[14] I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, [15] if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. [16] Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
(1 Timothy 3:14-16)
The Scriptures teach us that the Church is the family of the Living God and is His vehicle by which He is advancing His kingdom in the world. The church is often described as an outpost of the coming Kingdom, giving a glimpse of what the future reign of Christ will be like when the King returns. We have a high calling to be the best glimpse of this future Kingdom that we can be as an outpost of our King’s Kingdom and as His family on earth. We “covenant” together at IDC to hold each other accountable to this sacred calling, which is why we take local church membership and involvement so seriously.
In light of this, we want annually to renew our commitment to one another through our church covenant. First, the Elders want to publicly remind ourselves and our people of our commitment to shepherding our people. We believe that our responsibility is a weighty one as we have been called to “Pay careful attention…to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). Second, we want to remind our people of their commitment to one another and Imago Dei in our church covenant. We believe this renewal and reminder will help us stay focused on being a strong outpost of our King!
The Imago Dei Church Covenant
• Covenant Renewal Sunday: We will renew the covenant together during our Corporate Worship times (9 & 11am) on March 9th. During our Corporate Worship gatherings we will review the covenant and sign them again demonstrating our renewed commitment to IDC, to one another, and to the Mission.
• Fasting and Prayer: We are asking our covenant members to commit the week leading up to the 9th (March 2-9th) to prayer and fasting.
• Fasting: Fasting is a time where we can consider our dependence on God, who alone provides from His gracious hand. In fasting, we are reminded that there should be nothing in this world we desire more than God and that He is better and more vital to us than our daily bread. And so we hope that our members will consider a time of fasting leading up to renewing the covenant. This does not mean that we think everyone should go without food for the week, but just find one or two things to abstain from that week (whether it be coffee, coke, TV, etc). It can be very helpful to replace whatever you are fasting from with a time of prayer and Scripture reading.
• Prayer: We are asking our covenant members to pray over the things that you commit to in the covenant leading up to the 9th individually, in groups, and in Growth Groups. It is our desire that this would lead us to be a community of well-equipped missionaries and passionate worshipers of Christ that are seeing His kingdom advance throughout our city and the nations! Below are some prayer requests to help guide you. May the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us!
Prayer Topics:
Pray…
• That we would be more intentional and passionate missionaries and disciple-makers
• That God would provide relationships daily whereby we can share the gospel that changed us
• That we would be more committed to serving one another in whatever significant and seemingly insignificant ways we can
• That we would delight in our times of corporate worship and that we would be changed by them
• That we would be intentional about building relationships in our Growth Groups
• That we would joyfully submit to our leaders (pastors and Growth Group leaders) and pray for their wisdom, holiness, and guidance
• That we would be generous and sacrificial with our time, giftings, and finances
• That we would be committed to greater unity in the body and not be gossips or those that stir up division (and that we would have the courage to stop gossip and divisive talk when we hear it)
• That we would delight in the Scriptures and seek to be changed daily by them
• That we would continually be conformed into the image of Christ through Spiritual Disciplines and that we would be more committed to prayer in 2014 recognizing that it is a gracious gift to communicate with the Triune God
• That we would grow as disciples this year in loving God with our mind, heart, and soul
• That God would continue to form gospel families in our midst with sacrificial men who lead, godly women who are helpmates, and obedient children who are raised in nurture and care of the Lord
• That God would be gracious to allow us to plant churches all over the world, nationally and internationally and that the Elders would have wisdom of who and when to plant
• That God would continue to multiply Growth Groups and Growth Groups leaders who serve our body
• That God would show us more avenues by which we can engage the PEACE Plan: individually, as a Growth Group, and as a Church
• That we would value human life, seek justice for the oppressed, and care for the fatherless
• That God would glorify Himself by adding to our number daily those who are being saved and changed by the gospel