Let his conclusion challenge you to a deeper faith and confidence in Jesus.  He declares,

“There is a huge amount to say on this issue, but the main point is this: the moment you think following Jesus will be a poor deal for someone, you call Jesus a liar. Discipleship is not always easy. Leaving anything cherished behind is profoundly hard. But Jesus is always worth it.”

What do you need to leave behind to follow Jesus more closely?  No matter how hard it may seem to be, remember this, “Jesus is always worth it.”

Was This Post Helpful to You? Consider Subscribing! 
Check out all your options for subscribing here! Don’t miss a single post!

Related posts:

• What’s your motivation for following Jesus?
• Good News! You Can Experience the Power to Change
• How to Grow Spiritually (Even When You’ve Tried and Failed)

You just finished reading How Can the Gospel Be Good News to Gays? a post on Q & A with Pastor Mark Haines, © 2013 Mark Haines.  Please share it with your friends and family.  Just preserve a link to the source.  Thank you.

Reblogged from Marc5Solas:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

We all know them, the kids who were raised in church. They were stars of the youth group. They maybe even sang in the praise band or led worship. And then... they graduate from High School and they leave church. What happened?

It seems to happen so often that I wanted to do some digging; To talk to these kids and get some honest answers.

Read more… 1,936 more words

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 13,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 3 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

Perhaps I launched writing this blog without really counting the cost. I did fail to plan and prepare like I prefer to do in most things.

When I come back, I will be refreshed and ready to write new posts on a consistent basis.

Would Jesus hang out with bikers? You better believe it!

Last evening I had the privilege of praying for several riders and their motorcycles at a “Blessing of the Bikes.”

Here’s my prayer them and for all of you who enjoy riding your bike.

May God bless your going out & your coming in.
May the Lord be with you at home & on the road.
May all your rides be safe.
May God’s grace, mercy & love always show you the way home to him.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Was This Post Helpful to You? Consider Subscribing! 

This Bible lesson on Prayers of Blessing is yours to use free of charge (but please do not sell it).

The following Bible study lesson set up for a class of about 20 adults and teens.  If you are leading a group of more or less people make whatever adjustments you need to make.

PRAYERS OF BLESSING
[A Bible Study Lesson by Pastor Mark Haines (c) 2012]

• Divide your class into three study groups.
• Instruct each group to pick a reporter and then to read through the prayers of blessing assigned to that group.
• Ask them to list the benefits that the pray-er sought for the other person(s) in each of the prayers.
• They should also list any common way of structuring the prayers, as well as shared words or phrases.

GROUP ONE — Prayers of Blessing from the Apostles

1. Romans 15:13, 33
2. Romans 16:20
3. 2 Corinthians 13:14
4. 2 Thessalonians 3:18
5. Revelation 22:21

GROUP TWO — Prayers of Blessing from the Old Testament

1. Genesis 27:27-29
2. Numbers 6:23-27
3. Joshua 22:6
4. 1 Kings 8:54-61
5. Psalm 67
6. Psalm 128:5-6

GROUP THREE — Prayers of Blessing from Other Places in the Bible

1. Luke 2:34
2. Ephesians 3:20
3. 1 Timothy 1:17
4. Hebrews 13:20
5. 1 Peter 5:10

• When all the groups have completed their assignments have the reporter from each group share their discoveries.
• Allow each person present to compose a prayer of blessing for your congregation based on the biblical prayers.
• Form a circle and give each person a turn to pray his or her blessing.

(If you use this lesson, please let me know the results in the comment section.  Thank you very much.)

Was This Post Helpful to You? Consider Subscribing! 
Check out all your options for subscribing here! Don’t miss a single post!

Related posts:

• 3 Signs Your Prayers Are Powerful
• Top Ten Prayers That Are Always God’s Will
• Prayer Secrets from God’s Saints

You just finished reading FREE Bible Lesson on Prayers of Blessing a post on Q & A with Pastor Mark Haines, © 2012 Mark Haines.  Please share it with your friends and family.  Just preserve a link to the source.  Thank you.

imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What does the Bible mean when it talks about “seeking” the Lord?

If God’s address is with broken people why do I need to search for him?

I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands. (Psalm 119:10)

You’ve experienced this idea of seeking in all of your growing relationships.  Parents and children seek to know and understand each other.  Friends spend time and energy in order to know each other better.

Seeking the Lord is the same kind of thing.  Seeking God means investing time and effort into building your relationship with him.  God is not lost and he is not hiding.  He does live with you but like all your relationships growth and intimacy with the Lord is not automatic.

So, seek the Lord and believe he will reward you with a deeper relationship with him. (Hebrews 11:6)

PRAYER SUGGESTION FOR TODAY:

I will seek you, Lord.

God is much closer than you might think.

The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,
    the Holy One, says this:
“I live in the high and holy place
    with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
    and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts. (Isaiah 57:15)

Because he is not limited by time and space God lives in heaven’s holy place and with those of us who are broken and bruised.  Here’s a prayer to jump start your week now that you know the amazing truth about God’s address.  He lives with you!

Lord, you are the high and lofty one who lives beyond the limits of time and space.  You are the Holy One who lives in unapproachable light.  You sit on heaven’s high and holy throne.  Even the angels tremble at the sight of your awesome glory and splendor.  You are hopelessly beyond our reach.

And yet, you dwell with those whose spirits are broken and humbled.  You restore the crushed spirit of the humble.  You revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.  Your nearness, your mercy, your love and your grace fill us with hope.  You are within our reach.  You are living in our world — healing, refreshing, restoring.  Help us to live in this amazing truth.  Amen.

Was This Post Helpful to You? Consider Subscribing! 
Check out all your options for subscribing here! Don’t miss a single post!

Related posts:

• Letting Go of Your Past: Saying good-bye to failure, guilt & shame
• How to Experience God While You Read the Bible
• God Will Take Care Of You

You just finished reading The Amazing Truth about God’s Address a post on Q & A with Pastor Mark Haines, © 2012 Mark Haines.  Please share it with your friends and family.  Just preserve a link to the source.  Thank you.

It’s funny the things you remember about your childhood.

The last few days I’ve been thinking about my mom and worms. My mom did not like worms as far as I can recall. However, she did talk about eating them on occasion.

One day when my sister and I were complaining about how the other one received something better than we had, mom told us a joke. In this story, a mother leaves the father alone to take care of their little boy. She leaves very strict instructions. “Give him whatever he asks for – no exceptions.”

Shortly after the mother leaves the little guy asks for a snack. His dad responding by asking if he wanted ice cream. No. What about a cookie? No. The little boy declared, “I want a worm.” His father tried to talk him out of this gross request but the more he said the louder the boy cried.

So, the father went out to the back yard and found a big earthworm. When he came in the house, the little boy asked him to cook it. The father did as he requested. The son told his father to cut the worm in half and eat part of it first. At first, his dad refused but the boy cried and screamed, “I’ll tell mommy!”

Dad gave in, picked up half of the worm and ate it as fast as he could. The son screamed even louder and cried, “You ate my half of the worm!”

My mother said, “Some people will never be happy no matter how hard you try, so don’t try.”  I’m pretty sure my sister and I stopped complaining – at least for a few minutes.

PRAYER SUGGESTION FOR TODAY:

Lord, will you teach me to be content?

Reblogged from Sermonettes: