.
You
Good morning and welcome to Verity Baptist Church for the last Sunday morning
service of the year.
Come on in and take your seats.
Don't be afraid to sit up front.
We're going to be singing song number 444 this morning.
That's song number 449.
Let's sing it out on the first.
We're going to sing song number 449.
Come on, sing it out.
Come on.
Don't be afraid.
Come on.
the second. Far below the storm of doubt upon the world is beating. Sons of men in battle
long the enemy withstand. Safe am I within the castle of God's word retreating. None
of these shall reach me. Tis Beulah land. Sing it out. I'm living on the mountain underneath
the clouds. Sing it out. Praise God. Praise God. I'm drinking at the fountain that never
shall run dry. Oh yes I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply for I am dwelling in Beulah.
Amen. On the third. Let the stormy breezes blow their cry. Cannot alarm me. I am safely sheltered
here protected by God's hand. The sun is always shining here. There's not can harm me. I am safe
forever in Beulah. Sing it out. I'm living on the mountain. I'm living on the mountain
underneath the. Sing it out. Come on. Praise God. I'm drinking at the fountain
that never shall run dry. Oh yes I'm feasting on the manna from the bountiful supply for I am
dwelling in Beulah. Amen. You guys are singing wonderful this morning. 449. Let's sing it out
on the last. Let's finish strong. Don't forget about that. Praise God. The whole congregation
praise God in that chorus. 449 on the fourth. Viewing here the works of God I sing in
contemplation. Hearing now his blessed voice I see the way he plans. Sing it out. Dwelling in the
spirit here I learn of full salvation. Glad we will I carry in Beulah. One more time. Sing it out.
I'm living on the mountain underneath the thallus sky. Praise the Lord. I'm drinking at the fountain
that never shall run dry. Oh yes I'm feasting on the manna from the bountiful supply for I am
dwelling in Beulah. Amen. Great singing this morning.
Amen and we want to welcome you to this last Sunday morning service here for the year at
Verity Baptist Church. We're so glad that you are with us. We have a wonderful service of course
lined up for you today. We'd like to begin the service with a word of prayer. Let's go ahead and
bow our heads together and let's pray. Heavenly Father Lord we do love you. We thank you for
allowing us to gather together today. Lord we pray that you'd bless the time that we have to decide
for singing and for preaching for fellowship. Lord we pray that you would help us to draw
closer to you to learn from your word. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Amen. Well you guys are singing so wonderful this morning. We're going to keep it up with
the Wonderful Grace of Jesus song number 210. Grab that hymnal from your chair back. We're
going to sing song number 210. Sing it out like you're saved and like you're thankful for the
Wonderful Grace of Jesus this morning. Sing it out 210 on the first. Give it all you've got.
Here we go on the first. Wonderful grace of Jesus greater than all my sin.
How shall my tongue describe it? Where shall its praise begin?
Taking away my burden. Setting my spirit free. For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.
Sing it out. Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus. Deeper than the mighty rolling sea.
Higher than the mountain. Sparkling like a fountain. All sufficient grace for even me.
Broader than the scope of my transgressions. Sing it greater far than all my sin and shame.
Oh magnify the precious name of Jesus. Praise his name.
That was good guys. We can do a little bit better. I want to hear it as loud as you can.
The whole congregation together on 210. Sing it out on the second. Wonderful grace of Jesus.
Wonderful grace of Jesus. Reaching to all the lost.
By it I have been pardoned. Saved to the uttermost. Come on sing it out.
Chains have been torn asunder. Giving me liberty. For the wonderful grace of Jesus
reaches me. Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus. Deeper than the mighty rolling sea.
Higher than the mountain. Sparkling like a fountain. All sufficient grace for even me.
Broader than the scope of my transgressions. Sing it greater far than all my sin and shame.
Sing it out. Oh magnify the precious name of Jesus. Praise his. One more time on the third.
Wonderful grace of Jesus. Reaching the most defiled. By its transforming power.
Making him God's dear child. For just in peace and heaven. For all eternity.
And the wonderful grace of Jesus. Gracious. Come on congregation sing it out. Wonderful
the mattress grace of Jesus. Deeper than the mighty rolling sea.
Higher than the mountain. Sparkling like a fountain. All sufficient grace for even me.
Broader than the scope of my transgressions. Sing it greater far than all my sin and shame.
Oh magnify the precious name of Jesus. Praise his name. Amen. Great singing this morning.
Amen. Well if you're not awake after that you're dead.
It's good good spirit here this morning. Let's go and take our bulletins this morning. We'll
look at some announcements real quickly. If you do not have a bulletin just raise your hand and
one of our ushers can get one for you. If you need a bulletin just put your hand up and we
will get one for you. The verse this week Psalm 65 11. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness
and my paths drop fatness. And that's a good verse that we like that if you open up your bulletin
you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m. and we are glad that you are with us of
course on Sunday morning on the Lord's day for church. We do invite you to be back tonight for
the evening service at 6 p.m. and the evening service is different than the morning service
different songs that are sung different sermon that's preached just one more opportunity to be
in God's house with God's people under the preaching of the word of God we call the Sunday
night service the most exciting service of the week and we hope you'll join us tonight of course
for that and then we want you to make take a notice in the bulletin that our midweek service
this week is not on Wednesday night but on Tuesday night Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. and this of course
is because of New Year's Eve and we just want you to notice that there will be no Wednesday evening
service but it's been moved to Tuesday night so make a note of that soul winning times our main
so many time was on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. and we hope that you will join us on Saturday
mornings for our big soul winning rally starting the beginning of the year which is this Saturday
I'm going to be doing some lessons on Saturday morning for probably many weeks and I want to
encourage you to be here for that especially all of you but especially you soul winners
so let's make sure we start the year off right with regards to that we have additional
sewing times on Thursdays and on Sundays at 2 p.m. and we'd love of course for you to join us
for that if you look at the announcements and upcoming events this Tuesday is New Year's Eve
and we're having our New Year's Eve service at 7 p.m. and again this will be in place of our midweek
Wednesday night service it'll be a service like like we normally have singing preaching prayer
and as we want to encourage you to be here for that at 7 p.m. afterwards we're also going to
have a potluck so if you'd like to participate in that please bring a dish to share and make
sure you bring enough all right bring maybe more than you usually would because we're going to be
here till midnight and I know that some of you like to eat to keep yourselves awake so you got
to make sure you bring enough for everybody so that's we'll have a good potluck there and then
after the potluck we'll have board games just time of fellowship if you stay till midnight we will
sing some songs we'll take some favorites and then of course we'll pray in the new year so we
want to encourage you to be here for that if you say I don't want to stay up till midnight you can
just come to church and leave afterwards or whatever that's not a problem but we just want
you to be aware of the New Year's Eve service it's this Tuesday December 31st at 7 p.m. and that's
in place of the Wednesday evening service and then starting on the first we have our nine chapters a
day challenge you should have one of these charts there in your bulletin and January is Bible month
here at Verity Baptist Church and we challenge the entire church family to read the New Testament
the entire New Testament in the month of January nine chapters every day in the month of January
if you follow the chart here you'll notice there's two plans there's a straight through reading and
then there is a split up reading the benefit of the split up reading is that it's balanced the
entire month the benefit of the straight through reading is that it's a little more difficult at
the beginning because the beginning chapters of the New Testament are longer it gets easier
towards the end but that allows you to be able to make it go easier as you go along there are two
grace period days either way so I want to encourage you to take this challenge and if you do this if
you accomplish it of course you'll read the entire New Testament and then if you let us know we'll
put your name on a nice plaque and we've got plaques from every year that we do this we want
to make sure we start the year off right in the word of God with the word of God so I want to
encourage you to take the nine chapters today challenge then of course I want you to know that
there's a Spanish service coming up on Saturday January 11th at 5 p.m and we want to encourage
you to be here for that if you'd like to participate in the Spanish service there's a wedding coming up
for brother Adam Ritchie and Miss Emily Gessler on Saturday January 18th at 2 30 p.m and the entire
church family is invited to that if you are planning on attending please make sure that you
let them know on your communication card so that they can have that number and it helps them of
course with the planning so if you already know you're coming to the wedding just go ahead and
take a moment and fill out the communication card we'd appreciate your help with that
and then choir practice begins next Sunday January 5th at 5 p.m here in the auditorium
and that's the adult choir of course they're going to be practicing for I love my church Sunday so
just want you to make a note of that if you look there's other announcements there that you can
take a look at if you look at the back of the bulletin birthdays and anniversaries for the
month of December this week we have Penelope Pompa's birthday on December 30th and Miss Diane
DePasquale has a birthday on December 30th brother Aidan and Miss Ruby Rolden have an anniversary on
December 31st and brother John and Miss Irene Reed also have an anniversary on December 31st
brother Ron Edwards has a birthday on the 1st and Amaira Holland has a birthday on the 2nd so those
are all coming up this week and of course we just want you to remember that you should have
in your bulletin one of these Christmas gifts for Jesus and we're going to keep this going
till the end of the year so if you've not yet participated in Christmas gifts for Jesus
you can go ahead and purchase something from this list or use the QR code there to make a special
donation and if you bring something you can drop it off in the main foyer there and make sure that
you are participating with regards to that and then I've just got a quick birth announcement
and we want to announce the birth of Magnolia Jeanette Pompa and she was born on December 24th
at 5 51 a.m weighing nine pounds five and five ounces 21 and a half inches long and both mother
and baby are doing well and if you'd like to sign up to bring meals for the Pompa family then you can
see my wife after the service she has a clipboard and she has everything you need with regards to
that so if you'd like to sign up to bring meals for Miss Laura Beth please make sure you see her
praise report money matters all of those things are there for you to look at and then of course
just real quickly if you're a first-time guest if it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church
we're so glad that you're with us we have a gift we'd like to give you as you walk out of the church
building this morning as you go on our main foyer you'll see a little table set up and on that table
you'll see these little gift bags please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being
our guest this morning there are several resources in this bag that we'd like you to have the one I
like to highlight is this documentary that our church made it's called being Baptist it's very
well made very interesting we think you'll like it and we want to give this she has a gift so
please make sure you don't leave her this morning without grabbing one of these gift bags on your
way out and if you are a guest we'd ask that you please take a moment to fill out the communication
card which is inserted in your bulletin it looks like this and if you wouldn't mind taking a moment
to fill that out we would appreciate it if you need a pen you can raise your hand and one of our
ushers can bring you by a verity baptist church pen you're welcome of course to keep the pen as
a gift from us as well we're not going to do anything odd with your info we would like to
just have a record of your attendance we actually would like to send you a little gift but we need
your information to do that so please take a moment to fill the card out when we're done with
the announcements we're going to sing a song and when we're done singing we're going to receive
the offering and as the offering plate goes by you can drop this card in the offering plate and
or you can hand it to me after the service I'll be standing at the main door greeting people on
the way out and I hope you'll come by and say hello so please take a moment to fill that card
out and I think that's it for all the announcements so we're going to go ahead and sing the chorus of
the week which is the insert in your bulletin and we're going to sing I know who holds tomorrow
as we prepare to receive the offering this morning I don't know about tomorrow I just live from day
to day singing out on the first I don't know about tomorrow I just live from day to day
I don't borrow from its sunshine for its skies may turn to gray I don't worry or the future
for I know what Jesus said today I walk beside him
many things about tomorrow I don't seem to understand but I know who holds tomorrow
and I know who holds my good singing out on the second I don't know about tomorrow
bring me poverty but the one who feeds the sparrow is the one who stands by me
is my portion through the flame or flood but his presence goes before me
many things about tomorrow I don't seem to understand but I know
who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand
amen good singing before the guys come up just quick reminders that we of course are
a family integrated church what that means is that children and infants are always welcomed
in the service we do not separate children from their parents for any reason however we do have
mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience all of the rooms have comfortable
seating they've got monitors set up so you can watch the service and listen to it or windows
and speakers of course so if you have a child that's been distracting during the service if
you need some privacy we would encourage you to use those rooms as needed if you're not sure where
the rooms are at you can look at the back of your bulletin you'll see a layout of our church
building it'll show you where the restrooms are it'll show you where the mother baby rooms are
where the daddy room is of course if you need to be baptized please let us know we'd love to baptize
you and we actually have three baptisms scheduled for this morning so praise the lord for that and
if you need to be baptized let us know the baptistery is filled the water is warm we've
got everything you need if you'd like to speak to somebody about baptism on your communication
card you can check off that you'd like information about baptism and we'll follow up with you in
regards to that and of course if you wouldn't mind we want to remind you to make sure that your cell
phones are off or on silent or vibrate or something like that right now would be a good time to just
check your phone and make sure it's off so it doesn't go off in the middle of the preaching
we'd appreciate your help with that we'll go ahead and have the guys come up and help us with
the offering at this time and let's fire heads and have a word of prayer heavenly father lord we do
love you we thank you for allowing us to gather together today lord we pray that you bless the
offering the gift and the giver lord we ask that you would continue to meet our financial needs
here and lord we pray that you'd bless the rest of the service the preaching the baptisms lord
we pray that you bless the services tonight in jesus name we pray amen
so
so turn in your bibles to deuteronomy chapter 30
deuteronomy chapter 30 if you do not have a bible please raise your hand and an usher will bring you
one deuteronomy chapter 30 we will read the entire chapter as our custom deuteronomy chapter 30
just keep your hands up and an usher will bring you a bible
deuteronomy chapter 30 the bible reads and it shall come to pass when all these things are
come upon thee the blessing and the curse which i have set before thee and thou shall call them
to mind among all the nations whether the lord thy god hath driven thee and shall return unto
the lord thy god and shall obey his voice according to all that i command thee this day
thou and thy children with all thy heart and with all thy soul
that then the lord thy god will turn thy captivity and have compassion upon thee
and will return and gather thee from all the nations whether the lord thy god hath scattered
thee if any of thine be driven out unto the outermost part of heaven from thence will the
lord thy god gather thee and from thence will he fetch thee and the lord thy god will bring thee
into the land which thy fathers possess and thou shall possess it and he will do the good
and multiply thee above thy fathers and the lord thy god will circumcise thine heart
and the heart of thy seed to love the lord thy god with all thine heart and with all thy soul
and that thou may liveth and the lord thy god will put all these curses upon thine enemies
and on them that hate thee which persecuted thee and thou shall return and obey the voice of the
lord and do all his commandments which i command thee this day and the lord thy god will make thee
plenteous in every work of thine hand in the fruit of thy body and in the fruit of thy cattle and in
the fruit of thy land for good for the lord will again rejoice over thee for good as he rejoiced
over thy fathers if thou shall hearken unto the voice of the lord thy god to keep his commandments
and his statutes which are written in this book of the law and if thou turn unto the lord thy god
with all thine heart and with all thy soul for this command which i commanded thee this day
it is not hidden from thee neither is it far off it is not in heaven that thou shouldst say who
shall go up for us to heaven and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it neither is it beyond
the sea that thou shouldst say who shall go over the sea for us and bring it unto us that we may
hear it and do it but the word is very nigh unto thee in thy mouth and in thy heart that thou mayest
do it see i have set before thee this day life and good and death and evil and that i command thee
this day to love the lord thy god to walk in his ways and to keep his commandments and his statutes
and his judgments that thou mayest live and multiply and the lord thy god shall bless thee in
the land whither thou goest to possess it but if thine heart turn away so that thou will not hear
but shall be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them i denounce unto you this day that
ye shall surely perish and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land whether thou
pass us over jordan to go to possess it i call heaven and earth to record this day against you
that i have set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore choose life
that both thou and thy seed may live that thou mayest love the lord thy god and that thou mayest
obey his voice and that thou mayest cleave unto him for he is thy life and the length of thy days
that thou mayest dwell in the land which the lord swear unto thy fathers to abraham to isaac and to
jacob to give them let's pray father god thank you for this day and for this church please bless
pastor please bless the message please let it bring glory and honor to you in the name of
jesus christ i pray amen amen all right we're there in deuteronomy chapter number 30 this
morning and i'd like you to look down at verse number 15 in deuteronomy chapter number 30 in
verse number 15 the bible says see i have set before the this day life and good and death and
evil if you look down at verse number 19 you see a very famous verse in deuteronomy 30 19 he says i
call heaven and earth to record this day against you that i've set before you life and death
blessing and cursing therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live and of course
today is the last sunday of the year and it's the last sunny morning service that we'll have before
the new year and this morning i'd like to preach on the subject or maybe i'll just give you the
title of the sermon the title of sermon is this a time to make a change a time to make a change
and of course when we end a year and begin a new year this is a good time to consider maybe
some changes that we can make in our lives and the subtitle of the sermon would be this how to
make the next year the best year of your life and i want to give you some thoughts in regards to
making a change and doing things differently change is essential and it is essential for growth
and improvement in our lives it is a human tendency to want to be against change and we
just naturally always want to keep things the same but if our lives are going to get better
if we're going to grow we're going to improve we're going to have to change sticking to old
habits sticking to old routines can limit our potential and can keep us from growing
individually and can keep us from growing organizationally and we're just going to have
to learn to embrace change and embracing change allows us to adapt to changing circumstances it
allows us to overcome challenges and of course we're talking about positive changes making
positive changes will open the door for us to have a better life and i want to speak on this subject
of time to make a change i don't want to spend too much time this morning but i'd like to give
you just three thoughts with regards to this idea of making positive changes in our lives
and specifically making positive changes in the new year and if you're taking notes i'd like to
give you three thoughts maybe you can jot these down on the back of your course of the week of
course there's a place for you to write down some things or maybe you have a notebook or something
like that and uh like you to maybe take notes of these things first of all let me say this
change and that's what we're talking about making a change making positive changes in our lives so
that the next year can be a better year the next year can be the best year the first thing i would
say is this change is a choice change is a decision that we have to make in fact if you
look again there at deuteronomy 30 and verse 19 i want you to notice that god says i've made these
things available he says i call heaven and earth to record this day against you that i have set
before you life and death god says you've got options that are before you both life and death
he says i have set before you blessing and cursing he said these are options that you have
for your life and in fact god the wording here almost god wants to say look if you end up
not having a good life if you end up uh experiencing death not life cursing not blessings
god says i want to go on record here that it's not because of me it's not because of my fault
he says i call heaven and earth to record this day against you he says i would like to go on the
record that i this is god speaking to us that i have set before you life and death blessing and
cursing now you and i might ask the question and we might say well if god has set before us life
and death blessing and cursing if he set these things before us and why do some people end up
with good things and some people end up with bad things and the reason is because of the choices
we make he says i've set before you life and death blessing and cursing and then he says this
therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live see we've got to make the right choice
and change is a choice when it comes to choices we make now you're there in deuteronomy 30 i'd like
you if you would to go with me to the book of daniel that's towards the end of the old testament
if you can find the major prophets those big books of the bible isaiah jeremiah lamentations
then you have ezekiel and after that you've got the book of daniel isaiah jeremiah lamentations
ezekiel daniel and while you turn there let me just give you some thoughts for the regards this
idea of choices first let me say this we are the product of our choices there is a product of our
choices and it is us your current life my current life is the product of the choices that we have
made i used to have a youth pastor who would say you are the sum total of the choices that you have
made and as we finish this year and as we consider and i think we should consider our lives we should
consider the fact that wherever wherever we find ourselves wherever we are in life at this moment
we are the product of the decisions and the choices that we have made and sometimes we've
made choices that we thought were the right choice and it turns out we're the wrong choice
in proverbs 14 you don't have to turn here you you go to daniel but in proverbs 14 and verse 12 the
bible says this there is a way which seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of
death and sometimes we make decisions and choices and we think that we're doing something that's
good and beneficial and it ends up not working well but we have to remember this and this is
where personal responsibility comes in you and i have to remember that wherever we find ourselves
wherever we land wherever we find ourselves in life we are the product of those choices
and the first thing that we need to realize if we're going to change the way our life is
is that change is a choice it is a decision we make darren hardy who's a an author a success
mentor he has a quote that i like he said this you make your choices then your choices make you
you make your choices then your choices make you he went on to say this nobody
intends to become obese go through bankruptcy or get a divorce but often if not always those
consequences are the result of a series of small poor choices and what you and i need to remember
is this that wherever we find ourselves wherever we are in life right now that is a product of the
choices that we should make so you say well then what do we do about that what's what's the point
of knowing that well i think that you and i and the reason that i would preach a sermon like this
the last sunday of the year is because we should take the end of this year and the beginning of
the next year as an opportunity to take inventory isn't this something we do anyway during this time
of year we should take this as an opportunity to take inventory and to do an audit of your life and
consider the product of the choices that you have made if you're sitting here this morning and you
would say there are some things that i'm not happy about there's some things that i'm not satisfied
with there are some things that i think uh could be better i wish would be better we should take
some time to consider and take an audit now when it comes to auditing your life and look i honestly
do believe that if you haven't done it already over the next several days especially before the
new year begins you should take some time to look at your life take some time away from distractions
by yourself or if you're married maybe you and your spouse together and and and go through some
categories of your life and ask yourself how are we doing and how are things going in these areas
when it comes to categories and of course there's all sorts of different ways to categorize your
life but there are four ways that i like to teach people to consider the areas of their life and
maybe you'd like to jot these down but these are things that you should consider number one you
have to consider your faith you got to consider your faith and of course when we're talking about
your faith we're talking about your faith not just your faith in god but your walk with god
it's faith is more than just for salvation of course we begin salvation by faith but then the
bible says the judge shall live by faith the bible tells us where to walk by faith so when
we're talking about faith we're talking about our spiritual life and you have to take an audit
how's how's your faith been this last year maybe let's get specific not just how's your spirituality
how's your church attendance how's your bible reading how's your prayer how's your soul winning
how's your serving how's your giving you ought to take an audit of your spiritual life and ask
yourself where am i how am i doing spiritually could i be doing better i know we could all be
doing better but are there areas where man i'm just really failing at this thing of bible reading
or i'm just really uh failing at this thing of church attendance or i'm just not doing well or
i'm not doing as well as i used to be you ought to consider your faith it's another area that you
ought to take an audit of in your life not only your faith but your family your family and of
course if you're married this would include your spouse and your kids you have to ask yourself how
are things going with my wife how are things going with your husband how are things going
with your children if you're not married then you have to consider your relationship with your
parents with your siblings with family and and look at your life and ask yourself how are things
going with my faith how are things going with my family here's another area you should audit before
the new year begins it's your finances now audit is actually a financial term for finances so you
might want to actually just do a financial audit of your life and ask yourself how am i doing
financially and when it comes to your finances i would say this includes both career and money
management you know how are you doing and oftentimes people struggle with finances and
sometimes things are going well financially and sometimes things are not going well financially
and you should consider is it time to make a change with my finances is it time to make a change
with my faith do i need to change something up do i need to do something different do i
need to start doing something different with regards to my family you know when it comes to
finances and if you're struggling with finances and sometimes obviously at the beginning of the
year people will make resolutions about their finances you know when it comes to your finances
really it's not super complicated i know you know this but it's it's good for us to sometimes
simplify these things when it comes to finances there's really only two options you say i want
my finances to get better well there's only two things you can do you can either increase your
income or you can decrease your spending all right i know the government doesn't understand that
and the government uh has all these you know ivy league school graduates that don't understand
uh simple math but it's not that complicated you need to you either need to increase your income
you say well what do i what do i do i don't know get a job or maybe you need to get a better job
maybe you say well i can't get maybe you need to learn a skill you need to develop a talent you
need to do something you need to look you need to make a change you need to make or maybe you say no
i make a lot of money it's just it's just the spending well then maybe you need to learn to
budget maybe you need to learn to save maybe you need to learn uh to get on a budget but finances
is an area so faith family finances another area for you to audit is fitness and i would say here
this includes diet and exercise and includes just health in general these are all areas that
we should look at and decide are there some changes that need to be made is there a problem
in any of these areas are there things that are not going well with regards to my faith with
regards to my family with regards to my finances with regards to my fitness because listen and look
i realize that personal responsibility is not something that people normally like to take
but you have to get to the place in your life where you stop blaming and stop saying well if
my boss only paid you more uh paid me more well maybe your boss would pay you better if you were
more valuable well if if they just didn't you know open up that donut shop down the street from me i
wouldn't be so fat well you know nobody's making you go there and what i'm saying is this we have
to realize that we are the products of the choices that we make we are the product your
current state in life you think things aren't going well at home well what are the choices
that have brought us there we've got to take responsibility for our own choices let me just
say this also consider this what are the choices what are the changes you need to make it is not
productive to dwell upon the choices that your spouse needs to make those choices that you know
well here are the things that my boss needs to start doing here are the things that my uh kids
need to start doing here are the things that my uh pastor needs to start doing look it's not
productive to dwell on the changes everybody else it's it's funny how we're experts about all the
changes that everybody else needs to make but the problem with being an expert about the changes
that everybody else needs to make is that you're not in control of those people you are only in
control of yourself.
So why not focus on the changes you can make?
See change is a choice and we see that there's a product of the choice and you and I are
the product of our choices.
Our current life is a product of the choices that we have made and maybe you need to take
the next few days to look at the areas of your life and ask yourself, where am I struggling?
Where am I failing?
Where are things not going well?
So that we can start making a change.
Scott Alexander, I'm going to give you several quotes this morning, but Scott Alexander who's
an author of a success book, he said this, you need to get fed up with doing nothing,
seeing nothing, and accomplishing nothing.
Dave Ramsey who's a financial expert and radio host, he often says this, you need to get
sick and tired of being sick and tired and look you and I just need to make a decision
and we need to make a choice and realize that we are the product of our choices.
So we see that there is the product of our choices, but then let me just say this, not
only is there the product of our choices, that's the bad news, here's the good news,
there is power in our choices.
You have the power to change your future right now.
You say I don't like how things are going with my finances, I don't like how things
are going with my career, I don't like how things are going with my health, I don't like
how things are going with my relationships.
You have the power, see you and I have the wonderful privilege to make changes to our
lives right now because change is a choice and more than change is being a choice, change
is your choice and it's my choice.
We have the power of the choice.
In Daniel chapter 1, I'm not sure if you're there but I'd like you to look down at verse
number 8, Daniel chapter number 1 and verse 8, I love this verse, the Bible says in Daniel
chapter 1 and verse 8 it says, but Daniel, Daniel is one of the greatest characters of
the Bible, one of the greatest men in the Bible and here we meet him at a young age
and I think this verse, Daniel chapter 1 and verse 8 probably gives us the secret to his
success.
The Bible says in Daniel chapter 1 and verse 8, but Daniel purposed in his heart, what
do you call that?
That's a choice, Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the
portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank, therefore he requested of
the princes of the eunuch that he might not defile himself.
See, not only are you and I the product of our choices, but we have the power of our
choices and the power of our choice is this, that you and I have the power to change our
future right now because you have a choice, you understand that?
People like to act like, well I don't have a choice, it's just the way I am.
No, you have a choice, going to church is a choice, reading your Bible is a choice,
whether by January 31st you will be filling out a communication card saying maybe for
the first time in your life you had the discipline and the commitment to read the entire New
Testament in the month of January, whether you are doing that or whether you're regretting
and kicking yourself and saying, man I wish I would have done that, I wish I would have
stuck with it, you say, what would be the difference between the person who accomplishes
the goal and the task and the person who's kicking themselves and not doing it, there's
only one difference, a choice.
Will you purpose in your heart?
Going to church is a choice, reading your Bible is a choice, spending time in prayer
is a choice, going soul winning is a choice, serving is a choice, giving is a choice, you
know that being positive, look I'm preaching to myself this morning because I tend to be
a negative person, you know that being positive about circumstances, about people, about anything
is a choice?
You know that being nice to your spouse is a choice?
No, it's just the way I am, I just, no, no, no, no, why don't you take some responsibility
and just say, you're grumpy and annoying and not fun to be around by choice?
You've made the choice, you've made the decision, being nice to your wife, being nice to your
husband, being pleasant in your marriage is a choice, nitpicking at your husband, ladies,
is a choice, ignoring your wife, gentlemen, is a choice, spending time with your children
is a choice, not disciplining them properly is a choice, being mean to them and angry
with them is a choice, loving God is a choice, there's not just some people, well some people
get this idea, well some people just love God and some people don't, no, some people
choose to love God and some people don't, it's a choice, making positive changes in
your life is a choice, so you say, well how do I change, well, number one, you and I need
to realize that change is a choice, there is the product of our choices, we are the
product of our choices, I'm not trying to beat up on you, I'm not trying to make you
feel bad, but I do think that we need to take some time to analyze and assess and audit
our lives and ask ourselves, how are we doing with our faith, how are we doing with our
family, how are we doing with our finances, how are we doing with our fitness, and you
say, well I don't like how some of these things are going in my life, well here's the thing,
there's nothing you can do about the past, but there's lots that you can do about the
future, that's why the apostle Paul said, forgetting those things which are behind and
reaching forth unto those things which are before, there's the product of our choices
and there's the power of our choices, you have the power to change your future right
now, but I'd like to say secondly this morning, not only is change a choice, but let me say
this, change is a challenge, it's a challenge, if you're there in Daniel, I'd like you to
go backwards to the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 13, you've got, if you're going backwards
you've got Ezekiel, then Lamentations and then the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter
number 13, do me a favor when you get to Jeremiah, put a ribbon or a bookmark or your bulletin
or something there because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it
and I'd like for you to get there quickly, Jeremiah chapter 13 and verse 23, change is
hard, the reason that change is hard is because change often requires us to go against our
flesh, see our flesh and our natural man wants to take the path of least resistance, we want
to do the things that come easy, that come naturally, that come conveniently and isn't
it true that the path of least resistance is to, when the option is get up early with
enough time to spend time with God and the word of God and prayer, I can get up 15, 20,
30 minutes early to develop a walk with the Lord or I could sleep in, your flesh wants
to take the path of least resistance, your flesh wants to do what comes naturally, what
comes easily, whether the options are go exercise for 30 minutes or sit on the couch
and eat chips for 30 minutes, your flesh wants to take the path of least resistance, whether
the options are I'm going to discipline myself and I'm not going to buy that thing, I'm not
going to purchase that thing, I'm going to take some time, I'm going to save up the money,
I'm going to pay cash for it versus I'm just going to put it on a credit card and worry
about it later, your flesh wants to take the path of least resistance and that makes change
difficult. In Jeremiah 13 and verse 23 we find maybe, I don't know, maybe the most discouraging
verse in the Bible. Here's what it says, Jeremiah 13, 23, can the Ethiopian change his skin
or the leopard his spots? And of course when we're talking about an Ethiopian, we're talking
about an African nation here, we're talking about a black person and Jeremiah 13, 23 saying
can a black person change his skin? And it's true of any color, can a brown person change
their skin, can a white person change their skin, can a leopard his spots? And of course
the obvious answer to the question is no, you can't change the skin color you were born
with unless you're Michael Jackson or something. But naturally speaking, normally speaking
can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? But then notice what he says, then
may he also do good that are accustomed to do evil. Here's what Jeremiah is saying, Jeremiah
is saying, it would be as easy for you who are accustomed to do evil, who have a habit
of doing evil, it would be as simple and as easy for you to stop doing evil and to do
good as it would be for a leopard to change his spots, for an individual to change the
color of their skin. And you say well that's not very encouraging and the idea is this
that you and I need to understand that change is difficult, change is hard. It's hard because
your flesh wants to go with the path of least resistance but may I remind you that though
an Ethiopian cannot change his skin and though a leopard cannot change his spots and according
to Jeremiah that is the equivalent of someone trying to change who's accustomed to do evil
and try to do good. You say well that's impossible, yes it is impossible but may I remind you
that the Lord Jesus Christ said with men this is impossible but with God all things are
possible. May I remind you that Paul told the Philippian church I can do all things
through Christ which strengthens me. So though change, look, we need to understand this,
change is a choice and change is a challenge and I'm not going to sit here and lie to you,
change is difficult. Change is difficult but let me say this, it is possible. It's possible.
You say wow, I don't see how my marriage is falling apart and I don't see how it could
be. Well look, with men it may be impossible but with God all things are possible. No pastor
if you understand the history of me and my children and the baggage and the chaos and
the trauma you don't understand there's no hope. Well listen to me, with men it may be
impossible but with God all things are possible. Pastor if you understood at my age changing
careers and at my age finding another job, at my age developing a skill, at my age learning
something new and getting my finances and I'm in so much debt already and I'm so far
behind the game and it's just impossible. Well listen to me, with men it may be impossible
but with God all things are possible. Pastor if you understood, you know, just my health
is just out of control and I don't think, look, with men it may be impossible but do
you know that I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me? Now change is
difficult but it's possible and I'm not going to lie to you, it's going to take this word
that none of us like, work. It's going to take effort, it's going to take work, it's
going to take discipline and tenacity, it's going to take you getting mad about the fact
that the place where you find yourself today is the product of the choices you have made.
See when you and I blame everyone else and blame everything else and say well no it's
my parents and no it's my upbringing and it's where I grew up and it's because of this because
of that. What that allows when we blame other things is that it allows us to excuse ourselves.
It's not my fault because of my wife, it's not my fault because of my husband, it's not
my fault because if my children did this, if my boss did this, if my church would just
do this. But when you and I take personal responsibility and say well I can't control
what they do, I can't control what they've said, I can't control the decisions they've
made but I can control the decisions I've made. And when you and I take responsibility
we gain back the control and the power and yes, with men it may be impossible but with
God all things are possible and I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.
So we see that change is a challenge, it's going to require effort, it's going to require
work. Change is difficult but it is possible. Let me say this with regards to what I've
to change. I'd like you to go to 2 Peter chapter number 3. If you start at the end of the Bible,
the book of Revelation and you go backwards you've got Revelation, Jude, 3rd, 2nd, 1st
John and then the book of 2nd Peter. Revelation, Jude, 3rd, 2nd, 1st John and then the book
of 2nd Peter. 2nd Peter chapter number 3. Change is a challenge. Here are the two words
you need to know about this challenge. Effort and expansion. Effort and expansion. It's
going to require work. Getting out of debt will require work. Losing weight will require
work. Rebuilding relationships will require work. No doubt about it. Change is difficult
but always remember this, it is possible. And if somebody tells you it's impossible
they might be telling the truth but let's remember that Jesus said with men this is
impossible but with God all things are possible. And I can do all things through Christ who
strengtheneth me. But then I want you to notice this word expansion. Effort and expansion.
Effort and expansion. And the word expansion speaks to growth. And here's what I want you
to understand. Oftentimes when we are dealing with problems and one thing that my wife and
I do in ministry is deal with problems and oftentimes we're dealing with people and people's
problems and trying to help them. And the idea that people often have and even myself
I'll catch myself thinking this way is that when we have a problem we have this idea that
we if we can just get past that problem. If we can just get past that problem then everything
will be fine. My finances are not good because of this bill if it just wasn't for this one
bill. And if I can just get past that if I can just get past this issue if I can just
get past this problem if I can just get past this conflict then that will resolve my problems.
But what you and I need to understand is this and I hope that I can communicate this to
you and it is this that you and I do not get past our problems. We don't get past any problems.
But what we can do is we can grow past our problems. See the reason that something is
a problem for you and for me is because it's bigger than we are. It happens to be a bigger
bill than what you had in your account. How do I get past this? Don't get past it grow
past it. See everything in the Christian life is about growth. God deals with the living.
The Bible says that God is not the God of the dead but He is the God of the living.
You understand that everything that God deals with is living. We do not deal with a dead
book this is a living book. It's quick and powerful and sharpening to edge sword. A church
organization is a living organization. And the Christian life is a living life. We are
born again. We are quickened and made alive. And you say well then what is the goal that
God has for us with regards to the Christian life? It is one goal and it is to grow. In
2 Peter 3 and verse 18 I want you to notice the Bible says 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse
18 it says this, but grow in grace. But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ to Him be glory both now and forever amen. We must grow. In 1 Peter chapter
2 if you flip back in 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 2 the Bible says this 1 Peter chapter
2 and verse 2 as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word notice these words
that ye may grow thereby. See what you and I need to do is we need to not try to get
past the problems we need to try to grow past the problems. You say my business is struggling
I don't have enough income coming in. I'm not making enough sales. I don't have enough
jobs. I don't have enough quotes being accepted. What's the answer? The answer is you need
to grow. You understand what I'm saying to you? We don't get past our problems we grow
past our problems even in a church setting. We don't have enough ushers. What do we do?
We guilt people into ushering. That won't work very long. What do we do? We just got
to grow. We just need to reach more people, disciple more converts, get more people serving
and helping. We need more safety team. We just got to grow. The finances aren't good.
We got to grow. We need more soul winners. We got to grow. We don't get past our problems
we grow past our problems. It's the same for you. It's the same for me. It's the same for
all of us. You say what are the goals that I need to have for this coming year? I'm all
four goals. I like goals. In fact I'll talk about goals here in a minute. Let me just
say this. Your goal for the new year ought not necessarily be a goal. Your goal for the
new year ought to be to grow. To grow. We don't get past our problems we grow past our
problems. But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. As newborn babes desire
the sincere milk of the word of God that ye may grow thereby. Jim Rohn an author and
motivational speaker he said this if you want to have more you need to become more. See
the truth is this the problems that we have are problems that we have because of our capacity.
I wish the Holy Spirit would help me and that I would have the communication ability to
communicate this to you. You say I keep fighting with my husband. I keep fighting with my wife.
We keep clashing and we keep not. Look the problem is not the conflict. Now the conflict
is a problem but here's what you need to understand. There's always going to be conflict. There's
always going to be problems. You say well then how do we deal with it? You need to grow.
You need to grow in your ability to communicate. You need to grow in your ability to have patience.
You need to grow. It's just you know she'll say this and then I'll say that. You'll trigger
me and then and then this will happen. No no no. You need to grow in your ability to
control yourself. Do you understand what I'm saying to you? You say well marriages that
don't fight as badly as the ones that do fight what's the difference? Somebody learned to
grow. You're always going to have conflict. You're always going to have disagreements.
You're always going to have issues but if you learn to grow if you expand in the areas
you say I'm really struggling here I'm not doing well in this area. You've got to expand.
You've got to grow. Jim Rohn said this don't wish it were easier wish you were better.
See Rohn I wish it was easier. I wish things were easier. No no no. Don't wish it were
easier wish you were better. If you want to have more you need to become more. What is
your capacity? What are you able to deal with? What are you able to handle? It's going to
require growth. Change is a choice. We are the product of our choices and we have power
in our choices. Change is a challenge. It requires effort and it requires expansion.
It requires work and it requires growth. You're not going to get past your faith problems.
You need to grow past your faith problems. You're not going to get past your family issues.
You need to grow past your family issues. You're not going to get past your financial
difficulties. You need to grow past your financial difficulties. The only one maybe
it doesn't apply to is fitness. That one maybe you need to stop growing but that's a different
sermon. Let me quickly talk about goals. We like to have goals and New Year's resolutions.
Go to Galatians if you would. Galatians chapter 6. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans
1, 2 Corinthians, Galatians. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans 1, 2 Corinthians,
Galatians. I've taught on the subject of goals a lot. I don't want to spend a lot of time
on goals but let me just give you some thoughts. It is the last Sunday of the year and maybe
you'd like to have some goals. I like the idea of short-term goals. I think the problem
sometimes that we have with New Year's resolutions is that we have this like, you know, by this
time next year I'm going to this and I'm going to do that or whatever and it's just
too far away. So I like the idea of short-term goals and you can have short-term goals however
you'd like. You can do quarterly, weekly, however. I think a good number is a one-month
goal. I like the idea of one-month goals. It feels like a month is long enough to kind
of get some traction and momentum going and it's short enough to not lose your attention
span. Choose a one-month goal and you can do whatever you want obviously but just some
advice that I would give you if you're interested in setting some goals for the New Year, I
would say this. You ought to choose a one-month goal for each area of your life. A one-month
goal for faith, a one-month goal for your family, a one-month goal for your finances,
a one-month goal for your fitness. Choose a one-month goal, just something that you
can accomplish in one month. You say, I don't know, a one-month goal for my faith. Hey,
how about this? Nine chapters a day in the month of January. Solved. We just gave it to you. We
even gave you a chart. That's a one-month goal for you to invest in your faith, in your walk
with the Lord and look at areas. Maybe it's not that. I mean, I think it should be that but maybe
it's a soul-winning goal, whatever it might be. Have a one-month goal for your faith, one-month
goal for your family, one-month goal for your finances. Maybe it's not going to solve all your
financial issues but maybe you have a goal for this month. I'd like to put X amount of dollars
towards my debt. A one-month goal for your fitness, developing a fitness routine or cutting out a
certain soda or whatever it might be. Choose a one-month goal for each area of your life. Let
me say this, the one-month goal could be a step in a larger 12-month goal because look, if your
problem is, okay pastor, yeah, you're right. My financial problem is a career problem. AI has
taken over my job. Look, you can sit there and cry about it and I'm not mocking you but sitting
there and complaining about it and saying, Elon Musk and AI took over my job. You can complain
about it all year long and you might be right and justified or whatever but at the end of the day,
nothing changed or you can just decide and say, well, I got to do something different and maybe
in one month you can't have a new career but maybe the big goal is I need to get training,
I need to develop a skill, I need to go back to school, I need to take some night classes,
I need to take an online course, I need to do something but divide that big goal into smaller
steps that you can accomplish, that you can start having momentum with. Maybe that one-month goal
could just be a step in a larger 12-month goal, in a larger five-year goal, whatever it might be.
When it comes to your goals and I've taught this before but I just want to maybe remind you,
make sure that your goals are specific. It's not enough to say, I'm going to be more spiritual. Who
gauges that? I mean, God gauges that but you know, be specific. I'm going to stop missing
church and skipping out on church. I'm going to be faithful with my Bible reading. I'm going to
pray every day and I'm going to mark it. So be specific. Have it be time sensitive. Make sure
it's something that you can check off and say, okay, done. I did that this month. Now I've got
a new month goal for February. Now I have a new month goal for March. Make sure it's immeasurable,
it's trackable. You got to measure it. You got to track it. All right. Say my finances are in
disarray. You're going to have to open up your bank statement and start figuring out how much
money you're spending at Starbucks and how much money you're spending at McDonald's and how much
money you're, look, you're just going to, you're going to have to start not, get your head out of
the sand. You got to track it. You got to measure it and make sure it's written down and there are
all sorts of studies that talk about the power of writing down your goals. There's just, there's
power in writing things down and that's one of the reasons we have a communication card because
there's just something powerful about you writing your name and saying I'm going to read nine
chapters a day. Write it down. Make sure it's specific. Make sure it's time sensitive. Make
sure it's measurable and trackable. Make sure it's written down. So we talked about the change
and the fact that change is a choice. You're the product of your choices and you and I have the
power in our choices and we talked about the fact that change is a challenge and it requires effort
and it requires expansion. It requires work and it requires growth. We don't get past our problems,
we grow past our problems. But then thirdly this morning, I'd like to say this, change is a channel.
And what I mean by channel, I mean it's a course. It's a pathway. It's a journey in which we go. See,
change is not a point but it's a process. It's something we do continually. It's something we
do regularly. In Galatians chapter 6 and verse 7, the Bible says this, these are famous verses,
I know you know them but let's just look them real quickly. Galatians chapter 6 and verse 7,
the Bible says this, be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap. Look, this is a promise from God and this is what I refer to as a law
of the universe, not a scientific law. This is a spiritual law of the universe. God says that you
will reap what you sow. And the interesting thing about this law of reaping and sowing is that it's
amoral. It's not just positive, it's also negative. It's like a law of the universe because it can
help you, it can hurt you. Look, gravity is just a scientific law of the universe and you can use
gravity and we have used gravity to help us and gravity can also hurt you. And this spiritual law
of the universe can both help you or hurt you. Because God says, whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap. And it works in whatever direction, however you want to deal with it.
Verse 8, he says, for he that soweth to his flesh, that's negative, shall reap of the flesh,
shall, excuse me, of the flesh reap corruption. But he that soweth to the Spirit, that's positive,
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. He says, look, you can sow negative things and reap
negative things or you can sow positive things and you can reap positive things. The thing about
sowing and reaping is that it's going to take time. It's not going to happen overnight. In fact,
that's why Paul tells the church in Galatians, Galatians chapter 6 verse 9, he says, and let us
not be weary in well doing. This is within the context of reaping and sowing. He says,
be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Look,
that's reminding us of point number one. You and I are the product of the choices we've made. Be
not deceived, God is not mocked. The choices you make, the seed you put into the soil of life,
you will reap consequences. And you can fake everyone out, you can fake every, you know,
the whole church family thinks one thing of you and the persona you put out on social media,
it's a certain thing and every, you know, you got everybody fooled. But listen, you don't have God
fooled because whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. You can mock mom and you can mock
dad. You can mock your boss and you can mock your pastor. You can mock your husband and you
can mock your wife. But be not deceived, God is not mocked. But whatsoever man soweth, that shall
he also reap. And this can work for you or against you. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the
flesh reap corruption. But he that soweth to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life everlasting.
And it's a waiting game. Let us not be weary in well doing. For in due season, we shall reap,
if we faint not. This is why I say to you that change is a channel. You and I must develop daily
routines or regular routines. John Maxwell, who's a leadership expert and author, he said this,
the secret to your success is found in your daily routines. The secret to your success is found in
your daily routines. You understand that? Doing one workout session in January is not going to do
anything. It's not going to help you in any sort of way. You say, how does exercising work? You got
to do it regularly. You've got to sow and sow and sow and eventually you'll reap and reap and reap.
How does getting your finances in order work? You've got to sow and sow and sow. The way that
this works is that you, look, the Bible says that the way we grow spiritually is here a little,
there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept. You say, how do I get the benefit of
Bible reading? You don't get the benefit of Bible reading by just reading one time. You've got to
develop a habit where you're reading every day. You're in the Word of God every day. This is one
of the reasons why we have the nine chapters a day challenge, because we're hoping that after
30 days, 31 days of reading your Bible every day, you'll develop a habit of just reading the Bible.
We're hoping that if you take the time to read the New Testament in the month of January, then
you'll just say, well, let me just keep going and read the Old Testament over the next 11 months.
You need to develop a daily routine. It's what we do every day. It's the sowing every day that will
cause us to reap. So you need daily routines. Look, you need to have daily routines. Daily
routines, and I think your daily routine should include Bible reading. I think your daily routine
should include prayer. Your daily routine could include some sort of exercise or walking. You
need to have things that you are sowing into on a regular basis with the understanding that it's
not going to happen overnight. Nothing good happens overnight. Look, the only things that
grow quickly are weeds. You want your life to be a weed? You want your marriage to be a weed?
If you want your marriage, if you want your relationship with your children, if you want
your finances and your faith, if you want your life to be a great oak, then it's going to take
some time. So you need to develop daily routines. But I would say this, you need to develop regular
routines, regular routines of being faithful to church on a regular basis. I'm like, I understand
that there's holidays and people travel. I'm not talking about that, but I'm just saying by and
large, you need to just have these regular routines of things I do, investments in my life,
things that I do on a regular basis. Having dinner with your family, dinner with your wife, dinner
with your children on a regular basis, that's an investment in relationships. Sometimes you miss
that and sometimes you have to work late. We understand that. But have it be something you
do regularly. Consistency is the key. Aristotle, who's a Greek philosopher, but even the heathen
understand this, he said these words, he says, we are what we repeatedly do. Darren Hardy said this,
small, seemingly insignificant steps completed consistently over time will create a radical
difference. Look, consistency is the key. Change is not something you do one time. It is a channel.
It is a journey. It is something we need to invest in on a regular basis and you need to develop a
plan. You need to develop a routine. You need to develop daily habits, regular routines, and be
consistent with it. You say, well, what if I'm consistent with it and then I mess up? Then get
back on that horse and start again. Be consistent with those things. Go back to Jeremiah chapter 29
if you would. Back to the book of Jeremiah. The reason that we don't get excited about consistency
is because we don't see the results right away. And the fact that we start doing something and we
start working towards something and we start investing in something on a regular basis and
then a month goes by or several weeks go by or maybe in several months and you say, I'm not seeing
any results. Look, be not weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.
Consistency is the key. So we talked about change as a choice. We are the product of our lives and
you have the power to change your life right now. Change is a challenge. I'm not going to lie to
you. It is difficult but it is possible. It requires work and what you should focus on is
growth, expansion. We don't get past the problems, we grow past the problems and change is a channel.
You must develop daily habits, daily routines, regular routines, and those routines ought to be
things that are investing into the things that you want to reap. Consistency is the key. Jeremiah
29 and verse 11, the Bible says this. God said this through the prophet Jeremiah. He says,
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil,
to give you an expected end. See, the truth is this, that God wants the best for you. God wants
to bless us. God wants to help us. God wants us to live a blessed life which is why we began there.
You don't have to go back there but in Deuteronomy chapter number 30, I have set before you life and
death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life. God wants the best but it's your choice and it's
my choice. So maybe, maybe as we end this year and begin a new year, maybe it's a time to make
a change. Maybe it's a time to assess some things, analyze some things, audit some things, look at
some things in your life and decide, you know, I need to change that. It's going to require work,
it's going to require effort, it's going to require consistency, it's going to require routine.
But if you do it over time, you might find that the next year might possibly be the best year
that you've ever experienced. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord,
we do love you and we thank you, Lord, for the power to change. The fact that we don't have to
be stuck in the habits, in the routines, in the sins of the past. The Bible says if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature and you have given us the power to change. With men it may be
impossible but with God all things are possible. And Lord, I pray you'd help us to make changes
where we need to. Help us to adjust where we need to. Help us to realize that we are the product of
the choices we've made and we have the power to change our lives right now. And Lord, I do pray
that you would help us not just individually but also as a church. Help us to make changes and to
make choices that will allow the next year to be the best year. In the matchless name of the Lord
Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. All right, well we've got several baptisms this morning. We're gonna
have Brother Andrew come up and lead us in a song as we prepare for baptism.
And tenderly Jesus is calling. You guys been singing well? Continue it on the first. Here we go.
Sing it out. Come home.
Come home, come home. Ye who are weary, come home. Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling. Calling,
O sinner, come home. On the second. Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
pleading for you and for me? Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,
mercies for you and for me? Come home, come home. Ye who are weary, come home. Earnestly,
tenderly Jesus is calling. Calling, O sinner, come home.
You guys have been singing well this morning. Let's sing it on the third
with some passion softly and tenderly on the third.
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing, good, better, passing from you and from me.
Shadows are gathering, death beds are coming, coming for you and for me.
Come home, come home. Ye who are weary, come home.
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling. Calling, O sinner, come home.
On the fourth, finish strong. Oh, for the wonderful love he has promised, promised for you
and for me. Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon, pardon for you and for me.
Come home, come home. Ye who are weary, come home. Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling.
Calling, O sinner, come home. Amen.
All right, well, we have three baptisms this morning and two are sisters and we have Daisy O2
coming for baptism this morning. Daisy, have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal
Savior? All right, Daisy, by your profession of faith, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, buried in the likeness of his death, raised to
walk in units of life. God bless you. All right, and we've got a younger sister coming.
And we've got Zuri O2 coming for baptism. We love the O2 family and I especially have a special
place in my heart for these girls because these girls, every time I see them, one of them will say
to me, you're my favorite pastor and I appreciate them. That's Daisy who normally says that, but
Zuri, have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? All right, let's go ahead
and have you step down, actually. Step down. There you go. Okay, by your profession of faith,
I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,
buried in the likeness of his death, raised to walk in units of life.
All right, and we have one more baptism. We have Tavis Jones coming for baptism this morning.
Go ahead and step down. Yeah, let's turn around. Let's get a picture over here.
All right, go ahead and have a seat. And Tavis, actually,
Brother Johnny Cervantes knocked on his door and got him saved. He's been coming to church for a
few weeks. I think you have your family with you today and praise the Lord for that. And Tavis,
have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? All right, Tavis, by your
profession of faith, I baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Ghost, buried in the likeness of his death, raised to walk in units of life. God bless you.
All right, well, thank you very much for being with us this morning. We appreciate you being
here for the last Sunday of the year. And just want to remind you of a couple of things. First
of all, don't forget that this Tuesday is our New Year's Eve service, so there will be no Wednesday
midweek service. We're moving the midweek service to Tuesday, 7 p.m. We'll have a regular service
like we normally do, preaching, singing, prayer. And then afterwards, we'll have a potluck. If
you'd like to stick around until midnight, we'll be playing board games and fellowshipping,
and then at midnight, leading up to midnight, we'll sing some songs and we'll pray in the New
Year. So we want to encourage you to be here for that, of course, if you'd like to participate with
that. And then I want to encourage you to be back next Sunday for the first Sunday of the year. The
Bible says that we should seek him first, seek the kingdom of God first. So let's give him the first
Sunday. Make sure you're here, you're in your place. If there's anything we can do for you,
please let us know. Of course, we want to invite you to be back tonight, 6 p.m., for the evening
service, the most exciting service of the week. We'd love for you to join us. If there's anything
we can do for you, please let us know. I'm going to ask Brother Andrew if he wouldn't mind dismissing
us with a word of prayer. All right. Well, as always, if you guys have any questions about
salvation, baptism, or church membership, the pastor will be at the door in the back and he'll
be able to answer those questions for you. And let's go ahead and close the service this morning
with a word of prayer. Dear Lord God, thank you so much for our church, for our pastor, Lord,
and for all these people who are here this Sunday morning, Lord, in your house. I pray that you
would please bless us as we come and bless us as we go and please bring us back safely to church
tonight for that Sunday evening service. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ's name. Amen.
You guys are all dismissed.
Amen.