Lessons for Living (Audio)

The Golden Rule! We’ve heard this most all of our lives, even before we became Christians. There is a good chance that we haven’t heard it in the full context of Jesus’ messages, though. Pastor Mark will be getting into the nitty-gritty of the heart attitude that is required to successfully follow this Rule. We’ll also be learning about the concepts of reaping and sowing, and about how God views mercy. As we continue through the book of Luke, Pastor Mark will be sharing Jesus’ warning about judging others, condemning others, and using holy discernment in judging doctrinal truth from error.

Love. The world is constantly talking about love. The hopeful tell us “all you need is love”, while the cynics say that love is a “second-hand emotion.” The Bible claims that there is another kind of love, the love that Jesus give to those who follow Him. This love is more challenging than any we had previously known. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the love of God, how it differs from the world’s love, and how we can attain it. He will be sharing from the book of Luke about the radical life Jesus called His disciples to live, as well as the vast differences between being a Christ follower and being a self-follower.

Love. The world is constantly talking about love. The hopeful tell us “all you need is love”, while the cynics say that love is a “second-hand emotion.” The Bible claims that there is another kind of love, the love that Jesus give to those who follow Him. This love is more challenging than any we had previously known. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the love of God, how it differs from the world’s love, and how we can attain it. He will be sharing from the book of Luke about the radical life Jesus called His disciples to live, as well as the vast differences between being a Christ follower and being a self-follower.

Throughout the history of the Church there have been groups who worked really hard to present an image to the world of stoicism, believing that their lack of mirth indicated that they were godlier than other people. The problem with this view of Christianity is that it contradicts the plain reading of Jesus’ life. Weddings, small children, celebrations – it’s impossible to imagine Jesus at these events and not enjoying Himself. Pastor Mark will be sharing about the joy that is available to us, as we yield our lives to God, even through difficult times and even persecution.

Throughout the history of the Church there have been groups who worked really hard to present an image to the world of stoicism, believing that their lack of mirth indicated that they were godlier than other people. The problem with this view of Christianity is that it contradicts the plain reading of Jesus’ life. Weddings, small children, celebrations – it’s impossible to imagine Jesus at these events and not enjoying Himself. Pastor Mark will be sharing about the joy that is available to us, as we yield our lives to God, even through difficult times and even persecution.

All around us we see people who live their lives as they see fit. Many come out and declare that they have no need for any god, let alone the God of the Bible. Those of us who have surrendered our lives to Christ, however, know differently. We need God. We need Jesus. Pastor Mark will be teaching about our tendency to want to live life our way, and the futility of doing so. He will be sharing Jesus’ words – that we are blessed when we recognize our inadequacy and submit to the will of God, turning control of our lives to Him. We’ll be cautioned that this shift in allegiances will have a price as well.

All around us we see people who live their lives as they see fit. Many come out and declare that they have no need for any god, let alone the God of the Bible. Those of us who have surrendered our lives to Christ, however, know differently. We need God. We need Jesus. Pastor Mark will be teaching about our tendency to want to live life our way, and the futility of doing so. He will be sharing Jesus’ words – that we are blessed when we recognize our inadequacy and submit to the will of God, turning control of our lives to Him. We’ll be cautioned that this shift in allegiances will have a price as well.

Many people – and some churches – emphasize external behavior and imply that if you look “right” to us, you must be right with God, too. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time had distilled their belief system down to that kind of thinking as well. What Jesus taught was the complete opposite. As Pastor Mark will be sharing, Jesus focused on the will of man, not what he looked like. He wanted us to allow Him to change us on the inside, for us to come under the rule of God, so that our lives would be truly different. He also warns us that as we allow this internal change, those around us would react to it – possibly negatively.

Many people – and some churches – emphasize external behavior and imply that if you look “right” to us, you must be right with God, too. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time had distilled their belief system down to that kind of thinking as well. What Jesus taught was the complete opposite. As Pastor Mark will be sharing, Jesus focused on the will of man, not what he looked like. He wanted us to allow Him to change us on the inside, for us to come under the rule of God, so that our lives would be truly different. He also warns us that as we allow this internal change, those around us would react to it – possibly negatively.

Pastor Mark will be teaching from the book of Luke, chapter 6. We’ll be hearing about the story of Jesus healing the man with the withered hand – on the Sabbath. The text seems to indicate that Jesus was angry – with the religious leaders – because their blind allegiance to entrenched tradition had sucked the joy out of attending synagogue and the things that being Jewish was all about.

We’ll learn about the faith of the crippled man as well as the unbelief of the Pharisees. And more about Jesus’ prayer life, and Whose priorities Jesus made every effort to discover and then follow.