Training for Life Redeemed: Recent Episodes
David and Dan Jackson
Learn how Jesus restored our life on earth as well as our future eternal life with him. David and Dan Jackson discuss what the Bible has to teach us about living a life redeemed and bring glory to Jesus.
As we come to the end of book 2 and wrap up the songs and prayers of David we learn how God’s promised king will save his people and bring back the peace and blessings that Adam lost. He will deliver justice and salvation to all nations.
Old age should carry honour for faithfulness and wisdom, but there is also shame as life and body fall apart. Enemies gather like vultures to grab what they can. Looking back, one longs to ensure that the next generation knows the stories of God’s grace and power over a life redeemed.
In old age we reflect on our life with a mixture of highs and low but with a profound sense of thankfulness. King David did not enjoy a happy retirement. David sinned and brought down a great plague on his people. He ended his days bed-ridden and powerless with plots afoot. There were elements of David’s experience that set the pattern for God’s ultimate king, Jesus. This song is cited by NT writers more than any other. In one way or another all of God’s people can expect to face similar challenges. This then becomes their song as the birthdays mount up.
Psalm 67 calls on the world to turn away from wishful thinking and take up God's invitation. In Christ we each have a unique identity and live lives that work and are of eternal significance.
Three thousand years ago David experienced the horrors of war, the release that comes when war is over, and even more so, the restoration of life out of all the damage. In the midst of his celebration, he saw a greater peace coming through a greater king. Now that that king has come, we can sing this song with new depth and relief.
We celebrate the great events of our lives with parties, food, drink, lots of people and singing. How then should we celebrate having our lives redeemed out of death and the gutter, finding ourselves welcomed as members of God's royal family!
God’s residence is also the home of his forever family. It is glorious in its structure and abundant in its productivity. This is the new City of God and Garden of Eden of the future. Royal palaces, and the mansions and estates of the wealthy, are poor substitutes.
Discover how David dealt with injustice with the judges in his day and how this applies to us today.
Access the study notes at https://www.trainingforliferedeemed.com/121
How do we plan out our children's ministry or school-based Christian education? We start by setting our goals, aims, and objectives. Where are we headed and what does it look like to be there?
Come and ask your questions at https://www.trainingforliferedeemed.com/119
Being the child of a believing parent carries with it great privileges, but does God promise to save the children of believers? What is their relationship to the New Covenant community?
Discover what the Bible says about infants and the afterlife as we consider if they all go to heaven or are they all condemned to suffer. Get the references and discover the truth. Ask your questions at https://www.trainiforliferedeemed.com/116
Let's talk about consent. Are children innocent until they are able to tell the difference between right and wrong? Why are there so many different ages when children can declare their own faith and either be confirmed or baptised? Discover why in this episode. If you have any of your own questions you would like us to answer, please go to https://www.trainingforliferedeemed.com/115
As we begin a new series looking at the theology of the child, we are starting off by looking at how God sees children as both his image and a blessing to their parents. Discover more and ask your questions at https://www.trainingforliferedeemed.com/114
Without God life is survival of the most powerful. From playground to
battlefield, fear drives assumptions of malice. But life lived under God’s king is a life lived by grace and love.
David is hiding in Gath and writes this song to express his feeling and trust in God. Look at the Psalm through the eyes of Jesus and modern suffering.
When one’s closest friend becomes an enemy it seems we can trust no one. The urge is to get away from everyone and live in solitude. But we were designed to love and be loved by God and his people. And we are.
Where can we go when there is nowhere to go; when there is no way out of death and destruction? The only recourse is to call upon God to save. And he does.
Life built on the assumption that God does not exist is a disaster. It produces nothing but destruction and terror. God saves his people out of this chaos and terror turns to joy.
The fantasy that one can rebel against God and get away with it is laughable. It leads to a life that hides behind lies and ends in complete destruction. Meanwhile God’s people enjoy eternal life. They follow God’s lead and dwell with him now and forever.
God issues the call and keeps his commitment to forgive, restore, and renew because he came and was executed in the place of Sinners. Answering that call involves admission and appreciation of guilt a commitment to be faithful to him, abandoning ourselves to his grace trusting his word.
God’s people Israel adopted the ideas of the surrounding nations. They misunderstood who God is and the point of the sacrificial system. God summons his people to know him and understand his grace.
The puzzle: What happens when we die? Do we cease to exist? Is life just about my pleasure now? Or will we face God’s judgement? The solution: God has provided the ransom that brings us out of death into his palace forever. Don’t be stupid. Turn back to God and enjoy eternal life.
We believe God’s words are faithful and true. It is still a shock when we see those words in action. When faith becomes experience, the heart explodes with relief and joy. We want everyone to see what God has done for us.
One of the more troubling Psalms to study, Psalm 45 provides us with a picture of a good king and his wedding to yet another wife. How can this be in the bible yet alone relate to or provide us with a picture of Jesus? Discover why and how here.
Knowing the truth about Jesus gives us assurance that we have eternal life now. His Holy Spirit keeps us in Christ, training us in truth, obedience and love. We then have confidence to bring our requests to God and know that he hears us.
God has a very different definition of love. We see it in his character when he became a man and took the punishment for our sin in our place. The challenge then is to practise love with the help of God's Holy Spirit.
On 11th November people all around the world stop to reflect on the horrors of war. We pause to reflect on the good news of a saviour who brings peace to a world that is tearing itself apart.
The Father is laughing in heaven as he watches the Jewish leaders try and cover up the resurrection in complete irony. Join us as we discuss the resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus makes his way to the cross after being handed over to the Romans to be crucified. He is taken to Golgotha, hung on the cross, and dies. Before he does he quotes a Psalm, which provides detailed insight into what is happening. Study notes are available at https://www.trainingforliferedeemed.com/86
In Matthew 27:1-26 Judas tries to remove the guilt of betraying Jesus only to find the priests don't want the money back. Jesus stands before Pilate who is also keen to remove his guilt in killing Jesus, while the crowds welcome the guilt onto themselves and their children.
In Matthew 26:36-75 we have the story of Jesus' arrest in the garden of Gethsemane followed by his interrogation by Ciaphas and the chief priests. Discover the significance of these events and why Peter's denial is not as bad as many think.
Jesus tells us 3 parables to help his disciples understand what they should be doing between his ascension and return. Remain faithful, work with what we have to expand the kingdom, and serve him through his image - other people.
Jesus' disciples ask when the temple will be destroyed thinking this is when the world will end. Jesus then explains all the signs that tell them when the temple will be destroyed and how they will not know when he appears in judgement.
Jesus has a go at the pompous nature of the jewish leaders before announcing judgement on them and Jerusalem.
Jesus calls out the Jewish leaders and refutes their attempts to trap him. Jesus then returns fire with a question of his own, that they cannot answer.
The choices we make with respect to Jesus sets the foundation for all of life now and for all eternity. Those choices impact our families, our children and grandchildren and the community around us. It is a choice between constant breakdown and effective restoration and building lives that work. And it is all God's work in us when we hand our lives over to Christ.
After demonstrating the way the Kingdom of God works, Jesus begins to teach his disciples how to put his saving work into practice.
In Matthew 3, John the Baptist introduces us to God's King, anointing the offspring of the woman (Jesus) and rebuking the offspring of the Snake (Leaders of Judea).
In Matthew 4, Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, heads out into the wilderness to take on Satan and defeat his enemy. With 3 temptations Satan attempts to get Jesus to worship him instead of God but is unsuccessful. Discover the importance of this event in this episode.
A blood thirsty Herod and fulfillment of prophecy. Discover the humour and exciting drama as Jesus escapes from an Edomite and flees to Egypt only to come back to Nazareth.
Genealogies are important and provide great insight into the character of God and the history of his people. Join us as Dr David Jackson highlights how women saved the line of Jesus making redemption possible.
Eliphaz is the kind and gentle accuser who thinks that one can be saved by doing better. Job is clinging to the word of the Holy One who said he is already right with God.
Each generation must make their own decision and fight their own battles. Each generation of believers is called to ensure that the next generation has an informed choice. The question must be put.
Join us as we begin to look at the first letter from Paul to Timothy. Discover when Paul wrote this letter and why he needs to send Timothy to Ephesus again. Grab the show notes at trainingforliferedeemed.com/33
Carried through dangers of land and sea Paul comes to Rome to present the gospel to all who will hear. The onward progress of Christ's rule and grace continues still.
The gospel goes from the market to the academy, to the seaport and centres of trade. Along the way people turn to Christ and the culture of the city is changed.
The world tears itself apart with riots and rage. Those who put their faith in Christ are the peacemakers who bring God's good news of forgiveness and grace to a people immersed in fear, frustration and competition for power. The young church has to stand up without Paul in the power of the Holy Spirit under the instruction of the Scriptures.
As Paul endures trial after trial the Roman authorities struggle to resist the truth of the gospel.
God works through those who oppose the gospel to ensure that every level of society has the opportunity to turn to Christ.
Does God really expect his people to welcome Samaritans, a Sudanese eunuch, and a man who arrested and murdered our fellow believers? Here is real inclusion. It starts with a people forgiven at great cost.
It was a big call to welcome the other. Now the call is to go out and live with the other and take the good news of forgiveness and reconciliation to their homes and communities. It means eating their food. Church will be more of them than of us because loyalty to Christ trumps cultural background.
The transition from promise to reality means letting go of the reminders of the promise and learning to live as a multicultural family of God.
The rule of Christ has arrived. A man who was unable to walk is now leaping and shouting in the court of the temple. The Sanhedrin cannot stop this good news. And God is not fooled by fake faith.
With salvation accomplished, God's people are no longer standing outside the quarantine fence. Yahweh who appeared as a pillar of fire and smoke to lead Israel through the wilderness, now dwells in each believer. Welcome to life with God 24X7.
One generation failed. Moses then speaks to the next generation about all the things their parents never taught them. Here we discover the urgency of teaching the next generation about all that God has said and done to save his people and to hand on his instructions so that our children will have an informed choice as they face a world in bondage to self-destruction.
Training for life is all about facing challenges and practising godly living. To grow a redeemed lifestyle we need to take what we know, and do it, over and over, until it becomes our automatic response. At first we are going to struggle like a beginner. It takes tough faith and a humble, teachable spirit, to master the skills of godly living. God, our trainer, works in and with us so that we can do this.
Commands are simple. Life is not. So with his commands, God also gave us examples of his judgements in various case studies. These teach us the principles we need to grasp to work out how to redeem life when the spaghetti hits the fan.
It isn't some random set of rules. In God's Book of Instructions we discover the character of God, his design for life, for relationships, and the purpose for our lives. Getting life right starts with learning what choices produce peace and beauty. To ignore God's instructions results in choices that destroy, hurt, and trash ourselves, others, and God's creation. Jesus completed God's instructions by not only living them himself, but by freeing us from the bondage of sin to do the same. He restored God's rule by which we can get life right. This part of God's word is the beginning of that learning process, and it is wonderful because we don't have to earn back the life we threw away. Here is God's gift to us in Christ.
During this global pandemic we have come to understand the concept of quarantine and the need for cleansing and maintaining our separation from the risk of contracting this terrible virus. This then helps us to understand and appreciate what is happening in this part of the Bible in all of its intensity. We have come to the point where Israel has committed themselves to Yahweh and accepted him as their God and saviour. This is the climax of the story as God moves in to live with his people. For this to happen his people have to be separated from sin and filth. They are God's holy people. Now they have to learn to live a holy lifestyle. This part of the Bible is like the blueprints for what Jesus would do when he fulfilled God's plan of salvation. To appreciate Jesus and his saving work, we need these blueprints. There is great relief in finally being clean in God's sight. There is awe and wonder when God the Holy Spirit moves in to dwell in each believer in fulfilment of these blueprints. Join us as we work our way through the depths of our salvation in Christ.
Over the last week we have been reminded of the night when Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples before he stepped out of the house to die in our place. He was our Passover Lamb. But that didn't end the story. Rather, it was the beginning of a new freedom from the bondage of sin and death. He rose again and in him we have new life and look forward to a home in New Creation. Being free means putting off the habits of the past and learning to live in God's world, God's way, as God's image for God's glory. Now we can get life right. Join us as we look at how God trains his people to build a new lifestyle that restores the damage and hurts of the past.
What's the deal with the Passover, killing and saving firstborn sons, and how does this bring us to Jesus instigating the Lord's Supper? Discover how the Passover is a model of salvation and how its celebration reminded the people of Israel of the promises of God which were fulfilled in Jesus.
A bloody river, frogs in your bed, crops, flocks and herds wiped out, and the sun goes dark. God brings Pharaoh, the usurper, to his knees, and demolishes the faith of the people in the fake gods of Egypt, as he sends the plagues on Egypt, and hardens the pharaoh's heart. We are looking at a model of God's justice and grace.
The clash of power: Man versus God. God's plan of salvation involves the rescue of his people from a world in bondage to fantasies, pride, cruelty and death. A genocidal king, sarcastic midwives, God's man inside the enemy's house, rethinking who God is, and the call of Moses for his mission to Egypt. God is training and developing Moses' faith and preparing him to confront Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt.
In this episode we work through God's plan to use one of Jacob's sons to save many lives even though his brothers wanted him dead. God's plans for grace trump the pride and jealousy of men.
God's promises continue through the next generations who have to learn the lessons for themselves. Find out how Isaac and Jacob stumble their way through life teaching us how to live a life redeemed.
In this episode we will be looking at the life of Abraham whom God will use to set apart a people for himself out of a world that is tearing itself apart. From a woman unable to conceive God brings the first miracle baby whose family line will take us to Jesus and demonstrate God's power to save a people beyond number.
The flood is possibly the most widely known story through children's stories but full of inaccuracies. Join us as we discover the reality of the flood and find out exactly what the sin was at Babel.
How do humans fair outside of the garden of Eden? Why do we have lists of everything people achieve and what happened to Enoch? And, discover the state of humankind just before God sends the flood and starts all over again. David and Dan answer all this and more as they look at Genesis 3:22-6:8
Why was it such a big deal for Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Why don't they die if that was what God said would happen? And, how does this passage impact us and point forward to Jesus? Find the answers to these questions and more in this episode with David and Dan.
Discover the importance of the account of the Garden of Eden. Why does the man need a helper and how does this connect the woman with God? Find out all this and more inside this episode as David and Dan talk about the Garden of Eden from Genesis 2.
The first 4 words of the Bible “In the beginning God…” sets us up for everything that follows. Find out how the first chapter of the Bible focuses on Jesus, teaches us about God, and helps us to train for a life redeemed. This episode will also answer the question "Why is Genesis 1 so structured?"
Ever wondered why we have the Old Testament still and how it can be used to direct how to live a life now that glorifies God? In this episode, David and Dan talk about the importance of the Old Testament for the world today and provide the basis for the coming episodes as they work through the Old Testament and have a look at how it can help us today.
Training for Life Redeemed is about enjoying the life that Jesus restored now, glorifying God and looking to our future life with Jesus. We have instructions for how this life is best lived for our own benefit, the benefit of others and that brings glory to Jesus.
Find out more about what is coming by listening to this short introductory episode.