Covenant Christian Reformed Church

Going Home (A Study of the Gospel of John; Jesus on Discipleship #6) John 14:1-3 A. How many people live as if the Christian Life is a retirement cruise? 1. If we sail unprepared, it’s in spite of God - not because of him 2. He has gone before us and offers to go with us B. In these verses, Jesus promises to prepare us a place in his Father’s house JESUS PROVIDES A PERSPECTIVE (14:1) A. One of Jesus’ hardest commands is “Let not your hearts be troubled” 1. There seem to be incredibly good reasons for Jesus’ disciples to be troubled 2. It is okay to have and learn from our troubles, but then we need to move on B. The antidote to a troubled “heart” is a trusting communion with the Father and his Son 1. Trust develops over time in community through relationships 2. Jesus invites his disciples to deepen their communion with the Father... C. John continues and notes reasons to foster and fortify our trust 1. Jesus “Dear little children” provided a note of divine affection (13:33) 2. Jesus’ “for now

Listening For God (Discovering God’s Will Together; #9) John 8:42-47 A. Prayer is central, assumptive, and normative in the Christian Life B. In discerning God’s will, prayer is absolutely essential The Principles “The best method of prayer is to have no method at all.” (St. Francis deSales) A. Principle One: The best way to learn to pray is ... to pray B. Principle Two: Prayer is primarily about our relationship with God 1. Prayer is not about getting stuff, problem solving or seeking guidance 2. Prayer is about experiencing more of God’s presence C. Principle Three: We don’t really know much about prayer 1. We are consciously stepping into the presence of the God of the universe! 2. We tend to focus on the mechanics and methods of prayer D. Principle Four: Prayer is hard work; it takes time 1. We wonder whether all the effort will be worth it 2. We join the disciples and ask, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1) E. Principle Five: Prayer is a gift from God F. Everything you need to know ab

Pausing to Pray (Discovering God’s Will Together; #8) (Mark 1:35) “We tend to think of prayer as something we do in order to produce the results we believe are needed or, rather, to get God to produce the results. Go to any Christian bookstore and note the number of books devoted to techniques of prayer. We are interested in knowing what works and developing skills that will ensure that our prayers are effective. As a result our prayers tend to be a shopping list of things to be accomplished, an attempt to manipulate the symptoms of our lives without really entering into a deep, vital, transforming relationship with God.” (Robert Mulholland) A. Most believers have a genuine desire to pray... B. That’s why most of us became a Christian - to spend eternity with God CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER A. Prayer is typically defined as talking to God, contemplative prayer is best defined as being with God “Our chief end is to glorify and enjoy God forever” (Westminster Catechism) B. Why is contemplative prayer importa

The Glory and Misery of Discipleship (A Study of the Gospel of John) John 13:31-38 A. This is the beginning of Jesus’ Closing Discourse - John 14-16 1. Jesus explains the significance and implications of his greatest deeds - i.e., his death and his resurrection “[This] is one of the greatest compositions in literature...because the one who speaks here speaks as no human being has ever spoken” (Raymond Brown) 2. What happens before, during and immediately after “this weekend” will determine human time as no other event since creation B. Jesus gives his disciples a heads up on the glory and misery of following him THE GLORY OF JESUS’ DEATH AND RESURRECTION (13:31-32) A. When Judas left, Jesus knew his Father had commenced his final work 1. Jesus says, “Now...” as if his work is already done (“the prophetic perfect”) 2. Jesus gives himself the title, “Son of Man” (cf. Daniel 7:13-14) 3. “Glorified”, from the root “doxa” (doxology), means praise and honor B. John (always) speaks of Jesus’ cross as g

Engaging the Scriptures (Discovering God’s Will Together; #7) Psalm 19:7-11 A. John Wesley prayed to be a “homo unius libri” (i.e., “a man of one book.”) “The secret to life is pursing one thing.” (Jack Palance) “Seek wisdom...to believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind...” (cf. James 1:5-8) (Soren Kirkegaard) B. As disciples, we’ve committed to pursuing a relationship with Jesus “...be transformed by the renewing of your mind...” (Romans 12:2) “...being transformed into his image...” (1 Corinthians 3:18) “It means that we will think, speak, meditate, and do all things with a view to God’s glory.” (John Calvin) “The words that bombard us all day long from billboards and tabloids and talk shows pull us in a thousand directions, but the Word God speaks to us from His Word can renew our minds.” (John Ortberg) THE CHALLENGES A. We tend to study the Scripture like we study a textbook - for information “...let the Word of God dwell richly in us.

Shhhh....Be Quiet (Discovering God’s Will Together; #6) 1 Kings 19:11-14 A. The word noise is derived from the Latin word for nausea B. Most people consider noise an unavoidable part of life C. Noise is also a significant spiritual problem; the antidote is silence THE CALL TO SILENCE A. We are easily caught up in the noise of our world 1. Unrealistic expectations 2. Performance Paranoia 3. Lack of Boundaries 4. Unhealed Wounds 5. Personal Isolation 6. Societal Pressures B. If we’re not extremely careful, we’ll just get carried along! 1. Because our lives are so noisy, we can’t hear God 2. Silence is the response of awe 3. The impact of noise on our spiritual life is often invisible, cumulative, and gradual C. God calls us to be silent because it will enhance our relationship, allow us to hear him speak, and nurture our soul “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) “I have stilled and quieted my soul...” (Psalm 131:2a) “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place...” (Mark 6:31)

Examining Ourselves Psalm 19:12-14 (Discovering God’s Will Together; #5) “But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:12-14) “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:28) “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5) “The awareness of sin used to be our shadow. Christians hated sin, feared it, fled from it, grieve over it. A man who lost his temper his temper might wonder if he should still go to holy communion. Our new language fudges: I’d just like to share that we just need to target holiness as a growth area.” Where sin is concern

It All Goes Back in the Box 16And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21)   We are a people in a hurry   We suffer from a disease called “hurry” sickness. We are rushaholics     The Confession   If you have this disease, you are Polyphasic (multitasking)   I invite you to join the slow group     The Calamity   People often spend their life pursuing things tha

Because of Bethlehem (Christmas 2019) 15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:15-20) In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his bein

Love Came Down (Advent Series: Because of Bethlehem; Message Four) “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” 3Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. 4He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:2-4) “O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie; above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by...” A. We picture Bethlehem as a Hallmark Hamlet; it’s actually dirty and smelly B. Bethlehem (lit, “house of meat” in Arabic or “house of bread” in Hebrew) was where shepherds raised sheep for temple sacrifices 1. Shepherding was top on the rabbi’s list of most despised occu

The Jubilee of God (Advent Series: Because of Bethlehem; Message Three) The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. (Isaiah 61:1-3) A. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem something incredible happened “The one enthroned in heaven laughed...” (Psalm 2:4) 1. We’d expect God to be angry because he had to send his Son to pay for our sin 2. No one expects God to laugh, but that’s what the incarnation is all about - a sign of God’s

It is Not a Silent Night (Advent Series: Because of Bethlehem; Message Two) Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. 3A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 6A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. 7The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God e

The Ultimate Quest (Discovering God’s Will Together; #4) (A Look at Our Deepest Desire) Matthew 13:44-46 A BALANCED LIFESTYLE A. People are searching for balance B. This raises some significant concerns 1. It encourages us to think of “spiritual” as a separate entity 2. It offers little help or encouragement to those in crisis 3. It provides little sense of urgency worthy of human devotion “This is the true joy of life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” (George Bernard Shaw) 4. It lacks any sacrifice, self-denial and surrender A FULLY DEVOTED HEART A. The ultimate quest is for a fully devoted heart A fully devoted heart is “to love...the right thing...to the right degree...in the right way...with the right kind of love” (St. Augustine) B. How is a

Being One (Discovering God’s Will Together; #3) John 17:1l, 20b-21 A. The bond of unity in the body of Christ is easily broken 1. Jesus defines community, chooses community, and sustains community 2. We don’t define community; but we often hinder and tarnish it B. With disunity, Satan gains a small victory and God gets angry “Biblical Community” is not relating directly other Christians, it is relating to others though the person of Jesus Christ.” (cf. Life Together, Dietrich Bonheoffer) THE PRAYER A. In John 17 Jesus prays that we will be one like He and His Father are one B. This prayer tells us what’s on Jesus’ heart 1. Jesus prays for the unity of His disciples and for all future disciples a. This is not a prayer for unanimity b. This is a prayer for unity – a unity based on love and mutual submission 2. Jesus knows the building (growth) of His Church depends on unity THE PRIORITY A. The New Testament church was devoted to unity (cf. Acts 2:46f) B. Jesus is very passionate about the unit

The Ministry of Foot Washing (The Gospel of John: Jesus’ Discipleship Course; #3) John 13:12-20 A. In our text, Jesus offers his disciples three words of encouragement: 1. First, Jesus gives his disciples a whole new way of living (13:12-17) 2. Second, Jesus protects his disciples from the discouragement that might overwhelm them when they learn that one of their own would betray Him (13:18-19) 3. Third, Jesus encourages them with the honor that they will be his officially authorized representatives in the world (13:20) A NEW WAY OF LIVING (13:12-17) A. Most people don’t want to wash other people’s feet (i.e., forgive them) 1. But Christ-followers are not most people. Our feet are wet; grace washed 2. All He asks is we share his grace with others like he shared his grace with us “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15) B. Jesus foot washing is the perfect depiction of what God has done for us 1. It is the