Lessons for Living (Audio)

We all have looked at the media’s documentation of rich people’s pursuit of happiness – probably with a mixture of sadness and disgust. And maybe sometimes with envy. Our own pursuit of what we deem important, however, is noble. Or so we tell ourselves. As long as they don’t lead to extravagant excesses, we think we’re okay. Pastor Mark will be sharing from Luke 18 where Jesus will encounter a man who may have thought much like ourselves. He had done “everything” right but knew he wasn’t where he should be – Jesus will reveal to the man that he was far from God.

We all have looked at the media’s documentation of rich people’s pursuit of happiness – probably with a mixture of sadness and disgust. And maybe sometimes with envy. Our own pursuit of what we deem important, however, is noble. Or so we tell ourselves. As long as they don’t lead to extravagant excesses, we think we’re okay. Pastor Mark will be sharing from Luke 18 where Jesus will encounter a man who may have thought much like ourselves. He had done “everything” right but knew he wasn’t where he should be – Jesus will reveal to the man that he was far from God.

We hear the story of the two men at prayer and of course we think that we are much closer to the tax collector than to the Pharisee. But if a camera crew followed us around, and there was a way to pick up our thoughts, what then? If we’re honest, we have to admit that we have more “Pharisee” moments that we’d like to admit. Thankfully, God is full of grace, and forgiveness comes as soon as we acknowledge our sin. Pastor Mark will be teaching about how to be successful in praying, showing us from the scriptures what God and Jesus think the proper approach to be.

We hear the story of the two men at prayer and of course we think that we are much closer to the tax collector than to the Pharisee. But if a camera crew followed us around, and there was a way to pick up our thoughts, what then? If we’re honest, we have to admit that we have more “Pharisee” moments that we’d like to admit. Thankfully, God is full of grace, and forgiveness comes as soon as we acknowledge our sin. Pastor Mark will be teaching about how to be successful in praying, showing us from the scriptures what God and Jesus think the proper approach to be.

We want to think that just because we pray, that our prayers are automatically “God-approved” and somehow purged of any selfish motives. Truth be told, many times our prayers are so filled with wrong motives that they bounce off of the ceiling back to the floor. Jesus, using the parable of the two praying men, illustrates the wrong as well as the right way to pray. More importantly, He tells us the right and wrong attitudes to have. Pastor Mark will be sharing this story, teaching us the importance of humility in our attitudes when approaching God in prayer.

We want to think that just because we pray, that our prayers are automatically “God-approved” and somehow purged of any selfish motives. Truth be told, many times our prayers are so filled with wrong motives that they bounce off of the ceiling back to the floor. Jesus, using the parable of the two praying men, illustrates the wrong as well as the right way to pray. More importantly, He tells us the right and wrong attitudes to have. Pastor Mark will be sharing this story, teaching us the importance of humility in our attitudes when approaching God in prayer.

Oh, we get so frustrated by delays to prayer! It’s hard to live with the seeming uncertainty. Will God say, “No”? Sometimes more terrifying is the possible “yes” answer. Either way, we all prefer quick answers to prayer. Jesus is teaching His disciples about the Father’s attitude towards us and His desire to be in communication with us. Pastor Mark will be teaching us the necessity of praying; of the importance God places on it and how much God wants us to pray to Him. He’ll be sharing through this parable the importance God places on persistent, believing prayer by His people.

Oh, we get so frustrated by delays to prayer! It’s hard to live with the seeming uncertainty. Will God say, “No”? Sometimes more terrifying is the possible “yes” answer. Either way, we all prefer quick answers to prayer. Jesus is teaching His disciples about the Father’s attitude towards us and His desire to be in communication with us. Pastor Mark will be teaching us the necessity of praying; of the importance God places on it and how much God wants us to pray to Him. He’ll be sharing through this parable the importance God places on persistent, believing prayer by His people.

We all get irritated or at least disappointed when we do a kindness to someone else and they fail to thank us. And if we’re honest, we have certainly done the same thing to others. And then there’s God; how many times have we neglected to thank Him for all that He’s given us – life, health, and so much more? Pastor Mark will teach about an instance where Jesus touched the lives of some needy people at their request but then forgot to thank their benefactor. We will be reminded that there is a gift available to us beyond our physical needs – that of spiritual restoration.

We all get irritated or at least disappointed when we do a kindness to someone else and they fail to thank us. And if we’re honest, we have certainly done the same thing to others. And then there’s God; how many times have we neglected to thank Him for all that He’s given us – life, health, and so much more? Pastor Mark will teach about an instance where Jesus touched the lives of some needy people at their request but then forgot to thank their benefactor. We will be reminded that there is a gift available to us beyond our physical needs – that of spiritual restoration.