1 Peter 1:3-12 Life can come at you from all sides. It was as true in the first century as it is today. The key thing is what is in the center of you that allows you to process all the stuff coming at you, including suffering. Your center will determine your response to your environment. This is also the key to standing with firm and gracious character against the flow.  The post The Main Thing Is appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

1 Peter 1:1-9 What is your address? Is it really? How long will you live there? I love feeling at home but there are dangers of feeling at home, in this world. The Bible has a long and deep strain of truth that says that in this life, we are on our way to a permanent destination. If so, how do we engage our surrounding culture as we think about work, school, money, politics, and sexuality? How can we have […] The post Living as Exiles appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Worship comes from a place of remembering and a place of hope. We remember all that God has done for us in our lives and we hope for His ultimate return. But there is always room in our lives for more worship. What if Sunday morning was not all there is to worship? What would that look like? What new song is God calling you to sing in Psalm 98? The post A New Song to Sing appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

There is something shy or evasive in our hearts towards God. Intuitively we know that “he knows” – everything! Our actions, for sure. But even our thoughts and the hidden motivations of the heart. No wonder we feel uncomfortable in his presence. Do we flee or draw near? David experiences all of this and ends up praying the most dangerous prayer ever in Psalm 139. It’s a prayer for us. The post The Most Dangerous Prayer Ever appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

C.S. Lewis, who loved the Psalms, said that Psalm 19 is the greatest of them all. Communication is at the intersection of speaking and hearing. This Psalm gives great insight into how that happens. When heard properly, it makes us want to bow down before God, our creator and redeemer. The post Hearing God Speak appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

About 70 million Americans suffer from sleep problems; among them, nearly 60 percent have a chronic disorder. Each year, sleep disorders, sleep deprivation, and sleepiness add an estimated $15.9 billion to the national health care bill. Research shows that there is a rise in sleep disorders in the general population world-wide, but particularly for children and teens. Psalm 4 is a bedtime prayer that acknowledges real stress but gives us words to sleep by.  The post From Insomnia to Deep Sleep appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

The Psalms transcend time and world cultures. They are prayers of people who often have problems with life. Sound familiar? This Sunday, Pastor Mike Thomas, from Radiant Church in Renton preaches on Psalm 13. The post Take Another Look appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

The Psalms transcend time and world cultures. They are prayers of people who often have problems with life. Sound familiar? This Sunday, Pastor Christopher Sure, from Kodera, Kenya, will show how Psalm 3 is helpful for shaping prayers in the time and place where he lives. We have much we can learn from him. The post Hope in Times of Trials appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

There are “tree” prayers that are about our walk or journey with God, focusing on God’s Word to those who desire to live a godly life. Psalm 2 gives us the “forest” view, which will encourage us to pray big prayers over not just our own lives, but all that God has made, including the realms of politics and culture. Hmm. God wants us to pray about everything from the deepest place in our hearts to the great powers that […] The post Expanding Our View appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Revelation 3:14-22 The post At Risk of Self-Sufficiency appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.