Stuck at New Years

Absolutely no idea it’s about to drop a foot of snow or whatever while we’re in there. Arabelle’s in crocs. The movie shuts down 3/4ths of the way through (so no spoilers for the end of Avatar).

I got all the kids home, safe and steady, a bit of white-knuckle… but I’m home all warm, with all the kids.

And I think, you know… the roads were getting pretty bad out there. Let me check on my wife. Who I left. At the movie theater.

I call, she’s still there. Just wrapping up.

I let her know, the roads are pretty bad, and (reluctantly) offer to come get her.

She gets in the van and backs up. No problem. She tries to go forward. Nothing. Doesn’t want to move. Barely wants to spin. She tries all the things… she’s blocking the parking lot, folks try to help… nothing.

So I suit up. Back out into the torrential blizzard of 2022. The van is not going to make it, so I drive her home.

Drove home, waited for roads to clear, actually waited until Friday. Went back. Drove home, nice and easy, no problem.

Fortunately, KK knew just what to do. She knew all the things to try, knew when it was hopeless… and had other options.

Can you imagine how ridiculous if she just sat there with the gas pedal to the floor, trying the same thing that wasn’t working, not moving forward… just burning time and fuel.

Ridiculous in the van.

But… kind of sounds like life. Burning energy, trying hard, doing the same thing not knowing what else to try, not knowing who to call or how to “try differently.”

Are you stuck?

New Years is a time to evaluate. to reevaluate. To get unstuck.

Top 10 New Years Resolutions:

Exercise more

Lose weight

Get organized

Learn a new skill or hobby

Live life to the fullest

Save more money / spend less money

Quit smoking

Spend more time with family and friends

Travel more

Best New Years Resolution:

Jesus.

That’s the one word answer. Let’s add some more.

I want to love Jesus more, know him more, receive His love more.

I want to be more like Jesus, love more like Jesus, live into the righteousness of Jesus.

I want to walk like Jesus, talk like Jesus… not because it makes me more righteous or holy… but because that’s what “life abundant” look like. That’s what loving God and loving others really looks like.

New Years Resolution: More Jesus, please.

Let’s make that a SMART goal: 23% more Jesus in 2023. By December 31st of next year.

How do we do this? How do we take stock of our walk with God? Of how we are growing (or not growing) to look and love like Jesus?

What is Discipleship?

Discipleship can mean a lot of things. What is your “next step”, what is God doing in your life? What is He calling you to, personally, specifically...

But if we were to keep it real simple:

A scholar of the Bible once asked Jesus, what’s like the “most important God-type thing we should be doing?”

Matthew 22:36–40 ESV

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Keep it real simple. Love God. Love Others.

Do you love God more today than you did last year?

What does that love look like? How does it take form? Is it a fond feeling towards God? Does it take action?

Our love towards God is always, always, always responsive. We only can love because He first loved us. So receive His love, His gospel, His grace, His forgiveness, His restoration, His healing… we receive His love in more and more of our life.

In our heart.

In our soul.

In our minds.

In our past. In our present. In our future.

Have you heard and received the gospel? Not a one-time thing, we hear God’s love and God’s forgiveness at deeper and deeper levels, and applied to more and more of who we are and how we live.

God loves you. He loves you childhood mistakes and forgives you. He sees the brokenness of what was done to you… he and he alone can bring healing and wholeness. He sees the brokenness in your marriage, in your friendships, with your parents… the love and grace of God loves and forgives and restores all.

We can call it this: Being before doing.

Before you could possibly do anything for God, you receive God. You only love because He first loves us… as you receive that love you are then able to love.

You must first be, being the disciple of Jesus, receiving the gospel, then living the gospel.

We grow in the knowledge and understanding and application of His love… and our love for Him grows in response.

Has that been happening in you this last year? Where? When?

What helped it happen?

Do you love others, your neighbors, as yourself?

Who are those neighbors? Have you met some new ones this last year? Have you expanded your understanding of who “neighbors” are a bit this year?

Is your love a “general fond feeling” or does it take action?

Jesus’ example of this kind of “neighbor” love was someone stopping to help a beaten up, bloody, naked ethnic enemy… cleaning them up, feeding them, putting them up in a hotel on their own dime.

This growing in love is not something we do alone, but God has given us this great and beautiful gift: a people “called out” to do this together:

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

This was the church. Loving God, loving on each other, being and making disciples of Jesus.

This is church.

This is what church is supposed to be.

It isn’t a building, it isn’t a once-weekly service...

It is people called out by Jesus, helping one another love Jesus and love others.

And, here’s the key, this isn’t something that there’s some folks do for the other folks. It isn’t the “pastor” and the “worship team” that produce and everyone else comes and consumes some form of religious entertainment.

There’s elements to our setup that can make it feel that way, at times. That’s not what we are doing here… or when we fall into that, it’s a trap.

This is the people of God, giving out of what He has given us, serving as He gifts us, following as He leads us, to love Him and love others.

To first be… and then make disciples of Jesus.

Here at Next Step, we have tried to describe this thing we do together as a commitment to one another. A covenant.

Covenant

Let’s read it together:

As disciples of Jesus we covenant together to love God and love others, inside and outside the fellowship, by the Spirit of God, in sacrifice, submission and trust, we are on mission: to encourage and equip one another to take the next bold step in being and making disciples of Jesus.

Helping people be disciples of Jesus… and that spills over into making disciples of Jesus.

First we be, then we do.

Now God calls us in a thousand ways to a thousand ministries, ways to serve, ways to know Him, ways to love. You can’t program it, you can’t force it… but you can listen and be faithful as He calls you.

And you can simplify it, boil it down.

How are you being?

How are you doing?

How are you doing living out this covenant?

How are you doing receiving the gospel of Jesus?

(And for many, that’s all we should be focused on… get that right first). But if you’re ready. When you’re ready… how are you overflowing out of plenty, out of the spiritual gifts God has given you, how are you serving? How are you giving out the spiritual fruit He is giving you?

And what is He calling you to do this year?

How are we being?

How are we doing?

We are “called out” to help one another do this. To be disciples of Jesus… to make disciples of Jesus. To love God and love others. This is what we are doing here. If we fail to do that, we could get everything else right and be 100% wrong.

How are we doing at “being” disciples of Jesus together?

How are we “being” the church, the called out of God. Before we “do” anything, we are to “be” the Body of Christ.

Out of that incredible calling, we then “do” his will and work and ministry and mission here on earth.

In the coming weeks we are going to be talking about church structure and trying some new things. It’s important and shapes the life of our church.

But it’s only important at all to the extent it helps us do this.

Maybe some thoughts have come to mind already… but I ask this as your pastor, would you spend some time this weekend thinking and praying on these questions?

How are you being?

How are you doing?

How are we being?

How are we doing?

I’m sending out this email this afternoon.

Four questions, maybe with a link to the sermon for some context for anyone who missed it. I want to hear your reflections, and may God use this time of reflection to call us to His next steps.

God forbid that we get stuck in the snow, doing the same old thing… when we could be going home. We can more fully experience and share our true Home with Him.

New Years is a time we look back and reflect on our year... and "resolve" to grow in the year ahead. If we agree that "Jesus" is the answer, how are we doing in "being" like Jesus? How are we doing as a church, "called out" to encourage and equip each other to first "be" and then "make" disciples of Jesus?

Lord, help me "be" your disciple more fully, receiving your love and grace and forgiveness. Help me "make" disciples, boldly and creatively using the spiritual gifts and fruit you have given me to lead others to you. Lead me, and us as a church, to these next steps.

Benediction

Whatever your resolution, I echo Paul’s prayer over the church in Thessalonica:

2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 ESV

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.