The Wesley Covenant Renewal Service

John Wesley's Covenant Renewal Service,

adapted from The United Methodist Book of Worship

I have celebrated this service on the first Sunday of the year for nearly a decade. I did not make it up, but I have tweaked it. I change the scripture readings every year. This year I added a song (I wrote the music! :) You can listen to it here)

If you have any questions about Christianity, or United Methodism, 

or if you have any confession to make, 

or if you would like to be part of a United Methodist Church, 

or if you would like to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, 

or if you would like to talk about Baptism,

please let me know. 

You can email me at kerrfunk1 at gmail dot com

God bless you

WELCOME:

Christmas greetings in the name of the One who was born in Bethlehem: Jesus! We welcome you to the service today, and pray that you experience the loving and active presence of God in our midst this morning.

GREETING

Today we will be sharing in John Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service as we re-dedicate our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service to Almighty God, with hope, confidence, and humility, seeking God’s blessings in 2015. Our hope and prayer is that you will keep this bulletin as a reminder of your covenant with God.

*OPENING HYMN: “Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine” UMH606
(Charles Wesley wrote this hymn specifically for this service)

*OPENING PRAYER
O God, Searcher of all our hearts,
you have formed us as a people and claimed us for your own.
As we come to acknowledge your sovereignty and grace,
and to enter anew into covenant with you,
reveal any reluctance or falsehood within us.
Let your Spirit impress your truth on our inmost being,
and receive us in mercy,
for the sake of our Mediator, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(David Tripp, England, 20^th Century)

LITANY OF THANKSGIVING

Let us give thanks for all of God's mercies.

O God, our Covenant Friend,
you have been gracious to us through all the years of our lives.
We thank you for your loving care,
which has filled our days and brought us to this time and place.

We praise your holy name, O God.

You have given us life and reason,
and set us in a world filled with your glory.
You have comforted us with family and friends,
and ministered to us through the hands of our sisters and brothers.

We praise your holy name, O God.

You have filled our hearts with a hunger after you,
and have given us your peace.
You have redeemed us, and called us to a high calling in Christ Jesus.
You have given us a place in the fellowship of your Spirit
and the witness of your Church.

We praise your holy name, O God.

You have been our light in darkness
and a rock of strength in adversity and temptation.
You have been the very Spirit of joy in our joys
and the all–sufficient reward in all our labors.

We praise your holy name, O God.

You remembered us when we forgot you.
You followed us even when we tried to flee from you.
You met us with forgiveness when we returned to you.
For all your patience and overflowing grace,

We praise your holy name, O God.

SCRIPTURE READINGS:
1 Peter 1

2 Kings 23:1-3
(The first reading is long. The service continues after the readings)

1 Peter 1      Common English Bible (CEB)

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s chosen strangers in the world of the diaspora, who live in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

² God the Father chose you because of what he knew beforehand. He chose you through the Holy Spirit’s work of making you holy and because of the faithful obedience and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

May God’s grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³ May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed! On account of his vast mercy, he has given us new birth. You have been born anew into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. ⁴ You have a pure and enduring inheritance that cannot perish—an inheritance that is presently kept safe in heaven for you. ⁵ Through his faithfulness, you are guarded by God’s power so that you can receive the salvation he is ready to reveal in the last time.

⁶ You now rejoice in this hope, even if it’s necessary for you to be distressed for a short time by various trials. ⁷ This is necessary so that your faith may be found genuine. (Your faith is more valuable than gold, which will be destroyed even though it is itself tested by fire.) Your genuine faith will result in praise, glory, and honor for you when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Although you’ve never seen him, you love him. Even though you don’t see him now, you trust him and so rejoice with a glorious joy that is too much for words. ⁹ You are receiving the goal of your faith: your salvation.

¹⁰ The prophets, who long ago foretold the grace that you’ve received, searched and explored, inquiring carefully about this salvation. ¹¹ They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was saying when he bore witness beforehand about the suffering that would happen to Christ and the glory that would follow. They wondered what sort of person or what sort of time they were speaking about. ¹² It was revealed to them that in their search they were not serving themselves but you. These things, which even angels long to examine, have now been proclaimed to you by those who brought you the good news. They did this in the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven.

¹³ Therefore, once you have your minds ready for action and you are thinking clearly, place your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. ¹⁴ Don’t be conformed to your former desires, those that shaped you when you were ignorant. But, as obedient children, ¹⁵ you must be holy in every aspect of your lives, just as the one who called you is holy. ¹⁶ It is written, You will be holy, because I am holy.^{[Leviticus 19:2] 17} Since you call upon a Father who judges all people according to their actions without favoritism, you should conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your dwelling in a strange land. ¹⁸ Live in this way, knowing that you were not liberated by perishable things like silver or gold from the empty lifestyle you inherited from your ancestors. ¹⁹ Instead, you were liberated by the precious blood of Christ, like that of a flawless, spotless lamb. ²⁰ Christ was chosen before the creation of the world, but was only revealed at the end of time. This was done for you, ²¹ who through Christ are faithful to the God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory. So now, your faith and hope should rest in God.

²² As you set yourselves apart by your obedience to the truth so that you might have genuine affection for your fellow believers, love each other deeply and earnestly. ²³ Do this because you have been given new birth—not from the type of seed that decays but from seed that doesn’t. This seed is God’s life-giving and enduring word. ²⁴ Thus,

All human life on the earth is like grass,
    and all human glory is like a flower in a field.
The grass dries up and its flower falls off,
²⁵         but the Lord’s word endures forever.^{[Isaiah 40:6-8]}

This is the word that was proclaimed to you as good news.

2 Kings 23:1-3     Common English Bible (CEB)

23 ¹ The king sent a message, and all of Judah’s and Jerusalem’s elders gathered before him. ² Then the king went up to the Lord’s temple, together with all the people of Judah and all the citizens of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets, and all the people, young and old alike. There the king read out loud all the words of the covenant scroll that had been found in the Lord’s temple. ³ The king stood beside the pillar and made a covenant with the Lord that he would follow the Lord by keeping his commandments, his laws, and his regulations with all his heart and all his being in order to fulfill the words of this covenant that were written in this scroll. All of the people accepted the covenant.

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.

WESLEY'S COVENANT SERVICE

INVITATION
Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants.
Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him.
Christ has many services 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 other works 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.

Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray:

Let me be your servant, under your command.
I will no longer be my own.
I will give up myself to your will in all things.

Be satisfied that Christ shall give you your place and work.

Lord, make me what you will.
I put myself fully into your hands:
put me to doing, put me to suffering,
let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and with a willing heart
give it all to your pleasure and disposal.

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.
Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing.

Confirm this by a holy covenant.

To make this covenant a reality in your life, listen to these admonitions:

First, set apart some time, more than once,
to be spent alone before the Lord;
in seeking earnestly God's special assistance
and gracious acceptance of you;
in carefully thinking through all the conditions of the covenant;
in searching your hearts
whether you have already freely given your life to Christ.
Consider what your sins are.
Consider the laws of Christ, how holy, strict, and spiritual they are,
and whether you, after having carefully considered them,
are willing to choose them all.
Be sure you are clear in these matters, see that you do not lie to God.

Second, be serious and in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.

Third, claim God's covenant,
rely upon God's promise of giving grace and strength,
so you can keep your promise.
Trust not your own strength and power.

Fourth, resolve to be faithful.
You have given to the Lord your hearts,
you have opened your mouths to the Lord,
and you have dedicated yourself to God.
With God's power, never go back.

And last, be then prepared to renew your covenant with the Lord.
Fall down on your knees, lift your hands toward heaven,
open your hearts to the Lord, as we pray:

COVENANT PRAYER

O righteous God, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
see me as I fall down before you.
Forgive my unfaithfulness in not having done your will,
for you have promised mercy to me
if I turn to you with my whole heart.

God requires that you shall put away all your idols.

I here from the bottom of my heart renounce them all,
covenanting with you that no known sin 

shall be allowed in my life.
Against your will, I have turned my love toward the world.
In your power
I will watch all temptations that will lead me away from you.

For my own righteousness is riddled with sin,
unable to stand before you.

Through Christ, God has offered to be your God again if you would let him.

Before all heaven and earth,
I here acknowledge you as my Lord and God.
I take you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for my portion,
and vow to give up myself, body and soul, as your servant,
to serve you in holiness and righteousness 

all the days of my life.

God has given the Lord Jesus Christ
as the only way and means of coming to God.

Jesus, I do here, with humbled heart, accept Christ
as the only new and living Way,
and sincerely join myself in a covenant with him.

O blessed Jesus, I come to you,
hungry, sinful, miserable, blind, and naked,
unworthy even to wash the feet of your servants.
I do here, with all my power, accept you as my Lord and Head.
I renounce my own worthiness,
and vow that you are the Lord, my righteousness.
I renounce my own wisdom, and take you for my only guide.
I renounce my own will, and take your will as my law.

Christ has told you that you must suffer with him.

I do here covenant with you, O Christ,
to take my lot with you as it may fall.
Through your grace I promise
that neither life nor death shall part me from you.

God has given holy laws as the rule of your life.

I do here willingly put my neck under your yoke, 

to carry your burden.
All your laws are holy, just, and good.
I therefore take them as the rule 

for my words, thoughts, and actions,
promising that I will strive
to order my whole life according to your direction,
and not allow myself to neglect anything I know to be my duty.

The almighty God searches and knows your heart.

O God, you know that I make this covenant with you today
without guile or reservation.
If any falsehood should be in it, 

guide me and help me to set it aright.


And now, glory be to you, O God the Father,
whom I from this day forward shall look upon 

as my God and Father.
Glory be to you, O God the Son,
who have loved me and washed me from my sins 

in your own blood,

and now is my Savior and Redeemer.
Glory be to you, O God the Holy Spirit,
who by your almighty power 

have turned my heart from sin to God.

O mighty God, the Lord Omnipotent, 

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
you have now become my Covenant Friend.
And I, through your infinite grace, 

have become your covenant servant.
So be it.
And let the covenant I have made on earth 

be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

You are advised to make this covenant not only in your heart, but in word; not only in word, but in writing. Therefore, with all reverence, lay the service before the Lord as your act and deed. And when you have done this, sign it. Then keep it as a reminder of the holy agreement
between God and you that you may remember it during doubts and temptations.

Hereunto I set my hand as a sign and a reminder of my covenant:

(sign here) (date)

*HYMN “My Jesus, I Love Thee” UMH172

(verses 1 and 4: William R. Featherstone, 1864)

(verses 2 and 3: Kerry W. Bart, 2002)

1. My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine; For thee all the follies of sin I resign. 
 My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou; 
 If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’ts now.

2. I love, Lord, to sing of thy marvelous birth! 
 Thou camest from Heaven to live here on earth. 
 With wise men and shepherds before thee I bow; 
 If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. 

3. Thou cam’st on a wonderful night long ago; 
 A gift to God’s people, my Savior, I know. 
 At Christmas I celebrate; I offer this vow: 
 If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. 

4. In mansions of glory and endless delight, 
 I’ll ever adore thee in heaven so bright; 
 I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow; 
 If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

HOLY COMMUNION

If you have read this far, 

and if you have any questions about Christianity, or United Methodism, 

or if you have any confession to make, 

or if you would like to be part of a United Methodist Church, 

or if you would like to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, 

or if you would like to talk about Baptism,

please let me know. 

You can email me at kerrfunk1 at gmail dot com

God bless you