Should Christians Keep the Sabbath?
What does it mean to keep the Sabbath? Should Christians keep the Sabbath? And if so, why?
Jesus Sweats Blood
Jesus is in absolute agony, sweating blood, as he prays honestly with the Father. What is the cup he is so grieved about? It is the cup of the wrath of God. Every sin is like a drop into a cup. We pour the sin in. God, at the end of this life, pours out commensurate wrath. Yet Jesus submits his will to the Father’s; he exchanges places with us on the cross and drinks every single drop of the wrath of God. The cross is where the love of God is most clearly seen: wrath was poured out on Jesus, and love was poured out for us.
How to Fight to the Glory of God
All of us will have conflict with others; the question is if we will fight to the glory of God. Two things happen all the time in human relationships: someone sins and someone is sinned against. Jesus teaches us three things to do when dealing with our sin or potential to sin, and three things to do when dealing with others’ sin. In sum: sinners, repent; victims, forgive.
Jesus and Fear
The Pharisees use fear of man to bully the multitudes and keep them from Jesus, and they try to bully Jesus too. Is Jesus or someone else sitting on the throne over your life? Fear of man is when someone other than Jesus sits on that throne. You want to please them, which ultimately is worship and results in anxiety. Jesus teaches that we can overcome fear of man by living for the final judgment day, by being willing to suffer, by remembering the love of God for us, and by replacing fear of man with fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom.
Is anorexia a sin?
Are eating disorders a sin, or a disease? This week, Pastor Mark discusses the pressure from media and culture that causes concerns over body image that lead to anorexia. By exploring various frameworks for how to interpret Scripture, we can learn best how to counsel those in need. These frameworks include: Sin and Repentance Idolatry and … Read more
Jesus and Anxiety
“Fear not” is the most frequent command—or loving invitation—in the Bible. Fear in the mind leads to anxiety in the body, which reduces the quality and duration of life. Unlike other religions’ gods, our God is able to sympathize with us in our weakness because he’s been here. Our God is a good Dad who knows we have needs. He’ll take care of us. If you truly believe that he is a generous king, give. So much of your stress is connected to your stuff that as you give your stuff to others, you’re giving your stress to him. The joy of giving reorients our hearts away from ourselves and to God and others.
Jesus Rejoices in the Holy Spirit
The bad news is we have an enemy who’s at war against us. The good news is Jesus is in authority over him and he delegates his authority to us. Even better than that, if we are Christians, our names are written in heaven. So, Jesus tells us to rejoice because he wins, rejoice because we know God, and rejoice because the kingdom is coming. Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, not his circumstances. Pastor Mark also offers ten practical life applications for rejoicing in the Holy Spirit.
Asking For The Holy Spirit
Jesus teaches some parables and principles for prayer. First, our God is good, loving, gracious, and kind, so we should come to him, day or night, 24/7, and ask, seek, and knock. Second, God is a good Father and if we ask him for a good thing, we won’t get a bad thing. A good Father gives good gifts and the greatest gift is the Holy Spirit. Ask, continually, for the Holy Spirit and his help.
Mary and Martha
Are you Mary or Martha? Mary’s contemplative; Martha’s active. Mary’s about being; Martha’s about doing. Martha thought she was going to serve Jesus the good portion, but Mary chose the good portion. Jesus is our good portion that will never be taken away. A meal is temporary, but time with Jesus is a gift that lasts forever. We live in a Martha world; we’re troubled, we’re anxious, and we’re distracted. But God built this world to be a Mary world with Martha moments. When sin entered the world, it turned into a Martha world in which we have to fight for Mary moments. The rhythm of our day is supposed to be Mary first, then Martha. Spend time with Jesus, then get stuff done. Worship like Mary, then work like Martha. Worship God before you work so that you can worship God in your work. We want Mary’s heart and Martha’s hands.
Man, that prayer stuff doesn’t work!
Check out this week’s video update from Pastor Mark. Every week, readers write in sharing stories of how God is at work and prayer requests. This week, Pastor Mark shares a tragic story of suffering, loss, and prayer.
Suffering Like Jesus
The Corinthian church leadership looked like their surrounding culture rather than leadership modeled on the suffering of Christ.
Spiritual Gifts Part 1
Jesus said that one day Christians would do even greater ministry than He did by the empowerment and gifting of the Holy Spirit. This gifting, however, is often misunderstood. Paul provides clear teaching on the purpose, nature, and goal of “spiritual gifts”.