New Year, Same Old World
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Welcome to the New Year!
Welcome to the New Year!
The Year of Our Lord 2023
The Year of Our Lord 2023
which means about 2,029 years after the birth of Jesus, or about 1990 years after His resurrection.
This year, like every year, presents us
A New Opportunity to Write the Date Wrong
A New Opportunity to Write the Date Wrong
on your checks, your letters, and your school work.
A New Opportunity to Count Down to Christmas
A New Opportunity to Count Down to Christmas
which is 5 days away if you are an Orthodox, Greek-speaking church. For most of us, Christmas 2023 is only 358 days away. Better get your bills paid so you can start your shopping.
Like every year, this gives us
A New Opportunity to Break Promises
A New Opportunity to Break Promises
to ourselves or others. You know, that thing we used to call “resolutions.” Promises we make that we usually have no ability to follow through on, either because we promise the stars and deliver a string of Christmas lights or because we either don’t have the means or the discipline to keep our own promises to ourselves.
And, like every year, January First gives us
A New Opportunity to Do Better Than Before
A New Opportunity to Do Better Than Before
because defeat is not inevitable, as long as we remember why we made the promises in the first place.
And today, unique among all the other January 1sts I have lived through, which is now 70, I have
The Privilege of
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary
of the beginning of my Pastoral ministry in Covina, in Southern California.
25th Anniversaries or Birthdays remind us that something significant happened a quarter of a century ago.
On the 25th anniversary of my birth, I was working as a line cook in the restaurant kitchen at the Inn of the Seventh Mountain on the slopes, of Mt. Bachelor outside of Bend, Oregon.
On the 25th anniversary of our wedding, Bobbi and I were celebrating with church family in Vernon, British Colombia.
On the 25th anniversary of my Son’s birth, we were 6 weeks away from wrapping up 5 years of ministry in that church in British Colombia.
On the 25th anniversary of my Daughter’s birth, we were already moved in and had been ministering 7 weeks here in Covina.
So, for those of you old enough,
Where Were You on Your 25th?
Where Were You on Your 25th?
Anniversary or 25th birthday?
Or 25th anniversary of your best job ever?
The Bible reminds us that
Every Day is Holy Unto the Lord
Every Day is Holy Unto the Lord
every day is a holy day unto the Lord, with Sabbath days marked off weekly to give special attention to worship and rest.
one more thing that the Bible says is important about
Weekly Worship
Weekly Worship
shows the rest of the world that we have chosen to behave like we are the Children of God.
Marking a Sabbath Day each week is a reminder to us that
God Cares About Our Well-Being
God Cares About Our Well-Being
and so we should copy his pattern of hard work and renewing rest.
God’s Love Abounds to Us in His Word
God’s Love Abounds to Us in His Word
and that includes his patterns of seasons and weather and new moons and changing skies and all the rest.
A New Year Reminds Us that
God Sets the Seasons for Living
God Sets the Seasons for Living
1 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
We are tempted to want only the good things, in our estimation, and not the hard things.
The Preacher, the writer of Ecclesiastes, we believe to be King Solomon, tells us the two sides of any issue are part of the wholeness of life. We can’t exist with only the positive and not the negative.
Life doesn’t work that way.
Life is Not In Our Control
Life is Not In Our Control
2 A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
8 A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.
Life Itself Shows Our Limits
Life Itself Shows Our Limits
9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? 10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
If we get stuck on Verse 9, we get stuck in life.
If we see past just breathing, we can move on to truly live in the love of God.
The Seasons of Life Prove God Cares
The Seasons of Life Prove God Cares
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
God Wants Us to Live Well
God Wants Us to Live Well
12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,
Knowing God Gives Purpose to Living
Knowing God Gives Purpose to Living
13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
At first the verse seems out of order. We should labor well to be able to eat, drink, and enjoy.
My grandfather would read this verse and tell me that Work, the ability and the outcome, is the gift of God.
We have both
Occupation and Vocation.
Occupation and Vocation.
Every person has something they do to occupy their time and make use of their efforts.
Many find the calling that God has given on their lives — and that vocation, that calling, gives meaning to cycles of living.
Here’s another reading of that last verse:
13 It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.
For God does not give us just busy work.
God Gives Life Meaning
God Gives Life Meaning
Because God wants us to finally, and forever, experience the true life that God himself enjoys in eternity.
That gateway to heaven is the purpose of Christ’s life and salvation.
Christ opens the way for our
Eternal Life with God.
Eternal Life with God.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. 2 I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
The Sea: Choas
The Holy City, Shined Up and Glorious
His Plan is for Us
To Be With God Forever
To Be With God Forever
So the Same Old World will be no more.
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:
Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity,
and He will live with them.
They will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them
and be their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Death will no longer exist;
grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,
because the previous things have passed away.
When All Things Are New
When All Things Are New
5 Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”
The Work if Christ is Finished
The Work if Christ is Finished
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water as a gift to the thirsty from the spring of life.