Sunday
10/20/19 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “A New Covenant”
Old Testament
Scripture: Jeremiah 31:27-34
New Testament
Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Gospel Lesson: Luke
18:1-8
Welcome again,
friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, on this our Nineteenth Sunday after
Pentecost. Nineteen Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved in Jerusalem on the day
of Pentecost, and the Christian Church was born.
An important part of both the Christian faith and the Jewish
faith, is that of “Covenant”. When we take communion or the Lord’s Supper in
church, often when we drink off or dip the bread in the cup, we first hear the
words in the communion liturgy that say:
“this
is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the
forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (UMC Hymnal,
pg. 14).
So we hear in the communion or the Eucharistic liturgy that
Jesus’ blood is a new “Covenant” with us.
Well just what exactly is a “Covenant” then, and why are
they significant for us? According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a
covenant is:
1. “A usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement: COMPACT”.
2a. “A written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or
more parties especially”.
2b. “The common-law action to recover damages for breach of such a
contract” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/covenant).
So, according to the Merriam-Webster
online dictionary, a “Covenant” is a binding agreement, or a compact. It can be
written under seal between two or more parties.
A few weeks ago for example, our
church Pastor Parish Relations Committee or PPRC met to prepare for our Sunday
December 1st Charge Conference or annual meeting. As part of the
preparation for our Charge Conference, I presented to the PPRC, my sense of
calling to serve this church, and I recommended that I stay serving as the
pastor of the Sidney United Methodist Church well into the future. The PPRC
also recommended that I stay.
An annual form that we also had to
fill out together, as the Pastor and the PPRC committee, was our annual “Covenantal”
agreement. There’s that word “Covenant”. This agreement is of course between
myself, as the pastor of this church, and the PPRC which represents the people
of this church. You see, together every year we make a “Covenant,” or an
agreement, or a compact. This “Covenant” is what our goals, our mission, and
our plans for the coming year will be. Where is God calling us, and where is
God calling our church? Through prayer and discernment, we created a “Covenant”
to follow God’s leading together. As part of this “Covenant,” we get to hold
each other accountable, there are expectations of me, of the PPRC, and of the
church. We are making an agreement to go forward together.
Throughout the bible, God made “Covenants,”
or agreements, or pacts. God made a “Covenant” with Noah that He would never
again flood the earth. God made a “Covenant” with Moses, and gave him the
Ten-Commandments and the Law. God made a “Covenant” with King David, and told
King David that his lineage would rule forever, as Jesus Christ is a descendent
of King David.
In our communion or Eucharistic
liturgy, we hear the words that Jesus told his disciples about a “New Covenant”
being established with him. Jesus says that unlike the “Covenants” of old, like
with Abraham, Noah, Moses, King David, and etc. that the new covenant that he
establishes with us, is forever and eternal.
At the Last Supper, when we were given
Holy Communion, the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, Jesus formally made a “New
Covenant” with his disciples and all of humanity that are willing to accept
Christ. Through his broken body and his shed blood, we can enter into eternal
salvation, and be connected to him forever.
My sermon title for this morning, as
is turns out, comes to us not from the New Testament, but rather from the Old Testament.
For the Prophet Jeremiah predicted the coming of Jesus Christ centuries before Christ.
Let’s look again at the scripture from the Prophet Jeremiah for this morning. It
says once again in 31:27-30:
“The
days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel
and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. And
just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow,
destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says
the Lord. In those days they shall no longer say: “The
parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” But all shall die for
their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge”
(Jer. 31:27-30, NRSV)
Jeremiah is saying, that God is going to do sometime new and
huge one day. There will be judgment, but something new is coming. The Prophet Jeremiah
then says once again:
“The days are surely coming, says
the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made
with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land
of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says
the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I
will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know
the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of
them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and
remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:31-34,
NRSV).
The Prophet Jeremiah is saying, that a
bigger and a greater “Covenant” with God is coming. This “Covenant” is going to
be greater than the “Covenant” that God made with Moses and the Jewish people,
as well as all other previous “Covenants”. This “Covenant” will be all encompassing,
unique, and eternal. This “Covenant” will be written on our hearts and through
this “Covenant” our sins, our wrong doings, and our brokenness will be
forgiven.
This “New Covenant” is of course the “Covenant”
that we have been offered through Jesus Christ. We are offered through Jesus,
forgiveness, love, hope, and new life. When we submit ourselves to Christ, ask
for his forgiveness, we become a new creation in him. Our problems don’t
instantly just go away, but our sin does. This “New Covenant” cleanses us spiritually,
and gives us new life, love, hope, and salvation, to be able to better face the
very hard and the real realities that are in our lives.
In his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle
Paul further reminds us of this “New Covenant,” or agreement in Christ. He says
in our reading from 2 Timothy for this morning once again:
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly
believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have
known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful
for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so
that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good
work”
(2 Tim. 3:14-17, NRSV).
The
Apostle Paul is telling Timothy and us to hold fast to our faith and the truth
in Jesus Christ, but also he telling us that the scriptures, the Bible, is God’s
word. We might struggle at times with God’s word, but don’t ignore it, for it speaks
to us the truth of God in Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul then concludes this
reading from 2 Timothy once again by saying:
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the
living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly
urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or
unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in
teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound
doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers
to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and
wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the
work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully”
(2 Tim. 4:1-5).
The Apostle Paul is telling Timothy
and us, that our faith is firmly built forever upon Jesus Christ, who has made
a “New Covenant” with us. The Apostle Paul is saying to Timothy, don’t change
the faith, and don’t water it down, for the world is aching and hurting.
This aching and this hurting world needs
to know they are loved and forgiven. This world needs people who care, who feed
the hungry, care for the innocent, go on missions, gives, and serves the unfortunate.
Christ came to die for us, set us free, and to teach us a new and a radical way
of living and loving. The Apostle Paul is saying that through the power of the Holy
Spirit that this is the life blood of the church. Love boldly, and proclaim the
great love of Jesus Christ, for it and it alone is the hope of the world.
In our gospel lesson for this morning,
Jesus once again tells the parable or the story of the widow and the unjust
judge. Let’s hear again what this scripture has to say this morning:
“Then
Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to
lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God
nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to
him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused;
but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for
anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so
that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord
said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to
his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping
them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son
of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk. 18:1-18, NRSV).
As Christians, followers
of Christ, we are new creations. We are people that seek to love, care, help,
and pursue justice. We are called to love and follow Christ, and in doing so,
we are called love and deal fairly with people. When there are those who cry to
Jesus for help, we can help them. When there are those being treated unfairly,
we can speak and help them. Our “New Covenant” with Jesus Christ is more than
just a saving transaction through the blood of Christ, it is also a way of living.
We are therefore, called to continually live and become like Jesus Christ. In
doing this we are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, to love, to
care, to give, to be unsettled by a broken world, as to move us to action. This
action will help us to transform Sidney and the world.
For if we have a made “New Covenant” with Jesus Christ,
then Christ expects all of us to live for him. When we take Holy Communion or
the Lord’s Supper, we are reaffirming this “New Covenant” with Christ. We are
forgiven, restored, loved, cared for, and renewed. We must then share that love
and hope with others. We must do our part with God’s help to make Sidney and
the world better, for this is part of our calling of the “New Covenant” in Jesus
Christ.
In closing this morning, I
want to tell you a story about a very important “Covenant” in my life. This “Covenant”
is my marriage “Covenant” with Melissa. A little over 15-years ago now, Melissa
and I got married.
About a week before we got
married, while I was excited, I did get a little nervous about the wedding. To
get some advice, I called my Grandpa Harold. In calling my Grandpa Winkelman,
he congratulated me on getting married. I then asked him if he was nervous
before he got married. He quickly replied, “Heck no!” I said really grandpa? He
then said, “I wasn’t worried a bit at all”. I then said, “Well grandpa what was
your wedding day like?” He then said, “Well I will tell you this Paul, it was
the best day of grandma’s life!” To which, my Grandma shouted, “Harold! Don’t
tell Paul things like that!”
So Melissa and I’s wedding day
arrived. It was September 4th, 2004. It was a beautiful day, and I was
a little nervous. I mean after all, I was entering into a “Covenant” that would
last the rest of my life. This meant that this “Covenant” would last my whole
life, or until Melissa got mad and killed me!
When then began the wedding ceremony. About
half way through the service, and very early I might add, I said “I do!” In
response I heard, “We’re not up to that part yet kid!” I then later in the
wedding service said “I do” again. This is known as the “Double I Do”. Did I agree
to marry Melissa? Yes, twice in fact.
Well why did I do this? Two reasons. Reason
number one, I was nervous. Reason number two, I wanted to get this “Marriage Covenant”
together before Melissa came to her senses and ran for the hills!
This “Covenant” that Melissa and I have,
hasn’t always been easy, but it is a “Covenant” that has and will endure. It
will endure until I die, or until Melissa gets made and kills me!
The “New Covenant” that we are offered
by Jesus Christ, is eternal and never ending. It was predicted, it came, and it
will always be.
Friends, the day I met Jesus Christ,
my life changed forever. I realized that I was forgiven, loved, renewed, and
restored. Everything that I am, everything I do, everything I am able to be, is
from Jesus Christ, and Melissa, and my family.
When we turn away from anger, shame,
hopelessness, selfishness, and pride, Jesus is there to make a “New Covenant” with
us.
Put your trust in Christ, surrender to him, and be renewed in his love. For
this is the power and the hope of the “New Covenant”. Amen.
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