Convenant Service 2025

I want to ask you a question.

What happens inside of you when you hear the phrase, terms and conditions?

In particular, what happens when you're online and you're trying to do something and suddenly

it flashes up?

Please read and tick the box that says I agree to these terms and conditions.

And you scroll down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down.

And a document that looks about it's the length of the entire contents of Wikipedia and you

tick that box.

A few years ago, the Washington Post reported on a study of how we tend to respond.

When we come across those online, please agree to terms and conditions.

It was an experiment.

Open Wi-Fi was set up in a busy public area.

Signs were put up all over the place and you could get free Wi-Fi.

When connected, all the users or about to be users were presented with the said terms and

conditions, which they had to tick the box before they could connect.

In that small print, as an experiment, they inserted what was referred to as a Herod clause.

This meant that the free Wi-Fi was offered in exchange for full ownership of the user's firstborn child.

And people just ticked and agreed.

A survey found out that 58% of the population would rather read an instruction manual than a set of terms and conditions online.

12% said they'd rather read the phone book from cover to cover.

Interestingly, in 2010, on April Fool's Day, so not an experiment, but just as a prank,

in the UK, in one place, shoppers were tricked in a similar set up with free Wi-Fi

and were tricked into signing away their souls.

Terms and conditions.

Terms and conditions.

Contracts.

Keeping our part of the deal.

Today's the day we're invited to join together in saying the covenant prayer.

And we think about that theme of covenant.

And as I said earlier on in the service, perhaps it's not a word that tends to find its way into everyday conversation that much.

But it's an important word.

It's a word that means so much more than just a contract.

A set of terms and conditions.

The risk of oversimplifying, biblically, when we come across that word covenant,

we need to think not in terms of terms and conditions,

but we need to think in terms of a God who says,

look, this is what I'm doing for you.

This is what I'm giving you.

This is what I want you to have.

I long for you to have.

This is what I'm promising you.

And what I ask is quite simply that you follow me.

To unpack that a little bit more,

I just want to focus in on just a few words

from that passage from Mark chapter 1 that Lorna read for us a moment ago.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

Jesus says at the beginning of his ministry as it's recorded in Mark's gospel,

repent and believe in the good news.

Actually, what I want us to do is focus in not on even all of that sentence,

but just on the first part of that sentence,

where Jesus says, repent and.

See, the word repent, repentance, you've probably heard this said before.

It sort of means stop, but it means something more dynamic than that.

It means change, change direction, turn around.

But interestingly, when we look at that word in the New Testament,

we notice a pattern when it comes up.

Because very often we find that the word is not presented in isolation.

It's repent and something.

Stop, change, and something.

It's as though we need to understand that for repentance to make sense,

or for the sort of response that God invites us to make sense,

if we just look at what we're stopping doing,

what we're changing from,

we can miss the most important thing,

which is not so much what we're changing from and leaving behind,

but what we're walking into.

Repent and.

So Jesus doesn't just say repent.

He says repent and believe in the good news.

Stop doing that stuff.

Leave that behind and believe in this,

because this is just amazing.

This is so much bigger and better and fuller and wider and deeper and richer

than anything else you're going to leave behind.

Think of some other examples.

Think of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the people of God.

The church was born.

Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

People see all of these Christians receive the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit pours into people's hearts,

and it begins to manifest in all sorts of amazing ways.

People start to worship God.

They're falling down.

They're speaking in tongues, in multiple languages.

And quite understandably, who could blame them?

The bystanders, the onlookers, say to Peter after he's preached a sermon,

he says, you know, so what are we to do then?

And Peter says, if you want some of this, repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ

for the forgiveness of sins,

and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

If the Holy Spirit is there, it's on the people.

If you want some of that action, repent and be baptized,

and you will receive the Holy Spirit.

You see, it doesn't stop at the point that you stop and leave behind certain things.

No, that's not the end.

It's the beginning.

Repent and be baptized and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Well, in the next chapter in the book of Acts, we see Peter, again, Peter and John,

they've ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit to a man who could not walk.

He can walk.

He's been healed.

And understandably, people around see this happen.

This guy who's been sat there by the temple begging for years,

and suddenly he's prayed for and he's healed.

And they say, what's going on?

And Peter says, then repent and turn to God,

so that your sins may be wiped out,

that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

If you want the action, yeah, repent, repent, and this will happen.

Most very often in our own lives, maybe we've been followers of Jesus,

trying to follow Jesus, made all the failures along the way,

but maybe for years we've been trying to do this.

We've been Christians.

This is not new stuff to us, but we feel that we've run dry.

We're burnt out.

We're exhausted spiritually.

We long for something new.

You know, these words are just as much for us as they are for anybody.

Because we see in the book of Revelation,

right at the end of the New Testament,

as that revelation is given to John,

and he writes to the different churches,

one particular message that he gives in that book to the church in Ephesus,

is he says, you know, you're a great church.

You're full of great, faithful Christians.

But you've forgotten your first love.

And it says you need to rekindle that first love.

Come back to when you were first knew the transforming power of Jesus.

And it says this in Revelation 2, verse 5,

Revelation 2:5

repent and do the things you did at first.

John Wesley knew that when you came to faith,

you gave your life to Jesus,

that wasn't the end of a process.

It was just the beginning.

That repentance, it doesn't just stand on its own.

It's not just stopping doing certain things,

but it's starting the new life in Christ,

and it never ends.

And so Wesley wrote this.

Bear in mind, this was written quite a few years ago.

He said, yea, and when you have attained a measure of perfect love,

when God has enabled you to love him with all your heart

and with all your soul,

think not of resting there.

That's impossible.

Get this.

He said, you cannot stand.

Still.

When we hear the words repent, stop, change,

we need to hear the and,

and what that means for us.

And sadly for so many, faith dries up.

It gets static,

because we've either forgotten about,

or we've not been told that following Jesus

is not just about a conversion.

It's about an ongoing,

lifelong experience of that repent

and knowing the ongoing power of God's Holy Spirit.

You know, it's not a contract

where we receive the forgiveness of Jesus

and we say, thanks Jesus,

I'll see you in heaven.

But it's an ongoing life changing

that never ends.

Go on being filled with God's Holy Spirit.

Repent.

And.

And each of us is faced with the challenge

of working out what that means for us,

what that looks like for us,

because it will be different

for each and every one of us

as we work out what it is

that God wants us to do

in our daily lives.

To keep on asking,

what is that and for us?

What direction is he calling us into?

What is,

what is he saying to us

in this next

stage of our lives

every single day?

But you know,

perhaps what's even more tragic

is when people don't give Jesus

a chance at all.

Because they look at the message

of Christianity

and they only think of the word repent.

And they only think of stuff

that we've got to stop.

I was saying that story last week

of that teenager I met years ago

when I was a youth worker.

And I'd never forgotten the story

when, you know,

she said,

I'm not a Christian.

And I said,

why aren't you a Christian?

And she said,

well, if you become a Christian,

you can't do stuff.

You see,

repent is important.

There is the change.

There is the turn.

But as important

is the and.

That not so much

what we're necessarily

what we're being called

to leave behind,

but what we're being called

to step into.

It's not just the stop.

It's about the start.

We'll share you one,

one last story.

Tamara,

my wife,

is a music teacher,

freelance music teacher.

Before she did that,

she spent six years

working as a classroom teacher

in primary schools.

That was a long time ago

in a galaxy far,

far away.

I have permission

to share the story

I'm about to share

with you,

by the way.

Well,

sort of.

I think I do.

As a classroom teacher,

she taught across

the different things

that you have to teach,

including sex education.

to year five and six.

And the first time

she did this

in this particular school,

a letter went home

to the parents

and saying

that we're going to be

doing sex education

next week

and the children

are going to be

shown a video.

And if you want

to know more about this

before the lesson,

then please

just come and ask.

Well,

one particular parent

did come and ask

and asked if they

could borrow the video.

This was back in the day

of VHS tapes.

It will give you an idea

of how long ago

this was.

So,

the mum took this

tape home

and watched it

over the weekend.

So,

in case you're interested

in what it was,

in fact,

you need to know

in order for the story

to make sense.

There was a scene

in the video

where there was

a mum and dad

and they got out of bed

one by one

and they walked

with no clothes on

across the landing

to the bathroom

very slowly

and so the commentary

could then describe

the differences

between a man

and a woman

in all their glory.

Well,

Monday morning came

and Tamara's

getting ready

to teach

when a very,

very uptight

and angry

looking parent

clutching a VHS tape

was marching

across the playground

wearing a facial

expression

that's generally

reserved for the

act of swallowing

a wasp.

She was not

a happy bunny.

And we said,

is everything okay?

She said,

no,

everything is not okay.

Slamming the VHS tape

down on the desk.

I've watched this

over the weekend

and frankly,

I am disgusted.

I am appalled.

How could you possibly

show that

to children?

She said,

go on.

I saw this scene

when they get out

of bed

and they walk

along the landing

to the bathroom.

Yeah.

Well,

I'm appalled.

Did you see

the state

of their wallpaper?

not quite knowing

what to say,

Tamara was speechless

but the mum

went on.

And their carpets!

I know some people

live like that

but do we all

have to see it?

Now,

the point of me

telling you that story

and there is one,

maybe there are times

when our attention

is completely

in the wrong place

and we're noticing

completely the wrong things

and we're caught up

in totally

the wrong direction.

What a tragedy it is

when we look at

repent

and believe

the good news.

Repent

and turn to God.

When we focus

just on the repent,

the stop doing this.

And God just longs

for us to see

that yes,

stop doing that.

But,

but,

but if only you saw

how tiny

and pathetic

and trivial

the stuff is

that I'm asking you

to leave behind

in relation,

in contrast

to that which

I want you to step into

and live.

And my prayer

today

for all of us

as we've prayed

in that very dangerous

prayer that we prayed

earlier on in the service

called the covenant prayer

is that our focus

will not be distracted

on the things

that God continually

calls us

to leave behind

and leave them

in our past

and not to go back there

but rather

our full attention

and focus

will be on the

amazing life

that ultimately

lies in eternity

but starts

right here

and right now.

That life

where he just

longs to fill

and go on

filling

in ever greater

measure

with the power

and the strength

of his Holy Spirit.

And the implications

of what that

looked like

will be different

for each one of us

but I can tell you this

it is exciting.

Whatever age

or stage in life

we are at

whatever challenges

or inhibitions

we may face

God's there.

And as long as

we are here

in this world

to quote Billy Graham

God's got a plan

and that will only

ever be exciting.

so let's pray

together now.

Lord thank you

that

though at the

heart of the

gospel

there's

a challenge

to stop

and to change

that the

thrust of your

message

of the good

news

is not what

you're calling

us

not so much

about what

you're calling

us to leave

but what

you are calling

us to step

into.

We thank you

for the excitement

of that.

Lord help us

to open

ourselves

each day

to those

new things

that you

call us

to.

Whatever that

looks like

in our daily

lives.

Open us up

to the power

of your Holy

Spirit.

Help us

to know

that you

have only

the best

in mind

for us.

Forgive us

for those

times when

our view

of life

with you

is so

small.

Lord open

up our

hearts

and our

minds

and our

eyes

and our

ears

to all

that you

have in

store for

us

that we

may live

out

expectantly

the plans

that you

have.

Lord fill

us and

go on

filling us

now

and in

the time

to come.

In

Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.