John Markum

The Questions You Asked… Part 3

  1. Question: “Is it ok to ask out a girl who has a boyfriend?” Answer: I don’t have a Bible verse to go with this really… But here’s how I would see it: If she did say yes, and becomes your girlfriend, how much confidence do you have that she won’t leave you when the next guy asks her out? I don’t have a clear right/wrong answer on this, but most things that are “gray” are usually more black than white. Tread carefully…
  2. Question: “Since Adam and Eve were the first humans, where did their sons’ wives come from?” Answer: Don’t be too grossed out, but… their sisters. God allowed it in the beginning for the propagation of the race. Hey! Facts aren’t always fun. Just be glad that you have more options now
  3. Question: “Does God hear the prayers of unbelievers?” Answer: God hears every prayer. The real question is, does He answer? As far as I’m concerned, I’m not entirely sure, though in general, I would elan toward “no.” I answer the needs/desires of my kids, but not usually those of the neighbor’s kid… One prayer is sure that God will listen to: Faith in Christ/Repentance of sin.
  4. Question: “How can I know what my spiritual gift is?” Answer: By refusing to sit still hoping God will speak it to you in a dream or special revelation. I was not a great communicator when I surrender to full time ministry in 8th grade (You should have heard my first message… on second thought, no you shouldn’t!). When you open yourself up to letting God use you, instead of waiting for “something” to happen to you, God shows His will. Faith requires action. Your gifts will always be in the capacity of helping other people grow closer to God. And there are thousands of ways this could look for you. I made a post here on finding God’s will for your life. Hope that helps.
  5. Question: “What does it really mean to have a walk/relationship with Jesus Christ?” Answer: When you stop asking “What can I get away with?” and start asking “How  can I be like Jesus?” you’re getting close. The evidence can be found in how you treat others. I think I’ll give this more attention with it’s own blog post. Thanks for asking a great question that we all need to answer for ourselves!
  6. Question: “What does it mean when a Christian ‘accepts Christ,’ gets baptized, does most of the right stuff, but they never give or serve anywhere? Are they really saved?” Answer: “Faith without works is dead.” What you believe is evidenced by what you do. But I don’t know if anyone is saved… except for me. I don’t know people’s hearts. I can only observe their outward behavior as indicators as to whats inside. In this case, I would suggest that you expand your idea of how gracious God is with His own children. Maybe this person just hasn’t matured to that point yet. If Christ has given them new life, they’ll get there. If they are not saved, then our response is still the same: Love them to Jesus! Let Him change them! I can’t change anyone… neither can you.
  7. Question: “Did dragons/dinosaurs exist after the flood?” Answer: My thought? Yeah… they did. Maybe still do. Several “pre-historic” species (such as certain fish) were believed to long since evolved or died off that have been caught in the wild still. Job, in the Bible, refers to two creatures –Leviathon and Behemoth– that existed post-flood and sound dinosaur-esque. Some have tried to label these two creatures as a hippo/elephant and an alligator. But that just doesn’t fit. They sound like a dinosaur/dragon of some kind. And there is plenty of scientific theory to lend support as to how this may have been possible.

What I want to say to The Awakening this morning:

Good morning church!

I want to share just a few things with you that were on my heart this morning…

  1. First of all, you are amazingly gifted, loved, and equipped to accomplish everything that God has called you to today. Walk in victory! You are more than a conqueror through Him who loves you! Romans 8:37
  2. We are continuing our series, “Relationships: Mothers, Brothers, and Others” this Saturday by talking about love – just in time for Valentine’s Day. Make it a point to be there this week, and bring a guest with you! We have special gifts for each of our first time guests.
  3. We are having Connecting Point next week, Feb. 19th, immediately after our worship time. Connecting Point is about 30 minutes long, and we provide some food and drinks, and give you an opportunity to learn more about our church family and how you can be a part of what God is doing here.
  4. Take the time to get connected to a ministry! Serve somewhere. Be a part of what God is doing here so that people far from God may be awakened with life in Christ! Mark “Serve somewhere” on the back of your connection card this Saturday and we’ll talk to you about finding a place to serve.
  5. Our website is changing and is a work in progress. It is almost complete, but please be patient as it is under some development. We do still encourage you to check it out, and direct others to the website to learn more about our Saturday night service in the meantime.  qcawakening.com
  6. We still have opportunities for some of you to go on a Missions Trip to Wichita, KS with us this summer (June 5-10). If you would like to consider going on this trip, be sure to grab an information packet this Saturday, and ask me any questions about the trip after the service in the foyer. We will need commitments soon!
  7. Be in prayer for what God is doing in our church! This Saturday, I will take a little bit of time to share with you how God has been leading our senior pastor, staff, and myself, and how that affects our church. I’m very excited to bring this to you, and I am praying now that you will be there to hear it first hand.

Your pastor loves you! I pray for you everyday. I hope that today includes God’s greatest blessings, and opportunities for you to experience His faithfulness like never before. I can’t wait to worship with you again on Saturday!

Blessings,

Pastor John

New Series: Relationships

My leadership team and I wanted to take the month of February and deal with relationships. We wanted to broaden it past the typical series on dating or marriage though. We wanted to deal with all relationships, and communicate that somehow. So tonight, we began a new series called, “Relationships: Mothers, Brothers, and Others”. Above is a video to let you know about it. We hope through this series that people will feel empowered to see their relationships healed in the name of Jesus, and establish healthier ones. If you happen to be around the Quad Cities, we would love to have you as our guest. If you’re not in the area, you are welcome to see the message online later this week (www.qcawakening.com). And if you’re a preacher and want to take our series idea, graphic, and/or video to use at your church… be our guest! Email me or leave a comment if you want something specific.

See you all this week!

John

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