Lessons for Living (Audio)

We all try to work hard in our daily jobs, but the idea of working hard for the kingdom of God seems kind of nebulous. How do we know that we’re working hard? More importantly, I suppose, is how do we know when we’re not working hard for the Gospel’s sake? Pastor Mark will be teaching about working for the kingdom using a parable that Jesus taught to His disciples. We’ll discover that God has a definite plan for us and tasks that we’re expected to carry out. best of all, we have access to God’s plan for us through the leading of the Holy Spirit so we aren’t groping blindly.

Many people have difficulty with the idea of serving God because of the “judgmental” God they think He is in the Old Testament. What they don’t realize is that the “mean” God of the Old Testament is the same One Who sent Jesus in the New Testament. Pastor Mark will be teaching about our need to view God as He says He is, not as we think He is. We need to understand how God thinks and feels about us, and how much He loves us. Once we get a grip on that, it will change both the way we relate to God and how we treat other people, and will want to tell them about Jesus.

Many people have difficulty with the idea of serving God because of the “judgmental” God they think He is in the Old Testament. What they don’t realize is that the “mean” God of the Old Testament is the same One Who sent Jesus in the New Testament. Pastor Mark will be teaching about our need to view God as He says He is, not as we think He is. We need to understand how God thinks and feels about us, and how much He loves us. Once we get a grip on that, it will change both the way we relate to God and how we treat other people, and will want to tell them about Jesus.

Uh, wait a minute! You mean that Jesus expects me to be EXACTLY like Him? To do everything He did? That’s kind of a big task! How in the world am I – an insignificant person – supposed to do all that? Well, Pastor Mark will be teaching us just how we can be obedient to Jesus’ command. He will be speaking about our need to be constantly filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and listening and obeying His directives. We will hear about our need to love people in the same way that Jesus did, being willing to do whatever He asks us to do to win the lost for His kingdom.

Uh, wait a minute! You mean that Jesus expects me to be EXACTLY like Him? To do everything He did? That’s kind of a big task! How in the world am I – an insignificant person – supposed to do all that? Well, Pastor Mark will be teaching us just how we can be obedient to Jesus’ command. He will be speaking about our need to be constantly filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and listening and obeying His directives. We will hear about our need to love people in the same way that Jesus did, being willing to do whatever He asks us to do to win the lost for His kingdom.

In the last few years, it seems that there has been less personal interaction. People live literally feet away from other people yet make no effort to speak to them or even to know their names. This problem extends to the church, where many in the congregation believe that it’s the pastor’s job to witness and talk about Jesus to the world. Pastor Mark, in his teaching today, is going to tell us who Jesus said is responsible for reaching the world. He will also speak about our obligation as believers to follow Jesus’ example, and tell other people about the love of God for them.

In the last few years, it seems that there has been less personal interaction. People live literally feet away from other people yet make no effort to speak to them or even to know their names. This problem extends to the church, where many in the congregation believe that it’s the pastor’s job to witness and talk about Jesus to the world. Pastor Mark, in his teaching today, is going to tell us who Jesus said is responsible for reaching the world. He will also speak about our obligation as believers to follow Jesus’ example, and tell other people about the love of God for them.

Playing games in regards to our eternal destiny is a dangerous thing to do. Doing things like going to church because it “looks good”, using Christian-type lingo and pretending to be someone on Sunday that you aren’t the rest of the week. Pastor Mark reminds us that Jesus warned against living such a fake life. Not only in the Gospels but in the book of Revelation, Jesus told of the consequences of false repentance – eternal separation from God. Pastor Mark will show through the story of Zacchaeus what true repentance, a genuinely remade heart, looks like – as well as what it doesn’t look like.

Playing games in regards to our eternal destiny is a dangerous thing to do. Doing things like going to church because it “looks good”, using Christian-type lingo and pretending to be someone on Sunday that you aren’t the rest of the week. Pastor Mark reminds us that Jesus warned against living such a fake life. Not only in the Gospels but in the book of Revelation, Jesus told of the consequences of false repentance – eternal separation from God. Pastor Mark will show through the story of Zacchaeus what true repentance, a genuinely remade heart, looks like – as well as what it doesn’t look like.

All around us, there are people - empty inside – who are seeking to know who they are. They want to know why they’re here. And we know that there is an answer to those questions, because we’ve found the Answer in a relationship with Jesus. But just as Zacchaeus probably heard from someone about Bartimaeus’ healing, we need to be witnesses of Jesus’ work in our lives. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the wonderful work Jesus wants to do in everyone’s life, whether they realize that’s Who they need or not; he’ll also be telling us about our need to embrace our role as witnesses.