®
The Cross and Flame is a registered trademark and the use is supervised by the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church. Permission to use the Cross and Flame must be obtained from the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church:
 |
(618) 537-6622 Fax (618) 537-4571 |
An Old Year Ending…A New Year Beginning…In Covenant With God
First United Methodist Church
Lebanon , Illinois
December 30, 2007
“On December 25, 1747 , John Wesley strongly urged the Methodists to renew their Covenant with God. His first Covenant Service was held in the French Church at Spitalfields on August 11, 1755 , when he recited the words of “that blessed man Richard Alleine,” which he published that year in the “Christian Library.” Wesley issued this as a pamphlet in 1780, and the form was used without alteration for nearly a century. Various modifications were then made, till a form was prepared which gave the people a larger share in the devotions. That form has now been revised with a deep sense of the importance of a service which has been a fruitful source of blessing to Methodism ever since 1755.”
-- The Book of Offices ,
The Methodist Church of Great Britain and Ireland
Wesley Covenant Service
An Order of Worship for Such as Would
Enter into or Renew Their Covenant with God
(With Modernized Wording)
ORDER OF WORSHIP
*(Indicates the people standing in praise of God, as you are able, in heart or posture)
OPENING MUSIC
WORDS OF WELCOME
*SONG OF PRAISE “Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine”
(to the tune of Amazing Grace )
Come, let us use the grace divine, and all with one accord,
in a perpetual covenant join ourselves to Christ the Lord:
Give up ourselves, through Jesus' power, his name to glorify;
and promise, in this sacred hour, for God to live and die.
The covenant we this moment make be ever kept in mind:
We will no more our God forsake, or cast God's words behind.
We never will throw off God's fear who hears our solemn vow;
and if thou art well pleased to hear, come down, and meet us now.
To each the covenant blood apply, which takes our sins away;
and registers our names on high, and keeps us to that day.
Let us pray (in unison)
Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are completely open, all desires known, and from whom not a single secret is hidden, make clean the thoughts of our hearts by the Presence of your Holy Spirit, that we may love You in a perfect way, and worthily magnify your holy name. Through Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray:
THE LORD'S PRAYER (in unison)
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
READING OF SCRIPTURE John 15:1-8 The Message
Dearly beloved, the Christian life, to which we are all called, is a life in Christ, redeemed from sin by him, and through him consecrated to God. It is upon this special life we have all entered, having been admitted into that new covenant of which our Lord Jesus Christ is the sole mediator, and which he sealed with his own blood, that it might stand forever.
On one side, the covenant is God's promise that God will fulfill, in and through us, all that has been declared in Jesus Christ, who is the author and perfecter of our faith. That God's promise still stands we are sure, for we have known God's goodness and proved God's grace in our lives day by day.
On the other side, we stand pledged to live no more unto ourselves, but to him who loved us and gave himself for us and called us to serve him that the purposes of his coming might be fulfilled.
From time to time we renew our vows of consecration, especially when we gather at the table of the Lord; but on this day, we meet expressly, as generations of our forebears have met, that we may joyfully and solemnly renew the covenant which bound them, and which binds us to God.
Let us then, remembering the mercies of God and the hope of Christ's calling, now examine ourselves by the revealing light of the Spirit, that we may see those areas of our lives where we have failed or fallen short in faith and in practice, and, by considering all that this means, we may renew our personal covenant and give ourselves once more wholly and completely to God.
ADORATION
Leader: Let us adore the God of love who created us; who every moment of every day preserves and sustains us; who has loved us with a love that is everlasting, and given us the light of the knowledge of glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
People: We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
Leader: Let us glory in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ; who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor; who went about doing good and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom; who was tempted in all points as we are, yet was totally without sin; who became obedient even unto death, the death on the cross; who was dead, and now lives forever who opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers; who now sits at the right hand of God in eternal glory.
People: Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Leader: Let us also rejoice in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, by whom we are born into the family of God, and made members of the Body of Christ; whose witness confirms us; whose wisdom teaches us; whose power enables us; who waits to do things for us that are far above anything we could even think or ask.
People: All praise to thee, O Holy Spirit. Amen.
+Here, let us all be in a period of silent prayer, using this time to praise the triune God in each of God's manifestations.
THANKSGIVING
Leader: Let us rise and give thanks to God for all the mercies and blessings extended toward us this past year. (Here, let the people stand as able.)
O God our Creator, the fountain of all goodness, who has been gracious to us through all the years of our lives: We give you thanks for all of your loving kindness which has filled our days and brought us here to this time and this place.
People: We praise Your holy name, O Lord.
Leader: Thou hast given us life and reason, and set us in a world which is full of your glory. You have comforted us with family and friends, and ministered to us through the hands and minds of so many people.
People: We praise Your holy name, O Lord.
Leader: You have placed within us a hunger for your Presence in our lives, and have given us your great sense of inner 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 Lord.
Leader: You have remembered us even when we have forgotten you, followed us even when we have fled from you, met us with forgiveness even when we have come home to you, time and time again. For all the patience you have shown to us, and for the overwhelming portion of your grace extended to us,
People: We praise Your holy name, O Lord. Amen.
+Here let us all be seated and in a period of silent prayer, using this time to personally thank God for all the blessings God has given to us this year, especially those related to this church.
OFFERING TO GOD
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
OFFERTORY
*DOXOLOGY “Give Thanks” ( 8:30 ) Faith #2036 “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” ( 10:45 ) Hymn #95
CONFESSION
Leader: Let us now examine ourselves before God, humbly confessing our sins and watching our hearts, lest by self-deceit we shut ourselves out from God's presence. Let us pray. O God our Creator, who has set forth the way of life for us in your beloved Son: We confess with shame our slowness to learn of him, our reluctance to follow him. You have spoken and called, and we have not answered; your beauty has shown forth, and we have been so blind; you have stretched out your hands to us through other people who care about us, and we have passed by. We have all taken great benefits with little thanks; we have been unworthy of your changeless love.
People: Have mercy upon us and forgive us, O Lord.
Leader: Forgive us, we ask you, the utter poverty of our worship, the formality and selfishness of our prayers, our inconstancy and unbelief, our neglect of fellowship and of the means of grace, our hesitating witness for Christ, our false pretenses, and our willful ignorance of your ways.
People: Have mercy upon us and forgive us, O Lord.
Leader: Forgive us for all those times we have wasted our time or misused the gifts you have given to us. Forgive us for our having excused our own wrongdoing or evaded our responsibilities. Forgive us that we have been unwilling to overcome evil with good, not really believing all that Jesus came to show us, and from drawing back from the Cross.
People: Have mercy upon us and forgive us, O Lord.
Leader: Forgive us that so little of your love has reached others through us, and that we have borne so lightly the wrongs and sufferings that were not our own. Forgive us where we have cherished the things that divide us from others, and where we have made it hard for them to live with us, and where we have been thoughtless in our judgments, hasty in our condemnation, grudging in our forgiveness.
People: Have mercy upon us and forgive us, O Lord.
Leader: If we have made no ventures in fellowship, if we have kept in our heart a grievance against another, if we have not sought reconciliation, if we have been eager for the punishment of wrongdoers and slow to seek their redemption.
People: Have mercy upon us and forgive us, O Lord.
Leader: Let us each now make our own personal confession in silence before our God.
(Here let the people be in silent prayer.)
Together now, let us pray:
(Here let all pray together in unison:)
All: Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your loving kindness; according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Amen.
Leader: This is the message we have heard from Jesus, and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in God is no darkness at all. If we walk in the light, as God is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
THE COVENANT
And now, beloved, let us bind ourselves with willing bonds to our covenant God, and take the yoke of Christ upon us.
This taking of his yoke means that we are telling God that we are content that God appoint us our place and our work, and that we will be happy to have God alone as our reward. Let us take care that we do not say these words freely and lightly, without understanding just what they mean for us in this day and age, a time when the things of God are ridiculed and seen as “naïve.”
Christ has many services to be done; some of them are easy, and others are difficult; some of them bring honor to us, others bring reproach; some are very suitable to our natural inclinations and temporal interests, but others are contrary to both. In some we may be able to both please Christ and please ourselves; in others we cannot begin to please Christ except by denying ourselves. Yet the power to do all these things is most assuredly given to us in Christ, the One who saves and strengthens us.
Therefore, let us make the covenant of God our own. Let us make a commitment of heart to our Lord, resolving in Christ's strength never to go back.
Being thus prepared, let us now, in sincere dependence on God's grace and trusting completely in God's promises, yield ourselves anew to God now.
Leader: O Lord God, who has called us through Christ to be partakers in this gracious covenant: We take upon ourselves, with joy, the yoke of obedience, and engage ourselves, for love of you, to seek and do your perfect will. We are no longer our own, but thine.
All: I am no longer my own, but Thine (Yours). Put me to what You wilt, rank me with whom Thou (You) wilt; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low for You; let me be full, let me be empty; let me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are mine, and I am Yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
Vowed this 30th day of December, in the year 2007 ____________________________________
THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
*SONG OF PREPARATION “Time Now To Gather” ( 8:30 ) Faith #2265
*HYMN OF PREPARATION “Come, Sinners to the Gospel Feast” ( 10:45 ) Hymn #616
THANKSGIVING
Leader: May the Lord be with you, servants of God!
People: And also with you, fellow servant of God!
Leader: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Leader: Let us give thanks unto the lord our God.
People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Leader: It is right, O God, that we should always and everywhere give you thanks and praise. Only you are God. You created all things and called them good, including us. You made us in your own image. Even when we rebelled against your love, you did not desert us. You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our God and King, and spoke to us through your prophets. Therefore, we join the entire company of heaven and all your people now on earth in worshiping and glorifying you, saying:
People: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!
Leader: We thank you, O God, that you loved the world so much that you sent your only Son to be our Savior. The Lord of all life came to live among us. He healed and taught men and women, ate with sinners, and won for all people new life by water and the Spirit. We saw his glory. Yet he humbled himself in obedience to your will, freely accepting death on a cross. By dying, he freed us from unending death; by rising from the dead, he gave us everlasting life.
On the night in which he gave himself up for us, the Lord Jesus took bread. After giving you thanks, he broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body which is given for you.”
When the supper was over, he took the cup. Again he returned thanks to you, gave the cup to his disciples, and said, “Drink from this, all of you. This is the cup of the new covenant in
my blood, poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink of it, in remembrance of me.”
When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we experience anew the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and look forward to his coming in final victory.
People: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!
Leader: We remember and proclaim, O Holy God, what your Son has done for us in his life and death, in his resurrection and ascension. Accept this, our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, in union with Christ's offering for us, as a reasonable and holy surrender of ourselves. Send the power of your Holy Spirit on us, gathered here out of love for you, and on these gifts. Help us know, in the breaking of this bread, and in the drinking of this cup, the presence of Christ, who gave his body and blood for humankind. Make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in service to all the world.
People: Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all glory and honor is yours, O God. Amen!
THE BREAKING OF BREAD AND TAKING OF THE CUP
Leader: Because there is one loaf, we, many as we are, are one body; for it is one loaf of which we all partake. When we break the bread, is it not a means of sharing in the body of Christ? And, when we give thanks over the cup, is it not a means of sharing in the blood of Christ?
RECEIVING OF THE BREAD AND CUP
PRAYER AFTER RECEIVING
Leader: You have given yourself to us, Lord.
People: Now we give ourselves for others.
Leader: Your love has made us a new people.
People: As a people of love, we will serve you with joy!
Leader: Your glory has filled our hearts!
People: Help us to glorify you in all things. Amen.
*SONG OF DEDICATION “ The Summons” ( 8:30 ) Faith #2130
*HYMN OF SENDING FORTH “God of Grace and God of Glory” ( 10:45 ) Hymn #577
*BENEDICTION – PRAYER FOR SERVANT DISCIPLESHIP (in unison)
Lord, inspire us this day, and during the rest of this week, with the qualities of good servant discipleship. Give us insight to make wise decisions, integrity to face the truth, courage to make difficult choices, and compassion for the needs of others. Make us a model of justice and honor to the world, that our lives may truly honor You. And let us never forget that the church is not about us; it is about others, and that our holy calling is to serve, both You and others. Amen.
* CLOSING SONG “Shout To The Lord” ( 8:30 ) Faith #2074
*POSTLUDE “Lord, Make My Life a Window” ( 10:45 ) Back of Hymnal
The candle on the altar burns in celebration of the baptism anniversary
of Ethan Jackson Andrew, baptized on December 31, 2000 .
WORSHIP LEADERS
Joy Caschetta , Pastor Richard Boyd , Diaconal Minister of Music
Liturgist Susan Niederer, Musician
Thornly and Nancy Moorhead, Greeters Joe Diliberto, Sound
Geneva Bennet, Flowers Hartley Abner and Meral Jobes, Acolytes
Mary Renfro, Visitation Person
Ushers: Bill Ford, Captain; Scott Abner , Steve Brown, Dave Ehlers, Mike Niederer, and Scott Neill