Lessons for Living (Audio)

Very often when people read about Jesus’ life they focus only on the things that He said. They understand the importance of listening to and putting into practice what Jesus said. What gets overlooked sometimes is realizing that how He lived His life is something to be mimicked as well. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the importance for the Christ follower to be connected to a local church. Even more than that, the Christian should be relating to their fellow believers on a personal level. He’ll help explain why just seeing someone once a week will not help your spiritual growth.

Popular society in America wants you to be discontent. It tells you that you’re too tall, too short, too poor, too fat, and on and on. You need a bigger house, a newer car, and better clothes. You’re shown images that you’re supposed to envy and want to be like. Pastor Mark will be teaching about what the Bible has to say about all of these attempts to manipulate you. He’ll be talking about God’s desire for you to trust Him to care for you. You’ll find out that part of receiving that satisfaction from God is to be doing what He wants you to be doing, in the place where He wants you to do it.

People grow up selfish. You’ve never seen a baby who is willing to always share its toys – especially its favorite toy. And that selfish trait only gets stronger as the person gets older. People will go to extreme lengths to be able to do what they want to do. When they become a part of God’s family, they have a conflict. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the surrender that a person has to undergo. He’ll be talking about the battle of the will in a person and how they have to go against their old nature. You’ll hear a lot of things that will help you move from being just a convert to being a mature follower of Jesus.

In your life, you’re faced with big choices as well as small ones. From “what color socks do I wear today” to “is this the person I want to spend the rest of my life with”, you have tens, maybe hundreds of choices to wade through. And then as a believer in Jesus, there are not only more choices, but a whole new perspective from which to base your decisions. Pastor Mark will be teaching about this change in viewpoint. You’ll learn that becoming a Christ follower requires you to change your mindset. You’ll find out about the benefits and costs of looking at your decisions in a new way.

There’s a crisis in the church in America today. Children of people who call themselves Christ followers are leaving the church they grew up in. Some are even renouncing all association with Christianity. Many say they did so because they didn’t see what they heard in church, reflected in the lives of their parents. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the need for those who claim to follow Jesus to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. You’ll be encouraged to examine your own life and to make certain that you are making the effort to be as true of a Christ follower as you possibly can.

In lots of different ways, every day, you’re told to be proud of yourself. To take full credit for your success. To minimize your failures – ignore them, even. You’re told that you ‘deserve’ whatever it is someone’s trying to sell you. In all of these things, you’re encouraged to rely on your own abilities and wisdom. Pastor Mark will be teaching that that’s not how God wants you to live. You’ll find out through a story between Jesus and some of the disciples (before they were disciples) that Jesus wants you to trust Him. And that there’ll be times when taking Jesus at His word will not make sense to you.

Any skill you want to learn takes time, doesn’t it? Good habits – and bad ones – are established in your life only by doing them over and over again for weeks or years. It’s said that to master an ability you have to spend ten thousand hours doing that thing. Pastor Mark, in today’s teaching, will be teaching that to become a maturing Christ follower it’s much the same way. There are no ‘instant Christian’ pills or potions you can take. You’ll learn today what you need to do to become a more dedicated follower of Jesus, knowing more about Him and then fulfilling your part of His Great Commission.

Americans are pretty focused on acquisition. Getting more things, or better versions of what they already have, is a lifelong pursuit for some people. Television, movies and music echo this theme often. Pastor Mark will be teaching that this pursuit can sometimes come with you into your life as a Christ follower. He’ll be showing that this thinking can derail your spiritual growth, keeping you ineffective for the kingdom of God. Pastor Mark will illustrate how this comes up in your life, so that you can learn to avoid it. That will free you up to live a life that’s not only pleasing to God, but will teach you contentment.

Becoming a Christ follower changes everything in your life. You might not realize it at first, but as you find out more about God and how His love for you is manifested, you start to see things in your life that also want to be number one. One area that turns out being huge is your relationship with your friends and family. Pastor Mark will be talking about those kinds of conflicts. He’ll be teaching you what Jesus had to say about them, and how best to resolve those disputes. You’ll learn that although these areas involve hard work to make right, you’ll also discover that God will help you to get through the hard parts.

You’ve heard the saying, “There’s no free lunch”, right? Maybe when you’re younger you don’t quite see the truth of that statement, but as you mature and gain experiences, you begin to understand it better. Pastor Mark will be teaching that this truism applies to Christianity as well. You’ll hear from Jesus Himself that even though what He offers is given to you – because you couldn’t pay the price for it – becoming a Christ follower does require that you give some things up. You’ll hear more about those costs and you’ll have an opportunity to evaluate your own life and count that cost.