Covenant...

Her marriage to Jaren is a really big deal. Before family, friends, and most importantly before God, they entered into a covenant relationship. As her dad, that moment carried special significance. There was a very real handoff taking place. The responsibility for her spiritual leadership, care, and well-being shifted from me to her husband. Jaren now has the privilege and responsibility of loving Alexa as Christ loves the church, and Alexa has committed herself to loving and supporting him as they walk through life together.

For Leigh-Ann and me, the wedding of our first child reminds us that life is never stagnant. God is always moving us forward. We are constantly growing in faith, maturity, responsibility, and impact. Alexa and Jaren did not leave their personalities, memories, gifts, dreams, or ambitions behind when they said, “I do.” Instead, they brought those things into a covenant relationship where God will continue shaping them together. Our prayer is that they would build a home that honors Christ, serves others, and leaves a legacy of faith for generations to come.

The same principle applies to all of us. Following Jesus is not merely about preserving what we already know. It is about continually surrendering to what God wants to do next. Every season invites us to trust Him more deeply, love Him more fully, and allow Him to transform us more completely.

This Sunday, Pastor Anthony will be preaching from Luke 4:22-30. Jesus returned to His hometown, where the people knew His family, remembered His childhood, and believed they understood exactly who He was. Yet when confronted with the reality of God’s grace, they rejected not only Jesus but also the gift He came to offer.

How often do we do the same? We can become so familiar with Jesus that we stop being amazed by Him. We can become so confident in what we know that we miss what God wants to do. We can become so focused on what we think we deserve that we fail to receive the grace we desperately need.

Grace is never something we earn. Grace is a gift we receive. I hope you’ll join us this Sunday as we open God’s Word together and discover the life-changing power of His grace. I hope you will plan to attend a service at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity available), or 10:45 am (Full KidCity available)…OR a service in Spanish at 1:00 pm. Otherwise, you can watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or on our New Life website at 9:15 am. Also, we would LOVE for you to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. 

See you Sunday,

Troy

P.S. This June, our teens and young adults will be serving our city through our “For My City” local missions trip, June 17–20. Throughout the week, they’ll be ministering, serving, encouraging others, and being the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. We would love for our church family to partner with them by helping provide meals, snacks, and supplies for the week! You can sign up here to help.