Partakers Church Podcasts

King Jesus Returns G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 30 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days - from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Today we conclude this series, looking at when, as King Jesus Himself promised, that He would "come again". For believers in Jesus Christ, living almost 2000 years after Jesus spoke these words in Revelation 22v7, "Behold, I am coming soon", this is their hope. When will King Jesus come? Jesus frequently said during his earthly life, things like "I will come back and take you to be with me" (John 14v3). The angels after Jesus' ascension said to the disciples "Jesus will come back the same way He went to heaven" (Acts 1v11). When will this occur? No-one knows (Matthew 24v36) but we do know it will be unexpected (1 Thessalonians 5v1-3), that there will be events preceding His coming (Matthew 24) and occur after the gospel has been preached in the whole world (Matthew 24v14). What we also know is that believers are to be alert, ready, waiting, watching and working for God's kingdom (Matthew 24v42-44). His people, His church of all believers, are to be alert, self-controlled and encouraging each other (1 Thessalonians 5v6-8, 11)! Why will King Jesus return? Jesus sayt that will come to judge the antichrist and his followers (Revelation 16v12-16, 19v11-16)! Jesus will come to bind Satan (Revelation 20v1-3). Secondly, He will come to judge all of humanity (Matthew 25v31-46; Joel 3v11-17). Finally, Jesus Christ will come and set up an earthly kingdom for 1,000 years (Revelation 20v2-7). Two Different Views Unsurprisingly there are many different views about this event, but there are two main schools of thought. They are Amillenialism & Premillenialism. Amillenial View - Primarily a figurative/spiritual interpretation. This view sees the Old Testament promises to Israel are being fulfilled in the church. The Millennium is the reign of Christ in the Church - the new Israel. The Church is already experiencing tribulation. Premillenial View - Christ will return to set up His kingdom on earth for 1000 years (Revelation 19v1-7). God promises to Israel of restoration, a future king and temple will await fulfilment. God has a separate programme for the Church. His coming is when Jesus Christ returns to take His people to be with Him (1 Thessalonians 4v16). The dead in Christ are raised and the living are changed (1 Corinthians 15v51-54) His coming to Earth will be to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14v4; Acts 1v11) with power and glory (Matthew 24v30) and everyone will see Him. What does Church History say? The view of the church for the first 200 years was that of a literal return of Jesus Christ, 1000 years after the coming of the Holy Spirit. Early church leaders such as Papias, Irenaeus and Justin Martyr taught this, and these men were not far removed from the Apostle John. Origen promoted the figurative (spiritual) method of interpretation and Augustine developed an Amillenial view, identifying the Church with the fulfilment of the Old Testament promises to Israel and this became official Roman Catholic doctrine. Many scholars later returned to the Premillenial (literal) view after the Reformation. Resurrection! King Jesus will come suddenly, bringing destruction while people are saying ‘peace and safety' (1 Thessalonians 5v1-3). The bodily resurrection of the dead, both believers and unbelievers, is clearly taught in the Bible (John 5v28-29; Acts 24v15). Jesus' own resurrection is the guarantee of the resurrection of believers (1 Corinthians 15v20-22) At their resurrection, believers will have bodies changed into those like Jesus' glorious body (1 Corinthians 15v49; Philippians 3v21; 1 John 3v2), that wont be made of flesh and blood (1 Corinthians 15v50ff) and not just partly spiritual (Luke 24v39; 1 Corinthians 15v42, 53)! For those who are unbelievers, they will be resurrected (John 5v28-29) and cast into the lake of fire! What is the timing of these two resurrections? The first Resurrection will occur when Jesus Christ comes in the air to take his believers and followers (1 Corinthians 15v23; 1 Thessalonians 4v16). The second Resurrection, will be of the unsaved and unbelievers (Revelation 20v5, 11-13). Both believers and unbelievers will face judgement! Judgment Comes! There is a certainty of judgment for all people and King Jesus will judge the whole world with justice and mercy (Acts 17v31). Every human who has ever lived is destined to die once and after that to face judgment (Hebrews 9v27). Who is the Judge? - God is the judge of all the earth (Hebrews 12v23) and God the Father has given all judgment to Jesus Christ, God the Son (John 5v22-27) Judgment of believers: Believers and followers of King Jesus will not be judged for their sin, because that has been judged (Isaiah 53v4-6; 1 Peter 2v24) when they started believing in Jesus as the Messiah and King! They will be judged for their works and have to give an account to God (Romans 14v10) of what they have done with what they were given (2 Corinthians 5v10). The quality of work will be tested (1 Corinthians 3v11-15) and motives will be exposed - either things were done for God's glory (1 Corinthians 4v4-5) or for their own glory. Rewards may be gained or lost (1 Corinthians 3v14-15) and includes various crowns! There is the incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9v25), the crown of glory (1 Peter 5v4) the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4v8) the crown of rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2v19) and finally the crown of life (James 1v12) Judgment of unbelievers: These people will stand before The Great White Throne of Judgment (Revelation 20v11-15) and as they didn't respond to Jesus' call of salvation, they will be cast into the lake of fire with satan and his angels (Revelation 20v15; Matthew 25v41). This punishment is everlasting (Matthew 25v46). Heaven and Hell Then there is talk of two places: heaven and hell. What are heaven and hell like? Both are physical places where every person will be in one or the other. It is either heaven or hell. King Jesus spoke of the reality of a literal hell more than anybody else! 1. Hell Characteristics Everlasting fire and punishment (Matthew 25v41-46) Constant and outer darkness (Matthew 8v12) Everlasting destruction (2 Thessalonians 1v9) Lakes of fire (Revelation 19v20) It is prepared for Satan and his demons (Matthew 25v41; 2 Peter 2v4); the wicked (Revelation 21v8) and the disobedient (Romans 2v8-9). It is for all those who openly rejected Jesus Christ during their earthly life (Matthew 10v14-15). 2. Heaven As opposed to this place of Hell, there is Heaven! Characteristic of heaven will be: Joy (Luke 15v7-10), Rest (Revelation 14v13), Peace (Luke 16v19-25), Righteousness (2 Peter 3v12), Service (Revelation 7v15), Reward (Matthew 5v11-12), Inheritance (1 Peter 1v4), Glory (Romans 8v17-18)! Martin Luther exclaimed that heaven is "full of laughter!" This is prepared for all believers in Jesus Christ and therefore have their names recorded in the Book of Life (Malachi 3v16-18; Philippians 4v3) as they will be declared righteous (Matthew 5v20), obedient (Revelation 22v14) and holy (Revelation 19v8) Heaven is described as a House (John 14v2), a Kingdom (Matthew 25v34) a Paradise (2 Corinthians 12v2-4) and a Holy City (Revelation 21v2) There will be a new heaven and a new earth to replace the old heaven and old earth! This is the fullness of redemption, the whole story of the Bible that we have been looking at in this series. Do you know where you stand? Are you a believer or unbeliever? What now? If you are not yet a believer, you can respond to King Jesus today and then you will not be without an excuse when it comes your time to face Him as your judge! He is ready and willing to take you as His own - right now. If you want to become a Christian believer right now, there are three simple steps to follow. Firstly, admit that you have done wrong against God and His ways. Secondly, believe and trust in Jesus. Call on Him, receive, trust, obey and worship Him, recognizing Him for who He is and what He has done. Lastly, confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Once sin has been confessed, and Jesus is believed in and trusted as Saviour, then you are a Christian believer. Now you are ready as Peter writes in the Bible, "to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). Welcome to the family of God. Let us know if you have taken this step! Thank you! Tap or click here to download as a MP3 audio file

Church Expands G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 29 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days - from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! We saw last time Jesus making a sudden reappearance which resulted in the conversion of one of the main persecutors of the church - Saul, who later changed his name to Paul. We saw also a problem to be solved, it was done so judiciously and it was decided that salvation was by grace alone through Jesus' death on the cross and through the Holy Spirit alone. The church had begun to spread throughout the Roman Empire from its birthplace in Jerusalem. Remember back to the day of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit first came? The people there had gone back to their own countries and cities: places such as : Egypt, Arabia, Libya, Italy, Greece, Judea, Elam, Media, Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus, Pamphylia, Phrygia, Asia, Crete, Cyrene and Crete, parts of the Parthian Empire and of course even the headquarters of the Roman Empire, Rome! As far as we know, from the Bible record, the most effective missionary was Paul, and that's because most of what we call the New Testament consists of letters written by him. Here are the places he and his various teams of people visited on what we call his missionary journeys. You can read about them in the book of Acts. Paul's First Missionary Journey The first journey was to places such as: Antioch (Acts 13:4), Seleucia and sailed to Cyprus. From there they went to Salamis and Paphos (Acts 13:4-6). Then onwards to Perga in Pamphylia, which is now southern Turkey. At Antioch in Pisidia, Paul deliberately plans to take the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). Then Iconium (Acts 14:3), Lystra (Acts 14:19), and Derbe. Where they went back to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (in Pisidia) (Acts 14:21), before going throughout Pisidia, Pamphylia, then to Perga, Attalia, and returning to Antioch in Syria (Acts 14:24-26). Paul's Second Missionary Journey The second journey begins, Paul goes through Syria and Cilicia (now southeastern Turkey), coming to Derbe and Lystra, and then onto Phrygia and Galatia, before passing through Mysia to Troas, the island of Samothracia, and then to Neapolis in Macedonia (now northern Greece) and Philippi (Acts 16:14-34). Passing through Amphipolis and Appolonia, they came to Thessalonica. After teaching in Berea, Paul departed into Achaia (now southern Greece), to Athens (Acts 17:14-15). Then Paul then makes his first visit to Corinth (Acts 18:5)! Paul leaves Corinth to go to Cenchrea and then across to Ephesus and Caesarea, before finishing up in Antioch in Syria. Paul's Third Missionary Journey Paul's third journey begins in Galatia (central region of Turkey) and then to Phrygia (Acts 18:23) before arriving in Ephesus where he stayed for 3 years (Acts 20:31). Paul then went to Troas and continued to Macedonia (2 Corinthians 2:12-13 and 7:5). After going through Macedonia (northern Greece), Paul came to Achaia (southern Greece) (Acts 20:2-3), makes a third visit to Corinth before headed back to Macedonia (Acts 20:1) and onto Philippi (Acts 20:6). Following this, Paul went to Troas, Assos, Mitylene, Chios, Samos, Trogylium, Miletus (now in southwestern Turkey), Coos, Rhodes, Patara, Tyre (in Lebanon), Ptolemais and to Caesarea before finishing back in Jerusalem. Paul's final journey Paul in Jerusalem, is beaten by the Jewish authorities (Acts 22) and taken to trial before them. Many Jews wanted to kill him (Acts 23:12) for his service to Jesus Christ. Paul is taken before the Roman Governor Felix at Caesarea (Acts 24:10) and when the reign of Portius Felix begins, Paul appeals to Caesar in Rome! Paul was a Roman citizen, he was innocent of the crimes bought against him and it was his right to appeal to the Roman emperor! So He did and Paul's final journey starts in Acts 25:11. The boat sails to Sidon, Myra (now southern Turkey) and on to Crete (Acts 27:7-13), Melita, near Sicily, Syracuse, Rhegium (southern tip of Italy), then to Puteoli (on the western coast of Italy). Finally, Paul ends up in Rome (Acts 28:30)! During all these journeys, Paul has endured persecution, beatings, stonings, whippings, imprisonment, mock trials and shipwrecks! In 2 Corinthians 11 you can read all that Paul endured and he sums it up 2 Corinthians 12:10 "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Paul was an amazing man! Issues in the Churches of the Bible Lets look now at some of the issues of the churches at that time, and we see this best by looking very briefly at some of the letters of the New Testament, written by Paul, Peter, John, James and Jude. Romans: Paul's letter to the church in Rome presents God's plan of salvation, which sees it extended to all of humanity based solely on Jesus Christ' work on the cross and received by an individual's faith in Him alone. 1 Corinthians: At Corinth, the church was an established church, taught by Paul, yet they were not living he had taught by him. Members of the church were living improper lives and Paul wrote to correct them, with the love of a pastoral heart. 2 Corinthians: here due to people doubting his integrity and authority, Paul presents his authority, message, sufferings, disappointments, responsibilities, blessings, and hope. Ephesians: Paul discusses the position of Christian believers before God - that they are now children of God! He then goes on to discuss the daily function of the Christian, including living a life worthy of Jesus Christ, supremely by serving others. 1 Thessalonians: Paul is unable to revisit this new group of believers who are under attack and persecution. He commences with some personal reflections and continues on to teach, stabilize, console and to encourage them in their Christian walk. 2 Thessalonians: The Thessalonian church is still enduring persecution. Central to this letter is Paul's concern for them regarding the coming again of the Lord, where some believed it had already occurred. 1 Timothy: Paul the apostle delegates authority to Timothy, his personal representative in Ephesus. His instructions include Timothy's life and ministry as an apostolic representative and about the organization, function, and edification of the church. This includes countering all kinds of false teaching about Jesus the Christ. James: James writes to scattered and leaderless Jewish believers who still met at a synagogue and were enduring hardship. James urges them to keep going and develop an active working faith that is actively working and to live a morally and ethically correct life. 1 Peter: Peter writes to believers undergoing suffering & persecution. He instructs them toward Christian stability, and the proper expression of this stability and growth. Peter stresses a hope that is alive, glorious and certain, and because of that can endure persecution and suffering. 2 Peter: Peter is dying as he writes this letter to a group of believers who are enduring trials and being confronted with false teachers. He also clarifies teaching about the Last Days. 1 John: John writes about fellowship which comes through obedience to the Word of God and through confession of sin when sin is committed. John also writes to tackle false Gnostic teachers who were challenging the teachings of Jesus' apostles. Jude: Jude writes warning against apostasy, which is giving up and abandoning a belief in Jesus and going back to old ways. . He urges his readers to recognize the problem and fight for the faith. Through these letters of the New Testament, we see the early church dealing with issues of doctrine and teaching, countering false teachings about salvation and Jesus' return, warning against apostasy and encouraging wholesome living and service as believers in Jesus Christ. The church has grown and spread throughout most of the known world in obedience to Jesus' last command to go to all nations. This growth of the church is the greatest evidence of Jesus' bodily resurrection from the dead. His resurrection was the catalyst to turn 11 frightened men, his disciples, into the leaders of the early church. But Jesus also promised that He would come back again and that's what we will look at next time, in our final part of Glimpses! Thank you. 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Church Matures G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 28 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days - from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! We saw last time that the church has experienced some crises but overcame them with guidance from the Holy Spirit, prayer and wisdom. They would need that again, in another 2 events we look at tonight! King Jesus Makes An Appearance to Saul! Reading from Acts 9 ‘But Saul, still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, got close to Damascus, and suddenly a light from the sky shone around him. He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" He said, "Who are you, Lord?" The Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise up, and enter into the city, and you will be told what you must do."' Paul's conversion is perhaps the most famous throughout the history of the Church. Known as Saul, he had led systematic persecution of Christians, including the death of Stephen we looked at last time.. The only possible cause for his conversion is the beautiful sovereign grace of God. Why did Paul hate the believers so much? Because, To his mind at the time, to him a dead Messiah was no Messiah at all and how could the Saviour of the Jews, the Messiah, die on a cross and be cursed by God. No, no. Paul considered it his duty as a man zealous for the law, to eradicate all those who were followers of this man. Carrying letters from the High Priest in Jerusalem, he set out for Damascus in a bid to stop these Christians. He would arrive in Damascus, a proud and pompous man, bent on ridding the city of its followers of Jesus. But Jesus appears suddenly to Paul and speaks to him! God arrested Paul, shone his light upon him, the mercy of God overflowed upon him and the grace of God through Jesus overwhelmed him! Leading to his conversion, Paul had his sub-conscious doubts about Jesus amidst the stories of Jesus being raised from the dead! The witness of Stephen as Paul watched him die and pray to Jesus asking the Lord to forgive his enemies - for as the church father, Augustine comments "If Stephen had not prayed, the Church would not have had Paul!" The inadequacy of the Old Covenant and Law to save! He knew that his thoughts & attitudes were not clean for example his sin of covetousness. Therefore he had no inner power or peace! But what were the consequences of this conversion? His name was changed from Saul to Paul (Acts 13)! His attitudes, character & relationships with God, fellow believers and the unbelieving world were utterly transformed with the Holy Spirit now living inside him. Instead of arriving in Damascus full of pride & bravery, as a self confident enemy of Jesus, Paul entered Damascus as a prisoner of Jesus, humbled and blinded. But his conversion was initially met with doubt! The first person to minister to him was Ananias who was hesitant to do so but was persuaded by the Lord to do so! Other believers in Damascus also doubted Paul's conversion, but they were won over by the Holy Spirit and Paul's transformation. Paul Sent Jesus appointed Paul to be 3 things: a servant of God; a witness for God to the world, and also an apostle engaged in pioneer work to the Gentiles. Jesus confirmed this to Ananias that Paul was a 'chosen instrument', and Ananias passed this onto Paul (v15). Four things Paul would do: His witness was centred on Jesus Christ.. His witness was powered by the Holy Spirit His witness was courageous in Damascus, the synagogues and in Jerusalem where the Sanhedrin met. He also debated with the Hellenists His witness was costly. His life was often threatened and throughout his life he was persecuted against. Paul's experience of rejection in Damascus repeated itself in Jerusalem. When he tried to join the Apostles and Christian believers, they were afraid and doubted he really was a believer. But this time Barnabas to the others about him and his changed life. Paul was eventually accepted by them into the community of believers. We see the maturing church has now five characteristics - peace - free from outside interference strength - confirming its position encouragement - comforted by the Holy Spirit growth - multiplying numerically godliness - living in the fear of the Lord. However soon after this, another problem - a matter concern doctrine! Doctrinal Issues Arise In Acts 15v1 we read "Some men came down from Judea and taught the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised after the custom of Moses, you can't be saved." At its beginning, the apostolic church was one church under the unitary leadership of the apostles. However a new problem arose! This problem arose because some men from Judea came to Antioch and promoted the view that circumcision was necessary for salvation and that certain regulations of the Old Testament law be required of non-Jewish converts as prerequisites for their recognition as members of the church of Jesus Christ. They were opposed by Paul and Barnabas, and as there was no final resolution, help was sought from the church in Jerusalem, still at this point the heartland of the Christian church. On arriving at Jerusalem, the delegates from Antioch were welcomed by 'the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them', This gathering evidently consisted of the leadership (apostles and elders) and many of the membership, including those convened were putting forward the requirement that Gentiles 'must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses' (Acts 15v5-6). This was the context for discussion of the issue. There was free debate and no papering over differences. The apostles let the elders speak before they joined in and it is clear that their goal was to know the mind of the Holy Spirit in the matter (Acts 15v28). The Apostle Peter rose after much discussion, and proceeded to demolish the Judaist viewpoint with arguments drawn from his own experience of ministry to Gentiles. He first described the conversion of the Gentiles as the work of God (Acts 15v 7-9) as they were filled with the Holy Spirit just as Jewish believers in Jesus were! This was proved by the Gentile Christians' faith, which was no different from their own (Acts 15v9)! Rising to a glorious crescendo, the Apostle Peter declared emphatically the very heart of the gospel: that salvation is by grace alone, both for Jews and Gentiles (Acts 15v11). Now doubt he reflected on the words of Jesus who said 'my yoke is easy and my burden is light' (Matthew 11v30). James, the brother of Jesus delivered the coup-de-grace to the Judaism argument with a direct appeal to the Word of God. God had already spoken on the matter! Quoting Amos 9v11-12, James reminded them that the prophet had declared that 'David's fallen tent' was be restored and that this would involve the in gathering of all the Gentiles who bear the Lord's name' (Acts 15v16-18). This is fulfilled, James says, in all that Peter had described (Acts 15:14). The church of Jesus Christ was all along intended to encompass both Jew and Gentile and, one by one without discrimination, they are brought to the same faith by the same Lord. This, James showed, was 'the mind of God", in the Scripture'. A proposal There was a definitive doctrinal proposal: 'We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God' (Acts 15v19). It told the Judaizing party in the gentlest possible way that what they were asking for was not the Lord's will for the church, and contrary to the gospel of God's free grace in Christ by faith alone. Then in Acts 15v20 there was a practical 4 point proposal to foster church unity by asking the Gentile Christians to take particular care to distance themselves from their former manner of life. Leave Alone: Gentiles were to examine critically their old habits and give no cause to anyone to accuse them of their old sins. They were also encouraged to be graciously accommodating to Jewish dietary sensitivities. For their part, Jewish believers needed to understand that Gentiles were not to be required to observe the Mosaic ceremonial law. Grace Alone: The apostles clearly taught that salvation was by the free and sovereign grace of God through faith in Christ alone. Council of Jerusalem held that line and closed the door on further discussion. Spirit Alone: They emphasised that the decision 'seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to the church' (Acts 15v28). Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would lead them into all truth (John 14v26; 16v13). Standing Alone: The council's four 'requirements', highlight the necessity and the blessing of the separated life for Christians and to "stand alone" from the world, whilst living in the world. 'You will do well to avoid these things' (Acts 15v29). The conversion of Paul and the Council of Jerusalem, led to the church maturing, going forward in unity and returning to the expansion of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Tap or click here to download as a MP3 audio file

Church Birth Pains G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 27 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days - from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! The birth of the church has come! The Holy Spirit has come to live within believers in Jesus Christ as the Messiah as part of the fulfilment of the New Covenant we have looked at. The early church was dynamic and seen to be exercising the authority of Jesus Christ. But a couple of problems arise, just as Jesus warned about, which could have caused the early church to die young. 1. Prejudice! Let's read Acts 6v1 "But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food." So there is good news and bad news! Good news - they were growing! Bad news - but this had caused a problem as some widows were not being cared for! Hebraic Jews had always lived in the then nation of Israel, spoke mainly Aramaic and some Hebraic. They would have been well used to life in a Jewish society, the Temple and avoiding those who were not Jews: the Gentiles. Grecian or Hellenistic Jews were part of the Jewish Diaspora, born elsewhere within the known world and had returned to Jerusalem. These mainly spoke Greek, and were well used to working with Gentiles. Widows were and are important to God, God loves justice and mercy. The Apostles would have known about God caring for the widows and in Jesus teaching about justice for the poor and the oppressed. We know this because earlier in Acts 2 and 4, people were selling and sharing possessions and ensuring that people within the Christian community were being looked after and cared for. Somehow, unintentional or not, this group of widows were missing out. How was this crisis solved? The Solution The solution can be seen in Acts 6v2-4 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, "We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word." Transformation! It's not stated explicitly, but a transformation had taken place! Only a short time ago, the disciples of Jesus had refused to wash feet as an act of service (Peter) and some had wanted positions of power and greatness (James & John). But as they are transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit, they react much more righteously and judiciously - just as Jesus Christ would have done. WOW! All together now! Then they gathered all the believers together for a church meeting. They gave their opinion or judgment if you like, that their ministry or time would be better spent doing what God had called them to do - to be leaders of the Church, praying, preaching, evangelizing and discerning how best to apply the 3 years of teaching that they had had when travelling with Jesus Christ before His ascension. Note also that the Apostles didn't say their work was more important than serving. Other people in the church gathering, who had a ministry of service and overseeing the food distribution, could spend their time doing that! The Result Acts 6v7 - So God's message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too. The result was even greater growth now! This growth was where the word of God increased in its effectiveness in the lives of those unbelievers who would listen to the gospel. This growth was not merely addition but multiplication! So explosive was this growth, that even former enemies such as Jewish priests were becoming converts and started to believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church was preaching one thing and acting upon it. There was no hypocrisy within the church. The church was transparent - it lived as it believed. The church was seen as transformative and servant-like. Transformation and change alone would not have been the catalyst for growth, without the reasoning behind it. Instead of being a withdrawn people filled with fear of retribution from the Roman government and Jewish leaders, they became a people filled with boldness and joy - serving God and others, just as Jesus Christ did. But there was one further problem and it was just as Jesus had warned them the night before His own crucifixion and had prayed for them! 2. Persecution Arises! But a true crisis soon appears which almost caused the growing body of believers, the only church in existence at the time, to implode and die! All the power and passion of the early church, however, had a cost. The early church endured persecution from the Jewish authorities, keen to exercise authoritarian rule. The early church was persecuted for Jesus as the Messiah. What was the result of this persecution? The world was changing, particularly for the Jewish people. For centuries they had been expectant of a Messiah or Saviour. When the Messiah, Jesus Christ, did come - they missed Him. They had misunderstood what the Messiah was to do. The Messiah was not to lead a political revolution as they thought, but rather lead a spiritual revolution, bring people back into relationship with God. Just as we saw in the Old Testament Covenants. The worldview of the Jewish people needed to be changed and when worldviews need wholesale change of focus, problems arise. The embryonic church, was soon to feel pressure to revert back to old ways of thinking. It is not long into the book of Acts, and therefore the history of the church, that persecution arises. We see the first stages of this persecution in Acts 4v1-4. While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. However somewhat surprisingly we then read in verse 4 that "But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of believers now totalled about 5,000 men, not counting women and children." We read in Acts 5v29, the response of the Apostles to this persecution and harassment: "We must obey God rather than any human authority. The early church was not going to just give up their beliefs! One example of this persecution is from Acts 6-7 and the first Christian martyr: Stephen. Stephen had reminded these Jewish leaders that God did not dwell in buildings made from stone, as in the Temple. For God had also been with his people in various places, such as Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt! Stephen reminded them also of how the Jews had always rejected God's messengers and now finally, they had killed God's Son, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He also reminded them that what made somebody a person after God's own heart was not the physical circumcision but a circumcision of the heart. It was a spiritual revolution that occurred when a people were in relationship with the Living God, not just the outward appearance. His persecutors were livid with rage at this! Stoning is an awful and excruciating way to die. While Jesus had prayed to the Father in his dying moments, Stephen prayed to - Jesus! Stephen, sees Jesus in all his magnificent, glorious and heavenly majesty, and can only cry out to Him in such a way! Then finally he asks Jesus to forgive those who have killed him. We see in Stephen's final words, the reaction of a man full of faith and filled with the Spirit undergoing pressure. We see his love and faith put into practise when he exclaimed as his last words before dying, Acts 7v59 "don't hold this sin against them!" Looking on was the leader of his persecutors, Saul. If the New Testament church had known that Jesus did not rise from the dead physically, would the church have grown like it has over 2000 years? Would people like Stephen, have knowingly died, or undergone systematic persecution, for a known lie or mistruth? Our study next time, we will look at how King Jesus makes a brief re-appearance, the church moves on from these "problems" and commences fulfilling the command of Jesus to go to all nations with the good news about Him. Thank you! 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Church Birthday G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 26 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days - from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Jesus has died, rose again from the dead, ascended back to the right hand of the Father - all just as he said he would. The physical resurrection of Jesus Christ was the catalyst for the beginning of the church but the empowerment was to come, as promised by Jesus! Since his resurrection he has given his disciples instructions, including the command to go make disciples of all nations with the message he gave them! Then he told them to wait in Jerusalem! But for who? Remember they were still hopeful of Jesus returning to defeat the Roman Empire and install a political kingdom of God! But they were wrong and soon found out they were wrong! So they waited, but for what, or rather, who? Waiting! Acts1:12-14 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. When they had come in, they went up into the upper room, where they were staying; that is Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer and supplication, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 2:1-2 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. As we saw last time, Jesus has ascended back to the right hand of the Father. The 12 apostles are now back in Jerusalem and waiting for the Holy Spirit to come as promised by Jesus. More about Him later in this podcast! It was now the time of the Shavuot in the Jewish calendar - 50 days after Passover (remember that from Jesus' last night!) Pentecost derives itself from the Old Testament festival known as the Jewish Feast of Weeks or Shavuot. This feast consisted of the first-fruits of the wheat harvest and selected animals were sacrificed, all as an act of thanksgiving to God, according to the Law given to Moses (Leviticus 23:15-20). But it was soon to change its meaning under the New Covenant. It became Pentecost, the Greek word for ‘50 days', and marks the birthday of the church! What is the birthday of the church? That is the day when the Holy Spirit came down and empowered the disciples for service! The day now known as Pentecost celebrates the day when, as promised by Jesus, as part of the New Covenant (remember that), the Holy Spirit came down to live inside the disciples of Jesus Christ, and empower and transform them! Empowered! Take Peter for an example! Just a few days earlier he had rejected Jesus Christ and openly defied Him by trying to stop Jesus going to the cross. This Peter, who was dejected and defeated because he had put everything into following this Jesus. In the early chapters of the bible Book of Acts, we see all disciples being transformed. Some were affected in amazingly spectacular ways and others in more placid ways. Let us concentrate on Peter for a good example of this. This is now a new Peter, transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit, who speaks with the authority Jesus gave the disciples. Peter, given impetus by the Holy Spirit, preaches a sermon and 3000 people are added to the church in one day (Acts 2v41). This Peter, who when passing by a man who couldn't walk, told him to get up and walk - and he did (Acts 3v1-11)! A WOW moment for sure! Peter was allowing himself to be controlled by the Holy Spirit and doing some of the things that were synonymous with Jesus' earthly ministry. Transformed! What is the difference between this Peter and the Peter before Jesus' resurrection? It was only the Holy Spirit, the empowerment and the difference He made to Peter. Peter, by submitting himself to the authority and power of the Holy Spirit, was allowing the Holy Spirit to control him and guide him. This Peter, who we know from the Gospel accounts, had no self-control, yet now had self-control because he submitted to the Holy Spirit. The greatest evidence of the Holy Spirit living inside of humans, is the transformation of the individual into the image of Jesus - as demonstrated by our example, Peter. This Peter who allowed the Holy Spirit's power to heal people also administered church discipline as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5v10). But it wasn't just Peter who was empowered. As Acts 5v12-16 shows us, all the followers of Jesus, not just the twelve apostles, filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit, were able to do healings and other miracles. Not just those more spectacular gifts of healing, miracles etc but also gifts such as mercy, generosity, helps and service. The Holy Spirit, living inside and empowering all believers, for service of Jesus Christ, not just the original 12 apostles or disciples. That is one of the reasons the early church grew phenomenally and more about that growth later on in this series! Who is the Holy Spirit? But who is the Holy Spirit? Good question! In the Old Testament the Spirit makes appearances but only comes on one person at a time during that time. David is a good example of that! There was to be a time when He would live inside all believers in God through the Messiah! That's under the terms of the New Covenant as This is part of the fulfilment of the New Covenant, where the Almighty and All-powerful God would indwell those who follow him. Throughout his ministry Jesus had often talked about how after he departed back to the Father, that the Holy Spirit would come. The Holy Spirit is spoken of as God (1 Corinthians 3v16). The attributes of God are ascribed to the Holy Spirit - life (Romans 8v2), truth (John 16v13) and love (Romans 15v30). The Holy Spirit is also a Person and is always referred to as ‘He' in the New Testament (John 16v14). He relates to humanity as a person for he lives inside the believer as comforter, guide and teacher (John 14). He can be blasphemed against and be grieved (Ephesians 4v30). Wherever the Holy Spirit is, the Father and Son are also present. (John 14v18-23). Throughout the Book of Acts and in the other New Testament writings we discover more about the Holy Spirit. We see His prime role to glorify Jesus Christ as the Son of God (John 16v13-14), to testify for Jesus Christ (John 15v26) and witness for Jesus Christ (Acts 1v8) to humans. The Holy Spirit is involved with ministering to members of the church, as Jesus would be if He were there physically. There is more about the Holy Spirit if you search on this website! With all this, the Holy Spirit also equipped all the followers of Jesus for service, to will and to act accordingly to those purposes. We see in the rest of the Book of Acts, how the Holy Spirit empowered the early church and gave them impetus. Transformation and service are the key working practises of the Holy Spirit and we will His handiwork in our next episode as we see the Church begin! The Pharisees and Sadducees are long gone. The Roman Empire collapsed. But... But... But... Jesus' church still stands, is still growing, and will one day be joined with Jesus in eternity, to the praise, honour and glory of Him who will return in majesty, just as He promised! More about that later on in this series! So that's the birthday of the church! What happened next is what we talk about tomorrow! Thank you! Tap or click here to download as a MP3 audio file

King Ascends and a Final Command! We are now on day 25 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days - from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Jesus has died, just as he said he would. And what's more, He rose again from the dead, again, just as he said he would. Appearing to both individuals and groups of people, at various times of the day, engaging in conversations and even eating! Today we look at what happened next! Matthew 28:16-20 - Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Jesus' resurrection is the catalyst for the mission of the church, beginning with the disciples and throughout history. Jesus Christ was the fulfilment of the Old Testament covenants we looked at! His mission to earth is coming to an end and shortly He will be returning to the right hand of the Father. Before He does so though, He has some more words to say to His disciples. King's 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. Matthew records Jesus' authority to forgive sins (Matthew 9v6) and he imparted authority to his disciples for a short time when they went on a mission in Matthew 10. Jesus has authority (Matthew 28v18) over all things, all people, all circumstances and happenings. Jesus has authority over all spiritual beings, whether angels or demons. Jesus has authority over all nations, ideologies, religions, governments and rulers. Jesus has authority over all earthly and spiritual authorities. Jesus has the authority over sexuality and personality. Jesus has the authority over all things! This means regardless of what ever the disciples encounter, Jesus is in control. Therefore, his disciples were to obey him without fear of retribution from those who would seek to harm us. It means obeying him regardless of the circumstances. It would be a great comfort to know, that he is in control of everything!! Through his death on the cross and his rising from the dead, Jesus has conquered all enemies. Now sometimes authority is confused with authoritarian. Authoritarian means severe, rigidity and a dictator. None of these applies to Jesus. His disciples, should choose to exercise free will to obey him and live a life worthy of him. King's Last Command - You Go If Jesus had not risen from the dead, then the disciples would not have had a story to tell. But Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, and the early church exploded numerically as the twelve disciples exercised Jesus' authority and His power. We read about the growth of the early church in the Book of Acts and more of that to come later in the series. Ever since Genesis 3 and the fall of man, God has been on a mission to bring and call people back to himself. We saw that mission in this series through the covenants made between God and humanity. That was the purpose of the nation of Israel, to be a light to all nations of the goodness and glory of God! That was purpose when God, who is outside of time and space, entered human history taking on human flesh and restricted himself in a human body as the man we know as Jesus Christ. Jesus' whole mission was one of calling people back to life in God. Now Jesus is leaving his disciples once more. Jesus has died and come back to life again, thereby defeating death. But he now tells his disciples he is leaving to return to the Father and the job is up to them to spread this good news about the kingdom of God, he has initiated! He tells them to make other disciples, to baptize them just as they were baptized and teach those people what Jesus had taught them himself! But how were they to do this? King Ascends Acts 1:3-11 During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the disciples from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Once when Jesus was eating with his disciples, he commanded them, "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with] water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when the disciples were with Jesus, they kept asking him, "Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?" He replied, "The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!" (Mark 16:14-19, Luke 24:50-51 and Acts 1:1-12) We read about Jesus physically ascending into the heavens. He is returning, as He said he would do, to the right hand of the Father. During their last discussion with Jesus, the disciples were still expecting him to lead a revolution against the Romans (Acts 1v6). Despite all Jesus had said to them in the previous 3 years, they still did not understand that Jesus had come to lead a spiritual kingdom and not a political kingdom. Hence He tells them to go back to Jerusalem, with for the Holy Spirit and then go tell others the Good News about Him! Then Jesus ascends into the sky! Some doubt the authenticity of this account by Luke. But what else could have happened? No other alternative is viable, particularly given what Jesus himself has said in John 16:5-7 "But now I am going away to the One who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I've told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don't the Holy Spirit won't come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you." And even after Jesus had vanished into the clouds, the disciples still gathered around looking into the sky for Him to return! So two angels came and said to the disciples in Acts 1:11 "You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky will come back in the same way as you saw him going into the sky." From there the disciples returned to Jerusalem and waited. They didn't have to wait long! Only 10 days! Then the Holy Spirit came, filled them and started living within them as part of the fulfilment of the New Covenant we have talked about. Just as it was for those 12 disciples, so it is with all believers down through history. But more about that - next time on Partake! Tap or Right mouse click here to download as a MP3 audio file

Thursday with Tabitha 7. Zephaniah by Tabitha Smith This week in our series on the minor prophets we are looking at the book of Zephaniah. Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah, Nahum and possibly Habakkuk and his prophecy was written during the reign of king Josiah of Judah. Josiah reigned between 640–609 BC. The prophecy includes reference to the future destruction of Nineveh, capital of Assyria, so it was likely written before the date of this event, which was 612 BC. The little territory of Judah was the only surviving part of the original people of Israel. The northern kingdom of Israel had been overthrown and Judah was under the control of the Assyrians. King Josiah was a good king who undertook significant religious reform in Judah, trying to turn the people back from worshipping idols to worshipping their God. Josiah's father, Amon, had been a wicked king, and his grandfather, Manasseh, was one of the worst kings in the history of Judah, doing evil in God's sight and turning the people away from God. The king before Manasseh was called Hezekiah. We read his story in the book of Isaiah. Zephaniah 1:1 provides us with Zephaniah's family history. This is traced back as far as his great, great grandfather, Hezekiah. It is possible that this was the same king Hezekiah, meaning that Zephaniah came from a royal family. One of the main themes of the book is the coming of the Day of the Lord. This is a phrase that appears many times in the Bible, referring to a day of judgment that would bring terror for God's enemies and blessings for those who belong to God. Many prophetic oracles in the Bible have an element of immediate historical fulfilment in the day they were written, and another more distant application in a time yet to come. Zephaniah's writings are no exception. In Zephaniah 1, the prophecy launches straight into a devastating description of coming judgement. This is portrayed as an apocalyptic event, reversing the very order of creation and sweeping away both man and beast. But the focus zooms in very quickly to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and in Zephaniah 1:4 we learn about some of the things the people of Judah were doing to incur such judgment: they were worshipping Baal, worshipping the heavenly bodies, pretending to worship God but trusting instead in the pagan god Milcom. They were turning away from God and ignoring him entirely. God levels two main accusations against his people. The first is one of syncretism. This means mixing acts of service to God with pagan religious elements. In chapter 1 verse 8 the king's sons and officials are described as wearing foreign clothes, probably associated with other religions, and in verse 9 the curious reference to people ‘leaping over the threshold' probably refers to another pagan custom. You can read about the possible background to this practice in 1 Samuel 5:1-5. The second accusation of God against his people is that they have become complacent in sin. The Judeans had started to think that God didn't really involve himself in their daily lives, so it didn't really matter how they lived. They had reduced God in their minds to a distant, impotent deity. The prophecy describes God going through Jerusalem personally, with search lamps, to find these complacent people and punish them. The second half of Zephaniah 1 contains a fearsome description of the Day of the Lord as a day of great darkness, distress, wrath and ruin. Nothing will be able to protect human beings, not all the wealth they have collected. They will be reduced to nothing. Thankfully, the book doesn't end there! In Zephaniah 2 the people of Judah are told that repentance is still possible. This is surely good news after the terrible picture painted in chapter 1. The people are warned that the day of judgement will come quickly so they need to gather together and repent, to humble themselves and seek God. Zephaniah 2:3 proclaims: “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.” The word ‘perhaps' might initially suggest that Zephaniah has doubts about whether God can indeed forgive any of the people. But in fact, this statement shows that Zephaniah understands and respects God's sovereignty. God is able to forgive, but whether he does or not is entirely up to him. Any mercy he shows to the repentant is still entirely undeserved grace. The rest of Zephaniah 2 contains a series of oracles of judgment against the nations that surround Judah, the enemies of God's people. The cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ekron are Philistine cities to the west, along the Mediterranean coast. Moab and the Ammonite territory lie to the east. The Cushites originate from Ethopia and Egypt in the south, and Assyria lies to the north. The comprehensive description of judgment extending to the four corners of the known world includes the promise that God will return parts of these lands back to Judah and there is a hint of restoration to come. However, before the people get too complacent again, Zephaniah 3 contains a hard-hitting denouncement of the city of Jerusalem, the capital of Judah. The people of God need to learn that they are not immune from God's judgment of sin and they are just as accountable, if not more, than the pagan nations around them. The charges against the judges, officials, prophets and priests of Judah are pretty damning. They are corrupt, polluted, defiled. Zephaniah 3:5 proclaims that: “The Lord within her is righteous; he does no injustice; every morning he shows forth his justice; each dawn he does not fail.” So judgment is inevitable and unavoidable. God must be just and repay sin with punishment. But there is good news to come. Zephaniah 3:9 suddenly introduces a startling promise of hope. God says that there will be a day when he will change the speech of his people and make it pure again. The people will call out to God once more, they will serve him and he will restore them. A picture of unity, peace and holiness follows. The last 6 verses of the book contain the most glorious and beautiful image of God delighting and rejoicing over his restored people. The judgement is finished, the shame is gone and restoration is possible. God does not delight in judgment, he delights in being in the midst of his people.  Zephaniah 3:17: The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. This final prophecy seems to refer to a future time of unity and peace for God's people. In the short term, Judah was punished and judged when the Babylonians overthrew the Assyrians. Jerusalem was taken, and many of the people were carried off into captivity. After the exile, there was a degree of restoration and some of the exiles returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and its walls. But the picture of complete peace and restoration was not yet fulfilled. The gathering of all God's people, the salvation of those who are lame and broken, and the rehoming of the outcast, is something we can still look forward to. So what do we take away from the book of Zephaniah? We are reminded of the reality of the Day of the Lord that is still to come. Jesus warned that this day of final judgment would come suddenly, like a thief in the night, and many will be unprepared. We don't want to be like the complacent Judeans, thinking that God wouldn't involve himself in the reality of human affairs. Jesus is coming back! The humble people amongst the remnant of Judah hoped that their repentance might not be too late. They threw themselves upon God's mercy. For us, living in the light of Jesus' cross, it is because of Jesus that we can know with assurance that we do not need to fear this coming Day of the Lord. If you have believed and trusted in Jesus, there is no “perhaps” about it. Jesus has taken upon himself the judgment that would have been yours and mine and we can be certain that there is no more condemnation. The Day of the Lord will be a day of stark contrasts. This day will be terrible for those who have lived lives separated from God, in denial of him or in opposition to him. But for those who have humbled themselves and chosen to live under his authority, it will be a day of great joy, when God comes to dwell in the midst of his people. God will sing to us, his people! He will rejoice over us. What an amazing thought! The choices we make now have eternal consequences. I'll finish with the words that James writes in his New Testament letter: "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us?' But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you!" (James 4:4-10 ESV) Right Mouse click or tap here to download this episode as an audio mp3 file

Jesus the Risen King The story so far! Jesus Christ has died as a common criminal and been buried in a garden tomb guarded by Roman soldiers. His followers, his disciples have abandoned him, no doubt in fear for their own lives. They had given up everything to be with this Jesus, following him in his 3 years of ministry. What would they do now? Go back to the lives they had before they followed this man, Jesus Christ. He was just another false messiah and there had been plenty of them. Or was he? Each of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark Luke and John, tell us that Jesus was crucified, died and was buried in a tomb. What do these four Gospels say about what happened next? Firstly, what did Jesus predict about what would happen, as he often talked about his death! An example of this can be seen from reading Mark 8v31 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. So Jesus predicted he would rise physically from the dead! WOW! Let us firstly look at the sequence of events over the period of time after Jesus death. The tomb is empty The two Marys watch the burial (Matthew27v61, Mark 15v47, Luke23v54-55) and Roman soldiers are placed to guard the tomb in order to keep it safe: (Matthew 27v62-66). Then the two Marys arrive at dawn to prepare spices for the body of Jesus before resting (Matthew 28v1, Mark 16v1-4, Luke 23v56-24v3, John 20v1). An angel rolls the stone away a great distance from the tomb! (Matthew 28v2-4) and then angels appear to the women (Matthew 28v5-7, Mark 16v5-7, Luke 24v4-8)! The women dart back to tell disciples: (Matthew 28v8, Mark 16v8, Luke 24v9-11, John 20v2) and that gives Peter and John the impetus to go and investigate the empty tomb for themselves (Luke 24v12, John 20v3-9)! They find it empty and go home (Luke 24v12, John 20v10)! Mary Magdalene weeps by the tomb: (John 20v11) and then is met by two angels: (John 20v12-13) And where is the body of Jesus? Was it stolen? Unlikely under a Roman guard! Was it 3 days? Yes! But not a literal 3 x 24hours! There was the rest of the Friday (1 day), all of Saturday (2 days) and part of the Sunday (3 days). Let's look now at his appearances! Jesus' appearances First of all Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene (Mark 16v9, John 20v14-17) and then to the other women (Matthew 28v9-10! Then the women report to the disciples in haste (Mark 16v10-11, John 20v18)! The Roman guards testify to the Jewish priests about what they knew (Matthew 28v11-15)! Then as two people are walking along the road to Emmaus, Jesus greets and talks to them (Mark 16v12-13, Luke 24v13-32)! Then Jesus appears to Peter (1 Corinthians 15v5). The 2 men who met Jesus on the Emmaus Road report back to the disciples in Jerusalem (Luke 24v33-35)! Finally, Jesus appears to his disciples, but Thomas isn't there (Luke 24v36-43, John 20v19-24)! When the disciples meet up with Thomas they tell him that they have met with the risen Jesus but Thomas doubts it unless he sees with his own eyes (John 20v25)! Jesus then appears to the Disciples again and this time Thomas is there (Mark 16v14, John 20v26-29). Jesus goes on to appear to seven people (John 21v1-14), then 500 people (1 Corinthians 15v6). Then finally, Jesus appears to James: (1 Corinthians 15v7). So, not only from the Gospels as you may have observed, but also one from the letter to the Corinthians. That was a letter written by Paul, but we come to him later in the series! Evidences for the resurrection Oh that's all very well, but what further evidences do we have for this resurrection of Jesus Christ? These facts remain for the resurrection: The changed attitude of the disciples after seeing the risen Jesus - from defeated, cowardly people to being victorious and, brave. Nobody who could have produced the dead body of Jesus, did so. Their silence is as significant as the words of the eyewitnesses. The multiple appearances of Jesus to various numbers of individuals and groups of people, all at various times of the day and in differing circumstances. The survival, growth and impact of the early church. If there was no bodily resurrection of Jesus' would people really have risked persecution and death for knowing a lie? Maybe a few would but not masses of people! It was a physical resurrection and not merely a spiritual one as some suggest! Jesus was touched physically, involved in conversation and even ate food! The greatest evidence though for the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very existence of the church itself and its being embedded in history. If the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ wasn't the catalyst for the start of the church, what was it and would it have lasted 2000 years so far? Dealing with Doubters How do we deal with those who doubt Jesus bodily resurrection and rising from the dead. Let's say Jesus didn't rise from the dead. Surely the authorities, either Roman or Jewish, would have produced his dead body in order to quench the new movement! But they didn't. The Romans wouldn't have wanted any more trouble from the Jewish people and the Jewish hierarchy would have wanted to squash the very notion that Jesus was the Messiah who had bodily risen from the dead. Would the disciples have really risked death for telling and maintaining a lie about the risen Jesus? They were beaten, confused and defeated men until they saw that Jesus truly did rise physically from the dead. After seeing Him, they were transformed and victorious people. Somebody stole the body. Hardly likely, and if that did occur, for what reason? How would they have got past the Roman Guard and moved the stone a great distance from the tomb? The tomb was sealed to prevent tampering as well. An impossibility! Some say that Jesus didn't die but merely fainted and recovered consciousness in the tomb. Even the sceptics disagree with this theory, one of whom said "It is impossible that a being who had stolen half-dead out of the sepulchre, who crept about weak and ill, wanting medical treatment, who required bandaging, strengthening and indulgence, and who still at last yielded to His sufferings, could have given to the disciples the impression that he was a Conqueror over death and the grave, the Prince of Life." Or I suppose they all went to the wrong tomb. Whilst one person may have gone to a wrong tomb, not everyone would have done. And again the authorities, Roman or Jewish, would have shown the body in order to dispel the rumours! So Jesus really did rise from the dead, in a bodily resurrection! So what? Significance of the Resurrection The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ provided the central theme for the sermons and teaching in the early church (Acts 1v22; Acts 4v33, Acts 17v18). But what significance is there in Jesus' resurrection? The resurrection proved and vindicated all Jesus' teaching and claims as the suffering Servant and attested to his being fully God and the last Judge of all mankind (Isaiah 53v10-12; Acts 2v36; Acts 3v13-15; Romans 1v4). The resurrection declared God's approval of Jesus' obedient service and the fulfilment of all the Old Testament promises that we looked at! This results in forgiveness of sins and salvation being only found in and through Jesus Christ, which was the prime motive for evangelism in the early church (Acts 2v32, Romans 4v24-25) It is vindication that Jesus is greater than Abraham or Moses! The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof evident of the I AM claims: He is truly the bread of life, the light of the world, the gate and the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the only way, the only truth and the only life! Jesus' resurrection is a sign of the bodily resurrection for all believers in him, giving a new attitude to death and transforming hopes to all those who partake of his offer (1 Corinthians 15v12-58, Romans 8v10, 2 Corinthians 4v14; 1 Peter 1v3 & 21)! More about this to come! As the resurrected King, Jesus now intercedes for us and has perfected the redemption of all those who choose to follow him (Romans 5v10; Hebrews 6v20, 1 Peter 1v21). More about this too later! Jesus has died and risen physically again! But what next? Is that all? Oh no! There is more yet to come in our story tomorrow! Thank you. Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Moses, Jesus, Old Covenant, New Covenant G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 23 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Last time we looked at the beating, humiliation, scourging, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus Christ - . Today we look at the significance of Jesus' death. As we have seen through this series, throughout history, God had made covenants with: Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and the nation Israel through the New Covenant. From the time of Adam & Eve's disobedience, God had promised through these covenants, that He would make things right once more and people could be restored to relationship with Him on an individual basis. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, that was the fulfilment of those covenants. That's why he yelled "It is finished! Into your hands I commend my Spirit!" Can you remember back and see what promises God made concerning in each of the covenants? New Covenant Lets look at the last of these covenants: the New Covenant. This New Covenant is to be contrasted with the Old Covenant or Mosaic covenant as we have called it so far, because this New Covenant finalizes what the Mosaic Covenant could only point to: the follower of God living in a life conforming to God's holy character - and that only through the death of Jesus. How is this so? The New Covenant, you may remember, had four features: Regeneration, Restoration, Indwelling and Forgiveness. Combined, these show a God of grace! This New Covenant would be all God's doing and not on what any individual person or group could do! WOW! That's, as we shall see, the significances of Jesus' death. But let's go look and the Mosaic Covenant and its relationship to the New Covenant Moses and Jesus Moses to the Jews was a super-hero and revered because it was to him that God revealed His will, law and face! Moses was the key figure in the establishment of Israel as a nation! Moses had great zeal for God and was willing to sacrifice everything for God. He had fellowship with God. It was this Moses who was held in such high regard by the Jews. Yet all this is merely a shadow and a sign of what was to come in Jesus. God's long promised Messiah would need to be greater than Moses! Was this Jesus? Lets go see! The Mosaic or Old Covenant Under the Mosaic or Old Covenant, Moses and Aaron represented God's house in Israel; Moses was the Apostle or Prophet and Aaron was the High Priest. Jesus, an Apostle and Prophet as well as being the High Priest, joined the two together. By Apostle, I mean as a Messenger - that's what an apostle is - a messenger or representative. As the Apostle of our faith, Jesus was faithful. Jesus was God's representative for us, making God known to us. Jesus was totally faithful, means to be both trusting and to be capable of being trusted. Moses was the one to whom the Law was given - the Mosaic covenant under which the Jewish people lived. This covenant with Moses 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 to Israel in order that those who believed God's promise to Abraham, could know how to live how God wanted them to live. This covenant with Moses covered the three areas of life: The commandments were given so they would know how to relate socially to God (Exodus 20v1-6) The judgments were given in order that they could relate socially to each other (Exodus 21v1 - 24v11) The decrees dictated their religious life so that God could be approached by humanity on His terms (Exodus 24v12 - 31v18). This Old Covenant was never meant to be as a means for providing salvation but Israel was meant to be a shining light to the nations of their God! It was given so that they could realize the helplessness and futility of their own efforts and their need of God's help. It was to serve only as a protective fence until the long promised Messiah came; the long waited for Saviour of all humanity, so that the whole world, Jew and Gentile, could be made right with God through faith and faith alone. In Comes Jesus And that is where Jesus comes in. As the Messiah and Saviour, Jesus ushered in the New Covenant, which was promised by God. Remember Jesus spoke about Himself in this role - a lot! And his claims were backed up with action! We have seen since the beginning with Adam and Eve, that it is sin, which separates humans from God - that's why they were banished from His presence! As a consequence, this leads to both a spiritual and physical death. In the Old Testament, sins were dealt with by blood sacrifices of atonement as coverings for sin, for without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin. A blood sacrifice is God's way of dealing with sin. These blood sacrifices of the Old Testament signified several things: Provided a covering for sin. Showed the great cost of sin. Was an exchange or substitution. Was only always going to be a temporary measure, as it pointed forward to the Messiah and until that time, it needed to be done over and over again. Go Compare! So how is Jesus better than Moses? The answer lies in the solution to sin. The ultimate solution to sin lies not in the continual animal sacrifice under the Old Covenant with Moses. This is because the blood of animals cannot take away sin but was only ever going to be a veneer or a covering. That was why it was necessary to repeat time and time again! So we see, it is only through the victorious death of Jesus, that sin is permanently taken away, because Jesus is the permanent sacrificial substitute! How is this related to the New Covenant? Remember from a couple of days ago when Jesus said at on his last night "This is the new covenant." The new covenant is a new meal, in order to remind his followers in every age about the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. In the new covenant (Luke 22v20) Jesus claims that his death was spoken about by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31v33-34). It was a new covenant in which God's people will be able to know him intimately, for their sins will be forgiven. When ever we eat the bread and drink the wine, we remember symbolically Jesus' death on the cross. Some say the bread and wine, mysteriously turn into the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, but this cannot be so. For if that were to be so, the sacrifice would be seen to be done again and again: Jesus would be being re-sacrificed and that is untenable! According to Hebrews 7v27, talking about Jesus' death on the cross: "For he did this once for all, when he offered up himself." The sacrificial death of Jesus was a one time event and the bread and wine are symbolic of that one sacrifice. Jesus often talked symbolically such as when he said he was the bread of life or the living water. This new covenant was sealed only through the perfect sacrifice of the God-Man Jesus on the cross. His blood ensures the truth of this New Covenant. This New Covenant, sealed by Jesus' death, finalizes what the Mosaic Covenant could only point to: the follower of God living in a dynamic relationship with God. The death of Jesus on the cross, epitomises God's glory. Jesus Christ, simultaneously fully God and fully man, died on a Roman cross. He took on the sins of the world, paying the greatest price, so that people could choose to be restored to a dynamic relationship with God the Father. But the story doesn't finish with Jesus dying as some tragi-hero on the cross! Oh no! There is more to come! For Jesus said something about being raised on the third day and that he was the resurrection and life? How could this be if he was dead and buried? But for that you will have to wait until tomorrow! Thank you! Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

The King Dies G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 21 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Last time we looked at Jesus at prayer. Today we look at the events leading to his death and burial. Jesus has been arrested and bought to trial before the High priest. All the disciples have abandoned him, but Peter follows on from distance, even denying he knew Jesus 3 times! The guards then beat Jesus. Caiaphas the High Priest condemns Jesus and Jesus is taken to the Praetorium for trial by the Romans. That is where we will pick up the story... 1. Jesus was Condemned So firstly lets look at Jesus' condemnation before the Romans. Reading from John 19v1 to 16: Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face. Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him." The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God." When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar." When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement. It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. Pilate was the Roman Governor of Judea and he had the power to release or condemn any prisoner. It was he that made the decision and gave the order for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate gave into the whims of the Jewish religious leaders and the baying crowd, permitting the flogging and mockery of Jesus in the hope of shaming his accusers (John 19vs. 1-3). Pilate even affirmed Jesus' innocence after the scourging (John 19v4). Jesus' refusal to answer stung Pilate into reminding Jesus of his Roman authority (John 19v10). Jesus, however, corrected Pilate's idea of authority and told him that although Pilate may have power on earth, his power did not reach beyond earth (John 19v11). Jesus knew that his work of bring people back to God in a loving relationship did not rest on the actions of a mere Roman governor. Pilate was more concerned with his own position than he was for justice. 2. Jesus was Crucified So Jesus was condemned to die. Now lets look at John 19v17-24 and Jesus' crucifixion. Reading from John 19v17-24: Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others-one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read:JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did. Jesus bearing his own cross, was killed as a common criminal (John 19v17). Despite that, even when he himself was in utter agony, Jesus showed concern for his mother, committing her into the care of the Apostle John (John 19v26-27). The site of crucifixion was purposely chosen to be outside the city walls because the Jewish Law forbade such acts within the city walls. For sanitary reasons, the crucified body was often left to rot on the cross, a disgraceful reminder of what happened to criminals and serving as deterrent to passers-by. Jesus face had been beaten beyond recognition and the scourging had reduced his flesh to something like raw hamburger mince. The whips used had pieces of glass and rocks stuck to the cord so as to inflict as much damage as possible. He had a crown of thorns pushed into his scalp. 3. Jesus dies Jesus finally dies in utter agony, humiliation and disgrace. Let us look together at John 19v28-37. Reading John 19v28-30 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. In Jesus' final moments he uttered "I am thirsty." (John 19v28) and "It is finished." (John 19v30). The desire of the Jews (John 19v32) to fulfil their rituals was important because the Sabbath fell within the Passover festival. The breaking of legs (John 19vs.32-33) sped up the process of death. The piercing of Jesus' side and the flow of blood and water proved Jesus was really dead (John 19v34). At the cross, Jesus' mission is accomplished. At the cross, this God-man, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all sin of all time. We will come to look at how this can be this later in the series. Some people say that Jesus didn't die on the cross, but rather somebody was made to be His substitute. But this is impossible. Nobody could have been a substitute or the Jewish leaders would have said so. The Romans were renowned for keeping strict discipline and regimen and nobody would have been able to get in amongst the Roman soldiers and somehow substitute themselves for Jesus. Yes, somebody else carried the cross for Him, but nobody but Jesus was nailed to that cross. Jesus died on that cross and not some substitute. 4. Jesus was Buried Reading John 19v41-42 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. John 19v38-42 tells us of Jesus' burial. Two men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried Jesus in an unused tomb. The significance of "in which no-one had ever been laid" (John 19v41) is to demonstrate that the body of Jesus at no point came into contact with the decay of a dead body. But that is not the end of the story! Oh no! There is more to come as you will see! Thank you! 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Jesus' Last Night Right mouse click here to download as a MP3 audio file G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 21 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Last time we looked at Jesus at prayer. Today we look at the events of his last night, before his death. In Luke 22, we come to Jesus' last night before He goes to death on the cross. It's the time for the Feast of Passover! Jerusalem was filled with people come to celebrate this great event! Passover was a time to commemorate the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and it was a time for remembering and rejoicing with families (Exodus 11-12). 1. Plans of His enemies In Luke 22v1-6, we read that Jesus' enemies plotted to kill him (Luke 22v2) and arranged for Judas to betray him (Luke 22v3). Of course, satan is involved, just as he was at the beginning of time and his purpose was to destroy Jesus (Luke 22v3, Luke 22v31). What about Judas though? Judas was motivated by greed, energized by satan and willing to betray Jesus for money (John 13v2, 27). Judas was never a true believer because his sins had never been cleansed by the Lord (John 13v10-11), therefore he had never truly believed or received eternal life (John 6v64-71). And while all this is going on, Jesus is still in perfect control. All the elements in the plot conspiring against Jesus had been allowed for. Remember, Jesus had been talking to God the Father! The death of Jesus was no accident! 2. Jesus Plans In accordance with the Mosaic covenant, the people of Israel were expected to remove all yeast from their houses (Ex.12v15) as a reminder that their ancestors left Egypt in a hurry and had to eat bread without yeast on their travels to the promised land. In Luke 12v1, Jesus had warned his disciples about the "yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy". In other words, the religious leaders had cleansed their houses but not their hearts. The last thing the religious leaders wanted was a messianic uprising during Passover (Luke 19v11). They would have heard the crowds talking up Jesus Christ as the messiah, particularly after the events of the previous week when Jesus entered Jerusalem!. 3. Jesus Prepares (Luke 22v7-23) Reading Luke 22v7, 13 - Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, "Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together." The disciples went off to the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there. Disciples needed a room within Jerusalem itself, and also required food - a lamb, bread, bitter herbs and wine. 4. Jesus initiates the New Covenant (Luke 22v14-23) - When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, "I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won't eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, "Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come." He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me." After supper he took another cup of wine and said, "This cup is the new covenant between God and his people-an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. The Passover meal contains historical and theological symbolism regarding the death of Jesus. We will come to see what those are later on in the series, but suffice to say at this point, it is why this meal is the model for the central act of Christian worship, which is Holy Communion. Opening Prayer First cup of wine and a dish of herbs and sauce. Story of the Passover was recited. Psalm 113 was sung Second cup of wine Prayer of Grace Main course of roast lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs A further prayer Third cup of wine. Psalm 114 to 118 were then sung. Fourth cup of wine. 5. Jesus Serves Jesus washes the disciples' feet (John 13v1-17) Reading from John 13v1-5 - Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. As part of the custom of the day, a servant or slave usually undertook foot washing of guests. Since none of the disciples had done this, Jesus Himself undertakes the task (John 13v4-5). Peter, recalcitrant and resistant as always, objects (John 13v6,8 ). Peter learns that only those cleansed by Jesus and trusting in Him fully, can be a part of the kingdom (John 13v7, 9). Jesus' rising to serve symbolizes His coming to serve - that was his mission we talked about earlier in the series! It was a mission of great love and service! When he took off his cloak, this symbolizes the taking off of His glory when He became human. As he girded Himself with a towel, symbolizes his taking on human flesh at his birth. And, as the water cleansed the feet, so Jesus death and blood cleanses from sin. When he finished cleaning, he returned to where he was sitting and sat down after finishing this act of service. 6. Jesus Speaks (Luke 22v24-38) Reading Luke 22v 24-27: Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, "In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.' But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves. Here Jesus tells his disciples that they are the new leaders and thereforet they will judge the tribes of Israel! That in doing so, they are to serve everyone gladly, love everyone even those that they tested and persecute them! This is a radical new thing Jesus is telling his disciples - their actions are to back up their claims, just as Jesus' actions confirm his own claims! In so doing, Jesus replaces the old leaders of God with his own people. Tomorrow we look at that day in history - the day Jesus, the God-man, died. Thank you! Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Jesus' Final Prayer G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 20 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Last time we met with two people who encountered Jesus! The rich young ruler went away disconsolate and in sadness! The female outcast went away celebrating her new found freedom and told many others of this Jesus! Now today we come to Jesus' final prayer with God the Father. Jesus has shown throughout his life on earth that God yearns to be in relationship with humanity. That is part of the New Covenant we looked at earlier in this series! So what can we learn from this prayer? 1. Jesus prays for Himself John 17v1-5 - Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life-to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. Central to this part of his prayer is glorification. That is the glorification of himself in order that God the Father who sent him will be glorified. Glorify means, in a biblical context, to have the person's true nature disclosed. So in effect, Jesus starts the prayer by saying May people see me for who I truly am, your Son. And may they also, through me, see your true nature, Father! Praying as Jesus does, just before he knowingly goes to his death, shows the importance of his death. Why is Jesus' death important? We will come to that later on in this series, but for now it is through Jesus' death that both God the Father and Jesus will be glorified. Jesus' death will reveal a God of love, faithfulness and forgiveness. Jesus' entire earthly life has been one to show divine love. All Jesus' works and words were completed without even a hint of hypocrisy. His entire life was driven by the desire to see people, born separated from God, to be reunited with God: like the Samaritan woman we talked about last time - the woman who turned to God for reconciliation and forgiveness. It was through Jesus' death alone, that this was accomplished. Jesus confidently prays that having laid aside his glory by taking on human form, he will return to God's right hand, having achieved this work he was given. 2. Jesus prays for His Disciples John 17v6-8 - I spelled out your character in detail to the men and women you gave me. They were yours in the first place; then you gave them to me, and they have now done what you said. They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that everything you gave me is firsthand from you, for the message you gave me, I gave them; and they took it, and were convinced that I came from you. They believed that you sent me. In this part of the prayer, Jesus prays for his disciples. Note how he describes them: they were chosen by God himself, seen God in Jesus and have received God's words and obeyed them (John 17v6). John 17v6, 9-10 tells us that the disciples were in the safe possession of both the Father and the Son. John 17v7-8 shows what the disciples know. Despite misunderstanding frequently what Jesus was talking about, the disciples still grasped that Jesus had come from God. He has told them that they will have to endure persecution and suffering because they are His followers, so Jesus prays for their safety. They will be safe, not because of their own cunning, character or conduct. They will be safe because of God's care and protection (John 17v11-12). As they are God's possession, he will ensure that they are watched over and protected. This security is also born from glorifying God and being witnesses for him (John 17v10). Who are the disciples' enemies and why do they need protecting (John 17v11-12, 15)? The first enemy is the world who does not know God and is therefore in rebellion against God. The disciples were told of this prior to this prayer. Then there is Satan and his demons, who are also enemies of the disciples and will do all he can to stop God being glorified in the life of the disciples. God will keep them safe through His mighty name and nature. By remaining loyal to Jesus, obedient to his teachings and telling others about him, God's name & nature will therefore protect them. Jesus also prays that they may be filled with joy (John 17v13), be dedicated wholly to him and trusting him alone - unlike the rich young ruler who left Jesus disconsolate. The disciples now have a mission and purpose to fulfil - to tell others of Jesus. This mission, though whilst their responsibility, is not theirs alone but is the continuation of Jesus' mission to bring people to reconciliation with God - extending the New Covenant to others 3. Jesus prays for all future Disciples John 17v24-26 - Father, I want those you gave me To be with me, right where I am, So they can see my glory, the splendour you gave me, Having loved me Long before there ever was a world. Righteous Father, the world has never known you, but I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this mission. I have made your very being known to them - Who you are and what you do - And continue to make it known, So that your love for me Might be in them Exactly as I am in them. Then finally, Jesus prays for all those who, through the work of the disciples, will become his followers. As such, it brings all Christians into intimacy with God through Jesus and be a part of a dynamic relationship with him - resulting from the New Covenant. What does Jesus pray for? Jesus prays for unity. That is unity on various levels. Firstly it is unity on the invisible, supernatural level (John 17v21-22). The lives of all Christians will be inextricably linked to each other, through the love and obedience of God the Son and God the Father. Christians will be united because Jesus imparts upon them, the glory given to Him by God the Father (John 17v22). This unity is also physical, in so much as through a visible unity, people will come to know Jesus personally and take up the offer of reconciliation with God (John 17v21, 23) because Jesus seals and fulfils the New Covenant. This unity is also physically seen, through the telling of the message of reconciliation (John 17v20). Jesus' prayer, reveals the intimacy to be had between God and humanity. Jesus embodied a God who was living and wanted to reconcile the world back to himself, ever since the days when Adam & Eve sinned against God. We will come to see more of how this is to be through the events of the coming days, of what we call "Easter". Tomorrow we look at the events on Jesus Last Night. Thank you. Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Encounters with Jesus We are now on day 19 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! We have seen how Jesus is the ‘I AM’, and by doing so, equates himself with God! Today we look at how two particular individuals reacted when they each encountered this great ‘I AM’! A rich young ruler encounters Jesus! Our first one is found in 3 of the gospels, Matthew 19:16-26 and Luke 18:18-27, but we will look only at the passage in Mark 10v17: As Jesus started on his way; a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and mother.'" "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" Matthew describes him as a young man (Matthew 19v16-26). Luke describes him as a wealthy ruler (Luke 18v18-27). In Mark’s account, he is simply a man (Mark 10v17-22). Put altogether that makes him a rich young ruler. He runs up to Jesus and falls on his knees before him. He wants eternal life, wants it now and so asks Jesus about it. When he calls Jesus a good teacher, Jesus responds “No one is good—except God alone.” What do you think you are asking? Now Jesus could have been correcting the young man, but more likely Jesus was asking: “Do you know what you are saying and how close to the truth about me you are?” This young man had fully kept the commandments listed by Jesus (Mark 10v19). However when Jesus said to the young ruler that in order to follow Him, he would have to give up all his wealth in order to have treasure in heaven and eternal life, the man left disconsolate. That was a step too far for this man. He wanted his riches and also eternal life but Jesus said he couldn’t have both. He remains the only man to have left Jesus’ presence sorrowful, and that due to putting his trust in his riches and wealth alone. Now riches are not necessarily wrong but they do make trusting fully in God very difficult (Mark 10v23). So what does trusting in Jesus look like? An Outcast Woman encounters Jesus! Now we look at somebody who was despised by the world and an outcast in her community! Reading from John 4v3-10, 23-26 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” Then down to verse 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!” Now we come to see somebody who accepted Jesus for who he was. Jesus went via Samaria as it was the shortest route back to Galilee. It was hot. Jesus was thirsty and wanted a drink. His disciples had gone into town to get food. So he asks a Samaritan woman to fetch him some water from the well. That he asked a Samaritan would have been bad enough, but to also talk to a woman! The woman We don’t know the name of this woman. But by looking at this conversation between Jesus and her, we discover several things about her! That she was a Samaritan. There was equal animosity between Jews and Samaritans, hence the end of John 4v9: “(For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)” The Samaritans were a mixed race people of both Jewish and Assyrian descent from the time of the division of Israel into two parts and the annexation of the Northern kingdom by Assyria. She was an outcast, which is why she was fetching water at the hottest part of the day! This was probably due to her sexual immorality having had 5 husbands and currently in a 6th relationship (John 4v18). We do know for sure that she was waiting for the Messiah (John 4v25) to come! What does this encounter tell us about Jesus? We see Jesus' genuine humanity. He was tired, drained, hot, thirsty and hungry – normal human feeling and reactions. We know Jesus contravened tradition in that he spoke to a woman who was a Samaritan and a sinner. Respectable Jewish men never did that sort of thing! Hence the disciples reaction in John 4v27! That in asking for water, he was capable of great humility by asking for a drink of water; for by so doing, he was putting himself in her debt. Yet, he knew the woman’s life of sinfulness (John 4v17) and it tells us of his divinity, when he offered her the water of eternal life (John 4v14) would spiritually satisfy her (John 4v14)! He Loved the woman, and gave her the most revealing and explicit statement we have in the Gospels as to who he really was (John 4v26) when he said outright “I Am the Messiah!” Remember, he said that to an outcast and non-Jew! Amazing! When the disciples returned, the woman left her water jar, (quite probably one of her only possessions) and went back to the town to tell other people about this Jesus (John 4v29-30). In the remainder of John 4, we read of the many people coming to faith because of the Samaritan woman’s testimony. Jesus as the ‘I AM’, was ever-reaching out with an all-encompassing forgiveness and love to the poor or rich, learned or uneducated, male or female, wanted or unwanted, Jew, Gentile or Samaritan. Through his exclusive claims there is a great inclusiveness of all who are willing to submit only to Him, as both the rich young ruler and the Samaritan women found out – both with different outcomes – one left dejected and the other left celebrating! Thank you! Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

I AM 4 Jesus' teaching continues to be met with amazement yet also some misunderstanding and bewilderment! Today we complete looking at one particularly aspect of his teaching - himself - and the last two ‘I AM' statements. I AM the Way Truth and Life Reading from John 14v1-9 "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going." "No, we don't know, Lord," Thomas said. "We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!" Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus replied, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Question answered with a WOW! When Jesus issued this statement, "I AM the way, the truth and the life", the stress of the sentence automatically falls on the words "the way". This is because Jesus is answering a question posed by Thomas (John 14v5). Jesus claims to be the only way to God the Father, because Jesus is one with the Father - He is God!. Not only is he the way, but he is also the truth and the life. All of God's truth is embodied in Jesus Christ who, as both fully God and fully human, was also the ever-living God. Nobody can claim access to God the Father, except through Jesus himself. Other religions and other so-called paths to God may contain some element of truth about God, but there is no other way to God but through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ embodies ALL truth and as we saw recently, Jesus is also the life as part of his I AM claims. He is the means of access to God for all people of all cultures and all backgrounds. Jesus welcomes all, so that in his singular exclusive claims there is an inclusive embrace of all. As Jesus goes on to say in John 14v7, because we know him we also know God the Father. Amazing things to say! Jesus is the truth because He is totally trustworthy! Jesus is the life because He is life Himself! Jesus is the way because He is the way we enter heaven and can have eternal life! We will see how that can be very soon in this series and why it can only be that way! Jesus also gives a glimpse or a hint of the future - can you spot them out yet? If you cant, we will have come to them by the end of this series and you will be amazed at the continuity of the Bible! I AM the True Vine And the last "I AM" can be found in John 15v1-14 "I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. We are One! We have already seen that Jesus is the bread of life, the light of the world, the gate and the shepherd - all the things the nation of Israel was to be but failed to do so. Israel was to be God's light, way and shepherd to the nations - but failed to be so. The nation of Israel was also to be a vine or vineyard (Isaiah 5v1-7, Ezekiel 15v1-6). Israel as a vine had produced nothing even though God had taken her, made her a nation and given her the land as a gift and every possible benefit in which to grow and glorify God Himself as a reward. But the vineyard of Israel, had become a corrupt and barren vine and needed to be pruned back. Instead of justice, it had produced oppression and instead of living right before God it has produced sin and distress. Real Vine vs Symbolic Vine Juxtaposed against Israel's failure to be a vine, Jesus states that he is the true vine. Jesus was the reality, whereas Israel was merely the symbol. As the purpose of a vine is to produce fruit, the focal point is on what it takes to produce fruit (John 15v2). As part of the ultimate mission of Jesus to glorify God the Father (John 12v28, John 17v4), Jesus is the Vine. How did Jesus seek to glorify God? By loving God and loving others unconditionally and sacrificially! Just as Jesus embodies all truth, Jesus also embodies all love! Perfect love is Jesus! Sure there maybe semblances of God's love in other religions, but it is only in Jesus that the fullness of God's love dwells! Jesus as the true vine indicates that people were to have a relationship with God through him alone! This relationship involves loving as Jesus did - of God and to others - without condition and sacrificially. As Jesus is the vine, people would be sustained spiritually through him and he would be totally reliable! Amazing concepts if you think about it! Jesus is giving them glimpses of what is to come and as you will see as we progress through this series. Summarising the Seven "I AM"s So there are the seven "I AM" statements. As well as equating himself with God as the "I AM", Jesus is also promoting his exclusivity as the only Saviour. He does not say I am a true vine; a way, a truth and a life. Nor does he say I am a resurrection and a life. He does not say I am a door to life, just as he does not say I am a shepherd, a light or a bread of life. No - Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life. Jesus is the one great shepherd and the only door to life. Jesus is the only light of the world and the only true bread of life. Jesus Christ is unique in being the "I AM". Tomorrow we look at how differnt people encountered this "I AM" with some different reactions. Thank you. Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Thursday with Tabitha 6. Nahum by Tabitha Smith   Nahum prophesied about the destruction of the city of Nineveh, the capital of the nation of Assyria. If Nineveh sounds a bit familiar, it might be because you've listened to the first instalment in this series about the book of Jonah! In some ways, Nahum is like a sequel to Jonah. The date of writing of Nahum can be narrowed down to somewhere between 660 BC and 630 BC. We can deduce this because of the historical events that Nahum refers to during his prophecy (unless of course you don't believe in predictive prophesy!). Like Micah last week, we don't know anything about Nahum apart from the fact that his home town was called Elkosh. It's not certain where this was, but it was probably in Judah because at the time of his prophesy, the kingdom of Israel had ceased to exist. The ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen to the Assyrians in about 722 BC. The Southern Kingdom of Judah had not suffered the same fate, despite an attempted siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib of Assyria shortly after the fall of Samaria. Instead, the Kingdom of Judah had become a sort of vassal state to Assyria. The Assyrian kingdom had been established by acts of terrible violence, torture and cruelty and forced deportations of thousands of people, under the leadership of Tiglath-pileser III. His campaigns were ruthless and highly successful, conquering most of the known world at the time. Nineveh was a great city, the capital of Assyria. Jonah had been sent by God with a message of warning to Nineveh, telling of God's imminent judgement on them for their evil behaviour. At that time, much to Jonah's surprise and disgust, the people of Nineveh did repent and God spared them. However, a century later, we see that the repentance did not last, and Nineveh has fallen back into evil, idolatry, violence and depravity. Nahum's key message is that God is going to judge and overthrow Nineveh. Nahum means ‘comfort' and his message would have brought comfort to the people of Judah who were living under Assyrian oppression. Nahum is written in the style of ancient war poetry. The first verse of the book tells us that Nahum received the prophecy in the form of a vision. The way he writes his book is like the eye-witness account of a war correspondent. God is pictured as a divine warrior, coming to judge the Assyrians for their evil deeds. God had used Assyria as a tool of judgement on his own people, but the Assyrians were held accountable for the wicked nature of their conquests and the ways they had lived their lives in alienation from God. In chapter one, the book opens with a poetic description of God on the war-path. God is described as jealous (for his honour and his people), wrathful, righteously angry and all powerful. Even the rock-solid mountains melt before him and the seas dry up completely. Nothing and no-one can stand against him. At the same time, God is also described as slow to anger, good, knowing those who seek him, compassionate and seeking his people's freedom from their oppressors. The message that Nahum proclaims is simultaneously terrible and wonderful, and it all depends on the reader's perspective and relationship to God. At the end of Nahum 1, Judah is urged to keep the feasts, i.e. the celebrations of their history that remind them of God's salvation purposes and commemorate his saving works for them in the past. Judah will be restored once more.  We should not miss the significance of this - the Messiah would one day come from the remnant of Judah. Nahum 2 launches into a prophetic account of the overthrow of Nineveh. The imagery is vivid and it's almost as if Nahum is present in the city, watching the events unfold. The invading army arrives in the outskirts of Nineveh and the call goes out to ‘man the walls' and take up arms. The invasion comes with speed and devastation, chariots thundering and swords and spears flashing and glinting in the sun. The invading soldiers are clothed in red with red shields, possibly indicating the original colour of the shields or their staining with blood. Siege towers are built and the river gates are opened to flood the city and destroy the royal palace. It's helpful here to consider what we know from historical accounts of the overthrow of Nineveh. Nineveh was attacked by a coalition of armies, principally of the Medes and Babylonians, in 612 BC. The city was sieged for a period of time which may have been as short as a few months. The invading armies closed the gates of the river Khoser, which flowed through the city, allowing the water to build up. The gates were then opened, unleashing a flood on the city which destroyed much of the important architecture and allowed the invaders to penetrate the city walls and finish the overthrow of the city. Nahum 2 contains more vivid images of the invasion with graphic descriptions of the piles of dead bodies in the streets of the city. God asks Nineveh whether she has considered herself better than Thebes. Thebes was a great city in Egypt which was invaded by the Assyrians in about 664 BC. Thebes had appeared to be immune to attack with a natural sea defence and many allies. However, the Assyrians had conquered the city. They were now going to get a taste of their own medicine. The book ends with Nahum surveying the aftermath of the siege and invasion. The final words are a taunting song declaring the finality of the destruction. The ruins of Nineveh can be found today near the modern Iraqi city of Mosul. They were not discovered until the 19th century - prior to this all reference to Nineveh disappeared from the pages of history. When the ruins of the city were uncovered, many unburied skeletons were found. The city was razed to the ground. Nahum's prophesies were fulfilled. The book of Nahum reminds us that God is all powerful, omnipotent. He is not a tame god who is passive and powerless but he acts on behalf of his people. He is a God of justice who cannot pass over sin and evil but he must act justly to uphold his own honour and the welfare of his chosen people Israel. Moreover, God had promised to spare a remnant of his people, specifically from the tribe of Judah, in order that the Messiah, the deliverer, would come from his people. The future of the people of Israel often seemed under threat but God always faithfully preserved and restored a remnant to preserve the line of Abraham. God is able to work even the most impossible of circumstances and most wicked of people into his sovereign plan. The seemingly ordinary list of names in the genealogy of Jesus described in Matthew chapter 1 encompasses accounts of infertility, prostitution, bereavement, displacement, adultery, murder and exile. God truly is able to make all things work for the good of those who love him, according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). God can even use wicked and pagan people in order to judge his own people and work for their ultimate good. In a few weeks' time we will look at this issue in more detail as we look at the way Habakkuk wrestled with this. Whatever opponents or battles you face in your lifetime, none of them are too big for God to handle. The military might of the Assyrians was legendary and they built one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen. Yet even they were relegated to the pages of history, the ruins of their prized capital city lying undiscovered for centuries. Our perspective is so limited. We struggle to comprehend the span of human history, and yet humans are such a brief vapour, like the dew that evaporates from the morning grass. Peter says in the first chapter of his first letter: “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” 1 Peter 1:24-25 All earthly things will pass and only God will endure. Yet, incredibly, he cares about each one of us and knows every detail about us. The whole of history is centred around the life of Jesus, God in the flesh, who came to rescue us. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He stands in authority above all human institutions and authorities, both the good and the evil ones. His kingdom is incomparably greater than the most mighty of human kingdoms and yet it is established in an upside-down order where the first are last and the last are first. We pray “your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” because Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. One day his kingdom will be unified and complete. Then, as Paul says ‘at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father' (Philippians 2:10-11).   Right Mouse click or tap here to download this episode as an audio mp3 file

I AM 3 We are now on day 17 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Jesus' teaching continues to be met with amazement yet also fury, hatred and ridicule! Today we continue looking at one particularly aspect of his teaching - himself - and 1 more I AM statement. We have already seen that Jesus is the bread of life, the light of the world, the gate and the shepherd - all the things the nation of Israel was to be but failed to do so. John 11:17-40 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask." Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again." "Yes," Martha said, "he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day." Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?" "Yes, Lord," she told him. "I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God." Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, "The Teacher is here and wants to see you." So Mary immediately went to him. Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus's grave to weep. So they followed her there. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him and he was deeply troubled. "Where have you put him?" he asked them. They told him, "Lord, come and see." Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, "See how much he loved him!" But some said, "This man healed a blind man. Couldn't he have kept Lazarus from dying?" Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. "Roll the stone aside," Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man's sister, protested, "Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible." Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe?" So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me." Then Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!" Resurrection and the Life Jesus has claimed to be the Son of God in John 10v22-41 and John 11v4. Strong words indeed, but will Jesus' actions back up those words? His friend Lazarus was sick, so his sisters sent word to Jesus about this, hoping that Jesus could heal him. Jesus replies to this family he loves, that the illness will not result in death! How could he be so sure, particularly from a distance? Though Jesus knew that Lazarus was dead, he still waited a further days before going there. He knew it didn't matter whether Lazarus was dead 2 days or 4 days - dead is dead! Exclamation Jesus is the Messiah! Such was the eagerness of Martha to see Jesus when he eventually came, she left the house of mourners and expressed some faith that God would hear Jesus' prayers. She uttered that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, the saviour spoken about in the Old Testament. But was that just wishful thinking as later she doubted he could do it? Exclamation Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life! The exclamation by Jesus in John 11v25 "I am the resurrection and the life" from verse is the highlight of this passage of Scripture. Lazarus has died (John 11v17) and will be raised back to life again (John 11v44). Being raised back to life is not resurrection! It means more than. Why does Jesus say that he is the resurrection and the life? Resurrection, on one level, certainly does mean bring back to life. But it means much more as we shall see later on in this series. As can be seen from this passage, he is the giver of life itself. Not only physically but also in a spiritual sense. He gives eternal life to all who will believe in him. Jesus' humanity! Note Jesus' emotions in this passage: love, feelings moved, weeping and sorrow. Showing his true humanity and his heart of compassion for people. Emotions, such as Jesus being deeply angry? But with who or with what? Most people are surprised that Jesus gets angry and some people even deny it! The gospel writers weren't afraid to say Jesus got angry though! I would suggest that as Jesus is the life, Jesus is angry with death, decay as they are the end result of sin. Jesus is angry because death hurts people, even people close to him, as Lazarus and his family were to him. This stirs Jesus deeply. Jesus is full of compassion, pity, sympathy, grief and care for this family. He shares their pain and shows it in his tears. He loves them and is determined to show this love in practise. Jesus' Divinity! Then the moment of truth arrives! Will Jesus be true to his word and raise Lazarus back to life again? Some doubted but Jesus knew that God would answer his prayers. First he thanks God that for hearing him and then issues the command for Lazarus to come out! And come out he did! One of the WOW moments of the Gospels! Jesus was true to his word, God heard his prayers and Lazarus was raised from the dead! He was dead but now back to physical life! One day Lazarus would die physically again but for now he had new life! This Jesus even had authority over death and life! Amazing! Yet, just after this event, the Jewish authorities, who were watching carefully, came up with a plot to kill Jesus. What do you think the covenants we looked at had to say about this, particularly the New Covenant? Life and death physically but also life and death spiritually? Jesus the giver of life! Why can Jesus exclaim with authority "I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live"? Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

I AM 2 G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 16 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Jesus' teaching has been met with amazement yet also fury and ridicule! Today we continue looking at one particularly aspect of his teaching - himself - and 3 more I AM statements. Light of the World Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." The Pharisees replied, "You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid." Jesus told them, "These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going. But you don't know this about me. You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other." (John 8v12-18) ) Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles! One of the great symbols of that feast was Light! At the end of the feast, when all the lights are extinguished, Jesus said something quite remarkable - that he was the light of the world! Throughout the Old Testament, light is an important symbol. There is the pillar of fire and cloud leading the nation of Israel on their journey (Exodus 13). In Psalm 27v1, the psalmist describes God as "my light". The nation of Israel was to be God's light to all the world (Isaiah 49v6), so that God would be the world's light (Isaiah 60v19-22). So, by referring to himself as the light of the world, Jesus is saying it is he who shines light into people's spiritual eyes and gives them understanding, which in turn leads to them seeing their need of God and his ability to satisfy their spiritual needs. This was opposite to the burdens the Jewish religious leaders, the Pharisees, put upon people. Hence their vehement opposition to Jesus. I am the Gate and Good Shepherd "I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won't follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't know his voice." Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn't understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don't belong to him and he isn't their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he's working only for the money and doesn't really care about the sheep. "I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. "The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded." (John 10v1-18) Throughout the Old Testament, God is seen as a shepherd and his people are the sheep of his keeping. The sheep are always God's, even though He temporarily entrusted them to people such as Moses to care and tend them. Therefore Moses and others like him, such as the true prophets, were forerunners to Jesus. David, you may remember, was the Shepherd King! Here Jesus proclaims that he is the door or gate to salvation! It is through Jesus that salvation is found and through him alone as the door or gate that people are led safe and sound into spiritual freedom, spiritual light and spiritual sustenance. Unlike others who come only to steal, kill and destroy, Jesus offers spiritual safety and nourishment. Jesus does not just offer a way out, but also a way in! The security offered by Jesus is because he is always in close proximity to those who follow him. Jesus calls all those who follow him by name (John 10v3) and they know each other. Jesus is also the great shepherd through the sacrifice he must make for his sheep. It is in this role of shepherd, that Jesus exhibits true leadership, which is self-less and sacrificial. Ezekiel 34v11 tells of God searching out for his sheep among all nations, and this is fulfilled through Jesus. Here Jesus is looking ahead to the sacrifice he will make. His love for all of humanity compels him to make the ultimate sacrifice. Just as all shepherds will endanger themselves for the safety of their sheep, so too will Jesus endure the pain and suffering, so that all people can be led into the safety of God's kingdom if they choose to avail themselves of that opportunity. Through his perfect, obedient and voluntary sacrifice, not only will salvation be available to the Jews (the sheep of Israel) but also to those of other nations, the Gentiles (the other sheep mentioned by Jesus). Remember that often in Israel, certainly under 1st century Gentile Roman rule, Gentiles (non-Jews) were hated and many Jews declared thanks to God that they were neither dogs nor Gentiles! Truly amazing words by Jesus in the light of such sentiments! Jesus already has the end in view. Can you glimpse at what he means when he speaks about laying down his life and taking it back up again? Can you see where we glimpsed at the Covenants and how they apply to this Jesus - particularly the Davidic Covenant (Father and Son) and the New Covenant? Can you see how this Jesus is divisive and what sets him apart from all other religious teachers of any time? This Jesus, at the moment is only speaking words, but will his words be backed up with action? Tomorrow, more I AM statements as we reflect on Jesus' teaching about himself. Thank you. Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

I AM 1 We are now on day 15 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! The long awaited for king is here, his public ministry has begun in earnest. His teaching is met with amazement yet also fury and we looked at last time, how Jesus taught; what he taught; his methods and who he taught? Today we start looking at one particularly aspect of his teaching - himself! I AM Introduction It may come as a surprise to you but Jesus talks about himself - a lot! But, not only just talk about himself but always put those words into action. In other words, he backed up his claims with action, which even a cursory look at the Gospels will reflect. John Stott says this about it: ‘The self-centredness of the teaching of Jesus immediately sets himself apart from the other great religious teachers of the world. They were self-effacing. He was self-advancing. They pointed away from themselves, saying "This is the truth, so far as I perceive it, follow that." Jesus said, "I am the truth, follow me."' Jesus' teaching about Himself? In John's Gospel, the writer John records statements where Jesus said "I AM". These are unique to John and are not recorded in the three other Gospels. Here Jesus is reinforcing his claims to be God because, when he says "I AM", he is referring back to the time when God revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 3v14 and through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 41v4. That's why crowds often picked up stones in order to kill him for blasphemy. This was in accordance, so they thought, with Deuteronomy 13, which dictates that anyone who tries to turn people away from the living God is to be stoned to death. They knew Jesus was claiming to the very God they thought they worshipped. Little did they know at the time that he was the living God! So lets go look at our first "I AM" I AM the bread of Life John 6:30-51 They answered, "Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, Moses didn't give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." "Sir," they said, "give us that bread every day." Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven't believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day." Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven'?" But Jesus replied, "Stop complaining about what I said. For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.) "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh." ___________________________________________ Three times in this passage, Jesus refers to himself as the living bread. By this he meant that he was the only one who could gratify the appetite and yearning of every person's spirit and their spiritual needs. For those he was speaking to, bread was a basic staple food for living, just as it is for millions of people today. Jesus indicates when saying he is the bread of life, that he will supply all needs! Just as he said to the woman at the well in John 4v4, and repeats here, that whoever drinks his living water, shall never again go spiritually thirsty. When Jesus referred to the bread in the desert he talked of it being merely temporary, despite being a gift from God. He however, as the true bread of life, would give permanent satisfaction and life everlasting to all those who believe and follow him! But this bread he offers has to be eaten; it has to be taken up by the person wanting spiritual life! In this passage from John 6 he offers glimpses of what is lying ahead for him. He also gives glimpses of the intimacy he held with God the Father. Soon after this, some people stopped following him and abandoned him because they found it too difficult to understand. How easily people give up and not persevere. Jesus is the bread of life! To have true spiritual life is to believe in Him! No works or good deeds can earn this spiritual life from God - just believe by having faith in Jesus alone. All spiritual needs are met through Jesus alone as the bread of life! Jesus will supply needs - spiritual as well as physical. This is only a glimpse at what Jesus taught about himself and we continue on this theme tomorrow! Thank you! Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Jesus’ Teaching We are now on day 14 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! The long awaited for king is here - the one the covenants from long ago had promised! Jesus' public ministry on earth has begun! Teaching was an integral part of Jesus' ministry. Today we start to look at what he taught about himself. We do that by looking at how he taught, what he taught, his methods and who did he teach? 1. How he taught with authority: The events in Capernaum we looked at last time happened frequently with Jesus. The gospel accounts often remark how people viewed Jesus' teaching as authoritative, but while being amazed were often angry about it. What was it that made his teaching authoritative? Jesus' manner of teaching shared much in common with other teachers of the 1st century. Jesus frequently used Old Testament texts; exaggerated hyperbole, telling of parables, rhythmic poetry aiding memorisation and the predicting of future events, were common teaching practice at the time in both religious and secular circles. Most of the teaching we have in the Gospels did not arise out of formal settings but rather through personal encounters, engaging with the religious leaders and the inherent need to teach his disciples. However, it is not so much his manner of teaching that created the air of authority about him, but rather what he taught that did (Matthew 7v28-29). Saying as He often did, "But I say to you...", was in direct opposition to the method the Rabbinical teachers employed. Additionally, Jesus often sat down to teach, and this was the custom at the time for formal instruction. 2. What did he teach? Jesus appeals often to the Old Testament, (the Jewish scriptures) in every facet of his teaching. Jesus frequently used Old Testament Scripture (Mark 7v6-13) as the basis for his moral and legal teachings (Matthew 5v148), the historical stories (Matthew 24v27-29) and in his debates with the religious leaders. Quite possibly, the supreme example of his teaching can be found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5v1-7v29). Whilst mainly speaking to his disciples, he allowed the crowds to listen. In this discourse, all of Jesus' teachings are exhibited. Key themes include the character, influence, righteousness, religion, devotional life, ambition and relationships of anybody wanting to follow Jesus. The Kingdom of God - Jesus preached that entrance to the kingdom of God was through repentance (Matthew 3v2) and this repentance led to a spiritual rebirth (John 3v1-8). But what is the Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God as taught by Jesus, was not a political uprising against the Romans, as thought by James and John (Mark 10v35-45) and nor is it the church. The kingdom of God was and is both a personal inner spiritual relationship with God as ruler over the life of the follower of Jesus Christ. But also the Jesus follower showing openly this relationship with God (Matthew 25v34; Luke 13v29). Regarding Himself - Whilst Jesus never directly claimed to be God, he did things only God could do. He claimed authority to forgive sins (Matthew 9v1-7). His claim to be the Messiah, or Son of Man, is an appeal to Old Testament texts and their subsequent fulfilment and completion in him (Mark 8v29-33). Primarily His teaching that the Messiah must suffer and be glorified was also an appeal to Old Testament scripture (Luke 9v31; Luke 12v50; John 10v11-15). More about this in the coming studies as we look deeper into what Jesus said about himself. 3. What method did he use? We see, as we read the gospel accounts of his life that Jesus spoke a lot in parables or picture stories. He did this in order to get his message across completely. The parables as recorded in the Gospels mainly fall into four categories: Society and its God - an example of this would be the parable of the sheep (Luke 15v1-7) whereby God is seen as a God of grace. Society and the individual - an example of this would be the parable involving the rich fool who thought his wealth would make God love him more (Luke 12v13-21). Society and the community - an example here would be the parable of the Good Samaritan whereby everyone is to show love, even for their enemies (Luke 10v25-37). Society and the future - an example here would be the parable of the great feast whereby the future climax of the kingdom is seen (Matthew 25v31-33). 4. Who did He teach? The Gospel writers attributed Jesus as a teacher (Mark 5v35; John 7v15) despite his lacking the formal requirements usually attained by rabbis. The Gospel writers also refer to him as a prophet (Luke 7v16; John 6v14), and he was recognized as such by people (Mark 6v15; Mark 8v28). There were three main groups of people that Jesus interacted with and taught. There were large crowds, his twelve disciples and the religious leaders. The Crowds - When Jesus taught large gathering of people, it was always based on evidential facts and it was always as Luke described "good news" (Luke 4v18), because God gave it to Jesus. Crowds recognized that Jesus had a confident manner of speaking (Mark 1v22). It must be noted that in the presence of crowds, Jesus didn't actively reveal who he was (Mark 1v44; Mark 3v11-12; Mark 9v9). The Disciples - Many of Jesus' recorded teachings were to his disciples, but in the midst of crowds, such as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5v1; Matthew 7v28). However on more precise requirements of discipleship, or about himself or the future of God's Kingdom, Jesus usually only taught his disciples concerning his true identity, even though they failed to grasp it (Mark 8v27-33). The religious leaders - Because of Jesus' popularity and the activities He was involved with, the religious leaders soon took notice of him. Jesus respected the Law of Moses and Moses authority (Mark 1v22). He gave his own unique interpretation and as such attracted the opposition of the religious leaders who had taught a different interpretation. An example of this is in Jesus interpretation of the Sabbath (Mark 2v23-38); the healings he performed (John 5v1-18); fasting and ritual cleanliness (Mark 7v1-5) and for consorting with sinners (Luke 7v34). Jesus criticised the religious leaders for amongst other things: their lack of compassion and the weighty burdens they placed upon others (Matthew 23; Mark 12v38-40; Luke 11v37-54). So, that is how he taught, what he taught, the methods he used and who he taught. Tomorrow we go further into what Jesus taught and revealed about himself. Thank you. Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Mission Possible! G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 13 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! The long awaited for king is here - the one the covenants from long ago had promised! Jesus' public ministry on earth has begun! From what we have glimpsed so far, what do you think Jesus' mission is? Before we go on to see what it is, pause for a moment to think through what you think that mission may well be. Luke 4v14-20 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit's power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord's favour has come." He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. "The Scripture you've just heard has been fulfilled this very day!" Do you have a clue now what Jesus' mission is? A reluctant John the Baptist baptized him and the crowds heard God the Father speaking to Him and the Holy Spirit descend upon Him. Now Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, has returned home to Galilee (Luke 4v14). Jesus at home (Luke 4v14-30) Jesus is back in home territory and because of the power of his teaching, He is becoming known as a great teacher (Luke 4v15). Jesus spent some time in Galilee, became known and aroused the interest, curiosity and excitement of people. It was Jesus' habit to attend public worship wherever he was. Because of his growing renown as a teacher, it is no surprise that he should be asked to read the Scripture and give a short teaching session regarding it. Here in Nazareth, Jesus declared that the day for demonstrating God's salvation had arrived and the day the prophets and Covenants had looked forward to! This was going to be fulfilled in Jesus Himself (Luke 4v20). He was the Servant that Isaiah had talked about long ago (Isaiah 61v1-2). His ministry was divinely directed: a ministry of hope for all people and a ministry to free the spiritually oppressed. The local reaction was at first one of astonishment (Luke 4v22) and telling each other he was the son of Joseph! But Jesus was more than that as he goes on to explain! Rejected (Luke 4:20-30) The people there saw Him only as the son of Joseph. Admiration soon turned to anger though, because Jesus began to remind them of God's goodness to the Gentiles. Israel had a fear and hatred of those who were not Jewish, the Gentiles, and remember that Israel was under Roman control - under the power of the Gentiles! Whilst those in Nazareth could only see Jesus in the local setting, He told them his mission was for all Israel! And if Israel rejected this message of Jesus, then the Gentiles would be blessed by it (Luke 4v25-27). Upon hearing this, the astonished admiration turned to furious anger! Listen to their reaction from Luke 4v28-30 "when they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way." See how divisive Jesus was! Jesus away from home (Luke 4v31-44) Now Jesus walked straight through the rioting mob and went to Capernaum and here he engaged in yet more public ministry: Preaching (Luke 4v31-32) - Jesus sets up headquarters in Capernaum (Matthew 4:13-16) and started teaching in the Synagogue. Again, people were astonished that he taught with such authority. Rebuking (Luke 4v33-37, 41) - Jesus rebuked the demons did not want the demons to bear witness to Himself and his identity (Luke 4:34,41). Again people were astonished at Jesus power and authority. Healing (Luke 4v:39-40) - People bought their sick and asked Jesus to help and heal them. Praying (Luke 4v42-44) - He was up early the next morning to pray (Mark 1:35). It was in prayer that He found his strength and power for service. During this period Jesus has God's authority to do what He is doing - preaching, healing and releasing. God desires humility and Jesus looked for people to acknowledge their spiritual blindness and poverty, so that he may liberate them from such things. Jesus taught and preached in the synagogues (Luke 4v32, 44); rebuked demons (Luke 4v35, 41), and healed diseases (Luke 4v39): all with the authority of just his word. Jesus' mission was to be the saviour of the world as God's Son (John 3v16) and the Servant of the Lord, for Jesus came not be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10v45). How he fulfilled this role, we will come to see. Tomorrow we start honing in on what Jesus taught about Himself - things that were divisive in his day and are still divisive today almost 2000 years later! Thank you! Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Jesus' Identity The king is here! But who did people say Jesus is? Let us look at what some eyewitnesses said about this Jesus in his first public event! Luke 3v15-18 Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah. John answered their questions by saying, "I baptize you with[water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am-so much greater that I'm not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire." John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people. Matthew 3v13-16 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. "I am the one who needs to be baptized by you," he said, "so why are you coming to me?" But Jesus said, "It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires." So John agreed to baptize him. After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy." Witness 1 - John the Baptist We start with Jesus' baptism, as it is the commencement of Jesus' public ministry. Jesus is now about 30 years old. Our first witness is John the Baptist himself! When John came (Luke3v1-2) 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 (Gal.4v4; Jn.2v4, 13v1) How John came (Luke3v3) Dressed and acting like the Old Testament prophet Elijah, John came to the area near the River Jordan, preaching and baptizing. He announced the arrival of the kingdom of heaven (Mt.3v3) and urged the people to repent from sin and their old lives. John's baptism looked forward to the coming of the Messiah! Little did he know what was soon going to happen! Why John came - (Luke 3v4-20) - John the Baptist was a voice crying in the wilderness. The nation of Israel was living in a state of unbelief and twisted spiritual reality. For 400 years God had been silent! Where was the voice of God, people would have been asking. The people of Israel desperately needed to hear a voice from God, and John was that faithful voice in God's own timing! It was John's work to prepare the nation for the Messiah and then present the Messiah to them. The messiah, saviour or king, as we glimpsed in the covenants. John was unambiguous in his belief about Jesus. He clearly states that Jesus was "the Lord" (Luke 3v4) and the Son of God (Jn.1v34). Certainly untenable for a Jewish male to equate anybody with the living God of Israel. Witness 2 & 3 - The Father and the Spirit Then surprise, surprise! Not least to John the Baptist! Jesus comes to him and presents himself for baptism! John at first refuses to do it (Mt.3v13-15). John knew that Jesus of Nazareth was the perfect Son of God who had no need to repent of sin. Through his baptism, Jesus identified with all sinners that he came to save even though he was without sin or wrongdoing. This is the start of Jesus' public ministry. 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" (Mt.3v15). This looks ahead, as we shall see, to his suffering on the cross, because it is only through the baptism of suffering that Jesus endured on the cross, that God is able to fulfil all righteousness. The "us" referred to means Father, Son and Spirit. When Jesus came up from the water, the Father spoke from heaven and identified Him as the beloved Son of God, and the Spirit visibly came upon Jesus in the form of a dove. They testified as to who Jesus was and is! Witness 4 & 5. The Genealogies! In the genealogies of Jesus we see another extraordinary thing about this Jesus! You can read them at Matthew 1v1-17 and Luke 3v23-3 Jesus as the Son of Man - The genealogies reminds us that the Son of God was also the Son of Man, born into the world, identifying with the needs and problems of mankind. Through the genealogy, we see down through the generations Jesus' link to Adam and ultimately God. The phrase "the son of" generally means any remotely connected descendant or ancestor. It is a reminder that Jesus, being Joseph's legal son was part of a human family, tribe, race and nation. Jesus' line goes back through the Old Testament from Joseph to King David to Judah, Jacob, Isaac and Abraham, to Methuselah to Noah and Adam. The genealogy, with its link to David, shows Jesus' right to ascend to David's throne (Luke 1v32-33). The genealogy shows Jesus' total human-ness, and because he is linked to Adam, identifies with all humanity and not just Israel. But there is one difference between Jesus and all other humans. In that Luke doesn't stop the genealogy at Adam, as he would have for all other humans, Luke ultimately leads and links Jesus to being God's Son. Jesus as the Son of God - Adam had come into the world bearing the true image of a son of God, but, when Adam disobeyed God, that image was marred and scarred due to sin entering the world. All that is, except Jesus. The voice from God the Father ratified Jesus as the Son of God. Not a son of God as some may claim, but the one and only Son of God. This genealogy points to the unbroken relationship between Jesus and God. Jesus is as Adam was before Adam's disobedience. This is Jesus, both fully human and fully God. We will find out why later on in the series! Jesus, the one all of the Old Testament covenants pointed ahead to coming! John the Baptist identified who Jesus was. God the Father and God the Holy Spirit testified about who Jesus was. His genealogies and ancestry testify as to who he was. Who do you say Jesus was and is? Tomorrow we look at his purpose and mission! Thank you! Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Birth of a King G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 11 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! We looked together at the Covenants in the Old Testament as a set of stairs from Creation through to what we call the New Covenant. Now, we have started looking at the documents which record the life of Jesus Christ, who as Christians, claim to fulfil those Covenants we talked about. His birth is the most celebrated around the world and He transcends cultures, peoples and languages. Jesus Christ is the most unique person in all of recorded history. He is also the most divisive person to be found at any time and anywhere. Almost everyone has an opinion about him, even if that opinion is based on ignorance, silence or misinformation. Climbing the staircase! Like climbing a staircase, step by step, we looked at together through the Covenants and we caught glimpses of God sending a saviour or messiah for the world. We discovered that God was planning the time when He would step into history as this saviour person, who we believe to be the man, Jesus Christ. We looked at the Covenants that God made with people, which all looked forward to this saviour, messiah and king. These covenants were to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David. This King was to be their hope - their saviour. Jesus' genealogy as recorded in the Gospels takes his physical line back to Abraham via David. Abraham as we saw was the father of Israel and David the King with a promise from God to have a king on the throne forever. Jesus grew into maturity as any young Jewish boy did. Life Events You can read about the events leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ in the following passages from the Bible: Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-18; John 1v1-18 Documented in history and affirmed by most secular and non-Christian sources. Here are the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ and his early childhood from the Gospel record: His Pre-existence - John 1:1-5 His Genealogy - Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38 Angel Gabriel visits Mary - Luke 1:26-38 Angel appears to Joseph in a dream - Matthew 1:18-25 His Birth in Bethlehem - Matthew 1:25, Luke 2:1-7 Shepherds visit him at the manger - Luke 2:8-20 His circumcision and presentation in the Temple according to the Covenant Law of Moses - - Luke 2:21-38 Wise men present gifts in house - Matthew 2:1-12 Joseph's family including Jesus escape to Egypt with Jesus - Matthew 2:13-15 Herod's wrath on Bethlehem's children - Matthew 2:16-18 Herod dies in Spring of 4 BC - Matthew 2:19 Joseph's family including Jesus settles in Nazareth - Luke 2:39 Events in his childhood - Luke 2:40-52 Luke 2v1-7, 21-24. Please do make a note of the names of history recorded by Luke to date the birth of the man, Jesus: Now it happened in those days, that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant. It happened, while they were there, that the day had come that she should give birth. She brought forth her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn. When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord"), and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." Birth of Jesus Christ That Jesus was a human male is not really disputed. However, the birth of Jesus Christ is extraordinary at every level. He was born of a woman, which in itself tells us that at least in a prenatal state, he was nurtured and formed as any other male baby was and is. On the physical level, Jesus was born as any person is, but as regards his conception, He was conceived like no other person - conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1v35). This was so that Jesus would not be given the sinful nature past that all humans have. Jesus was fully human and fully divine. Other documents, outside of the Bible from that time period also attest to Jesus and his existence. What's in a name? When Jesus was born, his name imbued the very reason he was born. His conception and birth were extraordinary at every level. So important is our understanding of the birth of Jesus that no fewer than 4 angels come to give us a full picture of the event. Do you think that his parents, Joseph & Mary 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! His name means one who saves, or a rescuer. 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. Further up the staircase! As we look through the remainder of this series we will discover together how and why He was born to be this messiah, saviour and king we caught glimpses of in the Old Testament. We will see that Jesus confirms God's promises, that he reveals God as a Father and that he gave us an example of how to live life to the full. We shall also see how his life was the catalyst for a religious revolution. 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, as we shall see in this series, much more than those ideas! In our next study we will look at Jesus' Mission and Identity. Thank you! Right mouse click or tap here here to download as a MP3 audio file

Thursday with Tabitha 5. Micah by Tabitha Smith Micah came from the town of Moresheth in Judah, southwest of Jerusalem - other than that, we are not told anything else about the man himself. The book doesn't tell us how God called him. His name can be translated as a question which asks: Who is like Yahweh? Micah's prophesy came during the years of kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah (who ruled between 750 BC and 687 BC). Hosea and Isaiah prophesied at roughly the same time. The main themes of Micah are God's judgement and forgiveness. In this book we will discover the prophesy about Jesus' birthplace and meet the Messiah as the Good Shepherd. The book opens with a pronouncement against Jerusalem and Samaria, announcing to them that God is bringing his witness against them, like a kind of lawsuit. In the same way that a prosecutor outlines his case, God will bring charges against his people and back them up with evidence. From chapter 2 God starts to set out his case. His people have dealt cruelly and unjustly with their fellow-men. Out of greed and jealousy they have desired what belongs to others and taken it for themselves - both houses and fields. False prophets have arisen amongst the people, speaking words that do not come from God. The prophets speak what the people want to hear, for their own pride and gain. In Micah 2:11, Micah sarcastically says that a prophet who promised plenty of alcoholic beverages would be just the kind of prophet the people desired!  The rulers of Israel are criticised for doing evil, abusing the people they are supposed to be ruling and despising justice. The leaders accept bribes, the priests preach for money and the prophets accept cash for false fortune telling. The whole society is twisted and corrupt, so far from the way God intended them to be. Judgement will fall on Jerusalem and Samaria in the form of invading armies of the Assyrians and Babylonians.   In chapter 4 the mood suddenly changes to one of future promise. In Micah 4:1, Micah says that ‘in the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all peoples will stream to it'.   The phrase, ‘in the last days' is often found in prophetic writing and it usually refers to a time in the future beyond the present era, sometimes referring to the time of the coming of the Messiah. Micah foresees a time when God will restore Jerusalem and make it a focal point for the gathering of the nations. Instead of climbing to high places to worship pagan false gods, the peoples will make the ascent to the dwelling place of God and worship him alone. Micah 4:3 is quite famous; in it Micah prophesies that the nations  of the world will ‘beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.' Unprecedented peace will come to the world in the last days when the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, ushers in his new kingdom. These same words are found in the book of Isaiah 2:4. It is possible that Isaiah and Micah used a shared source for this, or one may have borrowed this thought from the other.  In chapter 5 we find intriguing prophesies about the coming Messiah. Micah5:2 is often read at Christmas time. It says “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.”  King David came from Bethlehem and was an unlikely choice to be king by external worldly measures. Bethlehem was a small town with nothing really going for it.   Several hundred years later, the greater David, the Messiah, Jesus, was born in this same small town. The Jews anticipated that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, based on this prophecy in Micah. Yet they didn't recognise him when he arrived as he didn't come in the way they expected. Ironically, it seems that the Jews alive at the time of Jesus knew him as the carpenter of Nazareth in Galilee, ignorant of the fact that his birthplace was in Bethlehem. You can read more about this in the 7th chapter of John's gospel. This coming Messiah is pictured as one who will shepherd his flock, his people, and bring them unprecedented peace. In chapters 6 and 7 God continues his lawsuit against his people. The charges now include corrupt business practices, disloyalty and betrayal within families, violence and falsehood. The downfall and destruction of Jerusalem is foretold. However, there is the promise of hope and restoration. In Micah 7:9 the city of God speaks with a prophetic voice: ‘Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord's wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.' The book ends with a rhetorical question that echoes the meaning of Micah's name: ‘who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again show compassion to us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.' In the Bible the language of the courtroom and legal process is loaded with significance. God is the ultimate Judge, and he is always just in his judgements. He cannot just ignore sin and wrongdoing, or sweep it under the carpet. Where there has been a wrong, a judgement must be pronounced and a sentence served. In the New Testament we encounter the concept of justification. This is also a legal term. To justify someone means to acquit them, to declare them righteous. The Bible teaches us that God justifies us by grace. In other words, he declares us righteous although we do not deserve it. The penalty for our sin still had to be paid and Jesus did this for us, taking our sins upon himself in his death on the cross. So sinful people can be pronounced just because Jesus paid for (or atoned) for our sins. The penalty is paid, justice is done. Justification doesn't mean that God lets us off for our sins, or acts as if we'd never sinned; it means that God's holiness demanded a payment for our sin, and God himself provided the means of this payment, through the death of Jesus on our behalf. Justice and mercy meet together and love and grace are seen most clearly on the cross. God issues his people with a challenge in Micah 6:8 - “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” These words have timeless relevance and if you would like to see how Christians are working out this truth in the world today, have a look at www.micahchallenge.org. Micah Challenge is a coalition of Christians who take their inspiration from this verse in Micah and campaign on issues of justice. They are working to hold governments accountable for the promises they made to the poorest people in the world in 2000 when the Millennium Development Goals were set. If you need some inspiration or resources to help you get engaged with issues of justice, poverty and action, have a look at their website. If you are involved with a local church, think about how you could encourage people in your fellowship to take practical steps to speak up for those who are denied justice. Love is demonstrated in action and we are all called to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God. 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Who Is He? G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 10 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! We have looked together at the 8 Covenants in the Old Testament of the Bible, made between God and humanity. Now we fast forward to the time of the Gospels and the start of the New Testament. After the last of the Old Testament prophets spoke, Malachi around 444BC, there was a silence from God for about 400 years. During that time quite a few people came claiming to be the Messiah or saviour that Israel was waiting for and had been promised in the covenants we looked at. They proved to be false messiahs because they could not back up their claims. Israel as a country is now occupied by the Romans. While some people of Israel were in the country, a lot were dispersed throughout the vast Roman Empire. Into this world was a man of such significance that He splits history into two: BC and AD. This man we know as Jesus Christ and He claimed to be the long waited for Messiah. But how was he different from those messiahs before that proved to be false? Let's start by having a look in the stories about His life - the Gospels of the New Testament. What the Gospels are! How do we find out about this Jesus? There are a number of sources outside of the Bible that make reference to this man. However, in the Bible and its section called the New Testament, we have four accounts of His life. They are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These are called Gospels, and they are called that because they gave substance to the Good News of God has promised in the New Covenant! We know that Jesus Christ during his time on earth wrote nothing, yet the stories about him were preserved and passed on by his followers. For the first thirty years or so, these stories were 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 they are also not diaries reflecting a daily account of Jesus' life. Rather they are selective accounts of His life, and were probably factual illustrations used by His disciples when preaching about Him. Therefore they would represent the theology of the disciples, as each story about Jesus is told. That is why they are trustworthy accounts as well as rooting Jesus' life in first century Judaism and the Greco-Roman world. Overview of the Gospels The first three of our Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke are what are called the synoptic Gospels. This is based on their great similarity and possibly use of a common source. Mark is probably the first Gospel as it is shorter in length than Matthew or Luke and it would appear that Matthew and Luke used Mark as a guide and elaborated where required. Mark wrote none of the great discourses of Matthew (Mark 13 being the exception), such as the Sermon on the Mount, nor does Mark show the great parables that Luke recorded, such as the Good Samaritan. Surely if Mark had used either the accounts of Matthew or Luke, he would have used those two examples! Matthew is closer in similarity to Mark than Luke. Luke does share large portions of Mark and quite often verbatim, and with a greater use of the Greek language. John on the other hand, while still telling about Jesus' ministry, has vastly different story content. Whereas in the synoptic Gospels Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God frequently, in the Gospel of John, Jesus talks about himself much more often, as in the seven I AM statements. For this reason, John was probably written later than the synoptic Gospels. The Gospels Lets look very briefly now what each Gospel offers about the life of Jesus Christ. As we do so, think through how the covenants promising a messiah or saviour match up with Jesus Christ. Matthew: Matthew wrote primarily to Jews who knew the Old Testament. He wrote to present Jesus as the Messiah to Israel and to record Israel's attitude towards Him as Messiah. Matthew gives us the genealogy, presentation, and the authentification of Jesus as the Christ Messiah. Matthew then shows the nation of Israel's opposition to and rejection of Jesus as the Christ followed by Jesus' rejection of Israel due to her unbelief. He then records the death and resurrection of Christ. He concludes with Christ commissioning the disciples. Mark: Mark presents Jesus as Servant of the Lord, coming in fulfilment of the Old Testament. Jesus offers His credentials, gathers His disciples, offers the Kingdom of God and its message. Jesus' teaching is seen in short parables, which hide the truth from those hardened against Him, yet prepares and instructs those responsive to Him. Overall Jesus calls those who follow him to serve others and to deny themselves by taking up their own cross, just as He took up His. Luke: Luke presents Jesus as the God-Man, as a saviour for the entire world, writing primarily to Gentiles. He does this from a broad vantage point that is compatible with the fact that he is a Greek. Luke traces the incarnation, Christ's introduction, ministry, rejection, subsequent teaching in view of His rejection, the cross, resurrection and ascension. Even though a Gentile, Luke emphasizes the kingdom program with Israel's place in the kingdom. John: John presents the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ so that mankind would believe in Him as the Son of God, Messiah, Saviour of the world. His selective argument portrays Christ as the God-Man. John records miracles and messages that affirm the deity and humanity of Christ. John builds his record around the public ministry of Christ, the private ministry, the cross, and the resurrection. As we go into the life of Jesus Christ, bear in mind what glimpses the Old Testament offered about a saviour or messiah figure. Think through the 8 Covenants we looked at and how they looked forward to that figure portrayed as a saviour or Messiah. As you do so, think just how Jesus Christ was that person! Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

New Covenant G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 9 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Let's read together Jeremiah 31v31-34 "The day is coming," says the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife," says the Lord. "But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day," says the Lord. "I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbours, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.' For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already," says the Lord. "And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins." Ezekiel 36:24-38 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land. "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. "And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. I will cleanse you of your filthy behaviour. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done! "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I cleanse you from your sins, I will repopulate your cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The fields that used to lie empty and desolate in plain view of everyone will again be farmed. And when I bring you back, people will say, ‘This former wasteland is now like the Garden of Eden! The abandoned and ruined cities now have strong walls and are filled with people! 'Then the surrounding nations that survive will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted the wasteland. For I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say. "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am ready to hear Israel's prayers and to increase their numbers like a flock. They will be as numerous as the sacred flocks that fill Jerusalem's streets at the time of her festivals. The ruined cities will be crowded with people once more, and everyone will know that I am the Lord. " The Context This covenant, which is called the "New Covenant", is the eighth covenant between God and humanity, and the fourth theocratic covenant. Israel as a nation had split into two parts - Israel and Judah. The Israel to whom God had covenanted with Abraham, Moses and David was no longer a united country. After frequent rebellions, Israel was no more as a kingdom and its tribes and people deported as slaves to the surrounding nations. But true to His word to David, about having a kingdom that would be an everlasting kingdom, there was still the tiny kingdom of Judah. Jeremiah was an out spoken prophet in Judah from the period 627-580 BC. It was a time of great wickedness including human sacrifice, witchcraft and of worship to other Gods. The kingdom of Judah as a whole, as well as the now dispersed kingdom of Israel, had forgotten the Law under the Covenant with Moses. The Law had been forgotten but when the book of the Law was rediscovered and reforms started to be put in place under the leadership of King Josiah. You can read about that in 2 Chronicles 34. How Can It Be? Its against this backdrop that what is called the New Covenant is decreed. Remember the question I left you with in when we discussed the Davidic Covenant. I asked how can a people like Israel, who in their relationship with God, were often disobedient, unfaithful and seeking other ‘gods', be the basis for a kingdom which will last forever as promised in the Davidic Covenant? It is through this New Covenant that it is possible! This New Covenant as we shall see is that it is only through God's own work it is possible and not by the efforts of humanity. A Reminder The Lord reminds the people of their past: that it was because of His guiding hand they were a nation at all. He was reminding them that He was a living God who desired an intimate and dynamic relationship with His people - unlike the dead gods of iron, gold, silver and wood of the surrounding nations! It was all God's doing that they came out from Egyptian slavery under the leadership of Moses! He reminds them that they had made covenant with HIM and that His love towards them was an intimate love! Yet they abandoned this living God in favour of idolatry, disobedience and rebellion. New Covenant Features Four features of this New Covenant are: Regeneration - God will write His law on the hearts of people (Jeremiah 31v33)! This indicates that rather than obeying God through coercion, that His followers will choose to follow God and be renewed! Restoration - God will be their God, and they will be God's people. (Jeremiah 31v33) The people of Israel and Judah had wandered away. They had forgotten they were to be a special treasure to God and a shining light of God's glory to the nations of the world. They were in exile and dispersed but one day God will gather them back and restore them into relationship. Indwelt - Until now God the Holy Spirit had only been on one person at any one time, such as He was with King David. But now another new thing: God will live inside people and they will be led by Him (Jeremiah 31v 34)! WOW! Is this a sign from the Davidic Covenant that God will be a Father to those who follow Him? Forgiveness - Sins will be forgiven and removed eternally (Jeremiah 31v34)! Under the Mosaic Covenant, there was what was called the atoning sacrifice, performed so as to ask God's forgiveness for the sins of people. But not all sins, for this sacrifice only covered those sins committed by ignorance, coercion or unwillingness. It did not cover sins done deliberately. But now, when the New Covenant is ushered in, ALL sins will be forgiven! The covenant with Moses could only point the way forward to this time when it would occur! Grace Rules Supreme Regeneration, Restoration, Indwelling and Forgiveness give us our greatest glimpse yet of a God of grace! This New Covenant would be all God's doing and not on what any person could do! WOW! This New Covenant earmarks the way forward for Israel and Judah to be restored to the land as one united country. Ezekiel also speaks of this New Covenant in Ezekiel 36:24-38 but without mentioning it by that name. Ezekiel speaks as one carried off into exile as young man to Babylon. During which time Jerusalem and the Temple (remember that from the Davidic Covenant) were desecrated and destroyed. In his vision Ezekiel, as does Jeremiah, speaks of a God who will cleanse, restore and operate within the life of humanity! This New Covenant is contrasted with the Old Covenant or the Mosaic covenant (Jeremiah 31v32) because this New Covenant finalizes what the Mosaic Covenant could only point to: the follower of God living in a righteous life conforming to God's holy character. How is the New Covenant ushered in? That's where we start to look next. Thank you! Tap or click here to save this as a MP3 audio file

Davidic Covenant G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 8 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Let's read together 2 Samuel 7:1-17 When King David was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, the king summoned Nathan the prophet. "Look," David said, "I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!" Nathan replied to the king, "Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you." But that same night the Lord said to Nathan, "Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. I have always moved from one place to another with a tent and a Tabernacle as my dwelling. Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel's tribal leaders, the shepherds of my people Israel. I have never asked them, "Why haven't you built me a beautiful cedar house?"' "Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won't oppress them as they've done in the past, starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. "Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you-a dynasty of kings! For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house-a temple-for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.'" So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the Lord had said in this vision. This covenant is the seventh covenant and the fourth theocratic covenant (accepting that the Palestinian covenant is indeed a covenant!) The word covenant is not mentioned in this passage, but other passages of Scripture refer back to it, and explicitly call it a covenant (2 Samuel 23:5 David says, "...For He has made an everlasting covenant with me." Psalm 89:3-4; 1 Kings 8:23; 2 Chronicles 13:5). The Shepherd King The shepherd imagery here is powerful! The Lord reminds David that he was a shepherd boy before he rose to the heights in Israel and became its king. This shows that God wants David to be a shepherd leader as king. A king who protects, nourishes, guides and leads his people just as a shepherd does with sheep. . Covenantal Promises The Davidic Covenant promises four things: A land forever (2 Samuel 7:10); A dynasty, name or house without end (2 Samuel 7:11, 16) An everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7:13, 16) A father-son relationship between God and David's descendent (2 Samuel 7v13-14) Some of the blessings which God promises to David are also echoes from the Abrahamic, Mosaic and Palestinian Covenants! Some may or may not! Can you tell which ones do echo and which ones don't? The line of continuity runs through the covenants! A land forever - this is the promise of security for the nation of Israel and how important the land promises are to them! Here God promises rest for Israel in this their land of promise! He is reminding David of Israel's history when the judges ruled Israel. Reminding David of the cycle of disobedience, repentance and obedience, when Israel were taken into exile and under siege to the surrounding nations! A name & house without end - the name of David would be great throughout time and throughout the world! Why? Because of his great kingship and the family line that would come from him! Does that echo anything with you regarding Abraham? Not only for eternity, but for their immediate future to come! David wanted to build a temple befitting worship to the living God! But God has other ideas! David would not be allowed to build it, but rather one of David's sons would build a house of worship for God - a temple of magnificence and beauty to reflect a living God of beauty! Wow! An everlasting Kingdom - long after the death of David, his kingdom will continue. This also looks back to Genesis 17:6 where God has said that kings would descend from Abraham! The kingdom of David would last forever, in stark contrast to that of his predecessor Saul, whose reign was cut short. Father and son relationship - This building upon the promise to Moses, of Israel being God's special treasure! God desires intimacy with humanity, through the nation of Israel and now, uniquely to David and his descendents, God has promised they would have a father and son relationship. This relationship includes personal discipline against sinful and unfaithful behaviour. We know that God and David also had a father and son relationship and that David had the Holy Spirit upon him to enable him to lead the nation. Frequently in the Psalms David prayed that the Holy Spirit not be taken from him due to his sinful behaviour. How can it be? This covenant with David, as we have seen, continues the line of covenants within the Old Testament, and the line of continuity you can easily see. With each successive covenant, the seed is growing. Much like grass grows out from its root so too is the intimacy between God and humanity. There are glimpses or hints of a messiah or saviour to come who would indeed make David's kingdom everlasting! Yet these promises of the Davidic covenant give us yet more questions! How can an Israel, who in their relationship with God, were often disobedient, unfaithful and seeking other ‘gods', be the basis for a king who will reign forever? That's up next! Where do you think we will be tomorrow? 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Palestinian Covenant G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 7 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Let's read together Deuteronomy 29:12-18; You are standing here today to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God. The Lord is making this covenant, including the curses. By entering into the covenant today, he will establish you as his people and confirm that he is your God, just as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. "But you are not the only ones with whom I am making this covenant with its curses. I am making this covenant both with you who stand here today in the presence of the Lord our God, and also with the future generations who are not standing here today. "You remember how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we traveled through the lands of enemy nations as we left. You have seen their detestable practices and their idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you-no man, woman, clan, or tribe-will turn away from the Lord our God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous fruit. Deuteronomy 30v15-18 "Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. "But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. Covenant or not? This, the Palestinian Covenant, is the third of the theocratic covenants (those which pertain to the rule of God). Some people say there is no such covenant and others say that there is. Some say that the covenant has not been fulfilled in its entirety yet and some say that is has. Others say that it is merely Moses reiterating and elaborating the Mosaic covenant given at Sinai. I put it here so you can make up your own mind. Link to the Past The first thing we can say is that you will note that it is tied to the covenant given to Abraham (Deuteronomy 29v13). This Palestinian Covenant adds details to the giving of the land to Israel as promised in the Abrahamic covenant. Since the Mosaic covenant given at Sinai, the nation had wandered in the desert for 40 years until that generation died out because they had refused God and been disobedient to Him. This covenant is a call for a new beginning as a nation under the rule of God! Link to the Future The nation of Israel is about to change hands from the proven leader, Moses, into the unproven hands of Joshua! As a nation, they were sitting on the plains of Moab, waiting to enter the land of Canaan, which was given to them by their God. As they waited, they would reflect that their God is a living God who was not made of wood, stone, silver or gold! He was alive and living amongst them! As they waited, no doubt they were reflecting upon the validity of the promises made to them via Moses at Sinai. They could easily reflect on the lessons learnt from the disobedience of the previous generation who had been disobedient to God, found to be unfaithful and were never to enter the land promised to them! It served as a reminder of how one generation obedience or disobedience would affect the next generation. Recognizing this as God doing as He said he would do under the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants - punish Israel for unfaithfulness and disobedience. So this covenant, while being additional to the Mosaic covenant, serves also to remind this generation of Israelites of their special relationship with God. It is also abundantly clear that it is not just for the then current generation of Israel when it was given but for future generations of the nation of Israel to come after. Covenant Features This covenant has two main features to it. Legal features which are immediate and conditional Grace features which are without condition The enjoyment of the immediate blessings is initiated by the conditional principle "if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God ... the Lord your God will set you high about all the nations of the earth" (Deut 28v1). Some say that this, the unconditional grace facet of this Palestinian Covenant is initialised but set for a fulfilment in the future! The covenant also gives a glimpse of a future messiah or saviour who would come from within the nation of Israel. Be warned! There is a final warning to the nation of Israel (both at the time of the covenant and future generations) which is also a challenge: obedience to the LORD God alone! The nation of Israel is warned that unfaithfulness and disobedience has multiple consequences! If they are unfaithful and disobedient, then as a nation they can expect to be scattered and exiled before eventually being restored to the land following sincere national repentance. Overall Overall this Covenant adds details to the giving of the land to Israel as promised in the Abrahamic covenant. It gives glimpses of a generous and holy God who is filled with majestic mercy and abundant grace who seeks obedience and faithfulness from His people so He can live intimately with His people. As a nation, they were to reflect this and be a light to all nations of the glory of their God, Jehovah! It shows the continuity from Eden to Adam to Abraham to Moses. Where are we off to next in this line of continuity? Where do you think? 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Mosaic Covenant G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 6 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Lets read together Exodus 19v1-13: Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai. After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai. Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, "Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 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. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.' This is the message you must give to the people of Israel." So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the Lord had commanded him. And all the people responded together, "We will do everything the Lord has commanded." So Moses brought the people's answer back to the Lord. Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you." Moses told the Lord what the people had said. Then the Lord told Moses, "Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death. No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.' However, when the ram's horn sounds a long blast, then the people may go up on the mountain. Israel as a nation The people of the nation of Israel were living as those promised by God in the covenant to Abraham "I will make you into a great nation" (Genesis 12v1). They have been on a long journey and has we have read, left Egypt under the leadership of Moses. Mosaic Covenant Details! This is the fifth covenant between God and humanity and also the second theocratic. The verses we read were only an introduction and the covenant goes on to the end of Exodus 24! The 10 Commandments are a very good summary and the book of Deuteronomy gives the greatest detail of it! This covenant commences with the stipulation in Exodus 19v5 "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." . This covenant was to the nation of Israel in order that those who believed God's promise to Abraham could know how to live rightly before God! For Abraham was declared righteous by God, solely on the basis of his faith in God alone! Covenant Areas This Mosaic covenant covered three areas of life: The commandments were given so they would know how to correctly relate socially to God (Exodus 20v1-6) The judgments were given in order that they could relate socially to each other properly (Exodus 21v1 - 24v11) The decrees dictate their religious life so that God could be approached by humanity on His terms (Exodus 24v12 - 31v18). Of course included in here were the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20) which breaks down into two categories. Firstly identifying the God of Israel as their God, what He has done for them in bringing them out of Egypt and that they were to worship Him alone! These are the Israelites duty to their God! Then, secondly, how they were to live rightly before Him - speaking of how they were to behave to themselves and others! This Mosaic covenant however, was never meant as a replacement for the Abrahamic Covenant! By no means no! It was rather to be seen as an addition to it! It was looking forward to that day when it would be fulfilled when the long promised saviour and messiah would come. All the Covenants point towards this momentous event. A Special Nation Under the terms of this covenant Israel would be a special nation if they were obedient to Him and served Him faithfully. The Mosaic Covenant was never a means towards salvation. This covenant speaks of the living God who wants to live with His people! This was a God not made of stone or wood but the great God who desired intimacy with His people and wanted to live amongst them. But of course it had to be on His terms alone or He would not be able to live amongst them. The great and majestic God showing mercy and grace to His people Israel, who were to be a shining light to all nations of the glory of God, until the long promised saviour or messiah came from them. So, we have been through the Edenic, Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic and now the Mosaic Covenant - the story continues tomorrow! Where do you think we are going next? Thank you! Right mouse click here to download as a MP3 audio file

Abrahamic Covenant G'day and welcome to Partakers! We are now on day 5 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Lets read together: Genesis 12v1-9 The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you." So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth-his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran-and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your descendants." And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord. Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev. A Theocratic Covenant Whilst the Edenic, Adamic and Noahic Covenants were universal covenants, this fourth Covenant is the first covenant which is theocratic, or relating to the rule of God. It is dependent on God alone! A God, who through grace in the "I will..." statements promises to bestow blessings! This covenant with Abraham, or the Abrahamic Covenant, is also the basis for all theocratic covenants to come and provides blessings on three levels: Personal level to Abraham: "I will make your name great; and you will be a blessing" (Genesis 12v2) National level: "I will make you into a great nation" (Genesis 12v2) Universal level: "all peoples on the earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12v3) Initially here in Genesis 12, this covenant can be seen in broad outline, but God later confirms it to Abraham in greater detail as we shall see. The Abrahamic covenant is a link to all of God's activities and programs until the end of time. Personal Aspects The personal aspects of the Covenant, particular to Abraham are: Abraham will be a father of a great nation (Genesis 12v1) Abraham will receive personal blessing (Genesis 12v2) Abraham will receive personal honour and reputation (Genesis 12v2) He, Abraham, will be a source of blessing to others. (Genesis 12v3) Universal Aspects The aspects of the Abrahamic Covenant, pertinent universally are: God will bless those who bless Abraham and the nation of Israel which comes from him (Genesis 12v3) curses on those who curse Abraham and Israel (Genesis 12v3) blessings on all the earth through Abraham (Genesis 12v1-3) This was the first time God made this promise to Abraham, but not the only time as Abraham received it another 5 times as God gives great detail to it (Genesis 13:14-18, Genesis 15:4-5, 13-18, Genesis 17:1-8, Genesis 18:17-19 and Genesis 22:15-18. All Change! Abram, as Abraham was originally known, was weaned away from his native land by God, into a journey of the unknown! It was in this way that Abraham would develop his faith in God and use it like a muscle. In fact, when God reiterated the covenant in Genesis 17 to Abram, God changed his name from Abram meaning "glorious father", to Abraham, which means "father of many nations!" (Genesis 17v5) Reminded and renewed! So important was this covenant that God renewed it with: Isaac, the "only begotten son" of Abraham twice: Genesis 26:4 and Genesis 26:23-24 Jacob twice as well Genesis 28:14-15 and Genesis 35:9-12 This covenant gives yet further glimpses of God's essential character of grace and mercy, as well as hinting at somebody who is to come as a messiah or saviour! Can you tell how and where these glimpses are? Tomorrow our story continues! Do you know where to next? Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Noahic Covenant G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 4 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Reading from Genesis 9v1-17: Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power. I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it. "And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person's life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die. If anyone takes a human life, that person's life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image. Now be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate the earth." Then God told Noah and his sons, "I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants, and with all the animals that were on the boat with you-the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals-every living creature on earth. Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth." Then God said, "I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth." Then God said to Noah, "Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth." This, the Noahic Covenant, is the third covenant between God and man given after the flood had wiped out earth's population, apart from Noah and his family. The increase of humanity's wickedness and disobedience against God, was so great that God repented of His decision to create humanity. Genesis 6v6 "So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart." As a result of humanity's sin, the whole earth was to be destroyed! But, one man and his family was found to be in fellowship with God - Noah! Because they are in fellowship with each other (Genesis 6v9), God gives Noah a plan of rescue! After the rain and flood, God makes another covenant with humanity and also all note, all living creatures of the earth - through Noah! Wow! The terms of the Noahic covenant are Populate the earth is reaffirmed (Genesis 9v1). Subjection of the animals to humans is reaffirmed (Genesis 9v2). Humans are allowed to eat animal flesh but are to refrain from drinking/eating the blood (Genesis 9vv3, 4) Human life's sanctity is established. (Genesis 9vv5, 6). God promises to never to destroy the earth again by flood (Genesis 9v11). The covenant is a binding Covenant for all time (9v12) and with all creatures on earth! The rainbow is given as a symbol of this covenant and its existence (Genesis 9v12-17) God will sustain all life on earth(Genesis 9v17) Here again, God gives humanity the opportunity to live rightly with Him. Whereas before, there was the hint of the sacrifice, about which Martin Luther, commenting on this story, wrote: Here there is mentioned for the first time the burnt offering of Noah, which he made according to the example of his pious ancestors So even before Noah, there must have been some type of sacrifice made to God although we don't know what kind they were! Sacrifices, in order to somehow appease God, who had received painful hurt inflicted by human disobedience. But this story, and the Covenant, while telling about God's rightful rule of Judge also shows his desire for intimacy with humanity. The Almighty God wants to have fellowship with humanity, but it has to be on God's terms. God has never broken His promise or covenant with humanity, but both times so far, humanity has contravened the covenant by actively disobeying God and therefore breaking the Covenant made - whether the Edenic or Adamic! God in saving Noah, shows also hints of a God of grace! What God wants humanity to do, He will provide the means in which for them to do it! He is concerned for every aspect of humanity's life, from birth to death and the food they eat. As a symbol of this covenant, there are to be rainbows! This covenant as we have seen is a binding contract between humanity and God! But the story doesn't end there - it continues tomorrow with God revealing just a bit more of those things we have seen glimpses of: true fellowship between God and humanity being restored through grace and sacrifice. Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Thursday with Tabitha 4. Hosea by Tabitha Smith If you have ever felt that God is distant, disinterested, and aloof from his creation, or you've thought that God is a cruel, heartless God who punishes his creation harshly, then the book of Hosea has truth for you. This short prophetic book contains heartrending descriptions of God's feelings for wayward Israel. It is one of the parts of the Bible that most vividly demonstrates the intensity of feeling and the depth of emotion in the heart of God.   Hosea prophesied during the latter half of the eighth century BC. This was one of the most turbulent and difficult times in Israel's history, just before the captivity to Assyria. The nation of Israel went through six kings in about 30 years. There was violence, political intrigue and great instability.   Hosea primarily writes to the people of Israel, whom he sometimes refers to as Ephraim. His main concern is the way that the Israelites have turned away from worshipping God and instead started to worship Baal.   Baal was a false god of the region of Syria and Palestine. He was thought to control agriculture, rainfall and fertility. Practices involved in the worship of Baal included human sacrifice and mutilation of the body; incest, sex with animals, the use of shrine prostitutes and drinking alcohol in excess.   At the start of the book of Hosea the prophet is called to do something extraordinary. God asks him to marry an unfaithful wife. The events that unfold in Hosea's family will become a vivid image of the events occurring in Israel. Hosea marries a woman called Gomer and she bears him a son.   After this she has a daughter and another son but the wording of the text suggests that these two children do not belong to Hosea. Gomer has been unfaithful to him. The children are given names that mean “not loved” and “not my people”.  In this way, Hosea's illegitimate children become a picture of Israel, a child that will not be shown mercy and does not belong to its father. However, even at this tragic point, there is a promise of the mercy and love that the Father will show. God declares that in spite of this terrible unfaithfulness, he will show mercy and love again to Israel and Judah.   In chapter 2 God expands on the image of the unfaithful wife that was introduced in chapter 1. Israel has strayed from God, turning to worship Baal. She has taken part in pagan worship ceremonies and she has not acknowledged the way that God's hand has graciously provided all of her crops, wine, oil, silver and gold, which she now uses in the worship of Baal. God declares that he will punish Israel and expose her adultery.   But even in the next breath he expresses his desire to heal her, and restore her and draw her back into a loving relationship with himself: In verses 19-20 God says: I will betroth you to me for ever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD. And in verse 23 he says: I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one'. I will say to those called 'Not my people', 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.' " The language God uses is tender, affectionate and merciful. Israel will be his beloved bride again.   To complete the real-life metaphor, Hosea is instructed to go and love his wife again, even though she has been unfaithful to him. The fact that he has to buy her back suggests that she may have fallen into slavery. It costs Hosea to take Gomer back into his house. Hosea promises his faithfulness to Gomer and asks her to be faithful to him in return. This is powerful picture of love in action. It is love that is not based on warm glowing feelings but on commitment, intention, and faithfulness. This is love that hurts.   In the remaining 11 chapters of the book, Hosea continues his prophecy from God with a series of vivid pictures about unfaithful Israel. She is described as an adulterous wife, a disinterested mother, an illegitimate child, an ungrateful son, a stubborn heifer, a silly dove and a half-baked cake that is unfit for eating. Hosea also paints a picture of Israel as a luxuriant grapevine that looked very promising at the start but then went bad. Another image likens Israel to grapes or new figs found in the desert – a wonderful discovery that then turned rotten. Perhaps the most heartbreaking and tender passage comes in the first part of chapter 11. God describes Israel as a small child, a little son, who God himself called out of Egypt. God taught his child to walk, comforted him, kissed his wounds better and led him with kindness and love. But the child did not recognise the Father's love and care and rejected the Father in favour of idols.   In spite of this painful rejection, God cannot abandon his child. In verse 8 God exclaims, ‘how can I give you up, O Ephraim?'   The book closes with an impassioned plea for Israel to turn back to the Lord and enjoy the blessing that this change of heart would bring.   As I've read Hosea, I've been drawn to the image of Israel as God's bride. God pledged his covenant faithfulness to his bride but she was unfaithful. As we move into the New Testament we discover a new image of the church, the new covenant people of God, as the bride of Christ. This image culminates in the glorious wedding feast of the Lamb in the book of Revelation. The church, now perfected and redeemed by Jesus, is presented to him for eternal union in the new heaven and new earth. Jesus has loved his bride, the church with the same complete commitment and devotion that God showed his original covenant people. In the last days of his earthly life, Jesus had to experience the pain of loving those who would betray, desert and deny him. John's gospel poignantly says, “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” (John 13:1).   Jesus demonstrated the kind of resolute, faithful, steadfast love that would hurt so badly it would cost him his life.   So what do we take away from the book of Hosea? I think primarily it is a powerful reminder of the intensity of the love of God for his people. That includes us. If we are unfaithful to him and put other things in a higher place of importance in our hearts, this hurts God. The human emotion of having been cheated on by someone we love is only dim shadow of the effect of our unfaithfulness on God's perfect heart.   I think Hosea can also draw us into deeper wonder at what Jesus did for us on the cross. If we marvel at the love Hosea showed to Gomer, and what it cost him to buy her back whilst she was still a slave, how much more should we be floored by the love that Jesus showed for each one of us on the cross, giving everything he had to buy us back for God, whilst we were still dead in sin!   Last Friday was Good Friday and Christians around the world remembered the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. After the grief comes joy and on Sunday we celebrated Jesus' resurrection. Each Sunday is a commemoration of Jesus' rising on the first day of the week. Each time we celebrate the Lord's supper, the breaking of bread and the sharing of wine, we commemorate what happened on Friday.   Easter week may be over for another year, and of course we continue to celebrate each Sunday, but I think it is good to spend regular time thinking about the trial and the suffering of Friday. In doing so we remember what our freedom cost our Father, as we gather at the feet of our broken bridegroom, who loved us to the very end.  Right Mouse click or tap here to download this episode as an audio mp3 file

Adamic Covenant G'day and welcome to Partakers! We are now on day 3 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Reading from Genesis 3v14-21 Then the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." Then he said to the woman, "I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you." And to the man he said, "Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return." Then the man-Adam-named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Disaster and Curse! After the blessing of the Edenic Covenant between God and humanity, disaster and curse strike! God walked with Adam and Eve and enjoyed fellowship together. However as we read in Genesis 3v1-13, humanity broke their part of the covenant made with God! What was once idyllic is now chaos! They failed to trust God at His word and actively disobeyed Him. Under the terms of the Edenic Covenant, they had to be punished. Where they once trusted God implicitly and explicitly, now was guilt to be found and this is evidenced in that they endeavoured to hide from God. Irenaeus, writes: When Adam fell, he lost the likeness, but the image remained fully intact. Humanity as humanity was still complete, but the good and holy being was spoiled. Augustine, another of the early Church Fathers developed this further: Human nature was certainly originally created blameless and without any fault; but the human nature by which each one of us is now born of Adam requires a physician, because it is not healthy. All the good things, which it has by its conception, life, senses, and mind, it has from God... But the weakness which darkens and disables these good natural qualities, as a result of which that nature needs enlightenment and healing, did not come from the blameless maker but from original sin, which was committed by free will. For this reason our guilty nature is liable to a just penalty. Adamic Covenant This second covenant between God and humanity, is also titled the covenant with all of mankind, as it lays down the terms and conditions which hold until sin's curse is lifted (Isaiah 11v6-10; Romans 8v18-23). As elucidated by Irenaeus and Augustine, because of Adam's sin, we are all born under the curse of sin. The terms and conditions of this covenant include: The snake, or Satan, although enjoying limited & temporal success (Genesis 3v15), will ultimately be judged (Genesis 3v15). The first hint or notion of a saviour or messiah is given in Genesis 3v15 Childbirth now involves pain and the woman is made subject to her husband (Genesis 3v16) The ground is cursed and weeds will grow amongst the food (Genesis 3vv17 - 19) Physical changes occur and now people sweat when they work (Genesis 3v19) Because of their sin and disobedience, people die spiritually and inevitably physically. (Genesis 3v19). So the Edenic Covenant was broken by humanity, and God puts in place a new covenant! But this Adamic covenant, with the hint of a promise attached that one day true fellowship between God and humanity will be restored in full and out of death, new life will come. So the story continues! Tomorrow we look at another step in the story. Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Edenic Covenant G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 2 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Genesis 1v27-31 So God created human beings in his own image.In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground." Then God said, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground-everything that has life." And that is what happened. Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day. Genesis 2v15-17. The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, "You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden- except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die." Irenaeus, one of the Church Fathers, said this about humanity being made in the image of God: "The image was the human's natural resemblance to God, the power of reason and will. The likeness was a divine gift added to basic human nature. This likeness consisted of the moral qualities of God, whereas the image involved the natural attributes of God." Origen, another of the Church Fathers, goes further and commenting on Genesis 1v26-27, says "In v26, while the word ‘image' is repeated in v27, the word ‘likeness' is not. This indicates that in his first creation man received the dignity of the image of God, but fulfilment of the likeness is reserved for the final consummation, that is, the he himself should obtain it by his own effort, through the imitation of God. The possibility of perfection given to him at the beginning by the dignity of the image, and then in the end, through the fulfilment of his works, should bring to perfect consummation the likeness of God." God spoke with His creation and gave what is the first covenant between God and humanity. Humanity is commanded in this Edenic Covenant to: Populate the earth (Genesis 1v28) Subjugate the earth (Genesis 1v28) Exercise dominion over animals (Genesis 1v28) Tend and enjoy the garden of Eden (Genesis 1v29; 2v15) Refrain from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2v16-17). So in essence, humanity, being the pinnacle of God's creation, was to populate the planet, enjoy all of creation and to exercise concern and care over it: the environment, animals, plants etc. One thing they were not to do was to eat "the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Yet some time after they did do just that! When they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the Edenic Covenant was terminated, because they had broken their side of the Covenant. The consequence of this resulted in their spiritual and physical deaths. This failure, required God to make a new covenant with Adam and we will look at that next time! Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Developing A Strategy to Cope How can we, as 21st century Christians, keep from falling away. I would call it the COPE strategy: Consider, Persevere and Encourage. Keep Considering! (Hebrews 3:1-6) The first thing we do is to consider Jesus or as the NIV here puts it "fix our thoughts". Now remember, that these are Hebrew believers. I guess we would call them Messianic Jews today. They believed that Jesus was their Messiah, Saviour and Lord. They were obviously coming under pressure from their Jewish friends and leaders to deny this Jesus and return to the fold. They would have been told how great Moses was. In the previous chapter we read how Jesus is greater than the angels, because He is God, but was made a little lower than the angels when he became a man. Moses was cool In this chapter, we read a comparison between Jesus and Moses. Moses to the Jews was like a super-hero. Moses was revered because it was to him that God revealed His will. Moses was the key figure in the establishment of Israel as a nation - God's chosen people! Moses suffered persecution and rejection from the rest of the family of Israel. He had great zeal for God and was willing to sacrifice everything for God. He had fellowship with God. Yet all this is merely a shadow and a prophetic sign of what was to come in Jesus. Moses, we read in Numbers 12:7, was faithful to God's house, God's people. The house of God is the people of God. It was this Moses who was held in such high regard by the Jews, that some might well have been tempted to renounce Jesus and go back to the old ways. God's Messiah would need to be greater than Moses, and Jesus is and was this Messiah. Later on in the book of Hebrews, we discover that Jesus is greater than Aaron through whom the law was ministered; but here we see that Jesus is greater than Moses, the lawgiver, the servant of the house of God. Moses and Aaron represented God's house in Israel; Moses was the Apostle or Prophet and Aaron was the High Priest. Jesus, an Apostle and Prophet as well as being the High Priest, joined the two together. By Apostle, I mean as a Messenger - that's what an apostle is - a messenger or representative. As the Apostle of our faith, Jesus was faithful. Jesus was God's representative for us, making God known to us. Jesus was totally faithful, means to be both trusting and to be capable of being trusted. Moses was the one to whom the Law was given - the Mosaic covenant under which the Jewish people lived. This covenant with Moses 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 to Israel in order that those who believed God's promise to Abraham, could know how to live rightly in accordance with how God wanted them to live. This covenant with Moses covered the three areas of life: The commandments were given so they would know how to relate socially to God (Exodus 20v1-6) The judgments were given in order that they could relate socially to each other (Exodus 21v1 - 24v11) The decrees dictated their religious life so that God could be approached by humanity on His terms (Exodus 24v12 - 31v18). This covenant that God made with Moses and the ancient nation of Israel was never meant to be as a means for providing salvation. It was given so that they could realize the helplessness and futility of their own efforts and their need of God's help. It was to serve only as a protective fence until the promised Messiah came; the long waited for Saviour of all humanity, so that the whole world, Jew and Gentile, could be made right with God through faith and faith alone. In Comes Jesus And that is where Jesus comes in. As their Messiah and Saviour, Jesus ushered in the New Covenant, which was promised by God through the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. What are the features of this New Covenant or promise? Four features of this covenant are: Regeneration -God will write His law on the hearts of people. Restoration - God will be their God, and they will be His people. Promised Holy Spirit - God will indwell people and they will be led by Him Justification - Sins will be forgiven and removed eternally This new covenant is sealed only through the perfect sacrifice of the God-Man Jesus on the cross. His blood ensures the truth of this New Covenant. His death pays the penalty for the sins of all people who say yes to God and are ready to run the race and travel the course. This New Covenant finalizes what the Mosaic Covenant could only point to: the follower of God living in a relationship with God conforming to God's holy character. That is one very specific way of Jesus being superior to Moses! The original readers of this letter being God-fearing Jews would be aware of all this. They would also be aware that it is sin, which separates humans from God and as a consequence leads to both a spiritual and physical death (Romans 3v23, Romans 6v23, Isaiah 59v2). In the Old Testament, sins were dealt with by blood sacrifices of atonement as coverings for sin (Leviticus 17v11), for without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin (Hebrews 9v22). A blood sacrifice is God's way of dealing with sin. These blood sacrifices of the Old Testament signified several things: It provided a covering for sin. It showed the great cost of sin. It was an exchange or substitution. It was only always going to be a temporary measure, as it pointed forward to Jesus' death and it needed to be done over and over again. So how is Jesus better than Moses? The answer lies in the solution to sin. The ultimate solution to sin lies not in the continual animal sacrifice under the Covenant with Moses, because as the writer later in Hebrews 10v4 stipulates the blood of animals cannot take away sin but was only ever going to be a veneer or a covering. That was why it was necessary to repeat time and time again! It is only through the victorious death of Jesus, that sin is permanently taken away (Hebrews 9:v11-15, 26-28), because Jesus is the permanent sacrificial substitute! It is as if the writer is saying give up on Jesus, stop considering Him and you would still be in your sins - that's the way the original readers would have understood it! Right mouse click or tap here to save this as mp3 And as for us? As followers of Jesus Christ we are built together so that the Spirit of God may join us together in love. Both individually and as a group, we are the house of God. Jesus said, "We will come and make our home in you". We know Jesus has been faithful as a Son over God's people. We celebrate His faithfulness at Easter, when we acknowledge and rejoice at the sacrifice He made for us. We remember it in the act of Communion, which we will have later. Jesus suffered persecution and rejection from his peers. We know Jesus was godly and full of zeal for God, and was willing to sacrifice everything for God and his people. We are the house of God. And yet, do we not reject Jesus sometimes, or do we keep on considering? Do we give Him and trust in His faithfulness to complete the good work he has started in us? This NIV translation has "fix your thoughts". Here is how the New King James Version puts verse 1 "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus". I personally think that that is a better way of putting it. And not only because it has the word partakers in there! To "consider" has a much broader meaning than just "fixing your thoughts" as the NIV puts it. It means to seek, to fully understand or comprehend as well as fixing thoughtfully. To consider means to contemplate, to think about, to persevere with, to concentrate on and to fix eyes and thoughts upon. We have to allow Jesus Christ to permeate every aspect of our life, if we are to be partakers of Him. To consider not just how Jesus would do something, but how Jesus would think. What attitude would Jesus take? What would Jesus not do? Just as the Hebrews receiving this letter were told to do, in their race of the life following Jesus, we too are to hold fast to our courage, but only by considering Jesus and trusting in Him relying on the Holy Spirit to help us as we ask Him. This phrase "to consider" is perhaps the central theme of the book of Hebrews. We are to consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. Jesus was faithful to the purpose of His Coming to be among people. His purpose in coming to earth, as a mere man, was to die for sins and be raised up on the third day so as to be victorious over death and sin. This Jesus perfected our human nature in His life of simplicity, suffering, devotion and obedience. He now lives at the right hand of the Father in heaven, to communicate to us His life and blessedness through the indwelling Holy Spirit. We must therefore consider Jesus in everything we do, every thought we think and in every attitude. This is the aim of the writer to persuade these Hebrew Christians that if they knew Jesus to be the faithful, compassionate Almighty apostle and priest in Heaven, then they would find everything in Him that they needed for life. Moses couldn't help them, but Jesus could! Moses had died, they could perhaps visit his tomb if they wanted to. But Jesus, well, Jesus' tomb was empty! Jesus is alive! The life of these Hebrew Christians would be united with their faith, and united with the life of Jesus whom their faith would glorify God. To these Hebrew Christians their salvation was based on Jesus, but to renounce Jesus and go back to following Moses was apostasy. Moses couldn't offer salvation because the Law was not meant as a means of salvation! But what about you? Are you trusting in this Jesus for salvation or are you even subconsciously relying on your own good works or something else? That was what these believing Hebrews were to do - consider how vastly superior Jesus is to Moses. We also are to consider how superior Jesus is to all other things that would try to entangle us and allure us away with false promises. Keep Persevering! (Hebrews 3:7-12, 15-19) And then after considering Jesus, these Hebrew Christians were to do something! They were to persevere in believing. The writer now warns these Hebrew believers against the sin of unbelief, which is the hardening of their hearts. The writer quoting from Psalm 95 reminds them of the way Israel rebelled against God in the desert. He warns them not to be like their forefathers, who did not trust fully in the Lord their God. From Psalm 95, he proceeds to remind them of their ancestors' deeds of unbelief. The privilege of the house of God is in hearing God's voice. By choosing not to listen to God's voice, peoples' hearts grew hard and cold. These words are of course written to believing Christian Hebrews, not unbelieving Jews, and are as appropriate for us today, as it was for them when they received it. As the people of God today, the Church, we need to be ready to listen to God's voice. As we see God working in us, our trust and belief in Him grows. If we do not believe in Him to help us, then of course our hearts will harden against him. As we grow and run the race, willingly sacrificing what needs to be sacrificed, we realize the glory and majesty of God, His holiness and perfection, His love and tenderness, and gladly listen to hear what He says to us, and willingly receive what He gives us. When you pray, do you have your Bible open? When you read your Bible, do you do so prayerfully and considerately? Bible reading and prayer go together! Unbelief stops a person from holding fellowship with God. Our God is alive, not a dead idol on the shelf or in the bank. This church of Hebrew believers, for all their Christian profession and religious exercises, were in danger of falling away from God, due to their not believing totally in Him. God would not abandon them, but they would abandon God! We need to take care, in case we also fall into unbelief. Unbelief and falling away act upon and react to each other. If we have any unbelief in our hearts tonight, then let us ask God to give us a heart that believes in Him so that we may not fall away from Him. And what is one of the main ways we can stop from falling away or letting others fall away into unbelief? Keep encouraging! Hebrews 3:12-14 So we keep on considering Jesus. We persevere in our believing in Him. Now thirdly, to show we are considering Jesus and are persevering in our believing Him, we are to encourage and be encouraged! In verse 12, we read, "See to it, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God". This means, that we are not only to take care of our own hearts, but as verse 13 goes on to say, we are to encourage and ensure no one is in danger of falling away. We who are believers, have to make sure that each one of us is staying on the path that leads to life, that is, the race towards Jesus. This group of Hebrew Christians were to help and encourage each other! And so are we! For us, maybe it is by phoning somebody you haven't seen in a while or to phone somebody you get a random thought about! If we see a brother or sister that we know is starting to fall out of the race, we need to do all we can to stop them falling away. We need to encourage them, to continue considering Jesus and believing in Him. We all know of people who are new believers, full of joy and zeal for God, that end up falling back into unbelief, unable to hold fast to the end. To some degree, it is because the Church body has failed to encourage them to continue on in the race. It is our duty, and our daily responsibility to encourage people on in the race or the journey. However, to encourage is not just these easy things. To encourage can also mean to rebuke, to correct in love. I look back at my tutor, during my first stint of Bible College back in the 1980s. His name was Ed. Ed the head we called him. We had weekly tutorials then. Every week he would get me to read a chapter of Knowing God by JI Packer and a chapter of Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. Then during our tutorial I would have to try and explain what I learnt from both those chapters. It was a slog at times I tell you. But it gave me a good grounding for my Christian thinking and life of discipleship to Jesus. Or I think back to my dear friend Rose, a kind and dear elderly lady from the church I used to attend back in the 80s. She would have us young adults back to her house overlooking the ocean for coffee after church on a Sunday evening. She would always be showing love, caring and encouraging to all people - ready to lift them when they were down and eager to cheer from the sidelines. She was also a tough cookie at times and if we got out of line, she would say so in no uncertain terms! When we see somebody sinning or contemplating Therefore in considering Jesus, believe in Him and encourage others to do the same. That is the purpose of encouragement mentioned here. Let all of us give ourselves to the service of Jesus to watch over other people: let all the fresh grace and deeper knowledge of Jesus we see, be for the service of those around us. Where will you and I be spiritually next year, in 10 years' time, in 25 years' time? Will you be able to honestly say to yourself at that time, I have grown spiritually and haven't fallen away? If you would call yourself a Christian, and you are unsure where you are, then do this. Look back and remember what Jesus has done for you. Consider Him as you look back to your first profession of faith in Him. Consider that just as He died, you died in the waters of baptism. Consider that just as He rose to physical life, you rose from the waters of baptism and will also rise again when you physically die. Consider that just as Jesus will be glorified, so too will you be glorified before the Father - if you hold out until the end. Be assured of who you are - you are a child of the living God - hold out to the end. He has a firm grip on you, so maintain your grip on Him! Remember who you are! The way to cope with the rigours of 21st century life as a Christian believer, is to keep considering, keep persevering and keep encouraging. Right mouse click or tap here to save this as mp3

Introduction The Bible as you may or may not know is the story of God dealing with His creation. From the earth's beginnings there is a story portrayed in the Bible of the interaction between God and people. The Bible is broken into two sections: the Old Testament which contains 39 books and the New Testament which contains 27 books. The God of the Old Testament is the same God as that in the New Testament. It may surprise some people, but Jesus never actually makes an appearance in the Old Testament! However, there is the concept of some sort of saviour or messianic figure throughout. As Christians, we believe that this Messiah or Saviour is Jesus Christ. In this series, we will glimpse at the story of God's interaction with people from the beginnings to the end - the entire history of the world - beginning to end. I think one of the best ways to summarise the Old Testament in 7 quick studies, is to look at the covenants or promises that God made with certain people through history. Then we will go to look at the four Gospels or writings about Jesus Christ before doing the majority of this series, looking at the man Jesus Christ. How and why He is the man of all history! What were or are Covenants in a biblical sense? 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. There were covenants between equal partners in deals similar to contracts of law today. The Covenants we shall look at from the Old Testament, regarding the relationship between God and humanity, had several things about them. God always took the initiative - sometimes by surprise as in with Abraham or in Noah's case, through his obedience. God has promised certain commitments and has given His solemn promise to fulfil His end of the bargain. God waits for a response from humanity. God does not coerce or force but waits for humanity to take the responsibility of replying and acquiescing to God's covenantal promises. Through all these Covenants we see a God who is willing to interact with His creation and bless it. When first century Christians such as Paul, Peter and John checked all the events surrounding the life of Jesus, they searched their Scriptures (our Old Testament). It was as the Holy Spirit illuminated their minds, that they wrote down and passed on the whole gamut of Old Testament promise which was fulfilled in God's Messiah and the world's hope: Jesus Christ and Him alone. That is why it is important for us as twenty-first century Christian Disciples to read our Old Testament as well as the New Testament. For by reading the Old Testament, new light may be shed on our own understanding of the New Testament. So starting tomorrow, we look at the Edenic Covenant from Genesis 2v15-17! Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Study 30 - Luke 24: 13-End The Appearances and Ascension of Jesus. We need to take an overview of all the major events that appear in this passage: the life and ministry of Jesus, the crucifixion, the resurrection and the ascension; and consider their inter-relations. Question 1: Why is it absolutely essential that the crucifixion and the resurrection did not happen until after the earthly ministry of Jesus was completed? Jesus was the representative and completely faithful Israelite who was also identified as God by the nature of the works he did, Messiah, Son of Man, Son of God – all this had to be firmly established before he could enter into his work of redemption. This is what the difficult phrase at the end of Rom 4: 25 means. Jesus was resurrected, therefore he was the Messiah, therefore he justifies us – brings us in Him into the Abrahamic family of God’s true people. Furthermore the Kingdom of God had to be announced, inaugurated and its establishment commence – a work that would not be completed until after the end of this age. Question 2: What did the resurrection add to the crucifixion? Two things. First proof. Dying on a Cross was easy! All you had to do was upset the Romans. So the resurrection looked back validating the crucifixion showing that it was not just another death but THE death, fundamentally important for everybody on this earth. Secondly it looked forward indicating that Jesus had inaugurated the days of the New Life possibility Rom 6:4–11. Now we can be truly alive: slaves to righteousness and to God, no longer slaves to sin. Luke may well have been getting near the end of his scroll by now so he tells us about just two carefully chosen accounts of appearances. The first of these (v13–35 which we now read) is particularly full of theological and practical significance. Question 3: Why did Jesus apparently threaten to move on? What does that say to us? Not all the movement towards faith had to come from Jesus. The two disciples had to do something however slight to show that they were moving in heart and mind towards him. Exactly the same is true of us. We need to do something to show that faith is beginning to grow in our lives. It was only when Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, presumably using the same words and gestures he had used in the upper room, that they recognized him. But even as they saw who it was - were their mouths still wide open with shock - He disappeared. Question 4: Why? Not why did they recognize him, that is pretty obvious, but why did he disappear at just that moment? Again, how does that translate into our experience, our lives? John reported that Jesus said to Thomas “because you have seen me you have believed.; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus was following the principle behind that statement: faith is a matter of the will and conviction, without the simplicity of certain knowledge. Jesus constructed a situation that speaks directly to us many centuries later. We are to say “my Lord and my God” as Thomas did and will be even more blessed than he was. Now we read Luke 24:36–49. Question 5: What is the main thing Jesus stresses in both these appearances, and that Luke is careful to stress in his accounts? He is obviously giving us the strongest possible hint as to how the church is to act through the ages? How well do we apply this to our context? Jesus explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself on the road to Emmaus and he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures as they sat and ate in the upper room. This website is full of teaching about the scriptures. That is totally deliberate – this is what we were instructed to do in these verses. The old book of Common Prayer says of the scriptures we are: to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. I can’t say it better than that! Finally we read Luke 24:50–53. Question 6: Why was the ascension important – couldn’t Jesus have just stopped appearing any more? Jesus had to be seen to ascend to heaven where he would take his rightful place at the right hand of God, begin his rule as the Lord of all, and start his work of interceding for us as we struggle on here on earth. The Holy Spirit will come as Jesus said when he told them to “stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” He will have the power to enable us, you and me, to live the true life of the ages. Also this is the end of one great episode in the story of Redemption, the mission of Jesus, and the beginning of another, the mission of the Church. Question 7: Why did Jesus leave them in the middle of blessing them? Can you see any long-term significance in that? There is unfinished business to be done which they had to do from Jerusalem to the ends of their world and we have to do in our world! And so we come to the end of our long journey through this fascinating Gospel. May you have received as much joy and blessing in hearing and reading and thinking about these things as we have had in the preparation of these notes. We hope to do the same thing with the second volume of Luke’s – the Acts of the Apostles – we hope you will join us on our journey through that fascinating book. But before we sign off at the end of these notes here is a final question for you: we finished the last study with a challenge to you, particularly if you are not already a follower of Jesus, to think deeply about what you have heard. What conclusion did you come to? If, perhaps, you have decided to start following Jesus from this time on we would like to encourage you to tell someone else, probably another follower of Jesus, about your decision. Doing that will help to fix the decision firmly in its place – in your mind, the mind of others and above all in the mind of the Lord God. Another way of doing that would be through this website, but that is a weaker way because we are not close to you seeing you living day by day. Whatever you have decided and whatever happens from now on – may Jesus, the Lord, be with you and bless you. Amen. Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Study 29-Luke 23:26–24:12 The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. All history pivots on the events described in these verses. The story is told with striking simplicity and absence of comment. We read Luke 23:26 – 43. Many people play a part in the judicial murder of Jesus. In order from Luke 22:47 on we read about:Judas, the arresting squad, Peter, the men guarding Jesus, the council of the elders, Pilate, Herod, the soldiers, the crowd in front of Pilate’s house, the soldiers leading Jesus to his death, the watchers and rulers at the place called a Skull and the criminals on their crosses. For each of these we might: Consider what their motives, if any, were for what they did. Think of a present day situation where the same motives might be apparent. Wonder which of these motives we might sometimes have ourselves. Question 1: Select 3 people or groups of people from that list and consider the motive, present day equivalent and personal reflection for each of them. The arresting squad, the men guarding Jesus and the soldiers were all obeying orders so motive doesn’t really come into it except for those who mocked Jesus rather more vigorously than they might have done. The problem of when to disobey orders is still with us. No one has ever been able to explain why Judas did what he did completely satisfactorily. Peter acted from a desire for self preservation, something we have probably all been guilty of in some small or large way at some time in our lives. The elders, Pilate, Herod and the rulers watching the crucifixion allowed political aims to dominate their thinking. They thought their ideas more important then the life of the most important man who ever lived. Some people still allow purely political aims to lead them to dreadful acts of wickedness. Only the friends watching beside the Cross, of whom the most important, according to John, were women and just one disciple, come out of the story with any credit at all. They had seen something in this man that transcended the danger of being associated with him. May we have the strength and courage to do the same. Question 2: Paul talks about sharing Jesus’ sufferings (Romans 8:17; 2 Corinthians 1:5; Philippians 3:10). For some of us those statements may be reflected in our own lives. What would we achieve by such suffering? Would any such sufferings be in any way redemptive? f course sufferings, by definition, are not pleasant. Such things give us a great sense of solidarity – these would give us a much enhanced sense of solidarity with Christ, of fellowship with him. And apart from our feelings there would be the practical experience of His glory that Paul also mentions. We read Luke 23:44–56. The tearing of the temple curtain symbolises the opening of the way to God to everybody – you and me included. Each and every attempt by men to re-erect a barrier to God by saying that only they have full access, or only in their way is it possible to approach God, is sadly mistaken. After the death of Jesus the action moves to the apparent outsiders:Joseph of Arimathea was not one of the leading disciples and the women were second rate citizens in the thinking of those days. Question 3: Which one sentence of the story of the crucifixion will you take away as the most memorable for you? Different people would give different answers to this. For me, I think it is that brief comment “the centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God” because that mirrors my thoughts as I read about what happened. And so we come to the resurrection. We read Luke 24:1 – 12. This is one of the four accounts of what happened that we have. They do not exactly agree about what happened, differing in the way that eye-witness accounts of any surprising, unexpected, event will do. The women set out to do the obvious, necessary things, for a dead person. They did not agonize in prayer about what they should do (did they leave that to the male apostles?). They were hugely blessed as a result of undertaking the obvious tasks. Is this a lesson for us? Question 4: Why was it women (in those days considered unreliable witnesses to anything!) who were there first? What are we expected to learn from the fact that they were first to meet the risen Lord (according to Matthew and John)? The New Testament challenges the way women were thought of and treated in those days. It does this obliquely, rather than directly in gospel stories like this, in the way Paul refers to women particularly in the last chapter of Romans where Priscilla has a dominant role in what she does with her husband, in what is said of Phoebe, in that Junias, a woman, is called an apostle, and many other women are mentioned and commended, all in this same chapter. The church, like the societies in which it has existed for most of its history has been male dominated. We need to be careful to think about the balance we see in scripture. The most important event in the history of the world was the death of Jesus on the Cross, for that act alone atoned for the rebellion of all men and women, including you and me, against God. That we know this is the correct understanding of what happened is because of what followed – the resurrection of Jesus to the new life of the ages. Had he not risen he would have been just one more of the many failed would-be Messiahs of those days. There would have been no church, no Christian movement. Many people have tried to argue that it did not happen. None of them have given a satisfactory explanation of what did happen. We know without the slightest doubt that there was a Jewish nation there when Jesus was born and that a remarkable movement of people known as Christians started very soon after his death. Something happened in between to cause the move from one to the other. What was it? Only the Biblical account recorded in the four gospels makes any sense of the gap. We – you – have to come to terms with what happened and decide how we – you – are going to respond to it. The next, and last, study in this series considers the two episodes describing what happened when disciples met the risen Christ. These are clearly written to challenge any and every reader or hearer to faith. So, if you are not already a follower of Jesus, you are going to be challenged to think deeply about what you have heard. Will you be prepared to follow Him, whatever the cost may be? Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Study 28-Luke 22: 47 – 23: 25 The arrest and trials of Jesus. The story now moves steadily towards the death of Jesus. It is told with remarkable economy and simplicity in all four gospels. Not even the failure of the leading apostle and founder of the early church is left out. Read Luke 22: 47 – 53. Question 1: Would you be thinking more or less of the eleven now if they had NOT tried to defend Jesus with their two swords (22: 38, 49 ) probably against an overwhelming force? Why? Their reaction to the approach of the crowd, which Mark describes as ‘armed with swords and clubs’, is an entirely natural one. It shows that they were not cowards. It also shows that they had not taken all of Jesus’ message really into their hearts and minds. Few of us have. Presumably the clash of one or two swords could easily have led to a more general skirmish in which Jesus could have been killed. But in the purposes of God his Son had to be tried, falsely accused, condemned and judicially killed. Without the legal decision of “guilty” Jesus would not have been dying for our sins. The universal responsibility of everybody for his death, symbolised by those directly involved, would not have been incurred. A great many prophecies, such as hanging on a tree (Deut 21: 23), would not have been fulfilled. Read Luke 22:54–62. Question 2: Peter lied - and lived to do much good work for his Lord. Was he justified in doing so? Should we do the same under certain circumstances? What circumstances? Is a life more important than the truth? When, and when not? In a way it is impossible to answer this question. We do not know, and neither did Peter, what would have happened if he had not lied. A life is more important in many ways than telling the truth yet the truth or the lie will define the life for ever. In the history of the church many, many people have refused to deny Christ and died. Let’s hope we never have to answer this question for real. Hebrews 6: 4 – 6 could be taken as a comment on what Judas did. Question 3: In the light of those verses what was the essential difference between the actions of Judas and Peter? What warning should we take from this? And what encouragement? The action of Judas was taken completely deliberately; Peter stumbled unwillingly into his denials. So many of our sins occur when we too stumble unwillingly into error. It is a great relief for us that Peter was not cast away from his position but lived to do so much good and die for his Lord in due course, about 30 years later, in Rome. Read Luke 22:63–23:25. There seem to have been many meetings that night in the effort to find grounds to condemn Jesus. Luke only records a ‘trial’ at daybreak (22: 66); Mark records one in the early part of the night; Matthew and John add further details. Luke was writing to Theophilus, a senior Roman citizen, and that probably affected which episodes he was most interested in. Question 4: In that case what things in the trials is he most likely to have wanted to concentrate on? It was important to him to try and show the Romans in as good a light as possible. Pilate had a very bad reputation in the Roman world anyway so he was not concerned with putting him in a good light. But he did want to show that there was a fair trial and that Jesus was condemned partly as a result of Jewish agitation and partly for Roman political reasons. His main concern was to establish who Jesus really was. So we have 3 titles in these verses: Messiah (or Christ, or Expected and Anointed One) (22: 67; 23: 2), Son of Man (22: 68) and Son of God (22: 70) Question 5: When Peter looked back at these events he was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah (Acts 2: 22 – 36). What made him so sure? If the council had accepted that Jesus was the Messiah what would that have meant for them? What actions would it have committed them to take? Peter remembered the resurrection above all. That was the ultimate proof that Jesus was who he said he was. If the council had recognised Jesus as the sort of Messiah they expected they would have been in immediate revolt against Rome. They thought they would have had to take up arms and tackle the Roman army, which no one could do successfully. Read Daniel 7:7, 13, 14, 17 – 28 again. How would the council have understood what Jesus said in 22: 69? How would the Roman authorities have understood his claim if they had known the background? A previous Caesar, Augustus, was the (adopted) son of Julius Caesar. After Julius was killed he was venerated as a god, which made Augustus a “son of god”! What would the idea that Jesus was the Son of God have meant to the council? What implications would it have had for the Roman authorities? The crowd of 23: 13 must, in part at least, have been the same one we read about in 19: 37, 39. How can you account for such a major turn around? What should this caution us against? Who was most responsible for the condemnation of Jesus: the crowd, the Jewish leaders, the Roman authorities, or Jesus (Jn 10: 17, 18!)? Were we also responsible as those needing redemption? Another obvious question we can ask ourselves, but never really answer until it happens, is: the trial exposed the forces, commitments and loyalties of all those involved: the council members, Pilate, the crowd and Jesus. Faced with similarly difficult choices how will we react? Will we cling to our securities and dreams and avoid moving out of our comfort zones, or will we ‘take up our cross’ and follow him? It would have mattered a great deal as without the legal decision of “guilty” Jesus would not have been dying for our sins. The universal responsibility of everybody for his death, symbolised by those directly involved, would not have been incurred. A great many prophecies, such as hanging on a tree (Deut 21: 23), would not have been fulfilled. Of course, it could never have happened that way anyway (Jn 7: 30). 5) The action of Judas was taken completely deliberately; Peter stumbled unwillingly into his denials. 7) The Resurrection. 9) Angels, Israel as a people, and the king of Israel (Ps 89: 26, 27) are called sons of God in the OT. The last of these is the meaning implied here. The council would have understood him to be saying that he was the King of Israel (see 23: 2). The Romans would have thought him to be claiming to be one of the many gods of those days and probably would not have been too concerned by that. 10) As Messiah he was the representative Israelite and is now the representative Christian (Rom 5: 15 – 17). We are in Christ (the Messiah). As Son of Man he is a human being standing in our place (Heb 2: 17 – 18). As Son of God he is the Saviour who, being God, is able to die for us all (Heb 1: 3; 2: 9). 12) This has been much argued about through the centuries. The best answer is probably all of them, and us. 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Study 27-Luke 22:1-46 Joys and Sorrows In this chapter Jesus is a source of great strength and joy to his disciples as they gather to eat the Passover together. At the same time betrayal, misunderstanding and desertion surround him. Read Luke 22:1–6. Question 1: If ‘Satan entered Judas’ how responsible was Judas for what he did? When is it permissible for us to say ‘Satan entered somebody? To answer the second part of the question first:it is very doubtful whether we should ever say this. Judas was fully responsible as he eventually recognised; Matt 27:3, 4 says ‘When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. I have sinned, he said, for I have betrayed innocent blood. What is that to us? They replied. That's your responsibility. There is an interesting and important parallel in Isaiah 10 where we read:“Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my (the Lord’s) anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! I send him against a godless nation (that is Israel), I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.” But this is not what he (Assyria) intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations. When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, I will punish the king of Assyria for the wilful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. For he says:'By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.’ So we see in that passage it is true both that the Lord in his sovereign power used Assyria to punish Israel and the Assyrians were completely responsible for what they did. Here Judas was completely responsible for what he did even if in so doing he fulfilled the greater purposes of the Lord. That may not agree with our logic but that kind of both God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility at the same time is the common teaching of the word of God. As with the arrangements for the triumphal entry it seems likely that Jesus had pre-arranged the hire or loan of the room. We read Luke 22:7–23. Question 2: Luke is not interested in the detailed arrangements for the meal, which must have included things like the sacrifice of a lamb in the temple. What is he interested in? Can you think of any reason for that? He is only interested in the human aspects of the story, the depth of fellowship it showed and the inauguration of the Lord’s Supper. He draws attention to the way this celebration was repeated in the very early church in his account in Acts. He expected the church to follow the main points of what Jesus did down through the centuries. Question 3: What is the intended symbolism of the bread and the cup? What are the intended symbolisms in the way the elements must have been handled? How many of these symbolisms are lost the way your fellowship do it? Bread was the common essential of life in those days. It was nothing special that Jesus used. The loaf had to be forcibly broken, as was the body of Jesus to be. The cup was poured out but none was spilt as the blood of Jesus was. It represented blood and therefore (life-giving) death. In addition this was a Passover meal so it also carried the symbolisms of Exodus 12, particularly perhaps the redemption under the covering blood and the sense of a meal to be eaten in haste, prepared to go on a great journey of faith. It is up to you to think through how that relates to what your fellowship do when they celebrate this meal. Question 4: Sadly the communion service/breaking of bread/eucharist/ mass has become the chief symbol of division in Christendom when it should have been the great symbol of unity. Why do you think this has happened? Unfortunately men have sort power by claiming they, by reason of some office they hold, and they alone, have the right to dispense the elements and control the procedure. Very sad. There is surely no justification for any church or group of churches preventing Christians who are not of their fellowship from participating at the Lord’s Table. Jesus called it the feast of the ‘new covenant’. Gen 17:3–8 is the original covenant with Abraham. Deut 5:1–4 records the covenant with Moses and the Israelites at Siana. Jer 31:31–34 promises a new covenant which this is. Many churches never really talk about covenants, new or old. They lose by not doing so. Read Luke 22:24–38. The dispute of v24 must have filled Jesus with dismay as it contradicted all that he had tried so hard to teach his disciples. Question 5: In what ways are we most likely to contradict all that the communion service is meant to achieve in us even before we leave it? What should we learn from the words of Jesus responding to that dispute (v25–30)? The tendency of men and women to want to feel superior to other people is always present where people gather together. Jesus reiterates his teaching that we are not to seek that superiority for ourselves remembering that such things will be reversed in the Kingdom anyway. Question 6: The instruction to buy a sword (v 36) is very strange. There is no evidence that the early church ever did this. Should they have? How can we understand these verses? Read Luke 22:39–46. Luke’s account of Jesus praying on the Mount of Olives (v 39–46) is considerably shorter than Matthew’s (26:36–46) and Mark’s (14:32–42) accounts. What does Doctor Luke tell us to emphasise the importance of the event? What can we learn about prayer from this account? And so the scene is set for the final hours of Jesus and the beginning of new possibilities in human life. That will be in our next study. Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Thursday with Tabitha 3. Amos Amos was a prophet during the time of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam of Israel. His prophecy came somewhere roundabout the year 760 BC, give or take a few decades! At this time Israel and Judah were enjoying an unusual spell of prosperity and political stability. This was especially the case in Israel, where the land was very fertile and abundant crops were growing. The threat from the kingdom of Assyria seemed to have lessened, at least for the time being, so life was pretty good. Unfortunately the people of Israel and Judah had wandered far from the standards of holiness that God had intended for them. Idolatry was rampant, the rich were getting richer and more corrupt by the day and the wealthy were exploiting the poor. The Israelites falsely concluded that their prosperity was a sign of God's obvious blessing. They were looking forward to “the Day of the Lord” when God would finally crush their enemies. It is into this environment that Amos was called to prophesy. We're told that Amos came from Tekoa, a small village in Judah, south-east of Bethlehem. He is identified as a shepherd or maybe a sheep breeder. A rather unlikely choice for a prophet on the face of things! Amos begins his message in chapter 1 with a series of proclamations of God's judgement on the neighbours of the Israelites. He has words of judgement for Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, the Ammonites and the people of Moab. These people groups were enemies of the Israelites. The charges against them relate to their violence, cruelty and abuse of other human beings, particularly during times of war and conquest. The Israelites would probably have been nodding along happily until the beginning of chapter 2. At this point Amos suddenly turns his attention to Judah and then to Israel. The judgements leveled against God's people are of a different order altogether. God accuses them of violating the terms of his covenant with them - they are called to a higher standard of moral and spiritual living than the pagan nations around them. Amos doesn't hold back! The sins of the Israelites include oppression and exploitation of the poor, sexual sins, idolatry, misuse of God's temple, abuse and silencing of the prophets, and empty, ritualistic worship. God had patiently tried to warn his people, by sending them prophets and providing examples of holiness in the form of people like the Nazirites, who took vows of holiness and of abstinence from wine. But God's people had not listened and now God would judge them. The main message in the book of Amos is this: God's judgement is universal; Israel and Judah are not immune. Chapters 3 to 6 expand on the initial judgements outlined in the first two chapters. Even the women of Israel are exposed as people who oppress the poor - God likens them to the fat cows that graze in the fields of Bashan! God is appalled at the nature of the people's idolatrous worship. The people had started to offer sacrifices in places other than the temple in Jerusalem and they had appointed priests who were not Levites. These things were deviations from the instructions that God had provided for worship. They had even turned to worshipping golden calves and other idols. The Israelites thought that they were offering worship that was pleasing to God but it was actually detestable to him. In chapter 4 God summarises a series of warning shots that he gave to the people, which were intended to bring them back to him, but the tragic refrain is repeated over and over again: “yet you did not return to me”. In chapter 5 Amos entreats the people to turn back to God, telling them that it's perhaps not too late. God laments over Israel like a father whose virgin daughter has been raped or become a prostitute. In chapter 5 God declares the following: “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:21-24 ESV) God calls the people to repent and come back to him and seek justice. In chapter 6 further sins are described which include the complacency of the people in the self-indulgence of the rich at the expense of the poor. Chapter 7 to 9 contain a series of visions which Amos has. These visions declare that God's judgement is unavoidable if God is to be just, which he must. The judgement is imminent. The final vision pictures God standing by the altar of the temple shaking it to its foundations. This is a prophecy about the final downfall of Israel. The prophecy was fulfilled very soon after this. Assyria gained power again and conquered Israel in 722 BC. After all the serious judgements and the terrifying reality of the impending downfall of Israel, the book of Amos ends on a tantalizing note of hope. Despite the people's willful disobedience and the depth of their depravity and sin, God is a God of mercy and deliverance. There is a promise of future restoration of the Israelites. God promises to repair the dwellings of David and preserve a remnant of his people for the future. So what can we learn from the book of Amos? Firstly, we learn that God is always just. God is a God of love and he is mercifully patient but he has to judge sin, otherwise he is not really loving at all. Despite appearances to the contrary, nobody is getting away with anything. Every human being who has ever lived or who will ever live must stand before God to be judged. And the truth is that none of us can stand before him with a perfect account, with an unblemished record of our own. However, the message of hope at the end of Amos hints at the salvation that would eventually come through Jesus. God never meant his judgements on Israel and Judah to be the last word. In mercy he preserved a remnant through the line of David through which the Messiah would come. Through Jesus, God has provided the means of our deliverance and restoration. Those who've trusted in Jesus' perfect, sinless record and accepted his payment for their sin (the sacrifice of his own life) will be able to stand before God without fear. Amos's message also shows us that the knowledge of God comes with responsibility. Those who know more of God and his standards of holiness will be held more accountable than those who have never heard about him. God chose the people of Israel out of all the peoples of the earth, but not because they were better or more numerous or more powerful. Quite the opposite in fact! They were chosen by grace alone. God made his covenant with the people of Israel and gave them clear boundaries of ethical and moral conduct and instructions for their spiritual worship. These were for their own protection and their own benefit. Today, as the new covenant people of God we are no longer required to keep all the requirements of the original old Testament law that God gave to Moses. However, Jesus did not come abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matt 5:17). Just because we have been freed from the demands of the law we are not simply free to do whatever we want. In fact as Jesus pointed out we are called to go above and beyond the requirements that the old law demanded. Rather than restraining ourselves to proportional revenge on our enemies we are called to love them. Instead of simply giving the bare minimum required we are called to give extravagantly. Jesus teaches us that the standard of holiness we are called to is so much higher than we would think. We should view sin with such seriousness that hating somebody should feel as bad as murder and lusting after another person should be regarded as adultery in the heart. Amos' words need to speak to us today, reminding us that God's standard of holiness is so much higher than we realize. Instead of passing our own judgement on the sinful Israelites we need to look honestly at our own lives and realize just how similar to them we can be. God calls his people to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with him (Micah 6:8). Are we doing that? Do we actively look for opportunities to defend the rights of the poor in our society and our world? Do we think carefully about how we worship God? God is so merciful and patient with us – he calls us to come back to him, to abide in his love, to learn from him and to be his hands and feet in the world we live in.   Right Mouse click or tap here to download this episode as an audio mp3 file

Study 26 - Luke 21:5-38 The fall of Jerusalem and the End of the Age First: some introduction. A quick google shows 9 occasions in which there was a major siege and capture of Jerusalem, from that by the Babylonians in 586 BC to one by the British in AD 1917. This chapter is very similar to Mark 13 and Matthew 24 (many think Mark’ gospel was a major source of Luke’s information). Matt 24, in particular, is worth reading to note the additional information it contains. These chapters are concerned with Jesus’ prophecies of the important siege and sack of Jerusalem in AD 70. This was carried out by the Romans in reaction to a rebellion of the Jews within the Roman Empire about 40 years after the death of Jesus (probably about the time Luke wrote his gospel). But these are notoriously difficult chapters to understand, mainly because the prophecies of the fall of Jerusalem act in part as a foreshadowing and illustration of what is still to happen at the end of the age. The fall of Jerusalem was immediately catastrophic for the Jews but even more important for the Christians who understood it to be the final act of the OT approach to God, completely clearing the way for the Kingdom Age introduced by Jesus. Even the phrase ‘end of the age’ is difficult. Some argue that from the perspective of a Jew in AD 60 that would mean no more than the end of their life, society and culture, which did indeed occur in AD 70, landing them into a totally different age. However it seems to have at least some reference to the Day of the Lord, which is still in front of us nearly 2000 years later. Question 1: Which of the following verses is about the Fall of Jerusalem, which is about the end of the age, and which cannot be clearly assigned solely to either of these? v6–9; v24b; v25 & 27; v34b-35 The fall of Jerusalem was horrendous by any standards. According to Josephus, a Jewish historian working for the Romans, about 1.1 million people (he is known to exaggerate!) were killed, many because different factions of the Jews fought each other within the walls while the Romans watched in amazement from outside. The temple was then totally destroyed by the Romans but the city did continue for a further 65 years until AD 135 when a further revolt so infuriated Hadrian, the Emperor at that time, that he had it completely razed to the ground and rebuilt as a Roman city called Aelia Capitolina. Question 2: Is there any reason to think that the problems of v 9, 10, 25 and 26 were any worse in the 1st century than previously? Or are any worse in the 21st century? A matter of opinion – but I don’t think there is much difference. With the vast improvement in communication technology we know far more about what is happening on the other side of the world than they used to do. Read Daniel 7:1–3, 7–14, 19–22, 27. The hearers of Jesus will have known this prophecy of Daniel well. Question 3: What then will they have understood him to mean by the reference to the Son of Man in Luke 21: 27? In particular what encouragement will they have got from what he said? They will have been encouraged not only by the promise that Jesus will return in great power and glory but that the figure in Daniel is representative of the people of God. They will have taken this to mean that their position would improve greatly in the age to come. Question 4: What encouragement should persecuted Christians in one of the difficult countries of the world get from what Jesus said? Question 5: If, on the other hand, we are in one of the easier countries in the world to be a Christian what encouragement should we get from this chapter? It is strange that Luke does not use what Mark records in Mk 13:32–36. Question 6: What are the motives of those who ignore those verses and make confident but erroneous predictions? How should we react to such things? Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Study 25 - Luke 20:1-21: 4 Jesus challenges his hearers 7 times. The first 4 of these challenges are quite substantial with definite contexts; the others less so. Challenge 1 – Luke 20: 1 – 8 The question of authority is of great importance. There is no answer here so we need to go to John 5: 31 – 45 to find one. Question 1: Where does Jesus say his authority comes from or is testified to in these verses, which I am just about to read. Listen carefully and count the different sources you can hear. You should get six different ones. Where does the authority of what we say or do come from? You should have got as sources of authority: John the Baptist, his works, his Father, the Scriptures, Moses, his own words. Our main authority should be the Word of the Scriptures. All other authorities are secondary to them. Challenge 2 – Luke 20: 9 – 19 It is based on Isaiah 5: 1 – 7. This story of the Tenants, or rather of the Vineyard Owner, is one of the most significant of all the parables with the clearest foreshadowing of the future of Jesus. Question 2: What is the expected answer to Vineyard owner’s question “What shall I do?” after the first 3 servants have been beaten and sent back empty handed? What, therefore, is the significance of the given answer ‘I will send my son’? The expected answer is that he will declare war on the tenants and have them beaten or killed to restore his honour which has been so shamed. Instead the Owner (God) makes himself vulnerable to the behaviour of the tenants (the Temple leadership). Thus a new way of humility, love and grace is displayed before the watching world. That vulnerability is displayed in the Owner sending his son. The son is killed and only then is it said that the Owner ‘will kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.’ Question 3: What is the significance of that for the original hearers? And for us? This suggests that the Incarnation of Jesus constituted a last chance for the leadership of Israel. They failed the test. Jesus is the first and last chance for us. Jesus comment on the parable is a quotation from the Psalms (118: 22) ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’ and one from Isaiah (8: 13 – 15) ‘The LORD Almighty will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured.’ “Son” in Hebrew is “ben”; “stone” is “eben”. This is probably a deliberate word play. Question 4: What should we, the second tenants, learn from this story? God is infinitely gracious in what he has done for us; but we must not presume on his loving kindness if we despise his Son and his graciousness. Challenge 3 – Luke 20: 20 – 26. This is about the relationship between church and state. Should we: a) resist - have nothing to do with politics? b) accept - have a modest involvement only? c) challenge - be politically active for the betterment of society? Since hearers and readers of this will come from so many different countries with so many different situations I will have to leave you without an answer so it will be best if I do not ask the question! There is a deeper meaning, often missed. Question 5: If we compare v 24b ‘Whose portrait and inscription are on it?’ with Gen 1: 26. ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,’ What does this imply? If the denarius belongs to Caesar we, not just our coins, belong to God. Challenge 4 – Luke 20: 27 – 40 People often assume that we shall be united with our loved ones in heaven although this is not clearly stated in Scripture. Jesus’ answer to the 7 husbands teaser probably has no implications for that assumption, since it is an impossible situation anyway. The following 3 much smaller challenges all have very little given context. Challenge 5 – Luke 20: 41 – 44 It is not easy to see what Jesus meant when he said this. Luke probably records it because it was very meaningful for the early church about 40 years later when they must have been quite puzzled to know who exactly Jesus was. They were worshipping him. Did that make him God? We know now that it did, and he was, but they must have been unsure about that for many years. These verses are a part answer to their questions. What Jesus said equates the Messiah with the Son of David. That is not literally true. It is a useful reminder that ‘son of God’ is not to be taken as grossly literal either as some people try to do. Challenge 6 – Luke 20: 45 – 47. Question 6: Jesus did not actually condemn the privileges given to the scribes. What did he condemn? What are the present day equivalents of these? In particular, in what ways can we err in the way we participate in a prayer meeting? What Jesus condemned were wrong attitudes to those privileges. They were to be things treasured and used for the benefit of other people not for private vanity. A minister should not dress differently from other people unless it is for a purpose such as recognition as he visits a hospital. We need to be careful when we take part in a prayer meeting that we are not taking part because we like other people to hear our voice. Challenge 7 – Luke 21: 1 – 4. Question 7: Is this realistic advice? Is ‘all she had to live on’ wise giving? If we do that we will end up in court for non-payment of utility bills or have to rely on other members of our family to give us food! So what can we take from this passage? Yet again this is all about motives and attitudes. A very few Christians can imitate this situation. But they have to be a very few or we would all starve! Perhaps this is another of Jesus’ overstatements for effect. Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Study 24 - Luke 19:28–48 The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Jesus cannot complete his mission without entering Jerusalem and confronting the authorities there. This he does, first with actions and then with words Please read Luke 19: 28-38. It seems likely that Jesus had made some arrangements the twelve knew nothing about. Perhaps he had 2 sets of supporters: the apostles in spiritual matters and a group of organisers or deacons.) Question 1: What makes that a reasonable thing to say? Are there any alternative explanations? There is something a bit mysterious about the account of Jesus sending two disciples to get the colt. It is hard to be sure but there does seem to have been a prior arrangement made by Jesus that the two disciples did not know the details of. To think that Jesus knew through his divine powers that the colt would be there is probably to over-emphasize the divine in Jesus and forget that he was also human. The account of the way Jesus entered Jerusalem is full of hints of OT passages. Three of the most important are: 1 Kings 1:33-35 which reads: "Take your lord's servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule and take him down to Gihon. There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!' Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah." Psalm 118:26-27 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession. Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Each of these is important in that Jesus did things that ensured that he fulfilled these prophecies. Jesus often fulfilled prophecies without having any apparent control on what happened but this is totally deliberate. Question 2: Why did Jesus make sure these prophecies were fulfilled? Why did he make his entry into Jerusalem into such a public spectacle? He did not always do this. In John 7: 10 we read that after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. Jesus knew he would die in Jerusalem. He did not want to die quietly. This was the most important event in the history of mankind. It had to be witnessed by many people. Those people needed to have all the necessary and sufficient evidence that he was indeed the Messiah, the Anointed One, even if they did not believe the evidence. Question 3: What will each of the following have been expecting: an ordinary member of the crowd? one of the disciples? one of the priests, lawyers or leaders of the people? a watching centurion of the Roman guard in charge of keeping the peace? This is something interesting to use our imaginations on. I reckon a member of the crowd would have been caught up in the excitement, possibly not knowing much about Jesus but sensing that something important was happening. One of the disciples would have realised the significance of what was happening, have been exceedingly excited and wanting to be ready for anything including fighting. One of the leaders of the people would have been annoyed and worried, concerned that there might be a full blown riot before long. A centurion would have been making sure his sword slid easily out of its scabbard, that his men were all lined up and waiting, and relishing the prospect of a fight against a largely unarmed crowd. Luke's account continues with Jesus prophesying the total destruction of the city and the destruction of the temple. All of which actually happened in AD 70, just about the time Luke was writing, and involved the slaughter of most of the inhabitants of the city and the surrounding countryside. We read Luke 19:19-48. What Jesus said in Luke 19:46 is a combination of Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7: 11. I will read rather more verses than these because in both cases the context adds important ideas to those in the exact words Jesus used. Listen out carefully for those extra ideas, which form the next question. Question 4a: Read Isaiah 56:3-8. What extra ideas are there in those verses that would have been of interest to the more knowledgeable people in the crowd. Isaiah includes both foreigners and eunuchs, those who were excluded from the temple worship that governed all of life at Jerusalem feast days. Question 4b: Read Jeremiah 7: 3-11. What extra ideas are there in those verses that would have been of interest to the more knowledgeable people in the crowd. Jeremiah places conditions of good behaviour on temple worshippers. He is saying it is not enough just to be a Jew or an Israelite. Jesus was saying it was not who you were but what you were that mattered. If your worship at the temple was to be of any significance at all before God it was your life of faith that mattered, not whether you were a Jew, or not, or any particular sort of Jew. Perhaps Jesus and his disciples were just entering the court of the Gentiles, the great outer court of the temple from which the disabled (eunuchs) and foreigners were excluded, as he spoke. No race, or language, is any more important than any other to the Christian. The Bible Jesus used was a translation from the Hebrew to the Greek. We rejoice in the translation of the Bible into more and more languages. The way Jesus clears the temple in Luke 19:45 is a symbolic picture of the destruction of the temple. So that destruction was not accidental or due to the will of the Roman general. Question 5: What then is the significance of the temple ruins in Jerusalem now, for Jews, for Muslims, for Christians? The temple ruins are of absolutely no real significance for anybody any longer except as interesting relics of something which is now meaningless. Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Study 23- Luke 18:31–19:27 Seeing and trusting There are 4 sections in this study all of which have something to do with seeing and not seeing, understanding and not understanding or just plain hidden. The first section, Luke 18: 31–34 serves as a summary of what is to follow. Do read Luke 18:31-34. The disciples had a reasonable excuse for not understanding. What Jesus was saying was so strange and unexpected they could be forgiven for not understanding. But we, in all probability, have some knowledge of how things turned out so we do not have that excuse. v 34 provides a challenge to us, the readers or hearers: will we be blind or deaf, will we see or hear and understand? Blindness and sight are metaphors for no faith and faith. Have you moved from blindness to sight? Remind yourself what the effect of your blindness was and how you first knew that you were seeing or, if you are in a group, share together your journey from blindness to sight, darkness to light. Question 1: What is the significance of the rising sequence of names given to Jesus by the blind man (named as Bartimaeus, literally ‘son of filth’, in Mk 10: 46). Those names are Jesus of Nazareth; Jesus, son of David; Lord. Jesus of Nazareth probably meant to him the prophet with power to heal and who would have compassion on him; Jesus, son of David, meant Jesus was the Messiah; Lord that Jesus was worth following. The question and answer in 18: 41 may appear strange but begging was a profession in those days as it still is in some countries, dependant on a visible handicap and providing a good income. If the man was cured of his blindness he would have to find a job with no skills or experience to call on. Question 2: The emphasis is not on Bartimaeus’ restored sight but his faith (18: 42, 43). What exactly did his faith consist of? What is this miracle saying to us? The important phrase is ‘he followed Jesus’. He must have known something about Jesus or he would not have made so much noise trying to attract his attention. We, too, are not expected to start from detailed knowledge about what following Jesus means. We, too, are expected to get up (metaphorically speaking) and follow him. Do read Luke 19: 1–10. Zacchaeus was not only short of stature; he was a collaborator with the hated Romans. He would not dare to push his way to the front of the crowd for fear of a knife in his back. So he ran ahead! Not what an important man should do. But the crowd saw him go and mocked him so that Jesus learned his name. Jesus was intending to go straight through Jericho so that he would not have to spend time (possibly days?) being entertained with full ceremony. But he is prepared to go to Zacchaeus’ house. Question 3: Note the significance of seeing in this account. Who does the seeing? Everybody. Zacchaeus had to take action to see Jesus, Jesus sees him; the crowd sees what is going on and starts to mutter. The servant figure of Is 53 takes hostility meant for others on himself. Statements there like: “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” reflect the costly love that Jesus gives to Zacchaeus? Question 4: We read earlier in this chapter that the rich man/camel had to go through the eye of the needle! What happened to prove that Zaccheus didn’t dodge round? The promises of repayment Zacchaeus made are far reaching. If you do the Maths on what he said you will see that if he had cheated just on one eighth of his debtors he would end up with nothing. Perhaps he is saying that he has been a good man and that he has not been cheating in the past? Do read Luke 19: 11–27. Luke does not use the parable of the minas to teach successful stewardship as Matthew uses it in Matt 25: 14–30 but to explain the apparent non-appearance of the Kingdom (the people thought the kingdom of God was going to appear at once 19: 11). The parable uses a well-known and well-understood situation. 73 years earlier Herod the Great, second son of the just assassinated king, made a successful journey to Rome to petition Caesar to appoint him the next king of Judea. Later, about 37 years before Luke wrote, Herod’s son Archelaus had made a similar, but unsuccessful, journey seeking the same thing. (A ‘mina’ was about 100 days wages for a working man.) Queston 5: What would be the likely outcome for a servant of the would-be king if (a) the petitioner who would be king was successful, (b) he was unsuccessful? By their actions the servants would demonstrate their allegiance or otherwise to the man seeking to be king. Their future livelihoods, or possibly their lives, would be dependant on having chosen the right option. The last phrase of v 15 should perhaps read ‘how much trading have you done’ effectively asking how conspicuous have you been while I was away when it was known that you supported me. If I win, you win. If I lose, you lose. Question 6: How was this relevant to the developing situation as Jesus travelled to Jerusalem? How is it relevant to us? If he was indeed the Messiah he claimed to be and they showed their loyalty by open declaration of their support of him they would gain. If he wasn’t, they would be in a very dangerous situation. At least that was the way it looked. Things did not quite work out in that straightforward way. He was indeed the Messiah but they were still in a dangerous situation, humanly speaking. But in the vast story of human history they became very important. The comment of the third servant in 19: 21 must have been meant as a complement! He must have been suggesting that his master was something like a warlord in a country with much internal fighting going on! Question 7: How can this and the master’s reply (v 21, 22) be related to Jesus, or to God? Ps 18: 25, 26 relates to this sort of situation. It says of God ‘To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.’ It suggest that, at least in part, our understanding of God will depend on our general attitudes. Question 8: The final comment in 19: 27 ‘But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them — bring them here and kill them in front of me. is realistic in the Judaean kingship, or warlord, scenario. How can it possibly be related to Jesus, or God? This is another unfinished story. We are told what the enemies deserved, not what actually happened to them. Compare what we deserve and what we actually get from the Lord. After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. So says 19: 28, finally bringing to an end the long account of the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem and introducing the last phase of Luke’s account of Jesus’ life, death and victory. Tap or click here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Study 22 - Luke 18:9–30 The Way of the Kingdom We now come to two very significant parables either side of a short and rather surprising paragraph. I think we should start off with some explanations. The first parable is not about ways to pray but about righteousness (Luke 18:9). Righteousness is a very important, but very tricky, word in the Bible. Our English word has been used to translate a word in the Greek, which does not quite mean what our word means! In fact the Biblical word carries with it a whole set of meanings that no single word in English can possibly include. Our word has as its primary meaning ‘being right’, in the sense of being morally and ethically right in the scale of good and bad. But the Greek word in the NT is used to translate an OT word, which is primarily about being accepted, about being in relationship with someone. Our word is an accountant’s word; the OT word is a social word. Of course, in the OT one can only be accepted by a Holy God if one is right in the moral sense too, but that idea is secondary. And then a third implication of the word is that if you are accepted by God then you are within the covenant that God struck with Abraham. So the word means being accepted by God, being good and being within the covenant. Also, a big family of related Greek words about righteousness have to be translated by English words with two very different roots, righteous and justify, which don’t sound as though they have anything to do with each other. If there was an English word ‘righteous-ify’ things would be much easier but, unfortunately, there isn’t. So ‘justify’ in Lk 18:14, and through all the rest of the NT, would be righteous-ify, if there was such a word. So our reading from Luke 18 is going to start off with ‘to some who were confident of their own righteousness …’ which could be translated ‘to some who thought they, being better than everyone else would be accepted by God and were within the covenant.’ Please read Luke 18:9 – 14. The whole focus of this parable is about how one can come to be accepted by God, to be in a saving relationship with God. How? The answer is in the meaning of the word translated ‘mercy’ in v 13, which is exactly the same word translated ‘sacrifice of atonement’ in Rom 3:25 and 1 John 2:2. The time for prayer in the worship centred on the temple, which is when these 2 guys would have been praying, was the time of the sacrifice for atonement, as mentioned in the first few verses of this gospel when Zechariah went into the temple. The tax collector was effectively asking ‘Lord, make this sacrifice, going on right now, an atonement for me, a sinner’. Question 1: What is the only way we can be righteous, that is be accepted by God? As the write to the Hebrews says ‘Jesus was like us in every way in order that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. (Heb 2:17)? Or, as Paul says ‘and all are justified-righteousified-freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. Question 2: What other words are used in the Bible about the way God deals with us, which particularly emphasize our relationship to God? There are all the words about adoption, being children, and having an inheritance. For instance Paul says:‘those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. If we are children then we are heirs …’ There we have adoption, sonship, recognizing God as our Father and being heirs all in Rom 8:14 – 16; all of those are words about relationship. Paul piles up the same sort of relationship words in his letter to the Galatians too. Question 3: What is the important difference between the Pharisee’s prayer and the tax-collector’s? The Pharisee was relying on his own goodness to make him acceptable to God. But, like all of us, he could not be good enough to be acceptable to God who is pure holiness. The tax collector knew that he was not good enough to be acceptable so he asked for the mercy of God, the atonement from sacrifice. He did not realise that all sacrifice at that time was only of value because it was a foretaste of the perfect sacrifice that Jesus would make on the Cross. Question 4:Aren’t we glad we are not like the Pharisee …. Oops! There is something wrong with that question. I think I had better do another question 4. Please read Luke 18:15 – 17. Question 4: Children were not then the little gods they are in many cultures today. So what is Jesus emphasising by his statement in 15 – 17? Children accept what comes to them rather than attempting to organise the world around them to their advantage. Jesus is saying that we too can only progress by a accepting what is given to us from the Lord. Please read Luke 18:18-30 Question 5: What is the rich man suggesting by his use of the word ‘inherit’ (v 18)? How do we inherit? He would seem to have understood that eternal life is not something we can demand but depends on the gift of someone else. So the important thing is being in right relation to the person who gives, in this case, God. We can only inherit through the gift of God. Paul says in Gal 4:4 – 7 ‘God sent his Son, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, you are no longer slaves, but God’s children; and since you are his children, he has made you also heirs.’ Question 6: Compared to most of the people who have ever lived most of us are relatively rich! After all you must be sitting in front of a screen of some sort to be hearing or reading this. What then do we do with verse 22 where Jesus said ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.? Are we thereby failing in our obedience? We are very fortunate people. but we cannot live in most of our societies without being able to pay our taxes, pay for the electricity and everything else we necessarily have – well, nearly necessarily have, anyway. The real punch line in what Jesus said is the last phrase ‘come, follow me’. If we do that all else will fall into place. We can enter the Kingdom. So that we will remember his warning Jesus gave one of his most memorable over-statements. Various attempts to explain camels as ropes or needle’s eyes as narrow gates are wrong. Just remember what Jesus said. That is the point of what he said. Question 7: We have just had 3 lovely stories:the Pharisee and the tax-collector, the children coming to Jesus and the rich man asking Jesus about eternal life. What are the similarities between these three stories? They are all focused on how we should approach God. In the first story we are told that being religious and pious are not sufficient ; in the second that it is all too easy to allow maturity and being worldly wise become a barrier; and finally that riches and good deeds are likely to be a hindrance to us. As one hymn writer said long ago “nothing in my hand I bring; simply to thy cross I cling”. I do hope all our hearers are doing just that. Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Study 21 - Luke 17:1-18:8 Faith and its consequences. This next section of the Gospel contains a collection of small episodes mainly about faith and its consequences. We read about having to be careful not to hurt anyone else, being prepared to serve in any capacity, giving thanks and praising the Lord, looking forward and behaving in the light of the coming kingdom and being persistent in prayer. Please do read 17:1 – 10 The 'little ones' (v2) are not defined but we probably will not be far wrong if we take them to be any Christians young in faith. 'to sin' (NIV) is more literally 'to stumble'. Question 1: Is the advice of 17:4 realistic? Can we sensibly forgive someone seven times if they keep on repeating the same thing for which we need to forgive them? Compare 1 Cor 5:1, 3b-5. What is the significant difference between these two situations? Perhaps we should not forgive anyone 7 times if, by so doing, we encourage the persistence of the problem. There has to be a difference in our reactions when we are acting as private individuals and when we are acting on behalf of the church. In the situation in 1 Corinthians Paul is acting on behalf of that fellowship. Question 2: Jesus cannot be saying to the disciples in 17:5, 6 that they have no faith because they cannot throw a tree in the sea! However he must be saying something about faith. What? Perhaps this is just another example of Jesus' dramatic over statements to make a memorable saying. But even so Jesus was challenging the apostles to think bigger about prayer than they had been accustomed to doing. Probably we all need to think bigger about prayer - I certainly do. Question 3: What is the Christian service (17:10) you do, or have done, which you have found hardest to do - only doing it out of a sense of duty? Does asking that question imply a wrong attitude towards duty? You will have to answer the first part of that question yourself. Luke put the comment about duty immediately after the sayings about prayer. Perhaps what we think of as duty he is suggesting we should think of as prayer. Please do read 17: 11 - 19. The story of the 10 lepers is all about seeing and not seeing - a recurrent theme in this gospel. (see also Lk 8: 10; 10: 23, 24). It reminds us of the story of Balaam and his donkey. The seer who could not see and his donkey who could see. Does that mean we need to be donkeys and not seers, I wonder? Question 4: Who saw what here and with what effect? Who failed to see? What do we find the hardest things to see (in this sense)? What do you do when you see? The first person we are told 'saw' was Jesus. Then just one of the lepers 'saw' he was healed, although presumably all 10 of them had been. That one leper saw more deeply than the others what Jesus had done for him. And so he had faith. Probably the other 9 did not have faith, but went on their way as spiritually stupid as they came. He got far more out of his meeting with Jesus than the rest did. A clear warning to us. Please do read 17: 20 - 37. This section is about the Kingdom of God and is not easy to understand as Jesus seems to have made 2 sets of prophetic statements. The first is about what would happen to Jerusalem - and did happen to Jerusalem some 40 years later when, in response to a revolt by the Jews, the Romans attacked it, besieged and largely destroyed it with huge loss of life. The second set of statements is about what will happen at the end of the world. The fall of Jerusalem was the end of the world as they knew it; the end of the world will be the end of the world as we know it. It is not at all easy to know exactly which some of the statements refer to. The destruction of Jerusalem is a sort of prophetic foretaste of that still future end. The very important phrase that is used to summarize the teaching of passages like this is 'Now, but not yet' meaning that the Kingdom was there in the presence of Jesus and is here now in the presence of the Holy Spirit but is not yet evident in its full and final glory. Question 5: What does Jesus say here concerning the 'Now'? But the question of the Pharisees was about the future. What did Jesus say here about this 'not yet' aspect of the Kingdom? What do his words suggest our attitudes to these two aspects should be? The now of those days was as difficult as anybody's now of today, full of wars and rumours of wars. Mankind has not changed much in these last 2000 years. Although Jesus clearly knew there was to be a last day he offered no suggestions at all about when it would be. The 'not yet' has already stretched out for those 2000 years. That fact inevitably affects our thinking, making us careless when we should be preparing for it. Jesus is warning against such carelessness. Be warned. Please do read 18: 1 - 8. The parable of the unjust judge is difficult. It probably belongs more to what goes before, the sayings of Jesus we have just been thinking about, than what comes after. Its primary meaning is not about persistent prayer in general but of our attitude to the expectation of the final day for at least 4 reasons: It is about a judge - and the final day is one of judgment; There is a general Biblical expectation that the apparent inequities of this present life will be compensated in the future life as Luke 6:21 and Luke 6:25 teach us and that is evident here. 18: 7 is similar to Revelation 6: 9 - 11 which is very clearly about the future in heaven. 18: 8 is about the coming of the Son of Man and that reflects Dan 7: 13, 14, 26, 27 Question 6: What compensating justice in the future life would most please you? Is that wish one that will encourage the Lord to think that he has found faith in you, or were you just being rather selfish? It is a good job that only you know what your answers to those 2 linked questions are! It is too easy to read this story as teaching that the Lord measures prayer by its quantity. That seems inherently unlikely. What about its quality? Paul only prayed about his thorn in the flesh 3 times and then decided he was stuck with it. We might have been tempted to go on pleading with the Lord like the widow in this story. Somewhere between the two stories is the right balance. Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Study 20 - Luke 16:1-31 The Problem of Riches This chapter, which is difficult all the way through, gives us one of the most puzzling of all the parables, as, if it is misread, Jesus appears to commend dishonesty. The story is about a landlord’s estate-manager or steward who was sacked for inefficiency in an unusual way: there is no lengthy argument or plea for reinstatement as you would have expected in that culture; the steward ceases immediately to be the approved agent but the rent books are not taken from him. Please read Luke 16:1-8 The estate-manager was able to reduce the rents and get the tenants to note the changes (v 6b, 7b), probably with the promise to share the reductions with him quietly afterwards. Because of the tenants writing on the documents the landlord cannot reinstate the changes without losing face and honour. Clever! Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file Of course the chapter division was not in the original documents so this story follows closely behind the one of the Prodigal Son (or whatever you decided to call it) and this story supports that one in some ways. Question 1: What are the parallels between this parable and that one? 2 noble fathers or masters; 2 ignoble dependents; 2 moments of truth regarding losses; 2 pleas for mercy; 2 problems of broken trust and its consequences. Question 2: What knowledge of the nature of the landowner did the estate-manager display by what he did? Think particularly of why the landlord dismissed him; why he didn’t imprison him; why did the landowner agreed to pay the price for the deception? What does this parable teach us about the nature of God? In that sort of culture there would very likely be a relationship several generations long between the families of master and steward. Honour has to be maintained on both sides so grace is necessary. Our God is a God of relationships not accounting practices. Our God is a forgiving God who, because of the sacrifice of Jesus is prepared to forgive the many things we have done which we should not have done, just as the master forgave the manager things he should not have done. We were careful to end the story at verse 8. Most Bibles paragraph this chapter in a way that suggests the next few verses are also part of that story. But that is unlikely because it would make verse 9 suggest we should be as dishonest as the manager and v11 and 12 sit very uncomfortably with the parable when they do make good sense in isolation. The next parable clearly starts at v19. In between is a collection of sayings, probably from some other occasions, linked by key words and ideas. Please read Luke 16: 9 – 18. Question 3: What does v9 mean if it is to be read separately, not relating it to the story before it. It teaches us that worldly wealth is not to be used solely for our own benefit. We are to use it for other people as well. It also reminds us that the day will come when our worldly wealth will be gone and we shall have to give account of ourselves before judge Jesus. One commentary labels most of these verses ‘Condemnations of the Corrupt at Heart’, which fits well. Verse 18 is the most terse and hard of all the NT statements about divorce and should not be read in isolation from the others in Matthew 5: 31, 32; 1 Corinthians 7: 10, 11. Question 4: What are the barriers against which people are forcing their way into the Kingdom in your world (v 16)? Obviously you have to answer this one yourself. Please read Luke 16:19-31 The difficulties continue! Lazarus is the only person in all the parables who is named (although one papyrus calls the rich man Neues). Purple clothing was strictly reserved for the elite of Roman society. Abraham’s side (literally bosom, that is Lazarus was reclining at the table beside Abraham) was thought to be the best place to be after death. The whole story, like the rest of the parables, is probably not meant to be understood as a real life episode. We should not draw any conclusions about the geography of heaven and hell from it. Question 5: What does the attitude of the dogs, (savage, guard?) dogs to Lazarus tell us about him? The dogs were expressing what the rich man should have done. Lazarus is clearly depicted as a nice guy, a likeable fellow. Question 6: What does the rich man’s attitude in the after life to Lazarus tell us about him? He thought of himself as a big man so Lazarus ought to act as his slave. He failed to realise that we are all equal in death, and indeed ought to consider others equal to ourselves in this life. Again the parable lacks an ending. The last statement has an element of wry humour about it. Jesus clearly realises that his death will not be the last event of his life. Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Thursday with Tabitha 1. Jonah  by Tabitha Smith Hello, and welcome to the first episode in our series about the Minor Prophets. We're starting our series in the book of Jonah. Of all the books of the Minor Prophets Jonah is perhaps the one that people are most familiar with, or at least they think they are familiar with the story line. Many people will have heard about Jonah and the giant fish. But there is a lot more to the book of Jonah than this! We going to look at some historical background to the book, the type of writing it is, the details of the plot, the major themes of the book and how we might apply these to our own lives today. Jonah prophesied during the reign of King Jeroboam II, who ruled between 782 and 753 BC. Jonah is unusual amongst the Old Testament prophets in that his primary audience was a pagan nation, not the people of Israel or Judah. People have debated about whether the story of Jonah is actually a historical tale or whether it might be a kind of parable or allegory. Some would argue that the episode involving the giant fish is too far-fetched to be historical. Others have argued that it is entirely possible for this to have happened, even without any miraculous intervention. However, the book of Jonah certainly bears all the features of a historical prophetic account and Jesus refers to the account of Jonah in Matthew chapter 12, treating the story as a genuine historical account of real events. The book of Jonah is full of fascinating literary features. It contains humour, satire and irony. The basic plot is quite simple to follow but there are several complex interwoven themes that are developed in the course of four short chapters. The book starts with God giving Jonah a prophetic assignment. God tells Jonah to get up and go to Nineveh, a very large, important city in the heart of the nation of Assyria. He is to go there in order to tell the inhabitants that God is greatly displeased by their evil behaviour and that he intends to judge them for this. The people of Nineveh were really wicked! They would sometimes cut off the noses and ears of their prisoners of war to mark them out for life; they worshiped at pagan temples and sacrificed their children. They certainly did not worship God. Jonah's task was no easy one. Nineveh was over 500 miles from Jonah's homeland and the Assyrians were the enemies of Israel. Jonah finds the proposal from God abhorrent – he finds it unbelievable that God would offer the chance of repentance to this evil pagan nation! So instead of heading to Nineveh, Jonah runs as fast as he can in the opposite direction, ending up in the seaside town of Joppa. He plans to get on a ship and sail to Tarshish, in a naive attempt to escape from God. God called him to “get up!” but Jonah does exactly the opposite and “goes down” to Joppa! Jonah hands over his cash and secures a place on board a ship heading for Tarshish. However, God has other plans and sends a great storm that batters the ship so hard that the sailors are afraid they will all die. They desperately throw cargo overboard as Jonah sleeps below deck, seemingly oblivious to their plight. Each sailor calls out to his own pagan god for help. Finally, in desperation, the captain goes down to Jonah to ask him to call out to his God for help. The other sailors cast lots to try to establish who on board has brought this trouble upon them. And the lot falls on Jonah. Realising that he's been discovered, Jonah confesses all and tells the men that he is trying to run away from God, the Lord God of heaven. The sailors are absolutely terrified and ask Jonah what they should do. Jonah asks them to throw him overboard because he now realizes his foolishness and he sees the hand of God in the storm. The sailors, however, are reluctant to do this, perhaps having compassion on Jonah, or perhaps fearing what God might do to them if they take his life in this way. They try as hard as they can to avoid having to throw him overboard. Finally, when the storm has reached its peak they cry out to God for forgiveness before throwing him into the sea. The sea becomes immediately calm and these hardened pagan sailors worship God in fear and trembling. Meanwhile, Jonah is sinking further down, deep into the sea, where he is swallowed by a giant fish, sent by God for this very purpose. Chapter 2 contains a poetic prayer that Jonah prays from inside the giant fish. Jonah thanks God for saving his life although, interestingly, he does not spare any thought for the safety of the sailors. Little does he know that God has extended compassion and grace to them, rescuing them from their futile idolatry. God arranges for the fish to vomit Jonah up onto dry land and he is unceremoniously spat out onto the beach. In chapter 3 God repeats the same prophetic call to Jonah and he commands him to get up and go to Nineveh. This time Jonah obeys! The city of Nineveh was huge and Jonah walks a full day into the city before preaching his short message: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned”. Much to Jonah's disgust and horror, the inhabitants of Nineveh, from the smallest to the greatest, respond to the message from God. They believe in God, fasting, and repenting of their evil deeds. Even the King dresses himself in sackcloth and sits in ashes! A city-wide decree is issued that everyone should repent and humble themselves and ask God for forgiveness. Even the animals are included! God sees this incredible response of repentance and shows his compassion and steadfast love to the people of Nineveh, turning away from his plans to destroy them. All of this makes Jonah incredibly angry. He finds it absolutely unacceptable that God would forgive the people of this pagan nation. He cannot comprehend that God's mercy and love would extend to nations beyond Israel. In fact he is so outraged that he declares to God that he would rather die than see this city forgiven. God simply asks him: “have you any right to be angry?”  Jonah goes out of the city, still outraged, and waits to see what will happen. He still hopes that Nineveh might be destroyed after all. God provides a plant that grows quickly over Jonah's head, giving him much-needed shelter from the heat of the sun. Jonah thinks this is wonderful, but by dawn the next day the plant withers away, attacked by a divinely appointed worm. When the sun beats down harshly and the east wind blows on Jonah, he gets very angry again and declares that he would rather be dead than put up with the injustice of the plant having been taken from him. The book closes with God pointing out to Jonah that he has no right to complain about the destruction of the plant because he did not make it or care for it, or even deserve it. In contrast, God has every right to care deeply about the 120,000 people living in Nineveh and all the animals, whom he created and cares for. The overriding theme in the book of Jonah is the compassion of God and his steadfast love for all people. God goes to incredible lengths to get his message out to the nations, including those who do not know him. Jonah's disregard for the people of Nineveh stands in stark contrast to God's compassion on the pagan sailors, the people of Nineveh and Jonah himself. Throughout the book, Jonah demonstrates a distinct tendency towards self-centredness and hypocrisy. This was intended to be a lesson to the original readers of the book. God never wanted his chosen people, Israel, to become self-centred, self-serving and inward-looking. Israel was indeed chosen by God, but not because of any worth of their own, but only because of grace. They were chosen to be God's instrument through which salvation would come to all the nations. Throughout the book we also see God's sovereign purposes being carried out. God chooses Jonah, a very fallible human being, to take his message where it needs to go. When Jonah does not obey God, and even when he runs away from God, God does not give up on him or reject him. He patiently teaches Jonah and continues to use him, despite his faults, in order to accomplish his purposes. This perhaps can give us hope too. God can and will use us to accomplish his purposes, even when we make mistakes. We may have some learning to do first and God is patient and compassionate! We would do well to pay attention to Jonah's experience, and learn that it is better to obey the first time that God asks you to do something, even when it seems like a very challenging thing to do! We can also learn from the dramatic response of the people of Nineveh to God's message. Jonah did not preach a long, eloquent, all-singing-all-dancing message when he reached Nineveh. His message was very simple but it produced huge results. We should remember that the Word of God is living and active and very powerful. God promises that his words will not return to him empty but will accomplish everything he has intended them to do (Isaiah 55:11). This should give us confidence that we can declare God's message simply, not needing to soften, embellish or alter it in any way to make it more palatable to those who need to hear it. We also learn from Jonah that God always responds to genuine repentance. He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love! There is a symbolic foreshadowing of Jesus in the life of Jonah. Jesus is the greater Jonah who also descended to the depths of the earth (in the grave) for three days, only to rise again in order to bring salvation to all people, both Jews and Gentiles. Jesus himself draws attention to this point in Matthew chapter 12. The people of Nineveh foreshadow the great number of Gentiles who will repent and be saved when they hear God's message. We might need to ask ourselves whether there is any person or people whom we have foolishly considered to be beyond the reach of God. Is there any way in which we are being like Jonah, gladly accepting God's compassion and grace but wanting to keep it for ourselves? Have we placed limits on what we think God can do? Or have we become too comfortable in our own secure position, forgetting God's heart of compassion for those who are lost without him? Right Mouse click or tap here to download this episode as an audio mp3 file

Study 19 - Luke 15:1-32 The Joy of Recovery This chapter contains two marvellous double parables. The first is that of the lost sheep and the lost coin; the second that of the prodigal son, the loving father and the unhappy elder brother. Please do read Luke 15: 1 - 10. There is one obvious problem with the story of the lost sheep: would a shepherd really leave 99 sheep in wild country? Probably not. But a flock of that many sheep would need more than one shepherd so he would not be leaving them alone. It is important to note that the one who went searching was the owner and therefore comparatively rich. Question 1: Sheep are smelly animals. What is suggested by the carrying on the shoulders? And by taking it home and not back to the flock? As so often Jesus is emphasising that he is interested not just in the smug posh people who thought they alone mattered but the ordinary people, the country people, the working people. He is taking the sheep home to show that everybody is welcome in his Kingdom. Question 2: What are the similarities and deliberate contrasts that make it reasonable to call this (v 1-10) a double parable rather than two separate parables? Most of the verbal contrasts are obvious. But don't miss the careful balancing of a story about a man with one about a woman. This is typical Luke. All too many parts of the church world-wide have not come to terms with the way Jesus treated women on equality with men. The two parables are set in a strictly male world and a strictly female world yet they carry the same message. They go together hence I call them a double parable. Question 3: How does the double parable answer the 'mutterings' of v 2? What was the main contrast between the world in which Jesus lived and the one he is describing? What does this contrast say to our present day situation? It answers the mutterings by contradicting the ideas on which they were based. The posh people were not interested in the other people. They did not see everybody as their neighbour. We need to look at our own attitudes and those of our church very carefully and very honestly to make sure we are not like those people. The second double parable is perhaps the greatest short story ever told. Please read 15: 11 - 32. This is where the idea of a reflection that I mentioned earlier becomes really important to understand what Jesus was saying - or rather the importance of what he did not say. Both parts of the double parable are reflections. The first goes like this: a. son lost b. sin - everything lost c. rejection d. change of mind - inadequately e. acceptance f. repentance - everything gained g. son found Question 4: Is what I have just said correct? I said it started with the son being lost and ended with the son being found. Should it rather be "the father's loss" and "the father's gain"? And I might add, if so, might that change the title of the story - a question we will leave until we have looked at all the story. One commentator makes the following frequently overlooked points about that society and culture: A man was expected to give an oral will only when dying, as Jacob did in Gen 48 so the boy was effectively asking his father to die! To break with convention like that would have merited a beating. It was undignified for an elderly man to run. He wouldn't! But this one did. The father's kiss of welcome and greeting outside the local village stopped the villagers mocking the despised son as they would naturally have done otherwise. A calf was killed. A sheep would have done. The elder son would have been expected to act as the reconciler in the family dispute. Question 5: Was the father properly even-handed to his sons? That is as hard a question to answer as any. I think it will depend on who we are how we answer that one. I would say - doubtful. But it is only a parable. The second part is nearly a reflection: a. elder brother comes b. he is told his brother has arrived c. his father attempts reconciliation d. he complains - how you treat me e. He complains - how you treat him f. his father attempts reconciliation g. he is again told brother has arrived h. ???? The second part of the parable is incomplete - we do not know how the elder son responded. That is made very clear by looking at the structure, the reflection. And that leaves us with some major questions to answer. Question 6: Who is the story addressed to? Why is it left open like this? How would they have responded? How would we have responded? At the beginning of the chapter we are told that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were muttering about Jesus and he told them these parables. It was clearly left open to make them think how they would have finished the story off and what the implications of their ending might be. How would we have responded? I think the only possible answer to that is 'with difficulty'. Question 7: This double parable is almost always called the parable of the prodigal or lost son. But is that the right title? After all only the first half is about him. What should it be called? The first part should surely be called something like the parable of the Forgiving Father. The second part might be the parable of the Unforgiving Brother. But then you may have other, equally good ideas. One final question remains which I will try to answer myself. It is this: do we always hear most about the prodigal son because the message of the second part of the parable is a lot harder for established Christians to take? I think that is a distinct possibility. It is nice and comfortable for all the Christians listening to hear someone preach about the prodigal son because it does not affect them. But thinking about the elder brother, the person who is already religious but fails to show his faith in his attitude to his younger brother, is not so comfortable for them. Oh, yes, younger brother had been a bad lot and had squandered the inheritance so there were plenty of good excuses elder brother could give for his attitude. But Jesus left his story deliberately unfinished to make his listeners, including you and me, wonder about themselves. Right mouse click to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Study 18 - Luke 13: 10 – 14:35 The Great Reversals We read Luke 13:10–17. Question 1: In these verses how do the Lord, and Luke, heighten the contrast between the woman before and after? By emphasising the ‘bent’ and the ‘straight’, we may well be meant to see these as metaphors for sin and righteousness. We read Luke 13:18–21. Question 2: The two small parables about the mustard seed and the yeast) say something obvious about size. What else do they say? Growth is a major factor in both little parables. And the fact that birds could perch in the tree suggests there will be unclean – non-Jewish people - in the Kingdom. What sort of tree Jesus had in mind is not clear; mustard seeds do not normally grow into a tree. Was Jesus, with his great sense of humour, deliberately suggesting that the impossible would happen? Yeast too is unclean, with the same suggestion. We read Luke 13:22–35. Isaiah 25 & 60 provide the background for the first story here. There we read: On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations— their kings led in triumphal procession. Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land for ever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendour. The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly. The Jews of Jesus’ day were inclined to forget the bit about ‘all nations’ and think they were the only privileged people who would see the Kingdom. Jesus is saying that the situation will be much reversed if they are not careful – as they weren’t. We read Luke 14:1–14. Question 3: Why does Jesus not say something like ‘If you come back tomorrow I can give you proper attention and not offend anybody.’ Instead of (Luke 14:3–5)? Jesus is using the situation as a teaching opportunity. He is saying that the human situation, demanding the healing of the man, is more important than the religious duty of keeping the Sabbath. At first glance Luke 14:7–14 reads more like advice than a parable. There are two hints that it is a parable: the word translated ‘honoured’ near the end of v 10 is the same one usually used for ‘grace’, so it is literally ‘get grace’; and the saying in v11 is obviously like Luke 13:30, which refers to the kingdom. Question 4: Necessarily, some are Chief Executive Officers, bishops or head teachers. How does the teaching (Luke 14: 8 – 11) apply to them? They must be careful not to exalt themselves. If others exalt them that is alright. Once again Jesus is emphasising the importance of motive in all that we do. Other people can not see our motives but we know what they are, if we think about them, and the Lord knows anyway. Jesus breaks the accepted social conventions of good behaviour (Luke 14:4,7 & 12). Question 5: Why does Jesus do and say things that so offend people? Does this give us as ambassadors of the gospel a licence to offend people? Jesus places the rules of his Kingdom above the social conventions of his day. He wants people to understand that. We should only offend people for the same reason and then not if we can avoid doing so. We read Luke 14:15–24. The background to the implied question in 14:15, who will be at the great feast in heaven, is interesting. Isaiah clearly thought Gentiles would be present in his prophecy of that event that we have already looked at. Jews of the time of Jesus could not accept that and suggested things such as - that the angel of death would be present to destroy the Gentiles, forcing the believers to wade through the blood to reach the banquet! Jesus is being asked for his opinion. Question 6: People don’t buy fields or houses without seeing them, oxen or motorcars without trying them out (Luke v14:18-19). What is Jesus suggesting by his imagery? People make excuses for not doing what they know they ought to do. That is true here in our world. It is true even when the decision taken here in this world has implications in the age to come. Curiously, the third excuse (Luke 14: 20) is much better than the others! (Deut 24: 5) We read Luke 14:25–35. Question 7: There are 3 conditions here (Luke 14:26, 27, 33 and in 18, 20) for discipleship: renouncing family ties, being prepared for suffering and forsaking possessions. Which is the hardest, which the easiest of these? The answer to that question is up to you. Even allowing for the fact that the ‘hate’ of Luke 14:26 is another example of exaggeration for effect few are prepared to renounce family ties as completely as this suggests. To do so seems to run counter to all other NT teaching. Question 8: When I was at university, a long time ago, the Gospel sermons on a Sunday evening were expected to include a section on ‘counting the cost’. It did not appear to lessen the number of converts. How does that compare with what you hear as the preaching of the good news? That was a tremendously good thing to do and fully in agreement with what Jesus taught in these verses. That has been the second successive long passage with many small episodes, stories and parables. Since you have got this far – well done. The next study includes the parable of the prodigal son so it is rather easier to understand what it is all about. Look forward to it! Tap or click here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

Study 16 - Luke 12:13 – 13:9 Priorities in life There are at least 12 different parables or sayings in this section. The theme is how we should set our goals and live our lives in view of the uncertainty of this life and the promise of the life to come. We read 12: 13 - 21. Question 1: Why exactly was the rich man such a fool? (You should get at least 4 different ways in which he was stupid.) Here is the story again. The 4 things I can see in this passage are: He assumed he would still be alive to enjoy the produce from his crops. He ignored the concerns of other people. He assumed that "eat, drink ... " would lead to joyful merriment. He ignored the claims of God on his life. Question 2: Isn't having big enough barns for your crops common sense? Isn't it what this world runs on? Yes! It is what this world runs on. It is all a question of motives - good or bad. The teaching of the parable is summarized in the final phrase: he worked for himself and was not rich towards God. It is not easy to be consistently rich towards God but that must be our life-long ambition. Next we read 12: 22 - 34. These verses are all about worry. A great deal of Western culture is driven by worry; if yours is not Western I have to leave it to you to work out how closely this conforms to your situation. We, in the West, are trained from an early age to think we must have the right toys, the right clothes, the right boy's toys, cars, etc. and to worry if we do not! We cannot completely opt out of our world. In the words of Jesus we need to be 'in the world' but not 'of the world' (Jn 17: 11, 14). Question 3: Some of the Lord's servants rely on 12: 31 but if we all did that who would be the givers through whom the Lord would supply us? How then should we understand this? We need to balance this saying with what Paul said to the Thessalonian Christians in 2 Thess 3: 10 - 'if a man will not work he shall not eat'. Somewhere between the two sayings is the right course for each one of us. We read 12: 35 - 48. This section includes no less than 4 different sayings about masters returning home or thieves breaking in. Most likely Luke has brought together things that Jesus said at different times simply linked by key words or ideas. The first homecoming is in v 35 - 38. The old Syriac and Arabic translations (culturally closer to those days) have the servants expecting the master who withdraws from the banquet (both equally possible translations) thus suggesting a pre-arranged plan for the master to bring food home from the banquet for his servants whom he then serves. Question 4: Assuming that is correct, what does this parable teach about the final great banquet (Is 25: 6; Lk 13: 29, 14: 15)? This is an astonishing picture of Jesus receiving us, his servants, and serving us the good things of the great feast. Question 5: In the third and fourth episodes of masters returning (12: 42 - 46 and 47, 48) the emphasis is quite different. What is it? These two parables, or sayings, with their emphasis on senior servants abusing their position over lesser servants, were probably chosen for inclusion by Luke to make some pointed comments to the church leaders of his day, some 40 years after Jesus said these things. They may well be strong rebukes to some church leaders in our day. Question 6: How do you understand the brutal bits (12: 42b, 46b, 47b) in these 2 episodes? Compare 1 Cor 3: 12 - 15. Is it better to shun responsibility in the work of the Kingdom and make sure we are not entrusted with too much? Why, or why not? These sayings are a warning to all those who work in the church: from preaching, to Sunday School teaching and looking after the crèche, to work hard at our tasks, not to take them lightly and not to forget that we need the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit in all that we do for the Lord. Paul said: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
 if we do that we shall not go far wrong. Read 12: 39 - 45. The sort of family division mentioned in 12: 49 - 53 is rather alarming. We must never be responsible for the destruction of the peace, except for the fact that we follow Jesus. We must do all we can, apart from denying him, to avoid division. We read 13: 1 - 5. One writer commenting on these verses says: Jesus' question and answer react to the popular notion that sin is the cause of calamity. If God is responsible for everything and God is a just God, the calamities must be the result of human sinfulness. The fallacy in that argument is the notion that God is the immediate cause of all events, which leaves no room for human freedom or freedom in the created order, and therefore for events that God does not control ...'. Question 7: Do you agree with that statement? This is a very doubtful argument, theologically. It leaves God as less than sovereign. The problem that led to the question to Jesus is basically the same as that faced by Job and, in the book bearing his name, the only answer given is that God is an unchanging rock for those who love him in spite of all apparent evidence to the contrary. Perhaps the phrase 'the ordinary chaos of life', accepting that God is sovereign but we can have no idea what he has determined, no window into his sovereignty, is a good and acceptable summary of these verses. Finally we read 13: 6 - 8. This little parable of the fig tree is based on Is 5: 1 - 7. Question 8: What does Jesus add to what that passage teaches? Here is the passage in Isaiah: He includes a time marker, a year; probably to be understood as a period of grace before Israel would be "cut down". (Which turned out to be nearly 40 years before the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in AD 69, 70.) Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file