Lessons for Living (Audio)

There are two main types of governments: ones where the people are free and ones where people are not free. Generally speaking, the people in the unfree countries are trying to figure out how to get to a free country. Some people look at God as the ruler of an unfree country – that He’s a dictator and bully. But as you’ll hear in Pastor Mark’s teaching today, God’s not ever going to force you to do anything. He’ll even let you go to hell if that’s what you really want, but He’ll give you every chance to avoid that.

When you were growing up, were your parents – particularly your dad – warm and inviting or distant and hard to approach? The relationship with your parents colors how you approach God, your eternal Father. It’s hard for people whose fathers weren’t open and welcoming to relate to a God who wants - like Pastor Mark will teach today - a warm relationship with them. If this sounds like you, please give a listen to this teaching. You’ll find that what God has to offer you is more than you could ever dream of.

Everybody likes to think that they live their lives without an authority figure looking over their shoulders. Some people’s life goal is to achieve that position in life – to be on top of the heap. They want to be governor, or a legislator, or even President. In other countries, people aspire to be king – or dictator. But Pastor Mark will be teaching today that everyone has authority over them, whether they want to admit it or not. You’ll be reminded today that all of these big cheeses someday are going to bow the knee to their Lord.

Whether they want to admit it or not, many people find comfort in repetition. For them, they believe that having ingrained habits will provide some sense of security. This is especially true when it comes to religious activities. Maybe you’re used to “going to church” as a child, but the reason for going wasn’t explained to you. This attitude has been true for most of mankind’s existence. Pastor Mark will teach today why this way of thinking misses the point. He’ll tell you the right way you can get close to God.

There was a song back in the 1980s titled, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. That really could sum up the quest of almost all women and men these days. Is that your goal – to be in a position where there’s no stress, where all your needs are met with some extra cash to have “fun”? The problem with that, as you’ll find out in Pastor Mark’s teaching today, is that “fun” isn’t big enough to give lasting satisfaction. The truth is, there’s only one lifestyle that will provide the contentment everyone’s looking for.

There are definitely some things that the Bible doesn’t explain. Like, did Adam and Eve have navels and if so, why? Okay, maybe that’s not the most important thing to try to figure out. But there are things that you might want to know so you can fill in the gaps in your knowledge. One of those is the salvation of the Old Testament believers, people who died before Jesus came to earth. Pastor Mark will be showing you in the scriptures the plan that God had for those whose lives predated the Messiah.

A guilty conscience can be a terrible thing to live with. People have been driven insane; others have killed themselves because of the weight of guilt. Religious people will try to do as many good things as possible to try to “balance the scale” back to at least level in their minds. But Pastor Mark will be teaching today that there’s no need to hold on to a guilty conscience. You’ll learn that while God gave you a conscience to prick you when you’ve done wrong, the cleansing from guilt comes only through Jesus.

Humans are creatures of habit. Getting up at the same time every day, eating the same stuff for breakfast, and on. Even those without a set schedule, habitually don’t have a set schedule. And it’s easy to get into the same kind of rut spiritually, especially if you think that what you do determines your place in heaven. You’ll find out in today’s teaching by Pastor Mark, though, that God isn’t about earning your way into heaven. You’re going to find out why that’s the case, and you’ll learn the real way to please God.

When God does something miraculous for you, it makes an impression on you, doesn’t it? You remember the day it happened, and when you think about the event, it brings a smile to your face. Well, what about after ten years? Twenty? You can read the story of Israel’s travels through the desert; they kinda took God for granted, complaining all the time. And this, as Pastor Mark will be teaching today, despite God’s presence being in the middle of their camp! Today, you’ll learn how to do better than that.

You know, when Adam and Eve decided to rebel against God and go his own way, God could’ve said, “Fine – you’ll get what you’ve got coming to you”, and left mankind to the consequences of their sin. But He didn’t. He found another person to follow Him – Abraham – and gave mankind another chance. Pastor Mark will be teaching today about how God went another step and gave people a way to Himself that was better than the Mosaic Law, and more permanent: through His Son, Jesus.