Covenant Life Church

April 11 2009 at 11:06 am

Celebrating the Resurrection Tomorrow

Last night we had a great time at our Good Friday prayer and ministry night. It was wonderful to have so many singles, high schoolers and families with children in attendance.

We spent the first half of the night remembering Jesus’ death in our place for our sins. We interspersed times of singing with readings from the Gospels. In the second half of the meeting we prayed that God would help us take the good news of gospel to others. We prayed for the ONEU campus outreach, our ESL program, the Christian Legal Aid work that’s just begun, and for God to lead in the creation of a prison after-care ministry.

I can’t wait to worship with you tomorrow as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. I’ll be preaching from John 11 which tells the story of how Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. Please pray for me and that every aspect of the meeting would be used to exalt Jesus.

If you’re bringing any friends or family members, please come introduce them to me. I’d love to meet them. See you tomorrow!

April 10 2009 at 6:00 am

Good Friday

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I hope you and your family have a blessed Good Friday, taking time to remember and give thanks for the death Jesus died for our sins, in our place.

In preparation for Easter Sunday, we’re gathering tonight as a church to worship, remember and pray for each other. We’ll be meeting in the Events Center at 7:30 p.m. I hope you can join us.

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

—Isaiah 53:4-6

April 9 2009 at 5:59 am

Story With Two Happy Endings

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I want to highlight another reason why it felt like “German Sunday” here this past weekend. If you’ve been following the blog this week or you attended one of the meetings, this will make sense.

In addition to having Wolfgang Wegert preach, we heard the testimony of a young German man, Patrick Gleichmann. Patrick came to work here in Gaithersburg, was invited to Covenant Life by a co-worker, attended Alpha (now called “Introducing God,” a class that introduces guests to the Christian faith), trusted Christ for his salvation and joined the church. It’s a great story of God’s saving grace. (And that co-worker, by the way, ended up becoming Patrick’s wife!)

The video shows Patrick sharing his testimony and then being baptized. (He was baptized in the first service, but gave his testimony in both services.)

April 8 2009 at 5:59 am

Wolfgang’s Testimony

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On Sunday Wolfgang Wegert told the story of his conversion as a teenager at his dying father’s bedside. It’s a moving story that I wanted to share with you here.

See two earlier posts on this blog to read more about Wolfgang’s message and the background behind his visit.

April 7 2009 at 6:00 am

Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference

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I’m attending the Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference this week here at Covenant Life, along with Covenant Life’s pastoral team, pastors of Sovereign Grace churches from all over the U.S. and other nations, and many guests. The first session was last night, and the conference runs through Wednesday evening.

Here’s a list of speakers and their message titles:

Today’s schedule includes a number of seminars for both men and women with speakers including Mark Dever, Bob Kauflin, Mike Bullmore, Dave Harvey, Jeff Purswell, Carolyn McCulley and Carolyn Mahaney.

I would be grateful for your prayers for the conference. In particular, please pray that God will sustain all those who are speaking and Bob Kauflin as he leads the singing, that every pastor and leader would be refreshed and encouraged, and that the Lord will use all that goes on to advance the gospel around the world.

Pictured above: C.J. Mahaney speaking; Bob Kauflin leading band and choir. Thanks to Andy Alonso for the photos!

April 6 2009 at 4:00 am

Wolfgang Wegert: Application

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Yesterday was a very special day featuring our honored guest, Wolfgang Wegert, senior pastor of Arche Church in Hamburg, Germany. Before he preached Wolfgang made me promise to come to Germany, and I agreed. (Guess that leaves a few details to work out!)

It was “German Sunday” all the way around, with a moving testimony form Patrick Gleichmann, a young German man who recently came to Christ and joined Covenant Life. We’ll share his testimony here later this week.

Wolfgang taught us about Christ’s role as our great high priest who “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

You can listen online or download the message here.

Application Questions:

1. Hebrews 7:25 states that Jesus ever lives to intercede for us, meaning that Jesus is constantly presenting His blood and pierced body to the Father as a reminder that all has been paid for. How can Jesus’ priestly intercession encourage your faith when you are tempted to discouragement over your sin?

2. Wolfgang reminded us that, like the Old Testament high priests, Christ, our eternal High Priest, carries on his heart to the Father the names of those who are his. In whatever circumstance you find yourself, how can knowing that your specific name is carried on Christ’s heart fill you with hope, joy and faith?

3. Wolfgang taught us that the accusations and charges hurled at us by Satan, by others or by our own sin won’t stick; Jesus, our High Priest, is always interceding and presenting his righteousness on our behalf to the Father (Romans 8:33-34). How can this gospel truth help you to fight the temptations of guilt and condemnation over past or present sin?

4. Luke 22:31 records Jesus’ words to Peter, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” Charles Spurgeon once said, “Glowing chariots and wagons will not bring us into heaven; rather, the prayers of the Lord will carry us home.” Is your faith encouraged that Jesus has already prayed for you? How can you apply this truth to help in your battle with unbelief?

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