Lewis Memorial UMC

Somewhere around the age of 18 or 19 I remember saying something to my dad around this time of year about how fast the past year seemed to fly by. He said that as we get older it seems to go by even faster. As usual I thought he was crazy, but once again I have found out that he was right. Where did 2009 go? It seems like I was just preparing for the first sermon of 2009 and now here I am preaching the first sermon for 2010! Didn’t I just make some New Year’s resolutions for 2009? Weren’t we getting ready for last year’s spring fling just a few months ago? Where did the time go?

Another year has come and gone and there is nothing we can do about that! We cannot go back and change a thing! Worrying about it won’t change it! It is gone! But what lies before us is this new year of 2010 and the author of Hebrews tells us of a few excellent things we can do to help make 2010 (and the rest of our lives) much better then last year!

Speaking of New Year’s resolutions – did you make any? Let me ask it another way – did you make any that you actually plan on fulfilling? If so, have you made a plan to make it happen? Resolutions are a funny thing to me because it really is about a very important Christian characteristic – faith! It takes faith in yourself to loose weight, eat right, exercise more, or any number of other resolutions we have probably all made in the past. So let me offer you 5 resolutions that will make you a more fulfilled Christian AND make our church, your household, and your community a more God-filled place.

Biblical scholars do not know for sure who wrote the book of Hebrews, but it’s such a wonderful book about faith! Some attribute the writing to Paul, but this letter does not match up well to Paul’s other letters. Several other early Christian leaders, such as Barnabas, Apollos, and even Priscilla have been given possible credit for this book. Whoever wrote it we are extremely grateful and we look into it today to prepare us for some excellent resolutions for the rest of our lives.

Look back with me then to Hebrews 10:22-25. We know that the author is giving his or her instruction to a group of people because it says “let US” on 5 different occasions in these 4 verses. So today let US take these on as both individuals and as a church for our resolutions. First, as we read in 10:22, “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” There’s that faith word again! Why not let your first resolution for 2010 be drawing closer to God? If each one of us can do that then I know without a doubt that God will be pleased and what a difference that will make in our homes and our work places and our schools and in our church! In order for this to happen we must have a sincere heart. Just like any other resolution you have made in the past, you must be sincere about it or it will never happen. Same applies here! Draw closer to God and you will feel His presence with you stronger than ever before.

The 2nd resolution is found in verse 23, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” Unswervingly! Don’t you just love that word? Have you ever used it in a sentence before? It means unshakable, steadfast, solid! Faith applies here as well for our unswerving hope is in Jesus Christ and we need to hold on to that hope to see us through 2010 and beyond. When we draw closer to God and hold on tight to the solid hope of Christ then we have the full assurance of the promises of God for as we just read He is faithful in all of His promises!

Verse 24 gives us our 3rd resolution. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Now THAT is a great thing to resolve yourself to doing always! According to the author the first step to this is simply thinking about it. “Let us CONSIDER how we may spur one other on toward love and good deeds.” For many people just the very thought is a huge step. Let us consider today how we can do that as individuals. How can I spur someone on to love? Jesus gave us the best answer to this question and the answer is by our own example. Loving others can be very contagious and if you show more love then others may just do the same thing. The considering part is the easiest part of this resolution, but put it into action and watch what God can do through you.

The 4th and 5th resolutions (verse 25) are ones that affect the church straight on. “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.” I heard of a preacher once who used this scripture as part of his Christmas Eve and Easter sermons one year! It sounds kind of harsh at first, but his thinking was that this was the best opportunity to invite the folks back to church the following Sunday as well as remind the regulars to encourage folks to come to church with them. Both of these are great resolutions! If you fall into the first half of this verse and are not attending church as much as you feel God’s spirit is leading you to do then this is one for you to work on. If you are a regular, but content on just coming and being oblivious to those around you then let the second part of this verse light a fire under you and be an encourager for others.

I was originally going to challenge you to pick 1 of these 5 areas to choose as YOUR resolution for 2010, but then the more I thought about it and the more I prayed about it I realized that God was wanting ME to do all that applied to me and to invite you to join me.

The “not giving up meeting together” one does not apply so much to me, but the more I read it the more I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to keep worshipping God no matter where I am! So I have taken all five of these as my 2010 New Year’s resolutions. Won’t you join me? It’s going to take faith and hope and strength and a full trust in God, along with all love for Jesus to fulfill these promises. It may be tough at times, but we can do it!

Today is Epiphany Sunday when we remember the journey of the wise men so let us use their determination to encourage us today. They followed the star to Bethlehem and gave their best gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus. Their journey was not easy! They ran into obstacles! The world, in the form of King Herod, tried to trick them! But they did what they set out to do. Our journey with these 5 resolutions may not be easy and we may run into obstacles and the world will definitely try to deter us, but we too can succeed because we want to give to Jesus our best as well.

2Chronicles 16:9 says that the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. There is our hope! As long as our hearts are fully committed to God then He will strengthen us and enable us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to draw closer to Him, to hold unswervingly to our hope, to spur one another on toward love, to keep worshipping Him together, and to encourage others. Those are my resolutions for 2010! Will you make them yours as well?