Covenant Church Of Tecumseh

 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 ne

 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

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. Jo

 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