What is Our Identity?

Sin is not the bad things that we do but the deep desire within all of us to be independent from God – to be our own bosses. Man started out as children of God in the Garden of Eden [the garden of pleasure]. Through stepping away from God as Lord and Father man became [...]

How Can I Hear God?

Hello. This is Mark's wife Shell with an introduction to this teaching. I have often told Mark he needs to tell people the reason he hears from God so quickly. He takes an hour each day sitting in stillness and silence with God. Sometimes he won't hear or sense anything for days, but he still [...]

Waiting Well – part 2

We need the perseverance of Jesus to endure the delay. I think most of us know this by virtue of our experience with doubt. The question is; what can we do about it? How can we survive the delay? How can we wait well? Delay always brings difficult questions and a terrible temptation. The questions [...]

Am I Grading Myself on the Curve?

This is the scariest part of discovering the truth about ourselves. If you haven't got to read the first two posts or listen to the sermon online - try it - I guarantee you will get a few laughs. This is the last installment before I move onto another topic - hopefully a bit lighter [...]

Are we prone to self-deception?

We Christians think of ourselves as truthful people. We say we not only know the truth but we love it as well. Being a Christian, I have a lot of Christian friends. Being a pastor, I have known a lot of Christians over the years, in good times and bad. I find the above statement very [...]

A question you don’t often hear in church?

What are the words that come to mind when you hear the word “Naked?” When I ask this question when I am teaching, I get the following word answers: “shame”, “ugly”, “sin”, “vulnerable”, “exposed”, “embarrassed”.  Most of these are negative – fear shame, etc. Have you ever noticed how you can read a verse and [...]

Paradise Lost, Paradise Found

Have you ever noticed how you can read a verse and skip over it without paying much attention and then one day you take another look and a light comes on - connections are made and the Lord is teaching you something? Catch this verse – it contains within it one of the most important [...]

Catch me on YouTube

I used an old Hollywood trick in the intro of this video clip - enjoy! Pre-release book discussion starting Sept 16th at 7 pm. Official book release on our website October 4th.  

Why I wrote the book.

Mark Cowper-Smith I grew up under religion. It almost ended any chance of finding God. Religion is a treadmill of performance with ever increasing speed and inclination. My journey toward God was one of stepping off of the treadmill – no easy task. When I finally discovered that God wanted a relationship with [...]

What do you make of 1 Corinthians 5:11?

  Mark Cowper-Smith 1 Corinthians 5:11  But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. Don't even eat with such a person. (see full chapter [...]

How do I respond to those who object to modern day prophecy?

Mark Cowper-Smith I was asked this question recently: Mark, I was reading John 6:28-29 & wanted to get your opinion. The people wanted to perform miracles, but Jesus said that God only wanted them to believe. If someone rebuts modern-day prophesy w/this scripture, what should I say? I responded as follows: The context [...]

What about Gossip?

In response to questions about gossip: Gossip is any statement however made that would tend to depreciate the reputation of the person being the subject of the statement. The fact that the statement is true is not a defense to gossip. The fact that the statement is made with a request for prayer for the [...]

What is our motivation for understanding the Bible better?

What we think about God determines the emotional, psychological and relational state of our lives. True and accurate thoughts about God's nature and our nature are essential to a successful life. The Bible is our primary source for understanding truth about the nature of God and ourselves. The Bible needs to be studied to be [...]

How can we respond to Bible critics?

Someone recently asked me that if we don't pay attention to some of the laws in the Bible [in the Old Testament], why should we pay attention to anything it says? Mark: Since Jesus' intervention into human history we are not bound by these laws. Nothing could be clearer. Paul sets out the "New Covenant" [...]

Book of Philippians

The book of Philippians is a letter to a church. To understand the letter we have to understand the church. Churches are just like people; they have a genetic code which they received from their parents. They are formed as well, through the experience of their early formative years.  The church of Philippi is the [...]

Life of Jesus – Geneologies

Two writers start their stories of Jesus' life by giving his life line, who fathered who way back to the start. This is not unusual in biographies. What is unusual is that these two writers do not tell the same story. Their records are not the same. Matthew's list starts at Abraham and Luke's starts [...]

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