Tag: Identity

Bonded for Life (1 Samuel 18:1-4; 2 Samuel 9:1-7)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

David and Jonathan enter into a parity covenant, exchanging robes and weapons to signify their life-long bond of loyalty to each other. The covenant they cut includes Jonathan’s young son Mephibosheth, whom David seeks out to bless even after Jonathan dies. Thereafter, Mephibosheth is invited to eat at the king’s table forever, unworthy though he may be. David shows Mephibosheth hesed (loving-kindness) because of his covenant with Jonathan, who served as his son’s covenant representative head. 

This historical episode illustrates well the concept of representation. As Jonathan was Mephibosheth’s covenant representative head, so Jesus is the covenant representative head of the entire human race. Moreover, like David looking for Mephibosheth, God is searching for us, wanting to lavish upon us all the riches and blessings that come from being in covenant with him through Christ. He invites us to eat at the King’s table forever, unworthy though we may be. God’s hesed (lovingkindness) now flows to all who acknowledge Jesus by faith as their covenant representative head.

Sermon Resources:

Bonded for Life (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
Bonded for Life (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Real ID

On By Tim ValentinoIn Bible & Theology, SongsLeave a comment

Fifteen lies of identity:

  • I am what I do.
  • I am what I’ve done.
  • I am what I have.
  • I am what I look like.
  • I am how I feel.
  • I am where I’m from.
  • I am how I was raised.
  • I am my genes.
  • I am my failures.
  • I am my accomplishments.
  • I am my preferences.
  • I am who other people say I am.
  • I am nothing more than my worst moment.
  • I am nothing less than my best moment.
  • I am no one going nowhere.

The one truth of identity:

I am who I AM made me to be—a human being loved by God and created in his image.

The challenge, of course, is to align our thinking to this reality on a regular basis. To do so is an act of faith. And a declaration of war against the father of lies.

Image Credit: militarybenefits.info; Leonardo da Vinci; Tim Valentino.

The Blood Covenant, Part 2: Is There Anyone Still Left? (1 Samuel 18:1-4; 2 Samuel 9:1-10)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

David and Jonathan enter into a parity covenant, exchanging robes and weapons to signify their bond of loyalty to each other. The covenant they cut includes Jonathan’s young son Mephibosheth, whom David seeks out to bless even after Jonathan dies. Thereafter, Mephibosheth is invited to eat at the king’s table forever, unworthy though he may be. David shows Mephibosheth hesed (loving-kindness) because of his covenant with Jonathan, who served as his son’s covenant representative head.

This historical episode illustrates well the concept of representation. As Jonathan was Mephibosheth’s covenant representative head, so Jesus is the covenant representative head of the entire human race. Moreover, like David looking for Mephibosheth, God is searching for us, wanting to lavish upon us all the riches and blessings that come from being in covenant with him through Christ. He invites us to eat at the King’s table forever, unworthy though we may be. God’s hesed (lovingkindness) now flows to all who acknowledge Jesus by faith as their covenant representative head.

Sermon Resources:

Is There Anyone Still Left? (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
Is There Anyone Still Left? (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

The Blood Covenant, Part 1: The Bond in Blood (Genesis 15:1-21)

On By Tim ValentinoIn SermonsLeave a comment

The word “covenant” is used over 300 times in the Bible. In the ancient world, covenant making (or “cutting”) was a social arrangement of convenience or necessity, obligating two parties to show hesed one to another (i.e., mercy, kindness, loving-kindness, or covenant loyalty). At its heart, a covenant was a bond in blood; the establishment of a binding, legal relationship with no exit clause. Covenant partners died to their rights to independent living, becoming functionally one in the process.

The shock of the Bible is that God himself has entered into covenant with the human race! He swore on oath with uplifted hand to keep his word, even upon pain of death. It all started with a man by the name of “Abram.” God promised that one day someone would come through Abram’s line who would bless the whole world (Genesis 12:3), an ultimate reference to the Messiah. The bigger shock of the Bible is that to establish a covenant with humanity, God placed a death sentence on himself. What kind of God is willing to die for his people? The one whose Son wound up on a cross, where the New Covenant was cut.

Sermon Resources:

The Bond in Blood (Sermon Outline PDF)Download
The Bond in Blood (Sermon PowerPoint PDF)Download

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.