Annual Business Meeting - Covenanting Together
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Once upon a time, all of us who are church members read and agreed to follow something we call our church covenant. I might be stepping on some toes, by asking this question, but I’ll ask anyways. When was the last time you read our church covenant?
Why do we have a church covenant?
-agreement, consensus, unity
Is anything in our church covenant that is unBiblical?
Church Covenant
Having placed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of my sins[1]and having been baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,[2]I joyfully and willingly enter into this covenant with the assembly of the First Baptist Church of Randolph, NY (RFBC).[3]
Therefore, I will seek to be committed to RFBC in some very practical ways. I will seek to walk with its people in brotherly love[4]while promoting the purposes of the church and sustaining its worship endeavors.[5] Moreover, I will strive to find a place of ministry, being faithful to use my gifts and abilities for the benefit of the people of RFBC.[6] I will strive to advance its spiritual growth through knowledge and action while supporting its doctrines, disciplines, and ordinances.[7] I will contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, including its expenses, benevolence, evangelistic and missionary efforts.[8]
Personally, I will commit to grow in my Christian life. I will maintain my own daily Bible reading and prayer life[9]and pass on these disciplines to my children.[10] With God’s help, I will guard against ungodliness and strive to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.[11] With the help of the Holy Spirit, I will try to bear fruit worthy of the Spirit, thereby helping me to live a transformed life.[12] In doing so, I will seek to abstain from behaviors motivated by the flesh[13]and take seriously the impact of my actions upon a weaker believer or an unbeliever.[14]
I will be committed to other believers by engaging in their lives in brotherly love.[15] I will pray for others[16]and edify the body by speaking kindly of and to other people.[17] Furthermore, I will bear other’s burdens in their time of sickness or distress.[18] I will be slow to take offense but quick to make reconciliation with others through biblical forgiveness.[19]
I will commit to an ongoing covenant. Should I remove from this local church, I will as soon as possible, unite with another church where I can fellowship with other believers and carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.[20] (Verses in footnotes)
Our covenant is a reminder that we have a responsibility to love God and love others. To give up our place so another can benefit. We read this tonight, 1 because the deacons said it had been a while, and two , because it is impossible to keep our oath without Jesus atonement for our sins, which we will be remembering in a few minutes.
What are the four main covenants in the Bible?
What are they? Adam, Noah, Davidic, New,
What is a Covenant?
What is a Covenant?
It is not...
a contract.
not dependent on what people do.
One of the most important parts of a covenant is that a covenant is between man & God. A “covenant” is “A sacred kinship bond between two parties, ratified by swearing an oath.” I thought one article explained the differences between a covenant and contract quite nicely.
“Contracts and covenants differ in a few areas. In terms of initiation, contracts are made by the exchange of promises, whereas covenants are sworn by solemn oaths. In application, contracts are limited by the terms of the exchange of property (“this is yours, that is mine”), while covenants involve an exchange of life (“I am yours, you are mine”), which covers a virtually unlimited range of human relations and duties. In terms of motivation, contracts are based on profit and self-interest, while covenants call for self-giving loyalty and sacrificial love. Contracts are temporary while covenant bonds are permanent, even intergenerational. Such distinctions do not imply that covenants are necessarily opposed to contracts, since covenants call for both promise-making and oath-swearing. A contract is an arrangement in human affairs that may be reinforced by swearing a covenant, in order to add the more binding dimension of the divine.”
Examples of Covenants in the Bible
Examples of Covenants in the Bible
Exodus 23-24 God gave the ten commandments to Moses on Mt Sinai and that was a tiny part of the law. Actually while Moses was on Sinai, God spoke what we call the “mosaic law” to Moses, who spoke all the words of the law to the people, beginning in..
1 Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. 2 “Moses alone, however, shall come near to the Lord, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.” 3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” 4 Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” 8 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” 9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.
You can read chapter 23 this week to get an ides of what God’s Covenant with Moses entailed. Two verses stand out though...
20 “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
After the law was given the people responded in ex 24 3 and 7
Exodus 24:3
3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.”
The people realized God was a Holy God who would cause prosperity and blessing when they obeyed and worshipped him and pestilence and trouble when they strayed from Him.
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”
Covenants almost always involved the spilling of blood. Blood was involved in this covenant in verse 8...
8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.”
Covenants could only be completed because of Jesus sacrifice which would be completed a few thousand years later by the spilling of Jesus’ blood on the cross. That is the divine aspect of all covenants, all covenants are made possible because of Jesus’ sacrifice. God’s people would be gathered to himself through the great love wherewith He loved us.
forever enduring. (Unable to be broken like a verizon bill). Sometimes a covenant would expire for example, God was leading Israel to the promised land. That was part of this covenant. That part endured until they reached the Promised Land. We are not good at keeping promises, but God always keeps His promises.
Church Covenant has key elements that unite us..
salvation, brotherly love, sacrifice, commitment to spiritual growth, commitment to pray for others, commitment to continually attend and submit to the local church body.
Communion
Communion
NEW TESTAMENT… COVENANT OF FORGIVENESS, HOPE
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
Moment to reflect.
Read v 24. eat bread. Deacon prays
read v 25, 26 drink. Deacon Prays.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.