Lessons for Living (Audio)

The way the world is right now is vastly different than what God originally created. Reading the creation account, you see that God originally intended for mankind and animals to live in harmony with one another. Mans’ rebellion destroyed this peace. Jesus, as Pastor Mark will be teaching today, had to come to earth and be a man – not God – to be able to redeem mankind and the planet. This redemption, as you’ll find out in the teaching, is what makes Jesus greater than the angelic host.

You’ve probably heard of stories about couples who, after many years of marriage, decide to divorce. Their reasoning, they say, is that they’ve “drifted apart”. This is a sad condition to find oneself in, in addition to not being how God intended marriage to progress. Pastor Mark’s teaching today will show a parallel of this decaying marriage to your potentially decaying relationship with Jesus. You’ll find out that a similar end is possible, too – a “divorce” of sorts, with a vastly greater and terrible outcome than that of the couple.

In the Old Testament, God warned His people Israel time and again to stay close to Him and not become like the nations they’d conquered. Sadly, Israel didn’t listen to God. They began worshipping false gods and Jehovah disciplined them for it. Pastor Mark will be teaching today about the challenge the early Christ-followers had in being tempted to abandon their worship of Jesus. You’ll hear about the stuff they had to deal with that was pressuring them to leave Christianity, and the reasons they were given for not doing that.

The system of this world hates biblical Christianity. It actively opposes it. It tries to get devoted Christ-followers to compromise by tempting them with money, fame, sex – whatever it takes. If you attend a church that preaches the Bible, you’re looked down upon; if you attend one that’s soft on sin, you’re okay with the world. Pastor Mark’s teaching today will be about a house church whose members were being persecuted. You’ll hear how they were being tempted to not follow God so closely, and how those traps exist today.

A lot of religions claim Jesus today. While they usually acknowledge the miracles He did and the wisdom of His teaching, they stop their praise of Him there. There’s no mention of His claims to be the only God. Pastor Mark’s teaching today will continue talking about the Bible’s assertion that Jesus is better than the angels because He’s God. You’ll hear what Christian cults say about Jesus and how they avoid or twist scriptures to fit their misrepresentation of who He really is.

Angels are amazing creatures. They’re on a different level of existence than humans, although they have appeared to people while looking like men. Some people have even thought that it’s appropriate to worship them, although the Bible shows that angels reject that idea. Pastor Mark, in his teaching today, will be talking about the differences between angels – who physically are superior to humans – and Jesus, who is God come to earth. You’ll find out why Jesus, the God/man, is superior to all angelic beings.

What do you think of when you hear the word, “angels”? The first image might be of the little baby-looking creatures with a diaper and bow and arrow, looking to strike someone with love. That’s not what Pastor Mark’s going to be describing in his teaching today. You’ll hear that in the Bible, angels are very different and have more important jobs than shooting “love arrows” at people. You’ll hear, too, that the false cults have false views of Jesus – they say that He’s an angel, not God. You’ll find out today why they’re wrong about that.

Everybody has hard times – it’s a universal given. The challenge is figuring out how to handle them and what action, if any, to take. Do you give in to despair, get angry, maybe try to figure out a way to put off whatever’s happening? Some of the first century Christ-followers were in this situation. As Pastor Mark will be teaching today, they had many of the same choices people today have. You’ll find out the encouragement that the writer of Hebrews gave to his discouraged readers, and how you can use it in your life.

Have you ever been in a spot where you were being pressured to give up your faith in Jesus? There are a few situations in America where that might happen, but it definitely happens if you were raised Hindu or Muslim, for example. Pastor Mark’s teaching today about a group of Jewish believers who were under pressure from the culture they left and the rulers of Rome. You’ll hear about their struggle as they’re being tempted to leave Christianity and return to the relative peace and safety of Judaism.

The church has it pretty good in America. There’s not much in the way of opposition or persecution, especially on the governmental level. The same can’t be said in many countries around the world, though. In several countries, you risk not just losing your job, but your freedom and maybe your life. Pastor Mark will be teaching today about a group in the early church that were under such intense persecution that they were thinking about going back to Judaism, and the writer of Hebrews’ urging them to hold on.