Sermons Pine Lake Covenant Church

Jesus says that his Father is always working. We see in Scripture how many times he is bringing about something new. Even though he gives birth to new things, he is always calling people back to “the same old things”: loving God, loving people and blessing the world. This is what life is all about and so it will always be. The post Seeing Beyond Ourselves appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

This virus is something we have never seen before, and yet, we humans have endured a lot of things “like” this before. To live as a human is to be vulnerable and, from time to time, feel out of control. And nothing in this world, no matter how big, can take the place of what God wants for us, no matter how small. He is the God of new things, and they often seem small and insignificant. The post Seeing Beyond This Small Thing appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

When we see how small we are, how much loss is part of our lives, how futile life can be, how short our years are when measured against eternity, we can easily get down in the dumps. But — and that is a huge word in this psalm — we can still pray for wisdom, for joy, and for meaning in our lives. Hope can be born each new day. The post Life Is Hard, But… appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

It’s hard to hear the daily statistics of infection rates and deaths. We are apt to forget that statistics describe real people, real families, facing the shadows of pain and death. The Bible never glosses over hard things. In the well-loved Psalm 23, we hear again that God is always with us, whatever our circumstances. The post God's Presence in the Shadows appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

To be human is to suffer loss. To live life is to live with limits. That is the stark truth. We know it’s true when we think about it, but we live in denial of it much of the time. Hey, it’s OK to not be OK. We are all experiencing some kind of loss right now, and we all have limits on what we can do. The good thing is that when we recognize our loss, and accept our […] The post The Gift of Losses and Limits appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

All of us have lost something in these days. It could be something small. I can no longer go to the gym to work out. Or it could be something much bigger. It could be a job, or a milestone, or something inside of you, perhaps your sense of hope and joy. Psalm 77, by taking our emotions seriously, gives us an idea of how we might bring hope back into our lives. The post Searching for a New Normal appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

John 20:1-18 The raw story of the first Easter is absolutely loaded with drama. It speaks to every human heart that has been greatly disappointed and yet still longs for something more from life. It is a reminder that all things are truly possible with God; a message perfectly designed for the days we are in. The post Shaken by Love appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

“Be still and know that I am God.” This is a verse that many of us know, but few of us really understand how to actually do it. Yet stillness seems like such a beautiful thing in the midst of the chaos we see unfolding in our world. Let’s learn about the secret to stillness as we look at Psalm 46 together. The post The Secret to Stillness appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Psalm 91 is classified as a psalm of “new orientation.” It is designed to get us to see beyond what we see with your eyes. It is written to Israel at a time of serious trial, perhaps caused by a plague or disease. The language is breathtakingly beautiful. It is the kind of psalm that can be so life-giving for people like us. The post Wings and a Prayer appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

We can’t be certain of the exact circumstances that prompted David to write Psalm 4, but there is a sense of community crisis. In our own season of pandemic upheaval, Psalm 4 models an evening prayer that invites us to end each day in hope. We can build our confidence in God through a rhythm of reviewing our days in the light of His gaze. The post Concluding Each Day In Hope appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Psalm 16 As the world swirls, a change of course in our Lent series. Leading up to Easter, we will be focusing each week on one spiritual – yet practical – thing we can do in the midst of an ever-shaking world. “Hope for Shaken People” is the title that will hold this series together. This week we will learn from this psalm about how to awaken the power of something we all have. The post I Will Not Be Shaken appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

**Due to copyright restrictions, the video is muted during the music portion at the beginning of the service.** Psalm 11 As the world swirls, our Lent series changes course. Leading up to Easter, we will be focusing each week on one spiritual — yet practical — thing we can do in the midst of an ever-shaking world. “Hope for Shaken People” is the title that will hold this series together. The post Hope For Shaken People appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Ephesians 5:1-7 As we walk through the desert toward God’s promises, we are vulnerable to idols that call out to us. Every culture has them and they come in all shapes and sizes – as Tim Keller says, “Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, from which you seek to get something that only God can give.” Money and sex, both good things, when coveted become idols. But there are so many more good things that can […] The post American Idols appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Psalm 115:1-9 Okay, the word “addiction” is not found in the Bible, but there is a huge overlap with the word “sin.” There is, perhaps, another biblical word for addiction that is even more on target: “idolatry.” It was the #1 sin of Israel in the Old Testament and it is alive and well today. We live in a world of idols and we are all at risk. Resources Recommended and Used by Pastor Mark: Addiction and Grace: Love and […] The post Addiction and Idolatry appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Numbers 11:4-6, 10-20 Last week we saw how humans were banished by God from the garden of Eden and required to walk “across the desert,” by faith, in order to grow into healthy mature people. The addict (stay open to the possibility that we are all addicted to something) is someone who resists this, wanting instead to go back into the garden by “using.” Again, the Israelites demonstrate this in the desert by wanting to go back to Egypt, the […] The post Freely Choosing Slavery appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Genesis 3:21-24 “Life is difficult.” This is the famous opening sentence of Scott Peck’s best-seller, “The Road Less Traveled.” He calls it one of the “great truths.” Addictions are one way we try to get around this great truth. The Bible says that life is difficult because of our rebellion against God, but even with all that is difficult in life, there is a new way to live. Resources Recommended and Used by Pastor Mark: Addiction and Grace: Love and […] The post Hiding, Denial, and Life appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Genesis 3:1-9 Addictions, you might say, are like “sin on steroids.” They are rooted in that which is common to all human sin, a basic distrust in God to provide what we desire most. And to do the most damage, sin and addiction need to look their best. Resources Recommended and Used by Pastor Mark: Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in Healing Addictions, Gerald May … He sees all humans as struggling with addiction and all in need of […] The post Fatal Attraction appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Romans 7:14-25 “To be alive is to be addicted, and to be alive and addicted is to stand in need of grace.” What do you think? This statement is from Gerald May, M.D. in his book Addiction & Grace. This Sunday we will explore this statement from a biblical perspective, looking at the relationship between addiction and grace. Resources Recommended and Used by Pastor Mark: Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in Healing Addictions, Gerald May … He sees all […] The post The Stigma and Shame of Addiction appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Mark 6:30-44 Hear a deeply personal testimony from a mom whose world was turned upside down through her child’s illness. Although she was tired, scared, and broken, God continued to call her into what seemed to be the impossible. When she said YES, lives were transformed. The post When it Feels Impossible appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Luke 2:1-7 Time is something that often seems to be either full or empty. The Bible says that God sent his Son in the “fullness of time.” What does that mean? And what does it mean for us to experience God in the fullness of time? How about in time that seems so empty? The post The World Waits appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.