Lessons for Living (Audio)

One of the hard things about being a Christ follower is understanding that everything, in every area of life, is filled with spiritual battles. Satan hates all people but especially those who have sided with Jesus. Pastor Mark will be teaching today that there’s a spiritual component to marriage, too. You’ll hear about the need for you and your spouse to become one spiritually and if you don’t, you’re weakening your relationship. This weak area creates a breach that Satan will try to exploit to ruin your marriage.

There’s a verse in the book of Proverbs that says, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”. What that means is that having quality close friends is good because they challenge you to become a better person. Pastor Mark will be teaching today about the closest relationship you can have – the married relationship. You’ll find out the benefits of being married to someone who’s so different from you. You’ll learn why you should work on knowing your spouse better, and listening to what they’re saying.

Studies show that the failure rate for marriages in the body of Christ is roughly the same as it is outside the church. As followers of God, this should not be. The logical thing to do is to try to figure out why. Pastor Mark will be addressing some of this in his teaching today. He’ll be talking about the problems the Corinthian church was having with the same issues – sexuality, marriage and divorce – and what the apostle Paul had to say about it. You might find that today’s church has some of the same problems.

There are lots of activities that, because of their misuse by people (with the encouragement of Satan), some Christians have seen as sinful. For example, drinking alcohol has been by some as inherently sinful. A careful reading of the Bible finds that drunkenness is condemned, while drinking alcohol is not. Pastor Mark will be teaching today about another area of misunderstanding: sex. You’ll discover that the early church had questions about sex, and the apostle Paul will be giving them some biblical guidance.

It’s interesting that for hundreds of years, scholars in the West have claimed that the Bible needs to be “upgraded” to remain relatable to “modern” society. Sure, reading the Bible in something other than the King James Version is reasonable; after all, not too many people speak that way anymore. But Pastor Mark will be teaching today that when it comes to morality, God’s way is still the best. You’ll find out that all of the things that plague society today aren’t new, and that God has a solution for them all.

Some Christians believe that to do Christianity right, all Christians have to practice their faith the same way they do. Any deviations from their ‘baseline’ are thought to be straying from the ‘true’ faith. But what Pastor Mark will be teaching today is that while God does have some absolute requirements, He leaves loads of room to accommodate the many personalities of His followers. You’ll be encouraged to admit to and accept the personality differences your brothers and sisters have, and love them anyway.

If you’re from the family of a pastor you have some idea of how difficult and stressful that vocation can be. They sometimes have to hear the worst of what people do and yet give counsel that’s biblically correct – with Godly love. Pastor Mark will be teaching today about the Apostle Paul’s relationship with Timothy, a younger pastor. You’ll find out how much they needed and relied on the Holy Spirit. You’ll come to understand that you need the Holy Spirit in your life to help you get through your daily grind.

If you’re the parent of more than one kid, you know how different their personalities can be. One is introverted and moody, the other is the life of the party. And as their parent you understand that raising and nurturing them has to be done in different ways. Pastor Mark will be teaching today about your need to rely on God’s wisdom. And when in church leadership, God’s wisdom is needed even more – dealing with the problems that all different kinds of people have can’t be done using only your own limited wisdom.

If you’ve ever been to a mall or shopping center you’ve probably seen a child who was out of control. Maybe you were relieved that it wasn’t your child (this time) drawing attention to themselves, but it was painful to watch. Pastor Mark will be teaching today that God’s kids can behave in a similar manner and that it’s equally hard to watch. You’ll hear about the importance of understanding the balance between affection and discipline and how discipline is actually an aspect of love. You’ll hear about growing up spiritually, too.

In the world you’re told to take credit for as much as possible because nobody’s going to give you credit for successes, although they’re more than willing to give you the blame for failures. Pastor Mark, in his teaching today, will talk about how God’s kingdom doesn’t work that way. You’ll learn how the kingdom of God is all about service, about pushing the spotlight away from yourself and on to Jesus. You’ll find out how when you do that, you’re following Jesus’ example, proving that you’re really His disciple.