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.
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.
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.
The Corinthian church leadership looked like their surrounding culture rather than leadership modeled on the suffering of Christ.
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”.
The work done by churches and Christians will one day stand in judgment before Christ, who will condemn and torch all works not built upon the foundation of Christ.
This section of Scripture remains wildly misunderstood. Singleness is not ideal, marriage should be honored by all. Practically, however, there are seasons and reasons that provide exceptions to the rule of marriage for some people.
This sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll was preached at Muldoon Community Assembly Church in Anchorage Alaska on September 6th 2015 at their evening service.
This Sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll was preached at James River Church in Ozark, MO, on June 7th 2015.
As the old adage goes, you save the best for last.
This is why at a concert the biggest hit is the song that closes the show and dessert is saved for the end of a meal. The same is true in Ecclesiastes. The entire book has thus far explored the meaning of our fleeting life, and now gives us the bottom line for how to keep life aligned with God’s will.
How motivated are you, honestly, by winning? Are you as zealous for wisdom as you are for winning?
Don’t let the mundane duties of life rob you of the joy of life. Don’t let the pain of life rob you of the joy of life. Don’t let the mystery of life rob you of the joy of life. Instead, understand that God has a bucket list for you to pursue. It would be sin to disobey his list, and the list might surprise you.