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We started a new series last week called “That Ain’t None of God’s Business.” The premise is simple. For some reason, American Christians seem to think there is a version of Christianity that allows us to select parts of our lives and declare them off-limits to Jesus. While we’d probably never tell God “that ain’t none of Your business” in those exact words, our actions say otherwise. As we walk through this series, we’re going to look at specific areas many of us struggle with surrendering and submitting to Christ. This week’s message is called “Core Contradictions.” There are many people that we all know who profess to be believers and followers of Jesus, but at the same time, they hold attitudes, opinions, and beliefs that do not align with the character and nature of Jesus. At their core, what they believe are in direct contradiction to the Bible, and for some reason, they don’t seem to see the problem with it. Together, we’re going to see why you can’t say that your misaligned core beliefs are none of God’s business.

This week, we’re starting a new series called “That Ain’t None of God’s Business.” When you listen to how some people talk or watch how they live, it is clear that there are some areas of their lives they’ve given to God but many others that they haven’t. Their words and actions show that they believe there are aspects of their lives that are none of God’s business! In Luke 22:42, Jesus said that He wanted to accomplish the will of God, not His own. That means there will be times when we have to choose between what we want and what God wants. When we come to those forks in the road, there is a really simple question we have to ask ourselves, “Will I choose my way or the high way?” It’s also the title of this week’s message.

Last week, we started a two-part message about the spirit of python. That was the spirit that enabled the woman in Acts 16:16-19 to be a profitable fortune teller. The message was called “Caught and Crushed” because that’s how pythons kill other animals. They lie in wait and strike quickly, catching the prey with their curved fangs. Once the prey is caught, the python coils around it, cutting off respiration and circulation. This week’s message is a bit of a prequel. We’re going to pick up where we left off and keep walking back to the root. This message is rated PG-middle school because we’re going to talk about mature and sensitive subjects, but at the same time, we hope you listen to it because it might just be what sets you free from the guilt, shame, and stigma that’s been smothering you. This message is called Broken and Baited.

In Acts 16:16-19, Paul and his ministry team were walking to prayer in the city of Philippi, and a slave girl followed them and shouted that they were men of God. This went on and on until Paul turned around and put a stop to it because he discerned that it was sourced in demonic interference instead of divine revelation. The Bible says that she had a spirit of divination that gave her the ability to tell fortunes, and the Greek word that is translated “divination” is where we get our word “python.” Pythons kill their prey with a two-pronged attack. First, they catch you; then, they crush you. This week’s message is called Caught and Crushed.

Between the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and the loss of two members of our church, this has been a difficult week for many. It’s easy to believe that bad things only happen to sinners, but the truth is that bad things happen to good people every day. Jesus said as much in Matthew 7:24-27. In this passage, He contrasts the difference between what happens to those who follow Him and what happens to those who don’t, but do you know what they had in common? The storm came for both of them. You can be the chief of sinners or the chief of saints, but the rain is going to fall, the wind is going to blow, and the floods are going to come against both houses. Being a follower of Jesus does not mean you won’t face any tragedies or that your life will be perfect. Jesus said that the distinction between the two is not whether or not the storm comes but the foundation on which you build your house. The houses look the same in the sunshine, but the difference gets really clear when the storm rolls in. Editor’s Note: The 2026 at the end of this sermon title is meant to differentiate this message from one with the same title from July 2025, which is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MauCAmjgSS0.

Labor Day was started to honor the hard work and contributions of the American workforce. God’s been honoring hard work since the beginning. Everything you see is a result of God’s work. Genesis 2:1-2 tells us that creation was the work of God and that He rested after six days of working. He didn’t rest because He was tired; He rested because He had finished the job. The fact that God did work and gave work to Adam means that work is honorable. God stopped after the sixth day, but there is more work to do. We love because God loves. We give because God gives. We forgive because God forgives. What should be our response to the fact that God is a worker? We should work! This week’s message is called In Honor of Work.

This week, we are welcoming kids of all ages into “big church” with us for CL Family Day — a special service we have every fifth Sunday to give our Next Gen volunteers a break and allow parents and children to worship God together. Plus, now that our young people are back in school, it’s the perfect time to dive into a message called Kingdom Math. Together, we’ll look at three pairs of mathematical formulas to help us see how our thoughts and actions should be inverted by the Gospel, and at the end, Jordan Weathers, communications director at Covenant Life, will share some practical things we can do as families this week to grow closer to God and make a greater impact on the lives of others.

Over the past three weeks, we’ve been exploring the “core four” values of becoming more like Christ. So far, we’ve talked about humility, unity, and integrity. Each one of these messages could have been a series of its own, but we wanted to put them all together into a single series to demonstrate how powerful they are together. We’ve saved the most important value for last. This week, we’re talking all about love. Love is the foundational and essential core value. If you want Christ to be fully developed in you, don’t start with rules, spiritual gifts, or mission fields. Start with love. Attorney and Christian author Bob Goff says the whole point of the Christian life is for us to become love. Makes sense, right? If God is love and you want to become more like Him, you must become love. That’s the only way Christ will be fully developed in you.

We are in the third week of a four-part series called The Core Four. There are four values at the heart of following Jesus, which form the core of who we are supposed to be in Christ. These four core values don’t get a lot of attention and are growing harder to find in the body of Christ, but as a church, we must adopt them as our own. Over the past two weeks, we have talked about humility and unity. This week, we are going to talk about integrity. Integrity is behavior and belief in perfect alignment. It’s faithfulness to an unshakable foundation. The word “integrity” is not widely used in the Bible, but it was a part of Jesus’s character and should be part of ours, too.

Last week, we started a new series called The Core Four. If we are to represent Christ to the world and allow His nature and character to develop fully within us, then we are going to have to have the same values that Jesus had when He was on the earth. Last week, we talked about humility. Jesus was the most humble man who ever lived. He said you can’t even get into the Kingdom of God without humility. Humility is the first of four core values of the Kingdom, and this week, we’re going to explore the second. Jesus said, “There is one thing that I am praying to God about that will demonstrate to the whole world that you belong to me and that I am God’s Son.” It isn’t spiritual gifts, money, power, influence, talent, charisma, or a huge platform. It’s unity — coming together as brothers and sisters in Christ.

This week, we are starting a brand new series called The Core Four. If you call yourself a follower of Jesus, this series is for you regardless of age, stage, or person. In Galatians 4:19, Paul said that he was going to continue to minister to the Galatian church until Christ is fully formed in them, so the goal of every believer should be to have Christ fully formed within them. There are probably a thousand things you could say about the character and nature of someone who follows Jesus. In this series, we’re going to talk about four core values that may be the most important — so much so that we’re going to change our core values at Covenant Life Church. The first of these four core values (and the title of this week’s message) is Humility.

“One thing I noticed as we were preparing this presentation is that it isn't just a testimony. It is testimony after testimony. God is so faithful. His love is sufficient. His grace is sufficient. His mercy is sufficient. His provision is sufficient.” This week, our Marriage Ministry leaders — Jason and Holly Painter — share their story. Along the way, they reflect on all the times God showed up mightily in their lives and talk about their desire to help other couples be successful.

Pastor John has been in ministry for a long time, and he has learned that there is always something else to do. You never get caught up. You never run out of things that need to be done. You’re constantly looking for ways to keep things fresh or make them more effective. There’s always something to learn, something to improve, some area in which to grow. There’s nothing wrong with any of that as long as you don’t forget to keep the main thing the main thing. With this in mind, we’re doubling down on the main things this week. In this message, the goal is to strip away all the stuff that might get in the way of accomplishing our collective calling as believers. It is a reminder about the reason we’re all here.

We’ve covered a lot of ground throughout our series on mental and spiritual health called It Is Well With My Soul. Hopefully, we have stripped away some of the shame and stigma, so you are more comfortable using whatever means you have at your disposal to get healthy. At the same time, you have to remember that Jesus is the Healer. All of the ways of healing are gifts of God’s grace to help His people, so as you find and figure out what works, give glory to God for it. In 1 Kings 19:13-18, we find God’s response to Elijah’s complaint, His answer to the problem that sent the prophet running into the wilderness, suicidal and alone. He was at rock bottom. He had carried too much for too long and forgot who he was. That might be the best way to put almost every mental health crisis — no matter how disruptive or debilitating. This week, we’re finishing our series with a message all about what to do when you’ve reached rock bottom.

In our current series called It Is Well With My Soul, we are talking about being spiritually healthy by being mentally healthy. These two areas of our well-being occupy the same space. Your soul is your mind, will, and emotions, which is where mental health rests. You can’t be spiritually healthy and mentally unhealthy at the same time, so if you are going to say, “it is well with my soul,” you have to check in on our thoughts, feelings, and decisions to make sure they are aligned with God’s Word and will. Last week, we started looking at the account of Elijah fleeing into the wilderness after Queen Jezebel threatened his life. We talked about his need for rest, nutrition, hydration, and the need for connection. Those are physical things you can do to get someone stabilized enough to receive help and healing at the soul level. This week, we’re going to talk more about that help and healing by exploring how Elijah got into the mess he was in and how we can come back from, or avoid hitting, rock bottom.