Covenant of Grace Messages

As followers of Christ, we have the privilege of spending time with the living God and speaking to Him through prayer. However, our relationship with God was never intended to remain an isolated experience. As the body of Christ, the church is meant to come together in his presence. Acts 2:42–47 offers us a glimpse of the many blessings of being with God as the church gathers. We are designed to e...

In our hectic, hurried, and digital age, it is easier than ever to "gain the whole world and forfeit your soul" (Matthew 16:26). How do we abide with God when we're so busy and distracted? The solution is to step away from it all and be alone with Him in the quiet.

For a life that glorifies God, for the Christian who wants to live with joy and flourishing, few doctrines are more important than what this passage teaches. Paul is kindly caring for the Corinthians and for us in these opening verses of his letter to them. He was preparing them and us to be with God on the Dark Path of Suffering.

This Sunday, we begin a five-part sermon series, Being With God. In this first sermon, we start by considering the goal of the Christian life: to abide in Christ. In John 15, Jesus invites his disciples to commune with him continually that they might bear fruit and so glorify God through their lives.

The message of Christmas is that God became a man. The incarnation is the reason we celebrate Christmas, and in this meditation, we'll consider what it is and what it means.

We all long for our world to be made right. We desire peace on earth and hope for love to triumph forever. Deep in our hearts, this is a yearning for a righteous king. And the great news of Christmas is that this king has come—and He will come again!

It would be hard to overstate the importance of the priesthood – the high priesthood of Jesus – for you, personally, for our church and for God’s purpose for all of humanity. Adam failed in his priestly duties and all humanity, knowingly or not, lived needfully, hopefully, desperately for the long-awaited High Priest Jesus Christ to come. And he did come! Merry Christmas!

Christmas is a season for us to intentionally grow in our knowledge of Christ. One of the best ways to do this is by understanding His threefold offices: Jesus as the promised Prophet, Priest, and King. Each Sunday leading up to Christmas, we will study one of these offices, as described in Hebrews chapters 1 and 2. In this first sermon, we will focus on Christ as the long-awaited Prophet who reve...

The Christian mission is not based on who we are or what we can do, it is based on who Jesus is and what he is able to do in and through our lives. In our study of Matthew 28:16–20, we will consider the implications of the Great Commission for followers of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote that if Christ had not been raised, our faith would be futile. But in fact, he has been raised from the dead, and his triumph over the grave is our present and future reality. This Lord’s Day, we look at Matthew’s account of Christ’s resurrection, beholding how the empty tomb proclaims Jesus’ power and glory over those who would thwart him and guarantees eternal hope to his...

At the heart of the Christian faith is the cross of Jesus Christ. It is not Jesus' birth, his teachings, his resurrection, or his gift of the Holy Spirit that holds this central importance, but rather his death on the cross. Why is this the case? In our study of Matthew 27:32-57, we will explore the significance of Jesus' crucifixion and its relevance to our lives today.

In this passage, the psalmist expresses deep discouragement, asking God, "When shall I come and see your face again?" (v. 2). Psalm 42 depicts what has been referred to as "the dark night of the soul," a season when our experience of God feels more like absence than presence. This is a phase that every Christian will encounter, and we want to study this Psalm to understand what it is and how to na...

As Christians, we rejoice in the promise that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). But this assurance is only possible because, as we'll see in our study of Matthew 27:1-31, Jesus bore our condemnation on our behalf.

In Matthew 26:69-75, we witness Peter’s denial of Jesus—a heartbreaking moment of failure in the life of one of Jesus’ closest followers. This passage confronts us with the sobering reality of our sin and weakness but also reveals a powerful hope: even in our darkest moments, God’s grace reaches deeper still.

In this sermon from Matthew 26:47-68, we’ll explore the profound moments where Jesus willingly submits to betrayal, arrest, and condemnation. Though He had the power to stop it all, Jesus chose obedience to the Father’s plan, showing us the depths of His love. As we look at His submission, we’ll be challenged to trust God’s purposes, even while suffering and injustice.

In this week's passage, we come to the Holy of Holies of our Lord's life on earth. Sinclair Ferguson once said, “The Garden of Gethsemane is one of the most sacred and solemn scenes in the entire Bible.” There is much for us to learn here, not the least of which is what it meant to Christ, the Holy One, to bear away our sins.

The church faces pressure from the world to conform to unbiblical values and, if left unchecked, can also see internal disagreements lead to disunity. We need to hear Paul's exhortation to humbly conduct our lives in accordance with the gospel as we stand courageously together for the sake of Christ. Thankfully, the Spirit is working in us to this end.

Although it is very, very obvious we often miss that almost all the writings in the NT were written to a local church. It can be exciting to talk about the Church Universal or to criticize "the church" or "evangelical churches' broadly. But, really, the local church is where the action is. The local church is where the game is played. The local church is where we see best how powerful the Gospel i...

In this week's study of 1 Corinthians 11:17–32, we will answer important questions about the Lord’s Supper, such as: Who should participate? Where should we have this meal? When should we have it? How should we understand it? And, at the most fundamental level, why should we celebrate the Lord’s Supper? As we’ll see, this meal is a crucial part of new covenant worship and a joyful expression of ne...

Many Christians aren’t quite sure about the meaning of the Lord’s Supper. They know it’s important, but they’re not sure how it’s supposed to affect them. In this week's sermon, we'll study Jesus' institution of the Lord's Supper and its significance in the Christian life.

What does it mean to be a Christian? In our study this week, we see that a Christian isn't just someone who believes in Jesus and goes to church. A true Christian is someone who sees and responds to the glory and the worth of Christ. A Christian is someone who is fully devoted to Christ and gives Him their all.

When Christ returns, he will do so suddenly, exposing every heart and bringing judgment. Christ’s second coming should shape the way we live in the present, and the way we look to the future, for nothing short of heaven and hell are at stake.

As Christians, we seek to discern God's will. This includes not only what His will is but also how He wants us to carry it out. The what matters, but so does the how. We aren't just to do His will; we are to do it zealously. But what exactly is zeal, and how do we get more of it?

We are stewards of everything we have received from the hand of God. So we must ask, "What do I have, and how can I use it for the Lord?" In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus calls his disciples to work responsibly until his coming and emphasizes the incredible reward of faithful stewardship and the severe consequence of lazy stewardship.

In this parable of the ten virgins, Jesus continues to focus on the need for his disciples to be ready for his return. Though in our eyes his coming has been delayed, his return will be sudden and irreversible, so we must remain vigilant and expectant to meet the bridegroom when he comes for his bride.