In her final sermon as Pastor of Discipleship at Alive, Pastor Susan teaches us about the concerns of God. In Matthew 16 Jesus explains to the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer. Peter rebukes him and says, “Never, Lord!” Jesus sees that Peter is acting out of his own self-interest and not in the interest of God, so he says to Peter, “Get behind me Satan.” Like Peter, God calls us to surrender our own plans and concerns to God and to put God’s concerns ahead of our own.

Jesus washes away our shame and restores us through his living water. Imagine you had a lot of mistakes in your past. And someone you didn’t know came to you and told you everything about your past. Most people would feel ashamed, but when Jesus reveals to the woman at the well that he knows her, she goes back to town and celebrates.

Today we continue our series about how God works to restore relationships. Pastor Terry opens up Matthew 20 and Ephesians 4 to tell us how God can use leaders in the church to restore relationships. Two of the disciples ask Jesus to elevate them to become his right and left hand men in the Kingdom and Jesus response surprises them. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Pastor Terry uses the story of David, Saul and Jonathan in 1 Samuel 18-19 to show us how God works to restore relationships.

Last year was a tough year. It was a year of division and strife, where the church was often divided around many different issues. But God calls us to be united around Jesus and his cross and to work together to build His Kingdom.  He calls the church to be a covenant family who seeks to bring life to the communities He has placed us in.

(PS. You might notice some faint background music throughout the teaching audio. We are working to resolve this issue for future Alive Sermon Podcasts.). Thanks for listening!

Pastor Susan preaches about revival using the story of John the Baptist in Luke 3.  People came in droves to the desert to hear John the Baptist preach repentance and be baptized. Only a movement of the Holy Spirit—a revival—could bring them there. In the same way, God has been stirring up a hunger in our lives for revival. For transformative worship, for our idols to fall and for our hearts to be turned towards God’s Kingdom.

Pastor Terry opens up Psalm 118 as he continues our series on God's Covenant.

Pastor Terry uses the Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15 to remind us that even when we could not keep the covenant on our own, that God makes a way.  Like the lost son, we are inclined to move away from God, but he moves and works and calls us back into relationship with Him.  Praise be to God for the covenant of grace!

God is the covenant make and the covenant keeper.  A covenant is a redemptive relationship that sets us free from the bondage of sin and enables us to have a relationship with God.  The covenant promises of God set us free to serve and live in obedience to Him.

Pastor Susan preaches on the covenant promises of God. In the Old Testament, God makes a covenant with Abraham. A young calf was sacrificed as a sign and seal of the agreement between God and Abraham. In the New Testament, Jesus gave his life for us to secure our salvation. Christ Himself served as the sacrifice by dying on the cross to destroy sin and bringing us new life through his resurrection. When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we remember the covenant promises of God.

Pastor Terry reflects on the past year as he brings us God’s word from Ephesians 1. God has one plan to redeem and recover everyone to Himself through Christ Jesus. Our lives are an important part of that plan and God calls us to wait well—to let God work in our hearts and in our church and in our relationships to bring life.