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Wesley's Covenant Renewal Service
Contributed by Greg Buchner on Jan 5, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: Taken from the United Methodist Book of Worship, this service, often used by John Wesley, allows the congregation to recommit their covenant to God in the New Year.
So he called them together to make a covenant to God. Much like a new year’s resolution.
And to those who “sworn this covenant with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul” were given rest all around.
- We’re going to do this today! We’re going to make a covenant with our resolutions and we’re
going to ask God to bless them.
- Have kids collect the resolutions.
- Pray over them.
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Sharing Our Praises & Concerns
Prayer Song - #278 – I Cast All My Cares Unto You
Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer, & Lord’s Prayer (#895)
Covenant Renewal Service
(we now switch to the blue hymnal)
Scripture – I Peter 1:13-2:3, 2 Chronicles 15:9-15
Proclamation & Invitation
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Proclamation
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Christian life is redeemed from sin and consecrated to God.
Through baptism, we have entered this life and have been admitted into the new covenant
of which Jesus Christ is the Mediator.
He sealed it with his own blood, that it might last for ever.
On the one side, God promises to give us new life in Christ, the Source and Perfecter of our faith.
On the other side, we are pledged to live no more for ourselves but only for Jesus Christ,
who loved us and gave himself for us.
From time to time we renew our covenant with God, especially when we reaffirm the Baptismal Covenant and gather at the Lord’s table.
Today, however, we meet, as the generations before us have met, to renew the covenant that binds us to God. Let us make this covenant of God our own.
Invitation
The invitation then is this…
Let us commit ourselves to Christ as his servants. Let’s give ourselves to him, that we may belong to him. Christ has many ministries that need to be done.
Some are more easy and honorable, others are more difficult and disgraceful.
Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests, others are contrary to both.
In some, we may please Christ and please ourselves.
But then there are others where we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves.
It is necessary, therefore, that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ.
Christ will be the Savior of none but his servants.
He is the source of all salvation to those who obey.
Christ will have no servants except by consent;
Christ will not accept anything except full consent to all that he requires.
In short, Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing.
To make this covenant a reality in our lives, we need, then, listen to this counsel:
First, we need to set apart some time, more than once, to be spent alone before the Lord;
in seeking earnestly God’s special assistance and gracious acceptance,
in carefully thinking through all the conditions of the covenant;
in searching our hearts whether we have already freely given our life to Christ.
We need to be clear in these matters, we cannot lie to God.
Second, we need be serious. We come to make this covenant in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.
Third, we are to claim God’s covenant, rely upon God’s promise of giving grace and strength,