Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. – 2 Timothy 4:2
The aesthetics in church Sunday grabbed my attention and I have to write about it. I covered Vacation Bible School last week (Are We Actually Living the Good News Story) so today’s post is related but not exclusive to VBS.
I have heard pastors caution (in reference to the challenges and pitfalls of ministry) that “It’s a jungle out there!” It may be said tongue-in-cheek but the phrase was all I could think of Sunday morning when I first saw Rebekah standing in front of the amazing hand-painted backdrop from Bible School.
VBS offered seven helpful “C”-words as a summary of Genesis through Revelation, “Creation” through “Consummation”. But my favorite “C”-word is “Covenant;” it stands as my one-word summary of the Bible and is a beautiful word for a life of ministry too.
In “Covenant Baptism” three parties are involved; God, the parents, and the congregation. Ministers are likewise in a covenant relationship with the church; the parties signing on are God, the pastor and the congregation.
Promises and trust hold us together:
In that covenant, promises are made. The good news is that we can count on God to faithfully keep every promise. And, in our experience, both church and pastor have taken their promises seriously too.
So why bring this up today? Well, I believe that we live in an age where too many promises are left gasping for air.
We, however, are followers of the Way of Jesus, and if there is one thing that we can count on it is the promises that define our faith.
Here’s the thing. A covenant – the promise that is at the heart of both the Old Testament and the New Testament – is the kind of agreement where all sides are expected to demonstrate faithfulness. It’s my conviction that if we do our part then anything is possible.
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:14
Of course, this does not mean “If those other people turn from ways we decide are wicked…” Nope. What it means is that the responsibility, the promise keeping, belongs to each one of us.
Okay, let’s make it closer to home: the responsibility is mine. And I can quite well imagine that it is yours too. – DEREK
