Lessons for Living (Audio)

Have you ever attended a church you’ve never been to before and the people made you feel right at home? It’s quite an amazing thing. It’s easy to forget that the Church of Christ isn’t just one building or even one denomination – it’s made up of every Christ follower. In the world. In history. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the importance of becoming more aware of your need to not be selfish. You’ll see the evidences of selfishness displayed in the Corinthian church and the changes they were advised to make.

All around you, society tells you that you’re number one – that you should take care of you first. You’re told that other people’s needs are to be taken care of by them, and that you shouldn’t be concerned with them at all. Pastor Mark will be teaching today that the Christ follower has a different set of guidelines to follow. You’ll hear about the church in Corinth, where the Christians were living some of that “me, first” attitude. You’ll see the chaos that resulted from that as well as Paul’s corrective recommendations.

Do you ever think about what your body will be like in heaven? If not, read about Jesus’ appearances in the first part of the book of Acts. He was able to walk through walls, appear and vanish at will – way different than before He died! And He said that your new body would be like His! Pastor Mark will be teaching today about the differences between your earthly body and the one that’s been promised to you. You’ll learn that you’re going to need a new body to be able to do all of the new things God has for you.

You don’t need to be told that you’re getting older – you feel it with every passing day. Knees, shoulders, neck – they all begin crying (sometimes shouting) for attention. Stamina decreases, and you find yourself looking for supplements to help you keep some of that youthful vigor. In today’s teaching, Pastor Mark will remind you that this condition of decay was never part of God’s original plan for men and women. You’ll hear about the promise He made to remake this earth (and His followers) into perfect condition.

Let’s be honest: it doesn’t matter who you are, most likely you have some fear of dying. Even as a follower of Christ, the uncertainties of the process – will dying be fast or slow, painful or painless, et cetera – tend to give a person some apprehension. Pastor Mark will be teaching that the Corinthian church had many of the same questions and concerns. The apostle Paul addressed these questions and tried to give them assurances that for the Christian, God has everything under control.

If you were going to have a message delivered to a group of people, you’d send someone that you were sure your audience would believe. You wouldn’t send known liars, or people from a group that were thought to be untruthful. But God, as Pastor Mark will be teaching you today, doesn’t think the same way people do. When He gave the message to the shepherds that night, He not only changed the course of history, He changed the lives of men who thought they’d be at the bottom of society forever.

Regular church folk have gotten the idea that the only Christians that were supposed to ‘witness’ were the missionaries and ministers. Everybody else was just supposed to do…whatever. as a result, the world has been able to infiltrate and influence the Church. Pastor Mark will be teaching today about the call that Jesus put on all Christ followers, which was to go into the whole world, share the Gospel, and make disciples. You’ll find out how and why this applies to you and how you’re supposed to carry it out.

It’s no fun going through trials and testings – right? The temporary disruption to your life, the possible life-changing events, the feeling of loss of control – none of those are pleasant. And yet Pastor Mark in his teaching today will tell you that these things are all for your long-term benefit. You’ll hear about the things that Jesus had to go through, and how the Bible says that He found joy in enduring them! You’ll find out the reason He found joy in His difficulties, and how you can find joy in your hard times.

Some people try so hard to hold on to at least the illusion of youth. Plastic surgery, special “fountain of youth” diets… all in an effort to hold off the inevitable. You’ve certainly run across control freaks, who try to keep any unpleasantness from their lives. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the paradoxes of the Christian life. You’ll hear about Jesus’ demand that to gain eternal life you have to give control of your life to Him. You’ll hear about the pain of doing that, but also about the richer rewards for having done so.

Our modern, secular society pooh-poohs any thought of the supernatural as unenlightened and archaic. Unfortunately, the church of Jesus, too often, stands right alongside the world in this elevation of the seen world over the unseen one. Pastor Mark will be teaching today that for Christ followers to hold this opinion is to go against the clear teaching of scripture. You’ll hear about the necessity for the Christ follower to not only acknowledge the spiritual world, but to make use of the spiritual gifts God’s provided for you.