Lessons for Living (Audio)

Every one, deep down inside, knows that they are not perfect. They may put on a front to other people but when they’re home alone, they are faced with the accusations of their conscience. Pastor Mark will be teaching about King David’s most infamous shortcoming. As he walks you through the events that take place, you might see yourself. Not necessarily in the actions but in the attitudes that will be discussed. As Pastor Mark unpacks this story he will help you to understand the depths of God’s love for you and His willingness to not only forgive you of your sins, but to restore you to a right relationship with Himself.

David’s generosity toward Mephibosheth was out of character for the monarchs of his day. Normally the families of the deposed king were executed to prevent someone else trying to claim the right to the throne. David also restored to Mephibosheth the land that his grandfather, Saul, had owned. Pastor Mark will be teaching about how David’s treatment of Mephibosheth parallels God’s treatment of mankind. Men are lost, damaged and broken - without claim to anything. God comes down and offers them restoration and wholeness that they didn’t deserve but can have access to, if they so choose.

If you’ve read the stories of the kings of Israel you may have noticed that many times the new king would kill all the male members of the former king’s family. This was done to eliminate competition. David, however, didn’t do that. In fact, he had promised to be kind to Saul and Jonathan’s descendants. Pastor Mark will be teaching about David’s integrity in this matter. He’ll also be illustrating how the picture of David and Mephibosheth is a picture of how God wants to treat the lost. They are scared of God’s potential anger while in reality all God wants to do is to have them eat at His table.

Jonathan and David had a special, close relationship. David and Saul had a relationship, too…but it wasn’t so special. David, however, had made the same promise to both men – to look after their descendants with kindness. Have you made promises to people or felt an obligation to someone who treats you badly? Pastor Mark will be teaching about David’s personal integrity and how he tried to do the right thing by Saul and Jonathan’s surviving heirs. Even though he had absolute reign as king, he recognized and valued his own word and his love for Jonathan, so he kept his promise.

Do you know someone who, when bad things happen to them, somehow are able to shift the blame to everyone or anything except their actions or behaviors? Their boss doesn’t like them, or they weren’t given enough information to perform their job properly or something – as long as it was someone else’s fault. As Pastor Mark will be teaching, everyone has obstacles to overcome in life. The difference many times between success and failure is the way you respond to the adversity. David was no great man, but he was a man who relied on God to lead him – and that was the deciding factor in his life.

Who do you trust? I don’t mean a casual, “they’re okay” kind of trust – I mean a “hope to die, stick a finger in their eye” kind of trust. Probably not too many people fit that category, huh? And there’s good reason for that: to achieve that status in your life that person has had to prove their reliability to you through thick and thin. Pastor Mark will be teaching about God revealing His plans for David and, more importantly, his descendants. God laid some amazing blessings on David because of David’s faithfulness to God. You’ll learn that God wants to work in your life in the same manner.

There are a lot of issues that are bubbling in our society today. As a Christ follower you should be wondering, “What does the Bible say about these things?” Surely during the early church they had lots of problems and questions, and you can read about many of them in the epistles, or letters to the churches. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the importance for you as a Christian to be sure you’re reading God’s word as well as listening to solid biblical teaching, using the whole of the Bible rather than picking and choosing topics and possibly avoiding the tougher issues of life.

The story of David is an amazing one; plucked from being a shepherd boy - basically ignored by the rest of his family – to being named by God to be king of the whole country! Even more remarkable is that David maintained a humble attitude both during his time of waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled and then during his reign. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the primary character trait that David had: humility. You will learn the importance God places on humility and how to cultivate it in your own life. Doing so will make you more useful to God than you already are and will bring more blessings into your life.

If you’re a parent you understand the difficulty of telling your child “No” when they want to do something that on the surface is a good thing. Maybe the timing’s wrong, or whatever. Or maybe you know that something better is coming down the line for them. This was the situation David was in. God had told him “No” to building a temple for storage of the Ark of the Covenant. As Pastor Mark will be sharing, God had His reasons for telling David that he couldn’t build the Tabernacle. But God shared His future plans for David’s progeny with him, which blessed him tremendously.

It’s tough hearing a “no” from God. You were sure that what you wanted lined up with scripture and His will, but all you got were red lights. King David had the same problem. He wanted to build a house for God, but God said, “No”. Pastor Mark will be teaching about this situation of being denied your desire by God and how best to respond to it. You will learn the importance of maintaining a humble attitude, recognizing that God is looking out for your welfare. Because He knows the future – your future – He is able to lead and direct you in the way that benefits you and furthers His kingdom.