Covenant Sunday 2024: What’s your faithful response?

Lieut-Colonel Jayne Roberts introduces Covenant Sunday.

A a covenanted people, we live in relationship with God, and the beginning of a new year offers us an opportunity for reflection and renewal of that commitment.

Living in God’s Covenant – Our Faithful Response is this year’s theme for Covenant Sunday (7 January). A wealth of resources has been prepared to enable everyone to explore the importance of making and keeping covenant. Covenant Cards have been sent out to corps and centres, including adult and child-friendly versions, and are available to download online. A reflective prayer video can also be used to accompany the text on the card. It is a prayer that everyone is invited to make:

Loving Father,
The depth of your unconditional and unceasing love is beyond my understanding, but today I respond to that love.
As your love lives in me, may my thoughts, words and actions reflect you at all times and in every place.
May my soul be a place we meet – where all I am becomes all that you want me to be in heart, mind and spirit.
That in being one with you, I might see you, know you, and show you in every part of my life.
That in me and through me your Kingdom may come now.
May this Covenant of Love draw me deeper and bring others closer to you.

An online video message from our new territorial leaders, Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main, encourages us to reaffirm our commitment to God and make the values of his Kingdom the standard for our lives. Let us remember to pray for our leaders – they are people of prayer who will value our support.

This year we consider some practical ways to make our response to God part of daily life as disciples of Jesus – praying and serving are just two examples that can be unpacked as we celebrate on the day.

Covenant Sunday resources include an exciting invitation to join the new UKI Boiler Room prayer rhythm. You may already be familiar with Prayer Matters, the daily Salvation Army prayer focus, but you are invited to join forces in a new way to pray for The Salvation Army that started on 1 January. We want to pray for renewal in our worship and mission, and we want to pray for the people God is sending us to.

Each day of the week has a theme based on the territory’s mission priorities: Monday is focused on sharing the good news, Tuesday on serving and caring, Wednesday on growing in faith, Thursday on the international Salvation Army, Friday on justice and reconciliation, Saturday on caring for creation and Sunday on Sabbath prayer.

You can use the themes as a general guide for your prayers, or you can use the Prayer Matters prayer calendar to give you a specific prayer request for each day. The important thing about a prayer rhythm is that you pick a time each day to pray, and then get into the habit of doing it.

If you attend a Salvation Army place of worship, this is only an introduction to what Covenant Sunday will hold!

Reflect and respond

• Sign the Covenant Card and keep it in your Bible or prayer journal. Return to it throughout the year.
• Use Prayer Matters to shape your personal prayer rhythm.
• Listen to Laura Rowsell’s adaptation of the song ‘Take My Life and Let It Be’. How can you respond to God’s covenant of love?
• Watch the video message from Commissioners Jenine and Paul. Pray for our new territorial leaders as they seek to serve and minister in the name of Jesus.