March 8, 2020, | Pastor Nathan Elms
Covenant
1 Thes. 5:23 May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together - spirit, soul, and body - and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ.
God is love… there is theological consequences to God's self-defining as love… not “teach” you love, the “source” of love, the “ideal” of love. But love as a noun. As a state of existence, not activity.
Love requires commitment or covenant.
Three things you need to understand about covenants in the bible:
1. Covenants are the backbone of the biblical story.
2. Covenant can be defined as follows: a covenant is a chosen relationship in which individuals make binding promises or commitments to each other.
3. Covenant in a spiritual sense is deeper than a contract.
It is for this reason that the Church itself is called a family or household in the New Testament.
A family without trust, without safety, without loyalty, is the greatest source of pain in the world.
The most broken people in the world come from families that are dangerous places.
The most damaged Christians in the world come from churches that are not safe places.
Family is a masterpiece of God’s creation
Adam was given Eve to make him whole, not to fix him, but to make him whole. But don’t think of Eve only in the context of romantic love. All the blessings of the human family will come to Adam through Eve.
Two essential elements of family — marriage, and parenthood — reveal God’s character like nothing else in Creation.
The love between a husband and wife provides a glimpse of Christ’s passionate devotion to us as His bride.
In the same way, the ups and downs of parenthood offer a compelling picture of God’s tenderness and patience toward us as His children.
Families give us Place (you don’t need a reason to be here… you belong here)
They give us Provision (what I have is yours)
Families specialize in meeting needs … even special needs
God makes us whole in a family. He does not remove us from dysfunctional families, heal us, and set us out as orphans seeking a family. He places broken in families to heal them
