Covenant

COVENANT - Week 6  

Covenant God

(Hebrews 8:10) This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

1. ___________.

(Colossians 2:11 NLT) When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.

2. ___________ ___________.

(John 14:13-14) And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

3. An ___________ sign.

(Genesis 9:16-17) “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

4. A ___________.

(Luke 22:19-20) And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

5. An ___________ of ___________.

(Matthew 10:39) Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

TWO COVENANTS

(Hebrews 8:7-9) For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 

●    The Old Covenant is ___________.

●    The New Covenant is ___________.

(Hebrews 8:10 NLT) “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts…” 

●    The Old Covenant has a ___________.

●    The New Covenant has a ___________.

(Hebrews 8:10 NLT) “…I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 

●    The Old Covenant has ___________.  

●    The New Covenant has ___________.

(Hebrews 8:12 NLT) “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

(Matthew 7:21-23) “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

COVENANT – Week 5

CYCLE OF ROMANTIC INSANITY

Romantic Insanity

Approaching relationships the same way over and over again and expecting different results.

PHASE 1: OMG

Physical attraction is the sole criteria for beginning a relationship.

PHASE 2: We’re SO the same person!

The physical gives a blinding sense of connection and emotional security.

PHASE 3: Meet the parents.

Honestly…this deep in, who cares what your family and friends think?

Proverbs 18:1

One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.

Pro 27:6 "...Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses."

PHASE 4: Are you The One?

After all of this, we seriously start thinking long-term.

PHASE 5: The God help us Stage.

Now we try to force God’s blessing or blame Him for the break-up.

Proverbs 19:3 A man’s own foolishness leads him astray, yet his heart rages against the Lord.

Insanity revealed…

Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.

THERE IS A BETTER WAY

PHASE 1: Attraction is important/God & character are deal breakers

Proverbs 31:29-30 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

PHASE 2: Life Issues Considered

Amos 3:3 Can two walk together without agreeing on the direction? NLT

PHASE 3: Trustworthy Advice

Proverbs 12:15 The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.

PHASE 4: Emotions Have A Foundation

Song of Solomon 1:3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the young women love you!

PHASE 5: Marriage and Sexual Intimacy

Ephesians 5:31-32 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery…

A Better Way—Complete chart.

COVENANT – Week 4

Covenant Marriage

Contract: We protect our rights and limit our responsibilities.

Covenant: We give up our rights and pick up our responsibilities.

RIGHTS WE GIVE UP

(Genesis 2:21-25) So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

1. Priority.

(Matthew 6:33) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

2. Ownership.

(1 Corinthians 7:4) The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.

3. Privacy.

(John 15:15) I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

RESPONSIBILITIES WE PICK UP

(Ephesians 5:22-33) Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church--for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

1. Love unconditionally.

(Romans 5:8) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

2. Honor respectfully.

(1 Peter 3:5-6) For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master.

(1 Peter 3:7) Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

3. Submit mutually.

(Ephesians 5:21) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Covenant - Week 3

Covenant Family

Psalm 127:1-5 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. 3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

1.  Love is _____ _______. 

2. Our primary responsibility is to teach the _____ generation the ___________. 

“Effective teaching involves explaining to our children what they are already observing in our lives by example.” - C.J. Mahaney

    3. Children are to be raised in the larger _______ __ ____.

4. We must prioritize ____________ in the _________. 

Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

5. God gives us our kids so we can _______ ______ for His __________.

Psalm 127:4-5 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

6.   God _______ you need His ______. 

Psalm 127:1-2 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.  2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Covenant - Week 2

Covenant Friendships

“Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a fire?” -C.S. Lewis

1.  Friendships are very, very, important in the Bible.

Proverbs 18:24: A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 17:10 Do not forsake your own friend… nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a friend nearby than a brother far away.

· Friendship will bring some things into your life that family can’t bring.

· Friendships, unlike family, come from mutual choice.

· The essence of Christian love is expressed in friendship.

John 13:35 By this will all men know you are my disciples, by your love for one another.

2.  What makes friendships so important?

· Friends form us.

Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise; but the friend of fools shall be destroyed.

· Friends save us from self-destruction.

 Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Hebrews 3:13, “But exhort one another every day… that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

“Things in a secret garden almost always grow mutant.” -David Powlison

· Friends take care of us when life falls apart.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–11 Two are better than one… For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone?

Proverbs 18:24: A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

3.  How to be a good friend (and what to look for in a friend).

· Genuineness.

Proverbs 19:4 Wealth brings many new friends…

Proverbs 19:4 Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.

· Constancy.

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times…

· Dependability.

Proverbs 25:19 Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.

· Honesty.

Proverbs 24:26 An honest answer is the sign of true friendship.

· Empathy.

Proverbs 27:14 He who blesses His neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it will be counted a curse to him.

· Boundaries.

Proverbs 25:17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

Final Thought: The real ability to be a friend comes from experiencing Jesus’ friendship to you.

Covenant - Week 1

Blood is Thicker Than Water

Malachi 2:13-16 You flood the LORD’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the LORD Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.

Malachi 2:16 “I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel, “and I hate a man’s covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,” says the Lord Almighty.

COVENANT

Covenant – a solemn agreement between two parties for the purposes of creating and maintaining a successful relationship.

Luke 22:20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

Covenant is based on mutual commitment.

Contract is based on mutual distrust.

Romans 12:5 NLT “...Since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.”

Covenant surrenders rights and assumes responsibility.

Contract protects rights and shirks responsibility.

1 Corinthians 13:5 “(Love)... keeps no record of wrongs.”

Covenant has the interest of the other in mind.

Contract has personal convenience in mind.

Philippians 2:4 “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

THE DILEMMA

I can’t do it!

1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

Ephesians 3:17-18 (LB) I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your heart, living within you as you trust Him. May your roots go deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love, and may you be able to feel and understand...how long, wide, deep, and high His love really is, and experience this love for yourselves.