“What do these stones mean?” Joshua tells us they are to remind us of what God has done in our life. What have you done to make sure you will remember Gods faithfulness? We are only one generation away from losing our faith, and this is what happens.

“After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.” Judges 2:10

That is what happens when no one builds a Memorials. We need to be faithful to teach our kids the things God does in our Family. Build a Memorial, pile some stones but you say I don’t have any, well here are some things you can do.

1. Make Sunday special – worship God, rest, unplug, disconnect. Ex 20:8                                                                  
2. Meal time – take time to share life.  Deut 27:7
3. Family Devotions – Talk about God.  Deut 6:6-7
4. Holidays/Vacations – Celebrate & Dedicate Time. Numbers 10:10
5. Passover/Communion – Remember. Ex 12:13-14

These are just a few ideas you or can make your own “Family Memorial” and then when someone asks you why you do these things you can tell them they remind us of a time when God did_______________
you fill in the blank. and thats the way I see it in my market

As we are working through this current series on the family ( Family Guide ) we have come to the the subject of parenthood- to be or act as a mother or father to someone.

Its an interesting definition: to be or act.

This implies doing something. So many parents seem to be willing to let someone else – to be or act – as a mother or father,  why would you want someone else to be the primary influence in their life?

God gave them to you and the responsibilities of raising them. Training kids doesn’t just happen, we have to Be or Act. This is the greatest Job you will ever have. And the Bible is full of advice to help us raise healthy Kids.

1. Train them to manage God’s money (Proverbs 3:9-10)
2. Train them to carefully select friends (Proverbs 13:20)
3. Train them to watch their words (Proverbs 4:24)
4. Train them to be responsible (Proverbs 6:6-8)
5. Train them to guard their minds (Proverbs 23:7)
6. Train them to be generous (Proverbs 11:25)
7. Train them to fear God (Proverbs 1:7)
You as a parent are called to lead your children don’t let a oppertunity to shape a life past by you. They need you to lead them to God, you as a parent have the ability to affect generations by what you do now and that’s the way I see it in my market

Well, here we are or at least am I still here. Did I miss it? Did it happen? I can’t help but wonder did this last guy even feel bad for the people that believed what he was telling them?  The short answer NO! He’s busy trying to come up with another date, reworking the calculation,  so he can continue to perpertrate the lie that keeps the scheme going.  It was never God’s Plan for the bible to make us mindless, he gave us.
His Word and The Holy Spirit.
He gave us a map and a guide, Yet people make it so hard The Gospel is very simple. And God is a capable  teacher. You need to learn to think for yourself. As a pastor I have the privledge to teach the bible every week and I do my very best to study and pray to find out what God is saying through whatever Text we maybe studying, but that is no substitute for what the Holy Spirit can teach you. There are a lot of good spirit filled bible teachers out there and they all get it from the same place you can. You should never accept as truth what somebody tells you until you have done the work of seeking the truth for yourself. Shame on you for lying to God’s people and making a mockery of the Gospel. My advice to you for your Last Day is to be ready today. Ask the Lord Jesus Christ in to your heart, give him your life and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth and that way you will be ready no matter when The Last Day comes and thats the way I see it in my market.

I hope you guy’s had a chance to connect with your mom this past mother’s day. Wendy had the message on Sunday and the overall theme was Loving the unloved and wanting the unwanted, and I can’t help but think that of all the work that a mom has to do, helping a child feel wanted and loved has to be at the top of the list.
Just think of all the issuses that could be avoided if all the children felt loved by their mom. It is a sad commentary, but the hard truth is there are kid’s all over the world that are in desperate need of someone to love them.
“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat” Mother Teresa.
If you ever want to see the face of Jesus just look for someone who has no one to love them, no one who wants them. Jesus said” If you do it for one of the least of these you did it to me”

WHY THEN, Why does the Church of Jesus Christ have such a hard time doing this??????

I think one reason is lack of the Holy Spirit’s influence in our lives. If we could learn to follow, It would be really very simple Jesus said ” follow me and I will make you fishers of men” and the same place He lead the twelve He is leading us, Just look at the Gospels. Jesus always ended up with all the “wrong” people, and that is what keeps the body of Christ from being as effective as we could be We are afraid to follow because Jesus doesn’t tell us where he is going.

We have to want what God wants, If we really want to see God’s supernatural power evident in our lives we have to learn to be lead by God’s Holy Spirit. And thats the way I see it in my market.

We are starting a new series on the family @ MPC so for the next 8 weeks we will be talking about God’s principles for healthy families. In order for life to work the way it is suppose to the family has to work and when the family doesn’t work life doesn’t work.

Today the family comes in a wide variety of forms: single, divorced, single parent, living with grandparents, adoption, blended, church family. This is for sure that the idea of “what a family is” has changed and is still changing. With all of the difficult circumstances these family’s face God’s plan for the family has not. It was his idea and he cares deeply for your family, so what do we do when so many of our families are messed up?

One Word: WORK

Family that functions correctly take’s work Thomas Edison said “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work”
Great families don’t just happen they require work.

What does your investment look like in your family??????

In Marks gospel we can read the story of the people bringing the kid’s to Jesus so that he would bless them (Mark chapter 10:13) but the disciples where trying to keep them away. Jesus saw what was happening and the Bible tells us He was “Indignant” and put a stop to what was going on.
As we read the account of this story we can pick out Godly principles of how to raise healthy kids. Here are three:
1. Loving touch: “the people were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them…..”
Our kids need our loving touch.
2. Abundant time. “Let the little children come to me.” They need time with us, real time not only quality but quantity as well.
3. Encouraging talk. “and he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.” Learn to speak life over your kids.
Healthy kids don’t just happen you have to make a substantial investment of your life in theirs.
And thats the way I see it in my market.

If you talk to people today it seams that hope is in short supply. People are worried about everything; the state of the economy, the government, their job, their family, the war or wars, natural disaster you name it you can find someone worried about it. And I can’t help to think, may be the reason for all the worry is that we have misplaced our hope??????
Frederick Buechner said “Resurrection means the worst thing is never the last thing”
It’s an interesting thought. what if you could have a resurrection in any area of your life, what would you choose? so many people have given up on the hope of a resurrection so they stay in a DEAD situation, why attend a burial when you could have a resurrection??? are you willing to walk out of the “tomb” you dug? We (the body of Christ) often forget about the power of the resurrection, that the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us, in you.
The resurrection validates everything Jesus said and did!
His message-Love God/Love people Mark 12:29,30
His identity-Iam the bread of life…. John 6:35
I am the resurrection…..John 11:25
I am the way…….John 14:6
His death Acts 2:22,23 and I cor 15:3-6
In Christ we have hope for something better, A Resurrection of all thats dead in your life starts with Jesus Christ He is worthy of your Hope, YOU can trust Him to care for you. You may not know what to do, but he does. and thats the way I see it in my market.

The Bible says that the power of life and death is in the tongue and if we really believed that, I think our conversations would be quite different. Have you ever thought about the words you speak? the Bible also says that we will give an account of every idle word we speak and that is truly a scary thought. to think that one day I have to explain why I allowed all that trash get past my lips.
This would be a good time to pray!
I have been hurt physically and verbally and I have to tell you that thou by body still has the scars I remember very little of the actual pain, however there are some memories past events of words that where spoken, they still hurt and try there best to drag me back to live in the pain.
There is power in words.
Make no mistake about it, what we say matters now and in the future. Last time we where taking about the Cross and it is fitting to think about the words coming from the Cross.

The first one is forgiveness. we hear Jesus speaking words of forgiveness to the very people that nailed him to the Cross. Men had done their worst. what do we need to learn from Jesus? that no one is beyond the reach of prayer even the ones who hurt us the deepest, Pray for those who hurt you.
The second is a word of hope, God’s Hope is for today right now
The third is a word of comfort and Affection “I will see to it that you are taken care of” my paraphrase The Lord cares about the details of your life.
The next word is a word of separation God is always close, but the nature of sin will block and distort our understanding of God’s presence in our live’s
The fifth is a word of suffering “I Thirst” only in Christ can this need be met. I might never understand what you have been or are going through, But the Lord Knows.
The sixth is a word of Victory “IT IS FINISHED” nothing you can add or subtract It is GRACE and it is FREE. What you need to do is BELIEVE.
AND the final word is Submission Put yourself in the fathers hands.
Jesus gives us the example of how to act and react we would do well to follow his lead.
And thats the way I see it in my market.

The cross is all around us it adorn’s building and people and it has come to mean many different things to many different people. To some it is a symbol of a old religion that is no longer relevant. To some it is fashion, a little bobble to wear and to others it represents hate and a closed mind and yet to others it means nothing.

I don’t know where you are as you read this, but i have to tell you the Cross is the most significant thing that has ever happened in human history and to believe in it the way the Bible says it happened you don’t have to check your brain at the door. The Cross is able to take all the criticism you can throw at it and it will still stand as God’s remedy for the “Human Condition”.

After thousands of years we human’s still have the same basic needs: to be loved and to love, to have a purpose, to express ourselves, to belong and to become and to connect with our creator God not just any God, The God that made everything and everyone, “I Am” the God that showed the world what he is really like by coming to earth as a child and living with us to show us how much he loves us.

The cross is the ultimate expression of his love for us. and there are some things about it you need to understand.

1. The Cross will interrupt your plans
2. The Cross will take us to a place
3. The Cross identifies who you are
4. The Cross makes you chose

No matter what you think about the Cross sooner or later you will have to deal with it, and it is better sooner than later. Receive it, cling to it, love it because through it we will find God’s forgiveness “and they nailed him to a cross” Jesus died so you could truly live.

That’s the way I see it in my market.

In the Gospel of Mark ch 15:11 the crowd ask for Barabbas a known criminal, one who was guilty. but the crowd cries out for his release over one who had done nothing wrong. You have to ask why? Jesus went about doing good to and for people, healing, feeding, and loving them. why would the crowd not want that? One answer is they where disappointed with Jesus, they could not understand how a message of love could win over power. Is it the same with you? do you believe Love conquers all evil or are you still trying to win with power? If I could get this thing or this person or that position or move to that place everything would ok. There are some interesting lesson from the crowd that day.
1. Crowds weaken character.
2. They don’t think for themselves.
3. they are loud.
4. they are not consistent.
When you read the story where do you see yourself? Jesus never challenges the crowd, however he always challenges the individual. And Individuals change crowds. God has given you a voice will you use it in “your crowd” Thats how I see it in my market

Lessons from the courtyard Mark 14:53-71.
Why would the most religious and pious men of their day act this way? The great Sanhedrin 71 of the wisest men, men that where suppose to know God better than anyone. Even if they thought Jesus was a false messiah, why would these Godly men act this way? the answer is FEAR. They seen what God was doing through Jesus and they where afraid. the first lesson is Fear threaten your security they where afraid that they would lose their status,authority, and position. The second lesson is Fear causes confusion none of the witness’s could agree. The third lesson is Jesus answers your fear “I AM” whatever your fear is Jesus is the answer: He is light, truth, bread, eternal, the good shepherd, the way, the vine, the son of God,Alpha and omega. Jesus has it covered no matter what. the fourth lesson does your appearance give you away when Peter was recognized in the courtyard he denied Him. If someone look’s at your life could you be accused of knowing Jesus. The last thing is we learn perfect love cast out fear, with everything that was going on we see Jesus calm and cool confident in God’s love. When we love we conquer fear. thats the way I see it in my market. Pastor Mark