Welcome to a new year of worship, service and witness.
I love trying new things.
When I’m driving if there’s a choice of two routes to take, I’ll choose
the one that I’ve taken least, just to explore a bit more. When I cook (not often and usually only desserts)
I’ll more than often choose a recipe that I’ve never made before. There is an element of risk in trying
something new, ask Helen and Dom and Jess what they thought of my ice-cream
bread. As I’ve learnt many times we can
fail. But I’ve also learnt that we can
go new places and have better experiences when we move from the known and
comfortable into the untried and new.
As we start the New Year I wonder what this year has planned
for you. Is this going to be a year in
which you repeat the activities and good and bad behaviours of the past or is
it going to be a year of challenge and risk to something new? I hope that this year will be a year of
growth for you, because it is only as we move beyond where we are that we
grow.
Is this a year in which you start a new devotional practice,
or change one that you’ve had for many years?
It can be that you once got a lot out of your devotional practice as it
stimulated you, but you haven’t felt that for some time. What other way could you connect with God?
Is this a year in which you find a new way of reaching out
beyond the congregation? Do you need to
join a community group; meet new people; serve in a different church activity;
put a different emphasis on your involvement in the community; or commit your
outreach more fully to prayer?
Is this a year in which you strengthen a skill that you have
so that you can be more effective in serving or leading? Sometimes we need to step back from doing so
much, so that we can be trained and equipped to do what we’re passionate about
more effectively.
Is this a year in which you the Holy Spirit is prompting you
to be more intentional in challenging your Brian in their relationship with
Jesus? Does your Brian need an
invitation to meet other Christ followers; do they need answers to questions
that are holding them back; or do they just need to be asked to give their life
to Jesus?
To do any of these things is risky. It upsets the pattern of how we live our
lives. It takes emotional, mental,
physical and spiritual energy. But only
by doing things like this do we grow closer to Christ and participate more
fully in the life that he has for us.
So I invite you to prayerfully ask God, what risks are you
going to take for him and with him this year.
Grace and peace