Deerbrook Covenant

We have been given life so we can experience the love of God and learn to love others. We are to live in such a way that we give God glory in all we do. A truly meaningful way to give God glory is to help others follow Jesus. This Sunday, we complete our Spring series about Discipleship with a look at the gospel of Mark chapter 9.Following Jesus means seeing the Kingdom of God among us in all its power and glory. We help others understand the identity of Jesus and how to join in his mission. In the gospels, on a high mountain, Jesus was transfigured into brilliant light, and three disciples caught a glimpse of heavenly glory. A voice from Heaven announces, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!” The disciples however were baffled. On the way down the mountain Jesus again explains the plan that the Messiah must suffer and be rejected before rising on the third day. Our task as disciple-makers is to help others follow Jesus, even if we don’t fully understand God’s plans. ‘“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.” Psalm 89:14-15 NIV

Much of our lives are driven by questions. Questions about what we should do, who we should spend time with, how we should spend our time, where we are headed, what we believe and the list goes on. As disciple makers of Jesus, we can listen and help people uncover both practical life questions and important big God questions. In this Sunday’s sermon, we will explore Mark 12:18-34 and see how Jesus answers two questions. The way Jesus responds to these questions will give us understanding about discipleship. We hope to see you there as we worship together, learn about bringing others to Jesus and celebrate the Father’s and men in our lives. 

The goal of our current discipleship sermon series is to encourage, challenge and equip you to go out and make disciples of Jesus. To help someone else follow Jesus. Our hope is that each of us will be in life-of-life discipleship relationships, no matter where we are in our walk with Jesus. Perhaps, we need to learn more about Jesus. Perhaps, we can encourage another in their faith. But make note of this: what Jesus asks for is quite costly. “If anyone would come after me, they must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.” Jesus doesn’t call us only to abundant life, but to abandon our life for the will of God. Our text this week is Mark chapter 8. A brilliantly written account of Jesus feeding 4000 people, a warning about unbelief, a healing of a blind man, the confession of Peter, and Jesus’ plan to suffer, die and raise again. Then Jesus clearly describes the cost of discipleship: our very lives. “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” Mark 8:35-36 ESV

As disciple-makers, we are instructed to share God’s Word with people in our lives. Sometimes the Word is received and it produces an abundance of good fruit. Other times, the Word is taken, destroyed, or stifled resulting in no fruit.  This week we will look at Jesus’ parable of the Sower and the way God wants His truth to be planted in good soil to produce a multitude of spiritual fruit. We hope to see you this Family Sunday as the children and youth stay in service for the duration to worship with their families and celebrate Communion together. We will also introduce our new Deerbrook members.

As the disciples followed Jesus, he modeled how to love God and love others. He shared his life with his disciples “so that they might be with him, and that they might be sent out to preach and cast out demons.” Eventually, the disciples spread the kingdom and reached people just like Jesus would have, because they had been with Jesus and they were obedient to his call. All for the sake of the Kingdom of God, disciples disciple others, apostles are sent, missionaries go. This is how God builds the church. The stories of Mark chapter six demonstrate how God intends to use us to spread the gospel message. When the disciples returned from their ministry, they went off to rest with Jesus. But when the crowds followed them, Jesus suspended their rest and had compassion on the crowds “for they were like sheep without a shepherd.” Eventually, they feed over 5,000 people! The needs of the World are never-ending, but the spreading of the Gospel continues one person at a time. Our success (just like the apostles) in making disciples, is tied to time with Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray for God to give us the energy and vision to make disciples. “Feed my sheep.”

We are reading the gospel of Mark this Spring. We are looking for clues about discipleship, our calling to help others follow Jesus. After Jesus called his first disciples, he began to preach and people were astonished.His authority was asserted as he performed a great number of healings. But as his popularity rose, so did objections to his practices. Jesus responded with persuasive arguments about his authority. “I am the bridegroom.” My teaching is “new wine that requires fresh wineskins.” “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” In preparation for this Sunday, please read Mark 1 & 2.We have been given the ministry of reconciliation, God making his appeal through us. Jesus changes everything about life and that is what we are trying to help others understand. We hope to see you this Sunday, our graduation Sunday!

The second quote of Jesus in the book of Mark is, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”  As we continue our exploration of discipleship, we are going to look at what Jesus did when he invited the first disciples to follow him and their response.  Through this narrative, Jesus models what we can do to begin to fulfill Jesus commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

This week we will begin our journey into making disciples of Jesus. Over the next 8 weeks we will discuss the spiritual practice of discipleship as we study the Gospel of Mark. This Sunday, we will unpack Mark 1:14-15 where Jesus says,“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” We will look at how this verse is a foundational component to the destination of discipleship by answering two questions: What gives Jesus the authority to make this statement? & What does this statement mean? Please join us for worship this Sunday. We will celebrate Communion and the children and youth will stay in service to worship together for Family Sunday. 

This Sunday, we will conclude our April series Pursuing Impact Together. As we pursue God, we experience the gifts of the Holy Spirit that glorify God when we serve others. Our impact in the World is often measured by our care for others. As our society continues to spin into division and unrest, it seems everyone agrees that hatred and conflict cause suffering. We may wonder why is love of others the measure of our faith and our love for God? Perhaps because ‘loving one another’ is God’s plan to address the suffering of the World. Several ‘one another’ passages come directly from the law, the prophets and the teaching of Jesus himself. And then the letters of the apostles exhort us with over 30 “one another” verses in the New Testament. This Sunday, we will discuss the conversations of those who met Jesus and examine the “one another” commands and commentary.In addition, we will offer the Discover Deerbrook class after service, for people interested in learning more about Deerbrook’s history, ministries and theology. Please consider joining us.“For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”  1 John 3:11

This Sunday, we will talk about opportunities for each of us to volunteer to serve in local mission. We will hear from Rachel Gibson who serves in a college discipleship ministry at University Nebraska-Lincoln. Human beings have many needs in common. We have physical & financial needs. We have psychological & relational concerns that need to be addressed. We must grow and mature to survive and thrive in this society. We also understand that we have spiritual cravings for meaning and reconciliation with God. The truth is, we cannot meet our needs in isolation. So, when God created the church, he gifted his followers to help address each other’s needs. It's our family and church communities that give us purpose and opportunities to serve one another. We are members of one another. We understand we are here because of the grace God has given us. Our health, our family & friends, even our opportunities to create an income are linked to God’s provision. So, who we are and how we live is a response to his mercy. That response includes caring for the vulnerable. The orphan, the widow and the foreigner have incredible hurdles to overcome. This is our topic of conversation this weekend. “In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”  Romans 12:5

This month, we are discussing our congregation’s vision of Pursuing Impact Together. This means we pursue God and his Kingdom. We seek his presence in worship on Sundays. In addition, we aspire to increase our impact in the World. Impacting the World for God’s glory is both simple and profound. We make a difference every day when we use our talents and resources to help meet the needs of others. This may simply be parenting well, supporting a child or missionary overseas, praying for those in need or emotionally supporting a friend. However, we also have a great opportunity to serve larger causes and ministries as we join together. Long term commitments to serving our congregation, joining Angels of Mercy, volunteering at local schools, feeding the hungry, and helping refugees. There are endless opportunities for us to really impact the lives of others. This Sunday, we will celebrate the recent new financial gifts made by Deerbrook to four local organizations (education, youth intervention, refugees and couples healing). We will talk about opportunities for each of us to volunteer. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:7

Welcome to Spring. Welcome to a season of new growth, warming temperatures and sunshine. As the calendar turns to April, we will discuss the vision of Deerbrook. Our vision is Pursuing Impact Together. This means we pursue God himself. We seek the presence of God in private devotional times and in conversations with caring friends. We seek his presence in worship on Sunday mornings. As we seek God, we seek his will. Lord, change us from the inside that we may embrace the righteousness of God and become a loving community. Scripture is clear, others give glory to God as his followers live into loving relationships. Finally, to seek God is to seek his Kingdom. We strive to make a difference in the World because that also gives glory to God. He has created us to do good things that he has prepared for us in advance. We bless those we meet in day-to-day situations. We care for the sick, we serve the poor, we share the good news of Christ. God may your light shine in our community. This is our hope. “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.  Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.”  Psalm 84:5,12

This is it; this is our weekend. Good Friday & Easter Sunday. Since the beginning of time, God has orchestrated his plan to save his people. The creation of the World was tainted by the disobedience of humanity. Everywhere we look are signs of pride, lust, greed and anger. Nations at war, humans in conflict with one another, separated from God and one another by our sins. And then God the Father sends his one and only Son into the World to save us. Jesus saves us from ourselves, he moves us beyond hatred. Jesus saves us from darkness and rescues us from condemnation. We may ask, “did Jesus know he must die?” The answer is a resounding yes! Aware of the pain and suffering ahead, Jesus stated, “the hour has come.” He took the path of obedience to the Father’s plan and called his followers to do the same. We are to be children of light. Jesus paid the price, died and rose from the dead. Sin & death have been defeated. Celebrate! Truly, God is glorified. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" John 12:27-28

Dear Friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world…     1 Peter 2:11 The “World” is how the New Testament refers to the fallen, broken society and system in which we live with all of its assumptions, deceptions, ideologies, power structures, and “isms” that are contrary to the Word of God and the life to which Jesus has called us. The World, instead of drawing out the best in us, often serves to validate and reinforce our own worst impulses. We don’t have to be in third grade for the old argument that “everybody is doing it” to be seductive. We intuitively recognize sometimes that it really is a spiritual force we are up against. We sometimes speak of something as being “in the air.” The most important thing to know about overcoming the world is that we need one another. We don’t overcome the world on our own. We need the support and encouragement, the challenge and accountability, the wisdom and discernment of a counterculture church.This Sunday, we will look at three key cultural issues and what it would mean to live as a counterculture people in a post-Christian society.

The journey to a life of grace, truth, beauty and fulfillment is not an easy one. The Scriptures warn us that there is an unholy trinity that seeks constantly to lead us astray and to sabotage our progress: The Devil, the Flesh, and the World. This is what we are up against.In previous weeks we have seen that we have a real Enemy, and the Enemy’s chief strategy is to lie about the nature of reality and what is the true path to abundant life. We have also looked at how powerful these lies can be as they feed into our own disordered desires, what the Bible calls our “Flesh.”The battle becomes even more difficult when those lived lies become normalized in our sinful society which is referred to in the New Testament as “the World.”Today and next week we are going to be looking together at the World. We will consider questions like these:-What does the Bible mean when it speaks of the world?-How do we become more aware of the world’s deceptions?-What have been the strategies of Christians who’ve come before us?-How are we to live in a post-Christian culture?The Good News is that we do not fight the battle alone, we have one another. And, most importantly, we trust in Jesus’ promise: “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

We have discussed recently that defeating the devil’s lies is done by prayer, the Word of God and living among the community of believers. We surround ourselves with people who believe and tell us the truth. He whispers lies. We shout back the truth. Well, the truth is, there is a way to defeat even the most stubborn sin in our lives! We don’t mention it much. Worried about legalism, we give in to living defeated lives. Paul was worried about legalism, but he taught we can die to the old self. According to our author of Live No Lies, the pathway to freedom is to practice the forgotten spiritual disciplines. Sabbath. Fasting. Confession. Galatians 5 is our text this Sunday. The power of God to defeat sin resides in walking by the Spirit. And that means obeying his commands: rest, restrain our body with fasting, and freely admit our sins to one another.  We will also hear an update from Future Hope Africa and dedicate two young children! Please join us on Sunday, pick up a copy of the book and our discussion guide. “The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” James 5:15-16

It seems everyone we know is searching for a better life. More possessions, more pleasure, more freedom. The world offers to fulfill us with more stuff at the expense of our souls. We should not bet tricked. The old ways of personal fulfillment don’t work. We are preaching through the second section of the best-selling book, Live No Lies, by John Mark Comer. He understands that the devil’s lies are directed at our distorted hearts and our confused identities. However, the good news is that Jesus offers us new life and real freedom. Jesus offers us the better life. We will be studying a portion of Romans 6 and seeking to come alive in Christ by offering ourselves to God. We must put the old self to death. No longer slaves to sin. “Offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” Romans 6:13

This Sunday, we begin our Lent series based on Scripture and the best-selling book Live No Lies by John Mark Comer. The content is an extension of our Overcoming The World discussion. Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil. In a world of senseless violence and unrestricted immorality, how can we still think that our society is getting better? Ideas are assumptions about reality, and when ideas are false, they are particularly harmful. Well, the problem is that the devil is real, and his lies are powerful. When lies are normalized by our culture and combined with our tainted hearts, evil still destroys lives. In John chapter 8, Jesus discusses the devil (who he met in the wilderness!) and accuses the Pharisees of following the devil’s lies. Please join us on Sunday, pick up a copy of the book and our discussion guide. Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

This Sunday, with our fourth talk on Overcoming The World, we will discuss Love & Sexuality. We hope to begin an honest conversation about how to love people we may disagree with and perhaps even fear. In addition, we will discuss modern views and the Bible’s teaching on sexuality. We acknowledge that expressions of sexuality effect nearly all of our families. We understand how confusing these topics are for many of us. With God’s Word as our guide, and Jesus’ Creed “to love God and love others,” we’ll venture into gentle conversations. I John 4 & 5 will inform our discussion. There are all kinds of resources to help us learn and create space for conversations with people of all sorts of backgrounds. Please consider our denomination’s commitment to ministry around Love & Sexuality. https://covchurch.org/resource/human-sexuality-paper/https://covchurch.org/embrace/http://hillcrestcov.org/posture/#Next-Steps “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.” I John 4:15-16

As followers of Jesus, our challenge is to overcome the World. Many of us are given the role of parenting, helping our children climb the mountain of faith and maturity. In 21 years as a pastor, I have never spoken on parenting. Who am I to give advice? My goodness. And then, we discover the Bible is full of stories of complicated families, with advice on love & wisdom. Teach our children to love the Lord, as we love the Lord. The role of parenting is the “best hardest job we will ever have,” and we really never give it up. Parenting involves raising up ‘healthy, fully functional, mature adults.’ What a task, even as we grow in understanding of our own parents. God’s hope for society is loving followers of Jesus spreading love, one family at a time. Please join us this Family Sunday, for worship, the Lord’s supper, young adult luncheon and a lot of fun surprises. “Be devoted to one another in love.” Romans 12:10

We understand that our hearts have a great potential for darkness. The New Testament writers have numerous reminders of how we are not to live. They define living well as when 'our spiritual nature triumphs over our sinful nature.' One difficulty to following Jesus' commands is that modern culture redefines right & wrong with whatever is shocking and sensual. The World spins one way and we spin another against the new norms. So, we look back to the Biblical standard and to Jesus' teaching. This Sunday, we continue our series “Overcoming the World” by looking at Mark 7 and Colossians 3. Oh Lord, be with us in this battle for our soul. Help us renew our hearts and our minds. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is,seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1

During the worship service, we will begin our new series “Overcoming the World.” Over the next 4 weeks we will discuss ‘light & darkness,’ ‘the sinful nature vs. the spiritual nature,’ ‘raising our children well,’ and finally ‘identity, sexuality & love.’  Our hope is to live victoriously by God’s power & grace and to overcome personal and societal issues as the light of the World. This Sunday, we will discuss the first letter of John which states his powerful instruction “do not love the world or anything in the world.” (John 2:15-17). The introduction to this passage speaks about our fellowship with God and the bold declaration “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” Jesus is our advocate and purifies us of sin. Please join us this week, the weather can't be as bad as last week. “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.” I John 1:6

Because of Christ, we have gained access to our heavenly Father (Eph. 2:18). It really is a privilege to pray to the Lord! And that is our hope for the next week at Deerbrook as we invite all of us to join together in the joy of prayer. The Scriptures have many examples of OT prayers and NT prayers. Our text this Sunday is Psalm 143. It demonstrates that our trust in the Lord starts with our dependence upon God and his mercy. It is good for us to pause, acknowledge our struggles and then bring our requests to God. The facts are clear. No one has it all together, and as David expresses, there are enemies all around us. So, what shall we do? We make decisions to pour out our requests to God. We trust him with our past, present and future. Praise be to God, who offers us relief, comfort and direction as we open our hands to him in prayer.

It is our tradition to call our people to prayer in the month of January. So, this Sunday, we will discuss Paul’s beautiful prayer for the believers in Ephesus. Paul does not pray for comfort, success & prosperity. Instead, Paul prays consistently that God would pour out his Spirit on the new believers so that they may know God better. Paul also prays that they (we) would know the hope that God offers us and that they (we) would experience his power. I am not sure why we need to be motivated to pray. Clearly our lives and the World need our prayers. Perhaps, we simply need to be reminded where the power is, and that God has called us to something much greater than a mundane life. Lord, inspire us to pray. Help us get to know you better and to pray for others.

In times of transition and change, particularly in seasons of loss or fresh beginnings, it can be very helpful in our journey to pause and take spiritual inventory, to take time to listen to the voice of the Spirit, to look back and lighten the load and to look to the future with thankfulness and hope. In today’s teaching I want to share a tool I have used for the past thirty years to help me take spiritual inventory. It is very simple. It is, I believe, deeply Biblical. And it has unfailingly been very helpful. The simple part is that it only involves completing four sentences. The deeply Biblical part is that it touches on themes that run through Scripture and run through the human heart. The helpful part...well that depends on how honest we want to be and how deep we want to go. As we end one year and begin a new one, I invite us to listen to the voice of God’s Spirit as we consider what I resent... I regret... I appreciate... I hope...

It is very clear in the Old Testament that people need salvation from their enemies, from themselves and from their sins. There is only One that provides this salvation, the LORD God of Israel. “I alone am God, there is no other.” So, it should be quite shocking that the tiny baby born in Bethlehem is introduced as “the Savior of the World.” Jesus taking on the title of Savior is a mighty claim of being God himself. This Sunday, our children’s choir will lead us in worship of the tiny baby, born King, Mighty God, Messiah and Savior. We will survey where the Gospels mention salvation, a lot less frequently than one would think. There are a few references to ‘Jesus as Savior, being saved, and salvation’ in Matthew & Mark, while Luke states Jesus’ mission is to ‘save the lost’. The Gospel of John, and the preaching of Acts, makes it clear that ‘Salvation is found in no one else.’ Where are you at, friend? How do you handle the burdens of this life? Where do you place your hope? There is no more hiding in our shame. Jesus has come, the Savior of the World.

God is revealing Himself to us! A tiny baby yet King and Mighty God! What a gift that God chooses to come near.God is with us! This Sunday we discover another name for Jesus: Messiah. A tiny baby yet…Messiah. This name is laced with deep meaning that reveals that Jesus is indeed the one for whom God’s people were waiting. We’ll discover the Old Testament connections to the Messiah as prophet, priest and king and why this anointed one is good news for all people this Christmas season. “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2: 9-11

Our Mighty God, who spoke everything into existence, uses His power to protect and rescue us. In this message, we will explore how God spoke into existence, from the beginning of time, protective boundaries that keep us safe. We will understand why these boundaries are important to our well-being, yet we cannot live up to them on our own. Thus, our Mighty God broke through the boundaries with Jesus to rescue us from our own ruin. Please join us this Family Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, for a time of worship. We will celebrate Communion together, and the children and youth will stay in service for the duration. We look forward to seeing you. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11

This Sunday, we will introduce our Winter (Advent) series with discussion of the tiny baby. We will trace the promises in Genesis for a line of kings and discover the royal lineage of the tiny baby born in Bethlehem. Jesus is a descendent of Abraham, Judah, King David and another fourteen kings after David. In his short life of public ministry, Jesus proclaimed ‘the Kingdom of Heaven has come near’ to the people of Israel. Clearly, the kingdom is near because Jesus has arrived on Earth to live among us, fulfill God’s laws and call upon God’s people. Jesus proclaimed, prayed, demonstrated, explained and gave his life for the Kingdom. But make no mistake, the Kingdom of Heaven is his kingdom. So the question is: who is the ruler of my life? “During the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2

This Sunday, we will conclude our journey through Genesis with the passing of God's blessing from one generation to the next. The book of Genesis closes with Jacob ‘death bed’ conversations with Joseph, Joseph’s sons, and eventually the whole set of 12 brothers. The book ends with emotional moments of past, present and future. We are struck with the reality that God was working before we came along, he is an ever-present companion in our life, and he will continue his work long after we are gone. As Jacob recalls his life, he acknowledges how God has spoken with him and fulfilled his promises of descendants, land and blessing. Even in the hardest moments, Jacob is blessed tremendously. Jacob adopts Joseph’s boys as his own. This eventually effects the division of the promised land, hundreds of years later. God truly is good. Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.” Genesis 48:11

Last week, we looked at the big scope of the Joseph Saga. Duplicitous brothers. A punishing famine. Luminous dreams about feeding a people. Betrayal and deception. Tears and reconciliation. It is an amazing story and through it all we saw the hand of God at work. In God’s providence, the story unfolds towards a dramatic and profound conclusion: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20, NASB) Today, we flashback to an early episode in the life of Joseph, his sojourn in the household of Potiphar and his fall from power and into prison. We will look at the issues of integrity and temptation and see in Joseph’s story a cautionary tale that remains as profoundly relevant today as it was thousands of years ago. But tying the whole episode together is the overarching presence of God. Over and over is the refrain, “The Lord was with him.” That was the good news for Joseph and that is the good news for us as well. “Immanuel—God is with us.”

It is possible to think that our lives are just a series of scenes, one after another, linked together by our decisions and mishaps. We are “half-victims and half-accomplices, just like everyone else.” Yet there is one other powerful player in our life-story. And that is God the Father. Most of our lives are full of adversity, and we may wonder why. This Sunday, we will discuss Genesis chapter 42 when Joseph, now the Governor of Egypt, meets his brothers who are seeking to buy grain during a famine. Joseph gives them quite a hard time, and they wonder why God is punishing them. “It’s because of what we did to our brother!” If we step back and see the bigger picture, perhaps it is true. Our adversity is a result of our choices. However, God is always at work, accomplishing his will, fulfilling his promises. This is one of the lessons of Genesis, including chapter 42, where God says no words, but is deeply involved in the history, situation and future of saving a whole nation. Come to worship service this week, and see how God can work through our adversity, our dysfunctional families, and even our poor decisions. God always accomplishes his will!

Please join us this Sunday morning online or in person, as we gather as a community to give praise to the ‘God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’. This is one of the many names of God in Genesis. Jacob’s story goes from chapter 25 to chapter 50 in Genesis. His name means ‘deceiver’ and throughout his life Jacob struggles with Esau and later Laban. He has quite a dysfunctional family. However, God uses this dysfunctional family to bless the World. God sends an angel to wrestle with Jacob, and the angel gives Jacob the new name of Israel. Out of Jacob comes the twelve tribes of Israel and eventually the journey into and out of Egypt. Through all the ups and downs of this World, God is still our companion, guide and deliverer. We hope you are following along with us through our Genesis series and are enjoying personal study or time with a small group. See you Sunday morning for worship, teaching and fellowship.  

This Sunday we will continue our series through Genesis. In Genesis chapter 24, Abraham asks his head servant to find a wife for Isaac. On this servant’s journey for Abraham, we discover two prayers and a blessing. We will explore this story, the prayers and the blessing, to see how God wants to work in our lives to strengthen our faith and fulfill His purposes. We hope you are following along with us through this series and enjoying personal study or time with a small group. See you Sunday morning for worship, teaching and fellowship.

As we continue our survey of Genesis, we discover that our creator God continued to bring people into relationship with Himself. Through the patriarchs, God demonstrated not only His creativity but his deep love for humanity. He revealed his character of faithfulness and plan for redemption through His covenant with Abram. This Sunday we will discover that even in the midst of Abraham’s test of faith in Genesis 22, God is there. His provision of the ram in the thicket not only preserved the covenant but revealed Himself as the God who “sees to it” that what is needed is provided. Join us this Sunday as we continue to discover Abraham’s story and worship the God who provides. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” Genesis 22:14

Our survey of the book of Genesis continues this week as small groups continue to meet, and we worship our Lord together on Sunday morning. We will introduce the family of Terah, most specifically his son Abram. Abram answers God’s call to ‘leave his country’ with his wife Sarai & their nephew Lot. A whole caravan of people arrive in Canaan, and God promises Abram several times to give him this new land and many descendants in order to build a new nation.  God promises to bless the whole World through Abram. The huge issues, however, include that the land is occupied, Abram has no heir and a famine is on the way. How is God going to accomplish what he says he will do when there are so many hurdles to overcome? Isn’t that the same question we all pose to God in our broken world with strained relationships and our search for answers? Come hear from God this weekend as we examine God’s Word, pray for God to work among our families, and share stories of miraculous answers.

Seven Hebrew words. Our faith all starts with seven Hebrew words. “In the beginning God created the Heavens & the Earth.”The first words of revelation of God. Genesis teaches us that God is Spirit, the Creator, and a God who speaks. Indeed, Lord speak to us. This week, we will start our Fall series on Genesis with chapter one, this beautiful poem about Elohim. The ‘first lesson’ of Genesis is that all is good. The first ‘blessings’ are to fill the Earth and to rest. As the nation of Israel grew years later, God rescued Israel from Egypt, from slavery and oppression, and granted the people freedom and rest.God later commands Israel to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.All was good and dearly loved by Elohim. These are the first lesson(s) of Genesis. “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31

David wrote Psalm 142 from a cave. Crying out to the Lord is a spiritual response to the stress that surrounds us. Pursued, overwhelmed, alone, in desperate need, afraid for our very survival, these are times of darkness and depression. Our spirit grows faint, to whom can we turn? We turn to the Lord our God in times of trouble. “Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name.” And we will find the Lord faithful, aware of our situation, a constant companion, the only One who cares. The Lord is indeed our refuge. He will come to our rescue. Come this Sunday to worship with us in person or online and to hear and celebrate the Word of the Lord. “I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Psalm 142:5

Eventually, on our journey through 2000 years of Christian history, we arrive at our own experiences. In the last few decades, we have experienced the war on terror, political scandals, climate change, iPhones and marketing of Christianity. The world is changing at such a rapid pace it makes our heads spin. History books will be written about these crazy times, but do we even have the capacity to agree on what is happening? And the gospel remains our foundation. Personal faith in Jesus and the life-changing work of the Holy Spirit is still our message of hope. Paul said, “I want to be found in Christ. To experience the power of his resurrection.” As we conclude our Summer series, we will discuss the events and influences that modern life has on the Church. The question remains, ‘What are we trying to accomplish here as the Church of Christ?”

Our summer journey through 2000 years of Christianity has finally arrived to the birthplace our nation. The enlightenment of Europe led to big changes in governments and the church. The American revolution was a successful break from the oppression of the King of England. The documents of our founding fathers spoke of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. These were viewed as inalienable rights given to us by the Creator. The first half of the 19th century saw nations across South America and Europe also strive for liberal democracies free from the control of powerful monarchs. At the same time, Christianity was attempting to break from state-controlled religion and interference. “A person is accountable to God first, not a Pope or ruler.” This period of time also saw great advances in liberty for the oppressed. Slavery in Great Britain was abolished. Rights for children, women and surfs were championed. The Sunday School movement teaching reading, writing & arithmetic to child laborers swept across Europe and America. So many of the freedoms and blessings we enjoy are unique to our country. These blessings call us to thank the Lord and work for the welfare of others. “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” Jeremiah 7:17 NIV

While the Pietist reformers tried to counter Lutheran formalism, the Methodist movement tried to reform the Church of England. After years of frustration and failing in ministry in the first half of the 18th century, John & Charles Wesley experienced heart-felt, life-changing conversions to Christ. John Wesley began to preach “Salvation by Faith” to the common people across the countryside. His message changed England. Just a few years later, Jonathan Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” would further the First Great Awakening in the American Colonies. Teaching on salvation is a core of evangelical history and preaching. This Sunday, we will speak about heart-felt conversion and examine the Scriptures of newfound faith and the call for living new lives of obedience. God truly loves us and has what is best for us. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”Romans 10:17 NIV

The founders of our denomination were deeply impacted by the historic movement of Pietist reformers from the 16th & 17th centuries. Years later, Scandinavian immigrants to the Midwest United States joined together to do the work of God’s Mission and formed the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant Church of America (1885). Our local church was planted in 1995 by a group of Evangelical Covenant Church families based in KC. Over the past 130 years, the Covenant church has settled on six Covenant Affirmations to describe what we believe. Each of the affirmations are rooted in historic Pietist experience that the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit gives us new spiritual birth. The church of believers then pursues the whole mission of God (evangelism & acts of mercy) in the freedom that we enjoy and grant others in Christ. These affirmations of evangelical faith still form our expression of Christianity today and affect our relationships. This Sunday, we will discuss our denominational beliefs that are rooted in history & Scripture. “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 NIV

Our expression of Christianity (the Covenant is rooted in Pietist Protestant Evangelicalism) is tied to the incredible events that started over 500 years ago. European nations (France, England, Spain) were beginning to develop and had a robust relationship with the Italian Papacy and the Holy Roman Emperor. The German territories were less politically organized and were burdened by Papal "taxes" needed to support building and wars in Rome. Martin Luther was an obscure Augustine monk/professor who began writing against the selling of indulgences and other theology concerns of the Roman Catholic church. He based his objections on Scripture & personal conscience. With the recent invention of the printing press, literacy and the availability of the Bible, Western Europe was ripe for reformation. These questions of authority and changes of religious practice still affect us today. This Sunday will discuss the life of Martin Luther, his understanding of Sola Scriptura & Sola Fide and summarize the development of dozens of American denominations as human conscience and Scripture challenge Catholic traditions. Now this is interesting history!

We are a product of our history. The way we think, act, live, speak and believe has all been affected by the people and ideas that have come before us. So, we learn, and we live. The late centuries of the middle ages saw a great expansion of Christian faith in Europe. A series of horrible crusades were conducted against the armies of Islam. Power struggles within the church faced a consistent stream of leaders who argued for a devotional faith in Christ that transforms hearts. This week, we will continue to learn from history and how Christianity thrived. We will also study John’s first letter (chapter 4) to examine his appeal ‘love God because he first loved us.’ “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” 1 John 4:14

This Sunday, we begin a spiritual journey together as a church. Months of preparation & prayer have created a new vision for Deerbrook. Aspire: Pursuing Impact Together. We are embarking on a six-week series that studies ‘The Collection for the Lord’s People’ in 2 Corinthians 8 & 9. We have created a 72 page Aspire guidebook with small group material, prayer activities, family & daily devotionals and sermon notes. Our hope is for 100% engagement on this journey as we get to know our generous God and become a more generous people. Our desired result is significantly addressing our financial situation and an outpouring of new mission work (local & abroad)! This week, we will see that God’s grace is the root of our own generosity. Please join us this Sunday & plan to gather in a small group for discussion this week as we pray for God to change our hearts and lead us.

There are themes of courage, generosity and the signs & wonders of God throughout the Scripture. God is always with us, caring for the sick and poor, his Spirit is working miracles among us. It is all by God’s grace. In the book of The Acts of the Apostles we read of these repeated themes. The followers being filled with the Spirit, persecution & boldness in the name of Jesus. This week, we see another glorious paragraph celebrating incredible unity among the believers. We also see two stories of generosity, one good & one bad. The Apostles are also arrested again for speaking the name of Jesus. And they continue to insist, “we cannot stop speaking of what we have seen & heard! We must obey God.” Unity, Spirit and boldness in the midst of suffering, this is the story of the beginning of the church. And this is our story. Whatever suffering you have endured, whatever difficulties we have as a community, the Spirit of God calls us to repentance, sympathy and generosity. And lives are changed. Please join us as we trace the work of God in the early church this Fall. “Rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name, day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.” Acts 5:41-42

After the Holy Spirit poured out upon the Apostles, the church  celebrated a period of connection, sharing and growth together. The very  next story is Peter & John healing a lame beggar “in the name of  Jesus of Nazareth.” The healing, and their teaching, causes a stir with  the religious leaders, so Peter & John are arrested for the first  time.   Chapters 3 & 4 of The Acts of the Apostles is a very well written  story clearly about two things. 1) The power in the name of Jesus, and  2) the courage to speak boldly. They didn’t pray that things would get  easier or that they would never be arrested again. Instead, they prayed  that they would keep speaking boldly! And that’s what the early  followers of Jesus did. “We are all witnesses.” This week, we will  speak, discuss and pray boldly, all in the name of Jesus our Messiah.   Please join us as we trace the work of God in the early church this  Fall.    “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under  heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12   ** Unfortunately due to an equipment error, the last section of the sermon was unable to be loaded **

Jesus told the apostles, “wait for the promised Holy Spirit.” And then, right on time, it come upon them. A room full of praying followers of  Jesus hear and see a rushing wind. A large crowd witnessed the Spirit as  ‘tongues of fire’ fell upon each believer as they spoke the wonders of  God. And God set his Church in motion. Peter explains what has happened  by using the Old Testament and the recent events surrounding Jesus.  Peter calls people to repent & be baptized. This Sunday, we continue our detailed exploration of the incredible  early church, the book of Acts. Journals are available to everyone, and  many are connecting in small groups. If you’re still interested in  joining a small group, please email [email protected]. We study the Word of God, and it helps us in so many ways. It is  educational, instructional & inspirational. Scripture is the history  of God moving among us. Through Scripture the Spirit guides us.  Scripture, and God himself, changes lives. Please join us as we trace the work of God in the early church this Fall. Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Acts 2:12

This Sunday, we begin our detailed exploration of the early church. The church starts with the very people who knew Jesus well. They had traveled with him, shared meals with him and witnessed his healings. Then they passed down the stories of his teachings and actions to us today. This week, Acts 1, starts with Jesus’ instructions to ‘wait on God.’  Our American culture feeds us with many myths and false expectations. “It’s all about us. You can have it all now. Do whatever makes you happy. Money is the answer. You can do it all on your effort.” Yet, the Scriptures paint quite a different picture about what it looks like to follow and depend upon Jesus. Following Jesus means waiting on the Spirit of God to lead us. It means obedience to God’s plan, not ours. It means following Jesus’ instructions. Following Jesus most definitely means taking time to know Jesus. It challenges us to slow down and to create space to listen to the Spirit, study his Scripture and to seek his will in prayer. We have a journal available with the text of Acts for every youth and adult in our congregation. Please join us as we trace the work of God in the early church this Fall. “It is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” Acts 1:21-22

After Jesus rose from the grave, he spent 40 days with his followers and gave them detailed instructions. Then, when the Holy Spirit come upon them, faith and persecution spread, and the church was born. We study the Scripture for inspiration, and the book of Acts encourages us to follow in their footsteps. Faith, evangelism, courage in persecution, healings and defense of the gospel. We are part of that same church. The first church offers several radical challenges to today’s church. Concerning our society: community over individualism, sacrifice over selfishness, objective truth over pluralism, conversion over just conversation. Concerning our Christian practice, we are challenged with: healings along with apologetics, reaching the lost over self-preservation, the Holy Spirit (prayer & purity) over excellence, and suffering over comfort. Wow. This September, we will begin our study of the book of Acts. We encourage everyone to pick up a journal & join a small group study. Please join us. “Men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” Acts 11:20-21