Sunday, December 6, 2020 ~ Series: HOLDING OUT HOPE ~ Message: The Covenant Keeper ~ Scripture: Genesis 12, Genesis 15, Galatians 3, Romans 9 ESV ~ Pastor Philip Miller

Image: The Covenant Keeper

WELCOME

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Series: HOLDING OUT HOPE

Message: The Covenant Keeper

Scripture: Genesis 12, Genesis 15, Galatians 3, Romans 9 ESV

Pastor Philip Miller

Image: Second Week of Advent ~ The Candle of Love

The Candle of Love

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has visited and redeemed his people

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David,

as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

…that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,

in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God…”

– Selections from Luke 1:68–79 “Benedictus”

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,

that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

– John 3:16

At the end of John 5, Jesus tells the religious leaders they will be held accountable by Moses for “he wrote of me...But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” So, for Advent this year, we’re looking at 5 ways Moses was holding out hope for Jesus’s arrival.

This week our theme is “The Covenant Keeper,” and we’re going back 4,000 years to the Ancient Near East where God appears to a man named Abram and enters into a covenant with Him that will change the course of human history.

In this sermon, we look at 3 questions:

1) Who makes the covenant? God is the guarantor of the covenant. These are His pledges, His promises, His guarantees. God takes full responsibility for the fulfillment of these covenant promises.

2) Who keeps the covenant? Jesus alone is truly worthy of the covenant. It was a covenant is guaranteed by God, that must be upheld by a worthy man. And so God must do it, and man must do it as well. Jesus is both, and so is the only one worthy of keeping the covenant. Jesus upholds God’s guarantee, and He fulfills man’s obligation.

3) Who inherits the covenant? Jesus and those who are “in Him” are beneficiaries of the covenant. We are secure in the covenant love of God forever.

Pastor Philip Miller

Message: The Covenant Keeper

Scripture: Genesis 12, Genesis 15, Galatians 3, Romans 9 ESV

Series: HOLDING OUT HOPE

Sunday, December 6, 2020

“O Little Town Of Bethlehem”

Author: Phillips Brooks (1868) Tune: ST. LOUIS (Redner)

SERMON NOTES

Series: HOLDING OUT HOPE

Message: The Covenant Keeper

Scripture: Genesis 12, Genesis 15, Galatians 3, Romans 9 ESV

Pastor Philip Miller

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Message: The Covenant Keeper

What if God is using this year to reveal exactly what is in us?

What if our steadfastness in this season is actually making us perfect and complete, lacking in nothing?

What if God is working all of these things together for the good of those who love him?

What if a crown of life is coming in the loving promise of God?

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Always remember: you are loved, more than you know!

Pastor Philip

What if 2020 is a giant stress test?

James tells us that our Great Physician and Loving Father uses the tests of life in much the same way. When trials come into our lives, they are like stress tests designed to reveal what’s in us. They are tests of character, tests of resolve, tests of faith. James tells us the key to passing these tests is steadfastness. Steadfastness means to firmly stand our ground. Synonyms would include words like endurance, perseverance, persistence, resilience, and faithfulness. Those character traits are revealed in the stress tests of life. Unless you go through the test, you’ll never know what’s on the inside. Our spiritual health is revealed by the Physician’s test.

My Grandpa had a stress test a while back. His cardiologist wanted

to know how healthy his heart was, so he had my Grandpa get on the treadmill and increasingly applied stress and exertion to find out what was going on inside. My Grandpa learned just how strong his heart was that day. It was revealed by the physician’s test.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for

you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.... Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:2–4, 12)

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Series: HOLDING OUT HOPE

Message: The Covenant Keeper

Scripture: Genesis 12, Genesis 15, Galatians 3, Romans 9 ESV

Pastor Philip Miller

Who makes the covenant?

• God is the guarantor of the covenant.

Who keeps the covenant?

• Abraham must walk worthy of the covenant.

• Jesus alone is truly worthy of the covenant.

Who inherits the covenant?

• Jesus and those who are “in Him” are beneficiaries of the covenant.

Takeaway:

• We are far more sinful than we ever dared realize, yet in Jesus Christ, we are far more loved

than we ever dared hope.

PASTOR TO PEOPLE