Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO God's covenant faithfulness Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA January 2, 2005 (Covenant Renewal Sunday) Main Scripture text: Psalm 33:1-4. To be faithful means to be "worthy of trust or belief." Faithfulness is part of God's nature and character. The purpose of biblical covenants was not to impose obligations on an unreliable God. They were to help us trust God's faithfulness. God has established the church as the vehicle through which we live out our covenant relationship with God. This is more than just an individual matter. The Lord calls us to be a part of the people of God. Believing without belonging isn't biblical Christianity. In Second Kings -- chapters 22 and 23 -- King Josiah leads the nation of Israel to renew its covenant with God. The people repented of their sin and pledged themselves anew to the Lord. As we renew our covenant today, may the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and show us anything we've allowed to take a higher position in our lives than God. Let us renew our commitment to the Lord and to each other -- our commitment to support the church of Jesus Christ with our prayers, presence, gifts, and service. Our covenant renewal is particularly important this year because of our building project. We recently discovered that this building is going to cost us 25 percent more than we had anticipated. It's important that we respond to such circumstances with prudence, but more importantly with an absolute trust in God's power and God's faithfulness. The cost of the building is not the critical issue. The critical issue is: Are we living as the covenant people of God? Are we following His lead? If so, we mustn't panic or react out of fear. Instead, we must renew our commitment to stay in the covenant, meaning that we are pledging ourselves to trust and obey God in every aspect lives, personally and corporately. Remember, "He is faithful in all He does." Supporting text: 2 Kings 22:1-23:16 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (27:00). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 050102a: God's Covenant Faithfulness. © 2005 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us