This life can feel so defeating. We are all confronted with broken relationships, an aging body, the loss of loved ones, and personal failures, along with many other trials. Those things are inevitable, and apart from a bigger purpose, you’ll find yourself questioning why things happen this way. In this message, Pastor Mark will encourage you to hold on to the hope that is only found in Christ. As bad as things are, He is going to make it right for those who love and follow Him. Sometimes that restoration happens in this life, but if not, you can have confidence that it will come in eternity.

If you knew you were going to meet the president, a king, or some other world leader, would you take to social media the day before, bashing them and questioning their position? For most of us, the easy answer is no. Whether you like them or not, you would at least respect their position and opt to keep your negative opinion to yourself. Jesus – the Son of God and the one who rules this world and the entire universe – will be returning soon. It could happen any day now. Yet, how many people are outright rejecting Him? As Pastor Mark will warn in this teaching, His return is imminent, and it would be wise for all of us to be ready.

In this message, Pastor Mark will draw our attention to the Throne Room of God as described in the book of Revelation. One of the things we can expect is to hear everyone who stands there in God’s presence proclaiming that God is Holy. It’ll be said over and over again, emphasizing just how holy He is. He’s perfect in every way, void of any injustice and full of grace and love. God’s holiness is one of the aspects that sets Him apart from the gods of men. He doesn’t need to water it down to make Himself more approachable. He made a way through Jesus for us to become like Him, not for Him to become more like us.

Worship should completely revolve around the One we’re worshipping. Many of us get distracted by the superficial elements of it. If the songs are old and boring, we can’t worship. Or maybe if the songs are too loud, it’s obnoxious and we can’t worship. Whether or not it’s your style of music or if the lights and visuals fit your taste shouldn’t matter. You’re welcome to have a preference, but ultimately, the glorification of Jesus is all that matters. In this teaching, Pastor Mark will encourage us to shift our focus away from those temporary things, and train our hearts to focus on Jesus, bringing Him glory through whatever gifts He’s given us.

Where do you devote the majority of your energy? Is it in your career? Your family? Your hobbies? As Pastor Mark will clarify in this message, it’s possible to be saved but not live as a disciple of Jesus. Being a disciple requires your ambition and resources. It takes sacrifice and time as you pursue Jesus’ calling on your life. For many of us, we may only dedicate Sunday morning to God. While that’s an important part of our faith journey, we’re missing out on so much if that’s all we’re doing. God wants us to walk in the abundance of His Holy Spirit every moment of every day.

Not all cultural trends are harmful. Our God is our Creator, and that creative nature is reflected in us. Because of that, we’re going to write new songs and come up with new styles and ways to worship and serve Him. That’s a beautiful thing. New understandings, when guided by the Holy Spirit, can bring new life and breath into His Church. Not all change is a bad thing. As Pastor Mark will warn in today’s message, while we shouldn’t be afraid of change, we need to be sure that the change lines up with the Word of God and isn’t just the latest trend in popular culture.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is like a two-edged sword. As Pastor Mark will explain in this teaching, one edge of that sword cuts away the chains of sin and death, freeing people and bringing them into God’s family. It brings life. The other side cuts people away from the grace they’ve been offered, bringing death. God sent Jesus with the desire to save all of mankind. He would love to restore all of us to perfection. But, because He knows the selfishness that rules our hearts, He knows that some are going to reject His invitation. Sadly, those people are choosing their own eternal separation from Him. They’re choosing death.

The size of a church doesn’t always correlate to their health as the body of Christ. There are churches that are huge - they’re bringing in thousands of people, they’re putting on exciting services and maybe even making a positive difference in their community, but their hearts aren’t growing closer to Jesus. As Pastor Mark examines this passage, he’ll examine four of the seven churches that Jesus addresses in John’s vision. They were His Churches. He loved them dearly, just as He loves every church today, even those who have allowed false prophecy in. Because of that love, He brings truth to them, even when it hurts.

Our God is a perfect Father. In His wisdom, He knows exactly what His children need. As much as He hates sin, He loves us far more. It’s because of that love that He hates sin with such intensity. He knows it destroys us and wants to restore us back to His original design, free from oppression. In this teaching, Pastor Mark will draw our attention to the gracious way that God reacts to our failures. Sometimes, He allows natural consequences for us to learn from them. Other times –more often than not – He spares us from what we really deserve, demonstrating His grace and love to draw us into Himself.

Do you ever feel that if only things would get easier--if only I was more financially stable or my family life was better or if I had a better boss-- then I could really thrive in my faith and focus on getting to know God and doing great things for Him. In this teaching, Pastor Mark will begin a study of the book of Revelation. Was John on a life-giving, peace-filled retreat on the coast when he wrote this? Was he in the midst of great career success? No! He had been exiled to the isle of Patmos after being boiled alive. Things were bad. But in those circumstances, God gave him one of his most meaningful visions.