Covenant of Grace Atlanta - Sermons: Recent Episodes
Covenant of Grace: Dunwoody, GA
Covenant of Grace, located in Dunwoody (Atlanta, GA), is committed to the growth of its members through sound worship, Biblical teaching, and Christian fellowship.
God cannot lie. He has been true to his word from before all time. He is faithful today. His promises beyond time and into eternity will all be kept.
"The faith" includes knowledge of the truth and the godliness that accords from it. The faith Paul wants Titus to proclaim saves and changes lives.
Righteousness and mercy meet in Christ. How can the righteous, still sinners as they are, live? By faith in him.
Let us choose to live not for the fleeting glories of this world, but for the enduring kingdom of Christ.
What do we think when God is silent? Perhaps we should go back to what he's already said?
The righteous will live by faith. Yet so much of what we want is antithetical to that calling.
When we embrace hesed love, putting others before ourselves, God works through us in remarkable ways.
What becomes of your name when the cost to love proves too much? The story of Ruth and Boaz, set against the backdrop of God's redemptive plan, reminds us that individual acts of hesed are part of a greater narrative. Each time we choose sacrificial love over self-interest, we're participating in God's work of restoration and redemption in the world.
Following God isn't about playing it safe or maintaining the status quo. It's about being willing to leave everything behind for the sake of his kingdom.
The secret to contentment is the same in times of want and in times of plenty: Christ. When we can fully desire the will of God, we can be fully content.
Is contentment something we manufacture within ourselves and press into service by our strength? Or is it a condition that comes to us from the grace of life with God?
Paul's closing thoughts, final instructions, and parting remarks for the Corinthians are far from "throw away" verses.
The resurrection takes both the bark and the bite out of death. How do we live in response?
The glories that we know now are seed glories – great, but nothing compared with what is to come. Since death’s sting has been taken away, we can both live well and die well.
The Christian worldview is shaped through the resurrection and its power, which validated Jesus’ identity, proved his sacrifice approved, and defeated death.
Christ died so that we could die with him. He was raised so that we can live with him. In the end, the Christian life really is that simple.
In the life of a God-honoring church, as an expression of love, each member engages and yields in an orderly manner, holding as their goal the building up and the service of their brothers and sisters in Christ.
The ethos with which Paul speaks about the church is that it is consistently and fundamentally a network, a “body,” of those who are responsible for one another.
Faith and hope are significant graces of God for our lives. But what are the implications of the fact that it's only love that never ends.
Love demands sacrifice. We either sacrifice others to our love of self or, by the Spirit, we learn a more excellent way.
In the body of Christ, there are no wasted parts. That's why we interact with love - deep is our belief of our need for one another.
All spiritual gifts are a grace from God. What are we supposed to be showing with and through any gifts God has given us? Grace!
The supper that you eat when taking communion at church - is it the Lord's? One way to tell is that you see your brothers and sisters in Christ as God himself sees them.
How we dress has always communicated something. Since the grace of the gospel impacts every area of life for the believer, we should not be surprised that Paul has things to say about such things.
It does not matter what we think is happening when we participate or support unbelievers, it matters what they think is happening.
To those who claim the name of Christ and sit at his table, whose satisfaction is in the wine of his blood and the bread of his flesh, our testimony is fullness and wholeness.
The Corinthians had been offered life under grace. Instead, they had begin to presume upon it.
Christians take up their crosses in the race of obedience. They have godly ambition for bringing souls to Jesus, disciplining themselves and laying down rights in the service of others.
Paul is very confident in the rights provided by his freedom in Christ. He's also endlessly willing to lay them down.
Can we follow Christ's truth closely and still care for our brothers and sisters? The two go hand in hand.
If trying to walk with Christ is weighing you down something is misaligned. He takes our burdens - he doesn't add more.
Your past and future are what they are because of God's calling. Your calling then, is to be faithful in the present.
Church discipline is an important tool in the life of a healthy church. Who is it for? When and where is it to be applied? Why do it at all?
Paul's experience of life under the gospel doesn't quite match what's happening in Corinth. Why?
Paul describes true wisdom through three contrasts: who can and cannot receive, that it's of God and not the world, and that it's spiritual, not natural.
Contempt for the cross is natural. Love for the cross requires contempt for sin and pride instead.
Divisions among Christians create disharmony among the congregation, cripple our public witness, and empty the cross of its power. Rather than on personal associations, gifts, or learning, our unity must rest on the finished work of Christ.
No matter what trials the church faces, God's people were made saints, are equipped for the task ahead, and will be guiltless on the day of the Lord.
What we see in the past is what we can hope in for the future. If God was with us then, why would he stop being faithful now?
Near the end of his life David wrote a marvelous song about his love for God and God's goodness to him. Why wait?
There's a lot going on in our lives and a lot that can threaten peace of mind. Where do you go to feel safe?
Scripture has a lot to say about fools. That means there's a lot we can learn from them.
David kept his promise, even when no one expected him to. The greater David kept a greater promise. Thanks be to God!
When the foundations feel to be crumbling around us, what can the righteous do? Or, perhaps a better question, in whom will we seek refuge?
You have an enemy who is far older than you. If he relentlessly pursued Christ, why would you think that, in Christ, he hate you any less?
Do you know the difference between peaceful and peace-filled? Only one can prepare you for times of distress.
Many and much in this world vie for your allegiance. But only one king can secure the blessedness of God.
God seeks a people who do not seek him. So, when we feel like he's far away, what should we do?
Life today has the same challenges and problems as before. Yet God's covenant with us has changed everything.
God is offering you security and satisfaction. He's offering for you to ride on the heights of earth. Are you missing out?
In the darkness and unrest of the world we've made, God extends a remarkable offer. He invites us to hope. Will we trust in his promises?
Where are your idols when you need them most? Crashing to the ground. You can hold them up but they can't hold you.
When we really know who God is, believing what he says about himself, we're free to live differently than before.
Trials, hardships, and a significant calling in service to God are ours. For them all, what makes you strong?
As the Church, people are going to come to us looking for God. The God they'll meet is the God we know.
Our lives may not be as dramatic as Isaiah or Hezekiah's. But our faith needs to be just as real.
On that day, we will behold God in glory. Our joy complete, there will be no sorrow or sighs. But first, we've got to go through Edom.
Christ has won the victory for his people. But is there any benefit to thinking like a loser?
Where are we looking in times of trial? What would happen if we looked outside of ourselves and up to God instead?
Stubborn children can be tough to handle. We should know, since we can be pretty stubborn with our Heavenly Father as well.
God's ways are not our own. That's terrifying news unless we know him well enough to trust him.
(Neil Stewart) Have you grown cold toward Christ? You need to see him like Isaiah does.
With all the world's religions and non-religions, there are lots of potential options to the question, "How can I find God?"
How are our minds kept in perfect peace? How do we wait patiently for what we know is coming?
God's great promise to his people is our hope and our joy. And it doesn't all have to wait.
Everything around us claims to save and satisfy. But when you really need salvation, there's only one place to turn.
Put off the old self and, in Christ, put on the new. This is how we become imitators of God.
How does God work? How should his people live in response? What both answers look like is not what you'd expect.
We know to turn to God for our questions and fears. But where do we find him? And how do we know he'll have answers?
Times are a'changing. But God's people have always been called to live in a world that is not their own. With all the change around us, what in the world do we do now?
While we should trust simply because God has spoken, he also graciously gives us signs to confirm that he is with us and that he will always keep his promises.
One moment Isaiah thinks his life is over. The next, he's enthusiastically enlisting in God's service. What changed? And if it changed in Isaiah, can it change in us?
When earthly and heavenly worship merge, the worshipper can meet with Christ. What would happen if we worshipped as if what Isaiah saw were available to us?
Instead of choice fruits, God found from his vineyard rotted grapes. What are the sins through which we resist the grace of God?
The Lord has worked significant grace among his people. What harvest is he getting of Christlikeness in return?
Because sin is heavy (and weighs us down), so is the book of Isaiah. What keeps Isaiah from weighing us down is the rather surprising appearance of hope.
God sees the sin of his people, even when we don't. He burns in wrath against our sin. What happens next though, is an even bigger surprise.
Isaiah is a book about salvation. And so it's also a book about sin, idolatry, and worship.
Can we believe the claim that Jesus is the Son of God? Are the books of the New Testament reliable? How can anyone be sure?
John's work with this gospel is done, but he has much more to do for Christ. Peter, also, has unique callings in service to the Lord. What about you? Where do you go from here?
Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. This is as true for personal growth as it is for the work of the church in the world.
The Christian faith is built on the acceptance of some very specific and concrete facts. One, really.
What difference does Jesus' death and resurrection make? It changes everything for those who believe.
God is absolutely in control of his world, down to the smallest detail. In John’s account of Jesus’ passion, he emphasizes just how much took place “to fulfill the Scriptures.” God will always do what he said he will do.
If the prayers of the righteous have much power as they're working, what does that mean for Jesus' own prayers?
We don't have to wait to find joy. God designed a way for us to build our lives around it.
We can trust the Scriptures, the "faith handed down," and God's leading of the Church because the Spirit was and is at work.
A servant is not better than his master. What Christ experienced, those who follow him will as well.
It's not more evidence that unbelievers need. It's the desire to see God's revelation for what it is.
What's happening as Jesus rides into Jerusalem may surprise you. And then surprise you again.
Moses, John the Baptist, and God the Father all testify to Jesus' identity. Will we believe them?
Jesus reveals the Father, and the Father's works to us. What better act to follow than his?
There's a lot happening in the ministry of Jesus. Much of it lies just below the surface.
There is one way to enter the kingdom of heaven. But when we hear of it we wonder, "How can these things be?"
What's the one thing in life that puts everything else in its proper place? What's your one thing?
What can help us lay aside our skepticism, our doubts, and our hesitations? Come, and see.
John is a great book for evangelism. What does it have to say for those who already believe?
When people ignore God, all other relationships ultimately break down. Only the joy of our salvation can move life from bitter to bittersweet.
What's the difference between real faith and presumption? Our deeds and words must match.
Only God's truth can change our hearts. Without this change, we stand rightfully condemned.
Peter gives us good instruction on how we can learn to love life, no matter our circumstances.
God designed marriage with specific roles for each partner. These are based on callings, not capabilities.
Why do Christians suffer? Why are they supposed to respond with patience and submission?
How (by what power) and how (in what way) can we love our brothers and sisters in Christ?
The editor of Ecclesiastes tells us how to under Qohelet's teaching and takes us back to Biblical basics.
Solomon presents us with a false choice in regards to thinking about the future. Which choice is really ours to make?
There are questions in life we've got to have answered - but the answers can't be found on this side of the sun.
Can we find our purpose in life from the wealth God gives? If not, what do we do with it?
We cannot find our meaning in the things we do. But if we find our purpose in God, the things we do will have meaning.
Where is pleasure to be found? Exactly where you'd think, if you start in the right place.
How can we understand what's happening the world around us? With so much frustration, where is peace to be found?
In times of crisis, how do we gain control of our emotions? By grounding them in things that don't change rather than things that do.
What's at the root of our anger? Even when our anger is right, how often does our response get it wrong?
Biblical confession brings forgiveness and renewed hope for obedience. What does it take to confess that way?
Why are we afraid to share the grace of God with our unbelieving neighbors? Can we just "live the gospel" without sharing it directly?
Does our life look attractive to the unbelieving world? Will our actions match our confession?