Last week I met with my first Bible Fellowship Class to discuss the proposed new covenant and received a favorable reaction; I received a great suggestion and included that change. Please take a look at what I am convinced will give us a timeless document till our Lord should return. I look forward to discussing the covenant with you in the weeks to come. I would like to discuss it with the Single Adults on a Tuesday night. I know that corporate and individual commitment to such what is articulated below will be well pleasing to our Lord and will make us more of the particular and peculiar people God has called us to be.
As of: 1/24/2008
Proposed New Covenant
As a bond of unity among us, Berean Baptist Church
accepts for its members the following covenant:
Having been led by the Holy Spirit to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and upon our profession of our faith in Him, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we do now solemnly and joyfully enter into this covenant with one another as one body in Christ.
We fully realize that the strength to uphold this covenant comes from the grace of God our Father, the shed blood of God the Son, and the power of the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.
We agree to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church's spiritual growth and unity; to faithfully abide by the doctrines and behaviors outlined in this church's Articles of Faith; and to give cheerfully of our time, talents, and finances for the support of this ministry.
We further commit to maintain personal spiritual disciplines; to teach our children the Word of God; to share the gospel with our kindred and acquaintances; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements; and to avoid all gossip. We promise that we will counsel one another in the spirit of brotherly love and that we will pray for and help each other in times of distress.
We promise to endeavor to obey the commandments of our Lord Jesus and to abstain from anything that would cause our fellow brother or sister in Christ to stumble or that will bring reproach to the name of Jesus Christ.
We further realize that if we should fail to live up to the promises we have made, our brothers and sisters in Christ will always strive for our reconciliation and spiritual restoration. However, if we partake in a sustained and unrepentant violation of an Article of Faith, we will be brought under church discipline in accordance with the Church Constitution.
We make this covenant with each other for the express purpose of glorifying God as the visible representation of the body of Christ.
