Four Questions for a New Year

January 2, 2022 Steve Brown Download: Audio

Sermon Notes:

It may be helpful to pause the sermon recording at various intervals, to allow for an opportunity to reflect on each of the four questions as they are asked. The questions, with time markers, are as follows:

1. Where will your eyes be focused in 2022? (pause at the 8:00 minute mark)
2. Who will you walk with in 2022? (pause at the 13:24 minute mark)
3. How are you going to use your towel in 2022? (pause at the 19:00 minute mark)
4. How will you approach the well in 2022? (pause at the 23:54 minute mark)

Scripture:

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us… Read more…

Matthew 26:36-46

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” Read more…

John 13:1-17

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Read more…

John 4:1-15

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John… Read more…

Looking to Sunday

by Elaine Poproski

If I hadn’t learned this lesson before, one of the things these past months of COVID have taught me is that planning ahead is a fool’s errand. Maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but it sure has felt that way these last two years.

At the beginning of a new year, I usually spend some time with my calendar to map out the big events – the important things I want to be sure I do. There’s an old illustration that’s often used to help people think about planning ahead: Imagine you have a jar, some sand, some big rocks, and some pebbles. The goal is to fit all these things into the jar. If you start with the sand, it won’t work. If you start with the pebbles, it won’t work. (Go ahead, try it for yourself.) The only way to fit it all into the jar is to start with the big rocks, then put in the pebbles, and at the end pour in the sand. When we’re talking about planning, the idea is to figure out what your big rocks are, and put them into your calendar first.

This past year, I didn’t even know how to map out vacation time. Not knowing if or when we’d be having church in person or over Zoom meant not knowing if we’d need a guest preacher in the building on the day, or if a pre-recorded sermon would do. And that was just one of many complications and unknowns that made planning ahead the last couple of years very difficult. I’m sure I’m not alone in this. I’m sure most of us have had difficulty planning ahead through COVID. And as I write this, it’s not looking like 2022 is going to be much better. What’s a person to do?

On Sunday we’re going to be hearing from Steve Brown, the President of Arrow Leadership, and he’s going to help us with this planning. The thing is, he’s not going to talk about scheduling vacations or continuing education or retreat time or any of the other things we might think of as the big rocks we need to schedule. Instead, he’s going to remind us to keep our eyes focused on Jesus throughout the year ahead, regardless of what happens during that year. He’s going to ask some poignant questions to help us think through our priorities in terms of the people with whom we surround ourselves, the acts of service that will occupy us, and the ways we will engage with other people. Hmmm. Maybe those are the big rocks we should be focusing on in our planning, after all.

As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps take some time to look back over 2021. Where did you see God at work in your life? Where did you see God at work in the world around you? These might not be easy questions to answer. Try to plan some time within the next week to engage them fully.