Covenant Life Church

July 30 2008 at 6:24 pm

Rebelution Recap

This Saturday we hosted the Rebelution Conference here at Covenant Life. It was an amazing day. The auditorium was packed out. My brother Joel did a great job leading worship, and my brothers Alex and Brett led the conference so well, teaching on their message of “Do Hard Things.” My dad gave one of the most powerful evangelistic messages I’ve ever heard, after which a number of young people placed their faith in Christ. The Gazette ran an article on it, which you can read here.

Alex and Brett have a flickr page with a bunch of photos from the day. On their website, their brief post about the conference has yielded a lot of encouraging comments. Here are some excerpts:

“I was at the conference in Maryland, it truly changed my life. It brought me so much closer to God. I did not know exactly how to begin a relationship with God, and had thousands of questions. Most everything that was on my mind, you guys answered! I saw God’s grace that day full force. I was just in awe to think I was standing with so many Godly, happy people. It was indescribable. I was so happy and changed that I couldn’t stop crying.”

“Another thing that really stood out to me was when Brett was listing ways to stay strong / persevere in doing hard things, and he talked about “re-arranging the furniture in your life”…God really convicted me through that! I also learned that doing hard things is a way to be reminded of the Gospel. When I’m doing that, I can remember that I’m not just doing hard things for the sake of doing hard things, but that I’m doing it for the Gospel and for the glory of God. God showed me that I can be constantly reminded of the Gospel throughout every day by doing even small hard things, and not just save it for a dramatic, once-a-week moment, if you know what I mean.”

“God had been working on me and I really felt broken before him that afternoon. As I saw the young people stand to accept Jesus as their Savior, something inside broke. Somehow seeing a 16 year old guy in front of me wiping his teary eyes with his tee shirt as he stood to accept Jesus made my faith more real to me. It solidified what really matters, and brought the tears to my eyes too. I saw how selfish and wrong I had been in so many areas. Thank you. My heart now truly does sing along with the closing song… Keep me from just singing, move me into action, fill me up and send me out.”

“I believe (and have believed for awhile now) I don’t have to be shackled down by a culture that expects me happily to dumb myself down with entertainment, fleeting pleasures, and sinful desires. Hearing you guys talk at the conference last Saturday was amazing and inspiring for me to continue doing hard things.”

July 29 2008 at 11:13 am

Hiding God’s Word

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Last Friday we had our third “Mill” meeting. The Mill is a series of Friday morning gatherings for men where we worship, hear God’s word and then pray together. One of the biggest encouragements for me has been seeing the attendance grow every week. If you haven’t yet made it out, please make plans to join us this Friday at 6:30 a.m.

For all the men who were there, I wanted to follow-up on our assignment. Erik Sheffer gave a great message about the importance of hiding God’s word in our hearts (you can hear it online.) I asked all the guys present to pinpoint one area of their life where they were fighting sin and then to choose one Scripture passage to memorize in the coming week.

So how’s the memorization going, men? I chose to memorize John 15:5 about the importance of abiding in Christ. I’ve been convicted lately of allowing my “to-do list” to distract me from communing with God. This week I’ve been meditating on Jesus statement that “apart from me you can do nothing.”

Come this Friday ready to recite your memory verse! And, please post a comment about your experience at The Mill. I’d also love to hear what passage of Scripture you’re working to memorize.

July 28 2008 at 9:09 am

Applying “Don’t Waste Your Kids”

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Yesterday my father Gregg Harris preached the latest message of our series titled “Don’t Waste Your…Kids.” The artwork for it was created by Sue Robb, a longtime member of our church.

You can download the message or listen online here.

Also, here are this week’s questions prepared by pastor Don DeVries to help us—particularly parents, in this case—apply the message in our personal devotions, family times or times of fellowship with friends and care groups.

1. In his message, Gregg Harris reminded us that God normally works through his created order to accomplish his purposes. In other words, God uses the diligence and faithful labor of dads and moms as his tools to train, instruct and direct our children. In what ways have you neglected or delegated this vital responsibility? In what ways is the Lord calling you to change?

2. Psalm 127 refers to children as a blessing, a “heritage” and a “reward.” In your heart, do you agree with God’s assessment for the children that he has given you? If not, what thinking and heart attitudes is the Lord calling you to change?

3. Gregg Harris challenged parents to train our children to be included in our lives. He said that, “when children are not trained to be included on the household team, they…live like guests in their own homes with no clear sense of purpose.” Parents (specifically dads and single moms), what practical steps can you take to train your children to be included “on the household team”?

4. He also called parents to partner with our kids and include them in our lives. Parents (specifically dads and singles moms), in what practical ways could you enter into a partnership with your kids to include them in various aspects of your life (spiritual, vocational, recreational, hobbies, projects, etc.)?

July 26 2008 at 10:50 am

Sunday Preview: Don’t Waste Your Kids

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Tomorrow morning my dad will preach to the church. He will be continuing our series with a message titled “Don’t Waste Your Kids” based on Psalm 127, a passage that describes children as “arrows in the hands of a warrior.”

Bob Kauflin will lead us in singing to the Lord tomorrow, and afterward, fittingly, we will be dedicating a total of 24 children in the two services. Child dedications are always a sweet time of celebrating God’s gift to these parents and to our church. See you tomorrow!

July 25 2008 at 7:48 am

A Busy Weekend

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It’s a busy day today for the Harris family and Covenant Life Church, and I’d appreciate your prayers for us this weekend.

Yesterday, after a four hour flight delay, my family from Oregon (along with my grandma from Ohio) arrived at the Baltimore airport. Alex and Brett are in Virginia for an appearance on a CBN television show. They’ll be coming in tonight.

Today the amazing volunteer team led by young adults from the church will be working to set up for the Rebelution conference. The band, led by my brother Joel, will be rehearsing. There are a lot of details to cover. Please pray for grace and strength for everybody involved.

Then tonight at 7 p.m., our church culminates our Week of Prayer for the next generation with a night of worship and prayer. We’re going to be seeking God, praying for students in our church and in the community and asking God to draw young adults to himself.

If you’re here from out of town for the Rebelution conference, we invite you to join us. We’ll also be praying for the day tomorrow.

Saturday, it’s all-day “Do Hard Things” featuring the twins and my dad. And then Sunday dad will preach at Covenant Life. Whew! What a whirlwind! If you think of my dear wife Shannon, please pray that God will help her manage all the details of hosting 11 people at our house. Thanks! And I hope to see you tonight!

July 24 2008 at 11:30 am

The Prayer Room: An Interview

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People of all ages have been visiting the prayer room this week. I wanted you to hear from one 17-year-old member of our church, Kristin Hoover, about what motivated her to come to pray and how the prayer room affected her.

1. Why did you come to prayer room?
I went to the prayer room to pray for my own soul, the soul of my friends and the rest of the youth group. I went to have an undistracted and focused time of praying Scripture and seeking the Lord for one of the biggest burdens on my heart—to see God’s spirit and power captivate the lives of the youth in our church.

2. What were you affected by as you prayed through the prayer points?
Many of the prayer points made me even more grateful for the friends I have that are modeling their lives after Scripture. And as I was praying through the prayer points, Ephesians 2:19-20 affected me as I considered that we are together “the household of God,” a family. What a precious way to care for the members of God’s family by praying for them. I am so glad that the entire church is praying for the next generation this week. We do need to be cared for by the other members of the body, and there is such a sense of unity, love and family care when the church gives itself to seeking God on behalf of its youth.

3. Did you come away from the prayer room with any new burdens on your heart?
I think I came away with a renewed burden for revival among the youth; to see God revealed to the youth in a powerful way so that there is a quickening of our hearts after the things of God. I also came away with a fresh burden to seek, seek, seek God’s word to better know God’s will for how I am to live. I have such a burden to see myself, my friends and the whole youth group live in the joyful safety of God’s word and to live in the fear of the Lord; taking his word and commandments seriously as the only right standard by which to live your life.

4. Anything you’d want to say to adults about this week of prayer for the next generation?
I am so grateful for all the people that have visited the prayer room and have sought God for all of us! We need it! I want to encourage the entire church to be seeking God on behalf of the youth, regardless of your age or whether or not you have any teenagers yourself. This is part of expressing care for one another in the body of Christ. This is a big part of your family that needs to meet the Lord in a unique way right now. Please don’t take your opportunity to invest in our lives lightly.

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