On Fresh Starts...and Choices

We stand on the brink of a New Year, with all of the possibilities of a fresh start and the opportunity for yet another new beginning. This is the time of year when we are inclined to make resolutions about what we plan/hope/wish to do in the year ahead, most of which fade as quickly as the fireworks in the sky on New Year's Eve.

For that reason I will not suggest any new "New Year's resolutions," but I will recommend a few choices. We all have decisions before us as to what we will do and who we will be in the year ahead, and those choices will be grounded in the real-life priorities that shape our lives.

As we look back a year from now and evaluate the lives we lived in 2012--assuming of course, that the Mayans were as good at prophecy as they were at maintaining their civilization, and we are still around--whether we will have succeeded or failed will largely be determined by the choices we made. Let's make good choices, to live our lives according to God's will.

Specifically in regard to our church, I am excited and encouraged about what God is doing in the life of our fellowship. There is a fresh wind blowing, no doubt, and I believe God has great things in store for us in the year ahead as we serve Him together. Howeve, we are reminded that "our church" collectively is made up of a bunch of individuals, all of whom have our own choices to make.

With that in mind, I wanted to specifically encourage each of you and your family to commit yourselves to do at least these five things in the New Year:

• Pray diligently. Our church will only be as strong as our prayer lives, as we seek God's direction and His moving in our ministry. We can do what we can do, or we can ask God to do what He does. I prefer the latter. So...let us pray.
• Attend faithfully.Every member of this body needs every other member, both as we gather together for worship on Sundays and as we connect with one another in community in our small groups. So, "let us not forsake assembling ourselves together."
• Serve selflessly. Like Jesus, we're called to serve, more than to be served. Ask God to give you a servant's heart, and then open your eyes for opportunities to use it. See how you can give your life away in the year ahead.
• Reach out compassionately.It is time we regain our passion for seeing lost people saved. They need hope. We have it. Share it.
• Walk humbly with God.Ultimately, that's God's will for all of us, all the time. (Micah 6:8)

Happy New Year to each of you! May the Lord bless you and your family abundantly in the year ahead. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday as we kick off 2012 with a great day of worship together.

--Pastor Ken

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