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Living Hope, Part 8
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Yesterday, Ben Wikner brought us God’s Word from 1 Peter 2: 18-25. He taught us the uncomfortable truth that because Christ has suffered on our behalf, Christians are called to endure suffering and to entrust ourselves to the one who judges justly. God’s grace enables us to follow Christ’s example.
Here are options for reviewing and applying the message:
• Listen online or download an MP3.
• Download the summary outline (in PDF format).
• Use the questions below for further reflection and application to your life:
1. In the face of unjust treatment, where are you tempted to defend your rights? According to 1 Peter 2: 18-20, what response would glorify and honor the Lord?
2. How do you respond when another’s weaknesses, deficiencies or sin affects YOU— do you give them what you think they deserve, or extend grace and mercy? What specific ways can you grow in extending grace and mercy to those who are difficult to love?
3. How can being mindful of the amazing grace that the Lord has shown to you enable you to respond graciously to someone who has mistreated or sinned against you?
4. In what present trials or sufferings do you need to entrust yourself into the hands of a just Judge?
5. In his book The Cost of Discipleship, Deitrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” In your relationships (at home, at work, at church or in the neighborhood) where is the Lord calling you to die to self?
6. Take time as a group to pray, repenting where there is conviction of selfishness and ungodly responses and asking the Lord to enable growth in responding with grace and mercy.
May 28 2010 at 8:33 pm
June 6: Dave Harvey, Helping To Rescue Ambition
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Dave Harvey believes ambition is in trouble—godly ambition, that is—the kind that can be, in his words, “a noble force for the glory of God.”
And he’s coming to Covenant Life on Sunday, June 6, to talk about it. [UPDATE: Dave’s message, “The Quest for Contentment” is available for download.]
What comes to mind when you think of ambition? Do you think of the drive for personal honor and fame or a God-centered passion to improve, produce, develop, and create?
Or have you given up on ambition altogether? No dreams, just auto-piloting through life. Confused. Numb.
Dave wants to encourage us to snatch ambition from the heap of failed motivations and put it to work for godly ends—to reach further and dream bigger for the glory of God.
Dave will speak at both the 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. services. Please join us!
Dave’s Bio
Dave Harvey is responsible for church care, church planting, and international expansion for Sovereign Grace Ministries. He has served as a member of the Sovereign Grace Ministries leadership team since 1995.
Dave has been in pastoral ministry at Covenant Fellowship Church (Glen Mills, PA) since 1986, was ordained in 1988, and served as senior pastor from 1990 to 2008. He has served on the board of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation since 2006. Dave received a Master of Arts in Missiology from Westminster Theological Seminary in 1989, worked toward a Master of Divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1993 to 1995, and in 2001 became a graduate in Westminster’s D.Min. program. The subject of his doctoral thesis was the identification and equipping of church planters.
In addition to his latest book, Rescuing Ambition, Dave contributed a chapter to Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World (Crossway, 2008) and is the author of When Sinners Say “I Do”: Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage (Shepherd, 2007).
Dave lives in West Chester, Pa., with his wife, Kimm. They have four children, and despite his many protests, one stray cat.
May 25 2010 at 4:21 pm
First Public Meeting at Redeemer Church of Arlington
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UPDATE (October 5, 2010): Redeemer Church of Arlington now meets at Central United Methodist Church in Ballston. The address is 4201 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203.
As a Covenant Life member, you may feel unconvinced when you hear statements like, “It is your obedience and faithfulness that make church planting possible.” You may find it hard to see the direct connection between your faithfulness at home and the advance of our church planting efforts. But let me encourage you with this story:
On Sunday evening, May 16, Redeemer Church of Arlington held its first public meeting at the Arlington Holiday Inn with about 135 people attending. As I sat and observed the preaching of the Word, the singing, and people sharing in communion, I realized that a church was taking shape around me.
I looked around the room and saw some of our best people from Covenant Life Church. There was Eric Simmons, sent out by Covenant Life, leading and preaching effectively. I saw a number of people from Sovereign Grace Church of Fairfax and Grace Community Church of Ashburn—both churches have sent quality people.
A strategic advance of the gospel was taking place. It was a small gathering in numbers, but it struck me—what we have done as a church is to take some of our best people, transplant them into a location that is ripe for the harvest, and humbly ask God to bless our efforts.
It was amazing to see 50 new faces—young men and women who have been added to this gathering over the last several months as the new church plant team was forming. These are men and women who live in and around Arlington, Va., and Washington, D.C., who in all likelihood would never travel to Gaithersburg, or Fairfax or Ashburn for church.
I wondered what it must have been like for the church in Antioch in Acts 13 when the Holy Spirit told them to send Saul and Barnabas, probably their two best teachers, into the mission. Thriving church, center of teaching, first place the believers were ever called Christians. They probably said, “Come on Holy Spirit, send some young guys, not the best teachers we have!” The teachers, prophets and elders, must have thought, “Let’s double check that word.”
But they listened, and they sent out their best. Just like we did with Ashburn, Frederick, Solid Rock (where we sent not a team, but John Loftness—a great sacrifice), and now Arlington (just as Grace Community Church sent Jose Mercado, one of their best, to lead Gracia Soberana de Gaithersburg). We have done this with many other church plants, too; I am highlighting just the last 10 years, and not including Ethiopia!
And I think we as a church will continue and must continue to send out gifted pastors into the harvest. And along with them will go some of our most gifted and godly care group leaders and servants.
What I saw in Arlington was those 50 newcomers surrounded by close to 70 of our best—people who have been faithfully taught and counseled by their pastors, who have served their churches diligently. They are primed to come alongside Eric in evangelism, speaking God’s Word, and helping other Christians grow. This idea of church planting with strong pastors and strong teams is painful, but it is so wise! The Holy Spirit knows what he is doing! And honestly, I can’t wait to see the fruit that this church is going to produce!
And seeing Isaac Hydoski, Braden Greer, Joe Lee, Jon Smith and so many new care group leaders here at Covenant Life serving the Lord in the space left by Eric and others who are part of the Redeemer church plant makes one thing clear:
We are going to do this again and again.
I felt the pleasure of God watching the church at work Sunday evening. I anticipate with eager excitement many future plants where we as a church, along with the other churches, send out some of our best leaders and some of our best care group leaders. Thank you for your sacrifices and your partnership in this mission together. (And let’s pray that God will help us send some of our best to regions where Christ has not already been named!).
As was the case for some of the brothers and sisters in Acts 13, many of us will remain in our home churches carrying out a different aspect of the mission. We’ll be doing the same things the men and women on the church planting teams do. We will serve and evangelize as we live in the grace of the gospel in our neighborhoods, workplaces and schools.
It is your humble obedience to the mission of the gospel in Covenant Life Church that allows church planting like this to take place. Please see the connection, and give thanks to God for his grace!
Thank you for being the kind of church that is willing to send out its best and invest so much into the harvest!
For the harvest,
—Kenneth Maresco
May 25 2010 at 3:05 pm
Schedule Adjustments for Sunday, May 30
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Here are some schedule changes to note in light of many people traveling over Memorial Day weekend and the NEXT conference taking place in Baltimore, May 28-31:
On Sunday, May 30:
• Discovery Land will offer child care during the first service only.
• Discovery Land volunteers who are not scheduled to serve on May 30: Please consider serving anyway. With large numbers of children expected for the first service and the absence of some volunteers, your help will be needed. Report to your normal station before the first service.
• Starting Point will not be held. Class will resume on Sunday, June 6.
May 24 2010 at 12:27 pm
Living Hope, Part 7
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Yesterday Braden Greer preached a message called “Alien Citizens” from 1 Peter 2:11-17. He summarized his message at the outset with this statement: “Our willing subjection to earthly authorities reveals Jesus Christ, our ultimate authority.” To do this, he taught, we must “live submitted, live free, and live for others.”
Here are options for reviewing and applying the message:
• Listen online or download an MP3.
• Download the summary outline (in PDF format).
• Use the questions below for further reflection and application to your life:
1. Braden shared that our submission and conduct toward civil authorities will either bear witness to the power of the gospel or bring reproach on the gospel. What message is your life communicating?
2. Is it difficult for you to submit to and honor some civil authorities? Which ones? What might this reveal about your trust in God and the possible idols of your heart?
3. Peter teaches that our submission to “every human institution” is “for the Lord’s sake” (1 Peter 2:13). How can your submission to the governing authorities bring glory to God? How is your submission to civil authorities an act of worship to the Lord?
4. 1 Peter 2:17 commands us to “honor everyone.” Whom do you find it difficult to honor? (Braden shared some examples: the homosexual, the criminal, the abortion doctor, the business achiever, the artsy liberal, etc.).
5. How can your honor and obedience to the governing authorities draw unbelievers to Jesus Christ?
6. Where has the Lord brought conviction concerning disobedience or dishonor to governing authorities? What would repentance look like?
7. As a care group, take time to pray—to repent, as necessary, and to pray for the leaders in our national, state and local governments.
May 18 2010 at 4:14 pm
Dave Hartman Recognized for Service
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Dave and Gretchen Hartman
The Montgomery County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation recognized Covenant Life member Dave Hartman for outstanding volunteer work at a banquet held April 28. Christine Delcid, Program Manager/Volunteer Coordinator with Montgomery County, who presented the award, said that the staff chooses “someone who is available to assist on a moments notice, someone who staff sees week after week, someone who goes the extra mile.”
Virtually every Wednesday night for the past 6.5 years, Dave and other servants from Covenant Life have led worship, preached and conducted small group discussions at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. As the leader, Dave also has ongoing mentoring relationships with some of the men who get sentenced or who are released.
Dave describes his experience in prison ministry as “a front-row seat to the gospel.” He continues, “Almost every group of men has at least one who responds to the gospel. And we, as a team, get to watch him be transformed before our very eyes. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
A major highlight for Dave is the story of a man who was saved through the program in 2003 and is now serving a 60-year sentence. One evidence of grace in this man’s life is that he chose not to accept a plea bargain which would have greatly reduced his sentence but required him to lie and say he was guilty of certain things he did not do. His Public Defender strongly urged him to accept the offer, regardless of questions of innocence vs. guilt. However, as a Christian the inmate felt it would dishonor God to lie, so he refused the offer and was given the longer sentence. Dave has become a close brother in Christ with this inmate as have several others on the team. The inmate leads worship and preaches in jail; he fasts and prays diligently for Dave and his family; and they write to each other and talk several times a month.
Dave says, “He is growing in the Lord by leaps and bounds every day, and it is a joy to watch.”
Congratulations, Dave, on the award and your years of faithful service in the Prison Ministry. And Gretchen, thank you for supporting your husband so that his gifts can be deployed so effectively over such a long period.