God is a covenant maker. God established a
covenant with Noah and all of his
descendants (which includes all people
throughout the generations). As one writer
puts it, “Unlike with people, who can break
the covenant, God is always faithful to his
covenants”. We see this declaration in
several Old Testament examples where God
“remembers” his covenant with a person and
initiates action in faithful keeping with his side
of the covenant. After the waters of the flood
had receded God declared that he would look
upon the rainbow he put in the clouds and by
looking would remember his covenant with all
living creatures (Genesis 9:13-17).”
And so, because we are a part of God’s
family, we are people of the covenant. We
make promises but we are held together by
the life-giving covenant God made with us in
the rainbow, in the Ten Commandments and
finally, through the gift of his son, Jesus
Christ. God keeps His promises to love, guide
and save us.
Covenant Sunday:
Overflowing with Gratitude to God!
by Ashley Crowder Stanley
Dear friends,
Ten dimes. Those coins were what my parents used to teach me about tithing. I would get
ten dimes for my allowance each week and before I could pocket it, I would take one of
them, one tenth of my fortune, and put it in a little jar on my dresser where it would sit until
Sunday morning when I would write my name on the outside of the little children’s offering
envelopes, put the dime inside, and take it to church where it would join all the other
offering envelopes. I understood that my church needed the little bit I could give. I also
understood that I had made a promise to God that I didn’t want to break, even when that
dime could be used for something I really wanted.
We make promises to our families, friends, work colleagues, children and ourselves. We
try not to break them. Keeping our promises builds integrity and trust in our relationships
and strengthens us for our lives. With all the unpredictability in the world today, isn’t it more
important than ever before that we keep our promises and support the people and
organizations that try to make the world a better place?
God is a promise keeper. Throughout the Bible, God offers God’s trustworthiness to human
beings. Psalm 145 says: “The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he
does”. When the great flood came, Noah begged God not to destroy the earth even though
the people had disobeyed God mightily. And you remember what God did? It was life-
changing for you and me and all people! God made a covenant with us! A covenant is
more than a promise; it is a binding and solemn agreement and in scripture, it is for all
time.
The church is God’s covenant community and
in and through it, God’s dreams for the world
are given life and purpose. When we become
church members, we make some beautiful
and powerful promises to “faithfully participate
in the church’s ministries by our prayers,
presence, gifts, service and witness” which,
when really, joyfully lived out, can make the
covenant come alive and transform us all!
On Sunday, November 5, at one worship
service at 10:30am, we will give God thanks
for his covenant love. On this day we call
Covenant Sunday, we will remember the
promises we made at our baptisms and as we
join the church to love God with our whole
hearts and to help this church be a promise
keeping, covenant honoring group of
disciples.
Plan to be with your church family on
Covenant Sunday. Plan to reflect on how your
life is filled with blessings. Pray that you will
be shown how God’s covenant with you has
offered an “amazing grace” that can be found
nowhere else. Promise yourself, your family
and your church that God comes first in your
life. And then, look out for rainbows!
See you on November 5, Covenant Sunday
and on all the Sundays in between. May we
all be overflowing with gratitude to God!
Ashley