This is the manuscript of the sermon for the last Sunday in 2025, preached at Christ Church Los Angeles Sunday December 28, 2025.
Scripture
Colossians 3:1-11 NIV [1] Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. [3] For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. [5] Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. [6] Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. [7] You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. [8] But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. [9] Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices [10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. [11] Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Text:
2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV For we live by faith, not by sight.
I. The End of a Chapter: Finishing by Faith (2025)
As we near the end of this truly remarkable year of 2025—and it certainly felt like a whirlwind—here’s a quote from the book Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery: “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
We’ve navigated global shifts, economic uncertainties, persistent political divisions, and societal challenges. It can feel overwhelming, but as the clock ticks toward midnight, we are given a powerful reset.
At one second after 12:00 AM, January 1, 2026, there are no new problems yet. That alone is a reason for hope! The year 2026 will start with great anticipation and, yes, a degree of uncertainty. We finish this year not by anxious reflection, but by faith, anchored in God’s faithfulness.
Our Text reminds us, "For we live by faith, not by sight."
A. Throwing Off the Weight (Hebrews 12:1)
Hebrews 12:1 NIV says [1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
The stuff that hinders and entangles us includes the heavy baggage of the past year: past failures, regrets, and the doubt that suggests God's promises have an expiration date.
Don't let the guilt of last March block the blessing of next January.
B. Remembering God’s Great Faithfulness
Even in your toughest moments of 2025, God's mercy was there because as it says in Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV [22] Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. [23] They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
This is more than a beautiful saying; it is the spiritual diagnosis for how you survived in 2025.
It says, "The great love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease."
Sustained by Hesed: The "great love" here is the Hebrew word hesed—God's covenant, loyal, unshakeable love. It is the proof that His commitment to you is eternal.
Think back to a moment in 2025 when you felt you had failed the most, when you were ready to quit, or when you thought you had drifted too far. Well, you are still here. You were not "consumed" because His love provided divine structure around your life. His mercy was the grace that allowed you to breathe, to get up, and to try again, even when you didn't feel His presence. The reason you are crossing this finish line is not your effort, but His hesed, His covenant, loyal, unshakeable love.
The scripture powerfully declares, "Great is his faithfulness; his mercies are fresh each morning."
God does not deal in old, stale mercies. He gives you a brand new, fully-funded account of grace when the sun rises.
This means that your failure in March, your guilt in July, and your doubt in November—God has met every single one of those with a fresh, daily supply of compassion. It is an insult to His faithfulness to cling to the failures He has already offered to refresh.
If we acknowledge this great, daily faithfulness, we realize we aren't finishing this year on fumes. We are finishing with the fresh mercy of this very morning. When you acknowledge His faithfulness, you will find the strength to cross the finish line with grace, ready to embrace the new race.
Romans 8:28-30 NIV [28] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. [29] For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. [30] And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
II. The Start of a New Race: Paul’s Blueprint for Progress (2026)
The closing of one door is the opening of another. 2026 is a wide-open vista of divine possibility and we walk into it with a vibrant, forward-looking faith guided by these words which are a spiritual mandate for the New Year:
Philippians 3:13-14 NIV [13] Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
The Apostle Paul, who wrote the letter which is the New Testament book of Philippians, was a man of intense focus. He says, “one thing I do.” For us, that one thing is the pursuit of Christ. This isn’t about making a dozen New Year's resolutions; it’s about aligning your one true priority—your relationship with God—so that everything else falls into place.
B. Forgetting What Is Behind (Philippians 3:13)
Forget the victories, so you don't become complacent. Forget the defeats, so you don't become paralyzed.
"Forgetting what is behind" is an act of faith. It’s faith that says, "God’s grace is sufficient for my failures, and His power is sufficient for my future." If you hold onto the past, you cannot effectively "strain toward what is ahead."
C. Pressing Toward the Goal (Philippians 3:14)
This leads us to the heart of the Christian race. Here’s what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:14 (NIV) "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
The word "press" suggests intensity, relentless effort, and forward motion. 2026 is a year for pressing forward in your calling.
So, what is the goal?
It is “The prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
It is not an earthly promotion.
It is not perfect health or wealth.
It is knowing Christ more fully, serving Him more deeply, and aligning our priorities with God's will.
This is the faith to fly—a committed, unwavering press toward the ultimate goal.
III. The Foundation of Our Faith is: Trust, Not Understanding (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Back to our text for today.
2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV For we live by faith, not by sight.
The great unknown of 2026 is faced not with human worry, but with divine strategy because
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) says: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Let your first response to the unknown be trust. The faith that closes 2025 is the thankfulness for His finished work. The faith that opens 2026 is the bold assurance of His future promises. Let us run this race, throwing off the hindrances, looking only to Jesus, and walking every single day by faith, not by sight.
Heavenly Father,
As we stand between the year that is ending and the year that is to come, we bow our hearts before Your sovereignty and grace.
We thank You for 2025. We confess where we have failed, where our faith wavered, and where we walked by sight instead of trusting Your perfect will. By the blood of Jesus, we lay down all guilt, regret, and the sin that easily entangles. We claim Your promise that Your mercies are new every morning.
Now, Lord, we look to 2026 with a vibrant and expectant faith. We choose to fix our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith. Help us to truly forget what is behind, to be unburdened by the past, and to strain forward with intense focus. Empower us to press on toward the goal of knowing You more deeply.
Guard our hearts against fear and confusion. May we trust in You with all our heart and lean not on our own limited understanding. Strengthen us to run the race with perseverance, to be diligent in maintaining our foundation in faith, and to align our priorities with Your will.
Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that we may be agents of Your love, light, and grace in the world throughout the new year.
We pray all this in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
