Lessons for Living (Audio)

Do you worry about stuff? Sure you do – everyone does at one time or another. Have you found out, like many people do, that worrying about a matter doesn’t fix the problem? That seems to be the universal consensus, anyway. Worrying can also cause you to make poor decisions. Pastor Mark will be teaching about one of those instances today. You’ll hear about Joseph’s brothers going back and deciding to lie to Joseph because of the “what if” scenario they created in their minds. You’ll discover the tie between worry and lack of faith, and how to overcome worry.

This world system – news media, society, everything – tells you that you are the master of your own destiny. You have the final say about what goes on in your life and what happens to you. You know that’s not true, though, don’t you? So many things that affect you are out of your control. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the One who does control everything and how He interacts with you and your life. Through the life of Joseph and his family, you’ll discover how God can work in the lives of those who follow Him. And you’ll learn how to understand God’s plans for your own life.

Did you know that you’re on a pedestal? That you are on display every day? It’s true. All people who claim to follow Christ are on display in front of the whole world. And how you behave will influence those around you either for or against God. Pastor Mark will be teaching today about the influence Joseph was able to exercise on God’s behalf because of the way he lived his life. His consistent godliness got him noticed by the authorities in his life, all the way up to Pharaoh. You’ll be reminded that you need to live a life of integrity because you never know who might be watching you.

When things in your life take a turn for the worst it’s normal to wonder if God still cares about you. You might even think that God’s not on your side anymore. It’s possible that Jacob felt that way about losing Joseph. But as Pastor Mark will be teaching today, Jacob had lost sight of the bigger picture – that this nation that God had promised would develop from Jacob’s line had to survive. In Jacob’s almost twenty years of grieving for his son he might have become fixated on his loss rather than what he still had. You’ll be reminded in the teaching to focus on God and to discover His plan in the events in your life.

As hard as it sometimes may be to forgive someone, it’s much harder to ask somebody to forgive you. Your pride doesn’t want to let you admit that you were wrong, even if what you did was clearly a bad thing. It takes an amazing amount of humility to take the first step in such a situation. You’ll hear Pastor Mark teach about Joseph’s brothers and their making that move to admitting the wrong that they had done, even though things turned out well. You’ll learn more about the power of God in your life as He uses events to refine your character and make you more like His Son Jesus.

You’ve experienced bitterness toward someone, haven’t you? Of course you have; it’s a natural reaction to being hurt. You know it’s wrong to do so and that nothing good will come from it, but… And then you repent and things are better. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the dangers of bitterness but mainly he’ll be talking about the power of forgiveness. You’ll learn about the freedom that forgiveness brings to both parties – the person who did the wrong and the person who was wronged. You will be reminded of the example that everybody knows about, Jesus, and how you can become more like Him.

Don’t you just get tired of being tested? I mean, you have a crisis, you get through that one and get some breathing space when wham - there comes another one! Some days it seems like it’ll never end, and it just makes you want to give up. Well, Pastor Mark will be teaching that it actually won’t stop; at least not while you’re on this planet. As Joseph – who had been through his share of trials – tests his brothers, you’ll see how their hearts have changed for the better. This is a good reminder not to give up on those around you. Pray for their success as they go through difficulties.

If you’ve ever done somebody wrong and didn’t admit to it the guilt eats you up, doesn’t it? That certainly was the case for Joseph’s brothers. Twenty years later, and their collective sin and guilt still weighed heavily on them. Pastor Mark will be teaching about this incident and how universal this reaction is to mankind. You’ll be learning about result of their not telling their father the truth and the sorrow he had been living with for that entire time. You will be told the best, the biblical, way to handle situations you might find yourself in and how this all comes back to trusting God in every circumstance.

Did you ever see or have a bad wound? Not a scrape, but a gash that cut deep into the skin? Maybe you know someone who had a bad injury but didn’t get it treated or cared for. If it got infected it was pretty ugly, wasn’t it? Well unfortunately, Joseph’s family was kind of like that infected wound. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the dysfunction and mess that was happening as a result of the boys’ treachery toward Joseph and their dishonesty toward their father. You’ll hear about God’s desire for all families and people and how Joseph orchestrated events to help his family get the healing it needed.

Have you ever done something you knew was wrong but did it anyway? Of course you have – everyone has. That twinge of regret you felt? That was your conscience reminding you of that wrong thing you did. If you didn’t try to repair the wrong, your conscience kept reminding you, didn’t it? Pastor Mark will be teaching about the long-term effect of a guilty conscience in the lives of Joseph’s brothers. You’ll also be able to see what living a life with a pattern of forgiveness can do for you, as you observe Joseph’s behavior toward his brothers. There are lots of good lessons to learn from here.