03.18.18 Covenant 5: Renewing Wedding Vows

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Read along with Jeremiah 31:31-34.  

 

Included in this podcast: 

1. Prayer for illumination

2. The Epistle reading - Hebrews 5:5-10 

3. The Psalter - Psalm 119:9-16 

4. The Gospel reading - John 12:20-33  

5. Anthem of the day: "Write Your Blessed Name" (Words: Thomas a Kempis/Music: K. Lee Scott) 

6. Old Testament reading - Jeremiah 31:31-34 

7. The Sermon 

8. Hymn "Long Ago God Reached in Love" 

9. Covenant Renewal Service: Renewing Wedding Vows" 

 

Sermon excerpt: 

Jeremiah portrays God as a spouse whose heart has been broken by an unfaithful partner. Though God was faithful to his part of the covenant, the people failed to live up to theirs and so the covenant is broken.

But God is not willing to abandon this broken relationship. Instead he decides recommit to the people he loves. God says, “I will be their God and they shall be my people.” It is God’s own resolve and love for the people that overrides the painful nullification of the covenant.[i] God yearns for an enduring relationship with “this recalcitrant and unresponsive people.”[ii]

 

[i] Texts for Preaching, p. 231.

[ii] Texts for Preaching, p. 231.