Sermons Pine Lake Covenant Church

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would empower us for mission in the world. And yet, the Spirit often moves to shift our focus and disrupt our perceptions. What holy work might the Spirit be stirring in our own time? Through the book of Acts, we’ll learn how holy disruptions can reshape and revive the church’s mission. The post Disrupting Expectations appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

We all know what it feels like to run on empty. Is it possible that God’s fullness could meet every perceived gap – in our church and in our personal lives? The church building may be empty, but God offers fullness to His people. This prayer from Ephesians shows us the way. The post We the Church: Filled to Fullness appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

It’s been so long since we have met for worship at 1715 228th Ave SE…so much has changed…or has it? This week we continue our study in Ephesians as we explore one simple question: “What is the Church?” We will see that our true identity is much more profound than we normally think or imagine. The post We the Church: Our True Identity appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

The back story of human lostness is not a pretty one. But God has done what we couldn’t do for ourselves, so our new story is a masterpiece in the making. Every chapter of “We the Church” is rooted in grace. The post We the Church: Grace for Good Works appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

It’s easy to buy into a scarcity mindset. We can fixate on what is lacking—in our own lives and in our church—rather than on what is always available to us in Christ. This prayer over the Ephesian church gives us language to change our view toward the abundance we have in Christ. The post We the Church: Abundant Resources appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

In a time when God’s people can’t gather in person, it’s vital to remember that church is so much more than a building, pastor, or program. We are God’s design from beginning to end; our heritage and our future is glorious! The post We the Church: A Spiritual Heritage appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Paul knows a secret and he wants to share it. The power and wisdom of God are to be found in the most unexpected of places, the last place we would think to look. This is the main thing, and it is fresh truth for today. The post Nothing Except Christ appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

We have a fundamental choice in life. We can put our energies into looking good, what Paul calls “communicating ourselves.” Or, we can put our energy into centering ourselves in Christ, and we become secondary – yet more our true selves. The post Our Beautiful Brokenness appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Jesus carefully chose the 12 disciples — Luke tells us “he spent the night praying to God.” What a group of misfits — Jesus’ prayer life must have been questioned! But he had, it seems, very specific reasons for choosing who he did. Let’s look at two of the less well-known of these characters and see what they can teach us about the place of politics in God’s kingdom. The post Jesus Christ’s Kingdom and Politics appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

This week, Pastor Mark will be interviewed by Pastor Sharon, who will ask him about the importance of focusing on the “main thing.” She will also ask questions about his time here and hopes for the future — a future that is in the hands of Jesus Christ. The post Why the Main Thing? appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Those who have been closest to God have said, perhaps more than those who are far from him, how infinite and hard to grasp he is. We get a clear picture of him in Jesus Christ, but the temptation is to make him smaller than he is. If he is truly the “Main Thing” in Scripture, we would expect big things to be said about him. Let’s explore, and see what it means for us. The post Main Thing #3: Just How Big Is Jesus? appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

This is a story of two very different brothers. Which one do you identify with most? However, the story is really about the father. Jesus is trying to paint a clear picture of God for the Pharisees to see. He wants them to see who God is so that they can experience God’s mercy. He loves the older brother too – but repenting of our righteousness can be more difficult than repenting of our sins. The post Main Thing #2: The Beautiful Love of God appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Jesus says that being a disciple will cost you everything. Whatever or whoever you love before you meet Jesus will be put into a position of second place, at best. This included love for family, friends, and country. If this is so, why would anyone want to follow him? The post Main Thing #1: Be Cost Conscious appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

For Israel, the years 605BC to 440BC are concerned with the themes of exile and return from exile. We may have wondered in the past what this time period has to do with us. Not anymore. We have been exiled from so many things: workplaces, sports, ways of doing things, and people. Now the talk is of returning – but to what? What new thing does God want to do in our lives and in the days ahead? The post Seeing Beyond This Exile appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Our confirmation students share their testimonies as we celebrate this important milepost in their faith journey. The post Confirmation 2020 appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Jesus says that his Father is always working. We see in Scripture how many times he is bringing about something new. Even though he gives birth to new things, he is always calling people back to “the same old things”: loving God, loving people and blessing the world. This is what life is all about and so it will always be. The post Seeing Beyond Ourselves appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

This virus is something we have never seen before, and yet, we humans have endured a lot of things “like” this before. To live as a human is to be vulnerable and, from time to time, feel out of control. And nothing in this world, no matter how big, can take the place of what God wants for us, no matter how small. He is the God of new things, and they often seem small and insignificant. The post Seeing Beyond This Small Thing appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

When we see how small we are, how much loss is part of our lives, how futile life can be, how short our years are when measured against eternity, we can easily get down in the dumps. But — and that is a huge word in this psalm — we can still pray for wisdom, for joy, and for meaning in our lives. Hope can be born each new day. The post Life Is Hard, But… appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

It’s hard to hear the daily statistics of infection rates and deaths. We are apt to forget that statistics describe real people, real families, facing the shadows of pain and death. The Bible never glosses over hard things. In the well-loved Psalm 23, we hear again that God is always with us, whatever our circumstances. The post God's Presence in the Shadows appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

To be human is to suffer loss. To live life is to live with limits. That is the stark truth. We know it’s true when we think about it, but we live in denial of it much of the time. Hey, it’s OK to not be OK. We are all experiencing some kind of loss right now, and we all have limits on what we can do. The good thing is that when we recognize our loss, and accept our […] The post The Gift of Losses and Limits appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.