You may wonder why God allowed such troubles in Job's life. He had to go through tribulations in his life, which puzzled and amused people who knew about Job's faith in God. They even made fun of him for it. But God eventually came through, and His splendor was revealed through Job's life. Even you may ask why God has let tragedy into your life. But how often do you see these trials from a positive perspective? In today’s message, Pastor Mark explains how God uses obstacles in your life to His glory. Instead of facing such challenges with a heavy heart, you can trust that God will turn them around for your good!

Do you remember the first time someone close to you passed away? The first time that a death really hit you hard? It can start to make you question everything, even your faith. Pastor Mark comforts you today by reminding you that even Jesus experienced that kind of loss. It’s a deeply human experience. It may seem like there’s no reason for the madness going on in your life, but there is a God behind it all. He loves you and cares for you, and He will use those dark moments in your life for His glory. Remember that even the darkest nights are followed by the morning, and every storm will eventually pass over you.

Remember that one time that Jesus said, “Follow me and you’ll have no problems in life”? Well, you probably don’t remember because Jesus never said that! Pastor Mark reminds you today that the Christian life doesn’t guarantee an easy path through this life. In fact, in many ways, it is harder for Christians. Not only are Christians subject to the same earthly struggles as nonbelievers, but there can also be an added component of spiritual attacks from the enemy. The good news is that through thick and thin, as long as you stay faithful to following Jesus, He will be faithful to you, guiding and protecting you through it all.

What makes someone the greatest? People will spend hours and hours debating what criteria make someone the greatest athlete, movie star, or musician. But when it comes to the Kingdom of God, the criteria are very clear! You must preach God’s Word with conviction, and not give in to the pressures of the world. John the Baptist was the greatest of the prophets because he was the one who had the privilege to reveal Jesus as the Messiah and help kick off Jesus’ ministry. Pastor Mark reminds you today that you may not be a prophet like John, but you can share his status in the Kingdom of God by preaching the Gospel.

In baseball, runners need to be on base in order to avoid being tagged out. If they step off of their base, they can be tagged by a watchful defensive player. And just like baseball players, Christians need to build their lives on the word of God to be safe from the world’s attacks! Don’t risk getting caught off base. Pastor Mark teaches you today that your life will only end in God’s timing. That doesn’t protect you from foolish activity, but it should give you comfort that the enemy can’t do anything to you without God knowing about it. And when you do die, you will be in Heaven with Jesus! Your life now is just the beginning.

Have you ever listened to old recordings of music or speaking? Not so long ago, audio recording was a difficult process, and the quality of the recorded audio was significantly worse than the original sound. Pastor Mark teaches you today that life on Earth is like a poor recording of what life will be like in Heaven. When you get to Heaven, the glory of God’s presence will be so great that you won’t even remember the things that you struggled with on Earth. Don’t hold on tightly to your life on Earth, because the things of this world will fade away. Instead, place your hope in Jesus, and think of the life that is to come.

If you have a perfectly white sheet of paper, and you spill coffee on it, that paper has been irreversibly stained. And Pastor Mark teaches us today that that’s exactly what sin has done to the human race, we are permanently stained by sin. But there is hope for us, a way for us to be restored to God’s original design. God knew that He couldn’t be reunited with humanity unless the stain of our sin was completely reversed. The stain would tarnish the Lord’s righteousness as well. So God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take on all of the sins of the world, and pay the penalty that we brought upon ourselves with our sinful behavior.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ time thought that they were the ones in charge. They tried to force their version of faith on the whole nation of Israel, but in reality, their teachings served their own interests, not God’s. Pastor Mark wants you to know that Heaven doesn’t move on anyone’s authority besides God’s. Jesus knew that He had the ultimate authority over the things of Heaven and Earth. If He wanted to, He could have called down fire from Heaven on the Pharisees who questioned His authority. But yet, He chose to show mercy and rebuke the Pharisees, giving them the opportunity to repent and follow Him.

Your reason for worshipping God matters just as much as your worship itself. He wants you to worship joyfully, from a place of gratitude, rather than to worship out of fear or dread. That is one of the things that separates Christianity from other world religions, you worship God because of the love He has shown. As Pastor Mark teaches on John chapter 10, you’ll learn how Jesus cares for His sheep and was even willing to die for them. Your response to that knowledge should be to worship him out of thankfulness, not out of fear. As you spend more time in God’s presence, the more natural it feels to give Him praise!

When we believe in Jesus, we inherit the kingdom of God. In today’s message, Pastor Mark says when we believe we have full access to the Father, and can approach Him at any time. He wants to listen because He loves you. God yearns for a relationship with you and wants you to be in communion with Him. If you don’t trust in God, there’s no better time than now. He wants you to trust Him so He can guide you to a way that’s far better than anything this world will tell you is good. His way is better, you can only see that if you fully trust in Him. He loves you and would want nothing better than for you to give your life to Him.