Letting Go and Straining Forward | January 5, 2025

Well, technically,

1, 2, 3.

Hello, hello.

Hello.

Hello.

Hello.

Hello, hello.

Hey.

2025.

Same microphone

issues.

All right.

Hey, so in

the year 25.

25, yes.

Tell you what, man.

I know, I know.

Stan, thanks

for ruining it

with math today.

I appreciate that.

Here's the problem.

I don't plan on being

here in 25, 25, if

you know what I mean.

So how to sort of

steal this 25, 25 song

for our 2025 kickoff,

the year vibe right?

Now, here's

the problem.

If you've listened

to that song,

there's some scary

stuff in that

song, isn't there?

Man, it came out

in 1969, wasn't

there either, just

for the record.

And in 1969, that

song talked about a

lot of scary stuff

coming down the road.

And the first of

the 25, 25, 35,

35, 45, 45 was 25.

25.

But I gotta be honest,

sitting here at 2025,

it feels a little bit

like a sci-fi reality

in some ways for me.

Some of you probably

weren't born before

the two thousands,

and for you, it

just seems like.

Yeah.

Year 25, this is

easy math, right?

Makes sense.

But for those of us

who were born way back

in the 19 hundreds,

2025 just seems weird.

Just seems weird.

But do you notice this

that year after year?

They just keep

coming these years.

Do you notice that

they just, they

just keep coming

year after year.

And the funny thing

about a new year, I

mean this, lemme just

say this real quick.

Props to you

guys because you

currently have

perfect attendance

this year at church.

That's pretty

impressive, right?

I was watching all

those, uh, church

closings going across

my football screen

last night, you know?

And I was like,

well, uh, we'll

see if anybody

braves it today.

And it looks pretty

nice out there

right now, but.

We'll see.

I'm actually gonna

the Colts game

right after this.

Just so you know.

Some folks bought

us tickets, probably

could have got 'em

free this afternoon,

but bought us tickets,

boys and I to go see

the Jags, which is why

I'm decked out like

this 'cause I have to

make a very fast trip.

And then, uh, you

know, I would covet

your prayers driving

through the snow

coming home, all one

and a half inches

we'll probably get.

So, at any rate, a

lot of anxiety for us

and a lot of fronts.

Not so much at the

Colts game today, I'll

be honest 'cause I

need the Jags to win.

But 2025.

How many of you guys

would say like going

into this year, you

feel exhilaration,

excitement?

Okay, how many

of you this I

just got engaged.

John, you better

say yes, right?

Like worst year ever.

Oh, awkward.

How many of you would

say a little bit of

maybe apprehension

or sort of like, uh.

Yeah.

How many of you're

like, just pretending

like it didn't happen?

Okay.

Got you, got you.

I've become a bit

of a ologist lately.

I don't know why.

Maybe it's just

boredom over Christmas

windows, but, uh,

some memes that really

have been speaking

to my heart, you

know, like, like this

one, nobody claimed

2025 as your year.

We're all gonna

walk in real slow.

Be good, be quiet,

don't touch anything.

That's like a,

it's a good space.

You know, we've had

some years where we

anticipated great and

amazing things and

faced some hardships.

Maybe some of the

times, some good

things snuck in.

I don't know.

But it's a little

bit of, a little

bit of a season for

people that, that

creates anxiety.

I think I love this

little journal entry.

Somebody wrote.

Honestly, I don't

think I want a new

year this year.

I would rather have

a gently used year,

like 2006 or maybe

a 1998 if it's in

good condition.

Like that's a

nice, that's a

nice vibe, right?

No matter who you

are, when you stand

on the precipice of

a brand new year.

There's a little bit

of unknown and an

anxiety that's part

of that and, and I

think that's okay to

look ahead and be a

little bit like not

sure what's coming.

In fact, if we knew

what was coming

on every front,

we probably either

wouldn't go or we'd

be pretty miserable

in the experience.

Right.

And I wanna encourage

you that 2025 is not

a, a shocker to God.

I love this

about our God.

God doesn't experience

surprise and shock.

Now, poor God that

he doesn't get to

experience that.

Right?

I keep trying.

I'm like, Hey God,

you didn't see me

doing that dumb

thing, did you?

Right.

I keep trying to

surprise him, but

he knows, right?

He lives in eternity

and he sees and he

knows, and there is a

measure, I think for

those of us who face

a little anxiety and

worry about the New

Year, to just know

God's already in 2025.

He already knows

every detail of 2025.

He is not gonna

be caught off

guard by anything.

Also on the other

hand, maybe a little

different, right?

But we have a sense

of peace and trust,

just knowing, hey,

God's, God's got

this, so lemme stick

close to the guy who's

navigated 2025 before.

Maybe there's some

wisdom in that.

Now, I don't know

if you're like most

of Americans who

decide when you

start a new year,

it's important to

set up some of those

resolutions, right?

Like, I have a

resolution, which

means I resolve,

which means I'm way

more serious than

if I just said I was

gonna do it right?

Just that little

resolve word, it

just feels like

serious this time.

Um, anybody do

a New Year's

resolution this year?

Anybody kind of make a

little goal objective?

Great.

Anybody disenchanted

with a, did you,

are you familiar

with Quitters Day?

I learned about

Quitters Day, like

was it second Saturday

in January, right?

I love it.

So, uh, check

these memes out.

My New Year's

resolution to keep

it simple as this.

I wanna remember

to write 2025

instead of 2024.

And if I do that, if

I hereby resolve to

see, no, uh, I love

this guy's comment.

I screwed up

already 2026 my year

for sure, right?

Like, eh, yeah,

it's pretty tough.

It's pretty tough

to, uh, hit all

of the targets.

In fact, Jed reminded

me on New Year's Day

that 2024 was what

the year of the chisel

just missed.

It just missed getting

all chiseled in 2024.

Um, so obviously 2025

is my year for sure,

except I'm already a

little behind on that.

So I don't know if

you can think back

to last year some

of the things you

said you were gonna

maybe do in 2024.

I don't know.

I can't remember

honestly.

I honestly either.

Interesting stuff.

Well, regardless,

here we are guys 2025

and we have a new

year ahead of us and

God's present in it.

And I don't know,

I like to kind of

pick a word at the

beginning of the year.

That I kinda like

chew on for the

first few months

maybe, and maybe

the whole year and

maybe like the first

week, I don't know.

But, um, I've been

thinking about this

a lot and I wanna

share it with you.

It's not a resolution,

it might just be a

good idea, but it's

this stretching now

before you're like,

you went from the

year of chiseled to

just stretch old man.

Just stretch.

Right?

I can appreciate where

you're at and I'm,

you're not wrong.

Just how about, and

I don't mean like

I'm bored in this

sermon stretch.

Oh right.

Not that stretch.

Just, you know, the

idea of increasing

your range of motion.

Now this isn't a

self-help sermon

'cause I can't

help you and you

probably can't help

yourself much either.

We need Jesus

for that.

But this time of

year everybody's

pretty big into

exercise and fitness.

Right.

Fitness pizza

in my mouth kind

of vibe, right?

Like we're into

the fitness thing

and it, it's, it's

a reality for us.

We want to try to

get in shape and

get healthy and

all those things.

And I've been

thinking about this

idea of stretching

a little bit.

Uh, and there's

something really

cool about stretching

not okay physically.

Sure, right?

Like if we don't

stretch, if we don't

reach, if we don't

kind of increase our

range of motion at

times, or at least

continue to maintain

a healthy range of

motion, we end up

losing our range

of motion, right?

And the more you lose,

the less impactful,

the less able you

are to maybe touch

certain things or

reach certain things

or do certain things.

And so this idea of

physically stretching

is, is a fair

concept to chew on.

And I would encourage

you that if you don't

do any stretching,

if you like stretch

for a bag of potato

chips or the remote,

maybe incorporating

a little stretching

into your life would

be a good thing.

I noticed it when

I tried to tie my

shoe the other day

that stretching

would probably be a

good thing in 2025.

Let's work on that.

Um, and I'm not,

listen, Paul says

there's a little value

in physical, you know,

activity and things.

It is good.

There's some good

stuff there, but

there's way more

important things than

just the physical

going on here.

And that's

the spiritual.

And this morning I

want to challenge

you with this idea

of stretching.

Not so much, not so

much on a yoga mat,

but a whole lot more

stretching towards

what God has for you

in this new year.

Stretching and

increasing your

range of motion,

spiritually trying

to have more impact.

Not losing the

impact you already

have, but actually

increasing your range

of motion for the

things that matter,

for all eternity.

I wanna share with

you the most iconic

passage of scripture

that everybody

should probably

read in January and

maybe every day.

'cause Paul lays

out kind of the

perfect beginning

of the year kickoff.

Passage of scripture

that as Christians,

maybe I'll just take

a minute and marinate

on a little bit.

So this morning lemme

challenge you to walk

through this together

with me and let's

unpack this message to

the church in Philippi

that Paul shares.

'cause I think there's

something really

important for us

as we look at a new

year and we look at

all that God has in

in store for us and

maybe look at things

we need to assess in

our own life as well.

Philippians three,

seven through 16 says

this, but whatever

were gains to me, I

now consider loss for

the sake of Christ.

Now lemme just say,

we can tell right

here, this is a

January passage of

scripture, right?

You gotta know

your gym lingo

gains, right?

We're stacking gains

in the gym working

on some seriously

awesome gains.

I don't know.

That's a legit gym

word, correct, Josh?

Rick Gains, right?

You remember all my

gains from working in

your gym, crush it.

Not as much.

Thank you for that.

That was nice.

But gains is a

word of what?

Like accomplishment,

achievement,

successes.

Gains.

We know what gains

look like in business.

We know what gains

look like maybe in

our personal life

trying to achieve

more in the gym.

It's about lifting

more weight,

being able to do

more reps, right?

Increasing some

of those things.

Stretching.

You might have

a bigger range

of motion.

Physically.

Paul says this,

whatever we're

gains to me, I now

consider loss for

the sake of Christ.

What is more?

I consider everything

a loss because of

the surpassing worth

of knowing Christ

Jesus, my Lord, for

whose sake I have

lost all things.

I consider them

garbage, rubbish

that I may gain.

Christ.

What does he consider?

Trash and junk

and worthless.

Well, I consider them.

What are we?

What are the them?

The gains, right?

The gains, the things

that he has achieved

just before this.

He's talking about

being like an

epic Israelite who

was the Hebrew of

Hebrews, right?

He checked every

box, he achieved

every success.

He looked in every

area like the

perfect specimen.

But what he says is,

compared to Christ,

these gains are trash.

Not just the the

gains, but everything.

A loss, right?

All things, everything

I'm chasing after

everything I'm trying

to achieve compared

to knowing Christ,

they are garbage.

And garbage is a great

word 'cause it paints

a really good picture.

There are very few of

us, other than when

our wife throws away

like one of our high

school trophies, very

few of us who will

dig in the trash to

take something back

out of the garbage

to hold and to

savor and to keep.

'cause it's worthless.

Right.

Paul makes a

really powerful

worth statement.

He says, your

time, your energy,

your effort, your

resources, everything

that you're chasing,

everything you're

trying to accomplish,

everything you're

doing, those gains,

these earthly gains

that you're after

compared to knowing

Christ Trash, right?

Compared to the

surpassing worth

and value of

knowing Christ.

And as you look at

2025 and the not

resolutions, the

small goals you

have in your life

or the objectives,

whatever words you

want to use, we're

all chasing stuff.

We're all trying

to achieve success

at business.

We're all trying to

increase that 401k.

We're all trying to

find more stability

or more security, or

all of these things in

this world around us.

And is it wrong to

try to be successful

in business or is it

wrong to try to create

a safe environment

or no, those

aren't bad things,

but compared to.

Christ and

knowing Jesus it's

all worthless.

This word knowing's

an important word too.

'cause this isn't

knowing about Jesus.

He's not saying,

compared to knowing

about who Jesus

is, everything

else is worthless.

No, no, no.

This is relational

knowing right?

To know Jesus, to

have a relationship

with him.

Paul says everything

else is worthless

compared to that.

And man, there's

a really, really

important math

equation I

gotta show you.

And I feel really bad

because some of you

are on, on Christmas

break and you're like,

please, no, I have

like 24 more hours.

Don't do this.

I'm sorry.

Here you go.

Jesus is greater

than, it was like

a kindergarten

math equation.

Sorry.

Uh, Jesus is greater

than everything.

Jesus is greater

than everything.

And I wanna ask

you a really rotten

pastor question.

Like, does your

life reflect

this statement?

If you look at your

time, energy, and

money, and if you

look at how you're

doing things, where's

Jesus stack up in

your greater than

less than categories?

Is he the pursuit

of your heart or is

he also something

you do in 2025?

See, Paul says,

nothing else has

value or worth in

comparison to Jesus.

He doesn't even

give you a scale.

Do you notice that

he's not like, well,

there's a scale.

Jesus is the top and

then here's the other.

He's like Jesus and

nothing else has

value compared to him.

It doesn't mean

nothing has value at

all, but man, when

our hearts are chasing

this stuff, it's in

the wrong direction.

It's in the wrong

place, and we're

chasing the wrong

objective, and we're

never gonna find

joy, satisfaction,

security, hope,

peace, none of it

outside of this truth.

Jesus needs

to be greater

than everything

in your life.

Whatever word gains

to me, I count

for loss, right?

That I may gain Christ

and be found in him.

That's my objective,

that's my goal.

Not having a

righteousness

of my own.

That comes from

the law, not being

righteous before God,

because I do all the

right stuff and I

check every box and

I'm obedient here,

here and here, and so

I get my gold sticker.

And I'm righteous

because of

what I've done.

No, no.

A righteousness,

not that comes

from the law, but

which is through

faith in Christ, a

righteousness that

comes from God on

the basis of faith

through Jesus.

Our righteousness

is not our own.

We make this mistake

all the time of

thinking that we're

righteous because

of what we do.

No, we're

made righteous

because of Jesus.

Jesus wraps us in

his righteousness.

When we come to him

and we confess our

sin and we ask for

his forgiveness and

his cleansing, he

blots out our sin

and our iniquity and

he takes it away and

he wraps us in his

righteousness and we

make this mistake of

thinking like, sweet,

now I'm righteous,

so I'll just take

off this coat and

go do my own thing.

That's not

how it works.

Our righteousness

is through Christ.

He is our

righteousness.

And as we know him

and as we walk in

relationship with

him, God doesn't

even see us.

He sees Christ's

righteousness where

we stand because of

that relationship.

And whenever we get

to a place where we

decide that we're

righteous because

of what we do, boy,

we're in a, we're

in a dangerous

place because pride

starts to puff up.

And we start to look

at other people in a

judgmental way, and we

start to do different

things and act

different ways that

make us more valuable

than other people,

even in our own

minds as a dangerous

place to live,

there's a humility

in recognizing our

righteousness is

through Jesus alone.

And we come to him in

faith believing that

he is the son of God,

that he rose from

the dead, and that

he is the way, the

truth and the life.

And when we do that,

man, we're righteous.

We're made right

before God.

Pretty humble words

from a guy like

Paul who looked like

he was the perfect

dude from church.

I want to know Christ.

He says yes to know

the power of his

resurrection and

participation in his

suffering becoming

like him in his death.

And so somehow

to attain to the

resurrection from

the dead, he says,

I want to know.

I want to be

like Jesus.

We did that.

Uh, practicing the way

right, knowing him,

being like him, doing

the things he did.

This knowing Christ

becoming more and

more like Jesus,

being part of his

family and acting

like it, and having

a family resemblance.

These are all evidence

of who we've become.

Last Sunday, we just

tucked for a second.

I got a quick

second on.

We are children

of God.

That is what we are

for those of us who

are in Christ, the

substance of who we

are and the way we

live reflects it.

Paul's heart is

he wants to know

Jesus even more.

He wants to be

more and more and

more and more and

more like him.

So that one day all

eternity, he gets to

experience the joy

of that relationship

with Christ.

And then I love this

humble statement

Paul makes.

He says, not that

I've already obtained

all this or have

already arrived at my

goal, but I press on.

To take hold of that

for which Christ Jesus

took hold of me, not

that I have arrived.

And listen, I don't

know you like in

a deep, intimate,

spiritual way

what your prayer

life's really like.

How many Bible

verses you really

got memorized, how

you're really sharing

your faith when

nobody's looking,

or the integrity

of your heart in

the dark moments.

I don't know that

stuff, but I feel like

Paul had it more

together than most

people I know.

And Paul was probably

in a pretty rock

solid state as a

follower of Christ.

But Paul recognized

that he hadn't won

the prize yet, that

he hadn't finished

the race yet,

and that he still

needed to stretch

and to press on.

In fact, he says that

I, I preach, I do

all this stuff, that

I beat my body into

submission so that

after I have preached

to others, I myself

am not disqualified

for the prize.

Paul lived in a

reality that it's

not about me.

It's about Christ's

righteousness and

my obedience and

following and walking

in this stuff.

And I have so much

more to learn and

listen, the devil

would like to

say to us, Hey,

you're good enough.

You got it.

Stop stretching.

Stop reaching.

You've arrived.

You got, you got

the American dream,

you got all the

pieces together.

God smile on.

You just savor it.

And Paul challenges

us to press on to

stretch, right?

In fact, he says this,

brothers and sisters,

I do not consider

myself yet to have

taken hold of it,

but one thing I do.

And this one thing is

what I think we should

consider Paul's annual

New year's resolution

and maybe daily

resolution that we

ought to chase after.

It's this forgetting

what is behind and

straining towards

what is ahead.

I press on toward

the goal to win the

prize for which God

has called me heaven

word in Christ Jesus.

This one thing I do,

forgetting what lies

behind and straining

towards what's ahead.

It's a cool

picture, this

idea of forgetting

what is behind.

Now, does Paul mean

like don't remember

any of the lessons you

learned in the past?

No.

No.

That's not

wisdom at all.

He's not saying Forget

everything, you know,

forget everything

you've believed,

forget everything,

and just start

fresh with nothing

and go forward.

Now, that's not at all

a biblical picture.

What's he really

speaking about?

He's really talking

about the things that

hinder the things

that the enemy would

speak into us about,

who we've been,

where we've been,

our failures, our

struggle where we

don't measure up,

where we couldn't see

it through, where we

didn't hit the mark.

'cause man, that's

what the devil

speaks to us about

all the time, our

failure and our sin.

He reminds us over and

over and over again

about what we've done

and where we've been.

One of my favorite,

uh, posters in our

youth room as a high

school kid said, when

the devil reminds you

of your past, remind

him of his future.

That's a pretty good

statement, right?

He's destined for

destruction in

the lake of fire.

It's done, it's

written, it's

not if it's just

when it's done.

And listen for

those who have made

mistakes and failed

and fallen apart and

made messes and ruined

things and feel like

there's no hope.

'cause the devil tells

you that that's not

the voice of your

heavenly Father.

In fact, check this

out in the Greek.

This is super cool.

This Greek word.

Anybody got it?

Yeah.

Okay, Jed, you ready?

Your brother wisely.

Slipped over to

help with Sunday's.

Cool.

Next door.

So he didn't have to

show off his Greek

skills that we're

paying thousands

of dollars for from

Indiana Wesleyan.

Jackie, you went to

Indiana Wesleyan.

What do you got?

Is this Uh,

I never took

a Greek class.

Oh, it's all

Greek to you.

I see what you're

doing there.

The back that

he likes.

The big words I heard.

Yeah.

Where's Dex?

Is he pretending

to change a

baby's diaper Man?

Classic.

Alright, well

here's how it's

supposed to sound.

Something like Epi Ma,

which is close enough.

We'll call that

the Central Indiana

version of this

really complicated

Greek word, but

lanai is the Greek

word for forgetting.

Now, check this out.

This is pretty epic.

You know, Jesus says

to us, he says to us

that when we confess

our sin, that he

remembers our sin

no longer, and that

he casts it as far

as the east is from

the West, right?

Like forever

away from itself.

Forever, right?

And we recognize

scripture that says,

for those who are in

Christ, there's now no

condemnation, right?

That we're not

condemned to

destruction because

we've come to faith

through Jesus Christ.

We remember the story

that Jesus tells of

the woman caught in

adultery who's dragged

before him and thrown

on the ground as

the men stand around

with stones saying,

this woman was caught

in adultery and the

law demands that she

be stoned to death.

And Jesus, instead

of responding,

just gets on his

knees and starts

writing in the sand.

Right?

So much has been

made about it.

We don't know.

Did he write down the

names of the people

that the guys around

had lusted after and

maybe had adultery

with themselves?

Did he write down

different names

of different sins?

Did Jesus just draw

a little stick figure

with the smiley?

F?

We don't know.

We don't know.

We know what we

wrote down, right?

But what we do

know is that one by

one, beginning with

the oldest to the

youngest, the men

dropped their stones

and walked away.

And Jesus, when it

was quiet and it was

just a pile of stones

laying around, asked

the woman, where are

your accusers, those

who condemn you?

And the woman looked

around and said,

well, they're gone.

No one.

And Jesus said,

then neither do I

condemn you, but

go and sin no more.

Right?

The heart of our

father is not a heart

of condemnation.

It's not a

heart of being

imprisoned because

of your failures

and your sins.

Epi Ohai is this

word for forgetting

and check out

what it means.

Given over to

oblivion, given

over to oblivion.

When we confess our

sin to Jesus, when we

come before him with

repentance in our

hearts, he takes our

sin in our failure.

And you know what

he does to it?

He gives it over to

oblivion, and I have

no idea how to measure

that, but that's

ridiculously gone.

I used to do this

thing when I was

a kid and I'd be

like, alright, so

Jesus, you said,

my sin is forgiven.

You forget it, you

don't remember it.

So I'd lay in bed and

remind God of my sin.

I'd be like, Lord,

remember today

when I did that?

Remember when

day I did that?

When I did that?

Just check in.

Just check in, right?

And God's like,

Andrew, go to bed.

You're a moron.

But that's totally

different time

with him for me.

But given over

to oblivion is an

incredible picture

of what God does

with our sin.

Now, the devil,

he's desperately

trying to remind us

of our failures and

our sin constantly,

but not our God.

Paul says, this

is what I do.

I forget

what's behind.

I give over to

oblivion, the

failures, the

mistakes, the sin,

because I've handed

them to the eternal

God who cleanses me

and forgives me, and

restores me, and gives

me hope and a future.

So I forget what

lies behind.

I strain towards

what lies ahead.

Kinda a cool

contrast in this,

uh, epi, epi apac,

something like that.

Aina, somebody's, I

don't know, stand.

You got a packs

in your row.

There we go.

So APAC of I is this

really cool word

that in the Greek

means to stretch

out towards, to

stretch out towards.

So Paul says, Hey,

listen, I haven't

achieved everything.

I haven't

finished the race.

I haven't crossed

the finish line.

None of us have,

none of us have.

We gotta keep

pressing on.

And here's

how I do it.

Here's how I do it.

I forget

what's behind.

I let go of the

mistakes and

the failures.

Sometimes we sit and

we assess the year

behind us and we're

like, you know what?

All I can think of

is self-condemnation

and criticism for all

the things I didn't

achieve and didn't do.

Amen.

God says, Hey, hey.

Listen to my

servant Paul,

who reminded you.

Hand those over

to oblivion.

Be done with that

step with me into

this new year,

into this new day.

My mercies are

new every morning.

My faithfulness,

constant and

continuous, always

readily available

for those who

had come to me.

A contrite heart I

will not despise,

says the Lord.

I press toward the

goal to win the prize.

Now, I don't know

what you have looking

back at 2024, but I

believe with all my

heart, God's clear

instruction to you

and to me is to give

over to oblivion

what lies behind us.

Just give it away.

Get rid of it.

Give it to him.

Stop picking it up.

Stop talking about it.

And stretch out

towards increase

your range of motion.

Listen, we're

all tired.

We don't wanna

do any exercise.

We don't wanna

do any more work.

We don't expand any

more responsibilities

and weight.

That's a great lie

of the enemy to

say, just stay there

stagnant and let your

spiritual muscles.

I think the words

petrify, probably

not, but yeah, let's

just call it that.

Just harden to the

point that you're

dead and you're

not impactful.

I think Jesus has

some really important

things that he wants

you to do in 2025.

I think he has some

really important

things maybe that you

need to let go of, but

some really important

things you need to

stretch towards.

'cause if you have

breath in your lungs,

he's not done and

your race isn't over,

it's not over at all.

The enemy wants

you to sit down

on the sideline.

The enemy wants to

just, Hey man, I

gotta tap out Anthony

Richards in it, right?

I'm ready to

take a break.

I don't want any

more of this.

But the truth is he

says, Hey, let go of

the stuff that the

devil's just speaking

lies about, and let's

step into the truth

and let's press on

to what lies ahead.

And if you don't

think that that's what

we're supposed to be

talking about, Paul

goes on to say, all

of us then who are

mature, should take

such a view of things.

And if at some

point you think

differently, God

will square you up.

So yeah, this is how

we ought to think.

This is how we ought

to approach stuff.

And then he says

this, only let us

live up to what we've

already attained.

Don't, don't regress.

Don't sit down

and lose your

range of motion.

Continue to stretch,

to expand, to reach

towards everything

God has for you in

this new year ahead.

Well, Rusty's gonna

come up here real

quick and we're gonna

close with, uh, just

a few moments together

where we can pray in

this new year as a

church family, but

also maybe as you step

into a new year, and

we're not so far into

it that we've missed

our window guys,

just so you know.

But maybe there's

some stuff that's kind

of still dragging,

stepping in from 2024,

and maybe there's

some sin, maybe

there's some things

that you've held

onto that, uh, man,

that the devil wants

destruction and death

and you feel like

it's choking you and

you can't really make

any strides towards

anything because man,

the enemy's just got,

got you clamped down.

Well, I want

you to know that

that's not how God

wants you to live.

And he wants you to be

free from your burden

of guilt and shame.

He wants you to

find forgiveness.

He wants you to hand

to him that it might

be discarded into

oblivion, the mistakes

and the failures,

the shortcomings.

And maybe you're here

this morning, the

first time you've ever

really even thought

about that stuff and

you recognize it.

Well, maybe you need

to take some time

here and ask the

Lord for forgiveness.

'cause you've never

done that before.

And maybe as we sit

on this new year,

maybe you have a real

hard time letting

go of some things.

Maybe you think,

Hey, I've handed

this to the Lord.

But you really never

took your death

grip off of it.

And so he never

really could pry

it outta your hands

'cause he is not

that kind of God.

And there's some

things that you're

holding on to.

That you need to

let go and open

your hands wide.

And maybe this morning

as you look at a new

year, you're tired and

you're disinterested,

or you're anxious

and you're concerned

and worried, or

just feel like, why?

What's the point?

And listen, you

might have, you

might be ahead of

Paul in the race.

I'm not trying to

say you're not.

I know I'm not.

And if old Paul who

had it rocking could

say, woe is me, God,

my righteousness

is just in you,

and I gotta stretch

and I gotta press

and I gotta reach

maybe this morning.

That's where you

should start in this

new year to say, God,

gimme the courage,

gimme the vision.

Help me to see

where you want

me to stretch.

What do you need

to let go of?

What do you need to

give over to oblivion?

Now, what do you need

to stretch towards?

What is God putting

in your vision and

your, maybe even in

the peripheral right

now, but what are

you beginning to see

that maybe he wants

you to reach towards

trusting him to

give you everything

you need to expand

that range of motion

and that impact?

Would you bow your

heads with me for

just a moment?

We're not gonna take

long this morning,

but I would be amiss

if I didn't give

you an opportunity.

If you want to

come and kneel up

here and pray for

just a few moments,

uh, invite you to

come and do that.

If you wanna pray

in your seat, maybe

talk to your spouse

or your kids or your

parents about some

of those thoughts.

Whatever you need

to do, you have

this time here.

You and the Lord do

what he wants you to

do so that as you step

into this new year,

you can do it with

joy and with hope, a

whole lot lighter to

be able to stretch

a whole lot further.

We will do that here

for a few minutes

and then I'll close

this in prayer.

Lord,

thank you for your

incredible love

for us, a love that

we don't deserve

and we can't earn.

There is none

righteous.

No, not one.

And all of us come

before you has

fallen as sinful,

needing your

forgiveness to be

restored, to be

wrapped in your

righteousness.

Thank you for your

word, for your promise

that you'll cast

our sin as far as

the east is from the

west, that you will

remember our iniquity

no longer, that you'll

blot out all of our

transgressions that

you'll give them

over to oblivion.

And God, I pray that

you would forgive

our sin, that you

would cleanse us from

all unrighteousness.

Lord, on behalf of

myself, my family,

my church family,

Lord, I pray that

you would forgive us

for all of our sin

and that you would

cleanse us from all

unrighteousness.

And Lord, I pray

for your protection,

that you would guard

our hearts and minds

in Christ Jesus as

the enemy attacks

that we'd hold up

that shield of faith

to extinguish the

flaming arrows of

the evil one that

would remind us of.

Who we've been and

what we've done,

but that we would

hold to the promise

that through Jesus,

we are children of

God, that our very

nature has changed

from lost to found,

from the household

of sin and death

to the household

of the eternal King

And Lord, I pray

in this year ahead,

there's some

anxieties, there's

some fears, there's

some hopes, some

aspirations,

some dreams.

Thank you that

you're there and

that we can count

on you and we can

hold tightly to you.

And Father, I pray

that you would prepare

the way for us,

that you would make

the paths level and

straight the road

signs easy to discern

and understand that

you'd help us as we

try to just take step

after step, walking

in righteousness

and obedience

following you through

this new year.

And Lord, I pray

you to increase our

spiritual muscle

as we stretch,

as we make that range

of motion just a

little bit further

than it currently is.

And then maybe just

a little further, the

Lord, at the end of

2025, we would look

back marveling, uh,

what you allowed us to

do to impact eternity

and the lives of the

people around us.

Thank you for your

incredible love.

Thank you for a

new year, and thank

you that we get to

walk it together

and just pray you

encourage us and

strengthen us, and

give us crazy joy in

the journey ahead.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Well, as we close

this morning and we

think about what lies

ahead, I wanna invite

Josh to sneak up here

and, uh, share some

upcoming g events.

That looks like a

font issue, bro.

Not, not sure what's

going on there.

Well, we got all

sorts of cool events

coming up in 2025,

and I feel like God

was prompted me as

Andy spoke to maybe

make a distinction

about these events

here at White Rock.

We do a lot of, I

think a pretty cool

stuff, a lot of

neat, really neat

things actually,

and sometimes maybe

we think about it

as the cute things

they're doing over

at church and I

got my own plans.

I just wanna

encourage you guys

be part of this.

We're stretching.

We've got some really

cool leadership all

the way around that

have God's intentions

fighting really

hard to have us do

things together,

do life together so

we can stretch and

we wanna help in

every way possible.

And so these

events, they're,

they're all silly.

They're fun.

They're a blast

because I think we

have pretty good

at, pretty good at

having fun here.

But think about we're

doing life together.

Join us on some

of these things.

They're pretty

stinking cool.

And the more we

get together,

that stronger that

faith's gonna be.

'cause we're gonna

build each other up.

So we've got some

new stuff going on.

Uh, which

one's to click?

You have this

right there.

Thank you.

Didn't realize there

was so many buttons

on this thing.

My goodness.

Technology is

incredible.

But we were gonna

start with new, uh,

new times, but they're

kind of the old times.

So check this

out with me.

Ba bam.

You can see we're

doing it six

instead of five.

So we changed that

back to a time that

I think is gonna be

way more effective.

People will be able

to get things done and

come hang out with us.

So ba bam, no longer

five to six 30.

It's six to seven 30.

And also you can

see the college age

small group that

meets up similar

time also shifting

to the same schedule.

So make sure

you note that.

Now, like Andy said,

there's a chance that

this snow's gonna be

about an inch, but

if we do get all that

snow, we wanna be

safe and make sure our

teen drivers, college

drivers are safe.

So it's very likely

as of this point,

we're just gonna

shut down ba bam and

the small group for

tonight just 'cause

it's could be ugly.

So we're just gonna

play it smart.

Uh, we also have

financial peace

starting Tuesdays

and Saturdays.

Uh, Tim Dunnell hands

up there, uh, he'll

be leading this and me

and my wife have done

it and talk about.

All these little

nuances you may

never consider when

it comes to your

finances, but we

wanna be good stewards

of those finances.

And I think, Tim,

you're looking

to say something.

Okay?

If you could not

hear, he said he needs

your email address.

So get linked up with

him, provide that

email address to him

so he can send you

the information you

need to be successful

in this next piece.

Alright, a youth

group, a wind

retreat's coming,

it's close.

So be prepared

for that.

I'll be sending

out lists of things

to pack and all

those kind of

details real soon.

So keep your

eyes open.

17th through the 19th.

Renee, we know she's

not here today.

A little bit of

sickness going on

in their household,

but if you need any

more information

about that, I

bet maybe Jamie

could help us out.

If you have any

questions, Jamie

here would be glad

to give you some

contact information.

We have the 18th,

five o'clock.