Covenant Presbyterian Church Augusta

8/31/2025 The Folly of it All

This week's message is from Pastor Karla Conditt Daniels.  I will admit that it had been a long time since I had read the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, the lengthy collection of oracles prophesying the impending downfall of the Kingdom of Judah. After God’s faithful guidance of the people of Israel out of slavery, through the wilderness, and into a land of plenty, they have “forgotten” God. Some have even turned to the cult of Baal. With language reminiscent of a courtroom, God indicts the people for breach of covenant.  
It can be difficult to imagine life in a small Mediterranean land of tribal units over two and a half millennia ago. The ancient religious structure and practices can seem too remote to offer guidance today. It might be easy to believe that “the word of the LORD” uttered by Jeremiah wouldn’t have much relevance to the fast-paced, digitally and globally informed lives we lead. But friends, the ways we "forget" God are not so different from how ancient people denied God. In fact, it is likely that our “advanced” culture provides more idols to distract and capture our devotion.
God’s stinging indictment to our ancient forbears, “But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit.” (Jeremiah 2:11b), should still sting us today.
John Calvin once said that the human heart is a perpetual idol factory. What idols might you have manufactured recently?  

8/24/2025 Who Says?

As pastor Katelyn Gordon Cooke tells us this week, there's a verse in Isaiah where God says to the prophet, "Come now, let us argue it out." I read that verse for the first time when I was in seminary, and I was struck by the idea that God would welcome us to argue with God. Given the number of people in Scripture who disagree with God, perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised.This Sunday, we'll hear two different stories of people who want to argue with God - the story of God's call to the prophet Jeremiah (and Jeremiah's resistance) and the story of the religious leaders who are upset with Jesus for healing someone on the sabbath. I'm grateful that Scripture includes these stories because I also know what it's like to want to argue with God (perhaps you do too). I hope you'll join us on Sunday as we explore together what it looks like to argue with God and what happens when we do. It might just surprise you.

8/17/2025 The Race Before Us

Our readings this Sunday all focus on the challenges of being people of Christian faith. And as Pastor Andy Cooke tells us, sometimes, we get the impression that is it supposed to be easy and fun to follow Christ. If you look at the passages from Jeremiah and Hebrews, that myth is quickly dispelled (same with Luke 12:49-56, which is the gospel reading for this Sunday). Hebrews 11 and 12 focuses on the travails of God's people, and the writer compares Christian faith to running a race. I'm looking forward to exploring this with you.

8/10/2025 Promises & New Beginnings

Pastor Katelyn Gordon Cooke said, "To say this Sunday is going to be a big day at Covenant feels like an understatement." It's Preschool Sunday, which means we are inviting preschool families and staff to join us for worship. We'll commission the preschool staff and have a blessing of the backpacks for students (of all ages!) during the service.We also have the Blessing of the Playground this Sunday after worship. Hurricane Helene's destruction of Covenant's playground was a great loss to our church, preschool, and community, and we are so excited to be able to bless the new playground and to celebrate this special space with Covenant members, friends, and neighbors.God is faithful.

7/3/2025 Bigger Barns

Our Scripture passages this Sunday are like medicine: as Pastor Andy Cooke says, they may not taste great, but they are good for us. Our call to worship comes from Psalm 49, and our readings are from Ecclesiastes and Luke (see links above). All of these readings have to do with money, wealth, and our labor. In our society, it can sound a little depressing to hear a spiritual critique of wealth. After all, isn't wealth the goal? Everywhere I look, it seems to be. But the messages that we get from culture need to be tempered by the words of Jesus and other teachings in Scripture. Come with an open mind as we explore these texts together.

6/27/2025 Persistant Prayer

This is our final message in the Double Take Series of sermons in which co-pastors Katelyn Gordon Cooke and Andy cook preach different sermons on the same scripture passage.  Prayer is often a daunting subject. We might love God, but we get nervous about talking to God--especially in front of other people. We don't quite know what to say or how to say it. We worry that we don't do it well. We assume that someone else can do it better.In our reading from Luke's gospel this Sunday, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray and even gives them the words to pray. If you've ever felt unsure about prayer, then I hope you'll join us  and contemplate this teaching with us.

7/20/2025 Double Take: Priorities

This week we continue our Double Take Series of Sermons with our wonderful pastors, Rev. Katelyn Gordon Cooke and Rev. Andy Cooke.  During a recent conversation with some Covenant youth, one of the teenagers said this about their sibling: "Sometimes it's hard to believe we're related. We're just so different." I imagine some of you reading this email have had that thought about your own sibling or others siblings you know. Just because we share DNA and grow up in the same family doesn't mean that we're necessarily alike in personality or preferences.The differences between sisters Mary and Martha are front and center in this week's gospel reading from Luke. When Jesus comes to visit them, Martha goes into super-hostess mode while Mary sits at Jesus' feet and listens to his teachings. In this week's Double Take sermon where Andy and I each preach a brief sermon on the same Scripture passage, we'll share two perspectives on what these two sisters can teach us about what it looks like to be faithful.

7/13/2025 Double Take: The Good Samaritan

Pastor Andy Cooke said he really enjoyed preaching the first Double Take sermon last week. Katelyn and I each preached half of a sermon, which is what we are doing throughout the month of July. We are in Luke 10 again this week, specifically the story of the Good Samaritan. Last week, we heard about Jesus sending out 72 "missionaries" to towns in the area and telling them to carry no purse, bag, or sandals. They all go out and after some time, they return. Then, he tells them the story of the Good Samaritan.It is good that these two stories appear so close together in Luke's gospel. In the first, the disciples of Jesus are learning to receive hospitality from others. In the second, the disciples are learning to give hospitality to others. They are both important practices in Christian faith.

7/6/2025 Double Take: On a Mission

This week you get not one but two messages from Pastor Katelyn Gordon Cooke and Pastor Andy Cooke.  This Sunday, we start our Double Take sermon series where Andy and I each preach a sermon on the same Scripture passage. This week's reading from Luke 10 includes some hard (and somewhat confusing?) words from Jesus, and it also includes some pertinent reminders for this weekend when we'll celebrate Independence Day and commission our high school youth and their chaperones who will be going to Montreat Youth Conference next week. 

6/29/2025 Fruit Season

Guest minister Amy Hobby Rickard says she loves the fruits and vegetables that are available to us this time of year. June is when the juicy locally grown tomatoes and peaches make it to farm stands, and neighbors beg you to take the zucchini proliferating in their garden.  None of this fruit happens by accident. It requires planting and careful cultivation. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is no different.Our passage from Galatians 5 may be familiar to you as Paul shares an extensive list of negative acts and habits that are unfortunately present in many of our lives, and a counter list of positive character traits that God wishes to see in us. We will explore how these ideas were presented to their original audience in the ancient congregation in Galatia, how they can inform us today, and how we can cultivate our own spiritual gardens.