The Covenant Church » News

Groundbreaking

Carl — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:37:34 +0000

On July 11th, we had a groundbreaking ceremony for the new addition. This addition will add several very needed classrooms and will allow us to move forward in our mission of making disciples who Love God, Love Others, Live Like Jesus and Serve the World.

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City Covenant Update and Visit

Carl — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:49:49 +0000

Andree Stahl from our Mission Team recently visited City Covenant Church on May 22nd and met with Pastor Semmeal Thomas and the staff of City Mission

City Covenant is a church plant in the Brightmoor neighborhood of Detroit that we are looking to partner with for missions.

We have already begun supporting their work financially by giving 10% of all capital fund campaign donations to City Covenant though Churches Planting Churches.

Here is a brief excerpt from the report that Andree gave:

It was a great visit, and the people there are certainly dedicated, sincere and certain of God’s calling in their lives. Upon arrival, my friend and I were greeted by Semmeal who was glad to meet us and immediately made us feel extremely comfortable in a not so comfortable area. I still remember some of the first words he spoke to us, “There will be no judgments made of others in this church. That is not tolerated at all.”

To learn more about the work of City Covenant and their partnership with City Mission, you can visit the City Mission website: http://city-mission.org/

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Great Giveaway 2010 – Great Success

Carl — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:38:34 +0000

We hosted our 2nd annual Great Giveaway on May 15th, 2010. There were nearly 60 people lined up at the door when we opened at 9 a.m.

We had a large selection of items and many people were blessed by what we were able to give away. Almost all of it was gone by 2:00, with the “leftovers” fitting into a single mini-van to be sold by the Humane Society at their annual garage sale in August.

A big thanks to all those who helped out. Looking forward to next year.

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A No-Hitter

Carl — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:07:14 +0000

David Charboneau, son of Randy and Becky recently threw a no-hitter against Newberry. You can read more about it here in the Cheboygan Tribune: http://www.cheboygannews.com/topstories/x1042544132/Baseball-Charboneau-no-hits-Newberry

The Great Giveaway – May 15th

Carl — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:13:27 +0000

On May 15th from 9am to 2pm we will host our 2nd annual “Great Giveaway”. The Great Giveaway is a church-wide garage sale with one twist: everything is FREE!

Yes, free. We are doing this as a way to bless the community and to share from the abundance that God has given to us. This year we want to challenge ourselves to not only give out of our excess, but also to give away some stuff that we like. As we give those things away, it helps break the power that “stuff’ has over us.

We will be accepting donations beginning on Monday May 10th.

If you would like to donate or help with the giveaway, please contact the church office at office@covchurchcheboygan.com or 231-627-9889.

Here are some pictures from last year:

Sermon Series: Fearless

Carl — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:20:55 +0000

Afraid? God speaks often to people telling them not to be afraid, yet fears rule us so often. We will learn about dealing with our many fears in a new series entitled “Fearless”, inspired in part by the book Fearless by Max Lucado beginning on April 4th.

April 18th - The Fear of Not Mattering

April 25th – The Fear of Disappointing God

May 2nd – The Fear of Not Having Enough

May 9th – The Fear of Not Protecting My Kids

May 16th – A Healthy Fear: The Fear That God Will Get Out of My Box

Men’s Trip to Air Museum

Carl — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:12:44 +0000

A men’s excursion is planned to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton Ohio on Friday-Sunday, April 16-18. The museum is a one of a kind, comprehensive and fascinating collection of aircraft and exhibits.With hundreds of aircraft and a cinemax theater, if you have any interest in planes, this would be a great trip. We will leave on Friday afternoon, spend Saturday at the museum and then return on Sunday. Contact Jock Tulk or Ron Whitmore for more information. You can learn more about the museum on the web: http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/index.asp

Call + Response

Carl — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:33:31 +0000

Join us for a screening of the feature film Call + Response at 7:30 p.m. on April 14th at the Kingston Theater in downtown Cheboygan. Call + Response is a “rockumentary” that exposes the world’s 27 million most terrifying secrets: There are more slaves today than at any other time in human history. CALL+RESPONSE goes deep undercover where slavery is thriving from the child brothels of Cambodia to the slave brick kilns of rural India to reveal that in 2007, Slave Traders made more money than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined.

Luminaries on the issue such as Cornel West, Madeleine Albright, Daryl Hannah, Julia Ormond, Ashley Judd, Nicholas Kristof, and many other prominent political and cultural figures offer first hand account of this 21st century trade. Performances from Grammy-winning and critically acclaimed artists including Moby, Natasha Bedingfield, Cold War Kids, Matisyahu, Imogen Heap, Talib Kweli, Five For Fighting, Switchfoot, members of Nickel Creek and Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, Rocco Deluca move this chilling information into inspiration for stopping it.

Admission price is FREE. For more information, please call the church office at 231-627-9889 or find us on Facebook at The Covenant Church’s Facebook page.

Controlling the Tongue

Carl — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:04:42 +0000

Last week was the Chebogyan County Fair and so I took my three oldest. Among their favorite things to see were the horses. I admit that my knowledge of horses is extremely limited. But the one thing that amazes me is the way a rider/driver is able to control such a large and powerful animal by placing a bit in the mouth. The apostle James picks up exactly this picture to describe the way in which a person is controlled by their tongue (James 3:1-12). For those who prefer boating, he gives the analogy of the way a rudder steers a ship.
James counsels us here that if we wish to be pure and more like Christ, the place to begin is the tongue, because “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evils among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6) When we think of the necessity of controlling our words, we often think in terms of the reaction of others: if we life, people will not trust us; speak harshly and people will not like you. James points to a more personal reason for controlling the tongue – that sin in your speech will spread to the rest of your life. Read James 3:6 again and see how he describes the tongue as “a world of evils” that “corrupts the whole person”, setting the “whole course of his life on fire.” Yes, that little tongue is very powerful. And very dangerous. Not only to our listeners, but also to ourselves.
Yet, we as followers of Christ often fail to see the inconsistency in our lives of the way we use our tongues. We sing together on Sunday, “Bind Us Together” and then make snide remarks about a fellow member in the parking lot. We offer up a prayer that says “as we forgive those who trespass against us”, but hold a grudge for years about a slight someone made against us. We are challenged by Jesus to pray for our enemies, yet some of the most hateful, vitriolic speech I have seen during the current health care debate has come from those call themselves Christians. From left and right, from leaders and ordinary Christians, the gossip, slander, lies and meanness are simply unbelievable. I hear and read it and want to ask, “Do you praise your God with that same tongue?”, which is exactly the point James is making.
Back to the point – what James is telling us is that if we want to be more like Jesus, then we have to begin with that little part of our body that spreads so much evil and infects the rest of us. Yet, we say, “But, I can’t help it. I’m just a person who speaks their mind. I know I talk too much. I gossip, but it’s only a little stuff.” To all these, James says “Purify your speech. Be quick to listen, slow to speak. Discipline your tongue.” We cannot do it on our own, but with God’s help, it is possible. God desires to see us pure and will give wisdom to us when we ask (James 1:5). Ask him. Then begin to practice. When you disagree with someone, listen to them until you can’t stand it any more, then listen a little bit longer. Spend some time in silence: try a whole day without talking; the world will not fall apart because no one heard you. Memorize James 1:19. Let God’s Holy Spirit work on your tongue, and you will see the rest of your life transformed. And that is what we want – to be each day ever more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

The Church Has Left the Building

Carl — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:35:25 +0000

September 26-27, we will be having our 2nd annual “The Church Has Left the Building” event. This is a weekend dedicated to serving others. There will be opportunities for service on Saturday and Sunday both. We will not have a worship service on Sunday morning but will worship through service. Last year, during this event we delivered flowers to the hospital and nursing homes, packed shoe boxes for Samaritan’s purse, prepared personal care kits for the local soup kitchen and food bank, rolled bandages for the Congo, did some work at the Crisis Pregnancy Center and more. This year will have some of the same and a few new opportunities. If you have ideas or would like to help lead a project, please contact Carl at 627-9889.