Resolution 12/31/2015 (rp)

“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.  If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15

Beloved, I thought I might do something different today.  Being New Year's Eve, we find ourselves on the border of what was and what will be from a calendar driven human perspective.  About this time a couple of years ago, the O'Fallon congregation embarked on a year long theme of Commitment.  That theme was launched by a sermon of preparation about resolutions as it relates to our relationship with God.  The encouragement was to resolve to become (more) committed.

Because it is good for the people of God to be ever mindful of this, I'd like to share that sermon with you today.  The links below should cause your media player to deliver the message to your computer or device.

• Click here for PC
• Click here for IOS (iPhone, iPad, MP3)

Should you have any difficulty with the above links, you can go to www.simplechristianity.com/sermons.htm and access the appropriate link at the sermon title, "Resolved."  I pray that the message will be an encouragement to you.

Have a safe and blessed new year!

Increasing in faith,

Lee

New 1/1/2014

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."  2 Cor 5:17

As we say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new, we are often filled with both optimism and determination concerning our renewed opportunity to start afresh.  We make resolutions to be better than we have been in order to become better than we are.  Whether it is to lead a healthier life, improve relationships, be smarter about finances or even read the bible more, many of us use this time of year as a point of demarcation with hopes of having accomplished our goals this time next year.

Beloved it is a wonderful thing to resolve to be better.  This demonstrates our awareness that we are but fragile creatures who are prone to make mistakes and live beneath our potential.  It is this humility that makes it possible to improve.  Without regard to the time of year, the best example of this is when we became Christians.  We clearly knew that we were outside of where we wanted and needed to be.  When we learned about Christ, each of us was introduced to a way for us to become better.  Through God's grace we were given a chance to become new.  This was not, however, a destination, but the beginning of the journey toward perfection (completion) in Christ.  We are on a path to becoming what we were created to be.

Let us then be mindful of the opportunity we have been given to be made new.  Let us also look not just to the first day of a new year but to every day we wake and draw breath as an opportunity to renew our efforts to please God and spend eternity with Him.  Surely we will become better along the journey.

One,

Lee