Spiritual Gifts When Jesus said to His apostles “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14v12), it was through the promised Holy Spirit (John 14v17), and impartment of Spiritual gifts, that His words were fulfilled. What are spiritual gifts? The phrase “spiritual gifts” derives from the Greek word Charismata. They are also called grace gifts, which refer to any gift God gives out of the abundance of His grace and are given to all Christians as God sees fit (1 Corinthian ..read more

Partake – Words In Scripture Explored – Worship What is worship? I wonder what you think worship is? Is your view of worship, too small? Worship is giving God alone (Psalm 19v2), glory due His name in the beauty of His holiness (1 Chronicles 16v29), with reverence. This is where through the use of the mind and the senses, honour and respect are directed towards God, “in spirit and in truth” (John 4v24)! Worshipping in Spirit involves the whole person – mind, body and will. Worshipping in truth means that all true worship reflects God’s character. The Christian Church has 2000 years of worship ..read more

Joy Right mouse click or tap here to download this MP3 The Battle for Joy! G'day! Welcome to Partake WISE. The word for today is joy!  Let us ask ourselves at the very beginning what is joy? Is joy merely a form of bloated happiness as many people believe, including those in the church?  Can joy be seen as going around everywhere with a silly grin etched into your face!  That kind of joy is dependent upon circumstances and feelings!  True joy is not to be confused with mere pleasure or feeling good!  True joy is to be a way of life and it is to permeate every facet of ..read more

Partake – Words In Scripture Explored –Redemption   For some of us the only time we see or hear the word redemption is on a supermarket or magazine coupon, which unless used for its specific purpose, has a redemption value of 0.001p. In the Old Testament, the idea of a redeemer is found in the story of Ruth and Boaz, which climaxes with: “So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your f ..read more

Evangelism Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file What is evangelism? Evangelism is telling & showing others of God’s message of reconciliation to all people of all time. Down through the ages, the church has made two mistakes when it comes to evangelism. Firstly, it is not forcing people to adopt Church standards (1 Corinthians 5v12) and nor is it simply a message of join the church as a symbol of good works (Ephesians 2vv8-10). God has a message for all people. This message from God says that everybody has sinned against God (Isaiah 53v6; Romans 3vv10-11 ..read more

Psalm 56 to Psalm 60 Often we hear the Psalms one by one, but today we offer you the chance to hear a group of Psalms read as a collection! Psalm 56 For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam. When the Philistines had seized him in Gath. 1 Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit; all day long they press their attack. 2 My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me. 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise — in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to ..read more

Church Moves Ahead G’day and welcome to Partakers and our series Church Moves Ahead, where we look together at the history of the early church, and in particular its persecution. We are taking brief excerpts from an ancient book, Foxes Book of Martyrs. This excerpt is from Chapter 2 - The Ten Primitive Persecutions - The Seventh Persecution, Under Decius, A.D. 249. Cyril, bishop of Gortyna, was seized by order of Lucius, the governor of that place, who, nevertheless, exhorted him to obey the imperial mandate, perform the sacrifices, and save his venerable person from destruction; for he was no ..read more

Psalm 51 to Psalm 55 Often we hear the Psalms one by one, but today we offer you the chance to hear a group of Psalms read as a collection! Psalm 51 For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight ..read more

G’day and welcome to Partakers and our series Church Moves Ahead, where we look together at the history of the early church, and in particular its persecution. We are taking brief excerpts from an ancient book, Foxes Book of Martyrs. This excerpt is from Chapter 2 - The Ten Primitive Persecutions - The Seventh Persecution, Under Decius Trypho and Respicius, two eminent men, were seized as Christians, and imprisoned at Nice. Their feet were pierced with nails; they were dragged through the streets, scourged, torn with iron hooks, scorched with lighted torches, and at length beheaded, February 1 ..read more

G’day and welcome to Partakers and our series Church Moves Ahead, where we look together at the history of the early church, and in particular its persecution. We are taking brief excerpts from an ancient book, Foxes Book of Martyrs. Lucian and Marcian, two wicked pagans, though skilful magicians, becoming converts to Christianity, to make amends for their former errors, lived the lives of hermits, and subsisted upon bread and water only. After some time spent in this manner, they became zealous preachers, and made many converts. The persecution, however, raging at this time, they were seized ..read more