Covenant  Renewal

Service

Guam United Methodist Church

Route 15 at Fadian Point Road, Mangilao

Tel (671) 734-3251  ¹  Fax (671) 734-5062

Office hours: Pastor Fred 8a-3p Tu-F (M off)

Cheryl Boydston (secretary) 12 noon-3p M-F

P O Box 20279 ¶ GMF ¶ GU 96921-0279 

guamumc@gmail.com

January 3, 2010                                                                                                                     9:30 a.m.

Covenant Renewal Service

PRELUDE                        “Breath of Heaven”     (Tornquist)                        Joel Dizon

LIGHTING OF THE CANDLES

GATHERING/CONTEMPORARY SONGS                                                Joel Dizon

         “Shine, Jesus, Shine”                                                                                 TFWS #2173

         “We Are Called”                                                                                       TFWS #2172                                                     

         “In His Time”                                                                                           TFWS #2203

GREETING/ANNOUNCEMENTS

+ HYMN                        “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”                         UMH #117

+ OPENING PRAYER                                                                                          Unison

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.

LITANY OF THANKSGIVING

      Leader:   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.

People:  We praise your holy name, O God.

Leader:   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.

People:  We praise your holy name, O God.

Leader:   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.

People:  We praise your holy name, O God.

Leader:   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.

People:  We praise your holy name, O God.

Leader:   Your 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,

People:  We praise your holy name, O God.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION                                                                         Unison

         Let the words of our mouths, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

         A covenant renewal        Deuteronomy 31:9-13 (OT 240)

         A new covenant             Jeremiah 31:31-34 (OT 929)

         Jesus is the true vine       John 15:1-8 (NT 159)                   

MESSAGE                               “A Covenant-Making God”                                Pastor Fred

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 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 give 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 COVENANT SERVICE

INVITATION

Leader:   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 interest, others are contrary to both. In some w 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:

Unison:  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.

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

Unison:  Lord, make me what you will. I put myself 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.

Leader:   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 won 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 (people kneel or bow)

Unison:        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.

Leader:         God requires that you shall put away all your idols.

Unison:        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.

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

Unison:        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, an vow to give up myself, body and soul, as your servant to serve you in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life.

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

Unison:        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 unworthiness, 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.

Leader:         Christ has told you that you must suffer with him.

Unison:        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.

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

Unison:        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.

Leader:         The almighty God searches and knows your heart.

Unison:        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 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 are 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 yourself that you may remember it during doubts and temptations.

I make this covenant today between God and me:

Signed:                                                                                                          

OFFERING

OFFERTORY                                 “The Nativity”                                          Kay North

+ DOXOLOGY

DEDICATORY PRAYER

CELEBRATION OF THE HOLY COMMUNION                                           UMH #12-15

+ CLOSING HYMN                        “O Jesus, I Have Promised”                               UMH #396

+ CLOSING PRAYER AND BENEDICTION

TAKING THE LIGHT INTO THE WORLD

POSTLUDE             “Go Tell It on the Mountain”     (Hammerly)                      Joel Dizon                                              

+  +  +  +  +  +  +  +

(footnote)

On December 25, 1747, John Wesley strongly urged the Methodists to renew their covenant with God. His first covenant service was held in French Church in Spitalfields on August 11, 1755. Since then, Methodists all over the world use New Year’s Eve to renew their covenant with God. The heart of the service focuses on the Covenant Prayer, requires persons to commit themselves to God, and a clear understanding that we, as God’s community, are renewing our resolve to be together in mission and ministry.

Happy New Year, Keep the Old Mandate, and Receive a New Inspiration!

Hope springs eternal when we welcome a new year. Sad to say, but the old year could remind us about the hurt we experienced,  loss we suffered, and fear that victimized us. But thank God, God is with us (Emmanuel)! God creates a new beginning for us all, a new horizon beaming  with possibilities, and to speak in more eschatological terms, a new heaven and a new earth is beginning to appear on the horizon. And so let us welcome the year 2010 with great thanksgiving.

As we approach the possibilities, challenges, and new things 2010 offers, let us be reminded that our mandate to be salt and light of the world has not changed, neither our role diminished. We will continue to worship to strengthen our spirits and firm up our resolve, go out on a limb to reach out to the lives of those God puts us in close proximity to. Let us make sure we don't forget this: neither assign this task to others nor postpone God's redemptive plan because it does not jibe with our personal plan or schedule.

We trust that as we continue to immerse ourselves in God's refreshing Word, live together in harmony as a fellowship group constantly challenged and blessed by our diverse congregation, we will receive new inspiration we have never experienced before.

Let us approach the new year with merriment, constancy of ministry and unity of purpose kept, and openness to the new inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

In Christ,

Pastor Fred Agtarap

Guam United Methodist Church