Looking To 2021 Let Us Thank God And Take Courage

This is the manuscript of the sermon delivered at Christ Church Sunday December 27, 2020.

Approaching the end of an era in life is always a solemn occasion. This is true of a student who approaches the completion of a course of study, of an employee who comes to the end of a relationship with an employer, of a professional who finds it necessary to move to a new location to carry on his or her work. 

This same concept or idea is also true concerning us as we approach the end of the year.  2020 has been a year that has been full of struggles and uncertainty, but in spite of these things as we come to the end of this year, let us look back and thank God with gratitude for what he has done. Then let us look forward with faith and hope for what he will continue to be and to do in 2021 and  beyond. 

For an audio recording of the sermon click the YouTube link at the end of this manuscript.  

To see a video of the entire service click this link https://youtu.be/0wFGtZgdzHI

Scripture Reading:  Acts 28:11-16 (NLT2)11  It was three months after the shipwreck that we set sail on another ship that had wintered at the island—an Alexandrian ship with the twin gods as its figurehead.12  Our first stop was Syracuse, where we stayed three days.13  From there we sailed across to Rhegium. A day later a south wind began blowing, so the following day we sailed up the coast to Puteoli.14  There we found some believers, who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome.15  The brothers and sisters in Rome had heard we were coming, and they came to meet us at the Forum on the Appian Way. Others joined us at The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God.16  When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to have his own private lodging, though he was guarded by a soldier.  

Text: Acts 28:15 (NLT2) 15  The brothers and sisters in Rome had heard we were coming, and they came to meet us at the Forum on the Appian Way. Others joined us at The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God. 

Introduction

Approaching the end of an era in life is always a solemn occasion. This is true of a student who approaches the completion of a course of study, of an employee who comes to the end of a relationship with an employer, of a professional who finds it necessary to move to a new location to carry on his or her work.  I had this experience a number of times in my life because the Lord blessed me to be able to move, a number of times, all over the country, so I have experienced this a number of times.  This same concept or idea is also true concerning us as we approach the end of the year.  2020 has been a year that has been full of struggles and uncertainty, but in spite of these things as we come to the end of this year, let us look back and thank God with gratitude for what he has done. Then let us look forward with faith and hope for what he will continue to be and to do in 2021 and  beyond. 

Our Scripture reading describes a significant moment in the life of the apostle Paul. His had been a life of impactful service, with a combination of both successes and failures. His was not a life of perfect performance and total success along the way. There were periods and experiences in his life that could have caused him to go into deep discouragement and depression. 

 

2 Corinthians 1:8‭-‬10 NLT We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.

Paul had been imprisoned in Caesarea for perhaps two years and had endured a difficult journey from Caesarea to Rome, where he was to face Caesar’s court.  You can read about that experience in Acts chapters 23 through 28.

We can be certain that Paul was exhausted in body and, at least at times, troubled in mind. We find that in those moments of uncertainty when Paul faced a new era in his life, God provided for him. We read, in our scripture and text that how, when the believers in Rome heard of Paul’s approach, they immediately went to meet him. Some of them traveled as far as forty-three miles, and others traveled thirty-three miles. 

Acts 28:15 (NLT2) 15  The brothers and sisters in Rome had heard we were coming, and they came to meet us at the Forum on the Appian Way. Others joined us at The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God. 

The pattern of Paul’s actions at this point provides us with a pattern for facing the coming year, 2021.  For the few days left 2020, in 2021 and from now on let us thank God and take courage because God remains the same.

1. Let us thank God and take courage because the Bible continues to nourish us

2. Let us thank God and take courage because the Holy Spirit continues the good work of God within us.

3. Let us thank God and take courage because the gospel continues to save those who trust Jesus.

4. Let us thank God and take courage that God’s invitations are still open.

5. Let us thank God and take courage because the future belongs to believers in Christ.

1. Let us thank God and take courage because God remains the same.

Malachi 3:6 NLT“I am the Lord , and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.

And the author of the book of Hebrews spoke of the unchanging Christ as being “the same yesterday and today and for ever” 

Hebrews 13:8 NLT Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

As we face the uncertain and uncharted road of 2021, we can be certain that God has not changed his character or his purpose nor his promises or provisions. He is the solid Rock in whom we can trust and on whom we can place our feet for safety and security when the storms of life beat down on us. 

The psalmist declared, 

Psalms 46:1‭-‬3 NLT God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

Individuals change. Families change. Businesses change. Nations change. Constant changes always present a threat, and there have been lots of change in 2020. In the midst of whatever may threaten us, we can take courage and be strong in the faith that our God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ will remain the same.

2. Let us thank God and take courage because the Bible continues to nourish us.

Psalm 119 is a hymn of praise to the benefits that come to those who delight themselves in the Word of God, who let God speak to their deepest needs through his law, his teachings, and his promises.

I encourage you to read and meditate on Psalm 119 and what the writer says about the Word of God.  He refers to the Word using eight different terms; law, testimonies, precepts, statues, commandments, judgments, word, and ordinances.

The apostle Peter encouraged all believers 

1 Peter 2:1‭-‬3 NLT So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

During the past year and in every past year, God has spoken words of guidance and comfort and help to his people as they have feasted on the words of his inspired book, the Bible.

Through studying the Bible, we have found guidance in times of uncertainty and strength for our times of weakness. By meditating on the Word of God, we have received divine warnings in times of danger. By listening to the words of the Bible, we have received divine directions concerning decisions that we were to make. 

In times of grief and sorrow, we have found the encouragement and the comfort that God has to offer.

Psalms 121:1‭-‬2 NLT I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord , who made heaven and earth!

Let us thank God, as we come to the end of this year, for the benefits that have come to us through studying the Bible. Let us take courage as we face the future, because the Word of God will continue to speak to us according to our individual needs and on the basis of God’s great generosity.

3. Let us thank God and take courage because the Holy Spirit continues the good work of God within us.

One of the most precious promises that our Lord made concerned the permanence of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers. 

John 14:15‭-‬17 NLT “If you love me, obey my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

Our Lord was contrasting the length of time the Holy Spirit would be present in the hearts of believers with the brevity of his own time with them. He was to depart, but the Holy Spirit was to come as an abiding companion and counselor, to be to them on a permanent basis what Jesus had been for a brief three years.

2 Corinthians 1:21‭-‬22 NLT It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

Ephesians 1:14 NLT The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Let us thank God and take courage as we face the future, because God the Holy Spirit will be at work in us to help us know what God would have us do.

Philippians 2:13 NLT For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

4. Let us thank God and take courage because the gospel continues to save those who trust Jesus.

As Paul faced the challenge of visiting the capital city of the Roman Empire, he did so with full confidence in the power of the gospel to save any individual who would put faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Romans 1:16‭-‬17 NLT For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.  This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Let us trust God to help us witness on a one-to-one basis concerning what God has done and what he is seeking to do through Christ.

God is still in the business of saving people from the waste, ruin, and disappointment of life without faith. Let us thank God and take courage as we respond to the truth that people can still be saved.

5. Let us thank God and take courage that God’s invitations are still open.

Many people see the Bible only in terms of restrictions and prohibitions. Others see the Bible in terms of orders and commandments. Let us look into the Bible for the thousands of invitations that God extends to us. 

For example, he invites us to come into the throne room for prayer, 

Hebrews 4:14‭-‬16 NLT So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

He invites us to be a part of his family, 

1 John 3:1‭-‬2 NLT See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.

And he invites us to be in partnership with him in his redemptive program. 

2 Corinthians 5:18‭-‬20 NLT And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

Let us discover and respond to the great invitations that he continues to offer.

6. Let us thank God and take courage because the future belongs to believers in Christ.

We follow a victorious leader who has defeated Satan, sin, death, and the grave. Paul closed his great resurrection chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 with this shout, 

1 Corinthians 15:56‭-‬57 NLT For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are times when it seems as if the devil is on the throne and that wickedness rules the universe. In such times, we need with the eyes of faith to see that the decisive battle of history has already been fought and won on a cross and in an empty tomb. 

Colossians 2:13‭-‬15 NLT You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

Because Christ Jesus lives again, we also shall live with him. 

John 14:18‭-‬19 NLT No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.  Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live.

Conclusion

Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica,

1 Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18 NLT Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

If we have thanksgiving for the past, we will have courage to face the future as we enter 2021.

Each Advent, as we did this year, we prepare and refocus our hearts on what matters most. God delights in our efforts to commune with Him, but Jesus didn’t leave the comforts of home in heaven to come and seek the “spiritually motivated.” He came to seek the lost.

As this year comes to a close and we resolve to improve upon our lives in the next, remember the daily privilege we have as children of God. Follow Him quickly, listen for Him intently, and seek Him enthusiastically every day. There is purpose for our entire lives, every day.  We were lost when Jesus found us, and He covered us with His love. May our lives reflect an outpouring of His Light, Living Water, and Love flowing through our hearts.

 

Father in Heaven,

Abba Father, who delights in His children. Jesus, Messiah, who calls us friends. Holy Spirit, gift from above and constant companion. Glory be to the One True, Triune, God! You know when we are lost, Lord. You found us, caught up in our own motivations and confused by worldly principles. You rescued us, defeating death on the cross and rising to sit at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Your reach into our everyday lives, our messy circumstances, forever changes us.

Thank You for coming for the lost. Thank You for salvation, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and hope! Thank You for Your compassionate love for us, and particular and care for our daily lives. We are completely loved and totally filled with peace in Your presence, God. We humbly stand before You today, ready to serve You.  

 

Not one day of our lives is more or less important. No one person more or less loved. Father, we all have friends or loved ones who do not yet know you. We ask you to pursue and win them as you have pursued and won us. Show us how to be your hands and feet in this work.

 In Your perfect way, You hold the world in balance and our souls in tune. You hear every voice, every prayer, every cry, and every shout of praise, simultaneously and always! Your ways are not our ways, but oh, God… please lead us in Your purpose for our lives.

Let Your glory, Light, and Living Water flow from our lives. May all who know us feel the love You have for all …and the care in which You save the lost.

Amen

Sermon Audio 

 

 

Good News Of Great Joy

Click below for the manuscript of the sermon, Good News of Great Joy" delivered at Christ Church's Candle Lighting Service Sunday December 20, 2020.

On this Sunday morning just a few days before Christmas, many of us are experiencing the joy, peace, and happiness that come during this festive season. On the other hand, many others are experiencing the agony of what is known as the “Christmas blues” and that is especially true this year with the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. It is highly possible that each of us will come into contact with someone during these next couple of weeks who is experiencing a lack of joy. Does the message of Christmas, which is supposed to produce great joy, have anything relevant to say to people who are experiencing a lack of joy? The angels who announced the birth of the Christ to the shepherds were bringing good news that continues to be good news for all who will listen and respond.

For an audio recording of the sermon click the YouTube link at the end of this manuscript.  

To see a video of the entire service click this link https://youtu.be/ilGL4Pd712Q

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-14 (NLT2)8  That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.9  Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,10  but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.11  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!12  And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”13  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,14  “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Text:  Luke 2:10 (NLT2)10  but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 

Introduction

On this Sunday morning just a few days before Christmas, many of us are experiencing the joy, peace, and happiness that come during this festive season. On the other hand, many others are experiencing the agony of what is known as the “Christmas blues” and that is especially true this year with the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19.  

Why is it that some people feel blue at Christmas? There are a number of contributing factors.

1. Some experience depression at Christmas time because they have exaggerated expectations of themselves and others. They hope that Christmas will solve their problems, and when it doesn’t, they go into despondency.

2. Christmas brings out our need for dependence on others. and at times others fail us, and this can be very depressing.

3. In the United States, Christmas is a family-oriented experience that sometimes causes memories that hurt rather than bless, hurt rather than help, and added to that this year we are actually discouraged from coming together.

It is highly possible that each of us will come into contact with someone during these next couple of weeks who is experiencing a lack of joy. Does the message of Christmas, which is supposed to produce great joy, have anything relevant to say to people who are experiencing a lack of joy? 

Christianity, which begins with the promise of good news that will bring great joy, should be more than just a strategy that enables us to cope with the pressures of life. Through the Christ who came at the first Christmas, God provides us with the ability to cope with life in a manner that will bring joy to us and will reflect his glory. The gospel, which is not just good advice but good news, can produce great joy in living every day.

The angels who announced the birth of the Christ to the shepherds were bringing good news that continues to be good news for all who will listen and respond.

1. There is good news about God in the gospel.

1. The message of Christmas is that the God behind and above it all is a living God. 

The Bible does not seek to tell us when and how our universe came into being.  It just says that God spoke and it came into being. The Bible’s major concern is with the who and the why. The writer of the book of Hebrews declared,

Hebrews 11:3 (NLT2)3  By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. 

The message of Christmas speaks to us of a living God who is above and behind the world. He is the God who comes into this world. He wants to remove our fears and encourage us to live a life of faith.

2. The message of Christmas proclaims the good news about the living God who loves. 

In Jesus Christ, the living God declares to us that he cares and that he wants to help us. In Jesus Christ, God came into this world bringing great and precious gifts to mankind.

John 1:1-5 (NLT2)1  In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2  He existed in the beginning with God.3  God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.4  The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.5  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

John 3:16-17 (NLT2)16  “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.17  God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

John 10:10 (NLT2)10  The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. 

2. The good news of Christmas is for all people, for everybody.

The good news of Christmas is universal in its application, because it meets the deepest needs of people of all colors, cultures, and countries.  What does our text say?

 Luke 2:10 (NLT2)10  but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 

1. God in Jesus Christ comes with good news about the forgiveness of sin. 

Forgiveness does not appear in the glossary of a psychiatric dictionary. The psychiatrist does not have a basis for offering the gift of forgiveness to those who are experiencing depression because they have broken God’s law or violated their own conscience. Jesus is the only one who can do that. Jesus Christ came that he might bear the penalty of our sin and offer to us the priceless gift of forgiveness.

Romans 6:20-23 (NLT2)20  When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right.21  And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom.22  But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. 

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT2)21  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 

2. Jesus Christ brings good news regarding life. 

Around the world in every age people have been terrorized  by the idea of death. Christ came to bring life to those who were in spiritual death because of sin.

Romans 6:23 (NLT2)23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Let’s look again at;

John 10:10 (NLT2)10  The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. 

The assurance of a life that endures beyond the curtain that people call death can do much to dispel the gloom that threatens the souls of humans.

John 5:24 NLT I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

2 Corinthians 5:6‭-‬8 NLT So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.

3. Jesus Christ brings good news about belonging to God and to the family of God. 

The church is spoken of as the family of God and the household of faith. 

Galatians 6:9-10 (NLT2)9  So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.10  Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. 

A warm, wonderful Bible Study or Sunday worship service or a candlelight service like we're having today, can provide tremendous support for someone who is experiencing stress. A genuine Christian friend can be of tremendous value in a time of crisis. 

Galatians 6:2-3 (NLT2)2  Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.3  If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. 

This Christmas season, let us extend hands of Christian love and fellowship to those who are experiencing loneliness and discouragement.

4. Jesus Christ brings good news regarding help. 

Every one of us will stand in need of the help of God and others as time goes by. The psalmists wrote about this several times;

Psalm 121:1-2 (NLT2)1 I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there?2  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!

Psalm 46:1-3 (NLT2)1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.2  So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.3  Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! Interlude

5. Christ brings to us the good news concerning a precious home at the end of the road in the future

Many homeowners consider their home to be their best investment. But there are others who never have the joy of owning a house they can call their own. Through the grace of God and the provisions of his Son, Jesus Christ, all believers can look forward to having a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, when this life is over.

John 14:1-3 (NLT2)1  “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.2  There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?3  When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

Conclusion

In a world in which much bad news is delivered to us each day by the internet, newspapers, radio, and television, let us listen to the good news that comes from God in and through Jesus Christ. Let us individually respond to the full implications of the good news the angels sang about. Let us trust in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah who came to meet the deepest needs of our lives. Let us trust in his death for the forgiveness of our sin and in his resurrected and living presence for the gift of eternal life. Let us face life with the resources he promises.

Christmas means that a king has been born, conceived in the womb of a virgin. And this king will reign over an everlasting kingdom that will be made up of millions and millions of saved sinners. The reason that this everlasting, virgin-born king can reign over a kingdom of sinners is because he was born precisely to die. And he did die. He died in our place and bore our sin and provided our righteousness and took away the wrath of God and defeated the evil one so that anyone, anywhere, of any kind can turn from sin to the true king, and put their faith in him, and have everlasting joy.

God’s invitation to be saved is found in the Bible and requires a response.

What must you do?

Romans 10:9‭-‬10 NLT If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

Why must you do it? 

The answer is, “to be saved.” In trusting Jesus Christ with our lives we are saved FROM hell, we are saved FOR the purpose declaring Jesus to this world, and we are saved TO an eternal and everlasting life in Heaven with God himself. 

If you haven't accepted God’s invitation please do it today.

Father, in the middle of a strange Christmas season at the end of a long, difficult year, we thank you for the greatest gift of all, your son Jesus Christ. Thank you for sending him to pay for our sins. Thank you for your promise of eternal life to those who accept this gift. Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with faith to trust in your promises.  Help us to choose to trust your plan instead of being bitter. Help us to believe your Word instead of our fears. Help us to focus on your presence, not our disappointments, and talk to everyone about Jesus. Amen.

Sermon Audio