Another Year Knocking at the Door

January

6 - Continued Series "The World's Greatest Love Story" Whosoever Believes in Him - John 3:16

13 - "The World's Greatest Love Story" Eternity - John 3:16

20 - "The World's Greatest Love Story" The Five C's of Hell - John 3:16

27 - 5 Part Series on "Made for Mission" - What is my Mission?

February

3 - "Made for Mission" - What is My Message?

10 - "Made for Mission" - Who is My Mission?

17 - "Made for Mission" - Why Am I on Mission?

24 - "Made for Mission" - Who's Coming with You?

March

3 - Series on "You are the Church" - The Founder

10 - "You are the Church" - The Foundation

17 - "You are the Church" - The Fellowship - Fellowship

24 - "You are the Church" - The Faithfulness - Discipleship

31 - "You are the Church" - The Function - Ministry

April

7 - "You are the Church" - The Focus - Evangelism

14 - "You are the Church" - The Fire - Worship

21 - Easter - COMMUNION SUNDAY - The Feast of Passover (Leviticus 23:5) (Pesach)

28 - The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:6)

May

5 - The Feast of First Fruits (Lev. 23:10-11)

12 - Mothers Day

19 - 40 Days of Post Resurrection Ministry Part 1 (To Give Them Hope) Luke 24:13-ff

26 - 40 Days of Post Resurrection Ministry Part 2 (To Teach Them)

June

2 - 40 Days of Post Resurrection Ministry Part 3 (Send Them Out) John 21:1-23

9 - The Feast of Pentecost or Weeks (Lev. 23:17) (Shavuot)

16 - Father's Day

Begin Summer Series - 10 Part "But God" Series

23 - Meant It For Good - Gen. 50:20

30 - Is the Judge - Ps. 75:7

July

7 - Raised Him Up from the Dead - Acts 13:30

14 - Is Faithful - 1 Cor. 10:13

21 - Rich in Mercy - Eph. 2:4

28 - Tests our Heart and Knows It - 1 Thess. 2:4; Luke 16:15

August

4 - (COMMUNION SUNDAY) Demonstrates His Own Love - Romans 5:8

11 - Chooses the Foolish to put to shame the Wise - 1 Cor. 1:27

18 - Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

25 - 1 Corinthians 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

September

1 - The Feast of Trumpets - (Lev. 23:24) - The Rapture of the Church (Yom Teruah)

8 - The Feast of Atonement - (Lev. 23:27) The Day of Atonement - (Yom Kippur)

15 - The Feast of Tabernacles - (Lev. 23:34) (Sukkot)

22 - Become a cheerful Giver - (2 Corinthians 9:7)

29 - Guest Speaker (Larry Tarver) (On Vacation - Hawaii)

October

6 - (COMMUNION SUNDAY) - The Power of Forgiveness

13 - The Nature of Revival - Characteristics Preceding Revival

20 - The Nature of Revival - Characteristic Results of Revival

27 - Jamboree Revival Begins

November

3 - Vision 20/20 Series (Intro to the importance of having Vision)

10 - Growth 2020

17 - Outreach 2020

24 - Give Thanks

December

1 - Advent of Hope

8 - Advent of Love

15 - Advent of Joy

22 - Advent of Peace

29 - End of the Year Message

This morning I want to invite you to take God’s Word and turn to Ps. 143:3-12

So here we with another Christmas season that has passed and another year knocking at the door. With it responsibilities resume, decisions to be made, resolutions to be made and kept, procrastination to be forsaken. Anxiety suddenly casts a dark shadow on our Christmas joy, and our hearts struggle to withstand it.

The reason many of us feel so insecure and anxious at the end of another year is that we’ve taken gifts meant to lead us to God, and looked to them for the strength, hope, clarity, and purpose only God can give.

Earnestly I Seek You

When King David found himself with a dry and anxious soul, he knew where to go:

My soul thirsts for you like a parched land. (Psalm 143:6)

Psalm 143:6 ESV

6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

At his lowest moments, when the future looked bleak and shaky, David didn’t stuff his anxieties under a new gym membership, fad diet, or another short-lived resolution. He crawled to the only well that had ever truly satisfied, looking to drink deeply of living water. He let suffering and opposition and heartache and pain carry him on a stretcher of weakness to God.

If we let our anxieties and thirsts lead us to God himself, he will graciously provide what we truly need at the beginning of another new year. As David testifies in the rest of the psalm, God will give us strength, but not our own; hope, but at great cost; clarity, but not control; and glory, but not for ourselves.

Strength for the Weary

It may feel like the strength we need most today is measured in meals consumed or minutes slept, but the strength we need most will always be a spiritual power and a resolve to persevere through trials and war against sin and temptation.

Lets begin by looking at what David prayed in Ps. 143:3

Psalm 143:3–6 ESV

3 For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. 4 Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. 5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. 6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

When David ran out of his own resources — worn out by fear and opposition — he didn’t dig deeper in himself. He stretched out his empty hands to the one who had worked and fought for him so many times before. You’re strength comes from the Lord, not from yourself.

Hope for the Sinful

David knows he is not merely a victim of sin committed against him, but that he himself deserves God’s anger — not compassion or support — because of sins he has committed.

Psalm 143:7–8 ESV

7 Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. 8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

The secret ingredient to David’s joy is his awareness that a sinful man like him should never get to experience this kind of happiness. God would be righteous to turn away from David, but he delights instead to shower David with steadfast love.

Clarity for the Future

David faced a hundred impossible decisions every day, for sure while he was king, but perhaps even more while on the run. He had to exercise wisdom and discernment at all times, and under incredible pressure in the most dangerous situations.

Psalm 143:8 ESV

8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Psalm 143:10 ESV

10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

The clarity we need to make difficult decisions today, especially as we enter another year, comes not mainly from meticulous planning or budgeting or scheduling, but from lifting our eyes up to God — knowing him more through what he says (in his word), waiting on him in prayer, deepening our joy in him.

Glory for the Father

The most freeing part of David’s joy in God is that it is not ultimately about him. Part of what makes happiness so elusive is that we’re always tempted to try and put ourselves at the center of it. The deepest human happiness, though, has been liberated from that temptation, and loves instead to hide in and behind the living God.

Psalm 143:11–12 ESV

11 For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! 12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.

Make your name great through me. Show the world how merciful and generous and powerful you can be. Even when David pleads for deliverance and safety, he wants God, not David, to be glorified. He wants his people (and his enemies) to see that God did it. Do you regularly ask God to move in your life — your relationships, your neighborhood, your ministry, your work — in ways that magnify him, and not you? If his greatest glory is our greatest joy, we’ll begin to pray more like David prays.

The end of the year is a great time to remember why we exist, and to re-center our lives around that one great purpose. If you’ve found yourself drifting away from God and an appetite for his glory. Ask what treasures have robbed you of the deeper joy of living for his name’s sake. And as you restore and grow your joy in God — your soul’s thirst for him like a parched land — let it lead you through trials, away from sin, into wisdom and discernment, all for his glory.