New Year Sermons

New Year sermons are common in many churches around the start of the holiday. Sermons for the New Year often include messages of hope and optimism for the coming new year. Many congregations are urged to turn over a new leaf in their faith.

1 Peter 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+1%3A3-9&version=NIV

Ezekiel 36:25-27

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatever I command.http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2036:25-27&version=NIV

New Year's Devotion

"Lord, thank you for this new year that lies before me. I choose you. I choose to depend on you, trust you, and accept from your hand all that you would give me."http://samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com/2008/12/29/a-new-years-devotion/

We stand on the threshold of a new year. Most people generally look at the new year as a fresh beginning, as an opportunity to kind of start over, to overcome a habit, or do a better job of something they see as important and that needs improvement. It may be parenting, being a better spouse, losing weight (which, by the way, is the number one resolution according to polls taken). It may be developing different priorities, using our time better, or a whole host of things that people would like to change.

So, we usually hear a lot about New Year's resolutions, resolutions which are usually broken in a matter of weeks. Many people are very pessimistic about the whole issue of making resolutions, and rightly so, because so many good intentions are followed by a history of past failures.

But the new year is a time to reflect and think about what the past year has brought and what the new year could bring. It is a time to stop and analyze, to take stock of our priorities, values, pursuits, and goals. We need to ask questions like "Who am I, what am I doing with my life? What should I be doing as a Christian with my life and the stewardship God has given me?" After all, according to the Word of God, all of life is a stewardship--a stewardship of our time, talents, treasures, and God's truth. In other words, since God's plan and our stewardships revolve around and through the life of His Son, Jesus Christ, we need to each ask "How well am I responding to the Savior and the spiritual life that He has given me? — J. Hampton Keathley, IIIhttp://bible.org/article/precedent-new-year-luke-213-20