Awana Message for February 28
Family Quest: Extreme Makeover, Spiritual Edition – Family, Lesson 1
LESSON 1: GOD’S FAMILY AND MINE
God uses many metaphors (parallels) in the Bible to describe how He relates to us, how He relates to the church, and how we relate to one another. One of these is the metaphor of “God’s family.” In this picture God is the parent and we the children. Jesus is our brother, and we, the church, saved by grace through faith, are the adopted brothers and sisters in this family (Ephesians 1:5 and Galatians 3:26, John 1:12-13). How does the Father want us to love our family? To answer this question we must first look to how He has loved us and also how the Son, our adopted brother, has loved us. Jesus said, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” It is at the source of divine love that we must begin and end our Quest.
Download Family, Lesson 1QUEST: Preschool Lesson for February 28
Stay the Course: Hypocrisy, Part 6
Jesus is the only one who has ever fully lived up to what He believed. Otherwise, Christian or not, we’re on a level playing field when it comes to hypocrisy.
Doxologies: Promises
But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:13
During a time in which we are so keenly aware of the frail human condition, we are especially prone to spend our prayer and worship time in lamentation (Psalm 6:6) or simply wander off in despair (Proverbs 20:6). Promises, a bold declaration of God’s faithfulness through the ages, puts the truth of God’s character at the forefront and brings me back to a place of worship through praise, joy, confidence and peace that passes understanding with its reminder of God’s unwavering covenant from generation to generation (Genesis 17:7). It comes as a blessing and sweet reminder of God’s inherent goodness (Psalm 25:8) and His promise to complete the work that He begins (Philippians 1:6).
Our God is faithful (Hebrews 13:8, Psalm 89:8) even when we struggle (2 Timothy 2:13). It’s simply who He is, part of His very nature and character (Psalm 92:15). His mercies are new each morning, His love never fails or ceases (Lamentations 3:22-23) and His promises are true (1 Kings 8:56): yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). It is my prayer that, as we sing these words together, we will fix our eyes upon Christ Jesus in a posture of adoration, praise and thanksgiving – authentically and humbly exalting Him and resting on the firm foundation of His word (Luke 6:47-49, 1 Corinthians 3:11). May we, this body of believers, truly put our trust in Jesus in every sense: remaining steadfast as the trials of this world come and go (James 1:12, Romans 12:12) – and impacting those around us with the deep, steadfast and abiding love of Christ Jesus in our daily lives and interactions (Matthew 28:16-20).
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Promises
God of Abraham You're the God of covenant And of faithful promises Time and time again You have proven You'll do just what You said Though the storms may come And the winds may blow I'll remain steadfast And let my heart learn When You speak a word It will come to pass Great is Your faithfulness to me Great is Your faithfulness to me From the rising sun to the setting same, I will praise Your name Great is Your faithfulness to me God from age to age Though the earth may pass away Your word remains the same, yeah Your history can prove There's nothing You can't do You're faithful and true Though the storms may come And the winds may blow I'll remain steadfast And let my heart learn When You speak a word It will come to pass, yeah Great is Your faithfulness to me Great is Your faithfulness to me From the rising sun to the setting same, I will praise Your name Great is Your faithfulness to me So I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation He'll never let me down Great is Your faithfulness to me Great is Your faithfulness to me From the rising sun to the setting same, I will praise Your name From the rising sun to the setting same, I will praise Your name From the rising sun to the setting same, I will praise Your name In every season, great is Your faithfulness to me Great is Your faithfulness to me Great is Your faithfulness to me
Preparing for Sunday | February 28
We are excited to be gathering in person this Sunday! You can use the button below to register, or to find out more about the precautions we have put in place. If you are unable to join us in person, we encourage you to worship with us via our live stream.
Register to attend a worship service Watch the Live Stream
SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER
This Sunday, we’ll sing a new song together called Promises. This song comes as a blessing and sweet reminder of God’s inherent goodness (Psalm 25:8) and His promise to complete the work that He begins (Philippians 1:6). Watch the Doxologies video here.
Do It Again | [listen + lyrics]
Matt Redman, Mack Brock, Chris Brown, Steven Furtick
2 Corinthians 1:20
Great Is Thy Faithfulness | [listen + lyrics]
William Marion Runyan
Lamentations 3:22-23
Promises | [listen]
Aaron Moses, Carrington Gaines, Dante Bowe, Keila Alvarado, Lemuel Marin
Psalm 113:2-3
Let There Be Light [listen]
Bryan Torwalt, Katie Torwalt, Hank Bentley, Mia Fieldes
Genesis 1:3-4
Living Hope | [listen]
Phil Wickham, Brian Johnson
1 Peter 1:3
SERMON TEXT
Colossians 3
MEMORIZE SCRIPTURE
“And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.” (Colossians 1:18)
Stay the Course: Hypocrisy, Part 5
When hypocrisy is revealed, there’s always a blast radius, and collateral damage most often occurs within the family.
Stay the Course: Hypocrisy, Part 4
The weight of pretense will crush you if you carry too much too often.