Covenant Group-Feb. 3, 2002 Managing our Covenants
Group Business
Check-in
Opening Words-
A covenant is a promise that we make, and strive to keep, in order that our mutual relationship, our "belonging to one another" may be strengthened, and that our lives, so strengthened, may shine with the radiance of all the good which our growing strength empowers us to do.
By their very nature, covenants call us to strive to be better than we are, perhaps even better than we imagine we can be. Because of this, we often fall short, and let one another down. It is wise and well for us not only to renew our commitments to our best hopes but also to attend to those places where we are over stretched, falling short and ask one another for help, encouragement and forgiveness. We make a difference that matters
in the world by making our covenants even though we don’t always know how to live up to them.adapted from Minister’s Musings by Ruth Gibson
Question: What covenants/promises/obligations have you made?
How do you manage your life to honor these covenants and to manage/ prevent conflicts?
How do you prioritize your commitments?
Closing Words
Around us is the world with its confusions and demands. So much is asked, and our own strength fails us. We have made many promises and can’t keep them all. So much is needed from us, and our means seem frail; so much is wrong, and our hope seems fragile. Sometimes we are perplexed by our own behavior: We have not done what we wanted to do and we find ourselves doing the very things that we promised ourselves that we would not do. Yet we belong to a community of faith. Its promise is ever waiting to sustain our lives, bolster our courage, enrich our hopes. May we use its support to find a new way to honor our covenants and bring us peace.