Foundations: Recent Episodes
Various
Foundations looks at questions of life, religion and ethics. We look at who God is, who Jesus is, and what it means to be a Christian. Join as we direct you to the Bible as the foundation for Christian faith and for living. We discuss a variety of topics such as relationships, forgiveness, grief, belief in God, doing right and doing wrong, just to name a few! Produced and presented by members of the Reformed Church of Christchurch, this programme first began broadcasting in 2003 and aims to provide guidance and inspiration to anyone who cares to listen via the radio waves or online. Listen in on Sundays at 10am, repeated at 10pm, to catch the Foundations team.
As part of Psalm 126, the people prayed to God for restoration, protection and other blessings. May we do likewise, acknowledging God in our lives.
This Psalm reflects the joy of the people as they realise God's blessings to them as they walk to the feast in Jerusalem. Likewise, we also have a large number of blessings for which we can be equally thankful.
The psalms of Ascent that we are looking at were sung in Biblical times by the Israelites as they travelled toward s Jerusalem for festivities. We look today at the Protection the God promises us in Psalm 125.
Psalm 124 confirms that our God is an ever present Help in times of trouble. A very encouraging psalm indeed.
Psalm 120 is rather gloomy, but that is why we should look closely at it - it is true too life.
Psalm 122 in the Bible gives reasons why the Children of Israel went up to Jerusalem to Worship God, and it provides modern day Christians with reasons why we should Worship in a similar frame of mind.
If you are in the habit of regularly going to church on a Sunday, Why do you go? And when you go, do you go cheerfully, or do you complain? We look at Psaml 122 from the Bible.
We look at the theme of God's Constant Protection over the lives of His people. Our focus for this study is Psaml 121 from the Bible.
This week and next week we will look at the theme of God's Protection over the lives of His people. Our focus for this study is Psaml 121 from the Bible.
Through God's interaction with Jonah after the preservation of Nineveh, Jonah had to learn to let his contentment be independent of his surrounding circumstances. Likewise, we need to be happy regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
The Bible story of Jonah is qute well known. When Jonah preached to Nineveh, the city repented. God then showed compassion to the city. When Jonah is bitter about this, God shows compassion to Jonah, and teaches him a lesson.
We have been considering the very real repentance of the people of Nineveh, after they received a message from God. How should we respond to God's message of forgiveness to us?
After the Ninevites received the message from God, given through the prophet Jonah, they truely repented from their sins. We can learn from that.
Jonah has been told to take a message to the city of Nineveh in Assyria, to a people renouned for their evil acts. What message does he have from God?
Jonah has been told to take a message to the city of Nineveh in Assyria, to a people renouned for their evil acts. What message does he have from God?
We have been considering the very real repentance of the people of Nineveh, after they received a message from God. How should we respond to God's message of forgiveness to us?
After the Ninevites received the message from God, given through the prophet Jonah, they truely repented from their sins. We can learn from that.
Today we look in greater detail at the prayer that Jonah offered to God from the belly of the fish. This prayer is given as a general example of how Christians should pray to God.
Jonah prayed to God from the belly of the big fish. The prayer Jonah is recorded in the Bible to serve as an example to us modern day Christians.
We look at the New Testament references that quote the story of Jonah and the big fish. Jesus refers to this in the book of Matthew, offering it as a sign to the Pharisees as a sign of His mission on earth.
But the Lord commanded a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights." This statement from the Bible is often ridiculed by those who do not believe the Bible.
This week we will look at how Jonah responded to "being found", and also the sailors' response to the amazing things that were going on.
We look at the remarkable things that happened when Jonah attempted to run away from God.
We consider what we can learn about God, Jonah and ourselves from the openiing verses of the Bible book of Jonah. Jonah attempts to run away from God.
The last program based on words from Ecclesiasthes from the Bible. The writer calls this "the conclusion of the matter."
Our study of Ecclesiasthes has brought us words that have been somewhat depressing, but also others that are full of hope. We follow the author now as he wraps up his teachings.
In today's program, we will be thinking about what we need to do before "the silver cord is severed and the golden bowl is broken.
The pursuit of happiness can be a real driving force in people's lives. The writer of Ecclesiasthes has some advice on being happy.
In the Bible passage that we look at today, we are urged to be generous with what God has given us, to be bold in our decisions, and to be humble recognising that we cannot understand everything about the ways of God in our lives.
There is always some uncertainty about the future. This makes planning an d decision making hard. We take advice from the book of Ecclesiasthes on what decisions we should make for our future.
We discuss the unpredictability of life, and therefore what we should do to best use the limited time of life that we have been given.
Whoever loves money, never has enough, whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. We check up on what the Bible book of Ecclesiasthes has to say about wealth. These verses ask "As goods increase, what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?"
We look at the faith response of the royal official to the healing of his son by Jesus. Jesus heals his son without actually being in his presence, but the official believes and accepts this.
Jesus' second miracle involves the healing of the son of a royal official. The miracles of God are evidence of the truth of his word, but they do not always produce faith in those who see them.
We look at this miracle as told in the Bible book of John. This miracle was performed to highlight the Glory of Jesus.
We look at this miracle as told in the Bible book of John. There is a lesson here about cheerfulness.
What are we saying when we say "Amen" at the end of a prayer? Does it indicate more than just that we have finished praying?
Temptations are not nice, or cute, and they are certainly not harmless. We must pray that God will enable us to endure in the battle against temptations.
We should ask God to provide for our daily, physical needs. We recognise that food, clothing, shelter, all the things that we need, these all are a gift from God.
God shows us His will in the Bible, and we should want to live by it. When we pray: "Lord, your will be done", we are in essence asking God to help us live according to His will.
Through our actions, we should want to make it clear that God is Our King, in everything
God is in charge, and we pray that this will become more and more obvious, not only in our lives, and in the life of the church, but in society
To hallow God's name means to honour, praise and worship God by what we say and by the way that we live our lives.
Who can say that God is their Father? Those who know Jesus the Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Christians have a Father Who is always with them, wherever they go.
When we pray, we should pray with humility, recognizing our own sinfulness. It follows that we should also recognize God's greatness. And Christians can pray with the certain knowledge that God is watching over them.
Do you start your day by praying to God? If you don't know how to pray, then you can find the perfect prayer that Jesus Himself gave us in the Gospel of Luke.
Keeping the law of God perfectly is impossible for humans, but we should want to do it anyway, out of gratitude for what he has given us.
Coveting is where all sins begin. Every wrong done physically has a mental beginning. We want what is inherently not ours. There would be no stealing if we did not covet the things that others have.
Have you ever noticed how many people seem to think lying is funny? Is that what we want to teach our children? The Bible teaches that those who lie, have the devil as their father.
If material possessions are inconsequential to Christians, what is wrong with stealing? God is the ultimate owner of all things. Knowing this, would want to steal from Him?
The advertising and television industries do their best to stretch the boundaries of decency. But the Bible teaches that we should avoid sexual immorality and learn to control our bodies in a way that is holy.
You have probably never murdered anyone. But the Bible might nevertheless declare you guilty, by its standards. In God's eyes, whether you hate someone, or whether you kill someone, in both instances you are guilty.
In all parts of life, people have been given authority over others. But ultimately, all such authority has been derived from God's all encompassing Authority.
Christians go to church on Sunday, and refrain from work, because they celebrate the fact that they have been freed from the slavery of sin by the death of Jesus on the cross.
God is infinitely more powerful than any human being, yet many humans, and even Christians, will insult Him by treating others in a mean, dishonest or uncharitable way.
This talk is an explanation of some of the different ways in which God is insulted, by using His name in vain. The message contains a call to treat Him with respect.
This talk is an explanation of some of the different ways in which God is insulted, by using His name in vain. The message contains a call to treat Him with respect.
We have a better understanding of things if we can picture an image in our minds. That is how our minds work. In spite of this, God will not permit us to manufacture any images of what we think He might look like.
We discuss the command to serve only the one true God, and to put our trust nothing else.
You cannot be a Christian if you are not "converted". There are two aspects of conversion: The person displays a sorrow for his sins, and then displays a desire to live for Jesus.
For Christians, "do the right thing" is a theme that should guide them every day of their lives. In every area of life, they should try to do the right thing. And God sets the standard for what is right.
Why try to be a good person, why try to do good? Will that get you into Heaven? Does doing good pay the way throught the pearly gates?
There are going to be times when Christians fall short, and they will need other Christians to show them the beter way.
Discipline is not something that brings up warm and pleasant thoughts in the minds of most people. Is church discipline important? When is church discipline necessary?
The Christian church has a special, celebratory meal called the Lord's supper. Are you invited to participate in this meal?
Have you ever participated in the Lord's supper? This ritual is meant only for Christians, those who believe in Jesus. And yet, it is not just for "super" Christians.
To actually participate in the Body and Blood of the Lord, your heart has to be in the right place. Participating is more of a Spiritual thing, than physical.
There will come a time when your hunger will be completely satisfied. We are talking Spiritually, of course, of the Lord's supper.
For Christians, the holy meal called "the Lord's supper" has great Spiritual significance for unity in Chrsit, and with one another.
Baptism is important to believers, but where does it come from? Does the Bible give us clear directives?
Attending a worship service that includes a sermon from the Bible is very important. God uses preaching to give us faith.
We continue to look at prayer, using this Psalm of King David. The second lesson of this Psalm teaches us to pray for God's protection.
This week we look at prayer, using this Psalm of King David. Prayer must come from the heart, as a genuine communication with the Lord.
Out of the insignificant village of Bethlehem came the greatest Lord of all. This is the humble story of Christmas.
Christians can know joy, because they know God lived among us in Jesus, and we will live with Him forever. This is what Christians look forward to.
For some people, Christmas is not a happy time. We look at the sadder aspects of the Christmas story.
Do you think that by living a good life, and by doing good things, you will be able to get into heaven? Christians believe that we can only get there by the grace of God.
Christians know that they are sinners. They also know that they have been forgiven by God, and that this forgiveness is completely undeserved.
For many, their status in the eyes of their fellow-men is extremely important. But in reality, we should be more concerned about our status in the eyes of God.
What do you think of when you think of heaven or of hell? Is it even possible for us to imagine what these will be like?