Lessons for Living (Audio)

Christ-followers try so hard to achieve success. Sometimes they cross the line from godly to worldly behavior to go after what they want. This puts them on the same footing as unbelievers and causes the world to not see a difference between Christ-followers and themselves. Pastor Mark’s teaching today will bring up a really important point: are you asking God for the things you want? And this will drill down to a more important question, which is: who’s running your life? You or God?

At first glance, the idea of Jesus passing His power on to you might seem crazy. “Me?” you think, remembering all of your insecurities and weaknesses. No way could you be used like the apostles or the great men and women of the faith. If this is your thinking, Pastor Mark’s teaching will show you that God says otherwise. As you hear about Paul and Silas’ interaction with the people around them, you’ll find out that as they lived their lives doing what God wanted them to do, God used them to bring salvation to an entire family.

You know those people, right? The ones who, every time you turn around, are talking about how God answered their prayers? And there’s you, with your prayers that you’re sure are just bouncing off the ceiling, not leaving your room? Well, Pastor Mark’s teaching today just might be helpful to you, although it might frustrate you at first. You’ll learn about what God’s looking for from you when you pray. Pastor Mark will teach about the attitude you should have when you’re praying, and how that makes all the difference.

So-called Christian TV has done a real disservice to many aspects of normal Christian activity by exaggerating and distorting them. Instead of prayer being a solemn but joyous communication with God, it can look sometimes like a shouting match, telling God what He must do for the people praying. Absurd. You’ll hear in Pastor Mark’s teaching today the proper attitude to have when you’re praying. You’ll find out what kind of prayer pleases God, and what the results are when you pray the way God wants you to pray.

There weren’t too many better jobs than the one Nehemiah had. He was the king’s food and drink taster. That meant that he was at the king’s side most all the time. And even though he was a servant, he had access to earthly power – the most power on earth at that time. Despite that, as Pastor Mark will teach today, Nehemiah’s heart was gripped by what he heard about the conditions in Jerusalem. You’ll get to learn today about the types of prayer that Nehemiah prayed, and how they apply to your life.

If you choose to follow Christ – I mean, really get serious about believing Who God is and what He promises you – people are going to think you’re weird. Jesus’ own family thought that He was out of His mind! It shouldn’t surprise you if others think that you’ve become…unusual. But what Pastor Mark will be teaching about today isn’t about public behavior; it’s about what’s appropriate for the moment and place. You’ll hear another example of Elijah’s prayers and how God answered them.

Some people think God’s being kinda petty to require that His followers give to Him first. Some people feel that this command is rather insensitive. After all – people have bills to pay and obligations that have to be met. If your thinking in this matter sounds like what was just said, listen to Pastor Mark’s teaching today – he’ll have the answer for you. You’ll discover that it isn’t about God’s poverty or grasping after ‘your’ money as much as it is about your attitude that you might have towards ‘your’ stuff.

It’s hard for people to grasp the idea that the God Who made the universe, vast as it is, cares about them. As a person, an individual. But over and over in His word, God talks about His love for humankind in general, and individual people, too. And Pastor Mark will be teaching today that God’s made certain incredible promises to men and women. All you have to do to tap into those treasures is to let God rule your life. You’ll find that when you do, life becomes full of God’s peace and grace.

When you read the stories in the book of Acts of all the amazing things God did through the early Church, it’s easy to think that they were especially blessed people. It’s easy to forget that they had jobs, bills to pay, and many of the same challenges you have today. Pastor Mark will be reminding you in his teaching today that God worked through people in the Old and New Testaments because of His faithfulness, not because His people were perfect. What He’s looking for is people who will believe and obey Him.

The dissonance between what you know you should believe and what you think you really might believe – but are afraid to admit – is the challenge of the Christ-follower. All around you, you see shattered dreams, both large and small. And yet Jesus says to ask and to trust the Father. It’s hard to do, but as Pastor Mark will be teaching today, it’s not impossible. You’ll learn today about God’s conditions for Him answering prayer. They might seem challenging, but they’re not hard once you start to really trust God.