SPECIAL DAYS: Worship after the manner of the Pilgrims

November 22, 1998 - LESSON: Jeremiah 31:31-36, KJV

SERMON TITLE: A Covenanted People

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INTRODUCTION:

1. Reading and Exposition of Scripture
1. Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
2. Jeremiah 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
3. Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
4. Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
5. Jeremiah 31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
6. Jeremiah 31:36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

The Old and New Covenants

Like pointing out the similarities and differences between the photograph of a person and the actual person, the writer of Hebrews shows the connection between the old Mosaic Covenant and the new Messianic covenant. He proves that the Old Covenant was a shadow of the real Christ.

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Sermon: What do we do with our covenant?

1. In today's educational environment where you have to be continually careful to keep from offending anybody, we all might be giving reports like the little fourth grader I heard about who reported on the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday. Here's how he began: "The pilgrims came here seeking freedom of you know what. When they landed, they gave thanks to you know who. Because of them, we can worship each Sunday, you know where."
1. A school text book describes the Pilgrims as people seeking economic freedom with no mention of religion.
2. There is a controversial article in the recent Congregationalist.
1. The first thanksgiving was not in 1621 but in 1623.

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2. Let us fill in the blanks the little fourth grader I heard about who reported on the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday. Here's how he began:
1. "The Pilgrims came here seeking freedom of you know what. (Religion)
2. When they landed, they gave thanks to you know who. (God)
3. Because of them, we can worship each Sunday, you know where." (Church)

MAIN BODY:

1. One of the first activities in which the Pilgrims participated, even before they left the Mayflower was to create one of the most important of human documents.
1. It was controversial, but not among the saints.
2. The controversy was with the strangers.
3. They were determined to know no authority but their own.
4. They were not going to be a part of this religious community.
5. They finally agreed to own the agreement.
1. That agreement is "THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT¹"
2. In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are vnderwritten, the loyall Subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord King IAMES, by the grace of God of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having vnder-taken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian Faith, and² honour of our King and Countrey, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the Northerne parts Of VIRGINIA, doe by these presents solemnly & mutually in the presence of God and one of³ another, covenant, and combine our selues together into a civill body politike, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by vertue hereof to⁴ enact, constitute, and frame such iust and equall Lawes, Ordinances, acts, constitutions⁵, offices⁶ from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the generall good of the Colony: vnto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witnesse whereof we haue here-vnder⁷ subscribed our names⁸, Cape Cod⁹ 11 of November in the yeare of¹⁰ the raigne of our soveraigne Lord King IAMES, of England, France, and Ireland 18¹¹,and of Scotland 54.¹² Anno Domino 1620.⁽¹⁾

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6. This document was produced because there were specific goals and aims that the Pilgrims determined to achieve.
1. True they were seeking freedom from religious and political persecution.
2. True they wanted to worship God as they believed worship was enjoined in the writings of the New Testament.
2. All of these desires and goals can be understood by these words:
1. Koinonia: (2842. koinonia, koy-nohn-ee'-ah; from G2844; partnership, i.e. (lit.) participation, or (social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction:--(to) communicate (-ation), communion, (contri-), distribution, fellowship.)
1. A sense of community, fellowship or esprit de corps that strengthens the body and leads people to actively appreciate and care for each other; also how and why people participate in the community.
2. Koinonia is both a power to support the development of disciples and a sign to society of God's intent that we live in community.
2. Kerygma (2784. kerusso, kay-roos'-so; of uncert. affin.; to herald (as a public crier), espec. divine truth (the gospel):--preach (-er), proclaim, publish.)
1. The proclaiming of the Word, both spoken (preaching) and lived (illustrating the Good News with our lives and deeds).
2. Kerygma is both a source of transforming power to those in the congregation and an impelling force in their encounters with the outside world."
3. Didache : (1322. didache, did-akh-ay'; from G1321; instruction (the act or the matter):--doctrine, hath been taught.)
1. The teaching of the scriptures and stories of faith that are the soil for spiritual growth.
2. The work of didache is to help open up the scriptures, the stories, the lore of the faith so that they are alive and known.

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4. Diakonia: (1248. diakonia, dee-ak-on-ee'-ah; from G1249; attendance (as a servant, etc.); fig. (eleemosynary) aid, (official) service (espec. of the Chr. teacher, or techn. of the diaconate):--(ad-) minister (-ing, -tration, -try), office, relief, service (-ing))
1. The act of serving, "washing the feet," of those who need it, just as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper.
2. Diakonia is the task of servant leadership...primarily outside the congregation-in the community that surrounds the congregation.
5. Plymouth Colony did not have a church covenant as we understand it.
1. This was to be their covenant with God and with one another.
6. Salem Church would be the first church to have a formal covenant.
1. It was created in 1629
2. We covenant with the Lord and one with another and do bind ourselves in the presence of God, to walk together in all his ways, according as he is pleased to reveal himself unto us in his blessed word of truth.
7. We also have a covenant
1. Our first Church covenant was created in 1857.
2. It is, perhaps the most important one we have had.
3. This is because of its comprehensive and specific nature.
1. Professing deep repentance for your sins, you do now, in the presence of God and this assembly, avouch (affirm) the Lord Jehovah to be your God; God the Father to be your father and preserver; God the Son to be your Savior and intercessor; God the Holy Spirit to be your sanctifier and comforter; and the Word of God to be your only rule of faith and practice; and that through the assistance of His spirit and grace, you will cleave to Him as your chief good, that you will give diligent attention to His word and ordinances, to family and secret prayers, and to the observance of His Sabbath; and you do give yourself away to God in an everlasting covenant to love Him supremely, and your neighbor as yourself, and to labor according to your ability for Christ 'till death. You do also covenant that you will walk with this church in all the ordinances of Christ, and in love and charity with its members; and will conscientiously observe its principles and rules, and labor to promote its purity, unity and edification. (Do you thus covenant?)

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3. Our covenant creates endless possibilities for us, both as individuals and as a community of God's faithful people.
1. The baptismal liturgy that we use contains some of those possibilities.
1. In part it reads:
2. Baptism is a visible sign of an invisible event; the symbol of the reconciliation of a person with God. Once we were strangers,⁽²⁾ now we are friends.⁽³⁾ Once we were aliens,⁽⁴⁾ now we are members of the greatest family on earth and in heaven.⁽⁵⁾ Once we were lost, now we are found.⁽⁶⁾ There is great rejoicing in heaven and on earth.⁽⁷⁾
2. We observe and celebrate another Thanksgiving.
1. We are the spiritual ancestors of those earlier Pilgrims
2. What is it that we desire to achieve in this year of our Lord 1998?
3. Do they provide us with a model?
4. Do they provide us with a vision?
5. Do they provide us with a mission?
6. If they do how do we realize it?
7. Why ought we to look back?
1. We are encouraged to remember
2. To Israel God spoke and said:
1. (Isaiah 51:1 NRSV) Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the LORD. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.
3. We also ought to look to the rock from which we were hewn
4. The quarry from which we were dug.

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8. Our Rock is Christ.
9. Our quarry is the past history Pilgrims, from the 1^st century and the 17^th century.
3. Only in covenant relationship with God, one another, and our past will we learn what needs to be maintained, and how it may be maintained..
1. Our faithfulness to our covenant insures that our relationship with God will continue to be healthy and reveal the growth of the Holy Spirit in us.
2. Our faithfulness to our covenant insures that the work of God in our congregation will continue to be healthy, and it will reveal our growth in love with one another.
4. We will have the will and the means to give full witness to the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this place and wherever life shall take us.
4. God help us to faithful, and if we are willing, God will!