Sunnyside Church of the Nazarene
Sunday, March 20
  • House Of The Lord
  • Wesley Covenant Service - Adapted from John Wesley
    The service this morning is about a covenant, and it’s adapted from John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church in England in the late 1700s. The Church of the Nazarene - our theological roots are connected to Wesley. Today is about covenant.
    Throughout the Bible, we discover that God is a God of covenants. He made a covenant with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David. Jesus made a new covenant through His body, His blood, His death on the cross. Marriage is a covenant. God is a God of covenants. A covenant is a binding and reciprocal agreement between God and His people. A covenant is a promise from one party to the other that each will do what has been promised and required.
    For John Wesley, to be a mature disciple of Christ meant to join with other believers in a covenant to serve God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. He urged the Church to continually renew their covenant – “that the LORD should be [their] God.” On August 11, 1755, Wesley conducted a service that provided opportunity for persons to make or renew that covenant with God. And in his footsteps, that’s what we’re doing this morning. It will be a little different – responsive reading.
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    SONG
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    PART I
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    Jeremiah 50:5 ESV
    They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’
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    Our purpose is to be reminded of our deep need of God's grace. Every person must recognize their sinful condition and remember that they cannot experience forgiveness apart from the grace of God.
    Hebrews 9:22 ESV
    Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
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    Someone or something must die in order to enact forgiveness.
    We must also acknowledge that our need of God’s grace is deeper than mere forgiveness of wrong behavior but must go to the cleansing work of His Spirit at the very core of our beings. So this morning, we embrace an opportunity for a fresh experience of God’s grace. Let us rededicate ourselves to the covenant relationship provided for us through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
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    It is also important that we recognize our continuing need for confession. Confession is the way of those who daily carry the cross of Christ. It is the way of those who follow Jesus. Confession is the Christian way - whether we're confessing to one another or confessing to God. The devil is powerless against confession, for when we confess God is faithful and He is just and will forgive us of all unrighteousness.
    Confession is not only for new Christians, it’s a sign of maturity in Christ. John Wesley stated that even
    “… the most holy among us is subject to a thousand infirmities which spring from our fallenness.”
    All of us need the atoning blood and cleansing work of Jesus Christ.
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    Praise God for His faithfulness in this covenant! Read with me -
    Psalm 36:5–10 NIV
    Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.
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    SONG
    PART II
    What is confession? Confession is coming to Christ as our High Priest. Confession is agreeing with what the Bible says about God and about us – agreeing that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and that we are only saved by His grace through our faith in Him. Confession is acknowledging our deep need for God’s grace. Do you deeply sense your need of God's grace in Christ?
    Congregation: We acknowledge a deep sense of our need. We see ourselves as sinners in need of a savior. The Spirit of God has awakened us;
    for we have cried out, “Lord where are we? Is there no hope of escaping out of this wretched state? We are but dead if we continue as we are. What may we do to be saved?”
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    Being made aware of our sin and its danger, we look for help and deliverance, but we often look everywhere else before looking to Christ. A person rarely will come to Christ but by absolute desperation. All too often we try to make ourselves right before God, work off our sins and earn our own forgiveness? There must be something I can do to make God love me and forgive me. How often do we search for eternal life by other means, other gods, doing good, or whatever? But none of these can save us. Our determination, our effort, our goodness – nothing about ourselves can save us or make us right with God. Going to church can’t save us. Our families can’t save us. Giving money to the poor can’t save us. Every attempt to earn eternal life apart from God leads only to death. We knock on so many wrong doors seeking salvation, trying everything except for the one Person who can save us - Jesus Christ.
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    Let us read this prayer -
    Congregation: Lord, be merciful to us. What shall we do? We dare not abide as we are, and we are weary of trying to do it alone. Our praying alone will not help us.
    Our hearing alone will not help us. If we give everything we have to the poor, or give up our bodies to be burned, all this would not save our souls. Woe is us. What shall we do?
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    Matthew 7:13–14 ESV
    “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
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    We must let go of our sins. We must let go of our pride and self-determination. Christ came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He came to seek and to save those who are lost – all of us. Friends, will you now trust Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life; who has provided everything needed for our forgiveness and our eternal life?
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    All: Lord Jesus, here we are, lost creatures, and enemies to God, under his wrath and curse. Lord, undertake for us, reconcile us to God, and save our souls.
    You have promised not to refuse us, for we have nowhere else to go. If we had come in our own righteousness, you may well have sent us away; but since we come at the command of the Father, and because of your great love, we know you will not reject us.
    We come, Lord. We believe, Lord. We throw ourselves upon your grace and mercy. We cast ourselves upon your blood. On you we will trust and trust alone. On you we lay our hope for pardon, for our life, and for our salvation.
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    1 John 1:5–2:6 ESV
    This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son 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, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
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    Jesus invited us into this covenant relationship with God. We hear the invitation and the covenant when Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, and of course how we should pray. What we call the Lord’s prayer is really an outline for family prayer. We pray our Father, recognizing that we are His and He is ours. We are His people, His children and the people of the New Covenant.
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    So let us pray …
    Matthew 6:9–13 ESV
    Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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    We now yield ourselves to the Lord. As his servants, we must give up the dominion and control of ourselves to Christ.
    Romans 6:12–14 ESV
    Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
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    All: We are yours, Lord. We reverence you. We dedicate ourselves to your service.
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    In so giving ourselves to the Lord, we affirm that we will heartily embrace what he has appointed us to do, both corporately and personally. Let Jesus appoint you to your work. As it is written in the ancient
    Celtic Covenant Service: “Christ has many tasks for us. Some are easy; others are difficult. Some bring honor, others bring reproach. Some are to our liking, and coincide with our own inclinations, and are in our immediate best interest;
    some are just the opposite. In some we may please Christ and please ourselves; in others we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves. Yet the power to take on all these is most definitely given us in Jesus; for it is he who strengthens us and comes to help us when we are weak.”
    Find what it is that Christ expects of you and then give yourselves totally to his will, without bargaining and without reservation.
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    All: Make us what you will, Lord, and send us where we are to go. Let us be vessels of silver or gold, or vessels of wood or stone; as long as we are vessels of honor we are content.
    All: If we are not the head, or the eye, or the ear, one of the nobler and more honorable instruments, then let us be the hands, or the feet, as one of the lowest and least esteemed of all the servants of our Lord.
    Lord, place us in your kingdom in the roles you have designed for us.
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    SONG
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    PART III
    Beloved, the commitment to Christ we have just expressed is the essence of discipleship or being a student or intentional follower of Christ and of the Word of God. When we have laid all our hopes upon Christ, casting ourselves wholly upon the merits of His righteousness and not our own; when we have with understanding given ourselves wholly to Him; then we are Christians indeed.
    God’s people should be intentional people. God’s people should be doing their Father’s business and not just their own. He is our Lord, our King, our Master, our Savior, our Brother, our Friend and our Redeemer. And so let us confirm our commitment by a covenant to Him, the One True and Holy God. What would it take for us to make a covenant with God? What would it mean for us to commit ourselves wholly to His plans daily?
    First, it would mean the forgiveness of our sins and the constant realization of our continual need of the grace of God in our lives.
    Second, it would mean a resolve in our own lives to live as intentional disciples of our Lord, forgoing our own selfish motivations and living in our world as servants to others in the name of God.
    Finally, it would mean not trusting in our own strengths and abilities, but anchoring in the source of our strengths and abilities . . . that we anchor ourselves in Jesus Christ Himself.
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    God is a God of covenants. His presence is here this morning to welcome us into a renewal of covenant. Will you renew your covenant with God this morning? Will you bend your knee before the King? Will you renew your covenant with this congregation, with your fellow brothers and sisters? Will you renew your covenant to serve rather than to be served? Will you renew your covenant to deny yourselves, to pick up your cross daily and to walk in the ways of Christ?
    Let us read this prayer together
    Pastor: Father, forgive us, that we have not loved you with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our strength. We have taken much and returned little; we have been unworthy of your unchanging love. Forgive us our coldness and indifferences, our lack of constant love, our unbelief, our false pretenses, our refusal to understand your ways and the ways of others.
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    Congregation: Be tender in your mercy, Lord, be tender in your mercy. Teach us your ways, O Lord, and let us walk in your truth. We put behind us our stubborn independence, and turn again to you.
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    Now let us willingly fasten ourselves to the God of covenant: that we be Christ’s, and Christ be ours. Let us say yes to the covenant that He makes with us.
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    Congregation: I am no longer my own, but yours. Use me as you choose, rank me alongside whoever you choose; 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; with my whole heart I freely choose to yield all things to your ordering and approval. So now, God of glory, Father, Son and Holy Spirit you are mine and I am yous.
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    SONG
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    PART IV
    All: And glory be to the Son, who has loved us and washed our sins in His own blood, and has now become our Savior and Redeemer.
    And glory to the Spirit, who by His mighty power has turned our hearts from sin to God. You, God, have now become our covenant-friend, and through your unlimited grace we are your covenant-servants.
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    And now may the covenant we have made on earth be sealed in heaven.
    1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 ESV
    Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
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    Amen
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    Welcome of New Members
    The Church of the Nazarene is a denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. The doctrine that distinguishes the Church of the Nazarene and other Wesleyan denominations from most other Christian denominations is that of entire sanctification. We believe that God calls Christians to a life of holy living that is marked by an act of God, cleansing the heart from original sin and filling the individual with love for God and others.
    The Church of the Nazarene is a Christian Church, a holiness church, a missional church and a Global church. And our mission is to make Christlike disciples in the nations.
    There are 30,875Nazarene churches worldwide in 164 countries. We have 2,616,741, but in a few moments, we’ll have 2,616,745 – and in a couple of weeks, one more.
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    Is membership important?
    · It’s about a covenant
    · It’s about serving (officers, voting …)
    · It’s about accountability and a voice
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    The doctrines upon which the church rests as essential to Christian experience are these:
    We believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
    We emphasize the deity of Jesus Christ and the personality of the Holy Spirit.
    We believe that all humanity is fallen and lost, and they need the work of forgiveness through Christ and the new birth by the Holy Spirit; that subsequent to this there is the deeper work of heart cleansing or entire sanctification through the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and that to each of these works of grace the Holy Spirit gives witness.
    We believe that our Lord will return, the dead shall be raised, and that all shall come to final judgment with its rewards and punishments.
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    Do you heartily believe these truths? If so, answer, “I do.”
    Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and that He is your salvation? Response: I do.
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    Desiring to unite with the Church of the Nazarene, do you covenant to give yourself to the fellowship and work of God in connection with it, as set forth in the Covenant of Christian Character and the Covenant of Christian Conduct of the Church of the Nazarene? Will you endeavor in every way to glorify God, by a humble walk, godly conversation, and holy service; by devotedly giving of your means; by faithful attendance upon the means of grace; and, abstaining from all evil, will you seek earnestly to perfect holiness of heart and life in the fear of the Lord?
    Response: I will.
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    I welcome you into this church, to its sacred fellowship, responsibilities, and privileges. May the great Head of the Church bless and keep you, and enable you to be faithful in all good works, that your life and witness may be effective in leading others to Christ.
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    CLOSING SONG
  • Your Grace Is Enough

      • Jeremiah 50:5ESV

      • Hebrews 9:22ESV

      • Psalm 36:5–10ESV

  • Lord I Need You

      • Matthew 7:13–14ESV

      • 1 John 1:5–2:6ESV

      • Matthew 6:9–13ESV

      • Romans 6:12–14ESV

  • I Will Follow
  • Living Hope

      • 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24ESV

  • House Of The Lord
Sunnyside Church of the Nazarene
office@sunnysidenazarene.com
503-771-3934
http://www.sunnysidenazarene.com
36 members • 11 followers