Covenant Church of Tecumseh

Christianity isn't a philosophy…it is Jesus Christ who left an empty tomb behind him. www.tecumsehcove.org

What is your life worth? Look to the cross. Hear the last word of Jesus' earthly life - finished. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

That's the truth John is showing us now. He's showing us how that love is expressed. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

It's only when we face the true brokenness of our humanity that we'll feel the full weight of the glory of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Is Jesus Christ the One I'm following or is he the One I'm questioning? visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

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Today, we're going to look back at John 14:27. If you're new to Covenant Church, we've been studying the Gospel of John for over a year now. We took a break for a short fall series on lesser-known people of the Bible. After the Christmas season, we'll be back into John's Gospel. But today, our jumping-off passage brings us back to John 14:27:

The fact of life is that, many times, we don't get to decide what roles we play in life. But we can decide how we play the roles we're given.

Are there times in your life when your hope isn't so abounding? Are you filled to the brim with hope right now? That's what we want, especially in this season of hope, is for our hope to abound.

We're going to spend time on one point…a point that is especially impactful this time of year. In this story, here are four specific ways Jesus related to the teachers in the temple: Jesus sought out teachers and sat in their midst. Jesus listened. Jesus asked questions. Jesus gave answers.

Even though pictures pack a powerful punch…in the PR business they talk about "optics"…words can be equally powerful. While there are moments when you don't need to say anything because the picture; the visual speaks for itself; words also are heavy with meaning. We have all experienced the power of a positive word spoken to us at the right time. We have also experienced the power of a negative word spoken to us at a time when we were most vulnerable. Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

How many of you have physical scars? I'm sure we could have an awesome show-and-tell right now. I've got a few minors scars, and a major one where my chest was split open almost 15 years ago. One of the things we need to understand is, however the storms come into our lives, we bear the consequences and/or scars of those storms. In a real sense, our emotional and physical scars tell the story of our lives. Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Perhaps you need to hear God say that you are a man of faith…a woman of faith.You're thinking, "God couldn't possibly be saying that about me." You look around, and you see others for whom that would apply, but not you. You don't deny you have strengths, but faith couldn't be one. You think to be called a person of faith, you have to be some kind of great spiritual warrior, rising above everyone else. But the Biblical truth is, God wants to change your little corner of His world through your faith. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

The most promising news for us is Gideon was a man who struggled. Gideon wasn't a perfect guy. He struggled with insecurities. He spent his day doubting whether God would do what He promised. But even in the midst of all that, Gideon became a great leader.

We're still in the section of John that covers Jesus' final words to his disciples before he goes to the cross. That should help us understand how big chapter 16 is. Jesus is going away. Life is filled with good things and bad things. Jesus is showing us how we can have joy in all things. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Jesus did not save us to live a joyless life. Never settle for a lack of joy in your life. Never let a joyless rut cut a path through your life. Jesus didn't die on the cross for that to happen. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Jesus tells the disciples a Helper is going to come to them when he goes to be with the Father. Here are three things the Holy Spirit is going to do for you. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

How do we respond to the hatred that's in the world? We can blend in. We can take it personally. We can fight back. Or we can do what Jesus did. We can tell the truth. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

The key to marketing is convincing consumers to spend money on what they need, want, or think they can't do without. How many times a week are we bombarded with the message you will soon discover how indispensable this product is? Have you ever thought about things you think are indispensable in your life? What gadget, gizmo, device, or appliance do you think you couldn't live without? Today, we're going to talk about John 15 and what Jesus says is absolutely indispensable. Remember, John 15 captures what Jesus teaches on the night before he's going to die on the cross. This is an essential of the essentials. John 15 is about a relationship. John 15 is about having a healthy relationship with God. A healthy relationship with God is the only way to have a truly satisfying and significant life. Jesus uses "fruitful" to describe a satisfying and significant life. Jesus says we live a fruitful life by abiding in him. In fact, chapter 15 is the 7th of the "I am " statements from Jesus: I am the Bread of Life. I am the Light of the World. I am the Gate. I am the Good Shepherd. I am the Resurrection and the Life. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I am the True Vine. The seventh is the most impressive of them all. Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches. Let's look at what that means. Visit us online at www.tecumsehcove.org

Jesus Christ is the way, and the truth, and the life.

We're all going to have troubled hearts. None of us are immune from heartache and pain. Christians who are serving the Lord go through tragedy. None of us are protected from circumstances and struggles and evil that come into our lives. Those are some of the things that cause troubled hearts. Every person could tell the story of a troubled heart. We all realize how close we are to disaster. www.tecumsehcove.org

We're going to talk about a different kind of love today. It's the kind of love Jesus shows us in John 13. God's love is different. God's love isn't just a feeling. It's an action. In the Bible, love is a verb. It does something. Love makes a difference. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Servants are imperfect people serving other imperfect people. Visit us online at www.tecumsehcove.org

Perhaps Mary is a good example of the kind of motivation we want working in our lives. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Whatever is happening in your life right now…whatever your needs are…is Jesus Christ the preeminent person in your life? No matter what you are experiencing or are going through, are you trusting in Christ and Christ alone? Are you trusting in who Jesus is? visit us online www.tecumehcove.org

Like all his miracles, Jesus raises Lazarus to show us who he is. As we move toward the final days of his earthly life, Jesus is going to remind us that he's the resurrection and the life. Jesus shows us who he is and what he can do in our lives. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Today, as Jesus calls us and leads us, we're going to look where he's leading us to. Verse 10 says Jesus came that we may have life and have it abundantly. Today we're going to look at what that means. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

We are easily influenced. Maybe not all the time. We tend to think we make our way, we make our own decisions, no one could unduly influence us. But the Bible says we are like sheep. We are easily influenced. In a flock, when a few sheep head off in the wrong direction, what happens? The other sheep look over and think, hey, they're on to something. I need to go check it out. We do the same thing. If you don't believe me, look at marketing and advertising. Look at the crowd mentality. Look at something as basic as fashion…the clothes we buy. People started wearing jeans with holes in them, and soon you're paying $100 for denims that are intentionally ripped and/or torn. There's nothing practical or comfortable about it. As more and more people are wearing them, I want in, too. God knows us. We are like sheep. We are easily influenced. We go along with the crowd. That's why we need a shepherd. We're sheep. We're vulnerable. We're easily influenced. That's why John 10 talks about how Jesus can meet the needs in our lives. How does the Good Shepherd do that? John 10:2-3 says: But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. www.tecumsehcove.org

We best face our fears when we are willing to lose it all for Jesus Christ. As I like to say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger…and if it kills you, you will be in the eternal presence of Jesus. Paul puts it in a more eloquent way: "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." visit us online: www.tecumsehcove.org

What keeps us from seeing? What kept them from seeing? Doubt. They couldn't believe it had happened because it had never happened before. No one in their experience who had been born blind had ever been healed. They let their experience determine the idea of what was possible. How could it be true? www.tecumsehcove.org

Jesus meant what he said. He knew what he was talking about. He freely lays down his life and he freely takes it up again. The resurrection is the exclamation point on the power and authority of Jesus Christ. It is the shout of joy over his love for us. Jesus chose to die for us. Jesus chose to live again. See how much he loves us. www.tecumsehcove.org

Don't let others condemn you. Their opinion doesn't matter. Don't let others look down on you. Don't let others try to make you feel guilty. Don't let others shame you. They're not better than you or different from you; they're just like you. We all sin. Sin is one thing we all have in common. So, when it comes to sin, remember - we all do it. So don't get overly depressed over your sin. You are not alone. Does that mean I think we should celebrate our sin? Of course not. We don't downplay and we don't overplay it. We see sin for what it is…a common malady that can only be treated with a huge dose of the cross. Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Today's story is about bad intentions, bad decisions, bad actions, and a good God. A woman, whose name we never learn, is brought face-to-face with who she really is. And in that moment, she learns who God really is. visit us online at www.tecumsehcove.org

We're going to pick things up today with how Jesus had a very simple answer to the problem of speculation. John 7:16-17 says, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." I love how simple this is. You walk away from speculation by doing God's will. Simply put. Choose to do what God calls us to do through His Word. If you are thirsty, don't just sit around speculating about what can satisfy your thirst. Come and drink…drink in what Jesus is doing and saying. You do that, and you'll know what living water is. visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

For the next two weeks, we'll look at how Jesus Christ came into our world to quench our spiritual thirst. Our focus will be on John 7. Let's start with how it's part of our fallen nature to quench our thirst in less than God-honoring ways. Here's a true, yet quirky, cautionary tale. Years ago, Brandon and Suzy won a contest. It was a recycling contest. It was during a time when the push was on to recycle 2-liter pop bottles. The contest was to see who could return the most 2-liter bottles over a certain amount of time. Brandon and Suzy won it hands down. They turned in over 1000 2-liter bottles. The grand prize…$2500. Here's where things get weird. Every single 2-liter bottle they turned in was Shasta Diet Cola. Apparently, that's all they drank. They averaged between 10-15 bottles a day. That's a lot of Shasta Diet Cola. It took their advertising slogan - "It Hasta be Shasta" - to the extreme. So extreme, in fact, they kept bed pans beside their bed at night and a port-a-potty in their car. Brandon and Suzy confessed, "If we couldn't get it we'd probably feel that we'd died." That is one serious cola habit. The irony in the story is the $2500 was in the form of a gift certificate to a supermarket that didn't carry Shasta Diet Cola. That true story also serves as a cautionary tale. It's easy to focus on the wrong thing and think the wrong thing can quench our thirst. It doesn't matter how much of it you drink, you always need more. Jesus Christ is the only place we can go to find our thirst fully, completely, and eternally quenched... Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

In the 1968 Olympics, the marathon runner from Tanzania fell early in the race. He suffered a gash and internal damage to his knee and smashed his shoulder. Instead of going to the hospital, he had his knee stabilized and wrapped and the deep cuts treated. He finished the race more than an hour after the last runner crossed the finish line. When asked why, John Stephen Akhwari said, "My country did not send me 9,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 9,000 miles to finish the race." Jesus Christ didn't call us to quit on him. Jesus didn't send us into the world to quit on our faith. Jesus Christ calls us to finish the race. But as most of us know, sometimes that's tough. We all have known people who appeared to be on solid footing in their walk with Christ but then dropped out of the race. Can that happen to me? Will that happen to me? Or we've told ourselves, "That will never happen to me." Today we're going to look at how we can finish well. John 6:60-71 is a reaction to Jesus' bread of life teaching. John 6:52-59 says: The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. Just because some had trouble with the teaching didn't mean the teaching was flawed. Jesus is very clear about being the bread of life. This is the first of seven "I am" teachings in John's gospel. Don't miss what Jesus is saying. "I am the bread of life." He's the "I am." And when Jesus Christ says "I am," he follows it with a statement about how he can meet the needs of your life. "I am" the One who can meet the basic needs you have. Do you want to bring something meaningful to your little corner of the world? Jesus is the One who can lead and inspire you. So how does Jesus satisfy our needs? Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Today, our primary focus is going to be on Jesus walking on water. Remember, last week saw how Jesus meets our most basic needs. In the miracle of Jesus walking on water, we're going to see how he helps us break through our fears. How do we get over our fears? Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

What do you think God's goal for you for the new year is? God's greatest goal for you is to grow in your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

The Feeding of the 5000 is the only miracle recorded in all four of the gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There's a lot of truth in today's miracle story. Today's miracle story is telling us a simple truth - Jesus Christ meets our most basic needs. We've already seen it in his conversation with Nicodemus. Jesus engaged him with a conversation about meaning and truth. We saw it as Jesus sat down beside a woman at the well and told her, "I am the Living Water." Here he's going to divide some bread and some fish and say to people he's the Bread of Life. Bread and water and, as we saw in the miracle at the wedding at Cana, wine. Basic, simple things. Jesus meets our most basic needs. Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

The local church is a body of believers organized for worship, work, and fellowship. We are ultimately responsible to Christ alone who is its Savior and Lord. In its practices, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper are its sacraments. Scriptural References: Romans 6:3-4; Matthew 28:19, 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

People will either live eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation, or exist eternally separated from God by sin. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally in unison with Him is eternal life (heaven). Heaven and Hell are real places. Scriptural References: John 3:16; 1 John 2:25, 5:11-13; Romans 6:23; Revelations 20:15; Matthew 18:8, 25:44, 46 Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot lose your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the power and grace of God. It is not ours, through word or deed, to keep. It is this power and grace of God which gives us such serenity. Scriptural References: John 10:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10, 14; 1 Peter 1:3-5 Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Salvation is God’s free gift (grace) to all who accept it. We cannot make up for our sin with good works or attempts at self-improvement. We are saved only by Jesus’ death on the cross and through our acceptance of that gift. Scriptural References: Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12, 14:6; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1 Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

We are created in God’s image. We have direct access to God through prayer. While we are created with potential for much good, we all fall short of God’s glory. Scriptural References: Genesis 1:27; Psalms 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a, 59:1-2; Romans 3:23 Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

The Bible is God’s Word to us. While it was written by human authors, they were guided by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is preeminent as the source of truth for faith and action. Inspired by God, the Bible is the truth without rival or error. Scriptural References: 2 Timothy 1:13, 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalms 12:6, 119: 105-160; Proverbs 30:5 Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit provides us with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. Scriptural References: 2 Corinthians 3:17; John 14:16-17, 16:7-13; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18 Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Jesus is the Son of God, fully man, fully God. Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all by dying on the cross. After three days, He arose from the dead. He will return again someday to reign. Scriptural References: Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-15, 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3-4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13 Visit us online at www.tecumsehcove.org

The Foundational Beliefs of Covenant Church: God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He eternally exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. Scriptural References: Genesis 1:1, 26-27, 3:22; Psalms 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14 Visit us online www.tecumsehcove.org

Last week we talked about how Jesus can make us whole. We looked at a man who had some sort of affliction for 38 years. In a moment Jesus made him whole. Today, we're going to look at how you maintain a healthy faith. How do you live out the new life that Jesus Christ wants to give you? As we saw last week, a man who had been sick for 38 years gathered, like so many other sick people, at a pool alleged to have healing powers. Jesus healed him. Now, here's where opposition to Jesus began to gather strength. The Pharisees said to the man, "It's the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed." Instead of rejoicing with him, they remind him he's breaking one of their laws. Not God's law. But one of their laws. The Pharisees loved telling people there were doing something wrong... Visit us online at www.tecumsehcove.org