covenant Gday and welcome to Words In Scripture Explored! The word for today is Covenant. Look at your money! On British money are the words "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of five [ten/twenty/fifty] pounds. In fact you can even take old British banknotes to the Bank and cash them in for modern money! Promises!! That’s what a covenant is – a promise between two parties. Covenants in the Bible Covenants were common in all kinds of life, and not just between God and humanity. For instance where a powerful nation had taken over a weaker nation, a covenant was in place to give benefits from the powerful nation to the weaker nation, such as protection as well as sanctions if the weaker nation rebelled. About God’s Covenants Each covenant between God and humanity showed God promising to do something and commands for mankind to follow! When an Old Testament covenant ended in failure, it was always due to mankind’s inability to obey God! Such

  Christian Disciple and Forgiveness   Right mouse click to save/download this as a MP3 video file   G!day! The Apostle James wrote: 'When all kinds of trials and tribulations crowd into your lives my brethren, do not resent them as intruders but welcome them as friends. Realise that they come to test your faith and produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until your endurance is fully developed and you will find you have become men of mature character, with the right sort of independence. ' James 1:2-4   It is often said by psychiatrists that 90% of people with emotional related psychiatric problems would be cured, if only they knew forgiveness. Forgiveness of course is a major part of Christianity, both in the way that God forgives us when we come to Him in penitence and repentance, but also in the way Christian disciples forgive others and themselves! Does that surprise you that people may need to forgive themselves? How does that work? The two major causes of

Psalm 127  A Song of Ascents. By Solomon 1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. 2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for he grants sleep to those he loves. 3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. 5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate. Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file Click or Tap here to visit our page to download all 150 Psalms as mp3 files

  25. The Christian Disciple and the Armour of God Paul writing in Ephesians 6v13-17: “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery darts of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” We have learnt previously something of satan’s strategy. Satan wants you, as a Christian disciple, to compromise your faith. He wants you to be fearful. He wants you to have doubts and blasphemous thoughts. He wants you to be a hedonist that only thinks of themselves and living a materialistic life. He wants you to put off till tomorrow what you can do today. He