Come To The Table

When you accept Jesus as your Savior, you become a brother or sister in His family. God becomes your Father, and you are given all the rights to the inheritance of His infinite wealth of grace, love, and freedom. You are no longer bound by the chains of slavery to your sinfulness. As Pastor Mark will illustrate in this message, the level of hospitality you’ll find in God’s family is beyond compreh...

Think about your childhood. You had rules to follow; you had to be in bed by a certain time. Most likely, you weren’t allowed to do whatever you wanted. When you grew up, those restraints were lifted. You can go to bed whenever you want. You can do just about anything, as long as it doesn’t break the law. But, if you have wisdom, you’ll choose restraint as an adult, because it’s what’s best for yo...

The Law isn’t as much a guide for how to live as it is a revelation of how all of us are living wrong. On its own, it presents a great burden of guilt. It reveals just how far we are from God. The chasm between us is too far to span, but the beauty of the Gospel is that God made a way where there was no way. God gave the Law to reveal our wickedness, but He gave Christ to forgive and remove that e...

If we can’t live by the Law in a way that pleases God and the only way to obtain righteousness is through Christ, then why even have the Law? Should we just do away with it? There have been those who would say “yes,” while there are others who stress the importance of the law in the life of a believer. As Pastor Mark explores these two seemingly contradictory approaches to faith, he’ll draw out so...

The consequences of sin are dismal. That word doesn’t even begin to cover the agony that can be expected throughout eternal separation from God and His grace. You may not realize just how much His grace does for you in this life, even before salvation, but an existence without it would be unbearable. As completely awful as hell sounds, the alternative is even more indescribable in the joy and plea...

You can try to live by the Law and earn your way to Heaven –many people have – but just like all of them, you will fail. You have sin in your heart, and no matter how well you follow the law, your heart can’t be made clean enough to be worthy of God’s presence. There’s only one way for that to happen. In today’s message, as Pastor Mark continues our study of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, we’ll b...

Have you ever felt bitterness or doubt towards God because He hasn’t answered a specific prayer? Maybe it was a prayer for healing for yourself or a loved one. Why doesn’t God answer those prayers every time? The truth is, we can’t know. Sometimes He’ll make it clear in hindsight, but sometimes we have to wait till heaven to find out. As Pastor Mark will explain in today’s message, God’s ways are...

Why did Jesus humble Himself by taking on human flesh and living a sinless life of selfless ministry just so He could die for us? Did He do that so that you could pour yourself into trying to earn your salvation through the Law? God gave us the Law to show us our need for Him. As soon as we chose rebellion, He knew we could never measure up on our own. As Pastor Mark will explain in today’s messag...

You cannot do anything to satisfy the requirements necessary for entering heaven and having intimacy with God. He is perfect, and even the most righteous person still will have sin in their heart on some level. Of course, most of us likely don’t think of ourselves as very righteous. We are more likely to look at ourselves as being too wicked for God, and that’s true. On our own, we are. But, as we...

The Bible CLEARLY states that there’s no way to Heaven except through Jesus. Period. Nothing in the law can save you, and that means that nothing you do or don’t do will save you! In this teaching, Pastor Mark will be reminding you that the reason Jesus came was to save us. He didn’t have to – we could have kept right on trying to do our best and follow Biblical law. But God didn’t want that. He w...

While we’d like to think we have the power to get to Heaven, that simply isn’t true. Jesus even talked about it in His time on earth– the only way to get to the Father is THROUGH Jesus! Sounds great to say that, right? But are you following through with that statement and actually living like Jesus has rescued you? As you’ll learn from Pastor Mark in this teaching, the law is no guarantee for Salv...

There’s a common misconception regarding confrontation that causes many to see withholding a correction or rebuke as more loving than giving it. Sometimes, even when you know you need to say something, the fear of conflict prevents you from addressing the issue. In this teaching, Pastor Mark will challenge us to be honest and upfront with those we love when we see them engaging in behaviors that w...

There are many things we fight over in the Church that just aren’t worth the time, effort, or broken relationships – but when it comes to the essentials, it’s worth the fight. It takes discernment to identify what falls into that category, but ultimately, we should operate under the guidance of God’s grace. Fighting over an issue should not automatically mean fighting against an individual. As Pas...

We’re very fortunate to have the right to speak our faith freely without any legal consequence in our country. You may experience ridicule, and in some cases, standing up for the truth of Christ could cost you a job or position, but we don’t have to fear arrest or death as a result of sharing our faith. While it’s hard for us to fathom the amount of pressure that Christian martyrs have faced throu...

We spend far too much of our energy and resources on trying to get the approval and favor of other people. Not only does it cost us emotionally and financially, but it also costs us spiritually. As Pastor Mark will remind us in this message, there’s only one place we should be looking for that approval. It’s infinitely more valuable to have God’s approval than that of men. Sadly, you likely find y...

You can get saved anywhere at any time. The same is true of baptism – though it’s helpful to have some water nearby. Baptism is expected of Christians, but there are some misunderstandings of this sacrament that Pastor Mark will clear up in this teaching. God won’t check for Baptism certificates as you go through the pearly gates; That’s not what it’s all about. Baptism is intended to push you dee...

The Bible has been greatly misunderstood throughout the centuries--from the Pharisees and their predecessors all the way through modern-day. Many look at Scripture as a rulebook for how to live life, but, as Pastor Mark will explain in today’s message, that’s not an entirely accurate view. The commandments and laws contained in Scripture are impossible for us to keep. You may succeed in some ways,...

As Pastor Mark will point out in this teaching, there was a time when God spoke to only a select number of people – the prophets. These people weren’t perfect, but they had dedicated themselves to listening and obeying God as He spoke to them through Scripture and supernatural revelations. Today, we no longer need to depend on a few people to receive the truth of God and interpret it for us. God h...

Have you ever seen a commercial for a product whose main selling point is that they’re better than their competitors? It’s convincing when a testimonial is given from someone who used to use the other brand, but now that they’ve tried this brand, they’ve seen how much better it is. If they’d never tried the other brand, we wouldn’t trust their opinion nearly as much. Paul’s testimony was more effe...

None of us enjoy correction or rebuke. Most of us will try our best to avoid being on either side of it. There’s a good reason God gave us that hesitation. It’s vital that you take the time to really think about and, more importantly, pray about an issue before you confront someone. It should only be done out of love. As you mature in your faith in Christ and He transforms you from the inside out,...

Rebellion and resistance to correction are characteristics of an immature believer. When an authority figure or a peer comes to you with correction or accountability, your first reaction may be to get defensive. The excuses start flowing. Or sometimes you try to turn it around on them and start pointing out their flaws. How should a mature believer handle those moments of confrontation? As Pastor...

The days in which we are living are challenging. We have two options. We can either use the turbulence of our circumstances to grow our faith or we can use it to grow our fear. We may not have much power in this world, but we do have the power to choose between these two things. In this teaching, Pastor Mark will encourage us to choose faith in the midst of trials. Instead of staring at a televisi...

Dying for our faith is generally not something we have to worry about in this country. As much as popular culture may have moved away from the values and virtues that characterize the life of a Christ-follower, things simply haven’t reached that point yet. It is hard for us to put ourselves in the shoes of our spiritual predecessors who faced the very real threat of death simply for believing in J...

The world is full of sights and sounds and the next big thing. All these things have the power to pull you away from what really matters, and what really matters is Jesus. Jesus asked Peter if he loved him more than all the sights and sounds and things. This challenged Peter, and it should challenge you too.

Before Jesus’ death, Peter claimed he would never deny the Lord. For those who know the story, you know he did deny Jesus—three times—and his decision crushed him. Jesus knew he would do this, and yet He still loved him. When Jesus returned, Peter was restored and made new. Maybe you’re wrestling with a mistake that you’ve made in the past. Jesus wants to restore you! In this teaching, Pastor Mark...