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posted 2 Feb 2012 18:30 by Bromwen Nelson
Invitation to the Thirsty 1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. 3 Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. 4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. 5 Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.” 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.” |
posted 8 Dec 2011 19:47 by Bromwen Nelson
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d] (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. |
posted 9 Nov 2011 19:12 by Bromwen Nelson
[
updated 9 Nov 2011 19:39
]
2 Chronicles 14:2-4, 9-12, 15:9 16:1-3, 7-9
2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.[b] 9 Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. 10 Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. 11 Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, “LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. LORD, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you. 12 The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled.
2 Chronicles 15: 9 Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
2 Chronicles 16:1-3 1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. 2 Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 3 “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”
2 Chronicles 16:7-9 7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites[b] and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen[c]? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” |
posted 27 May 2011 18:56 by Chris Collins
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (New International Version - UK)
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.
20Where
is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this
age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not
know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached
to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. 26
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you
were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were
of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things— and the things that are not— to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no-one may boast before him. 30
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for
us wisdom from God— that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: Let him who boasts boast in the Lord. |
posted 18 May 2011 03:04 by Chris Collins
Acts 16:22-40 (New International Version - UK)22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, Don't harm yourself! We are all here! 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved— you and your household. 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptised. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God— he and his whole family. 35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: Release those men. 36 The jailer told Paul, The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace. 37 But Paul said to the officers: They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out. 38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left. |
posted 11 May 2011 01:27 by Chris Collins
John 15:1-17 (NIV - UK)
John 15The Vine and the Branches 1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch
that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by
itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless
you remain in me. 5
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in
him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6
If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown
away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and
burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his
master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything
that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear
fruit— fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you
ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other. |
posted 5 May 2011 02:23 by Chris Collins
Psalm 46 (NIV - UK)
Psalm 46 For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. 11The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. |
posted 12 Apr 2011 03:30 by Chris Collins
John 12:12-19 (New International Version - UK)
The Triumphal Entry 12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel! 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 15Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt. 16At
first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was
glorified did they realise that these things had been written about him
and that they had done these things to him. 17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him! |
posted 8 Apr 2011 17:01 by Chris Collins
03/04/2011:: Meet Jesus Pt6 - How to live a life of significance - John 12:1-11::Graeme Prentice
"How to live a life of significance"
This Sunday was
the 6th in the series on “MEET JESUS” and focused the encounter in John
12 of Mary pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet.
How to live a life of SIGNIFICANCE
John 12:1-11
1. Stay close to the feet of Jesus
a. Mary listened and learned at Jesus' feet Luke 10:38f
b. Mary grieved and yearned at Jesus’ feet John 11:32f
c. Mary worshipped at Jesus’ feet John 12:3
2. Give Jesus your absolute best
a. Mary broke with convention to express her love for Jesus verse 3
b. Mary poured expensive perfume verse 3
c. Jesus defended her extravagance verse 6,7
3. Invest your life in eternity
a. Mary's act spread through the house verse 3
b. Mary's act filled Easter verse 7,8
c. Mary's act spread all over the world Mark 14:9
CONCLUSIONS
1. We need to stay close to the feet of Jesus through prayer, the word and fellowship.
2. We need to hold nothing back in our love and worship of Jesus. Jesus deserves our very best.
The file is 8.9MB in size and plays for 26 minutes. Click here to listen or go to the Message Download page, |
posted 8 Apr 2011 16:47 by Chris Collins
John 20:11-29 (New International Version - UK)
11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, Woman, why are you crying? They have taken my Lord away, she said, and I don't know where they have put him. 14 At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus. 15
Woman, he said, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, Sir, if you have carried him
away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him. 16 Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, Rabboni! (which means Teacher). 17
Jesus said, Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the
Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my
Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' 18
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: I have seen the
Lord! And she told them that he had said these things to her. Jesus Appears to His Disciples 19
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were
together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood among them and said, Peace be with you! 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. Jesus Appears to Thomas 24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25
So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to
them, Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where
the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it. 26
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with
them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and
said, Peace be with you! 27
Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out
your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. 28 Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God! 29 Then Jesus told him, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. |
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