The post The Bible – Its Origin & Transmission – Part 2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this study, Pastor Barry answers these questions with information about our Bible’s every serious Christian should know.
May you be blessed and your faith strengthened in God’s Word through this study.
The post The Bible – Its Origin & Transmission – Part 2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Bible – Its Origin & Transmission Part 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this study, Pastor Barry answers these questions with information about our Bible’s every serious Christian should know.
May you be blessed and your faith strengthened in God’s Word through this study.
The post The Bible – Its Origin & Transmission Part 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Hidden Treasures of Christmas Pt2 (2024) first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>This study was taught by Pastor BarryForder.
Jesus said that tradition undermines God’s Word. That has never been truer than in regard to the Christmas narrative that almost all of us have grown up with.
As we study God’s Word, we discover that the traditional timing of Christ’s birth is wrong; the traditional setting is wrong, and the traditional attendees at the birth of Christ are at best, confused.
In this two-part study we ask the questions:
- Why was Bethlehem chosen as the birthplace for Jesus? (Why not Jerusalem?)
- Do we know anything about the shepherds to whom the angels appeared the night of Jesus’ birth? Why were they chosen of all people?
- Who really were the Magi? What do we know about them and why did they travel to see Jesus?
We pray that the stunning answers to these questions will fill you with a greater love for God’s Word and a desire to faithfully serve Him!
The slides accompanying these studies are available for free download.
The post The Hidden Treasures of Christmas Pt2 (2024) first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Eternal Gospel (Pt2) first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>What is the Gospel? Was it ‘plan B’ following the Fall?
Who is the Gospel for, and how do we share it with the world around us?
May you be blessed and encoueaged by this second part of a two-part study. 10
The post The Eternal Gospel (Pt2) first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Eternal Gospel (Pt 1) first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>What is the Gospel? Was it ‘plan B’ following the Fall?
Who is the Gospel for, and how do we share it with the world around us?
May you be blessed and encoueaged by this first part of a two-part study.
The post The Eternal Gospel (Pt 1) first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post A Blessed Life – Psalm 84 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Jesus said that He came to give us an abundant life, but how can we experience it amidst the stresses and pressures of life?
Throughout the book of Psalms we are repeatedly told that there are blessings we can have, but they are conditional.
In this final session we look at this psalm written for the sons of Korah.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The PowerPoint slides used in this study are available for free download.
The post A Blessed Life – Psalm 84 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post A Blessed Life – Psalm 40 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Jesus said that He came to give us an abundant life, but how can we experience it amidst the stresses and pressures of life?
Throughout the book of Psalms we are repeatedly told that there are blessings we can have, but they are conditional.
In this third session David speaks from personal experiance of how God had lifted him out of his troubles and set his feet upon a rock… the Rock!
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The PowerPoint slides used in this study are available for free download.
The post A Blessed Life – Psalm 40 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post A Blessed Life – Psalm 32 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Jesus said that He came to give us an abundant life, but how can we experience it amidst the stresses and pressures of life?
Throughout the book of Psalms we are repeatedly told that there are blessings we can have, but they are conditional.
In this second session we look at the instruction given by kinf David in Psalm 32, who wrote this Psalm following his transgression with Bathsheba.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The PowerPoint slides used in this study are available for free download.
The post A Blessed Life – Psalm 32 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post A Blessed Life – Psalm 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Jesus said that He came to give us an abundant life (John 10:10), but how can we experience it amidst the stresses and pressures of life?
Throughout the book of Psalms we are repeatedly told that there are blessings we can have, but they are conditional.
In this first session we look at the instruction given in Psalm 1 if we are walk the path of blessing.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The PowerPoint slides used in this study are available for free download.
The post A Blessed Life – Psalm 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Reasons We Believe first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The audio and full PowerPoint slides are available for free download.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The post Reasons We Believe first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Journey of the Ark – Part 2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this study Jim continues looking at the journey of the Ark of the covenant, from the opening chapters of the book of First Samuel, and the lessons we can learn from it.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The post The Journey of the Ark – Part 2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Are you faithfull with what you’ve been given? first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>What are you doing with your gifts?
What are you doing with your weapon?
What are you doing with your salvation?
May you be challenged and encouraged by this teaching.
This study was recorded on 28th April 2024.
The post Are you faithfull with what you’ve been given? first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Palm Sunday 2024 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Palm Sunday… It was, of course, the day we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey – famously fulfilling the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 given sone 500 years earlier. We know from scripture that a ‘multitude’ of Jesus disciples spread their coats on the ground, waved palm branches and sang praises to God (actually singing from Psalm 118) as Jesus rode by. That much tradition has passed down to us. (Palm Sunday is one of the few things tradition actually gets right!). We know too that this really angered the Pharisees! – but why?
But why was this day really so important? Why does Psalm 118 speak of this specific day saying “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).
Did you also know that not only Zechariah but Daniel also recorded details of this specific day 500 years before it happened?
David spoke of this day one thousand years before it came to pass! That is mind-boggling! Try to think of an event on a specific day that will take place 1000 years in the future!
But we discover that even Moses recorded details about this day almost one thousand five hundred years before!
In fact, we can go back two thousand years before this day, to the time of Abraham, and find it alluded to in Genesis 22!
So what is really so special about this day? Why does this day stand out from the crowd and demand our attention?
The answer lies in one of the greatest conundrums in the Bible!
Jesus came to reveal Himself to Israel and the world, right? So why, for almost His entire ministry, did He play-down who He really was? He constantly told people He healed to not make him known! “See you tell no man” was Jesus’ reply to those who wanted to shout abroad His greatness. He even silenced evil spirits from revealing His identity: “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known“. (Mark 3:11-112). Incredibly, after feeding the 5000 the multitude wanted to crown Him and make Him their king there and then! But “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone” (John 6:15).
Whilst all this ‘downplaying’ his identity was going on, another strange phenomenon was taking place. On a number of occasions, Jesus’ enemies came to take Him by force to silence Him. Yet each time Jesus simply walked through their midst as if protected by a spiritual force-field! They just could not touch him!
But then, on Palm Sunday everything changed! Jesus not only allowed the crowds to worship Him as the Messiah (“Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD” ( Psalms 118:26 )), He actually arranged the whole event, telling the disciples to go and get the donkey, and riding into Jerusalem as a king (just as Solomon had ridden into Jerusalem as a king in 1 Kings 1:38). When the Pharisees tried to silence the disciples Jesus retorted that even the stones would sing out His praise, such was the significance of this day!
So why this day? Why reveal Himself now?
Because this was the one and only day, prophesied by the angel Gabriel (and recorded by Daniel) when the Messiah would reveal Himself to Israel!
The prophecy is found in Daniel chapter 9, and foretells the exact day that Israel’s Messiah would come – and He did! But although a group of His disciples acknowledged it, the nation slept on in their ignorance and unbelief. They missed the ‘time of their visitation‘ (Luke 19:44). As a result, Jesus pronounced national blindness upon them – which Paul tells us in Romans 11:25 will last until ‘the fulness of the Gentiles be come in‘.
The significance of this day to Jews and Gentiles alike cannot be overstated!
It stands as a testimony to a God who is outside of time and can tell the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10) foretelling events thousands of years before they happen. It stands as a warning to not neglect the prophetic scriptures and the signs of the times, and it stands as a reminder that the Gentiles have been ‘grafted in’ to the family of Abraham by faith.
19 “Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off”. Romans 11:19-22
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The post Palm Sunday 2024 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Journey of the Ark – Part 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this study Jim considers the incredible fact that many of Israel’s most tragic historical events have all occured on specific dates – demonstarting God’s control of history.
Jim then looks at the opening chapters of the book of First Samuel and the journey of the Ark of the covenant and the lessons we can learn from it.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The post The Journey of the Ark – Part 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Judgment Seat of Christ first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this concluding session of our 3-part mini-seies on ‘The Inheritance of the Saints’ was given by pastor Barry on 17th September 2023.
In this final part we look at the day that is coming, referred to by the Apostle Paul as ‘The Judgment Seat of Christ‘ and what is means (or should mean!) for us now.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The post The Judgment Seat of Christ first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The hope laid up for us in Heaven first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>This topical study – given on 10th September 2023 – is a continuation of our theme from last week, looking at ‘The Inheritacne of the Saints’ amd what awaits us in Heaven.
In this study pastor Barry reminds us of the faithfulness of God who is not unjust to forget our labour and the love we have shown to others in His Name, but rather has promised us eternal rewards for our obedience and faithfulness.
It is easy to get weary in doing good, to sometimes feel that it’s not worth all the effort when we seem to see so little fruit at times; but that is precisely when we need to take hold of the shield of faith and let scripture remind us that we will reap in due season if we don’t lose heart, and as the Apostle Paul affirms, our labour is not in vain.
We need to keep on keeping on as we see the day of rejoicing drawing near!
May you be refreshed and encouraged by this teaching.
The post The hope laid up for us in Heaven first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Looking Forward To Our Heavenly Home first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>This first part of a three-part topical study on ‘The Inheritance of the Saints’ was given by pastor Barry on 3rd September 2023.
The Bible says much about what we can expect in our eternal home, yet so often it is not thought about or considered.
In this study we ask what Heaven will be like? Why does the Bible speak of our eternal home as a tangible hope we should have? Why should our understanding of Heaven shape the way we live our lives here and now?
The PowerPoint slides used in this study are available for free download.
May you be encouraged and strengthened by this study.
The post Looking Forward To Our Heavenly Home first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Kingdom Parables first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The PowerPoint slides used in this study are available for free download.
For more teaching by Pastor Matt, go to https://calvarychapelmaidstone.uk
The post The Kingdom Parables first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Walking The Walk – John 14:13-17 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In the Gospel of John, chapters 13-17 we see Jesus teaching His disciples vital truths in His final hours before His arrest.
In this study, pastor Bob brings home the importance and significance to us today of Jesus words to His disciples.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
Pastor Bob Forder is the founding pastor of Calvary Chapel Deal (a.k.a. Deal Christian Fellowship). Bob’s eldest son, Barry, is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Portsmouth and his youngest son, Simeon, has recently taken over the role of lead pastor at Calvary Chapel Deal.
For more studies by Pastor Bob, go to: https://dcf.church/sermon-speaker/bob-forder/
The post Walking The Walk – John 14:13-17 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Power of His Resurrection first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The Power of His Resurrection
In Philippians 3:10-12, the Apostle Paul states the following: “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.”
Paul tells us that the historical fact of the Resurrection of Jesus has the power to change us! Firstly, as a result of the Resurrection, we can actually know Jesus personally – if your heart is still beating that should stagger you and become your new no#1 goal in life! Secondly, by understanding what Jesus did for us in laying down His life in obedience to His Father, we can, in the same way, lay down the right to our own lives to God and begin to live… not merely ‘be alive’ but really begin to live the abundant life Jesus spoke of (John 10:10). Paul then tells us the reason Christ ‘took hold’ of us was so that we might ‘take hold’ of Him. By giving ourselves to Him, He gives Himself to us! Jesus loves you and wants an intimate relationship with you… but it has to be on His terms, because only He knows what is best for us.
To try to understand this incredible proposition we are going to look at a model found in the Old Testament book of Joshua – written around 1500 years before the time of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The model itself is yet further proof of the supernatural origin and design of the Bible; only a God who is outside of time could record events with such precision before they happen. God Himself lays this challenge before any sceptic: “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:9-10).
Models in Advance
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul’s definitive chapter on the subject of the resurrection, he makes the point that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus had been foretold and recorded in advance in the Old Testament scriptures (see 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). We could actually go back to Genesis chapter 3 to get the first hint of Christ’s victory over Satan on the cross; but then in Genesis 22 we have the dramatic acting-out (two thousand years in advance) of the events of the crucifixion and resurrection. Abraham (a type of God the Father) is told to “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of” (Genesis 22:2). As we consider this, we start to see that, whilst being a real event that occurred in the life of Abraham, It was also a ‘model’ or ‘type’ of God the Father who, 2000 years later, gave up His only son for mankind.
This model becomes even more remarkable when we realise that the place that Abraham was told to offer up Isaac (on top of Mount Moriah), was later to be known as Golgotha, the very spot where Jesus was to be crucified. Abraham renamed the place: “Jehovah-jireh” which means, “In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen” (Gen 22:14). Thus, it would seem that Abraham actually realised he was acting out prophecy, anticipating what was to come. This is confirmed in Hebrews 11:17-19: “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son; of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”
From the account in Genesis 22, we know that an innocent ram was eventually sacrificed in the place of Isaac, and again in this we see a model in anticipation of Jesus who, like that innocent ram, was sacrificed in our place so that, like Isaac, we too could go free.
Before we come to our text in the book of Joshua, there is one other model we need to consider, for that will lay an important foundation.
The 7 Feasts of Israel
God, through Moses, led the Children of Israel out of Egypt through the Red sea and gave them seven Feasts (holy festivals) that they were to celebrate each year to continually remind them of what God had done for them, as wells as His continued provision and their obligation to be holy before their God. Various passages of scripture outline the Feasts and their purpose, such as Exodus 12:14-17 / Leviticus 23 :4-44 / Deuteronomy 16:1-16.
The 7 feasts in the order that they were to occur each year are as follows:
- The Feast of Passover (14th of the 1st month Abib – our March/April time)
- The Feast of Unleavened bread (15th of the 1st month Abib)
- The Feast of Firstfruits (celebrated on the Sunday following the Passover)
- The Feast of Harvest (also known as the Festival of Weeks / Pentecost – celebrated 50 days after Firstfruits)
- The Feast of Trumpets (the 1st day of the 7th month)
- The Feast of Atonement (the 10th day of the 7th month)
- The Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of Ingathering – celebrated on 15th day of the 7th month)
These feasts had a practical / spiritual significance to Israel during their time in the wilderness and later when they entered the promised land; but as we will discover, these feasts were also supernaturally designed to be ‘a shadow of things to come’ (Col 2:17), prophetically looking forward to events that would take place many years in the future.
As compelling evidence of God’s Divine design throughout the Bible, these feasts were intended by God to be models that find their fulfilment in:
- The crucifixion and death of Jesus – Passover
- His burial and victory over sin and death – Feast of Unleavened Bread
- His resurrection – Feast of Firstfruits
- The birth and subsequent rapture of the Church – Pentecost
- God’s judgement during the Tribulation – Feast of Trumpets
- God’s purging of Israel during the tribulation – Feast of Atonement
- and finally: Tabernacles. The regathering of the Jews back to the land of Israel (Feast of Ingathering) when Jesus returns to establish His millennial kingdom and ‘tabernacle’ among us.
Thus, they paint a picture that spans the whole of human history from the birth of the nation of Israel to the beginning of the millennial kingdom of Jesus.
All of these Feasts are really worth studying, but it is the first three that are of significance in this study.
The Feast of Passover
For 400 years the Children of Israel were ‘sojourners’ without a land of their own, a fact that had been prophetically revealed to Abraham in a dream (Genesis 15:13). The last 215 years of this time had been spent in Egypt; firstly in prosperity and blessing during the time of Joseph, but toward the end of this time ‘there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph’ (Exodus 1:8). This new Pharoah treated Israel harshly, eventually prompting them to cry to the LORD for deliverance. Just as God had promised Abraham, when the time was right, his descendants would return to the land of Canaan, leaving Egypt with great wealth. We know from Exodus chapters 3 through 12 that God called Moses and sent him before Pharaoh with the request that Abraham’s descents, the Children of Israel, be allowed to leave the land of Egypt. Pharaoh repeatedly refused despite being sent plagues that all but destroyed the land.
Finally God said to Moses: “Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether……Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more” (Exodus 11:1-6).
Thus, as a judgment for the way Egypt had treated God’s ‘firstborn’ (i.e. Israel), the firstborn of all the Egyptians would die (see Exodus 4:22-23). However, as God had done throughout all the other plagues, He made a way for the people of Israel to be protected.
“And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:” (Exodus 12:1-3).
“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it” (Exodus 12:5-7).
“……it is the LORD’s passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:11b-13).
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
In Leviticus we read: “ the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD:” (Leviticus 23:6). This Feast of Unleavened Bread, although being part of the seven-day period where unleavened bread was to be eaten, was itself to be a distinct Feast and observed in its own right.
The Feast of Firstfruits
Leviticus 23:10-11 also details the Feast of Firstfruits. This was to occur on the day after the Sabbath. “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.” It is clear from the context that this Feast was to be on the day after the Sabbath that followed the Passover, in other words, always on a Sunday.
So we see from all of this that we have 4 specific markers:
- The 10th day of the 1st month – when the lamb was to be taken
- The 14th of the 1st month – when the lamb was to be slain
- The 15th of the month – to mark the eating of unleavened bread (leaven is analogous to sin, so it speaks of the removal of sin)
- The Sunday (the first day of the week), following the Passover was to be the Feast of Firstfruits. As this Feast was fixed to a specific day (i.e. Sunday), the actual date would change from year to year (much like Easter does for us). It could occur as early as the 16th (if the Passover fell on a Friday), or as late as the 22nd (if the Passover fell on a Saturday Sabbath), but always on a Sunday. In the year of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection the Feast of Firstfruits fell on the 17th of the 1st month.
Incredible Fulfilment!
With a little diligent study we can ascertain that it was on the 10th day of the Jewish month that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the day we now celebrate as Palm Sunday (in precise fulfilment of Daniel 9:24-25). This was the day the Lamb of God was ‘taken’ by the people as they waived palm branches and hailed Him their king.
It was then on the 14th (the Feast of Passover) that Jesus was crucified as a spotless Lamb, bearing the sins of the world, thus becoming our Passover Lamb, His blood being shed to purchase our freedom from the slavery of sin.
It is important to note that the Jewish day begins in the evening (Genesis 1:5), so as the evening began on the 14th, the next Jewish day – the Feast of Unleavened Bread – started. From the gospels we know that Jesus died at 3pm and His body remined on the cross for a short while before being requested by, and then laid in, Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb; yet because the new day was about to begin, there was not enough time to properly anoint Jesus’ body for burial – which is why the woman planned to return at the earliest opportunity (after the Sabbath’s had passed) to complete the anointing procedure. Just a week before this, Jesus Himself had prophetically said: “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24), and so on the 15th, as the Feast of Unleavened Bread began, Jesus’ body, which had borne our sin, was being laid in the ground as a grain of wheat (from which bread is made).
Paul declares: “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7)
The Feast of Unleavened Bread (15th) – which fell on the Friday – was a ‘high sabbath’ where no work was permitted under the Jewish Law. The next day (Saturday 16th) was the regular Jewish Sabbath, again, where no work was permitted. This meant that the earliest opportunity for the woman to return to the tomb and anoint Jesus’ body did not occur until Sunday 17th, the first day of the week. We know from Mark’s gospel that: “when the sabbath[s were] past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun” (Mark 16:1-2). This is of course the day of the resurrection! …and as the first Sunday following the Passover it would also be the Feast of Firstfruits. Thus, on the Feast of Firstfruits “is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:19).
The Model in Joshua
With all the detail we have just seen, you might be wondering what the connection is with the Book of Joshua? Well, it is simple and yet profound!
We begin in Joshua 4:19 where we read: “And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho”.
Yes! The triumphant day the Children of Israel finally crossed over the Jordan and entered the Promised Land, receiving their future kingdom, was the anniversary in advance of the very same day Jesus entered Jerusalem and was received as Israel’s future King! Of course, for Israel the adulation quickly stopped and they crucified their King. But He will return to sit on the throne of David and rule over Israel and the whole earth (Luke 1:32-33).
Next, we move onto Joshua 5:10, and there we read: “And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho”. The fact that they kept the Passover may not come as much of a surprise – they were simply following the Torah, but look at the detail! They celebrated and ate their Passover lamb ‘in Gilgal… in the plains of Jericho’. Their Passover lamb was killed in a place (Gilgal) synonymous with sacrifice and literally right in full view of their enemy. On the future anniversary of the very same day Jesus was offered up as The sacrificial Lamb, also in a place synonymous with sacrifice (Calvary – see again Genesis 22:13-14), and in full view of ‘principalities and powers’, making a public spectacle of them, triumphing over Satan and forever declaring His victory as Christ declared ‘It is finished’! – Literally in the Greek: ‘Paid in full’! (see Colossians 2:15)
As the inhabitants of Jericho looked on, barricaded within their seemingly impenetrable walls, they must have been shaken and somewhat unnerved to see Israel having a celebration and a feast right in front of thier faces! Israel’s first Passover celebration in the Promised Land was itself looking forward to the ultimate Lamb whose blood would be shed to make atonement for sin once and for all!
But there is more!
Joshua 5:11 tells us: “And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day”. For 40 years the Children of Israel had eaten Manna, the food God had miraculously provided during the wilderness wanderings. Now, on the 15th day of the first month, the very day they were supposed to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, they were able – for the first time – to do just that, with unleavened bread! Unleavened bread speaks of a life without sin, that is only possible for us because Christ became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). But notice once again the detail here: it was the ‘old corn of the land‘. Through Christ’s death (on the 14th) and burial (on the 15th) ‘old things’ are to pass away, all things are to become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). As Paul asks us: “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:2). “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans 6:6-7).
Paul goes on to say: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:11-14)
For the Children of Israel with Joshua, after the 14th and 15th came… the 16th! “And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land” (Joshua 5:12a). So, they ate the old corn on the 15th, and the last time Manna fell, the day it ceased, was the next day, the 16th. (If it didn’t fall on the 16th it would have been said to have ceased on the 15th). Why is this significant? Because it means that the 16th represented the old order of things; from ‘tomorrow’ everything would be different. The verse continues: “neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year” (Joshua 5:12b). This is incredible! From the 17th onwards – the exact date of the Feast of Firstfruits in the year of the Resurrection, and the very day of the Resurrection itself, Israel ate the fruit of the Land! This was a new beginning for Israel, they were finally back in the Land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and living off its bounty!
For us, the 17th, the Feast of Firstfruits, the day of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ marks an awesome new beginning! It was also the exact same day that Noah’s Ark finally came rest on the Earth again at the end of the flood – signifying a new beginning for mankind!
Because Christ rose from the dead, we can have certainty that our sins are forgiven (1 Corinthians 15:17), that He will one day come and receive us to Himself (John 14:1-3) and that we will also be resurrected, these mortal, corruptible bodies being changed into glorious incorruptible bodies fit for eternity (see 1 Corinthians 15:35-57).
Just as Israel were able to put behind them the struggle they had endured getting to this place, so we can put behind us the struggle we endured before we came to know the risen Christ. In Christ we are no longer dependant on the old ways; the things we once held dear (Philippians 3:7), the things that once susstained and satisfied us. Old things are gone, all things have become new! “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11).
The Resurrection of Jesus changes everything! That is why it is so powerfull; but remember again the verse from Philippians we began with: “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection [the power to forgive our sins He sealed on the 14th as our Passover], and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death [that we too would be dead to sin, being ‘Unleavened‘, our old life being buried as Christ was on the 15th]; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead [just as Christ rose again on the 17th becoming the Firstfruits of those who will rise!]. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:10-12)
There is one final lesson for us from Joshua, and that is how we are to follow:
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so” (Joshua 5:12-15) .
When Joshua meets the Captain of the host of the Lord (this is the 2nd Person of the Trinity whom you and I know as Jesus!), he begins by asking if He is on Joshua’s side. The LORD does not say, “Yes Joshua, I’m here to help you in your quest”. The answer probably took Joshua by surprise. In effect the answer given is, “No Joshua, I’ve come to see if you are on My side!”
The Resurrection is not so that we can have Jesus on our side, it’s so we can now be on His! The battle is His, not ours. His is the victory.
And what is it that Joshua does? He worships! That is the end-game. His death, burial and Resurrection are so that we might worship Him. Worship Him with our thoughts, our actions, our lives. Worship Him in all we say and all we do; in all we hope for and all we hold dear. He will then go before us and fight the battles! He alone is the Risen , Conquering, Son. Endless is the victory He over death has won!
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study to a deeper walk with our Risen Saviour.
The post The Power of His Resurrection first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Christ the King first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this 2nd session we look at the other half of the Christmas message – Christ the King!
In our previous session we saw that the truth of Christmas has been obfuscated by tradition, and how that Jesus came as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, born in Bethlehem, the town of sacrificial lambs, and specifically in ‘In the Tower of the Flock’ (Migdal Edar) on the outskirts of Bethlehem as prophesied by Micah. We noted how, as a lamb destined to be offered as a sacrificial offering in Jerusalem, He had to be without blemish and so was wrapped in ‘swaddling cloths’ and laid in a manger.
The Levitical shepherds were chosen by God to be the first to see this new born baby precisely because it was their job to inspect the sacrificial lambs that would later be offered in Jerusalem.
But as we now come to consider ‘Christ the King’ we jump forward around two years to the time the wise men (Magi) from the east arrived.
As with the Lamb, the story of Israel’s King begins back in the book of Genesis and is unfolded throughout the Old Testament. In Genesis 14 we see a line of kings and priests, which included Melchizedek, that ruled and reigned in Jerusalem for a period of 1000 years – and incredible model in advance of the Millennial reign of Christ! God established the monarchy in Israel but through the prophet Hosea stated His ultimate goal that “I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?” (Hosea 13:10).
The last king to sit and reign on the Throne of David in Jerusalem was Zedekiah. He was subjugated and eventually defeated by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C. The ‘crown’ was then effectively taken to Babylon , where it remained for 500 years until a group of Magi – a priestly Medo-Persian sect that the prophet Daniel had once been made ruler over – brought the crown back from Babylon intent on giving it to the rightful King of Israel!
Daniel had evidently instructed these Magi regarding the prophesied coming of the Jewish Messiah. The Magi were ren
owed for their wise counsel and thus they were consulted by Eastern rulers regarding affairs of state, in particular, the appointment of a new king!
There had been a long rivalry between the Roman Empire, who had granted Herod the title ‘king of the Jews’ and the Parthian Empire, that had been far more sympathetic toward Israel.
Into the midst of this highly charged political environment come – not three kings on camels (tradition is very wide of the mark here!) – but, a great number of Magi looking to anoint and bring their homage to the rightful King of the Jews! No wonder Herod was shaken – and all Jerusalem with him!
As Dr Chuck Missler comments: “The Magi, likely traveling in force with unimaginable oriental pomp and adequate cavalry escort to insure their safe penetration of Roman territory, certainly alarmed Herod and the entire populace of Jerusalem”
Jesus was of the Jewish royal line through both Joseph (via Solomon – Matthew Ch1) and Mary (via Nathan – Luke Ch3), now the Magi ratified that fact.
Before becoming King, Jesus had to first fulfil His role as ‘Lamb of God’ to take away the sins of the world. But when Jesus returns, He will establish His throne and rule over Israel and the whole world from Jerusalem.
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end”. (Luke 1:32)
“The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne” (Psalm 132:10)
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever”. (Daniel 2:44)
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)
“And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one… And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles”. (Zechariah 14:9, 16)
–So, when you think ‘Christmas, think…
‘Sacrificial Lamb’!
–This has been fulfilled!”
–Then think…
The King of the Jews
–This will be fulfilled – soon!
May you know God’s richest blessings this Christmastime.
The audio recording and PowerPoint slides used in the study are available for free download.
The post Christ the King first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Christ the Lamb first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this, the first of two parts in our Christmas 2022 studies, we look at the subject of Christ the Lamb.
Tradition has so obfuscated the real events of the first Christmas that most are ignorant of the great truths hidden in the visit of the shepherds and the later visit of the magi.
Why did angels appear to a group of shepherds on Bethlehem’s hills?
How did those shepherds know exaclty where to go to find the newbon baby?
How is the message of Christmas sown in the book of Genesis, and grown throughout the Old Testament until angels appear to a select group of Levitical shepherds whose job it was to inspect, tend and care for Behtlehem’s sheep that were destinied to be offered as sacrifices in Jerusalem?
In this study we explore these things and make some incredible discoveries that will forecver change the way we view Christmas!
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The PowerPoint slides used in this study are available for free download.
The post Christ the Lamb first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Calvary Chapel Distinctives Pt2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>What is it that makes Calvary Chapel different from other Bible-believing, evangelical churches? It’s always good to have a grasp of the unique work that God has done in our fellowship. If Calvary Chapel is exactly like the church across the street it would be better to simply merge the two. But, if there are distinctives that make us different, then we have a unique and special place in the plan of God. Certainly there are churches that share many of our beliefs and practices. We’re not renegades. But God has done a wonderful work of balance in the Calvary Chapel movement that does make us different in many areas.
In this teaching Pastor Barry concludes our study of the distinctives that set Calvary Chapel apart as we seek to understand God’s plan and purpose for us as individuals and as a fellowship.
The post Calvary Chapel Distinctives Pt2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Calvary Chapel Distinctives – Pt1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>What is it that makes Calvary Chapel different from other Bible-believing, evangelical churches? It’s always good to have a grasp of the unique work that God has done in our fellowship. If Calvary Chapel is exactly like the church across the street it would be better to simply merge the two. But, if there are distinctives that make us different, then we have a unique and special place in the plan of God. Certainly there are churches that share many of our beliefs and practices. We’re not renegades. But God has done a wonderful work of balance in the Calvary Chapel movement that does make us different in many areas.
Over the next few weeks, Pastor Barry will explore the distinctives that set Calvary Chapel apart as we seek to understand God’s plan and purpose for us as individuals and as a fellowship.
The post Calvary Chapel Distinctives – Pt1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Monarchy – Past Present Future first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>This topical teaching by pastor Barry Forder was given on 18th September 2022.
Since Egbert in 827 A.D. the British Isles have had a Monarchy. Over the past week we have seen King Charles III travel to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and various places in England – all places where the proclamation of his reign has been announced – and he has been greeted with almost unanimous joy, with huge crowds lining streets and shouting ‘God save the king!’
But should we pray ‘God save the king’? What about the small minority that do not want to be under a monarchy?
In this teaching pastor Barry looks at:
- The Biblical foundation of the Monarchy
- The Biblical mandate for Monarchy
- The Biblical future for the Monarchy
In these times of change and uncertainty, may this teaching give you confidence in our coming King.
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]]>The post Seeing these things will be disolved… first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>We are living in unprecedented times. We have the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, we are still feeling the effects of the Covid pandemic, and now one of the most consistent and stabilising influences in all of our lives – the reign of Queen Elizabeth II – has come to an end.
If nothing else, this brings home the fragile nature of our world and even of life itself.
In these reflections on the death of the Queen, pastor Barry looks at Peter’s words where he asks us, “Seeing that all these things will be dissolved, what manor of persons ought you to be?” (2 Peter 3:11).
How should you be, given your limited time on this earth? Will you leave a legacy like our great Queen? What will people say of you? Will they point to your faith in Jesus as the bedrock and purpose for your life?
May these thoughts bless and challenge you as you walk with Jesus.
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]]>The post The Mystery of Israel first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In the book of Romans the Apostle Paul speaks of the ‘Mystery of Israel’.
David Torrance said:
“Despite wars, persecutions and repeated attempts to obliterate them, they have kept their peculiar identity. They have remained a people apart from the other nations of the world, a testimony to the preserving hand of God. “For I the Lord do not change therefore , you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed” (Mal 3:6). “The very existence of the Jews in history, together with all that has happened to them in their long turbulent history, is proof that there is a God present and active, through His Holy Spirit, in history. By all normal laws of geography, history and ethnography, they ought as a distinct race to have disappeared long ago!”.
Most books on ‘systematic theology’ cover every major area of doctrine except one: the calling, purpose and future of the Nation of Israel. Yet 5/6ths of the Bible are devoted to the family of Abraham, and God’s unconditional promises to them.
Sadly, the erroneous doctrine that God has somehow finished with Israel has swept through the Christian church, leaving many unaware of just how important Israel are in God’s plan of redemption, salvation and restoration.
In this study we look at the Biblical origins of the nation of Israel, God’s unconditional covenants with them regarding the Nation, the Land, the Monarchy and the city of Jerusalem.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The post The Mystery of Israel first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Miracle of the Resurrection first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The PowerPoint slides used in this teaching are available for free download.
Edmund Spencer once said: “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is condemnation before investigation”.
To reject something because you’ve investigated it and found it to be nonsense is just common sense! Who in their right mind wants to knowingly believe fables? But to reject something – in this case a presentation of evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ – simply because of prejudice, i.e., you don’t think it’s true, or worse still, you don’t want to believe it’s true, is foolish.
But why does it matter? Well, quite simply, if the Resurrection can be shown to be an historical event, it provides a formal proof for Jesus’ Deity and God’s existence, one that is tangible, one that anyone can verify for themselves; and if God can be shown to be real, then it follows that the Bible and all therein, about life, death, sin, judgment, salvation, eternity – is true. It means every life is of value, there is a purpose and reason for our existence. It means we are not just meaningless blobs of matter in a pointless and random universe; and it means this life is not the end. Eternity no longer remains a concept for those who “have faith”, but a reality we all have to face. Ultimately, if the Resurrection can be shown to be a true fact of history, it means we all have to make a choice; and that choice becomes the single most important one of our lives.
The famous British mathematician and author, C.S. Lewis once said: “Christianity is a statement which, if false, is of no importance, and if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important”.
Paul contends that the very basis for the Christian faith is firmly rooted in an historical event that occurred in a garden in Judea some 2000 years ago, namely, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If that event did not take place, Paul says we might as well just pack up and go home! There is no point just believing this thing ‘cos it gives us a warm fuzzy feeling. It is either true, and we can substantiate it, or it’s false and we should just get on with our lives and stop being so silly.
What Paul actually said was: “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain… And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins… If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (1 Cor 15:13-19)
Did you get that? Paul says that if you (or your sceptic friend) want to disprove Christianity, simply show that the Resurrection did not take place; show that it was all a hoax or some elaborate plot. Paul was that confident in the historical and factual basis of the Resurrection and knew that without it, there could be no Christianity, because everything Christians believe hangs on that one event.
Christian apologist and international speaker Josh McDowell said: “Everything that Jesus Christ taught, lived and died for depended upon His resurrection” [i]
B. L. Shelley, in his thorough treatment of the history of the Christian church stated: “First Corinthians fixes belief in the historical resurrection of Jesus as the indispensable basis of salvation” [ii]
Quoting Theodosus Harnack, Josh McDowell again states: “Where you stand with regard to the fact of the Resurrection is, in my eyes, no longer Christian theology. To me Christianity stands of falls with the Resurrection”[iii]
Contrary to most people’s perception, Christianity is not based on Christ’s teaching, character, or the numerous miracles in His life, but on the simple undisputed fact (in the minds of His followers) of his Resurrection.
In this study we consider just some of the circumstantial evidence for the Resurrection.
J Warner Wallace, a former cold case detective and author of Cold Case Christianity poses the question: “Can the truth be proved beyond a reasonable doubt when all the evidence we have is circumstantial?”
His answer, based on decades of experience, “Absolutely!”
There is overwhelming evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but just the circumstantial evidence alone is sufficient to convince any honest and open minded jury that Jesus Christ did rise from the dead as He said He would do.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
[i] Josh McDowell – Evidence That Demands a Verdict
[ii] B. L. Shelley, Church history in plain language.
[iii] Theodosus Harnack: quoted by Josh McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict
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]]>The post Palm Sunday – 2022 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>**There is no audio recording of this study, but the Powerpoint slides used for this teaching are available here**
Palm Sunday… It was, of course, the day we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey – famously fulfilling the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 given sone 500 years earlier. We know from scripture that a ‘multitude’ of Jesus disciples spread their coats on the ground, waved palm branches and sang praises to God (actually singing from Psalm 118) as Jesus rode by. That much tradition has passed down to us. (Palm Sunday is one of the few things tradition actually gets right!). We know too that this really angered the Pharisees! – but why?
But why was this day really so important? Why does Psalm 118 speak of this specific day saying “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).
Did you also know that not only Zechariah but Daniel also recorded details of this specific day 500 years before it happened?
David spoke of this day one thousand years before it came to pass! That is mind-boggling! Try to think of an event on a specific day that will take place 1000 years in the future!
But we discover that even Moses recorded details about this day almost one thousand five hundred years before!
In fact, we can go back two thousand years before this day, to the time of Abraham, and find it alluded to in Genesis 22!
So what is really so special about this day? Why does this day stand out from the crowd and demand our attention?
The answer lies in one of the greatest conundrums in the Bible!
Jesus came to reveal Himself to Israel and the world, right? So why, for almost His entire ministry, did He play-down who He really was? He constantly told people He healed to not make him known! “See you tell no man” was Jesus’ reply to those who wanted to shout abroad His greatness. He even silenced evil spirits from revealing His identity: “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known“. (Mark 3:11-112). Incredibly, after feeding the 5000 the multitude wanted to crown Him and make Him their king there and then! But “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone” (John 6:15).
Whilst all this ‘downplaying’ his identity was going on, another strange phenomenon was taking place. On a number of occasions, Jesus’ enemies came to take Him by force to silence Him. Yet each time Jesus simply walked through their midst as if protected by a spiritual force-field! They just could not touch him!
But then, on Palm Sunday everything changed! Jesus not only allowed the crowds to worship Him as the Messiah (“Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD” ( Psalms 118:26 )), He actually arranged the whole event, telling the disciples to go and get the donkey, and riding into Jerusalem as a king (just as Solomon had ridden into Jerusalem as a king in 1 Kings 1:38). When the Pharisees tried to silence the disciples Jesus retorted that even the stones would sing out His praise, such was the significance of this day!
So why this day? Why reveal Himself now?
Because this was the one and only day, prophesied by the angel Gabriel (and recorded by Daniel) when the Messiah would reveal Himself to Israel!
The prophecy is found in Daniel chapter 9, and foretells the exact day that Israel’s Messiah would come – and He did! But although a group of His disciples acknowledged it, the nation slept on in their ignorance and unbelief. They missed the ‘time of their visitation‘ (Luke 19:44). As a result, Jesus pronounced national blindness upon them – which Paul tells us in Romans 11:25 will last until ‘the fulness of the Gentiles be come in‘.
The significance of this day to Jews and Gentiles alike cannot be overstated!
It stands as a testimony to a God who is outside of time and can tell the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10) foretelling events thousands of years before they happen. It stands as a warning to not neglect the prophetic scriptures and the signs of the times, and it stands as a reminder that the Gentiles have been ‘grafted in’ to the family of Abraham by faith.
19 “Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off”. Romans 11:19-22
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
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]]>The post Walking in the Way – a challenge for the New Year first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Back in 2016 we undertook a verse-by-verse study of Psalm 119, the studies of which are all available online. These studies have led to a book by pastor Barry, due to be released in early 2022 that explores this incredible psalm in greater depth and makes some interesting discoveries, demonstrating God’s sovereignty and supernatural design of both this psalm in particular, and God’s Word in general.
As we start a new year, we face many challenges in an uncertain world. But there is one constant: our never-changing God and His Word. To get to know God better and to greater understand His Word should the be goal of every believer. Paul admonishes us to ‘Walk in the Spirit’ and not to ‘gratify the desires of the sinful nature’ (Gal 5:16). But how? How are we to do this when we are continually wrestling against the world, the flesh and the devil?
Psalm 119 is an answer to that question. It is a ‘beginner’s guide’, drawn from the psalmist’s own life and experience. It’s a practical manual for walking in the way; a companion for the journey-through-life that encourages us on to perfection (see Hebrews 6:1-3).
Charles Spurgeon called it “an utterance of spiritual life”. This Psalm encapsulates the walk of faith by a believer. It begins by stating the objective & goal of a follower of Christ; namely, to be conformed to His likeness; but then goes on to travel with us through life’s journey, through the ups and downs, the moments of rejoicing and the times of failure and doubt. This Psalm comes from a heart that wants to see you be victorious, to truly walk by faith and not by sight. My earnest desire for you is that you would fall in love with God’s Word, and my prayer is that, as we study this Psalm together, you will see that you’re not on your own.
Throughout history many have memorised this whole Psalm and have been profoundly blessed in so doing.
John Ruskin (a 19th century British writer), William Wilberforce (19th century British politician who led the movement to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire), Henry Martyn (19th century pioneer missionary to India), and David Livingstone (19th century pioneer missionary to Africa) to name a few.
George Wishart, the Bishop of Edinburgh in the 17th century, was condemned to death and would have been executed. But when he was on the scaffold, he made use of a custom that allowed the condemned person to choose one psalm to be sung, and he chose Psalm 119. Before two-thirds of the psalm was sung, his pardon arrived, and his life was spared! ( – good job he didn’t choose Psalm 134!)
As a practical challenge, I encourage you to take just one verse of this Psalm each day (start today at the beginning of a new year!), and meditate on it throughout the day. Start at breakfast, then remind yourself mid-morning of the verse. Then again at lunchtime, then in the afternoon, then as you sit to eat your evening meal, then in the evening, and finally when you go to bed (“seven times a day do I praise Thee” Psalm 119:164). The next day move onto the next verse.
Most of us have got Bible apps on our phones, so we can keep the text with us wherever we go. Or you might prefer to write the verse for each day by hand on a card or post-it note. You might also find it helpful to get a notebook and jot down the things the LORD reveals to you each day. You will be amazed at what the Holy Spirit will show you, about your life, your walk, His goodness, His grace and patience, and the reality that He is able to make us stand! (Romans 14:4).
If you do this and meditate on His Word each day, even just one verse, you will soon be surprised how the things of this world will grow strangely dim and lose their appeal, in the light of His glory and grace!
May God richly bless you this year as you walk in the Way!
Pastor Barry.
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]]>The post Are you also still without understanding? – Mt 15:16 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In Matthew 15 vs 15 Jesus asked His disciples “Are you also still without understanding?” This question came after Jesus had spoken many things in Parables.
Contrary to the way many view parables, they are not just quaint Sunday school stories! They are full of important instruction about and for the Church! They were not meant for the multitude, in fact, Jesus intentionally concealed these truths in Parables so that His own would understand, but the multitude, would not.
In Matthew 13:11 we read: “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given”.
Yet after giving all these parables, so that His own would understand, we have the question above: “Are you also still without understanding?”
Imagine! they had Jesus as their teacher in the flesh, but they did not understand. So how much more should we meditate and pray to gain understanding of these things? Jesus considered these parables important enough to elaborate on that he even had them put within His Bible for us! I think we should all imagine that Jesus was stood here now, speaking these parables to us. How much more should we listen? But Jesus is speaking directly from the pages of the Bible to us whenever we read it. We have His Spirit with us, where two or three are gathered in His name. He is present with us.
We need to ask Him for understanding just as Peter did in Chapter 15. “Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
May you be blessed and challenged by this study as Leon expounds truths that are missed by many.
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]]>The post Who do you say I am? first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>This teaching was given on Resurrection Day 2021 by pastor Barry Forder.
The most important question ever asked was asked by Jesus to His disciples at Caesarea Philippi in Northern Israel, around 6 months before His crucifixion. After asking whom the people were saying that Jesus might be, Jesus turned to His disciples and asked them “But who do you say I am?”
It is not a trivial question that can be dismissed by a glib answer; how you answer this question will change the course of your life and eternal destiny. Everything in this life, every success or failure, gain or loss, are all brought into context by your response. In the end, EVERYTHING will be determined by this one question and your own personal answer to it.
Either Jesus Christ was and is the Son of God, or he was a deluded fool – or worse!
C.S. Lewis famously said: “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. . . . Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God”. (Mere Christianity, 55-56)
In this study we explore some of the powerful testimonies and eye witness accounts of those who testified to this very fact, that Jesus was indeed the Son of God – God manifest in human flesh.
- We consider the testimony of Jesus Himself. The crucifixion was not a tragedy, it was an achievement! It was why Jesus had come. For the last 6 months of His ministry He foretold his own death and resurrection.
- The testimony of the Disciples – all the Disciples (with the exception of John) went to their deaths proclaiming Jesus was God.
- The testimony of the Roman Centurion – the first Gentile convert, who witnesses first-hand the events at Golgotha proclaimed that this man was no ordinary man, He was the Son of God and worthy to be praised!
- The testimony of Joseph of Arimathea – one of only 14 people in Jewish history to be called ‘honourable counsellor’ (Mark 15:43). Yet this member of the Sanhedrin became a believer and risked public disgrace to take a stand as a Disciple.
- The testimony of the Roman guard at the tomb – although paid to never utter what they had witnessed, they could not keep this world-changing truth to themselves! Their record is amongst the most compelling of eyewitness accounts of the Resurrection.
- The testimony of Pilate – the Roman governor who proclaimed Jesus ‘not guilty’ went on to write a letter to Emperor Tiberius confirming the events that had taken place in Jerusalem in A.D. 32. The arrest, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth! – From Tertullian (who wrote around 200 A.D.) we understand that Pilate became a follower of Jesus.
Finally, there is the testimony of Moses. Moses? Yes, for around 1500 years before the events in Jerusalem Moses wrote of Jesus being taken on the 10th day of the month (Palm Sunday), killed on the 14th as a spotless Passover Lamb, buried on 15th – the Feast of Unleavened Bread – and then becoming the Firstfruits to God raised up from the earth on the day after the Sabbath – the first day of the week – Resurrection Day!
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study, and then be able to answer the most important question of all time by saying that Jesus is your Lord and your God!
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]]>The post Palm Sunday – The Hour Has Come! (2021) first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Palm Sunday… It was, of course, the day we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey – famously fulfilling the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 given sone 500 years earlier. We know from scripture that a ‘multitude’ of Jesus disciples spread their coats on the ground, waved palm branches and sang praises to God (actually singing from Psalm 118) as Jesus rode by. That much tradition has passed down to us. (Palm Sunday is one of the few things tradition actually gets right!). We know too that this really angered the Pharisees! – but why?
But why was this day really so important? Why does Psalm 119 speak of this specific day saying “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).
Did you also know that not only Zechariah but Daniel also recorded details of this specific day 500 years before it happened?
David spoke of this day one thousand years before it came to pass! That is mind-boggling! Try to think of an event on a specific day that will take place 1000 years in the future!
But we discover that even Moses recorded details about this day almost one thousand five hundred years before!
In fact, we can go back two thousand years before this day, to the time of Abraham, and find it alluded to in Genesis 22!
So what is really so special about this day? Why does this day stand out from the crowd and demand our attention?
The answer lies in one of the greatest conundrums in the Bible!
Jesus came to reveal Himself to Israel and the world, right? So why, for almost His entire ministry, did He play-down who He really was? He constantly told people He healed to not make him known! “See you tell no man” was Jesus’ reply to those who wanted to shout abroad His greatness. He even silenced evil spirits from revealing His identity: “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known“. (Mark 3:11-112). Incredibly, after feeding the 5000 the multitude wanted to crown Him and make Him their king there and then! But “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone” (John 6:15).
Whilst all this ‘downplaying’ his identity was going on, another strange phenomenon was taking place. On a number of occasions, Jesus’ enemies came to take Him by force to silence Him. Yet each time Jesus simply walked through their midst as if protected by a spiritual force-field! They just could not touch him!
But then, on Palm Sunday everything changed! Jesus not only allowed the crowds to worship Him as the Messiah (“Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD” ( Psalms 118:26 )), He actually arranged the whole event, telling the disciples to go and get the donkey, and riding into Jerusalem as a king (just as Solomon had ridden into Jerusalem as a king in 1 Kings 1:38). When the Pharisees tried to silence the disciples Jesus retorted that even the stones would sing out His praise, such was the significance of this day!
So why this day? Why reveal Himself now?
Because this was the one and only day, prophesied by the angel Gabriel (and recorded by Daniel) when the Messiah would reveal Himself to Israel!
The prophecy is found in Daniel chapter 9, and foretells the exact day that Israel’s Messiah would come – and He did! But although a group of His disciples acknowledged it, the nation slept on in their ignorance and unbelief. They missed the ‘time of their visitation‘ (Luke 19:44). As a result, Jesus pronounced national blindness upon them – which Paul tells us in Romans 11:25 will last until ‘the fulness of the Gentiles be come in‘.
The significance of this day to Jews and Gentiles alike cannot be overstated!
It stands as a testimony to a God who is outside of time and can tell the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10) foretelling events thousands of years before they happen. It stands as a warning to not neglect the prophetic scriptures and the signs of the times, and it stands as a reminder that the Gentiles have been ‘grafted in’ to the family of Abraham by faith.
19 “Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off”. Romans 11:19-22
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
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]]>The post 5 Reasons to Praise God first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>After a turbulent year this is a timely reminder that we have many reasons to keep praising and trusting God.
In this study we look at just 5 reasons we should be praising God:
- “Blessed be the Lord – your deliver” – we are saved!
Exodus 18:10
- “Blessed be the Lord which has not left thee without a kinsman” – God is a God who can restore the years we have lost
Ruth 4:14
- “Blessed be the Lord which sent thee to meet me” – God keeps us from making stupid mistakes by His grace and leading of His Spirit
1 Sam 25:32
- “He gives & takes away – Blessed be the Lord” – The LORD knows what is best for us and is good and goes good.
Job 1:21
- “Blessed be the Lord for he has heard” – The LORD knows what we ae going through – He is still in control.
Psalm 28:6
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
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]]>The post Why Magi? first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Last week we looked at why God would send seemingly obscure shepherds to see Jesus at the time of His birth.
Far from being a random choice, we noted that the shepherds on this hills around Bethlehem had a very specific job – namely to inspect lambs that would be later offered in sacrifice 8 miles away in Jerusalem. They came to confirm that Jesus was indeed the perfect Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world.
With that in mind, we now ask the question: Why Magi?
Why would God choose to send a group of people hundreds of miles, from another county? More to the point, why would a group of people from another country agree to travel hundreds of miles, bringing gifts, to see a small child?
In this study we look at the truth behind the tradition.
- Who were the Magi?
- What significance did they have?
- How many of them were there really?
- Why does the world believe there were only 3?
- What evidence do we have that they actually visited Bethlehem?
- When did they arrive in Jerusalem?
- Why was Herod and all Jerusalem shaken at their arrival?
What few people seem to have realised was that some 600 years before, Daniel, whilst in Babylon, had been made the head of this Persian priestly group known as ‘Magi’. Seemingly, Daniel revealed some secrets to them that had been handed down for generations – secrets concerning a king who was to be born ‘king of the Jews’.
All the more poignant is the fact that, because of their supposed ability to see the future, one of the Magi’s principle responsibilities was to appoint kings.
Just as the shepherds arrived to confirm that Jesus was the perfect Lamb, the Magi arrived to appoint Jesus as the King of the Jews.
Around 600 before they arrived, the ‘crown’ of Israel had literally been taken to Babylon as the final king of Israel – Zedekiah – was taken away captive by Nebuchadnezzar. Now, the Magi bring the crown back and appoint the one whom their chief (Daniel) had declared would have an everlasting dominion!
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The PowerPoint slides used in this study are available for free download.
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]]>The post Why Shepherds? first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Why shepherds?
Have you ever wondered? Of all those who could have been invited to see Jesus as He lay in the manger, why did God chose shepherds?
As we study the Bible we begin to realise there are no meaningless details.
Far from being a random choice, we discover there is much more hidden in the Christmas story that centuries of tradition as sadly obfuscated.
Shepherds were considered outcasts in 1st century Israel, so some say God chose them because He loves to choose the week things of the world to shame the wise.
Others say it was so news of Jesus’ birth could spread far and wide by people who had nothing to lose. But, if that were so, the Shepherds failed in their mission as the news of a ‘new born king’ didn’t even make it 8 miles up the road to Jerusalem, where Herod, a particularly nervous and uneasy Idumean, appointed by Rome, sat on the throne of Israel as if it were his. When Herod did find out, as Magi from Babylonia arrived en masse in Jerusalem looking for this rightful King of Israel Herod proverbially lost it!
Did you know that the prophet Micah foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem? Quite probably, as it’s a scripture read each year at Christmastime:
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,
yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel;
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)
But did you know that Micah, just 7 verse before, foretold the exact location, and it was to be a shepherds lookout tower on outskirts of Bethlehem?
“And thou, O tower of the flock,
the strong hold of the daughter of Zion,
unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion;
the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem”. (Micah 4:8)
This tower at Migdal Edar (which is the words translated as ‘tower of the flock”) was not only used by shepherds as a lookout to keep an eye on their sheep to protect them from thieves and predators, it was also used as a lambing room, where new-born lambs could be born away from the ravages of the cold night air. At the base of this tower was an natural depression in the rock the shepherds call the ‘manger’. It would be in there they would lay the new-born lambs.
But, significantly, these were not ordinary shepherds, and their sheep no ordinary sheep. All the sheep on the hills around Bethlehem were for one purpose; to be offered as sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem.
- “Every day, according to the Torah, two lambs were required for a daily sacrifice in the Temple, meaning that 730 were needed each year plus the tens of thousands more lambs needed for Pesach (Passover) as well as for the other religious rituals”. – Harold Smith
For a lamb to be used as an offering it had to be without blemish. To protect it, the shepherds would wrap it in old priestly garments cut into strips, known as swaddling bands, to stop it kicking and thrashing about and damaging itself.
- According to the Talmud, all sheep found in the area “from Jerusalem as far as Migdal Eder” [Bethlehem] were deemed to be holy and consecrated
- They could only be used for sacrifices in the temple… in particular, for the Peace offerings and Passover sacrifices.
These shepherd’s primary duty was to inspect these lamb’s and confirm they were without blemish and able to be used as sacrificial lambs. It was their job to approve the lambs to be offered in Jerusalem to atone for sin!
- “Luke’s original audience would have immediately picked up on the religious significance of the Bethlehem shepherds watching their flocks by night”
- “Aware of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and the Jewish Temple worship of the day, they would have known that when you said Bethlehem, you said “sacrificial lambs”. The hills around Bethlehem were home to the thousands of lambs used in ritual worship in the Temple”. – Harold Smith
- For 1st Century Christians: Hearing that Yeshua was born in Bethlehem would have automatically triggered an image of the Lamb of YHVH who takes away the sin [of the World].
- With that in mind, it’s easy for us to imagine one of Luke’s listeners saying, ‘Of course the Lamb of YHVH would originate in Bethlehem – all the lambs for sacrifice came from there. –Harold Smith
This is why, of all people, God sent these shepherds (without any directions), not to a stable, but to see a baby lying in a manger – their manger!
Jesus, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this teaching.
The PowerPoint slides used in this study are available for free download.
The post Why Shepherds? first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Inheritance of The Saints first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Paul tells us in Colossians 1 v12 that those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ have not only been saved from God’s wrath and had their sins washed away, but they also automatically qualify to receive an inheritance. It is not an earthly inheritance, that might bring some temporal gain, but as Peter tells us, it is “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).
Although seldom discussed, the New Testament is full of allusions to this inheritance, and Jesus Himself spoke, not only the treasure we should seek to lay up in Heaven (which will be the reward for our labour – see Matt 6:19-21), but also of receiving abundantly if we are willing to give up the right to our own lives and live for His glory (see Matthew 25:28-29 / Mark 10:28-31).
May this study stir up your hearts and minds and encourage you to live your life for Jesus Christ in the days that remain…
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]]>The post The Body of Christ first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this study, Leon shares some insights and challenging thoughts of what the Body of Christ (the Church) should be like, how we should act and behave toward each other, and what our witness is like to those in the world whom we come into contact with.
May you be challenged and encouraged by this teaching.
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]]>The post Pentecost – The Birth, Mandate & Hope of the Church first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Pentecost, the Feast of Harvest, had been celebrated by Jews for centuries, but then in A.D. 32, the year of the Resurrection of Jesus, the reason and purpose of this Jewish festival suddenly and dramatically saw the light of day. Just as Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Firstfruits had, for over a millennium, concealed the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus – in a nutshell, the Christian gospel – the Jewish Feast of Harvest had concealed the unthinkable! An assembly of all people from all nations – Gentiles included – presented as a voluntary offering to God, refined and purified, of the firstfruits of the earth… The Church!
In this study, we look at the details contained in the Torah regarding this feast and see how they foretold the birth of the Church, the spiritual cleansing and purification of the Bride of Christ, her mandate to be witnesses, and the hope of the future gathering into His barn of the Church.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
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]]>The post Palm Sunday – one of the most important days in history! first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Palm Sunday.
It was, of course, the day we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey – famously fulfilling the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 given sone 500 years earlier. We know from scripture that a ‘multitude’ of Jesus disciples spread their coats on the ground, waved palm branches and sang praises to God (actually singing from Psalm 118) as Jesus rode by. That much tradition has passed down to us. (Palm Sunday is one of the few things tradition actually gets right!). We know too that this really angered the Pharisees! – but why?
But why was this day really so important? Why does Psalm 119 speak of this specific day saying “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).
Did you also know that not only Zechariah but Daniel also recorded details of this specific day 500 years before it happened?
David spoke of this day one thousand years before it came to pass! That is mind-boggling! Try to think of an event on a specific day that will take place 1000 years in the future!
But we discover that even Moses recorded details about this day almost one thousand five hundred years before!
In fact, we can go back two thousand years before this day, to the time of Abraham, and find it alluded to in Genesis 22!
So what is really so special about this day? Why does this day stand out from the crowd and demand our attention?
The answer lies in one of the greatest conundrums in the Bible!
Jesus came to reveal Himself to Israel and the world, right? So why, for almost His entire ministry, did He play-down who He really was? He constantly told people He healed to not make him known! “See you tell no man” was Jesus’ reply to those who wanted to shout abroad His greatness. He even silenced evil spirits from revealing His identity: “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known“. (Mark 3:11-112). Incredibly, after feeding the 5000 the multitude wanted to crown Him and make Him their king there and then! But “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone” (John 6:15).
Whilst all this ‘downplaying’ his identity was going on, another strange phenomenon was taking place. On a number of occasions, Jesus’ enemies came to take Him by force to silence Him. Yet each time Jesus simply walked through their midst as if protected by a spiritual force-field! They just could not touch him!
But then, on Palm Sunday everything changed! Jesus not only allowed the crowds to worship Him as the Messiah (“Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD” ( Psalms 118:26 )), He actually arranged the whole event, telling the disciples to go and get the donkey, and riding into Jerusalem as a king (just as Solomon had ridden into Jerusalem as a king in 1 Kings 1:38). When the Pharisees tried to silence the disciples Jesus retorted that even the stones would sing out His praise, such was the significance of this day!
So why this day? Why reveal Himself now?
Because this was the one and only day, prophesied by the angel Gabriel (and recorded by Daniel) when the Messiah would reveal Himself to Israel!
The prophecy is found in Daniel chapter 9, and foretells the exact day that Israel’s Messiah would come – and He did! But although a group of His disciples acknowledged it, the nation slept on in their ignorance and unbelief. They missed the ‘time of their visitation‘ (Luke 19:44). As a result, Jesus pronounced national blindness upon them – which Paul tells us in Romans 11:25 will last until ‘the fulness of the Gentiles be come in‘.
The significance of this day to Jews and Gentiles alike cannot be overstated!
It stands as a testimony to a God who is outside of time and can tell the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10) foretelling events thousands of years before they happen. It stands as a warning to not neglect the prophetic scriptures and the signs of the times, and it stands as a reminder that the Gentiles have been ‘grafted in’ to the family of Abraham by faith.
19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Romans 11:19-22
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
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]]>The post The Greatest Mystery – Part 6 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this session, we see how God has been working all things throughout history to His timetable and for His purposes.
This ancient mystery determines the course of world history, it touches everything from kings, to presidents, empires, superpowers, down to the most minute details… and, as we will see, everything happens to happen in the exact way, at the exact place, and at the exact time.
And no one’s orchestrating it, no one on earth.
We have already noted the rise and fall of empires, the raising to positions of authority those who will accomplish His will – all in accordance with the ancient Jubilean mystery. We now go on to explore hidden codes, prophetic messages from millennia ago now being fulfilled on the very days appointed. We will uncover secrets hidden in the earth for centuries!
But with all of this said, we still have to answer the ‘so what’ question.
Why does everything seem to revolve around this Jubilean mystery? –Prophecy, revelation, World History.
The simple answer is, that it’s because the principle of the Jubilee is about return & restoration.
The Jewish people stand for all people – what happens to them has to do with us all. In the natural, we have not all left our ancestral possession… But in the spiritual, all have lost what belonged to us, given up the title of what was once ours.
You can never feel at home in this world because it’s not your inheritance. It’s not your land. It’s not what you were created for!
Redemption is at the center of the mystery. But “Who is it that the Jubilee is for?” For the exiled, the separated, the broken, the fallen, the one who has lost.
May you be blessed, encouraged and challenged by this study.
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]]>The post The Greatest Mystery – Part 5 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>This is the 5th study in our series entitled ‘The Greatest Mystery’.
In this session, we continue to explore the incredible way God engineered to bring the Jews back into their homeland after almost 2000 years in accordance with His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
May you be blessed, challenged and amazed as we stand back in wonder, considering all that He has done!
The post The Greatest Mystery – Part 5 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Greatest Mystery – Part 4 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this session, we continue uncovering how God has engineered history to bring about his plans and designs.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The post The Greatest Mystery – Part 4 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Greatest Mystery – Part 3 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In our first session, we looked at over 20 undeniable proofs for God’s existence and the validity, accuracy, and trustworthiness of the Bible, demonstrating it has been given to us from outside our time domain.
In the second session, we looked at one of the principal subjects of the Bible – The Nation of Israel – through Whom God has chosen to reveal Himself to this world. In his final address to the Nation Moses spoke of the blessing they would receive if they obeyed God and His laws, but he also spoke of the punishment that would come upon them if they disobeyed. Furthermore, he told them what would happen to them in the centuries and ages to come – he foretold their future. Now, that should be impossible! To tell the intricate course of human events even days or weeks before they take place cannot happen, let alone speaking thousands of years into the future of a nation. But all that Moses said has come true with incredible detail & precision!
In this third session, we begin by considering “The Mystery of the 490”, and again see undeniable proof that God is in complete control in the affairs of man. All History has been working to His timetable, and His timepiece is the Nation of Israel!
We then look at what could be the greatest of all mysteries, “The Jubilee Mysteries”!
For Israel, the Jubilee would occur every 50 years, and those who had lost or sold their home or land would have it restored, your separation from that which was yours would be ended. To mark the Jubilee there would be the blowing of the Shofar – the rams horn, as a trumpet to announce the coming of the year of Jubilee.
- What does the Jubilee signify?
- Returning to your possession, to regain that which you had lost
- For two thousand years Israel had wandered the world without a homeland, without a possession of their own.
- But as prophesied by Moses, their return home would be a sign that we are in the end times, the final days of this era.
Although totally unprecedented, Israel have returned to the land, a sign that the ancient Jubilee Mystery is being played out on a cosmic scale, touching kings, prime ministers, presidents and world leaders alike.
May you be astounded and blessed by this study!
The post The Greatest Mystery – Part 3 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Greatest Mystery – Part 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>What if I told you this mystery involves global leaders, heads of state, presidents, and many others who have all been working to a predetermined timetable? What if I could show you that this mystery has decided world events down to the year, the month and even the very day of their occurring?
What if I showed you that everything that ever has been and all that will be are connected to and are part of this mystery?
What if I showed you that you don’t need faith to believe this mystery, because it is etched as a silent witness into our past, present and future?
This study, taught by pastor Barry Forder, is the first part of a series entitled “The Greatest Mystery” that will provide undeniable proof of the existence of God as revealed in the Bible, and of His working in the affairs of man throughout the ages.
In this session, pastor Barry will lay the foundation, drawing on a number of apologetic arguments, to demonstrate the solid basis for the Christian faith. But this is only the beginning! What is to follow over the coming weeks is truly breath-taking!
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study!
The post The Greatest Mystery – Part 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Science vs Evolution 3 – Kids Talk first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this 3rd teaching on the fallacy of the theory of evolution as proposed by Charles Darwin, pastor Barry explains to the children that what they will be taught in school on this subject is somewhat lacking in scientific support! [There is no actual scientific support!]
Even the much-publicised finches on the Galapagos Islands, so often heralded as ‘proof of evolution’, are merely an example of adaptation within a kind – they started off as birds, what did they become? Birds! They did not change into anything else! They already had the genetic information to make a beak, that information allowed for variation, but it did not allow them to become something other than the bird-kind they already were!
It is also important to recognise that, so often, in a classroom setting, children, are asked ‘bad questions’, i.e. questions that lead them to make unjustified assumptions, assuming evolution to be an already proven fact, rather than teaching them to think critically and ask, is evolution scientifically possible in the first place! – to which the answer is a resounding no!
Then there is the subtle way evolution’s proponents employ a ‘bait and switch’ tactic, pointing to something that is science, such as variation within a kind, when can be observed and is completly in accord with the Bible, but then making the colossal leap to suggest that proves the things we cannot obseve (e.g. reptiles evolving into birds) are also true. It’s the kind of ‘my dog has four legs…. my cat has four legs, therefore my cat is a dog!’ argument.
Another thing, seldom taught, is the various things we have to consider if we are to honestly talk about evolution (rather than merely the indoctrination that pervades our education system). For example, Macro Evolution is most commonly taught (the origin of the major kinds), but no time is given to the discussion of Cosmic or Chemical evolution, without which the show can’t get started in the first place! How do chemical’s come into being? or evolve?
Finally, in this teaching, we considered the still-taught ‘Nebular Hypothesis’. In a nutshll this is the idea that the planets in our solar system all originally came from filaments ejected from our Sun, that then cooled and became the planets we know today. This idea has been totaly debunked by true science!
Incredibly, although popularised by Immanuel Kant in his 1755 book “General History of Nature and Theory of the Heavens”, Kant got much of his ideas from a work published in Latin by Emanuel Swedenborg. Swedenborg claimed he, in turn, had got his information from seances with men on Jupiter, Saturn and places more distant!
Yes, it really is as bad as that! Our education system will champion a theory proposed by a man who claimed to have psychic powers and was given his information by aliens!
The Bible says we must cast down every argument that stops people looking to God. Evolution is exactly that, and since Michael Gove’s decision, when he was Education Security in 2014, to teach evolution to primary school children, we must challenge the non-science that is being taught to our children as a true account of our origins.
For more in this topic, down load our free PDF ‘Science vs Evolution’.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this teaching.
The post Science vs Evolution 3 – Kids Talk first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post The Coming Judgment of the Church – Part 3 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>1 Peter 4:18 tells us that the session of judgment that is soon to come on the whole world will begin at the Church. Throughout the New Testament we have repeated warnings of apostasy in the church, and that God will one-day ‘root out’ and destroy the (tares) apostate church whilst the true Church (wheat) will be gathered into His barn – a beautiful picture of the Rapture
In the book of Jeremiah, we find an amazing parallel between the days in which Jeremiah lived and the church today.
Jeremiah lived at a time when most of the nation had fallen into apostasy and, although they still paid lip-service to God, had heaped up to themselves idols and false gods to worship. They had rejected God’s Word, embraced things that were an abomination to God, the priests no longer taught scripture, they had rejected God as their Creator and turned a blind eye to prophesy. Sounds a lot like the church today, doesn’t it!
Peter tells us that this is no coincidence. Just as there were false teachers among the Children of Israel, so there will be false teachers in the church. And just as Israel was judged for these things, so the apostate church will also be judged.
May you be blessed, challenged and encouraged by these studies!
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]]>The post The Coming Judgment of the Church – Part 2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this session, we look at the incredible parallels between the history of the nation of Israel and the history of the church.
In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul warns the church to not make the same mistakes the Nation of Israel did – yet history has shown that the Church has indeed made the same mistakes, failing to learn the lessons that had been given.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this teaching.
Pastor Barry.
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]]>The post The Coming Judgment of the Church – Part 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Peter tells us that the time of judgment that will soon engulf this world will begin with God bringing judgment on the apostate church that has taken His Name, but is far from His will.
Jesus, Paul, Peter, John and Jude all warn that deception will abound in the last days and much of this will come from within the church, by those professing to follow and serve Christ. Sadly, the Bible tells us that many will follow these false teachers and give heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons!
In this first session, we look at the root and history of apostasy, and see that every time God meets it with judgment.
The only sure guard against deception is the Word of God. God has revealed in His word the whole history and future of the church so that we should not be in darkness or ignorant about these things.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
Pastor Barry.
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]]>The post Science vs Evolution 2 – Kids Talk first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this session Pastor Barry looks back at a significant event that occurred 158 years ago (on this day) – ‘The Great Debate’ in Oxford, England, and explains to the Children that, with what we now know from Science, Evolution has been shown to be impossible!
Darwin’s book has been shown to be false, the Bible has been shown to be true!
The publication of Darwin’s Origin of the Species on 24 November 1859 caused ripples through an academic community that, up to that point, had accepted the Biblical explanations of our origins. Sir Isaac Newton (1643 – 1727), among other prominent scientists (including René Descartes), upheld “that the physical laws he had uncovered revealed the mechanical perfection of the workings of the universe to be akin to a watchmaker, wherein the watchmaker is God”.
Bishop William Paley (1743–1805), in defending the Biblical view, and building on Newton’s comments said that the watch, with its gears, springs, and other mechanisms could never arise by the actions of random chance alone; and thus life itself, being immeasurably more complex, could not be the product of random chance either. Scottish philosopher and historian David Hume (1711-1776), who held notoriously ambiguous views of Christianity, responded by saying that “Living systems only have the appearance of machines, Unless it can be proven that living systems are indeed machines at the molecular level, then Paley’s watchmaker argument is irrelevant”
This paved the way for The Great Debate at Oxford on June 30th 1860 where Bishop Samuel Wilberforce (1805-1873) stood to defend the Biblical belief in deliberate design by a Designer (often referred to as The Teleological Argument). Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895), nicknamed ‘Darwin’s bulldog’, opposed Wilberforce and sought to champion Darwin’s concept of evolution by natural selection, which had been published less than a year before.
Darwin had said: “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. But I can find no such case” 43. Regardless of however unlikely it may seem, If Huxley could prove evolution was possible, Wilberforce’s argument for design would break down.
Wilberforce is generally considered to have lost the argument because of the challenge brought by Huxley (some also credit Darwin’s friend, the botanist Joseph Hooker). Huxley’s argument was simple: using mathematical logic and the laws of probability he argued that if time is infinite, then the probability must = 1. To ‘prove’ his point he argued that if he be hypothetically given 6 monkeys, each with a typewriter, a limitless supply of paper, and limitless time, the monkeys would, by random key-strokes alone, eventually be able to type all the works of Shakespeare, the 23 Psalm etc. etc. Wilberforce was stumped and it was hailed as a victory for Darwin’s evolution by natural selection.
However, it’s funny how time brings with it illumination!
Thanks to the advances in science, and the invention of the electron microscope, we are now able to see a ‘simple cell’ in a way that Huxley, Wilberforce and Darwin could never have dreamed of.
Michael Denton, in his book, ‘Evolution: A Theory In Crisis’ (1986) stated: “Although the tiniest bacterial cells are incredibly small, each is in effect a veritable micro-miniaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up of 100,000,000,000 atoms, far more complicated than any machine built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world”
Because of the law of mass action as described above, we can now see the scientific flaw in Huxley’s argument. For a protein to form, it would require the joining together of a long complex chain of amino acids, but as explained, in the proposed early earth atmosphere, in the primordial watery soup, whenever an amino acid joined the chain, an existing amino acid would break off.
For Huxley, this would be the equivalent to one of his monkeys randomly striking the ‘E’ key, then the next key struck – randomly – being the ‘v’; but when the third key was struck, randomly giving an ‘o’,
the first ‘E’ would break away!
Even given limitless time, you would therefore never get ‘E-v-o-l-u-t-i-o-n’.
Sir Fred Hoyle said: “The speculations of The Origin of Species turned out to be wrong… It is ironic that the scientific facts throw Darwin out, but leave William Paley, a figure of fun to the scientific world for more than a century, still in the tournament with a chance of being the ultimate winner”
“Modern microbiology has revealed that even the simplest organisms are complex machines beyond our imagining. Science has refuted Hume and totally vindicated Paley”
May you be blessed, challenged and encouraged by this study!
Pastor Barry
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]]>The post Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Pilate had asked Jesus the question “What is truth?”
To many, truth is merely relative, that is, we can each decide our own truth depending on our circumstances and experiences.
The day before Pilate asked this question, Jesus stated “Thy Word is truth!”, that it, God’s word does not merely contain ideas and concepts that are true, it is truth itself. Every part of it, every statement made, every doctrine taught is true. It is the fount of truth. Without out it, we would be lost in a sea of ideas, opinions, philosophies and dreams.
Sadly, today’s church has largely become blinded to this great fact, and has replaced the truth of God’s word for politically correct and socially acceptable axioms*.
- *a generally accepted proposition or principle, sanctioned by experience; maxim
Today society seems to dictate truth and the church, like an obedient dog, walks on behind!
However, that is not the way it was in the early church! They knew they had been given something precious that they were to earnestly contend for! Despite what modernists and liberal theologians would have us believe, truth is non-negotionable!
Doctrine is not open to debate, and we do not get to decide what the Bible means – it tells us itself what it means and we have been given the Holy Spirit to teach us and lead us into all truth!
Today’s ministers and clergy can spiritualise and allegorise all day long. They can tell you the Second Coming is not going to be a physical return; they can tell you that God didn’t really Create everything in 6 literal 24 hour days if they like; they can tell you that God is not going to keep His untold number of promises to National Israel, that these somehow will now fall on the church. They can tell you these things and teach them in pulpits all over the land – BUT IT DOENS’T MAKE THEM TRUE!
They have missed the boat! Truth has already been declared (and God did not consult them first!). The Apostles Doctrine is as rock solid and non-negotiable today as when it was given. Christianity is based on this. The fundamentals are not open to debate!
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study!
As usual, the Powerpoint slides used in this study are available for free download.
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]]>The post The Feasts of Israel – Part 2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>This teaching was given by guest speaker, Adrian Hudson, on 28th April 2019 as part of Calvary Chapel Portsmouth’s family service.
In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul tells us that the Gospel itself is concealed in the Old Testament. In this 2nd Part of our two-part study on the Feast’s of Israel, Adrian shows how not only the first four feasts point to Jesus, but the ‘Autumn’ Feasts also all point to Jesus and declare Him to be the Messiah!
Furthermore, as with the Spring feasts, there will also be a literal prophetic fulfillment that will see Israel preparing to defend herself from those ‘round about’ her as the trumpet is sounded to mark the day of battle (Feast of Trumpets). Then comes the time when Israel will have fled from Antichrist to the wilderness of Edom. It will be there that they will ‘look upon Jesus whom they pierced, and morn’. This will be the fulfillment of the Feast of Atonement as they realise that Christ is their Messiah who atones for their sin.
Finally, the Feast of Tabernacles will see the return of Jesus when He will come to dwell (tabernacle) among them!
Only God could engineer the incredible details found in the Feasts of Israel that act as a model given over 1400 years in advance of Jesus, death, burial and resurrection, His deliverance of Israel, His unveiling Himself to them, and finally His return to rule over the whole house of Israel!
May you be blessed and encouraged by this teaching.
As usual, the PowerPoint slides used in this study and audio are available for free download.
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]]>The post Why we believe He is risen! first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>(Please note: The audio quality of this recording is very poor due to a technical fault. We have uploaded it anyway for any that wish to persevere listening to it!)
For many in today’s modern, science-based, intellectual world the idea that people could seriously believe Jesus rose from the dead is quite frankly ridiculous!
But what if it were true?
What if the groundswell of academic study on this subject points unmistakably to the fact that Jesus of Nazareth did somehow rise from the dead after being in the grave for 3 days and 3 nights?
It is my contention that people do not reject belief in Jesus and the resurrection on the basis of the evidence, but simply because they have been led to believe that no evidence exists.
So why do we believe Jesus rose from the dead? Well, there are many reasons, but let’s give you three:
1.Because God foretold THOUSANDS of years before that the Messiah would come, that He would die for our sins, and that on the 3rd day He would rise again (you try predicting any future event with precision, then have it recorded in a book written by around 40 authors, from different backgrounds and at different times, and yet having it all agree in minute detail and carry a single theme!).
2.Because Jesus Himself said He would die and rise again on the 3rd day – and only God or a madman would dare to make such an audacious claim!
3.Because we have the eyewitness reports of the disciples, the Roman guards, and Pilate.
May you be challenged and blessed by this study.
It is our prayer that you would come to know Jesus personally. If you want to know more, please contact us or come visit one Sunday.
Pastor Barry – Easter 2019
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]]>The post The Feasts of Israel – Part 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>This teaching was given by guest speaker, Adrian Hudson, on 14th April 2019 as part of Calvary Chapel Portsmouth’s family service.
In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul tells us that the Gospel itself is concealed in the Old Testament, and specifically, we find it in the Feasts of Israel that occurred in the Spring – namely:
The Feast of Passover, which details the death of Jesus who died as a Passover Lamb in our place to secure our deliverance from slavery and bondage
The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which alludes to the spotless, sinless Christ who was put into the ground like a grain of wheat, that He might rise again bearing much fruit.
The Feast of Firstfruits, which speaks of Christ who presented Himself to His Father as the Firstfruits of those who will rise from the dead
In this study, Adrian takes us through these three feasts + Shavuot (The Feast of Harvest / Pentecost) showing the incredible design which show the Author of the Bible to be outside of time and space, telling the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things not yet done! (Isaiah 46:9-10).
Only God could conceal the incredible details found in the Feasts of Israel that act as a model given over 1400 years in advance of Jesus, death, burial and resurrection!
May you be blessed and encouraged by this teaching.
The Audio and Powerpoint slides (in PDF format) used in this teaching are available for free download.
The post The Feasts of Israel – Part 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post 1 Samuel 14 1-23 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this teaching by guest speaker, Pastor Antonye Holyde, we look at the courage of Jonathan (Saul’s son) to step out in faith, leaving behind the compromise that surrounded him, and take a stand for the God of Israel.
Pastor Antonye encourages us to reach out to this lost and dying world with the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Antonye and his wife Suzanne have planted 30 churches in their ministry to date, and in March 2019 will be returning to California to begin a new work, following the LORD’s leading. For the last 8 years they have been ministering in Camden (London) at Calvary Chapel Shoreline and have seen God’s grace transform countless lives.
May you be challenged, strengthened and encouraged by this teaching!
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]]>The post A New Year Message… first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>During the service, we celebrated the dedication of a child in the fellowship to the LORD, and as this was also the first service of 2019, Pastor Barry taught on the theme of dedicating our lives to the LORD at the start of another year.
In this study, we look at:
- the typical ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ people make and consider the Biblical alternatives.
- why the Bible is such an amazing book that should be read by all – and at the beginning of a new year, it’s a great time to start!
- why we dedicate our children to the LORD and consider the world’s alternatives to bringing children up in a godly home
The Powerpoint slides used in the presentation are available for free download, as is this audio recording.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study!
The post A New Year Message… first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Faith first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this study, Ilir looks at the faith of Abraham following the battle of the kings in Genesis 14.
You can listen to the audio on this web page, or save it for listening to later.
We hope and pray this teaching will bless you and encourage you to undertake your own personal study and adventure in God’s Word!
The post Faith first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Fallen People Faithful God first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Bob is the founding pastor of Deal Christian Fellowship, in Deal, Kent, (a.k.a. Calvary Chapel Deal), and in this study, entitled ‘Fallen People – Faithful God’ looks at the account of Barak and Deborah in Judges chapters 4-5.
There is a call to all God’s people to be active in waging warfare against ‘the world, the flesh and the devil’. Sadly, not all ‘come to the help of the LORD’ (Judges 5:234) and end up losing their reward – the challenge here is ‘what are you doing?’
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
The audio from this session is available here for free download.
For more teaching by Pastor Bob Forder, go to: http://dcf.church/sermon-speaker/bob-forder/
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]]>The post Ruth 1-4 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this study, Adrian gives us an overview of the incredible book of Ruth.
The audio is available for free download.
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study!
The post Ruth 1-4 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Dedicated Unto the Lord first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>May you be encouraged and strengthened by this study.
The post Dedicated Unto the Lord first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post An Exhortation To The Body first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Throughout the New Testament, we are continually presented with the idea that the church is like a body. If one part of the body suffers, the rest of the body suffers with it. If one part rejoices, the rest of the body rejoices with it (1 Cor 12:26). Furthermore, the church is pictured as Christ’s body; He is the head, and we, although many members with different functions, all go to make up the rest of the body. All that we do (or should do) should be to edify each other and glorify our Head (see Ephesians 4:11-16).
In this study we consider what the Bible means when it says we should submit to each other (Eph 5:21), and ask how we can practically love and support each other for the good of the overall body?
May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.
Every blessing,
Pastor Barry
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]]>The post A Warning To The Body first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>In this session, we look at the account of Achan in Joshua 7 and consider the danger and potential impact on a fellowship of believers if someone ‘in the camp’ is living in a state of unconfessed sin.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:26 that “whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it”; and in 1 Corinthians 10: 17 Paul said: “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread”.
Clearly, there is an impact on a body when one part of it is not right; and as with the case of Achan, we must never presume we can ‘get away’ with sin, that if no one else sees, it doesn’t matter.
God is not mocked and cannot just ignore or overlook sin, but instead calls us to repentance and restoration.
May you be challenged and encouraged to walk Godly in Christ Jesus by this study,
Every blessing,
Pastor Barry.
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]]>The post Passion Week – The Fulcrum of History first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>As most will be aware, Easter was originally a pagan celebration. When the Roman Emperor Constantine ‘ legalised’ Christianity in around 300 A.D., Christians went from meeting in the catacombs and homes to meeting in lavish ornate pagan buildings. Sadly, at that time, many pagan ideas and practices were also introduced to the church – the celebration of Easter (Ishtar) being one of them.
However, this has given the church an annual reminder of the greatest event in History! – The Resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Passion week is the term often given to the week leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It is the most pivotal week in all history, everything past and everything future all hang on the events of this one week. Ultimately, every individual’s connection with eternity will depend on their understanding of, and belief in the events of this week.
The Apostle Paul argues that Christianity stands or falls with the resurrection. If it is just a myth, we are ‘of all men most miserable’! (1 Cor 15:19). But the historicity of the resurrection is without doubt one of the greatest facts of History!
Sir Edward Clarke said:
“As a lawyer, I have made a prolonged study of the evidence for the events of the first Easter Day. To me the evidence is conclusive, and over and over again in the High Court, I have secured the verdict on evidence not nearly so compelling.
The Gospel evidence for the resurrection is of this class, and as a lawyer, I accept it unreservedly as the testimony of truthful men to facts they were able to substantiate”
Lord Lyndhurst (1772-1863), recognised as one of the greatest legal minds in British history wrote:
“I know pretty well what evidence is; and I tell you, such evidence as that for the Resurrection has never broken down yet.”
May this study help to confirm in your heart and mind the truthfulness of the Gospel accounts, and may its impact be that you can’t contain this most wonderful of all news, that Christ is risen and there is Salvation in His name!
Every blessing,
Pastor Barry
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]]>The post Jeff Cuozzo – Romans 12 1-2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Jeff taught on Romans 12:1-2, on how we should be transformed (metamorphosised) by the renewing of our minds so that we can know the blessings and peace that come from a sound mind and a heart that is committed to Christ.
For more about Jeff and the ministry, visit http://www.tikvaheurope.com/Our-Story
May you be challenged and encouraged by this teaching.
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]]>The post Psalm 37 1-8 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>As we head off into another year, I feel our theme this year is “he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy”. (Leviticus 21:8)
These words were spoken regarding the Levites who had been called out from the nation of Israel to serve the Lord. They were to be holy and set apart for God’s pleasure.
Over the Christmas break I read a sermon by Spurgeon teaching on 1 Peter 2:7 “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious”. Spurgeon laid the challenge, is He precious to us? So precious that we gladly forsake everything else? On Sunday we looked as Psalm 37 and saw that it is God’s desire that we be righteous – set apart. Three times in the study we saw the admonition ‘Fret not!’. Worry is poison to the spiritual life. When unmasked, fretting is simply a declaration that we don’t trust God with our circumstances. Even if things really were as bad as our worrying would like us to believe, God is still on the throne! He still loves us more than we can know; He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. God is a good, good Father, and has promised in His word that all things do work together for good for those who love Him. One of the greatest commands in Psalm 37 is in verse 7: “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him”. In the natural this is hard. We must be walking in the Spirit daily; we need to be in the Word (or we simply default to being in the world!).
I believe that, this year, God wants us to simply be set apart for Him. To be holy just because He is holy. To spend time just enjoying our God, to delight ourselves in Him.
God has made you a promise: If you 1) trust in Him, 2) delight yourself in Him, & 3) commit your way to Him, He will do the rest! He will give you the peace, rest & righteousness we inwardly crave (but naturally cannot obtain).
May God bless you through 2018. This might be the year He comes for us! Let’s make sure we are dressed for our wedding day!
You can listen to the audio on this web page, or save it for listening to later. We have also made available the Powerpoint slides (in PDF format) that outline the key points of this study.
We hope and pray this teaching will bless you and encourage you to undertake your own personal study and adventure in God’s Word!
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]]>The post The Feast of Chanukah first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The events that led to this Jewish celebration were recorded in advance in the book of Daniel, hundreds of years before 167 B.C. when the Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanies desecrated the Jewish Temple, leading to the Maccabean revolt, and the miracles commemorated by this feast.
It is worth pointing out that there are a staggering 135 fulfilled prophecies from Daniel 11:2-35. Bible critics hate Daniel chapter 11 because it offers irrefutable proof that the Bible is the Word of God; for no man could accurately predict, with such detailed precision, the rise and fall of world empires, the political manipulating and deception of successive kingdoms, and the battles that would be fought. We need to remind ourselves, that all of this was recorded hundreds of years before the prophesied events actually took place.
The Apostle Peter talks about the ‘more sure word of prophecy’ that we can depend upon, far more so than any emotion or feeling. Throughout scripture, prophecy confirms the Word and shows it to be true. Sceptics will continue to doubt these things, yet with each archaeological discovery, they are forced to withdraw their theories and accusations as the evidence continues to mount in support of the Word of God. “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” (Isaiah 46:9-10).
In this study, Adrain explains that Antiochus Epiphanies (whose name means ‘the shining one’) was a p
art of the Seleucid Empire that had come to power following the death of Alexander the Great. According to the book of 1 Maccabees, and other historical records, Antiochus IV was the 8th king of the Syrian dynasty, reigning from 175 – 164 B.C. He ascended to the throne after the death of his father and imprisonment (by Rome) of his elder brother, Seleucus Philopator. Yet Antiochus was not the rightful heir, for Seleucus had a son. However, by flattery and bribery Antiochus succeeded in becoming king. He invaded Egypt and defeated Ptolemy VI, but on his way back he stopped off at Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was situated right in between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires, and acted as a ‘buffer zone’ in between the two rival kingdoms. As you can imagine, the Jews were not very enamoured by this and tried to resist. In response, Antiochus plundered and desecrated the temple and even went as far as sacrificing a pig on the alter. He tried to do everything he possibly could to offend the Jews as can be seen from the following record from 1 Maccabees:
“And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah: he directed them:
– to follow customs strange to the land,
– to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary,
– to profane Sabbaths and feasts,
– to defile the sanctuary and the priests,
– to build alters in sacred precincts and shrines for idols,
– to sacrifice swine and unclean animals, and
– to leave their sons uncircumcised,
They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane, so that they [the Jews] should forget the law and change the ordinances. And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die”
Antiochus (in a dress rehearsal of what the coming Antichrist will do) put an idol in the temple and stopped the daily sacrifices.
A Jewish priest, by the name of Mattathias, was so incensed by the desecration of the temple and the erecting of an idol in the holy place that, not only did he refuse to worship this idol, but also started killing the Hellenistic Jews* who did. (*Jews that had adopted the
Greek culture and lifestyle). As a result of this, he and his five sons were forced to flee into the wilderness. After Mattathias’ death about one year later, his son Judas Maccabeus (whose name meant ‘hammer’) formed an army and led a revolt against Antiochus IV, which in 164 B.C. was eventually successful in overthrowing the Seleucid control of Israel. When the Jews finally entered the temple they found only one days supply of the consecrated olive oil that was needed to maintain the light on the great seven-branched lampstand called the ‘Menorah’. According to the Law of Moses, this was to be kept continually burning. The Jewish Talmud records that the priests poured the oil into the seven lamps and lit them to bring forth light. Miraculously, the one day supply of oil burned for eight days – which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate new oil!
To commemorate this event the Jews added the Feast of Chanukah, also called ‘Festival of Lights’ or ‘Festival of Rededication’ to their annual feasts. The scriptural endorsement of this feast is confirmed in John 10:22: “And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.” (John 10:22-23).
You can listen to the audio on this web page, or save it for listening to later. We have also made available the Powerpoint slides (in PDF format) that outline the key points of this study.
We hope and pray this teaching will bless you and encourage you to undertake your own personal study and adventure in God’s Word!
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]]>The post Waiting for God’s Best first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>Ilir grew up in a Muslim family in Kosovo but came to know the love of Jesus for himself. In this study, Ilir shows from scripture the danger of impatiently seeking what we think we want right now, rather than patiently waiting for God’s best.
Ilir also highlighted the lure to be like the world when we should instead recognise we are not of this world. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world”. (1 John 2:15-16)
May you be blessed, challenged and encouraged by this teaching.
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]]>The post Bob Stanton Uniqueness of Christianity first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>You can listen to the audio on this web page, or save it for listening to later.
We hope and pray this teaching will bless you and encourage you to undertake your own personal study and adventure in God’s Word!
The post Bob Stanton Uniqueness of Christianity first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>The post Passion Week Pt 4 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
]]>This teaching by pastor Barry was given as part of our family service on 7th May 2017.
This is the fourth and final part of a 4-part study looking at Passion Week (the name we give to the last week Jesus spent with His disciples leading up to the Crucifixion and Resurrection).
In this final session we looked at ‘The Power of the Resurrection’.
Commenting on these words of the Apostle Paul’s (from Philippians 3:10), Albert Barns stated:
- “That is, that I may understand and experience the proper influence which the fact of his resurrection should have on the mind… There is no one truth that will have greater power over us, when properly believed, than the truth that Christ has risen from the dead”.
Once we realise the Resurrection is a real historical event it will forever change us. To know, as the disciples did, that Jesus Christ came back to life, defeating the power of death, and that in His resurrection there is the assurance of our salvation from sin, we cannot live life the same. This is the most incredible historical event ever!
We have been called to be witnesses, not to a creed, but to a person, Jesus Christ, and to declare the good news that man’s greatest enemy is now defeated – death no longer has a hold over us. “As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive!” (see Romans 5).
You can listen to the audio on this web page, or save it for listening to later. We have also made available the Powerpoint slides (in PDF format) used for this study.
We hope and pray this teaching will bless you and encourage you to undertake your own personal study and adventure in God’s Word!
The post Passion Week Pt 4 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.
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