Intermission

Introduction:

Ask for the best place to stop during a road trip?

During a long road trip, at some point, you have to make a stop. Whether that is to fill the car up with gas, getting something to eat, or just getting out and stretching. It’s essentially a good thing to stop that way we are able to refresh ourselves in order to finish out the trip.

While we have this mindset during something like a trip or a job, we ought to have the same mindset about our lives in a spiritual matter. In order for us to tackle this in a successful way, we have to ask ourselves one question; What does that mean?

It could mean many of things to all of us, but if we are not careful enough to not make these stops, then our relationship with God and others could become very chaotic in a way that we wouldn’t like.

So with that being said, you are probably looking at the screens and you are all probably wondering why the title says the word “Intermission”. Intermission is a movie term that usually means that it’s time to take a halfway through the movie break. This is something that you usually see in older films. According to Google, I looked this up, I believe that the most recent major appropriate film to have an intermission was the movie Gandhi in 1982. There’s your fun fact for ya. However, we are going to be talking about the word Intermission in a different light.

Obviously, we have nearly come to an end when it comes to the fall semester and the year 2025. Usually around this time of the year, you reflect on the year that you had in many ways. You look back on things that you did, what you did well, and what you could have done better. In the same ways, you also think about how you want the incoming year to be. You ask the questions such as “What do you wanna do?, What do you want to grow in?, and what to start or stop doing?”. In this way, you begin to create goals that will help you meet the criteria of the things that you want to do with the new year. This is often referred to us as New Year’s Resolutions.

Ask about what are some Resolutions that people make?

A lot of the time what happens to these resolutions? That’s right, they fail immensely or they don’t go as planned. The main reason for that is due to how we set our expectations too high or we put way too much on our plate and of course, this happens in our relationship with God as we can either put not a whole lot on our plate or we put too much on our plate to the point where we either drop it and get off track or we just get to overwhelmed to the point that we don’t want to do it.

Now that all of these realties have been pointed out, we must ask ourselves how can we balance our lives with our relationship with God and with other people going into 2026. We’re going to look at 3 different ways on how this can be possible.

Seek

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

These were the words of Jesus when He was preaching the Sermon on the Mount. The context of this verse ties into the command that we should not be anxious about the things of our lives. Jesus tells us here to seek the Kingdom of God first and foremost. To really go all in on this command, we need to ask ourselves one thing about ourselves;

What are we seeking?

There is not a week that goes by that we want something. It can be in the confines of what you want for dinner, what do you want to do on your birthday, what do you want for Christmas, etc. However, we can ask ourselves the same questions such as what do you want to be known for, what position do you want in school or on a sports team, etc. While some of these things are harmless, if we put them at the CenterPoint of our lives, then we are no longer seeking the kingdom of God, but rather seeking a Kingdom for Ourselves. This world can be tempting in many ways as it promotes putting you and society first, along with any relationship that you have with God on the backburner. However, if we instead choose to seek God’s Kingdom first, then we will feel fulfilled. Earthly things such as popularity, money, and power won’t fulfill us, but will lead us into not being satisfied and wanting more to the point where it destroys our minds, hearts, and relationships. Seeking God’s Kingdom first will lead you into a peace going into 2026 and beyond.

So, how can we embrace this mindset of seeking God’s Kingdom first? 3 ways on how to do it.

Meditate

To us, to meditate means to think deeply and carefully about. When it comes to seeking God’s Kingdom in 2026, we need to look at some of the things that we are meditating on in this current day of age. That could be basically anything from an entertainment perspective to a literature perspective to a social perspective. If we are not careful, then we start to overly meditate on these things to where they cloud our thinking. So, how can we meditate.

Often times, we hear the word meditate in a spiritual context when it comes to reading the Bible. Reading the Bible is definitely a key way in terms of how God speaks to us. We need to remember that reading the Bible is not to be read in a way that you would read a history textbook on the computer. God gives us clear instructions when he commissions Joshua.

Joshua 1:7–9 “Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.””

So here are the instructions that God gives to us in this time, we are not just to read Scripture, but rather we are to read Scripture in a way that we are thinking and meditating on it all the time. That way, we are thinking about it day and night. The more we think about and meditate on Scripture, the more we are out to follow it. Meditating on God’s Word is also a good way that we have that conversation with God. It’s how we listen to God. He speaks to us through His word.

2. Accountability

Who are we surrounding ourselves with in 2026?

Galatians 6:1–2 “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

We are called to lift up another in accountability in order to be brothers and sisters actively pushing each other to become more like Christ. God designs this in a good matter for us not in a way that makes us feel bad or torn down. He designs this in a way that makes all of us stronger in our faith. In a way that helps us all to lift each other up and encourage us. Whether it’s a matter of sin, a matter of reading your Bible daily, praying daily, and many other things that one might be struggling in when it comes to your walk with Christ.

Share stories of how I surrounded myself with the wrong group of people in late middle school/early high school. End up becoming more surrounded by friends who pushed me to become like Christ.

That can most certainly be the story of everyone in this room. If we surround ourselves with other believers, holding each other accountable, our walk with Christ will feel less challenging since we are surrounding ourselves with a community of believers that are pushing us to become more Christlike in our ways. In return, we should be doing the same for our friends in order for them to become more Christlike.

3. Boldness

Who are we sharing the Gospel with in 2026?

As we know, Jesus calls us to go out and share the Gospel with anyone that needs to hear it (spoiler alert: everyone needs to hear it). Peter does a fantastic job highlighting a major calling to sharing the Gospel.

1 Peter 3:13–16 “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

By this set of Scripture, we know that we have to share and defend our faith with gentleness and respect. As we know, we cannot force someone into Heaven, but rather do it in a way that honors God.

Obviously, that can be very difficult to do in the grand scheme of things. It can be intimidating to go up and share your faith as there could be the question of what happens with my relationships with people if I share my faith, what happens to a position that I have if I share my faith? There could also be the confusion of not knowing how to share your faith in any scenario that you might find yourself in. It could be the struggle of not knowing when the right timing is or simply not knowing the words to say. Here’s the good news about all of this, It could be any reason and God still loves us and calls us to draw near to Him in any circumstance.

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

In any situation that we may find ourselves in, we can have peace in knowing that the throne of Grace that our King Jesus sits on is open 24/7. He wants us to draw near to Him in anything that we face, good or bad. So in this way, when it comes to sharing our faith, finding an accountability partner, holding other believers accountable, or growing in reading the Bible and praying more. No matter what it is, we have a hope that God will give us the words to say and give us the ability to do all that we need to do to grow in our relationship with Him.

Spiritual Commitment Guides: So some of you about 5 months ago filled out something during a summer midweek called a Spiritual Growth Commitment. This was a packet that you did which involved filling out areas in your walk with Christ that you wanted to grow in, setting plans and goals, setting accountability partners, and a commitment that we signed for this packet.

If you didn’t fill one out, we have some blank ones that we can fill out right here. If you did fill one out, we have them right here. This way you can look at them and see your progress. If you are doing great that’s awesome, keep it up!! If you are not doing so hot, then obviously, we aren’t gonna bully you, but we will be praying