Living As a Covenant Comm
unityCorene W
Davis
God’s C
ovenants
Care &
Grace
Adam
& E
ve
Blessing
Abraham
Guidance &
Law
Eternal R
ule
God’s C
ovenants
Care &
Grace
Adam
& E
ve
Redem
ption & S
afetyN
oah
Blessing
Abraham
Guidance &
Law
Eternal R
ule
God’s C
ovenants
Care &
Grace
Adam
& E
ve
Redem
ption & S
afetyN
oah
Blessing
Abraham
Guidance &
Law
Eternal R
ule
God’s C
ovenants
Care &
Grace
Adam
& E
ve
Redem
ption & S
afetyN
oah
Blessing
Abraham
Guidance &
Law
Eternal R
ule
Moses
God’s C
ovenants
Care &
Grace
Adam
& E
ve
Redem
ption & S
afetyN
oah
Blessing
Abraham
Guidance &
Law
Eternal R
ule
Moses
David &
Jonathan
God’s C
ovenants
Care &
Grace
Adam
& E
ve
Redem
ption & S
afetyN
oah
Blessing
Abraham
Guidance &
Law
Eternal R
ule
EV
ER
LAS
TING
Moses
David &
Jonathan
JES
US
God’s C
ovenants
Care &
Grace
Adam
& E
ve
Redem
ption & S
afetyN
oah
Blessing
Abraham
Guidance &
Law
Eternal R
ule
EV
ER
LAS
TING
Moses
David &
Jonathan
JES
US
As you arrive,
Take an index card and write this:
1) Nam
e
2) One goal you have for this study
Place your card on table up front.
Welcom
e to M
ission u 2017
Living as a Covenant
Com
munity
Corene D
avis
Study Leader
Session O
ne
God as C
ovenant Maker:
The Covenant of C
are and G
race
Session One G
oals:!
To develop an understanding of the meaning of
“covenant” from our personal understanding, the H
ebrew
words, and from
traditional and contemporary Jew
ish com
munity understandings
!To explore covenant m
aking as God’s w
ay of establishing a relationship w
ith humanity through the biblical accounts of
God, creation, and Adam
and Eve.
O
UR GO
D IS AN AWESO
ME G
OD
https://youtu.be/M3I0gv_xp1A
Overall goals of the study -
To see G
od as:
Covenant maker
Covenant keeperCovenant equipper
Introducing ourselves
What would you like to be called?
A definition or experience of “covenant”
in your own life
Classroom Covenant
Listen to understand, not to respondG
ive everyone a chance to respondM
ake “I” statements
More?
Two H
ebrew w
ords with covenant m
eanings:
berit
h – traditionally referred to covenant that signified agreem
ent between tw
o parties
hesed – (less frequent use) is the kindness or
graciousness of God tow
ard humanity in
establishing a relationship
Journaling our thoughts to the first covenant (G
enesis 1:26-28, 31)
Consider the second aspect of this first covenant in light of the tem
ptation. (G
enesis 3, particularly verses 4-5)
What do you think w
as going through the minds of
Adam and Eve (the com
munity), w
hen they were in
the midst of this w
onderful creation?
What is the difference betw
een being created “reflecting G
od’s nature” and the voice of temptation
saying, “You’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be
just like God.” W
hat does the experience tell us about hum
an nature? Did Adam
and Eve create a crisis w
here there did not have to be one?
Imagine being a part of that first covenant
comm
unity: Put yourself in the minds of Adam
(“she gave it to m
e”) and Eve (“the serpent seduced m
e”). Can you develop some additional
justifications for their response to the serpent? W
hy did they choose to eat from the tree of
knowledge? W
hy did they want to be just like
God? D
oes anything like that ever happen to us as a com
munity or as individuals?
The Covenant Com
munity Today
What m
ight be some sim
ilarities between the author’s experience and that of Adam
and Eve? (page 30)
The Covenant Com
munity Today
Work in pairs to share sim
ilar stories from your own
faith journeys, mom
ents of crisis that led to depending upon yourselves rather than on the
promises of G
od.
Work in two groups
Group 1 – develop a list of positive exam
ples of UM
W and
other covenant comm
unities’ work on current crises like
climate change.
Group 2 – recall contem
porary experiences and make a list
of the hard places/opportunity mom
ents for covenant m
aking stewardship as reflected in G
enesis 3, where there
is a temptation to follow
our own know
ledge rather than listening for the guidance of G
od.
(Refer to Appendix A for assistance)
Develop your ow
n brief covenant, w
riting “psalms” from
your conversation together. (See Appendix C)
Write “psalm
s” reflecting:
➢Praise for the care and grace of our covenant
God.
➢Com
plaint about the difficulty of the task of obedience in the m
idst of fear and crisis.
➢Praise for the joy of “reflecting G
od’s nature” in our responsibility for the care of creation.
Light the covenant candle(s), add water to the
covenant container, form a circle.
O
ur God Is An Awesom
e God
(TFWS, #2040)
Guide for closing prayers:
(Praise) I waited patiently for G
od…
(Nam
e your own exam
ples of blessings, personal and com
munal)
(Complaint) Troubles surround us…
(N
ame the tem
ptations and challenges of the covenant com
munity you identified)
Save us, God. Com
e quickly. We are needy and
need help. (N
ame a second praise about the joy of the
responsibilities for the care of creation and the work for
social justice.)
God, you are m
y guide; God, you are m
y God.
Please act right away. H
elp us. (O
ffer a prayer of thanksgiving for beginning this work
together and for our covenant-making G
od.)
Am
en.
G
etting ready for the next session:
Half the class will read the Noah texts – Gen. 6:5-13 and G
en. 6-9:17
Half the class will read the Abraham texts – G
en. 12:1-7; Gen. 15:1-6; G
en. 16-17
Also read chapters 2 and 3 of the text
Session Tw
o
Covenant-K
eeper God and
Faithful and Obedient
Covenant P
eople: The C
ovenant of Redem
ption &
Safety and the C
ovenant of B
lessing
Session Two Goals:
! To learn how
God expands the covenant
relationship in periods of crisis and fear for the covenant com
munity.
! To consider the im
portance of great trust and acts of faithfulness by the covenant com
munity.
G
reat Is Thy Faithfulness“G
reat is Thy faithfulness,” O G
od my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;Thou changest not, Thy com
passions, they fail notAs Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
“G
reat is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by m
orning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto m
e!
Listening to the Biblical Texts: G
roup 1 – Noah: The Covenant of Redemption and Safety
(Gen. 6:5-9; 8:20-22; 9:1-16)
Group 2 – Abraham
: The Covenant of Blessing (Gen.
12:1-3; 15:5-6; 17:3-14)Review the total story. M
ake notes on attitudes and responses. Create a m
onologue or dialogue about the character’s response to G
od’s covenant blessings.
The Covenant Comm
unity Today
Share personal experiences of trying to live the covenantal life – personal crises and crises of faith that are sim
ilar to Noah (the storm
s of our lives) and Abraham
(the unknown).
Then think about the situations facing today’s covenant com
munities that require obedience and
faith. (See Appendix A)
Three large murals of our experiences:
1.Situations that feel like evil all around and the uncertainty in the m
odern world.
2.Signs of the rainbow, of G
od’s covenant, in the faith experience of your com
munity.
3. Ways in w
hich the covenant comm
unity can be a “rainbow
” or an “ark.”
Questions to help us reflect on
“rainbow” or “ark” experiences:
a. What are the actions of the com
munity of
justice? b.W
here is God calling the com
munity to
challenge the status quo? c. W
here has the covenant comm
unity become
stuck? d.W
hat risks need to be taken (See Appendix A)
Light the covenant candle(s), add water to the
covenant pitcher, form a circle.
Use the three lists w
e just made to create a
prayer. Follow
ing each individual prayer, the comm
on response w
ill be, “God, your servants are
listening.” At the end, all will say, “A
men.”
Sing Trust and Obey
(UMH, #467)
Getting ready for the next session:
Review Chapter 4 and Exodus 19-20
Session Three
God the E
quipper and G
od’s Covenant N
ation: The C
ovenant of G
uidance and Law
Session Three Goals:
! To increase understanding of the law
s handed dow
n by Moses.
! To ponder the relevance of the
comm
andments and law
s to our lives today.
What Does the Lord Require
of You(TFW
S, #2174)
Opening W
ords(in unison)
I am the Lord your G
od, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before m
e” (Exodus 20:2-3).
“You shall love the Lord your God w
ith all your heart, and w
ith all your soul, and with
all your mind, and w
ith all your strength…
’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other com
mandm
ent greater than these” (M
ark 12:30-32).
Covenant PollDo Christians need the com
mandm
ents?
List the crises facing the covenant com
munity from
Exodus 19
Use Lectio D
ivina
Listen to these passages with eyes closed. Listen to
these comm
andments several tim
es, with a pause in
between, focusing on and w
riting down w
ords or ideas that resonant w
ith you:
Exodus 20:2-3
Deuteronom
y 6:5 E
xodus 20:7
Discuss Loving G
od: (C
omm
andments 1-3)
How
does an individual live up to this comm
and?
What are som
e examples of w
hat it might m
ean?
Is it about acts of worship or acts of justice?
Discuss Loving G
od: (C
omm
andments 1-3)
What are the tem
ptations for idol worship that
represent barriers to being able to faithfully respond to the com
mandm
ents, such as the idols of privilege and w
ealth and education and nationality and race?
How
well are w
e really doing at loving God?
Discuss B
eing a Good N
eighbor: C
omm
andments 4-10 (U
se Appendix A
)
In Second Testam
ent terms, com
mandm
ents 4-10 are about loving others.
The Praxis of E
conomic
and Environm
ental Justice for a Nation
In groups, consider these scriptures:
Leviticus 25:1-7 S
abbatical Year
Leviticus 25:8-9 Jubilee Year
Design a m
ural to reflect on how these law
s build econom
ic and environmental justice.
Light the covenant candle(s), add water to the
covenant pitcher. Q
uietly reflect: What is the response of the
covenant comm
unity regarding the challenges represented on our m
urals?
Share out loud som
e of your reflections on: W
hat is the response of the covenant comm
unity regarding the challenges represented on our m
urals?
…A
nd thanks be to God, the Covenant Keeper,
who show
s us how to be a blessing to our
comm
unity and receive a blessing from the
comm
unity. Am
en.
W
hat Does the Lord Require of You(TFW
S, #2174)
G
etting ready for the next session:
Read Chapters 5 and 6 of the text.
2 Samuel 7:1-17; Jerem
iah 31, Chronicles 17, Psalm
89:3-4, 1 Samuel 18-20,
Acts 10:34-43, and Philippians 2:1-5
Session Four
Covenant-Fulfilling G
od and G
race-Filled Covenant
Com
munity:
The Covenants of E
ternal R
ule, Everlasting
Friendship, and the E
verlasting Covenant
Session Four Goals:
! To understand G
od’s Covenant of Eternal Rule w
ith David
à To review the Covenant of Everlasting Friendship
between D
avid and Jonathan
à To consider how the m
inistry and life of Jesus represent the fullest articulation of G
od’s relationship w
ith the covenant comm
unity in the Everlasting Covenant
Lord I Lift Your Nam
e on High(TFW
S, #2088)
Listening to the Biblical TextsW
orking in two groups !
1) The Covenant of Eternal Rule: God’s Covenant
with D
avid
2 Sam. 7:1-17
2)Covenant of Friendship between D
avid and Jonathan
I Sam
. 18-20
David did not m
eet his personal goal…
…to build the tem
ple.
How
important are the buildings and
structures of the church? M
ight David have had w
hat the author described as “the dark night of the soul” – a sense of frustration at not being able to com
plete the temple him
self? Have you
ever felt that way?
David did not m
eet his personal goal…
“As a people, the church is really not a place to w
hich we go but the dynam
ic comm
unity that actively reaches out in Christ’s love to the needy and underprivileged of our society” (chapter 5).
Considering David’s Covenant of Everlasting Friendship with Jonathan
What can w
e learn from the elem
ents that sym
bolized the friendship between D
avid and Jonathan – the exchange of arm
or, the exchange of nam
es, and the willingness to sacrifice?
Can you think of a time w
hen you have been asked to enter into such a radical friendship?
W
hat would be contem
porary examples w
hen such a radical friendship is called for or w
hen political rivalries, and conflicts of pow
er and privilege, create situations of injustice? Is there anything in the relationship betw
een D
avid and Jonathan that seems sim
ilar to the sacrifices m
ade by Jesus?
Listening to the Biblical Texts
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Pause
What w
as the context into which Jesus w
as born?
How did Jesus fulfill the covenants?Exam
ples of Jesus’ covenantal actions:
Care—
e.g., the healing of the blind man
Grace—
e.g., the promise of grace in the gift of the H
oly Spirit R
edem
ptio
n—e.g., w
oman possessed by dem
ons
Safety—
e.g., calming the storm
Ble
ssin
g—e.g., creating a new
social order that overturns oppression
of the money changers in the Tem
ple G
uid
ance—
e.g., Beatitudes E
ternal r
ule—
e.g., a new understanding of pow
er in relationships: the tax collector and the rich, young ruler
Testim
ony of the Covenant Fulfilling Activity of Jesus
“I am a w
itness to the goodness of God…
”
Give a one m
inute testimony of the covenant-
fulfilling activity of Jesus, beginning with the
above words.
The M
eaning of the Covenant Today: Exploring the Power of Living in the Covenant
Using P
hilippians 2:1-4
Pause to quietly reflect
What w
ould putting your neighbor first look like?
Write your personal covenant com
munity
comm
itment (including w
hen, where, and how
often) based on insights from
the study including com
mitm
ents to prayer, advocacy, intentional grow
th and comm
unity life.
Light the covenant candle(s), add water to the
covenant pitcher.
Share comm
itments.
Closing Litany in unison:W
esley’s Covenant Prayer (adapted)W
e are no longer our own, but yours.
Put us to what you w
ill, Place us w
ith whom
you will.
Put us to doing, put us to suffering. Let us be put to w
ork for you or set aside for you,
Litany continued…Praised for you or criticized for you. Let us be full, let us be em
pty. Let us have all things, let us have nothing. W
e freely and fully surrender all things to your glory and sacrifice. A
nd now, a w
onderful and holy God,
COVEN
AN
T MA
KER, COVEN
AN
T KEEPER AN
D
COVEN
AN
T EQU
IPPER,
Litany continued…A
nd now, a w
onderful and holy God,
COVEN
AN
T MA
KER, COVEN
AN
T KEEPER AN
D
COVEN
AN
T EQU
IPPER, You are ours, and w
e are yours. So be it. A
nd the covenant, which w
e have made
on earth, Let it also be m
ade in heaven. Am
en.
The Sum
mons
(TFWS, #2130)
Benediction(unison)
“Now
to [God] w
ho by the power at w
ork within
us is able to accomplish abundantly far m
ore than all w
e can ask or imagine, to [G
od] be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. A
men.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)