Lessons for Living (Audio)

If you’ve ever read the story of God’s final judgment on the earth in the book of Revelation it reads like a horror movie combined with a disaster film. The numbers of people that will die and the things that happen to and on the earth to cause their death boggles the mind. Pastor Mark will be teaching about these things because the story is the culmination of man’s rebellion against God, and God’s response. You’ll probably learn something you didn’t know before, and you’ll be reminded about God’s grace and mercy that He shows even in the midst of these terrible events.

People ask why a ‘loving’ God allows such awful things to happen on the earth. Well, the people that ask that question don’t understand what the Bible has to say about such things. If this is a question you have asked, you should listen to Pastor Mark’s teaching today. He’ll be talking about the creation of the earth and God’s original intent for it. Pastor Mark will tell you what happened and how the earth got into the condition it currently is. You’ll find out about the plan that God put into place to remedy the problem and what He had to give up to carry the plan out.

The Bible tells you that the Devil has always been a liar. From the very beginning when he convinced one-third of the angels to rebel along with himself, he has lied. Jesus called him the father, or originator, of lies. Pastor Mark will be teaching today about Satan’s getting his wish, which is to be the absolute ruler of the earth. The Bible calls this time “The Tribulation”. You’ll find out what the scriptures say will be happening on the earth during this time. You’ll also hear about God’s response to these events. You will learn the reason you really don’t want to be around when this all happens.

Prayer is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the Christian life. Those who want to mock believers talk of conversations with nothing or with oneself. Some Christians, on the other hand, want to make prayer in to some otherworldly experience, complete with weird music and visions. Pastor Mark will teach you what the Bible itself has to say about prayer. He’ll help you understand that, like many aspects of the life of the Christ follower, you need to know the right way to do things, which will help you avoid weird or wrong ways of doing the Christian life, which will make for a healthy faith.

The idea of confessing your sins to God every day seems kinda silly, right? After all, He already knows what you did! Sure, confessing to another person when you did them wrong makes sense, but…God? Come on, now! In Pastor Mark’s teaching today, he’ll be telling you why it is you need to confess your sins to God and ask His forgiveness. You’ll learn who actually benefits from your confession of sin (hint: it isn’t God). Pastor Mark will illustrate bad prayer as well as good prayer, so that you will be able to understand how to do this critical aspect of Christianity right.

Around the world there are billions of people praying to, well, billions of gods. They’ve put their trust, their lives in these gods who can’t hear them or help them. Or they put their trust in a man or an organization. None of these are big enough to solve their life problems. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the only God Who is big enough to not only hear every prayer in the world, but Who can actually do something about the prayer request. If you’re having a problem believing there’s a God big enough to handle your stuff, keep listening. You’ll be introduced to the only One Who can meet all of your deepest needs.

Think of what you think the ‘ideal’ version of you would be. Now compare that with the current you. How big of a gap between the two is there? How do you think you’re going to get closer to that ‘ideal’ you? If you really want to know how to do that, listen to Pastor Mark’s teaching today. He’ll be talking about how to become the person that you know deep inside you should be. Using scripture, Pastor Mark will tell you about the barriers both inside you and around you that want to keep you from God’s best for you. Then he’ll give Bible-based tips on how to get closer and stay closer to God.

When you examine your own life, are you satisfied with your spiritual growth and depth? Do you think that you’re on an upward path in your relationship with God, or do you feel stagnant? Throughout the Bible, different people talk about their relationship with God. Whether a personal walk or the corporate walk of God’s people, God was and is always wanting to be involved in men’s lives. Pastor Mark will be teaching you today how to develop that relationship with God. He’ll be talking about using the tool God gave you – the Bible – and how to use it to draw closer to God.

There are many voices you could be listening to today: your own, some celebrity, even some celebrity preacher. The question you should be asking is, which voice will give me the best advice and guidance? Pastor Mark will tell you that it’s God’s voice. He’ll be teaching you why you should use God’s voice as your primary guide. You’ll learn why the other voices – including your own – aren’t trustworthy and where they’ll let you down. You’ll come to find out that there are even voices that want to do you harm; you’ll learn what those are and how to stay away from them.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day living, of dealing with the junk that everyone has to cope with. The danger is in forgetting that the main reason you’re on this planet is to have a relationship with God. AND that there is a personage and an entire system that’s devoted to keeping you from that main relationship. Today, Pastor Mark will be teaching about the challenges you face as a Christ follower to make devotional time with God a higher priority. Realizing the importance of this alone time with God is a start. You’ll learn about the benefits that carving this time out will have for your life.