Lessons for Living (Audio)

Pastor Mark uses the term, “Christ follower” rather than “Christian” to describe those who have given their lives to Jesus and decided to follow Him. There are many who call themselves Christians but don’t realize that the term Christian implies that one is following, or is a disciple of, Jesus. Pastor Mark will recount Jesus’ imparting the Holy Spirit to the eleven disciples, and will explain what that meant for those men and how it applies to you today. You’ll discover the challenges that are a part of becoming an authentic follower of Christ and how you can succeed in this new role.

There are lots of religions around the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, Animism, and many others. Every one of them has one thing in common: they are an attempt by men to reach or to in some way appease what they believe to be god or a higher power; this is where they differ from Christianity. As Pastor Mark will be teaching, Christ followers are sought out by God. God has reached out to mankind because men are unable to appease God. Pastor Mark will teach how this man-ward reaching by God is accomplished. You’ll also learn the role the Holy Spirit plays in your life once you’ve chosen to follow Jesus.

Many Christians are reluctant to tell someone how Jesus has changed their lives. Often it’s because they are kind of embarrassed about the way they used to live; others might be afraid of rejection or ridicule. Scripture makes it clear that one of the responsibilities of the Christ follower is to “make disciples”. In Pastor Mark’s teaching he will explain how Jesus was able to speak with perfect strangers, breaking cultural taboos, and introduce them to God. The apostles did the same thing, as did the early church. As you listen to this teaching, Pastor Mark will share how God can use you to reach those around you for Christ.

If you read the Gospels closely, you’ll see that Jesus seemed very unconventional to the religious leaders of His day. He went places they wouldn’t go, hung out with people they would never be seen with, and was unafraid to buck traditions or to reject them outright. He did all of this while being led by the Holy Spirit and, many times, after whole nights spent in prayer. Pastor Mark will be illustrating that Jesus, whose life was intended to be a template for every Christ follower, lived not for Himself but to please His Father. Pastor Mark will help you to see that if you’re going to follow Jesus, this has to be your focus, too.

Change can be difficult. The struggle in adapting to change increases as the magnitude of the change rises. When Jesus told His disciples that He was going to die, that was a huge change in their lives! They might not even have comprehended the concept of Jesus’ sending another in His place that would be like Him. Pastor Mark will be teaching about how Jesus lived His life as a man reliant upon the leading and strength of the Holy Spirit, and how Jesus tried to teach His disciples to do the same thing. You’ll learn, just as they did, that the Holy Spirit’s instruction comes through obedience and experience.

When you consider the lives of some of the people in the book of Acts, some unusual things happened. Men were instantaneously transported from one place to another, sick & disabled people were healed, and the like. On the other hand, people were imprisoned for preaching and even stoned to death. Was the potential cost of the latter worth achieving the former? Pastor Mark will be challenging you to ask yourself that question. Are you willing to allow the Holy Spirit to direct and really lead your life? If you decide to answer, “Yes”, your life could become more interesting than you ever imagined.

It’s easy to assume that Jesus was able to do the things He did because, well, He’s God! Right? It’s normal to make that leap because it seems to be the most logical step to take. Pastor Mark, however, will be showing you from the scriptures that, amazingly, Jesus did what He did because He allowed the Holy Spirit to work through Him. Pastor Mark will be teaching that Jesus did the hard work – lots of prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit – that allowed the Holy Spirit to work miraculously in Jesus’ life. You’ll discover that if you follow Jesus’ example that the Holy Spirit can work through you, too.

A lot of people claim to know about God; a lot of people claim to know God. Many times, though, their behavior contradicts this claim of knowledge and relationship. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the importance of actually knowing God which comes as a result of reading His words – understanding what it is He has to say to man. But, he will be sharing, it’s more than merely reading the words in His book – you need to know Him. Pastor Mark will be talking about the way to know God these days, which is by knowing His Spirit – the Holy Spirit, Who was sent to make God more understandable to mankind.

Many people believe that they are in charge of their lives. That’s true to an extent. The truth that unbelievers don’t realize though is that they are actually slaves to a hidden master: Satan. He is the one who encourages and entices you to seek your own pleasure first, even when that’s to the detriment of those around you. Pastor Mark wants to tell you that there’s Someone else trying to speak to you, too. God the Holy Spirit whispers through creation, through circumstances, and through other people. If you want your life to go better than it currently is, He is the One you should be listening to.

What do you know about the Holy Spirit? Do you know anything about Him? Many Christ followers are either uninformed or misinformed about Who He is and, as a result, don’t understand His role is in their lives. If you feel that you’re lacking knowledge about this third member of the Trinity, you should keep listening. Pastor Mark will be talking about what the Bible has to say about the Holy Spirit. He’ll be giving examples of people who allowed themselves to be used by God and how the Holy Spirit operated in their lives to facilitate God’s work. You’ll hear how your life can be energized by the Holy Spirit as well.