Jeremiah 31:31-34 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.
With every end there is a new beginning. As we move into the new year it is a good time to make a yearly renewal of our covenant with God. A covenant is a holy agreement with God ... We will be God's people and God will be our God. We experience the "new" covenant through Jesus Christ.
John Wesley, who was the fiery field preacher who, as a priest, challenged the Church of England to move out of the church and encounter those who were in need, was the "founder" of methodism and required meeting in small groups for spiritual accountability. Many church celebrate the New Year with a Covenant Service during which the people recite this prayer (language updated)
Wesley's Covenant Prayer:
I give myself completely to you, God.
Assign me to my place in your creation.
Let me suffer for you.
Give me the work you would have me do.
Give me many tasks
or have me step aside while you call others.
Put me forward or humble me.
Give me riches or let me live in poverty.
I freely give all that I am
and all that I have to you.
And now, holy God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours.
So be it.
May this covenant made on earth
continue for all eternity.
Amen.
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