Happy New Year!

(And, remembering last week’s update, Happy 8th Day of Christmas!)

Many people make New Year’s Resolutions at this time of year – deciding how they want to be better people and change something about themselves.  Oftentimes, these resolutions fall by the wayside because we do not have the kind of structures built into our lives to actually make the changes stick.  For many people, this can lead to a cycle of self-defeat. 

There is another way of looking at life transformation, though: when we look to see what God is doing and join him in that activity, we can resolve different kinds of things that help us develop into those who reflect Christ’s character.  God has provided us with activities that can help us work on yet another area of our lives. 

So what do I see God doing this year at First Baptist?  I see a number of things God is working on. 

First, I see God desiring to deepen his relationship with us.  In our prayers, we call God “Father.”  God desires to know us better and us to know him better.  We can do this most effectively by developing conversations with God – yes, that go both ways – through prayer, and by studying the Bible, which is the uniquely accurate story of who God is and his interactions with his people. 

Second, I see God desiring for us to grow in love for one another.  One of the most common references to the church in the New Testament is the analogy of the Family of God.  We all come from families that are, to a greater or lesser extent, broken.  God desires that we grow in love for one another so that we can model a new kind of family life, and truly exhibit God’s kind of life to each other.  We can do this most effectively by realizing we are a family no matter what, and, having discerned our role in the family through the discovery of our spiritual gifts, to carry out our family life together by serving one another through the use of our spiritual gifts, our talents, our abilities and our material resources. 

Third, I see God desiring for us to bring his Good News to those around us who do not have his Good News.  This is the career and vocation of the Church of Jesus Christ.  Once again, this is not for the purpose of aggrandizing one particular congregation or even convincing people of a particular worldview, but because we truly believe that God has come in Jesus Christ to set everything right and that only through receiving his forgiveness and re-aligning ourselves with him will we receive the fullness of life.  We can do this most effectively by maintaining and developing relationships with those outside the church wherein we have the opportunity to demonstrate God’s Good News.  This can be friends, family, neighbors, co-workers and even strangers.  But this works best when we have done well with the first two things God is doing: it is only then that we have something to demonstrate. 

Fourth, I see God helping us to develop a sense of what Christian maturity looks like, and the differences in roles in the Church that develop as people begin to mature.  This happens most effectively when we discern what maturity actually looks like and then having the appropriate structures in place to work step-by-step in that direction.  This happens best as we develop in the first three things God is working on, and begin to apply that to the congregational setting – no matter how we used to do things before. 

I pray that in this new year these four things can be the model for how we grow together as God’s people!  We know God loves us, desires us to love one another, and others, and grow toward maturity in Christ.  So let us resolve to do those things, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I look forward to returning to worship with you this Sunday!