LifeSync

Bad news sells. A Good News channel once launched and failed for lack of viewers, and that says something about us. Even in church, the Good News of Jesus is rarely preached, and neither is the bad news it answers. In this episode of Mondays with Mark, Mark explains why we can't fully appreciate the Gospel until we face the reality of sin. All have sinned and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23...

Most of us are working on some form of self-improvement: physical, educational, social, or spiritual. That's a good thing, but there's one habit to avoid. Comparing ourselves to others leaves us either disappointed or arrogant. In this episode of Mondays with Mark, Mark encourages us to compare ourselves only to who we were yesterday. No one is better than you, and you're better than no one; you a...

Why aren't we happier when we have more than any generation in history? Mark explains that happiness is circumstantial and temporary, while joy is a lasting gift from God and a fruit of the Holy Spirit. He looks at Galatians 5:22, Psalm 16:11, and James 1:2 to show that joy is found by following God's path, even through trials. Mark then shares five elements for discovering real joy: Perspective,...

Mark watched the World Cup and was struck by the devotion of soccer fans: standing for hours, buying jerseys, and following their favorite players. That leads to a question for all of us: are you a fan, and of whom? Mark notes that even our heroes are ordinary people who can let us down, and he invites listeners to know and imitate Jesus instead. He shares a recent conversation that opened the doo...

Mark completes his two-part look at Psalm 23 by working through verses 2 through 6. He shows how David describes a God who gives rest and nourishment, renews us, guides us onto the right path, walks with us through life's darkest valleys, and prepares a table of blessing even in the presence of enemies. Mark shares his own experience of an overflowing cup and closes with the assurance that God's l...

Mark begins a two-part look at Psalm 23 with an unexpected starting point: the German Shepherd. Why do they share a name with the men who tend sheep? Because they lead, protect, and provide for the flock. Mark follows that thread to David, who lived the shepherd's life before becoming king and writing Psalm 23, and to Jesus, who twice calls Himself the Good Shepherd in John 10. He encourages liste...

Mark continues What Real Believers Look Like, covering commands 5 through 10 from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6–7): prayer and the Lord's Prayer, trusting God through creation, priorities, worry, avoiding hypocritical judgment and living the Golden Rule, and staying on the narrow path while watching for false prophets. A practical close to this mini-series on daily obedience to Jesus.

Mark begins a new mini-series, What Real Believers Look Like, based on the Direct and General Commands of Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), drawn from Galen Currah's 300+ Commands of Jesus. In Part A, Mark covers being salt and light, prioritizing relationships and reconciliation, resisting retaliation, and the call to generosity, loving enemies, and pursuing perfection — comma...

Physical growth is easy to spot — a grandchild who's suddenly taller, for instance. Spiritual growth is harder to measure, unless you're regularly in the Word. In this episode, Mark explores why Jesus shifted from direct teaching to parables in Matthew 13, then dives into the Parable of the Soils — the hard path, the rocky soil, the thorny ground, and the good soil. Three of the four soils said ye...

Mark's been married to Marty for 57 years, and looking back, he's Amazed — amazed she said yes, and amazed at how good God has been to them. That reflection leads to a bigger question: are you still amazed by Jesus? Or has the routine of faith dulled your sense of wonder? In this episode, Mark digs into what it means to stay amazed by God's love, to keep repenting and turning toward Him daily, and...

We're natural sharers — a funny joke, a great sale, a helpful tip, we pass it along without a second thought. So why is sharing our faith so much harder? In this episode, Mark walks through Jesus's Parable of the Lamp from Matthew 5:15 and makes the case that believers aren't meant to hoard the Light they've received — they're meant to shine it. He identifies three common ways we hide our light, a...

As a child, maybe your parents marked your height on a doorpost each year — a simple, tangible way to track growth. But in this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark turns the question inward: how do you measure spiritual growth? It's not church attendance, good works, or giving — those things matter, but they're secondary. Mark walks through three foundational theological concepts every believer sh...

Do you have a passport? Is it up to date? In this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark uses the familiar process of obtaining a passport as a creative and memorable lens for exploring what it takes to enter eternity. An earthly passport requires forms, fees, photos, proof of citizenship, and a minimum age. The Christian passport? Completely different — and infinitely better. Drawing on John 14:2–3,...

Things don't always go the way you planned — and when a major disappointment or problem shakes your world, where you turn next makes all the difference. In this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark identifies two camps everyone falls into when life gets hard: those who reach for the world's wisdom — medicine, financial tools, self-help, the internet — and those who reach for the Word. Mark makes th...

A great chef knows hundreds of recipes by heart. A great disciple knows God's Word the same way — and knows how to apply it. In this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark opens with a fresh look at who Jesus really is: not just the Great Physician, but the Great Everything — the second person of the Trinity who declared "I AM" before Abraham was born. From there he draws a simple and convicting anal...

When was the last time someone asked if you were eager to do good? Probably never — and yet according to Titus 2:14, it's exactly the posture Christ redeemed us for. In this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark walks through Titus 2:11–14 and paraphrases the passage in a way that reframes everything: because God sent Jesus for our salvation, teaches us to say no to worldly passions, and is coming b...

Go to church. Follow the Ten Commandments. Love others. These are the answers most people give when asked how to follow Jesus — but are any of them actually what Jesus said? In this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark works through five direct statements from Jesus about what following Him really requires: loving God with every part of who you are, keeping His commandments, seeking His kingdom fir...

What's your position on God's team? In this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark draws an engaging parallel between team sports and the Body of Christ, reminding us that every believer has a role to play — not just pastors and teachers, but anyone with a skill or ability to share. From small group prayer trackers to caregivers for grieving families, the church functions best when everyone steps up....

When you stop to evaluate your walk with God, do you find yourself focused on your Guilt — or your Gifts? In this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark zeroes in on one of the most common traps believers face and offers a grace-filled, Scripture-backed reminder: Jesus has covered all your sins, and you were made on purpose, for a purpose. He walks through how to identify your spiritual gifts, why th...

It's June, which means the summer giving appeals have started arriving — letters, emails, worthy causes, all competing for limited resources. In this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark gets personal about a tension he and Marty navigated for years: do you give a little to many ministries, or a larger amount to a few? He shares where they landed, and more importantly, the ongoing miracle they've w...

Do you know you're a Christian — and do the people around you know it too? In this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark gets to the heart of what it really means to follow Jesus: not church attendance or Christian bumper stickers, but a life that reflects genuine faith in action. He walks through the biblical marks of a practicing Christian, including five key identity verses that remind us who we...

There's an old saying Mark comes back to often: you can't out-give God. In this episode of Mondays with Mark , he doesn't just repeat it — he testifies to it. Because this isn't a platitude. It's something he has experienced firsthand, multiple times, in ways he can't fully explain but absolutely believes. Mark starts with a simple exercise: make a list of everything God has given you. Resources,...

What's your most valuable asset? In this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark makes the case that it's not your finances, your talents, or even your spiritual knowledge — it's your time. Drawing from Ephesians 5:15-17, he walks through how the same hours can either multiply your impact or quietly erode it, depending on how you steward them. He closes with a practical challenge: take stock of what G...

Have you ever sat down to lunch at your favorite spot, enjoyed the same great food and service you always have — and then nearly fallen out of your chair when the bill arrived? That's what happened to Mark recently, and it got him thinking about the sneaky nature of slow change. In this episode of Mondays with Mark, he walks us through how gradual shifts — inflation, a few extra pounds, the passag...

How many definitions does the word "love" have? More than you'd think — and that's exactly where Mark starts this week. Because before we can talk about what it means to truly love someone, we have to clear away the noise around a word that gets attached to everything from pizza to pets to people. In this episode of Mondays with Mark , Mark works through some of the most powerful love passages in...