Covenant Life Church

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.

In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the disciples that they must turn from their sins and become like little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Becoming like children does not mean that we become simplistic, shallow, scared and selfish. Instead, we are to become humble and remember that our place is God’s Kingdom will not be determined by our ability, education, worldly wisdom or physical attractiveness.

We like to talk about faith, being strong in the Lord, authority, overcoming and being more than conquerors. All of these descriptions are great, true and accurate for those who are in the Kingdom of God, but if humility is the measuring stick, we need to figure out what it means and what it looks like in our lives. Today, we are starting a brand-new series called Humility: The Key to Childlike Faith.

Though only five chapters long, the book of James encourages us to be doers of God’s Word. We’re not meant to merely listen to its teachings; we must take the next step and obey. It’s all about putting our faith into practice — what it commonly called Practical Theology. The faith of every Christian should be one that is not merely known or believed but one that is also acted upon.

This doesn’t happen overnight. We don’t just wake up one day and instantly or easily start doing all the things that James says we should do. Instead, it happens through a process that involves our heads, our hearts, and our hands. In this week’s message, we’re going to examine this process to help us gain the information and encouragement needed to be doers of God’s Word.

Why do we invest money with someone called a broker? Why is the slowest time of day — when we’re often stuck in traffic and going nowhere — called rush hour? How does glue not stick to the inside of the bottle? Why does spending a lot of time in the sun lighten your hair and darken your skin?

Beyond these silly examples, there are many things in our lives that don’t make sense, leading us to feel unsettled or confused. When we face these situations, happens, it is important for us to trust God and know that He is in control. This week, we’ll join Pastor Robby as he discusses the life of Ruth and how she handled circumstances that just didn't make sense.

According to Matthew 28, the mission of every Bible-believing church in the world is to go and make disciples. As a matter of fact, it’s called the Great Commission because there is no greater call on the lives of believers than this one. We are to be witnesses of the faith we have in Jesus — not just with our words but with our lives — and help push people along in their spiritual development as followers or disciples of Jesus.

It doesn’t matter what else we do, how hard we work or how good we look. If we aren’t making disciples, we’re missing the point. We might be doing lots of important things, but if we fail to do the most important thing, we cannot expect the Father to be pleased with us. To ensure that we’re becoming more effective at doing what the Lord is most concerned about, this week’s message is all about disciple making.