The Semper Reformata Podcast

Zechariah – The Gospel in the Old Testament ! Zechariah 1:1-6 Why would we want to study this book? Zechariah is God’s Word, just as much as is the Gospel of John! We shall see some very good reasons indeed, as we begin our study of Zechariah.  Read the NOTES HERE . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Minor Prophets - Haggai "Consider This..." The name means Festival or Festive and everything that we know about Haggai is found in his book and references in Ezra. With Zechariah he encouraged the Jews in rebuilding the temple.  The book is usually dated around 520 B.C. (the second year of King Darius – Hag 1:1) Throughout the book there is encouragement to complete the task – a...

Our Duty to God - and Believers Text: Ephesians 5:19-20 Paul tells us something of what the local church in Ephesus would have been like, teaches the Ephesians a little bit about worship and community, and gives us an inkling – a glimpse, of what a modern Christian fellowship should look like. Read the NOTES HERE . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonus Episode:- Divorce and Remarriage Matthew 19:1-9 Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Divorce is a dilemma for Christians of every denomination, and historically especially for evangelicals. Divorce has split churches, divided families, ruined testimonies, hindered evangelism. It’s a huge, complex subject, hundreds of books have been written on it, maybe thousands of sermons, conferences and colloqu...

History is HIS Story! Habakkuk Ch. 2 Habakkuk observes the sins of mankind, and declares the certainty of the judgment of God. He teaches us that God has a purpose - a redemptive purpose, and that he is bringing that purpose to pass. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Be Sensible. Ephesians 5:17-19 Another contrast between the Christian and the ungodly world in which the church is placed is introduced in verse 15. We are to be WISE, not to live like the FOOLISHNESS of the pagan world. In these verses Paul teaches us what it means to be a SENSIBLE CHRISTIAN.  Read the NOTES HERE . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Habakkuk #4 'Run with the Vision' - Habakkuk 2:2-4 God answers Habakkuk’s second prayer:  Then the Lord answered me and said . Habakkuk has been expecting that God would reprove him for his audacity! But God does not rebuke him or reprove him, instead he answers his prayer by giving him a task! Read the NOTES HERE . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Stricken Shepherd  Zechariah 13:7-9 We know that verse 13 of this chapter is about the Lord Jesus, because He tells us so Himself. In Matthew 26:31-32.    Jesus is about to go to the cross, and the Passover has just been kept, and the Lord’s Supper has been instituted. He was singing a psalm from Psalms 113-118.  Listen to find out what the prophet says about Chri...

The Minor Prophets - Habakkuk #3 Learning to Pray Like Habakkuk Read Habakkuk 1:12-2:1 Habakkuk is wrestling with God. Remember that his name means ‘embrace.’ Not a passionate, loving embrace, like a hug, but the embrace of a man who is being rescued, holding on to his rescuer… Genesis 32:24 Like Jacob, Habakkuk wrestles with God in prayer, – over great issues that he does not understand. How can...

Zechariah’s Vision of a Redeemed Ministry   Text.  Zechariah 13:4-6 Zechariah talks about ministry in chapter 13.  He’s been referring to the time when redemption would be accomplished, when there would be a fountain opened up, so that sinners could be cleansed from their sins.  What a change that would make in ministry!  No longer would false ministers...

The Minor Prophets - Habakkuk #2 Habakuk's Burden. Habakkuk was praying his way through very perilous days indeed. All of this turmoil was taking place in a nation that comprised the chosen people of God, and who find their ultimate fulfilment in the the New Israel, the church. That’s why this is SUCH an important book. It’s like history continually repeats itself, and the prayer and the answer to...

The Promise of Blessing! Text: Zechariah 12:10-13:2 The Holy Spirit has begun his work, and the sinner is mourning over his sin, - Christ is revealed as the Saviour!  Read the NOTES HERE This message was recorded at Templepatrick Reformed Church, and is used here with their kind permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introduction to Habakkuk Read: 2 Chronicles 36:1-21 Habakkuk is an easy read. It’s an interesting, fascinating book, just three chapters, the story of a man who looks at his times and wonders where God is I the middle of all the chaos, sickness sin and death, who takes his troubles to the Lord. And finds an answer to his prayers; an answer that builds his faith, and gives him reason to rejoice in...

True and False Shepherds Text: Zechariah 10:1-6 But before Zechariah can continue on the theme of the coming king, he must firstly develop a number of important points.  He must call the people to prayer, and he must draw a distinction between true and false pastors! APOLOGIES - this recording is not best quality - sorry about the extreme echo. Read the NOTES HERE Hosted on Acast. See ac...

Nahum Survey Nahum Chapters 1-3 The name Nahum means Consolation .   God was comforting his people, by reminding them that the enemies who would chasten them would one day themselves be chastened, and that their fate was doom laden indeed. His home was Elkosh, but some think that Capernaum (lit., “village of Nahum”) may have been his birthplace. Time-wise Nahum was contemporary with Jere...

The Purpose of Worship is to please God, not to appeal to us! Text.  Zechariah 7 (Please also read 2 Kings 25) Zecahariah has written about his eight visions – and now his book moves to a second section, a more directly didactic section, in which he teaches the people through a series of incident and sermons.  The first issue that Zechariah confronts is that of worship! &n...

Why Does the Government Hate Prayer? Luke 11:1-4   In this talk, I want to establish two opposing propositions, and explore the dichotomy that exists between them.  The most basic purpose of Christian intercessory prayer, is that God’s will should be done in this world. James puts this succinctly in James 4:14-16   Regardless of what we pray for, our prayer should always be tem...

Zephaniah Survey Read Zephaniah chapter 1-3 Zephaniah was a member of the extended royal family of Judah, the great great grandson of King Hezekiah. (That made him a distant relative of King Josiah, the reigning king.  The book of Zephaniah is easily divided, – there’s just two sections over the three chapters, and they are easily distinguished: Law and Gospel. Read the NOTES HERE . Host...

The Minor Prophets - Micah "What does the Lord require?" Text.  Micah 6:1-8 The prophet is introduced in  Micah 1:1   He’s also mentioned in  Jeremiah 26:18  living in the same times as Isaiah and Jeremiah, and drawing much from the same sources, – there are parallel passages in both Isaiah and Micah.  Isaiah 2:2-5,  and  Micah 4:1-5 .  B...

Zechariah 3 The Priesthood of All Believers! Zechariah’s Fourth Vision Text: Zechariah 3:1-5 Again notice that Zechariah is full of Gospel Truth! Here we see:- 1 The Conflict with Satan. 2 The Cleansing of the Soul. 3 The Consecration of the Saints Read the NOTES HERE This message was recorded at Templepatrick Reformed Church and is used here with their kind permission. Hosted on Acast. See a...

Hosea Survey 2 – The Covenant Law-Suit. Text Hosea chapter 4 to chapter 14 Hosea 4-14 are difficult chapters for the modern reader.  One commentator has conjectured that the passage were in fact ‘snippets’ of Hosea’s messages collated later in life and written down, rather than a systematic ‘sermon’ type body of work.   Thankfully there is a summary of these chapters to he...

Zechariah #2 The Horns and the Tradesmen Zechariah 1:18-21 This vision builds on the previous vision, where God exposed his anger over what other nations had been doing to His people, Israel. Zech. 1:15    Now, we see these oppressors described... Read the NOTES HERE . This message was recorded at Templepatrick Reformed Church, and is distributed here with their kind permission. Hosted o...

The Minor Prophets - Hosea #1 Redeemed from slavery. Text.  Hosea chapters 1-3. We will look at Hosea in two surveys – even though it is 14 chapters long.  That’s because it neatly falls into two separate sections. Chapter One-Three is a COVENANT LOVE STORY. Chapter Four-Fourteen is a COVENANT LAWSUIT. (Or maybe three separate court cases!) The word Hosea  Hosea 1:1. &nbsp...

The Man Amidst The Myrtle Trees – Zechariah 1:7-17 n this study, we begin to look at the eight visions of Zechariah. In this passage we see:- 1.  Christ in the Midst of His Church ! 1:8 2.  Complacency in the Unconverted World ! 3.  Comfort for the People of God ! Read the NOTES HERE . This message was recorded at Templepatrick Reformed Church, and is reproduced here with their...

The Minor Prophets, - Survey of Amos #3 Read AMOS chapters 7-9 In this last survey of Amos, we will learn about the visions that he received from God, how his outspoken words landed him in BIG trouble, and ask the questions Can we get visions and revelations from God, like Amos did? What’s the worst kind of famine? What's this about 'David's fallen tent?' Read the NOTES HERE . Hosted on Acast. See...