By Shane Rielly
30 March 2014 – Sunday PM at Bedfordview
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By Marcus Herbert
30 March 2014 – Sunday AM at Bedfordview
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By Lance de Ruig
23 March 2014 – Sunday PM at Bedfordview
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TITLE: The Twelve: John
PREACHER: Marcus Herbert
DATE: 23 MARCH 2014 – Sunday AM at Bedfordview
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TITLE: The Twelve: John
PREACHER: Craig Herbert
DATE: 23 MARCH 2014 – Sunday AM at Rosebank
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Nickname: Together with his brother James, they were known as the “Sons of the Thunder”
Marital status: Unknown
Hometown: Bethsaida (was living in Capernaum)
Profession: Fisherman
Age: 16-18 years old
Relatives: Father – Zebedee
Mother: Possibly Salome (according to some Church tradition)
Brother: James
Social Status: Uneducated. He was in partnership with Peter and James. Fishing business
Personality: Bold, loyal, zealous, intensive, passionate (“son of thunder”)
Death: He was never martyred according to tradition. He died in Ephesus around 98AD. Died as an old man, outlasting the other disciples.
General facts: According to many interpretations, he was, for a time, a disciple of John the Baptist and was called by Christ from the circle of John’s followers, together with Peter and Andrew, to become Jesus’ disciples (John 1:35-42). The apostle John also is credited with writing five books of the New Testament: the gospel according to John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and the book of Revelation.
We can’t talk about the twelve disciples without looking at the life of John in detail. Although we looked at him earlier along with his brother James, we need to also look at him specifically. Remember, the point of this series is to bring back a clear understanding of discipleship and how Jesus did it. As we come to Jesus, some of us have run into dead ends, but we’re given the Gospels in particular to go back and check and see what Jesus intended and find answers to the question of why he called us. Read more
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TITLE: The Twelve: Andrew and Nathanael
PREACHER: Mark Meeske
DATE: 16 MARCH 2014 – Sunday AM at Bedfordview
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TITLE: The Twelve: Andrew and Nathanael
PREACHER: Waldo Kruger
DATE: 16 MARCH 2014 – Sunday AM at Rosebank
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Name: Andrew, meaning manly.
Hometown of origin: Came from the little fishing town on the North coast of Galilee called Bethsaida.
Relatives: Simon Peter’s brother
Profession: Fisherman, in partnership with his brother, Peter and their friends, James and John.
Married: Unknown.
Age: Unknown. Probably younger than Peter.
Best remembered for: Introducing people to Jesus; Peter his brother, the boy with the fish and loaves of bread and some Greeks.
Social status: Unknown. Perhaps slightly higher than others if his low opinion of Nazareth is considered.
Personality: Skeptical.
Position amongst the 12: Seems to have been friends with Philip.
General facts: Andrew is not a startling character: there is no dash and activity like Peter, no strong determination and unpredictable character like James and John, and no dramatic conversion like Matthew. He appears to be quiet, thoughtful, persistent and unassuming – but his work was vital. He brought his brother to Christ and little realised what far-reaching results that would have. In fact, he seems to have learnt from John the Baptist that the most important task in life is not to make a name for oneself, but to bring people to Jesus: his brother, a little boy with some bread and fish, and a party of Greeks. There are no impressive exploits, no crowds following him, no miracles recorded and no great preaching. But through Peter, thousands heard of Christ and millions have read his letters, through the young boy thousands were fed from one of Christ’s most outstanding miracles, and through the Greeks our Lord finally revealed his purpose to reveal himself to the whole world as its only light.
Ministry after the ascension: According to Hippolytus (an early church father from Rome):, Andrew preached to the Scythians (modern day Georgia) and Thracians (modern day Bulgaria, both Georgia and Bulgaria are adjacent to the Black Sea near Turkey).
Death: He was crucified, suspended on an olive tree, at Patrae, a town of Achaia (Greece); and there too he was buried.
Name: Nathanael or Bartholomew. Nathanael means “gift of God”.
Father’s name: Unknown
Hometown of origin: Cana in Galilee
Profession: Unknown. Perhaps a fisherman. He was fishing with Peter, James and John and three others on the Sea of Tiberius when Jesus appeared to them after his resurrection, resulting in the second miraculous catch of fish.
Married: Unknown.
Age: Unknown. Probably young. Most sources say Peter or James were probably the oldest of the 12, being between 20 and 25 years old. It is quite possible that he was still in his upper teens or low twenties.
Best remembered for: Being introduced by Philip to Jesus. Being seen under a fig tree.
Social status: Unknown. Perhaps slightly higher than others if his low opinion of Nazareth is considered.
Personality: Skeptical.
Position amongst the 12: No significance.
General facts: Often mentioned with Philip. Was skeptical about Jesus being the Messiah because he came from Nazareth. He obviously had a low opinion about Nazareth.
Ministry after the ascension: Initially in Jerusalem and then we have no sure Biblical account. Tradition puts him in various places, including having traveled to India, Mesopotamia, Armenia, Parthia, Ethiopia and Lycaonia. He is said to have converted Polymius, the king of Armenia to Christianity.
Death: Traditional accounts claim that he was martyred in Albanopolis in Armenia. Some say he was beheaded others that he was flayed alive and then crucified upside down.
When we look at Andrew and Nathanael, what we want to highlight is that it’s about learning to become Christ followers. In this series there are two things God is putting his finger on: character and mission. And as we look at these two disciples we see how God developed their character.
Character is not an old fashioned idea that we no longer need. It’s still extremely important to God. In fact, God looks at character more than He looks at gifts and callings. Whenever you read about the qualifications for leaders in the Bible, most of the time it focuses on character more than anything else. Read more
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TITLE: Strengthening the Prophetic Anointing
PREACHER: Mark and Colette Meeske
DATE: 9 MARCH 2014 – Sunday PM
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TITLE: The Twelve: Four Disciples
PREACHER: Craig Herbert
DATE: 9 MARCH 2014 – Sunday AM at Bedfordview
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Name: Philip
Marital Status: Home town and general facts: Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. He was called by Jesus to follow him the day after Peter and Andrew.
Profession: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Death: A second century Ephesian tradition believes he died at Hierapolis, roughly one hundred miles inland of Ephesus. Another tradition says Philip was crucified; and as a result, medieval art often depicts Philip on the cross.
**
Name: Thomas, or Didymus, meaning the twin
Profession: Unknown. Possibly a fisherman. He was fishing with six other disciples (Peter, James, John, Nathanel and 2 others that are unnamed) on the Sea of Tiberias after Jesus’ resurrection when Jesus appeared to them. The second miraculous catch of fish happened and Jesus cooked them breakfast. It seems as though these men had gone back to their old job in the absence of clear direction from Jesus after his resurrection. Hometown: Unknown. Traditionally somewhere in Galilee.
Married: Unknown.
Age: Unknown. Probably young. Most sources say Peter or James were probably the oldest of the 12, being between 20 and 25 years old. It is quite possible that he was still in his upper teens or low twenties.
Post-ascension ministry: There are many different accounts but they generally seem to agree that he first travelled through the near east: Turkey and Iran (Persia in those days) before reaching India sometime between 49AD and 52AD. He is generally credited with being the first to take the gospel to India, and beginning the church which then became the Orthodox church in India. His time in India is surrounded with legend with claims that he ministered to kings, built many great buildings, and evangelised a great many people. Historical evidence does seem to indicate that the orthodox churches in India (including southern India) are old enough to make the spread of the gospel there in the first century plausible. Certainly Christianity is one of the oldest religions in India – older than Islam.
Death: Most traditional accounts claim that he was martyred in India sometime about 72AD, possibly at Mylapore near Chennai. There is a tomb in Chennai which is claimed to be the tomb of Thomas. A catholic church, San Thome Basilica, was built over this tomb in the 16th century. Other traditional accounts claim that he was martyred in Persia. Still others claim that he died a natural death in Edessa. The last account is an account from the explorer Marco Polo from the 13th century: he claimed that Thomas was accidentally killed by an arrow near Chennai – he claimed that the arrow was shot by a man hunting peacocks.
**
Name: James son of Alpheus
Father’s name: Alphaeus
Town of Origin: Unknown.
Other names/nicknames: Possibly ‘James the Less’ or ‘James the Younger.’ This is a result of a possible correlation with the James referred to in Mark 15.40 who may or may not also be the James (the son of Mary) referred to in Luke 24.10 and (more probably) Mark 16.1.
Meaning of nickname: The Less would probably have referred to a younger age or a shorter height – not importance or status.
Profession: Unknown
Hometown: Unknown.
Married: Unknown.
Age: Unknown. Probably young. Most sources say Peter or James were probably the oldest of the 12, being between 20 and 25 years old. It is quite possible that he was still in his upper teens or low twenties.
Best remembered for: Being one of the 12.
Relatives: Possibly the brother of the apostle Matthew (Levi) who is also referred to as the son of Alphaeus. Otherwise unknown. Some dubious traditional sources claim he was a member of Jesus’ family – usually his brother, half-brother or cousin.
Social status: Unknown.
Personality: Unknown.
General facts: None known.
Post-ascension ministry: Very little known.
Death: Tradition maintains that he was martyred by crucifixion in Lower Egypt at Ostrakine.
**
Name: Jude, also know by several other names: Judas (not Iscariot) and Thaddeus. In lists of the Twelve, he is called Thaddeus, a surname for the name Lebbaeus (Matthew 10:3, KJV), which means “heart” or “courageous.” He wrote the book called Jude in the New Testament.
Marital Status: Unknown
Home town: Unknown
Profession: Unknown
Age: 16-18
Relatives: Father – Alphaeus , Brother – James the Less
Social Status: Unknown
Personality: A man of unwavering conviction
Death: He was crucified at Edessa, A.D. 72 while on a missionary trip to Persia, according to tradition.
**
As elders we feel that, as a church, we are called to be followers of Christ, and that’s what the disciples were. They learned Jesus’ trade, which was to seek and save the lost.
We don’t know much about these four disciples. When it comes to Peter, James and John we see them often encouraged and rebuked and a lot of scripture is around them. It’s been difficult finding things about these four men, we’ve had to look at church history in a big way for this one, to see how they influenced the world.
What’s significant about all four of these disciples is that they laid their lives down for the Gospel. Read more
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TITLE: The Exchange: The Book of Revelation – Laodicia
SPEAKER: Greg McAlpine
DATE: 7 MARCH – Friday AM
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TITLE: A Glimpse into Eternity (The Perfect Wave)
PREACHER: Ian McCormack
DATE: 28 FEBRUARY 2014 – Friday PM
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At the age of 24, New Zealander and surfer Ian McCormack and his best friend went looking for “the perfect wave”. They embark on a journey that takes them to Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Mauritius. It’s in Mauritius that Ian’s life changed forever. Stung by five deadly box jellyfish while on a night dive, Ian finds his atheist beliefs challenged after having an extraordinary experience.
Ian came to share his story with us at Cornerstone Bedfordview while we also got to meet Bruce MacDonald, the director of the movie “The Perfect Wave” which is based on Ian’s life story. It was indeed a very interesting and inspiring evening.
Ian’s story is very different to many other of the books and “near-death” or “after-death” experiences you hear about out there. What sets it apart is he constantly refers back to the Bible as he relates his experience. There are many people who claim to have gone to heaven but one is sceptical of their story – especially when they talk of golden plaques above beds and many other things that seem to reflect worldly values and not heavenly values. Ian has committed his life to letting people know about Jesus and the Gospel.
We had a wonderful evening with Ian and the film-makers of The Perfect Wave. Here is the trailer for The Perfect Wave – it’s in cinemas this week.
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TITLE: The Twelve: Judas
PREACHER: Marcus Herbert
DATE: 2 MARCH 2014 – Sunday AM at Bedfordview
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Name: Judas Iscariot – Judas means praise or God leads.
Marital Status: Unknown
Home town: Kerioth. The Hebrew word for Iscariot means ‘man of the village of Keriyyoth’. Kerioth was about 25 km south of Hebron, in southern Judea, Israel. Judas was from the tribe of Judah, the same as Jesus.
Profession: Unknown
Age: 25-30 years old (unreliable source)
Relatives: Father: Simon Iscariot (John 6:71)
Social status: Unknown, but again from unreliable sources, these state that he must have been an educated man to be trusted as the treasurer.
Personality: Devious, underhanded, sold out to money and greed, despicable, a coward, untrustworthy, hypocritical, a disappointment and a betrayer!
Best remembered for: Selling Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver, and betraying Jesus with a kiss.
Position amongst the twelve: His name is always mentioned last in the list of disciples, and is accompanied by the statement that he betrayed Jesus. He was appointed by Jesus to be the treasurer. (John 12:6; 13:29)
Death: After realising what he done to Jesus, he hung himself.
Acts 1:17-20
For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’
There are three things we can pick out from the Scriptures about Judas that are relevant for us today:
1. He never responded to correction
2. We have a choice over our future
3. The love of money destroys
Let’s take a look at each of these. Read more
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