This week, Pastor John shares an update on The Jericho Project, the local and global outreach of Covenant Life to join the fight against human sex trafficking. We’ll look back at the start of the Project and discuss our three-pronged approach to “rescue the Rahabs” and restore the lives of those who have been negatively impact by this terrible issue.

We will discuss our work with House of Cherith in Atlanta and provide additional details about our next steps in moving forward with the antique mall property adjacent to our main sanctuary. As we look ahead to the future of The Jericho Project, we are excited about everything that God has planned, and we can’t wait to see lives changes and souls saved as a result of our faithfulness.

To learn more about The Jericho Project and keep up with future updates, please visit www.thejerichoprojectwestga.org.

This week, we’re taking a break from our “Humility” series to seek encouragement from the Word of God. The world is full of uncertainty, and many people — both in our local church and the Church at large — are going through serious and difficult situations.

In Psalm 46:1 (KJ21), the Bible says that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” We must remember that trouble doesn’t mean we’re sinful; it just means we’re human. Whenever we face those situations, though, we must also know and believe that God is our refuge and strength. He is always nearby, and He is ready and able to help us!

As we begin to wrap up our series called “Humility: The Key to Childlike Faith” over the next few weeks, Pastor John will focus on the things that will kill pride and help us walk in the character of Jesus. A few verses after Jesus starts talking to the disciples about the Kingdom at the start of Matthew 18, He tells the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.

This week, we will use this parable to explore how pride impacts generosity. We cannot allow an attitude of hypocrisy to take root in our lives, believing that we deserve to keep what God gave us. Instead, we have to be motivated by humility and integrity. We must recognize that everything we have comes from the King and choose to be generous with all He has given us.

In this week’s message, Pastor John steps out of his comfort zone, moving aside the pulpit and being honest about what God is doing in his life. By learning about his experiences and focusing on the words of Christ in Matthew 18, we will explore the idea together that everyone has their own way of doing things, and we often put limits on God because of pride. We want to follow Him — but only if we can be successful while doing it. We want to serve others — but only in the areas where we feel well-equipped.

We worry about what other people will think if we do things differently, but God wants to use the messy, uncomfortable parts of our lives, too. To truly serve Him with humility, we must get rid of anything that holds us back and destroy (not just think outside of) the box that serves as our comfort zone.

This week, we’re continuing our series called Humility: The Key to Childlike Faith and looking at the ways that pride disrupts our relationship with Jesus. In order to see the destructive properties of pride, we’re looking at the first creation to sin: Lucifer, who we more frequently refer to as Satan or the devil. By looking at his life before he fell, we can be sure that we don’t follow his footsteps.

The Bible tells us that God had blessed Lucifer abundantly, but at some point, he stopped focusing on his God-ordained purpose. He started looking at the gifts instead of the Giver. It’s important to remember that the Kingdom of Heaven works backward; it only operates well when you operate in humility. If you operate in pride, the things that you think are good actually have the opposite effect, and sometimes, the blessing is the curse.

Throughout our lives, we may ask God why we must face difficult situations and circumstances. We may lament the injuries and illnesses that we endure, but we tend to forget that the Lord is incapable of making a mistake. He is always faithful, and if we’re still alive, it means that He has more for us to do and accomplish.

Using the experiences of Paul, Elijah and Mephibosheth, Pastor Jeremy talks about how it feels to be left for the dead and the things in our lives that often lead to such an outcome. Together, we will be reminded of the fact that God is always in control. He will never leave us nor forsake us, and as long as He is with us, there is nothing we cannot overcome.

Throughout our lives, we may ask God why we must face difficult situations and circumstances. We may lament the injuries and illnesses that we endure, but we tend to forget that the Lord is incapable of making a mistake. He is always faithful, and if we’re still alive, it means that He has more for us to do and accomplish.

Using the experiences of Paul, Elijah and Mephibosheth, Pastor Jeremy talks about how it feels to be left for the dead and the things in our lives that often lead to such an outcome. Together, we will be reminded of the fact that God is always in control. He will never leave us nor forsake us, and as long as He is with us, there is nothing we cannot overcome.

Pastor John Butler

Real. Relational. Reaching.

https://www.covenantlifebremen.org/

Throughout our series called Humility: The Key to Childlike Faith, we have explored the idea that being effective in the Kingdom of God revolves around being truly and authentically humble. Last week, we talked about the fact that pride prevents personal and spiritual progress.

This week, we’re looking at something else that pride prevents: spiritual intimacy. The word intimacy has lots of different applications, but it always includes elements of mutuality, vulnerability, safety, trust, honesty and openness. It’s the same in our relationship with God. Unless both parties embrace those elements, that relationship lacks intimacy and morphs into something unhealthy, unpleasant and unfulfilling.

Last week, we started a new series called Humility: The Key to Childlike Faith. In the first message, we learned that pride is the opposite of faith. If we have faith in God, we are totally dependent upon Him. If we are full of pride, we are dependent upon ourselves. True faith in Jesus is rooted in humility.

This week, we’re going to look at another aspect of the struggle between humility and pride. Many people would suggest that pride is the way to get ahead, the way to succeed and see your dreams come true, but pride can only take you so far. Eventually, you will hit a roadblock, and if you continue on that path, it will lead to destruction.