COV LIFE BLOG
Women’s Ornament Swap – Recap
Maybe you have been to 5, 10 or even 20 ornament swaps in your life. Or maybe this was your first time attending. In my limited experience, they have been full of sweet fellowship, laughter and delicious food (of course). This year was no different when it came to those things. There was one thing […]
Advent 2014 – Matthew 2:13-23 Jesus’ Fulfillment of Prophecy is Reason to Rejoice
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is cast as the true and faithful Israel. Matthew is retelling Israel’s well known story, but he’s putting Jesus right in the middle as the main character in the story. Jesus is the new Israel. Chapter one starts with the genealogy of Jesus. Matthew understood Jesus to be a […]
A Year of Faithfulness
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord… – Jeremiah 29:11 As I posture my heart to reflect upon the past year, I am reminded that the Lord knows the plans He has for me. His sovereign eyes saw my unformed substance—even before I was conceived. His sovereign hands wrote, every […]
Advent 2014 – Matthew 2:1-12 – The Coming of the Magi
What should you and I do better in this life than seek after Christ! The wise men thought all other pursuits of small account compared with this. “Who is going to attend to that observatory and watch the rest of the stars?” They shake their heads, and say they do not know: these things must […]
Advent 2014 – Matthew 1:18-25 – The Wonder of the Nativity
Do you remember God’s promise to send a Rescuer? His promise to send Jesus? Well, He kept His promise! Jesus came, just like God said He would. After thousands of years of waiting, on an ordinary night, Jesus came. God gave His people hints and clues about how Jesus would come. He told them that […]
Hope in Something Greater
Nothing has taught me more about the futility of life than mothering young children. There are definite moments of great joy, and the all over calm and love that comes with nurturing little lives. Yet there are also definite moments of … to put it spiritually, feeling quite Ecclesiastes-ish. Knocking knuckles with ol’ King Solomon. […]
Advent 2014 – Matthew 1:1-17 – The Genealogy of Jesus
Although it was important 2000 years ago, what relevance does [this passage] have today? Let me suggest three answers to that question. A. It establishes Jesus as part of the royal family of David. His “right to the throne” is determined by his genealogy, which establishes beyond question that he is indeed a literal descendant […]
2 Corinthians 4:7-18 – How the Gospel Informs Suffering
This is so key to understanding suffering in the Christian’s life. How has God most clearly shown His love for this world? Through the suffering and death of His Son. He has shown the world His love by a Suffering Servant, Jesus. So then, how are you and I going to show Jesus, a Suffering […]
Matthew 18:21-35 How the Gospel Informs Forgiveness
C. S. Lewis made this telling remark: “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.” Jesus told a story about a man who owed his boss a vast debt that in today’s terms would be something like $50 million. Somehow he had run up this enormous debt and somehow he […]
Hosea 14 – A Call to Return to the LORD
Have you ever confessed your need to God? God cannot heal us if we are telling him how great we are, how big we are are, how beautiful we are, how rich we are, how famous we are, how well-connected we are. We must realize our desperate need for God, and then confess it to […]