Sermons Pine Lake Covenant Church

Joy bursts onto every scene of the nativity story in scripture. It is the shared experience of all who are encountering the good news of Christ’s birth. The shepherds hear the declaration of this great joy from angels, and this changes their lives. They encounter God’s glory around them; explore the meaning; experience God with them; express their newfound joy by giving glory back to God; and then share it with others. We are invited to a similar journey—to unwrap […] The post The Gift of Joy appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Peace is a word we throw around during the Christmas season. We sing carols that talk about a peaceful time where a baby was born in Bethlehem, but the peace that Jesus brought was not a platitude. It was a new order: God’s shalom and God’s kingdom. Come as we celebrate Peace Sunday this Advent and learn more about God’s shalom that leads us to His kingdom and abundant life together. The post The Gift of Peace appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Before the birth of Christ, there were almost 500 years of waiting for a sign or word from God. Yet the faithful clung to the promise of and hope for the Messiah. Today, do we rush into the holiday season and the finish line called Christmas morning or do we intentionally slow down and look for the ongoing promises of God? Join us Sunday as we explore the waiting and struggle in our own journeys which point us to the […] The post The Gift of Hope appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s easy to lose sight of the simple truth of Christmas—the extraordinary gift of God’s love. As we enter the season of Advent, we embark on a journey of anticipation. Come with us as we unwrap the layers of hope, peace, joy, and love that Jesus brings to our lives through the ultimate gift bestowed upon humanity. The post Advent Together appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Worry is something we all deal with on some level, and in response, humans have come up with tools like breathing exercises and mindfulness techniques to help us cope. Yet as Christians we receive this simple command from Jesus: “Do not worry.” How can we live in step with the way of Jesus if our lives are filled with worry? Come this week as we discover the power over worry that we can only find in Jesus. The post Do Not Worry appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

This week, we welcome Rev. Peter Sung as our guest speaker! Pastor Peter serves the PacNW Conference and the ECC/SSC as an executive coach and organizational psychologist. The post The Only Thing That Counts appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

This week, we welcome Rev. Dawn Taloyo, Associate Superintendent of the PacNW Conference, as our guest speaker! The post Every Spiritual Blessing in Christ appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

As Jesus continues to reorient people to the Kingdom of God in the Sermon on the Mount, He calls out the people’s heart condition. Jesus is not only fulfilling the law, He’s calling out the truth of our own heart conditions. Join us as we explore the way Jesus reshapes us, even in our anger, to be more like Him. The post It’s Been Said: A Heart Condition appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

We talk about darkness in the world, but darkness is just the absence of light. As disciples, what role do we play as the light of the world in our present lives? Join us as we understand our identity and purpose as light to the world. The post Light appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

After Jesus had finished his initial address to the gathered crowd, he looked at the disciples and charged them with what? To be salty! Now that has loaded meaning in our culture today, but for Jesus it was pretty clear. Join us as we explore the first responsibilities of Jesus’ disciples who are to go forth from this teaching as the salt of the earth. The post Salt appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Jesus calls all of us to be his disciples. That means we are transformed by being with and becoming like him, and then doing what he did. But what does that look like? We need look no further than Jesus’ first teaching to understand the nature and character of Jesus and, thus, us as his disciples. Join us as we learn to live “The Way of Jesus” every moment, in every season, and every part of our lives. The post Now and Later appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

When Jesus called his disciples, he invited them to come and see! That is only half the story! What happened next in the lives of the disciples was preparing them for what was to come. What was to come? Join us as we live into our call as disciples to “come and see, and I will make you fishers of people.” The post Do What Jesus Did appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Who are you becoming? We might not often stop and reflect on who we are now, and who we are aiming to become. As the talmidim of Jesus, we are called to become like Jesus through intentional practices that transform us from the inside out. Join us as we learn the life call to become like Jesus. The post Become Like Jesus appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

In the Gospels, Jesus calls people to follow Him. It’s not just a mental belief in Him, but a transformative call to apprentice our lives after Him. But what does that really look like? What does apprenticing after Jesus mean 2000 years after He first called His disciples? Join us as we learn that the call to be the Talmidim (the Hebrew word for a group of disciples) of Jesus is still relevant in our lives today as we seek […] The post Be With Jesus appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Vision Sunday is an opportunity to celebrate what we’ve seen God doing in the past year and to anticipate how He might be working through and around us in the coming year! Come this weekend as we cast a vision for what defines us as a community who desires to find and follow Jesus, together! The post Finding and Following Jesus, Together appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

How many of us have been hurt by people talking about us behind our backs? As disciples of Jesus, we have been called to bring life not death. Join us as we learn how to talk to—not about—one another. The post Gossip appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Fibs. Kidding. Half-truths. Funny business. To pull the wool over someone’s eyes. Each of these are the nice ways to say someone is lying. Join us as we explore what our lies say about us and about God. The post Lies appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Our words have power; power to bring life and to bring destruction. Criticism isn’t always bad, but partnering with the enemy’s critical spirit leads to sin and death. Once we know who we are and whose we are, we can love our neighbor as ourselves, walk in the path God has set for us, and build one another up with our words. The post The Spirit of Criticism appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Whether it’s by complaining, criticizing, gossiping, or lying, our mouths can cause a lot of problems. Words can beat us down and lift us up. They wound and they heal. And the right words at the right time can be exactly what we need to hear—or what we need to say. Let’s find the right words together in a new series, My Big Fat Mouth. The post Taming the Tongue appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Top Secret documents are for a few eyes only. If you are on the outside, you might feel at the mercy of those with the top secret information. This weekend, Paul is going to open up the Top Secret file for how to have a JoyFULL life, and it is going to be a not-so-top secret anymore. Come as we learn the secret to living a JoyFULL life. The post JoyFULL Secret appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.