Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship (Adapted from David Tripp, England, 20th Century, United Methodist Book of Worship)
L: As we begin this time of renewing our covenant before God, let us prepare ourselves for worship with prayer.
P: O God, we are yours! We are your people. We are your children.
L: We come together to recognize you as Lord of our lives and to thank you for your Grace.
P: And we come today to recommit ourselves to our relationship with you.
L: Search us and know us.
P: Remove anything that holds us back from you.
L: May your Spirit be with us now, speak your Word to our very souls.
P: And have mercy on us, today and always.
All: We pray in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Intro to a Wesleyan Covenant Renewal Service
Today we will share in a Covenant Renewal Service together. While this type of service predates John Wesley and Methodism as we know it, it was implemented by the Wesleys as an integral part of Methodist Societies. It is a service that has traditionally been held on New Year’s Eve or Day. When held on New Year’s Eve, it will often go by the name Watch Night Service. While a Covenant Renewal Service is apt at any time in the life of a congregation, the start of the new year is a natural time to hold it. At the beginning of a new year, we often take time to take stock of our lives, evaluate what is important, and re-commit ourselves to those things. As Christians we recognize that there is nothing more important than our relationship, or covenant, with God.
Covenant is not a term we use very often in our modern society. In the simplest terms, it means agreement. The covenant through most of the Hebrew Bible is this, from Exodus 6:7: “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.” This covenant still holds true. With the coming of Jesus, Christians add in the covenant made by his cross and resurrection, From Romans 8: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” In both of these senses, our covenant with God can be used as a synonym for our relationship with God.
A Covenant Renewal Service seeks to remind us of the importance of covenant with God, of mutual relationship, and we therefore promise ourselves anew to be God’s people, adopted into the family of God through Christ.
In this service you will notice a mix of modern and traditional language. Much of the wording used today came from Wesley himself. The phrasing may seem odd to our ears but that’s okay - it reminds us that we are participating in an act that followers of God have done throughout the ages - recommitting our whole selves to God.
We will begin our service today by singing “Come, Let Us Use The Grace Divine,” a hymn written by Charles Wesley and traditionally used for Covenant Renewal Services. The hymn is based on Jeremiah 50:5:
“They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, and they shall come and join themselves to the Lord by an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.”
Let us sing.
Opening Hymn
Come, Let Us Use The Grace Divine, UMH 606
As we sing, please pass forward prayer cards to be shared.
Sharing of Joys & Concerns
Litany of Thanksgiving (From Covenant Renewal Service, UM Book of Worship, changed response)
Let us give thanks for all of God's mercies.
Sung Response: “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices” (Now Thank We All Our God, UMH 102)
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. R
Today we will share in a Covenant Renewal Service together. While this type of service predates John Wesley and Methodism as we know it, it was implemented by the Wesleys as an integral part of Methodist Societies. It is a service that has traditionally been held on New Year’s Eve or Day. When held on New Year’s Eve, it will often go by the name Watch Night Service. While a Covenant Renewal Service is apt at any time in the life of a congregation, the start of the new year is a natural time to hold it. At the beginning of a new year, we often take time to take stock of our lives, evaluate what is important, and re-commit ourselves to those things. As Christians we recognize that there is nothing more important than our relationship, or covenant, with God.
Covenant is not a term we use very often in our modern society. In the simplest terms, it means agreement. The covenant through most of the Hebrew Bible is this, from Exodus 6:7: “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.” This covenant still holds true. With the coming of Jesus, Christians add in the covenant made by his cross and resurrection, From Romans 8: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” In both of these senses, our covenant with God can be used as a synonym for our relationship with God.
A Covenant Renewal Service seeks to remind us of the importance of covenant with God, of mutual relationship, and we therefore promise ourselves anew to be God’s people, adopted into the family of God through Christ.
In this service you will notice a mix of modern and traditional language. Much of the wording used today came from Wesley himself. The phrasing may seem odd to our ears but that’s okay - it reminds us that we are participating in an act that followers of God have done throughout the ages - recommitting our whole selves to God.
We will begin our service today by singing “Come, Let Us Use The Grace Divine,” a hymn written by Charles Wesley and traditionally used for Covenant Renewal Services. The hymn is based on Jeremiah 50:5:
“They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, and they shall come and join themselves to the Lord by an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.”
Let us sing.
Opening Hymn
Come, Let Us Use The Grace Divine, UMH 606
As we sing, please pass forward prayer cards to be shared.
Sharing of Joys & Concerns
Litany of Thanksgiving (From Covenant Renewal Service, UM Book of Worship, changed response)
Let us give thanks for all of God's mercies.
Sung Response: “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices” (Now Thank We All Our God, UMH 102)
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. R
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. R
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. R
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. R
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. Amen.
Hymn of Thanksgiving
Now Thank We All Our God, vs. 3, UMH 102
Invitation to Generosity
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. R
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. R
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. R
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. Amen.
Hymn of Thanksgiving
Now Thank We All Our God, vs. 3, UMH 102
Invitation to Generosity
Doxology
Scripture Lesson
2 Chronicles 34:29-32
2 Chronicles 34:29-32
Gospel Lesson
John 15:1-8
Proclamation of Covenant Renewal (Adapted from Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service, United Methodist Book of Worship)
Siblings in Christ,
The Christian life is one that strives to love God and to love neighbor as self.
We recognize that, first and foremost, we belong to God.
We first entered into the Christian life through baptism,
Where we were adopted as children of God and heirs with Christ.
This is the covenant we made with God and
Christ sealed it in his death and resurrection, that it might last forever:
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.
Baptismal Remembrance Hymn
Baptized in Water, FWS 2248
Invitation to Renew Your Covenant with God (All from Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service, United Methodist Book of Worship)
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 is the Savior of his servants. [edited]
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.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
Take Time to Be Holy, vs. 1, UMH 395
Second, be serious and in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
How Great Thou Art, vs. 1, UMH 77
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.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
Standing on the Promises, vs. 1 UMH 374
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.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
I Surrender All, vs. 1, UMH 354
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:
Hymn of Invitation to Covenant
Are Ye Able, vs. 1, UMH 530
Covenant Prayer (At this time, any who are willing and able may come and kneel at the altar as they pray. Others may remain seated as they wish and assume an internal posture of prayer where they are.)
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 on bended knees 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.
John 15:1-8
Proclamation of Covenant Renewal (Adapted from Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service, United Methodist Book of Worship)
Siblings in Christ,
The Christian life is one that strives to love God and to love neighbor as self.
We recognize that, first and foremost, we belong to God.
We first entered into the Christian life through baptism,
Where we were adopted as children of God and heirs with Christ.
This is the covenant we made with God and
Christ sealed it in his death and resurrection, that it might last forever:
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.
Baptismal Remembrance Hymn
Baptized in Water, FWS 2248
Invitation to Renew Your Covenant with God (All from Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service, United Methodist Book of Worship)
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 is the Savior of his servants. [edited]
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.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
Take Time to Be Holy, vs. 1, UMH 395
Second, be serious and in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
How Great Thou Art, vs. 1, UMH 77
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.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
Standing on the Promises, vs. 1 UMH 374
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.
Covenant Admonition Hymn
I Surrender All, vs. 1, UMH 354
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:
Hymn of Invitation to Covenant
Are Ye Able, vs. 1, UMH 530
Covenant Prayer (At this time, any who are willing and able may come and kneel at the altar as they pray. Others may remain seated as they wish and assume an internal posture of prayer where they are.)
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 on bended knees 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.
Passing of the Peace
Hymn of Invitation to the Table
Here I Am, Lord, vs. 1 & 3, UMH 593
The Great Thanksgiving (Suggested The Great Thanksgiving for New Year, Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord or Covenant Renewal” (UMBOW 58-59))
The Lord’s Prayer
Holy Communion
Prayer After Receiving
Lord, may we who have renewed our covenant with you through Word and Prayer,
And who have strengthened that covenant at your table,
May we now live out that covenant with our lives and actions,
Being the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood, for the world. Amen.
Closing Hymn
Blessed Assurance, UMH 369
Benediction
May we leave from this time of worship today with the assurance that we are God’s children, that God’s love never fails, and God’s covenant is forever and ever. Now go in peace, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Here I Am, Lord, vs. 1 & 3, UMH 593
The Great Thanksgiving (Suggested The Great Thanksgiving for New Year, Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord or Covenant Renewal” (UMBOW 58-59))
The Lord’s Prayer
Holy Communion
Prayer After Receiving
Lord, may we who have renewed our covenant with you through Word and Prayer,
And who have strengthened that covenant at your table,
May we now live out that covenant with our lives and actions,
Being the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood, for the world. Amen.
Closing Hymn
Blessed Assurance, UMH 369
Benediction
May we leave from this time of worship today with the assurance that we are God’s children, that God’s love never fails, and God’s covenant is forever and ever. Now go in peace, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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