Purpose and Promise Covenant 

God designed His church family specifically to help you fulfill the purposes He has for you in your life. He created His family to meet your deepest needs: a purpose to live for, people to live with, principles to live by, a profession to live out, and power to live on! There is no other place on earth were you can find all 5 of these benefits in one place. God’s purposes for His church families here are identical to His purposes for you. Worship helps you to FOCUS ON GOD. Evangelism helps you FULFILL YOUR MISSION. Fellowship helps you to FACE LIFE’S PROBLEMS. Discipleship helps you FORTIFY YOUR FAITH. Ministry helps you FIND YOUR TALENTS. Here at New Heights we have a dream and vision to have a family full of brothers and sisters in Christ who fulfill their purposes as they are a part of a living organism, a body, a fellowship… a family.

HEART QUESTIONS:

What do you think are the implications of this phrase, “It’s not about you”?

What do you feel most people’s lives are driven by? What has been the driving force in your life?

What does being part of God’s family mean to you?

How is “being committed to each other as we are to Jesus Christ” different from the way most people understand “fellowship”?

Define the word “community” in your own words:

Define the word “covenant” in your own words:

What do you LOVE to do that you could use to serve others in the family of God?

God designed His church family specifically to help you fulfill the purposes He has for you in your life. He created His family to meet your deepest needs: a purpose to live for, people to live with, principles to live by, a profession to live out, and power to live on! There is no other place on earth were you can find all 5 of these benefits in one place. God’s purposes for His church families here are identical to His purposes for you. Worship helps you to FOCUS ON GOD. Evangelism helps you FULFILL YOUR MISSION. Fellowship helps you to FACE LIFE’S PROBLEMS. Discipleship helps you FORTIFY YOUR FAITH. Ministry helps you FIND YOUR TALENTS. Here at New Heights we have a dream and vision to have a family full of brothers and sisters in Christ who fulfill their purposes as they are a part of a living organism, a body, a fellowship… a family.

The Heart of N.H.C.F….

PURPOSE  : Webster says: to intend, resolve, plan, intention, or aim… the object for which something exists or is done… not accidentally, with a good result of effect! “For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible… everything got started in Him and finds PURPOSE in Him.” (Colossians 1:16) You were born by His purpose and for His purpose. Our life, this church is not about us… the reason why the search for purpose puzzles us and others so often is because we are asking the wrong questions. What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are MY goals, MY ambitions, MY dreams for MY future? But as we have found out… focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purposes! “The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder - a waif, a nothing, a no man!” (Thomas Carlyle)

PROMISE  :  Webster says: an oral or written agreement to do or not to do something, vow… to give a basis for expectation. The Bible is full of promises from God to us. “Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.” (Romans 4:20) Through promises… kept faith and trust grow stronger. As God keeps His promises to us our faith is validated. The same is true of other relationships. Trust and love grow stronger and are validated as those closest to us keep their promises. Kept promises are some of the main ingredients to possessing and experiencing love from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith! “They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves to sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.” (2 Peter 2:19)

FAMILY: “God is the One who made all things, and all things are for His glory. He wanted to have many children share His glory.” (Hebrews 2:10a) You were formed for God’s family. God wants a family, and He created you to be a part of it. The entire Bible is the story of God building a family who will love Him, honor Him, and reign with Him forever. We are all a part of that family here at New Heights.

FELLOWSHIP  : God intends for us to experience life together here at New Heights. The Bible calls this shared experience fellowship. Fellowship is experiencing life together. It includes unselfish loving, honest sharing, practical serving, sacrificial giving, sympathetic comforting, and all the other “one another” commands in the New Testament. Real fellowship is depending on one another. “The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now!”

COMMUNITY: “You can have a healthy robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.” (James 3:18) Community requires commitment. It takes both God’s power and our effort to produce a loving Christian community. You must have frequent, regular contact with your group in order to build genuine community. Relationships take time. “Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another.” Community is built not on convenience but on the conviction that I need it for spiritual health.

COVENANT: Webster says: a binding and solemn agreement to do or keep from doing a specified thing… an agreement among members of a church to defend and maintain its doctrines, polity, and faith. The promise made by God to man, as recorded in the Bible… to promise by a covenant. This word is seen over 300 times in the Bible. “He is the one who has enabled us to represent his NEW covenant. This is a covenant, not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old way ends in death;  in the NEW way, the Holy Spirit gives life.” (2 Cor. 3:6) This one verse sums up our whole commitment through this covenant as we meet in our Christian Fellowship.

You were called to belong, not just believe. We were created for community, fashioned for fellowship, and formed for a family, and none of us can fulfill God’s purposes alone. “And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.” (2 Chron. 15:12) In God’s family you are connected to every other believer, and we will belong to each other for eternity. The Bible says that we are: put together, joined together, built together, members together, heirs together, fitted together, held together, and will be caught up together.  (I Cor. 12:12; Eph. 2:21-22, 3:6, 4:16; Col. 2:19; I Thess. 4:17) In  Romans 12:5 it says, “in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

As we come together in our Christian Fellowship… then we will begin to reach New Heights in our faith and family love and unity. Whenever we become careless about fellowship, everything else begins to slide too. The Bible says, “Love your spiritual family.”  (I Peter 2:17b) Sadly, many Christians use the church but don’t love it. Only in regular contact with ordinary, imperfect believers can we learn fellowship and experience the New Testament truth of being connected and dependent on each other. (Romans 12:4-5; I Cor. 12:25) We each have God given purpose for our lives, our fellowship, and in our eternal family. The Bible says, “As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” As we promise to each other through this covenant, God will bless our family. God has a unique role for you to play in His family… in this family!

In Acts, the Christians in Jerusalem were very specific in their commitment to each other. They were devoted to FELLOWSHIP. The Bible says, “They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.”  (Acts 2:42) The Christian life is more than just commitment to Christ; it includes a commitment to other Christians.

-             I Promise to show God’s special love to real people, not just ideal people. (I Pet. 1:22 TEV)I Promise to strive to fulfill God’s purposes for me in my life and in my fellowship with this family.

-             I Promise to serve in my “family responsibilities” as commanded in the New Testament to love each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, admonish each other, greet one another, serve one another, teach one another, accept one another, honor each other, share each other’s burdens, forgive each other, submit to each other, be devoted to each other, and many other mutual tasks… in my fellowship with my family here @ New  Heights.  (I Pet. 4:10; I Thess. 1:1-2; Luke 14:23; Rom. 15:7)

-             I Promise to support this fellowship with my time, talents, and treasures.  (Phil. 2:3-4,7; I Cor. 16:2; Lev. 27:30)

-             I Promise to satisfy a great commitment to the Great commandment and the Great Commission.

-             I Promise to share my true feelings (authenticity), encourage each other (mutuality), support each other (sympathy), forgive each other (mercy), speak the truth in love (honesty), admit my weaknesses (humility), respect our differences (courtesy), not gossip (confidentiality), and make group a priority (frequency).

-             I Promise to protect the unity of our fellowship here at New Heights, understanding that unity is the very soul of our fellowship, and the heart of Christ’s body. (Rom. 14:19; I Pet. 1:22; Eph. 4:29; Heb. 13:17)

 

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