It makes me uncomfortable.

New Year Reset

My mom used to have a VCR in our Living Room that had the tape slot that popped up

It also had a big reset button next to the counter

after a few hours of Days of Our Lives episodes, the timer would be really high.

It was so satisfying to press the reset button and watch it go back to zeros.

That is the image that pops in my head every new year’s, the opportunity to hit the reset button.

to start fresh

To begin new habits, goals, and disciplines

To leave behind some things in the new year to open up time for better things.

I know New Year’s resolutions don’t stick well, but that isn’t a reason to not have them.

there is something about a fresh year that invites us to star fresh.

And that is what I want to do today and throughout this series, to challenge us to star fresh.

But starting fresh always comes with excuses, doesn’t it?

I have already come up with excuses why I am not ready to star working out more regularly

Maybe you have excuses about why you can’t eat healthier

or why you can’t commit to reading the Bible in 2026.

That’s the one I want to spend the next 4 weeks challenging the common excuses we give.

Why don’t we read the Bible?

More than a time issue

Most of us, when asked about their Bible reading, would say: Life is so busy and I struggle to fit it in.

This is true; we are very busy.

However, busyness it is not the reason we don’t get into the Word, at least not the main, heart-level reason.

See, the same people who are really busy do have the time to eat food and sleep.

We are up to date on the news, watch movies, use social media, keep track of our teams, and a host of other things.

Let’s be honest: none of us are truly too busy to read the Bible.

We may be busy, but we choose to put the Bible aside for one reason or another.

Over the course of the next 4 weeks, I want to look at 4 heart-level excuses we give (or would give if we put it into words) for why we don’t read the bible regularly.

And as we tackle these excuses, we are going to take this New Year opportunity to hit the “Reset” button and begin 2026 “In the Word” as a church family.

Over the last five years, we’ve watched something beautiful happen in our church.

We’ve seen more growth in people’s lives when they simply open the Bible together and we want to lean into that more in 2026

So in February, we want to get in the word together as a church family.

We will have more details next week, but I wanted to get that in front of you today before we tackle this first excuse.

So now that kind of know where we are going, now to confront our first excuse.

It Makes Us Uncomfortable

None of us would probably ever verbalize this excuse, but if we are honest, one reason we do not read the bible is IT MAKES US UNCOMFORTABLE.

That might sound off a bit, but let me read a passage that might be familiar to many of you, and then we will flesh it out.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 CSB

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

A little context here:

Paul is writing to his protege Timothy, who is the pastor of a church in Ephesus.

This is the last letter we think Paul wrote and he is helping Timothy navigate through some challenging pastoral issues.

A couple of dudes are teaching false doctrine and causing some major confusion.

Paul is challenging Timothy to hold fast to the Word and not waiver in teaching it.

So he, in 2 verses, gives Timothy the most clear and power statement about the Word of God we have in the entire bible.

When Paul says “all Scripture is breathed out by God,” he is saying that when we open the Bible, we are not merely reading an ancient religious test, we are hearing the very voice of God.

That means Scripture does not come to us as a suggestion but as a claim on our minds, hearts, and lives.

The heart issue behind the excuse is not that the content of the Bible is uncomfortable, but that the Bible is authoritative.

Deep down, that is what we resist.

We are comfortable with the bible being inspirational, but not with it being authoritative.

We like a Bible that encourages us, but we struggle with a Bible that can overrule us.

Most of us are happy to use Scripture as a resource, but we do not naturally want it to function as a ruler.

We don’t like any authority that we cannot manage, edit, or mute—and the “God‑breathed” Word is exactly that kind of authority.

The moment we pick up the Bible, the reset is no longer on our terms.

God starts speaking into what is true and false, what stays and what goes, what needs to change and how we are called to live.

That is uncomfortable, and so we reach for excuses.

Here is the question in front of us: will we keep clinging to excuses that protect our comfort, or will we receive this God‑breathed Word as our authority.

How God’s Word changes us:

1) It TEACHES us

We are always being taught by something:

Social media is seeking to teaches us what matters and what doesn’t.

Advertisements are trying to teach us what we “need” to be happy.

Our families and experiences teach us what is normal.

Our own hearts teach us what we think will make us fulfilled.

The problem is, most of what we are being taught is not true.

The first thing Paul’s says God’s Word does is it “teaches us” what is true and right.

He is saying the Word of God reveals to us what is true about God, about us, about the world, and about how life really works.

We come to the Bible with our own ideas and understandings, Scripture confronts and reshapes those.

We watch real people obey and disobey—

Joseph resisting temptation, David abusing power and then repenting, the early church learning to walk in faith and to love and serve one another.

Those stories are classrooms where right and wrong are lived out in real situations.

So when we open the Bible, it is not just giving us information.

It is progressively teaching us who God is, what is truly good, and how life really works—until our minds and our instincts begin to line up with God’s.

That is why it can feel so uncomfortable: it isn’t just filling our heads; it is overturning our old way of seeing everything.

2) It REPROVES us

Next, Paul says Scripture is profitable for reproof.

If teaching tells us what is right, reproof shows us where we are wrong.

It exposes.

It confronts.

It points out our sin and error.

This is where the discomfort really starts to be felt.

There’s a story in the Old Testament that shows this so vividly.

King Josiah was a young king in Judah.

During repairs on the temple, the priests found “the Book of the Law”—God’s commands that had essentially been lost and ignored. They brought it to the king and read it to him.

As Josiah listened, he heard God’s commands, God’s warnings, God’s promises.

And he realized, “We have not been living like this. We have broken God’s commands.”

The text says he tore his clothes—a sign of grief and deep conviction—because the Word of God had reproved him.

It exposed the gap between how they were living and what God had said.

That’s what Scripture does for us.

You’re reading along and come to a passage about anger, and suddenly you see your short temper, your cutting words, your harsh tone at home.

You read Jesus talking about lust of the heart, and you see your private habits on your screen.

You read commands about forgiving as you’ve been forgiven, and the bitterness you’ve been nursing for years suddenly feels exposed in the light.

That’s reproof.

Here’s the critical question: What do you do in that moment?

Most of us have a few default moves:

We close the Bible—physically or mentally.

We say, “That’s not really about me.”

We compare ourselves: “Well, at least I’m not as bad as…”

We blame others: “If they hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be this way.”

But that uncomfortable prick of conscience when Scripture hits home—that is not God trying to shame you.

That is God seeking to save you, to set you free.

You cannot repent of what you refuse to see.

So reproof is God opening your eyes, not to crush you, but to bring you to life.

3) It CORRECTS us

Scripture doesn’t just point out the problem; it directs us toward the remedy.

Paul says it is profitable for correction.

Correction implies movement:

From wrong belief to right belief.

From wrong behavior to right behavior.

From a crooked path to a straight one.

Think of correction like going to the chiropractor.

Something is out of alignment—your thinking, your desires, your choices.

Correction is God, through his Word, putting things back into proper alignment.

That is rarely comfortable. But it is absolutely necessary.

Correction happens when conviction leads to repentance—not just saying “sorry,” but changing direction.

If we stop at feeling convicted but never actually change course, we’ve heard reproof, but we’ve refused correction.

Repentance is the changing direction in our minds and in our actions, according to the conviction God has revealed in His Word.

We stop running our own way and start living under God’s authority.

Paul says the goal of all of this is that we would be “complete, equipped for every good work.”

God’s desire isn’t to shame us, but to free us to live our lives how He has created us.

Through His Word, God mercifully and lovingly calls us to walk according to His ways.

4) It TRAINS us

Finally, Paul says Scripture is profitable for training in righteousness.

Training is a process word.

We hear it in athletics, in the work place, and for soldiers.

Training in righteousness means:

God uses his Word, over time, to form our character.

He shapes our instincts—what we want, how we react, what we love.

He grows our endurance so that we can actually live out what we believe in the real pressures of life.

Training doesn’t happen in a moment; it happens through repetition.

This is where our expectations often clash with God’s design.

We tend to want Bible reading to feel inspiring every time:

We want fireworks in every quiet time.

We want a brand new insight every day.

We want instant, visible transformation.

But training is often slow:

Some days the Word feels alive and electric.

Some days you feel distracted and sluggish.

Some days you walk away thinking, “I’m not sure what I got out of that.”

Yet, over weeks and months and years, God is building something steady and strong in you.

When you consistently sit under Scripture, even when it feels ordinary, the Spirit is training you:

Training you to recognize God’s voice.

Training you to spot lies more quickly.

Training you to respond in love rather than anger.

Training you to endure suffering with hope.

Training you to see opportunities for good works you used to miss.

God’s desire in His Word is to shape us and form us.

Romans 12:2 CSB

2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Move Beyond Excuses

When we say, “The Bible makes me uncomfortable,” here’s what we’re really saying:

“I don’t want anyone outside of me telling me what is true.”

“I don’t want my sin exposed.”

“I don’t want to change direction.”

“I don’t want to submit to a long process of training.”

But 2 Timothy 3:16–17 shows that all those uncomfortable things are actually the mercy of God.

He teaches because he loves us.

He reproves because he refuses to let us be deceived.

He corrects because he wants us healed and restored.

He trains because he intends to make us complete, equipped for every good work.

The discomfort is not God controlling us; it is God calling us and transforming us to make us more like Jesus.

Remember my mom’s VCR:

New Year feels like a reset button.

But you and I can’t reset our own hearts.

Only God can.

And one of the chief ways he does that is through this God‑breathed Word that:

Teaches us what is true.

Reproves our sin.

Corrects our path.

Trains us in righteousness.

So here is the response this week, very simply:

Admit the real heart issue: “Lord, I don’t like your authority over me—but I need it more than I need my comfort.”

Ask God for a new posture toward his Word: “Make me willing to be taught, reproved, corrected, and trained.”

Begin praying and planning this week about signing up for a Learning group.

Next week you will have the opportunity to sign up for a group to begin your 2026 in the Word.

Let’s go beyond excuses.

Let’s let the God‑breathed Word make us uncomfortable and do its beautiful work in us.