It’s interesting that the religious leaders called Jesus “a friend of tax collectors and sinners”, which was meant as an insult. Jesus didn’t take it that way, though, because He truly loved those tax collectors and sinners. They felt comfortable around Him, even though He did speak to them about their sinful lifestyles. Pastor Mark in his teaching challenges us to ask ourselves whether we are the kind of person others want to be around. If we call ourselves followers of Christ, we need to become the type of people others not only like to be around but want to be around.

It’s interesting that the religious leaders called Jesus “a friend of tax collectors and sinners”, which was meant as an insult. Jesus didn’t take it that way, though, because He truly loved those tax collectors and sinners. They felt comfortable around Him, even though He did speak to them about their sinful lifestyles. Pastor Mark in his teaching challenges us to ask ourselves whether we are the kind of person others want to be around. If we call ourselves followers of Christ, we need to become the type of people others not only like to be around but want to be around.

At times it’s so tempting to take the easy path in our relationship with God and just go through the motions – attending church services and functions, looking the right way and so on. This is what we read about in the Gospels and Acts – the religious leaders who looked like they had it all together but who Jesus condemned for their hypocrisy. Pastor Mark is teaching us that God’s intent for us is to attain the character of Jesus. Even though we won’t achieve that while we’re on this earth, He uses our lives and our trusting and obeying Him to change us into who He has planned us to be.

At times it’s so tempting to take the easy path in our relationship with God and just go through the motions – attending church services and functions, looking the right way and so on. This is what we read about in the Gospels and Acts – the religious leaders who looked like they had it all together but who Jesus condemned for their hypocrisy. Pastor Mark is teaching us that God’s intent for us is to attain the character of Jesus. Even though we won’t achieve that while we’re on this earth, He uses our lives and our trusting and obeying Him to change us into who He has planned us to be.

If you’re a parent you probably have had occasion to call after your child only to have them ignore you. This can be very frustrating, especially if you’re trying to keep them from danger. These episodes usually end with a reprimand and maybe restricting movement or activity. Pastor Mark is teaching that our relationship with God is much the same. He has given us His word in the Bible for us to learn some of how He thinks and wants us to behave. When we take the time to learn what He expects from us and then obey Him, we find that we get into less trouble on our own.

If you’re a parent you probably have had occasion to call after your child only to have them ignore you. This can be very frustrating, especially if you’re trying to keep them from danger. These episodes usually end with a reprimand and maybe restricting movement or activity. Pastor Mark is teaching that our relationship with God is much the same. He has given us His word in the Bible for us to learn some of how He thinks and wants us to behave. When we take the time to learn what He expects from us and then obey Him, we find that we get into less trouble on our own.

If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time I’m sure you’ve seen or heard (or maybe done) some wacky things by people who say they’re trying to get “closer to God”. Creating communes, rejecting “modern” conveniences – the list goes on. The apostle Paul had a much simpler idea about what it means to live for Christ. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the simple concept of making obedience to Christ the main priority in our lives. That doesn’t mean you have to escape to the wilderness; it simply means you make pleasing God your number one goal and serving Him rather than ourselves or stuff.

If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time I’m sure you’ve seen or heard (or maybe done) some wacky things by people who say they’re trying to get “closer to God”. Creating communes, rejecting “modern” conveniences – the list goes on. The apostle Paul had a much simpler idea about what it means to live for Christ. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the simple concept of making obedience to Christ the main priority in our lives. That doesn’t mean you have to escape to the wilderness; it simply means you make pleasing God your number one goal and serving Him rather than ourselves or stuff.

There’s an old saying – “no man is an island”. This refers to the reality that we were made to be social, to work and live together. The Bible speaks of believers as members of a body, like cells or our organs. In the passage Pastor Mark will be teaching from the apostle Paul indicates his longing to be with those to whom he’s writing – he misses them. In John 17 Jesus prayed to the Father that we would show the world His love by the love we Christ followers have for one another. We can’t display that love without being together, having conflicts but working them out.

There’s an old saying – “no man is an island”. This refers to the reality that we were made to be social, to work and live together. The Bible speaks of believers as members of a body, like cells or our organs. In the passage Pastor Mark will be teaching from the apostle Paul indicates his longing to be with those to whom he’s writing – he misses them. In John 17 Jesus prayed to the Father that we would show the world His love by the love we Christ followers have for one another. We can’t display that love without being together, having conflicts but working them out.