Covington First Assembly

There are times when God will ask us to do strange things in relation to a promise he has made to us. In Abraham's case he challenges where his heart is in relation to the promise. It is possible for man to place the promise above the one who gave the promise. Pastor Bob addresses the danger of holding the things of God more dear than God Himself.

God never intended for man to take on His name and live after their own desires. For the church to be effective it must get back to a high standard of holiness as we trust God to fulfill His purpose in us corporately and individually.

A New Year is always accompanied with a desire to look forward and to forget the past. The tendency for the church is to always make great boasts of the work that God will do in the coming year only to look back in December and wonder what happened. We need to allow ourselves to look toward Christ and expect great things because He is our exceeding great reward.

When we recieve good gifts as children our first instinct is to enthusiastically share that gift with those we love the most. When an individual recieves Christ as Lord and Savior it should be a natural reaciton to share that Gift with all we see.

When a baby is born we begin to look toward and dream about his/her future. We say things like, "I wonder if he/she will be talented, like sports," etc. When Jesus was born there was a lot of things prophesied concerning His Kingship as the Messiah but Simeon and the Wise Men both suggest there is more to the story.

Psalm 8:4 says, "what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" What a question! In week 2 of this series Pastor Bob looks at the Activity of God driven by His great compassion for mankind.

As we head into the Christmas Season it is easy to become distracted by the busy life that it brings with it. Often times people will become frustrated by the many traditions of Christmas brought about by atheistic worldviews. The truth of the matter is that God is still working out his plan today. The plan that was set in motion prior to the foundations of the earth, the plans that were visibly carried out before mankind through the birth of Jesus, are still being carried out today. God is accomplishing His will. Can you recognize the Activity of God around you?

Thanksgiving seems to be an overlooked holiday. It has been called the kick off for the holliday season. The truth is that Thanksgiving isn't a day but it should be the lifestyle of the believer.

One of the greatest dangers we face as Christians is the assumption that our methods of religion are a recipe for success for our faith and our lives in general. God is not interested in the methods attached to our religion. He is interested in our hearts and a vibrant, life giving, daily relationship with Him. When we separate ourselves fom relationship and depend on our rituals we have become a dead religion because we have separated ourselves from the life source, Jesus Christ.

We must never take for granted the blessing and calling of God on our lives. Pastor Bob draws from some of the truths found in the account of Samson and Delilah.