Lessons for Living (Audio)

In today’s relatively sophisticated world, the idea of blood sacrifice is abhorrent to many. It seems so archaic, so extremely old-fashioned and just…unseemly. Reading the Old Testament, though, it’s impossible to avoid mention of it. The logical question then is, why does it have to be done? What’s so special about killing animals as an offering to God? Pastor Mark will be providing the answers to those questions today. In his teaching, Pastor Mark will explain the reasons that God set things up this way, and why it had to culminate with the death of a man, Jesus Christ.

Thinkers have for millennia tried to figure out the balance between God’s having chosen people for His kingdom and the free will of those God calls the chosen. Wars, both figurative and literal, have been fought over this concept. Churches have split, and…well, you get the idea. For some people, it has become supremely important to discover the definitive answer to these questions. Pastor Mark, however, will be teaching today about God’s perspective in this matter and hopefully helping you to put this in its proper context. Then he’ll give you instructions on how to live life closer to God.

Have you ever heard of the concept of “fire insurance”? That’s when someone allegedly comes to faith in Christ but there’s no noticeable change in their lifestyle. They think that because they’ve “said the words” that they’re now in God’s kingdom and He won’t, He can’t reject them. Meanwhile the reputation of Jesus is dirtied and people are put off of Christianity by these so-called converts. Pastor Mark will be making it clear that such professions are false ones. He will be teaching what it really means to be a Christ follower and what God expects out of them.

In this world, you’re constantly being tempted, being prompted to take the credit for everything you do – except the bad things. You’re told that “you can do anything” or that you can “be whatever you want to be”, without qualifiers. But daily you’re struggling just to do what you’d consider an adequate job performance while looking over your shoulder at the “youngsters” nipping at your heels. Pastor Mark will be teaching about where your true identity lies – in Jesus. That concept might seem foreign to you but Pastor Mark will do an awesome job of making it understandable to you.

When it comes to trying to relate to God, humans always seem to want to have to do something to bridge that gap and merit God’s pleasure. Look around; there are all kinds of religions – from Scientology to Buddhism – that claim to have the solution to filling the God-shaped hole that’s in every person. Pastor Mark will be telling the story of another man, a jailer, who asked the same question of the apostle Paul. Paul will point this man to the true answer, which no work by man can attain. Paul will show you - just as he did the jailer – that the route to completeness runs through Jesus Christ.

Bad things happen to everyone – divorce, untimely deaths, horrific accidents, and all other kinds of negative events that all people are aware of. There’s a heresy being taught that if you’re a Christian you won’t get sick, you’ll have plenty of money, and life will be a series of cushy events. Pastor Mark will be reminding you that Jesus Himself contradicted that thinking. Pastor Mark will show you using scripture that some of the most revered people in the Bible went through really tough times. Their reliance upon God was what differentiated them from non-believers and what drew the non-believers to Jesus.

It’s difficult to conceive of a Being Who knows everything – past, present and future. Even for the Christ follower, this concept can at times be perplexing, especially when God changes the plans they have made for their lives. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the sovereignty of God in regards to plan-making by those who claim to follow Him. You’ll hear about an instance where God changes the plans of the apostle Paul – THE APOSTLE PAUL! – and you’ll hear Paul’s response to the change. It will be enlightening to you and you’ll learn some tips on how to be a better Christ follower.

It’s pretty safe to say that Peter had no idea what would happen as a result of his breaking Jewish tradition by not just meeting with, but going into the house of a Gentile. His obedience to God allowed the Gospel to be shared with many more people. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the importance of trusting God. God doesn’t promise to show you the whole path; in fact, He only promises to show a step at a time. That lack of knowing everything is a challenge for humans, but it is the way that God intended you to live, because you were created to trust God and to obey Him.

God is always moving forward. He tried to get the Israelites to understand that but they refused to listen to Him. He told them from the beginning that they were supposed to show the Gentiles the way to God but instead they segregated themselves from the non-Jews. As Pastor Mark will be sharing, God was trying to do the same thing with this fledgling entity known as “The Way”. These new followers of God through Jesus were Jews, and God was still trying to get them to think beyond their own tribe. Pastor Mark will teach what God had to do to get them to view the world through His eyes.

There are a lot of people who believe that “good” people go to heaven. Many believe that if you go to church, or if you call yourself a “Christian”, you’ll go to heaven. Unfortunately for all of the above people, according to the Bible, they are all wrong. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the Bible’s requirement for entrance to heaven, using the story of a man who was seeking God. You’ll be reminded how much God loves mankind and how He will sometimes go to extraordinary depths to bring men to Himself. This is something to keep in mind as you talk to your friends about Jesus.