The 2025 Challenge

If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn to Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

Thank you, Brian.

What a blessing.

It may sound like a sci-fi movie for some of us, but in three days, we're going to bust

into 2025.

Wow.

So let's do it right.

Let's not waste the opportunity.

Because in one way, January 1st is just another day on the calendar.

However, in another way, it is a very special day because it's an opportunity to start afresh.

So I want to give you a challenge today.

I assure you that I challenge myself as well in more ways than I'll mention this morning.

Before me, the Apostle Paul challenged us.

And it's the basis of much of what I have to say.

In Romans chapter 12, beginning in verse 1, it says,

Romans 12 · chapter mention

I want us to look at this passage for just a few moments.

It says,

I want us to look at this passage for just a few moments, and then I want to try to apply it to us.

Any of what I'm going to say about what should happen to us at the beginning of a new year

will only come by the mercy of God.

Grace is often described as not getting what you deserve,

and mercy is getting what you do not deserve.

And none of us deserves to have the opportunity in Christ.

But because Christ went to the cross, all of us have the opportunity to come to Christ.

Christ made the sacrifice that ends all of death sacrifices.

The whole sacrificial system of the Old Testament was just looking prophetically to the need of a Savior

to come who would be the ultimate sacrifice.

Christ does not need us to die for him.

He wants us to live for him, and that's why the Apostle Paul says that we're to be living sacrifices.

We are to present ourselves to him holy.

Holy means that we are to be set apart, set apart for his purposes.

Now, how can we be set apart for his purposes

if we can't find anything in our life that points to how we actually serve the Lord?

If that's the case, it ought to be an eye-opener.

Now, I'll be honest with you.

I'm kind of strange and different

because I don't call this hour that we have together on Sunday morning a service.

I don't like that because in reality,

I believe that it can somewhat confuse us along the way.

We're not serving the Lord by sitting or standing here.

We serve him out there.

We serve him in other capacities through this church.

We're here to worship him,

and that's why I call this a worship hour and not a service hour

because if we don't already have one,

we need to find a way to serve the Lord in a gospel-oriented way.

And just standing and singing his praises is not really service.

Just seeking his face in prayer is not really service.

That's worship.

It's putting him in the proper place.

When this passage speaks of an acceptable one to God,

it also speaks of one being presentable.

So let's make ourselves presentable.

I have always lived away from family all my life.

My dad was in the Air Force, and we traveled,

and my grandparents were always away.

We lived close to one of my grandparents at one time

and 800 miles from the other.

Dad retired.

We moved to South Carolina.

I still had one 800 miles away.

When my grandparents passed, we married and moved around.

We lived close to one set of parents and 500 miles from another,

and then we moved here, and we were 500 miles from them,

and then we moved back there, and then we were 500.

All this stuff always had distance.

And then I left a daughter in Mississippi,

so I'm 500 miles from her.

And so I've always been away from family

and always spent a lot of times vacationing, visiting family.

It's just part of it.

It's what you do.

And when I was a kid, right before you got to where you were going

on these long journeys, you had to get presentable.

And we didn't pull over the side of the road to do it.

We were reckless in those days.

We had a station wagon just laid in the back.

And if something happened, well, it's in the Lord's hands.

Whatever, forget a seat belt.

Who cares, you know?

My brothers would have thrown me in the way,

and I would have been the airbag, I promise you.

But anyway, and my mother, to make us presentable,

would give us spit baths.

And so I'm not talking about getting a spit bath this morning.

I'm talking about being presentable before the Lord.

So how are we presentable before the Lord?

Well, we live for Him.

We live for Him when people's looking.

We live for Him when people are not looking.

We do what pleases Him.

We say what pleases Him.

We think about what pleases Him.

We ponder on what pleases Him.

That's how we worship Him in an ongoing way,

and that's how we prepare for corporate worship together as a family.

We set our lives apart for His purposes,

and we live to please Him.

And then Paul takes the next step in verse 2

and says that we are not to act like the world.

Folks, the world's going nuts.

And I'll tell you why.

They need Jesus.

People need the Lord.

They don't know who they are.

They don't even know what they are, quite honestly.

And they don't know what they believe.

And it's very common for even self-professed Christians

to claim part of God's Word,

especially in the polarizing atmosphere that we're in the world today.

I want you to listen to what I'm about to say.

They claim, self-professed Christians claim part of God's Word,

but they distance themselves from other parts of God's Word.

They claim the parts they like.

And when they don't like what it says,

they dismiss that as not as important as the other

or even not important or even bias.

And if we spend our time taking in that nonsense,

which is what it is,

we will conform to the pattern of this world.

We'll just look like the world.

We won't look set apart for the Lord's purposes

because we won't be set apart for the Lord's purposes.

Like a cow to the slaughter,

we'll just follow the tail in front of us

as we march toward our demise.

And so I just want to say as the New Year is upon us,

let's be better than that.

I mean, let's do better than that.

Let's allow the Holy Spirit to transform our minds

and allow the temptations that we face

to merely be tests,

that helping us to sharpen our skills

and living for the Lord.

In school, I always hated getting ready for tests.

I hated it.

It'll ruin an afternoon trying to get ready for a test.

I mean, it will.

But in that preparation,

I learned at least some of the material.

I got it, you know,

at least enough to remember it

to get it on a sheet of paper

and then I could forget it again.

That was what happened to me too often.

Don't let the difficult times in life,

the tempting times that often lead to compromise,

go wasted.

Learn from them.

Prepare for them.

And when those opportunities come to say no,

say no to what's wrong.

Say yes to what's in Christ

and be stronger at it.

Listen, every time you tell the devil no

to a temptation,

I don't mean directly talk to him,

I just mean walk away from the temptation

and don't do it.

But every time you do that,

you get stronger for the next one.

Now, he comes back,

I spent a whole quarter talking about

how he'll resist the devil

and he'll flee from you,

but he'll come back.

But instead of him getting a stronghold

or a foothold on you,

you can get stable grounding yourself

and walk out of that.

Now, some of us need to hear this morning

that a new year is a great time

for us to be reminded

that we can walk out of the messes

that we put ourselves in.

We can walk out of the habits

that we've developed in our lives.

It's time to stop it.

It's time to resist it

and let him flee from us

and move forward

from this day forward.

And so on that basis,

I want to challenge you

with seven challenges.

I know that scares you to death.

Just hold on.

You're all right.

New Year's not for three days.

We got time.

I want to challenge you

for 2025 with seven challenges.

For some people,

they need to heed all seven.

Others of us,

maybe only one.

But all of us can do something

in the 2025 challenge.

First one is this.

Commit totally.

Totally.

And what I mean by that is

surrender your life to Christ.

The greatest fear I have in ministry

is that there are some

that hear me again and again and again,

week after week,

and never commit their life

to the Lord Jesus.

They've never truly surrendered

to the Lord.

They've never asked the Lord

to forgive them of their sins.

They've never asked the Lord

to wash them clean.

In reality,

even though they may be

a member of a church

and may hold position in a church,

they've never surrendered their life

to the Lord Jesus Christ.

They've never become a Christian.

And I want to be clear.

You can come to church every Sunday

and you can die and go to hell.

Your attendance here is appreciated.

But it is not an eternal security

by any means.

The only hope you have

is in the sacrifice

of the Lord Jesus Christ

and in the new life

that he has given to us

when we surrender our lives to him.

And now's the time.

There's no need for you

to continue to put off

making a decision

to follow the Lord Jesus.

I want you to nail that down.

There is a common fallacy

that if we align ourselves

with a church

and if we align ourselves

with the beliefs of a church

and we sign in

to some kind of confession

or we complete some class

that somehow we're covered.

And I've had people tell me

again and again

that they've done such as that

in churches

but no one has ever

asked them personally

if they've ever surrendered

their life to Christ.

And so I'm telling you

if you're here this morning

and you've never given

your heart and life

to the Lord Jesus Christ

go no further.

Don't leave this room.

As soon as we close

if you're watching online

call me.

Let's get it down.

Don't wait until 2025.

Walk into 2025

a born again believer in Christ

assured of your walk with Him.

Commit totally.

Second thing is

step forward.

And this speaks of

a larger pool of people

no pun intended.

The first step

to Jesus' public ministry

was that He went

to John the Baptist

and got baptized.

That was His first step.

Baptism is

a Christian act

that is a physical representation

of what God does

in us spiritually

when He saves us.

He cleanses us

and the old is gone

and the new has come.

So why did Jesus do that?

Why was He baptized?

Jesus never sinned.

Jesus didn't need salvation.

He was not born in sin

like the rest of us.

Why did He need to publicly

acknowledge that?

Why?

He was baptized

by John the Baptist

and submitted Himself to that

to identify with us

because Jesus relates to sinners.

He also did it

as an example for us.

And then He closes out

His ministry

by telling us

in the Great Commission

His final words

to baptize folks

that come to Him

in the name of the Father,

Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In other words,

baptism is the bookends

of Christ's ministry.

And He does it

as an example for us

in the beginning

and He commissions us

to do it in the end.

And if you're a child of God

and you've never been baptized

as a believer,

well, something happened

to me as a kid

or something happened

to me earlier

and then I gave my life

to Christ.

What that means

is your baptism

is out of order, okay?

And it's void.

You got wet

but you didn't have

Christian baptism

if you were not a believer.

And so,

if you've given your heart

and life

to the Lord Jesus Christ

and you've never been baptized

as a believer,

then do that.

let's get that done

because I promise you

it can serve

as a hindrance

to you

when you miss

the first step

of obedience

in a relationship

with the Lord Jesus.

So I encourage you

if you've never done that,

let's work on that.

Let's get that done

soon.

Third challenge is this.

Join in.

Join in.

If you're not a member

of Pickens First Baptist Church,

I encourage you

to follow the Lord's lead.

I don't want you

to do anything

except follow the Lord's lead

but when God leads you here,

don't delay

because delayed obedience

is disobedience.

If you feel like God

is leading you to do that

and we haven't talked about it,

let's talk.

I'd love to know more

of where you are

in your journey

and the good news is

I'm available.

I'm available this week,

I promise.

Call or text me.

My number is on

the front of the bulletin.

Let me know.

I can't think of a better way

to begin a year

than by committing

to follow God

in a new church home.

And if that's what

God's leading you to do,

then let's get it done.

Fourth thing is this.

Way deeper.

Way deeper.

If you're a member

of Pickens First Baptist Church

and you're not a part

of a small group,

you need to be.

January 1 or more specifically

January 5th

is a great time to start.

And we'll be happy

to guide you

and help you find

what class works for you.

On Sunday mornings

we have life groups.

That's recently a name change

that some of us

have a hard time getting through.

I understand that.

But these are Bible study

driven classes

that encourage you

to share life together.

And that's why

they're called such.

The priorities of these classes

are fellowship,

prayer,

Bible study,

ministry,

and outreach.

We no longer call them

Sunday school

because they don't just

happen on Sunday.

We fellowship

beyond Sunday.

We pray for each other

beyond Sunday.

We minister

and do outreach

all week long.

And we ought to live life together

as the Church of Acts did.

Life groups.

On Sundays

and Wednesday evenings

and Tuesday mornings

we have D groups

or discipleship groups.

These groups study

a particular subject

for a particular time.

And we try to meet

felt needs

through the Word of God

through these groups.

It's a good thing.

But I will tell you

life groups

on Sunday morning

are a key part

of knowing

what Pickens First Baptist Church

is all about

and making us

better at it.

It'll benefit

each one of you

all of us

as well.

And so I encourage you

as you begin 2025

if you've not found

that place

then find it.

Jeff will be

in the foyer

right afterwards.

He'll be happy

to give you

some information

that'll guide you

to classes

that are available.

And you can try us out.

Stick your head in one.

If that don't meet

your flavor

try another.

Okay?

Find your place.

You'll be much more

better.

You'll get a greater

sense

of what Pickens First Baptist

is really all about

when you join your lives

with others.

fifth challenge.

Fifth challenge is this.

Dose daily.

Take your daily dose.

Every one of us

needs a daily time

with the Lord.

You can call it

a quiet time.

You can call it

a devotion.

You can call it

whatever you want to.

But we need time

to seek God's face

in prayer.

To read God's word

and ask God

to show us

how it applies

to our lives.

We all need

a plan

to do that.

I promise you

it'd be better

for you

to know

what you're

going to do

tomorrow morning

when you study

God's word

instead of just

cracking it open

and hoping you

fall to a spot.

Easy to miss it

without a plan.

And

the ones we promote

around here

will take you

through the Bible

in a year.

It's a blessing

to do that.

I encourage you

to do that

but I want you

to hear me.

Please don't get

bogged down

and discouraged

about the first

of February

when you get

in Leviticus

and can't handle it.

Okay?

Let me tell you

what the devil's

scheme is.

All right?

He'll get you

mixed up

in something like that

and you'll be

studying what you do

when you get boils

for your sins

and all that stuff

and you'll forego

the rest of the year.

And some of you

I ain't gonna point you

out just cause

I don't know

who you are

but some of you

stopped about February

when you hit

Leviticus 4

and said I can't

take much more

of this

and never got

back in God's

word daily

for the rest

of the year.

Don't you see

the victory

that the evil

one got?

Don't do that.

Don't do that.

Let's wade

through this thing

together.

You know?

I got a four

part series

on Leviticus

that I preached

before that says

don't stop now

you know

because there is

applicable truth

there too

but it can be

challenging

at times.

And so

to encourage

that

we

I don't want

you to get

bogged down

I don't want

you to get

discouraged.

if it's not

best for you

to try to cover

the whole Bible

in a year

then don't cover

the whole Bible

in a year.

I just want

you to hear

from God

every day

from his word.

And the ones

we promote

around here

will get you

through the

Bible in a year

and reading

the Bible

through

will give

you a much

better

more thorough

understanding

of the whole

counsel of

God's word.

There is strength

there.

However be clear

it's really not

about consuming

more than you

can digest

so you can

boast about it.

We're not

going to give

out medals

at the end

of the year

okay.

Or to feel

good about

how many times

you read

the Bible

through.

I was in

a church

one time

when they

they said

you know

we normally

list everybody

who reads

the Bible

through in

the bulletin

on the last

Sunday of the

year or the

first Sunday

of the year.

And I said

well we're not

going to do

that.

And if that's

why you read

the Bible

through you read

it through

for the

wrong reason

you ought

to have

applied some

of it.

I may not

have said

all that

but I

felt it.

I felt it.

If you

don't apply

what you

read in your

life you

can know

it like the

back of your

hand.

And you can

still die

without Christ.

That impression

was left on me

when I was about

ten years old.

I was riding

my bicycle

in the neighborhood

and some little

punk was staying

with a relative

that was invading

our neighborhood

and he built

a ramp over

a ditch

and we were

jumping it

and I was

doing better

than him.

I want to

clarify that.

And somehow

I think

we started

talking about

church or the

Bible or

something.

I hope it was

my evangelistic

outreach but I

don't remember.

And he said

well I've read

the Bible through

twice.

He's about ten

years old.

And I said

well it really

ain't about

reading it all

the way through.

It's about

applying it to

your life.

Or something

like that.

Whatever a ten

year old would

say like that.

Because I

didn't see any

fruit in that

old boy's life

playing with him

in that yard

that day to

show that he

had read any

of it.

And I

didn't believe

him anyway.

So the best

thing for us to

do is to

commit to pray

and read and

apply God's

word and have

a plan to do

it.

Even if you

have to alter

it along the

way.

And if you

want such a

plan, man we

got a bunch of

them.

And I

apologize about

so many options

quite honestly

because I don't

want it to get

confusing and I'll

be happy to guide

you through that.

I always share

what I'm doing

with my people

and I've done

two very good

ones for almost

20 years.

stuck to them.

I'm trying a new

one this year.

Probably the

strongest option

that we offer at

the church for a

lot of reasons is

the one the ladies

are doing and

they're celebrating

it this Saturday

called the Bible

Recap.

And the strength

of the Bible

Recap is it

takes you through

scripture chronologically.

And the strength

of it is that it

has a great podcast

where a lady will

guide you through

what you read that

day or what you

supposed to read

that day.

And there's also a

commentary that only

gives a one page

summary of the

four or five

chapters a day that

you've read.

And so and she does

a good job with it

from what I've read

of it.

There are a lot of

ladies doing that in

this church.

Last year at this

time we had about

160 ladies sign up

to do that.

So so there's a lot

of people involved

in that and joining

in with somebody and

doing that is always

helpful.

It goes a long way

toward walking with

the Lord in a

winsome way.

And I fully support

it and I thank God

for it and I don't

do it for two reasons.

I'll tell you.

One is the podcast

is very feminine.

It's for ladies.

And I listened to it

a few times and I

just I just I enjoyed

it.

What she said was

good but but it's

just it's designed for

women listeners.

OK.

If you don't know the

difference we can talk

about that afterwards.

But anyway.

The other reason is

this is me.

I don't want to wait

to the last quarter of

the year to read New

Testament.

I need some New

Testament throughout

the throughout the year.

I need it every day.

OK.

I need New Testament

every day.

So I alternate among

plans that give me

Old Testament and New

Testament every day.

And there are now

three that I that I

look to.

One of them is our

PFBC Bible bookmark.

They are available on

the offering box.

There's an offering box

at this right here.

There's one out there.

There's two of them in

the foyer as well.

And what this what

these you get a new one

every quarter if you pick

it up.

It's available every

quarter.

And and it'll take you

through the Old Testament

once.

It'll take you to the New

Testament twice.

And he does a good job

with putting New Testament

passages that are relevant

to the Old Testament

passages that you read.

I read a book by Wayne

Cordero who's charismatic

pastor in Hawaii.

Bad place to minister.

And Wayne wrote a book

called The Divine

Mentor.

I don't agree with Wayne

on everything that he

believes but the book was

excellent in motivating you

to read God's word.

And I've taken snippets from

that book for years to

encourage people to read

God's word.

And it did a number on me.

I was with several pastors

in Tennessee mountains for

a treat and it was good.

And The Divine Mentor by

Wayne Cordero.

And he had a Bible reading

plan in there.

He sold these bookmarks.

And we just got them

customized and made for our

church.

And so I came in with that.

I've seen Sunday school

classes designed around this

because he also in there

tells you how to apply it

to your life and how to

work through it every day

and all that kind of stuff.

So it's a great study.

And they're available

in those areas.

And then the one I just

I'm finishing up is

the Macheney

or Machane

Robert Machane

Bible reading plan.

It's probably the old

classic.

Machane died at 29 years old

in 1843.

But in that short time

that he lived he wrote

numerous books

and he came up with this

plan.

And there's copies of this.

It gives you daily

and it kind of explains

his philosophy with that

on this front page.

And those are available

if you go out

this door to my right

and to your left.

They're on that table

between those two doors.

And Machane is probably

the most

used Bible reading plan

to read the Bible through

that's out there.

It's probably the most popular

because it's been around

the longest.

And so anyway

he does a good job

with that.

This year

I'm doing something

different

because I wanted

to read

first I wanted

and I was going to

design it myself

if I needed to

I wanted to read

the Old Testament

chronologically

and I wanted to read

the New Testament

chronologically

and I wanted some

old and new

both each day.

Okay.

So I was going to do that

and then as I got to

reading about that

and thinking through that

I realized

that if you read

the New Testament

chronologically

you're going to read

the same thing

for several days

in a row

because the Gospels

sometimes cover

the same passage.

You know

the synoptics

I mean

the harmony

of the Gospels

is that some

stories are in there

four times

and so you're going

to read the same

thing over and over again.

So there's a plan

called the

Five Day Bible

Reading Program.

Okay.

That's out here

if you go out

the door

to my left

or to

yeah

to my left

and to your right

if you go out

that well

not to your right

but anyway

that's not

that's not

that's not true

for everybody

in the room

is it

but anyway

if you go out

the door

to my left

it's on that

table

okay

and it's got

this little

design

of a Bible

it's got

that little

design

up top

okay

and what I

like about

this is

it takes you

through the

Old Testament

chronologically

and it gives

you New Testament

passage

every day

and you read

a different

gospel

every quarter

so

the New Testament

is not

chronological

but it gives

you

it spreads

the gospels

out

throughout

the year

and I like

Jesus

throughout

the year

and so

so I'm

trying that

now

let me tell

you what's

controversial

about this

is

it's a

five day

reading plan

okay

and I

believe

y'all spend

time in

God's word

seven days

a week

I do

and I

don't think

this ought

to count

as your

time with

the Lord

okay

I think

you should

have done

it before

you got

here

or do

it before

you go

to bed

or whenever

you do

it

okay

so

I kind

of thought

well should

I promote

that

you know

am I going

to give

my day

off

you know

how do

we handle

that

well let me

tell you

how life

works

sometimes

days off

comes

whether you

like it

or not

the other

day I

was putting

right along

I had a

busy morning

started early

and I got

about 11

o'clock

and realized

wait a minute

I ain't read

God's word

today I need

to sit

out a minute

I was taking

care of good

things for good

people early

on but I

I hadn't

taken that

time to do

that and so

I sat down

to do that

but the

reality is

sometimes things

come up along

the way and

I'll tell you

what my plan

is my plan

is to read

this these

passages in

five days

and then to

read something

else on Saturday

and Sunday

that's my plan

there'll be days

when I might

skip the New

Testament passage

and save it

for Saturday

for instance

or did you know

that there's a

proverb for every

day there's a

chapter of

Proverbs for

every day of

the month

there's 31

chapters of

Proverbs

there's no

more than

31 days

in a month

so you always

have a

Proverb

a chapter of

Proverbs for

the day

as well

you have

five Psalms

for the day

and I can

tell you how

to work that

out but it

ain't gonna

make much

sense up

here

but you

can have

you can

read five

Psalms a

day and so

you've always

got that

okay

and so

five day

reading plan

is something

I'm trying

okay and I

made you some

copies if you

want to try

that along

with me

regardless

the 2025

challenge

is to have

a plan

to pray

and read

the word

of God

and apply

it every

day

it is a

life changer

and we all

need it

and it's

worth

the effort

the next

challenge is

give generously

and please

don't misunderstand

my plea

when I say

this

because I

stand here

today

very thankful

for your

generosity

during 2024

as year

ends

we stand

strong

now having

said that

you still have

an opportunity

to give

in person

until noon

on Tuesday

and online

until midnight

that day

you can give

this year

and our

Lottie Moon

goal is moving

right along

but it's still

outstanding

so there's

opportunity

to give

for the glory

of God

we need

to meet

all that

however

when I

say give

generously

I'm not

talking about

for church

purposes

I'm talking

about

to the Lord

through the

church

on a personal

level

trust

your

tithe

to the Lord

trust it

to the Lord

and I realize

for some

that is a

giant step

and a huge

challenge

for 2025

and I get

that

and if it

is for you

I encourage

you to

take that

challenge

when you

stop trying

to run

your own

finances

and you

obediently

follow God's

plan

there will

be times

when you

will not

be able

to do

the math

trust me

on this

you'll not

be able

to do

the math

and understand

how God

has blessed

you the way

he has

but he

chooses to

do that

God works

in obedience

he does

and the

tithe

can be

one of

the toughest

for some

but I

encourage you

to give

generously

one last

challenge

serve

faithfully

there's an old

adage in the

church life

that says

80% of the

work in the

church is done

by 20%

of the people

and 80%

of the people

do little

to nothing

I added that

last part

but anyway

when you

serve the

church

in the

church

for the

right

reasons

you serve

the Lord

and as

God has

blessed our

church with

growth

the need

for volunteers

to take

their turn

has grown

quite honestly

we have a

place for you

to serve

and if you'll

take that

guest card

even if you're

not a guest

and you're

a member

if you'll

take that

thing

and you'll

hit that

QR code

it'll send

you to a

form and

there's room

there for you

to say

whatever you

want to say

as long as

it's nice

and in that

if you've got

a question

you place that

question

and we'll

see that

if you know

who you need

to speak to

about that

our numbers

are on the

front of this

bulletin for a

purpose

you can reach

us

share with us

what God's

laying upon your

heart

how he's

leading you

do what

God's

leading you

to do

but let's

not settle

folks

none of us

let's not

settle for

where we

are

let's not

settle as

a church

with where

we are

let's not

settle as

individuals

where we

are

let's

faithfully

serve the

Lord

faithfully

serve the

Lord

that is

the 2025

challenge

to commit

totally

to give

your life

to Christ

if you've

never accepted

the Lord

Jesus Christ

I encourage

you the

moment we

stand to sing

in just a

moment you

come down

this aisle

and you

take my

hand and

you say

pastor I

need to be

saved I

need to nail

this down

let's get that

taken care of

if you've

done that

step forward

step forward

and let that

become public

through baptism

if you haven't

already

take that

step as

God leads

you

join in

if you're a

guest with

us

and God's

leading you

this church

again I'll

say I don't

think it's a

better time to

join a church

than the first of

the new year

just a

just a good

start for

everybody

I'd love to

talk to you

about that

this week

and I'm

available

I am

and then

way deeper

don't be

satisfied with

where you

are way

deeper

be a part

of a life

group

join a

discipleship

group

be a part

of those

things

way deeper

and then

get a daily

dose of

God's word

faithfully

give generously

serve

faithfully

have you

ever heard

of the

trust fall

I

participated

in one

when I was

in a

psychology

class

in high

school

psychology

was in a

portable

because the

school was

growing

and so we

were in a

portable

and we

had a

narrow

stairwell

on the

back of

it

with a

handrail

and an

awning

over the

door

there

wasn't a

whole lot

of room

there

and our

teacher was

a coach

so

because he

was a

coach

he had

us climb

on top

of that

handrail

that shaky

handrail

and trust

a bunch

of punks

to catch

us

okay

as we

held on

to the

awning

and leaned

on the

shaky

handrail

sounds like

a liability

to me

but however

they probably

won't let

you do

that now

but anyway

but each

student

was to

fall back

in

to the

cohorts

that probably

had been

cussing them

earlier that

day

and to

catch them

okay

and you

know what

everybody

that did

it was

caught

we all

survived

the thing

if you

answer the

2025

challenge

you're gonna

have to

have some

trust

but not

in a bunch

of renegades

you're gonna

have to

trust the

Lord

because the

Lord will

meet you

where you

are

I promise

you

if you

step out

of your

comfort

zone

for the

Lord

he will

be right

there

with you

and for

you

and it

is my

hope

and it

is my

prayer

that we'll

honor Christ

with all of

our lives

in 2025

let's

start

before it

even

gets here

let's

get a

head

start

let's

do it

now

with every

head bowed

and every

eye closed

I

ask you

this

morning

primarily

have

you

ever

given

your

heart

and

life

to

the

Lord

Jesus

and if

you

hadn't

I

encourage

you

to

come

I'd

love

to

guide

you

in

that

if

you

have

have

you

ever

publicly

acknowledged

that

through

baptism

if

you

haven't

I

encourage

you

to

come

God's

leading

you

to be

a part

of

this

church

and

you

know

that's

what

he'd

have

you

do

I

encourage

you

to

come

if

there's

parts

of

your

life

that

you

need

to

recommit

to

the

Lord

you

can

do

that

where

you'll

stand

in

just

a

moment

or

you

can

do

it

with

a

pastor

praying

for

you

I

don't

know

what

God's

telling

you

to

do

I

know

what

he

told

me

to

say

and

I

tried

to

say

it

I

encourage

just

be

obedient

not

just

in

the

next

few

moments

but

for

2025

and

you

won't

do

that

perfectly

but

by

the