2024 is over. 2025 is here. As we stand here at the beginning of a New Year it is a good time to reflect on the year that is ending and look forward to the year that is soon to begin. It is also a good time for God’s people to take inventory of their walk with the Lord. We should take a very close look at where we are in our relationship with Him. We need to examine ourselves and see where we have been, where we are, and where the Lord wants us to be.
There is something powerful about turning the calendar to a new year. People everywhere feel like this is the moment to turn over a new leaf and make some changes that are, perhaps, long overdue. Join the gym, change your diet, break an addiction, form a healthy habit, read your Bible daily, stay on top of your inbox… whatever personal or professional goal it might be, January seems like the ideal time to start.
I do not want to criticize any New Year resolution, and I wish you well as you embark on change in your life.
However, perhaps we would do well to dwell on something else. Maybe we have lost sight of all that is new for us as Christians. Maybe some of our resolutions are birthed out of frustration and we might be helped by pondering more deeply all that is new for us in Christ.
The days after Christmas involve taking down the tree and the lights. It might mean a few days off from work, or trying to figure out how to pay for Christmas. It probably also means New Year's resolutions, making future plans to diet, or get out of debt, or start a new job or adventure. Is God in your future plans? This sermon focuses on the New Year and a fresh start.
By now you may have the Christmas blues. Christmas, unfortunately, has a way of draining us: the parties, the shopping, the church choir musicals, the visits to family, and the tension that many feel. The New Year, however, has a way of energizing us: new prospects, new dreams, new plans, and the annual resolutions to diet, exercise, get out of debt, and try new things or get better at something. Have you ever stopped to consider how backwards that all sounds?
C.S. Lewis wrote, "The central Christian belief is that Christ's death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start" (The Case for Christianity, p. 46). Christmas should ignite the soul with a passion for God. The New Year invites us to think of new steps, new hopes and plans, including gaining a fresh start in Christ.
Paul in his Letter to the Colossians speaks of the "Son of His love," meaning that Christ in his love and power equips us with the Holy Spirit and his freshness. Paul writes about the church and how it all starts with God. The key in the ignition of the car, the starting line in a foot race, and the blank canvas for a painter - each serves as a starting point. Christ serves as the starting point for a Christian and the Lord's church, and for your prospects for a New Year.
God is promising every one of us a new beginning. God is telling you to stop looking at the past, understand your present, and look up to the future. We can see that new beginning in our lives through the eyes of faith, just look over in faith, and you will find it.
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