“In Covenant”

     I don't know if there is anything I dislike more than a broken promise. It is one of the reasons I am so careful in giving my word and making promises, because I don't want to promise something I cannot honor or live into.
     Perhaps one of the reasons I am hurt so deeply by broken promises is because I see them abounding in the world we live in. Broken promises made to children, who are not cared for as they should be. Broken marital vows resulting in divorce. Broken words of trust given to friends, that lead to fractured relationships. As a pastor I see day in and day out the result of broken covenants.
    But on the other hand I also see the abiding covenant of God in our lives through Jesus Christ - the way of the new covenant. I cannot help but think of this covenant every time I come to the table to celebrate communion - one of the signs of the new covenant, the bread and the cup.
   Our churches are entering into new covenants with each other starting this week, based off of the covenant that God made with us through the body and the blood. They boil down to saying that we put Christ at the center of our relationships with one another - not our personal preferences. We uphold what it means to be the Church - even when that may mean stepping back and praying for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. I am extremely proud of PPRC for taking the initiative to craft these covenants, and I hope that as we live into them together over the next year, we strive to keep the promises that we make to God and one another.