AVBC - Sunday 01/25/26 - Sermon Title: “Caring for Friends and Family” Mark 10:44-45, 1 Peter 4:8

 Sunday 01/25/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church

Sermon Title: “Caring for Friends and Family”

Mark 10:44-45, 1 Peter 4:8           

          In my time in ministry, I have had people apologize to me for missing church on Sunday, because they were, wait for it, visiting family! I have also had people literally apologize to me for missing church on Sunday, because they were, wait for it, visiting one of their parents or children in the hospital!

          Do not get me wrong, going to church to worship and to be with our church family on Sunday, and being together throughout the week is important, but I promise you I do not have a gold star chart for every Sunday you are in or not in attendance here. I think at one of the churches my family attended when I was a kid, I got a sticker or a gold star for everyone Sunday I went to Sunday School, however. Additionally, if we had perfect attendance or really good attendance, we got rewards or special recognition.

          Over the years as well, when I have called church folks on the phone, and sometimes before I could even speak, I would hear something like, “Pastor Paul I am so sorry that I haven’t been in church in two weeks, but I will be there this Sunday I promise!” Then in response, I usually have just said something like, “Well I was calling, because I was worried you were sick, or something else was wrong.” I would then get a variety of answers, but sometimes it was to visit family, a family member was sick, etc.

          I love to come to church and worship with you all every Sunday, and I love to see you all throughout the week, but sometimes in my own life as a lay person, and then a pastor, I have put church above my family. I have and continue to tell people that in the order of importance, we should place God at number one, our family at number 2, and then church at number 3. I have had a couple of issues however, with people putting the Buffalo Bills at 3, and the church at 4. So, do not do that!

(Photo of God, Family, Work)

          The point is this, God should always come first, and family should always come before church does. Always! This does not mean that we should not try to come to church most Sundays and throughout the week, but it does mean that family comes before church. For example, if God forbid you get a message that a family member is in the hospital in Watertown in critical condition, during a service, go to the family member. Why? We will be here because it is God, family, and then church. Amen.

          The question I have for us all to consider this morning then is this, how many of us have gotten this order of God, family, and church out of whack before? As a pastor, there have been times where I put the church before my family, and this is something that I work hard to not do. For example, my stepfather Michael who has cancer, if he, God forbid had some sort of medical emergency, I would be on the first plane of Wisconsin. I would do the same for my mother, my biological father, and any family member. This is not because I do not love you all, but because I very much do. Yet, it is God, family, and then church. Anyone here, ever get this order out of order?

          For me this is something that I have and to continue to do better at. Sometime this summer for example, Melissa and I are going to go to Chicago to see my biological father and stepmother and hopefully my younger sister and her family. I have not seen them since 2023, and Melissa and I are going to go, because family first. If I am being honest too, I would say there have also been times that I have put the church even before God. Not often, but in the past, I have at times been focused too much on the institution of the church at moments, and not as much on the Lord of this whole institution. It can be easy to fall into a cycle of what I call “Churchianity,” forgetting that we are to first go to Jesus, then take care of our family, and finally go to be with our family in Christ, here at the Adams Village Baptist. Once again, is it just me that has made these mistakes before?

          I remember a much older and wiser seminary professor telling our group of students 12-13 years ago about ministry. This is what he said, “forty-years ago, I said yes to God and entered the ministry, and my family has paid the price ever since.” I will never forget this pastor/professor telling us this, as he was emphasizing, God, family, and friends, and then work or church, in my case.

          The best example though of putting family before work that I can think of, comes from the Tom Hanks movie from 1994 called “Forest Gump”. Has anyone here seen the movie “Forrest Gump”? In this movie, Forest Gump finds out his mother is very sick, and this is how he responds:

(Forest Gump – Movie Clip)

How many of us here would respond that quickly and like this if a member of our family or someone we loved was gravely ill? I would have taken the boat to the shore and not swam to the shore like Forest Gump did, as it was probably faster to do that way! The commitment that this character played by Tom Hanks had to his mother was amazing. Do we put family and friends first like that? Why or why not?

          In looking at our gospel of Mark 10:44-5 reading for this morning, we are reminded once again, as the gospel says:

⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’ (Mk. 10:44-45, NRSV).

Our first love is Jesus, our first service and love is to our family and friends, then work, even if we sometimes get these out of order. Jesus came to not to be served, but to serve, and to die for us all. The order of the importance of things in our lives can be a challenge sometimes, but Jesus came to serve. Jesus did also sometimes take time away to rest, as the twelve disciples and the crowds could tire him out.

          The second scripture that we read this morning is 1 Peter 4:8 that says, once again:

⁸ Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8, NRSV).

          We are told to love, value, and spend time with each other. What then are the real reasons why we get our order of God, family, and friends, and work out of order sometimes?

          I have mentioned one or more sermons, and in conversations around visits to nursing homes and places like this in our country. I re-read the statistics, and they have not improved. This is what I found researching more resent statistics:

A significant portion of nursing home residents, around 60% in the U.S., receive no regular visitors, highlighting widespread social isolation, though some studies show closer to half getting weekly visits, influenced heavily by family involvement and travel distance. Many residents experience loneliness, with some never getting outside visitors, while others are limited by restrictive facility hours and policies (Google.com).

          Do you think that we have a society that is good for caring for family and friends, or have we gotten worse? Sometimes we, sometimes I, just get so busy, that if I am not careful, I can put work over everything. Someone might say though, but the church is God, the church is Jesus, the church is the Holy Spirit. To which I agree, but I am not God. This balance, of first going to God, giving our best and “Caring for Friends and Family,” and then work is a hard balance.

          As we are told once again this morning in 1 Peter 4:8:

⁸ Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8, NRSV).

          Loving each other does not remove our sins, and we can turn to Jesus to be forgiven. Love, however, can cover and make hurt, mistakes, and problems not seem as bad. When we are driven by the love of Jesus, then it is much easier to put our priorities in order.

          Further, while we have heard the term “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps,” have any of us ever really gotten to where we are today without family and friends? I know I have not. In fact, when I was ordained in 2018, we had a bishop from the African Methodist Episcopal Church Zion who preached at the ordination sermon. This bishop gave us advice about being ordained pastors, about being servants, etc. He then told us parable or story that I will never forget.

          The parable to story that he told us was “the turtle on the fence post.” This is roughly what this African Methodist Episcopal Zion bishop said to us:

(Picture of the Turtle on the Fence Post)

“If you see a turtle sitting on a fence post you know it did not get there by itself.” A turtle cannot climb the post, it cannot fly to the top of the post, a turtle cannot tightrope walk the wire of the fence to get to the post. If a turtle is on a fence post somebody put it there (https://themasterswalk.com/army-of-the-lord-of-sabaoth/a-turtle-on-a-fence-post/).

          May we never get God, family and friends, and work to out of whack. If we are honest, aren’t many of us here today because of the love and care of family and friends? This is why my sermon this morning is called “Caring for Friends and Family” As we had had a cold and snowy week, who are the people that we love, that love us, who would benefit from our care? A phone call? A card? A visit? God, family and friends, and then work.

          To bring this all home, and have sermon application points making this a sermon that walks out of the door with us, here are some ideas to consider about “Caring for Friends and Family”:

“Christians view both family and friends as vital, with family as a foundational unit and the church community ("brothers and sisters in Christ") providing a chosen family, while deep, Christ-centered friendships are crucial for mutual spiritual growth, support, accountability, and becoming more like Jesus, often seen as a training ground for eternal communion. The Bible emphasizes loving one another as Christ loved us, encouraging sacrifice and support within these relationships, whether biological or spiritual” 

Importance of Family:

• Foundational Unit: The family is the initial place for learning love, forgiveness, and Christian living, with parents modeling faith.

• Biblical Model: The New Testament often uses "brothers and sisters" (adelphoi) to describe the church, emphasizing family-like commitment and care within the faith community. 

Importance of Friend

• Spiritual Growth: Friends who share faith help each other grow in holiness and become more Christ-like (mutual sanctification).

• Accountability & Support: They offer encouragement, confront sin, bear burdens, and provide a safe space to discuss faith and life challenges, similar to Jesus' disciples.

• Shared Purpose: Ideal Christian friendships center on a common love for God, looking in the same direction toward truth and holiness.

• Foretaste of Eternity: Deep friendships serve as practice for the eternal communion (koinonia) with God and others. 

Key Biblical Principles for Relationships

• Love Like Jesus: Love one another sacrificially, as Jesus laid down His life (John 15:12-13).

• Sharpen Each Other: Friends should challenge and build each other up, like "iron sharpens iron" (Proverbs 27:17).

• Comfort & Edify: Christians are called to comfort and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

• Be Like Jesus: Invite others into your life and be authentic, reflecting Christ's love and hospitality (John 15:15) (https://www.google.com/search?q=Christians+view+of+friends+and+family+important).

Brothers and sisters, may we keep God first, family friends second, and work and everything else after that. Amen.

AVBC - Sunday 01/18/26 - Sermon Title: “A Time For Every Purpose Under Heaven” - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

 Sunday 01/18/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church

Sermon Title: “A Time For Every Purpose Under Heaven”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

          I have a question for us to consider this morning. The question is this, why is there so much suffering on this earth? Why can there be so much suffering here in Adams, and in this area? Yet, at the same time there is also immense joy, love, hope, etc. on this earth. Once again though, there is also sickness, tragedy, and suffering. Why is this, and where is God in the midst of all of this? Have we ever asked or pondered any of these questions?

          Of all of the struggles that I have seen people have in my years of ministry, suffering tends to be the hardest struggle. When someone gets sick, when someone dies suddenly, and so on, and so forth. I have had people ask me questions like, “Pastor Paul if there really is a loving God, then why did, “fill in the blank,” happen?” Sometimes painful and hard things happen, and this can cause us to grieve, to wrestle with ourselves, and sometimes to wrestle with God. We want to understand, we want answers sometimes. In fact, in the Old Testament Book of Genesis, Jacob wrestled with God all night long, until God agreed to bless him. It is the idea that we are called to cling to God, to know God more deeply, and to trust God with our lives, our blessings, and our hope.

          Jesus reminds us in the gospel of John 16:33:

³³ I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’                                   (Jn. 16:33, NRSV) 

Unfortunately, to be in this world is on some level to know suffering. We all have, are, or will suffer at some point.

          In fourteen years of ministry, while I have done more funerals, celebrations of life, and memorial services than I can count, I have only, however, had to officiate a funeral for a child once. This child was only six years old. She was sick, and her death was sudden and unexpected. Her mother, as you can imagine, was beside herself. I mean what do you say to a parent in this situation?

          This child had special needs and had an assortment of disabilities, yet her and her family often came to the church that I was serving at the time. While the family never joined the church that I was serving at the time, they considered that church their family’s church, and they considered me to be their pastor. In fact, they told this to everyone in the community.

          Yet when this lovely little girl died, I heard many of the usual questions that I have often heard, such as, “Why would God let a sweet small child die?” I also heard, “What kind of loving God would let this happen?” Emotions can run high in situations like this, and when I was asked as the pastor, “Pastor Paul, why did this happen?” When I was asked these questions by the child’s grieving mother, it took off all my energy not burst into tears. I teared up, I looked in the eyes of this young grieving mother, and I told her, “I don’t fully understand why this happened, but what is keeping me together right now, is believing that your daughter is in the arms of Jesus.”

          In fact, I did a little digging, and I was able to locate a beautiful portrait of Jesus hugging a little girl. Here is the actual picture:

(Show Picture of Jesus A Little Girl)

          When I saw this portrait on canvas, I bought one and a hanger for this grieving mother. When I got to the funeral home for the day of the service, the young mother was on a couch in the room that the services are conducted in. She was sitting on a couch and looked broken and in shock. After telling this mother that I envisioned on that day her daughter in the arms of Jesus, I then gave her the picture of canvas print.

What did I not do? I did not tell the mother that “I understand,” because I did not. I did not tell the mother that “I’m so sorry for your loss.” What I did say though, is “you are loved and your prayed for, and many love you and are praying for you.” “We are here for you.” I mean I did not understand, and I did not apologize, because I did not think that would help. Yet, the world that we live in here on earth is far from perfect. This world has many wonderful things, and so much love, and so much to be in awe and wonder of.

Since all this is true then, how do we balance all of this with the good on this earth? To some extent this is what our scripture from the Book of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 for this morning is telling us and reminding us. In fact, early on when I was a pastor, I called my then mentor pastor and told him that I had been helping so many suffering people that I was pastoring. By this, I mean struggles and hurts that I was helping people to walk through, with God’s help. I then told him that somedays I was just tired of suffering. At this he laughed loudly, and I was little taken a back. He then said that if I did not like suffering to pick a different religion, because Jesus suffered for us all. We live in a world that is so often so broken and so fallen. We get to decide every day how we love and treat each other, but what do we do when really terrible things happen? Do we blame God? Do we blame each other? Do we struggle? Do we ask tough questions?

In looking at our reading from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 for this morning, it says, once again:

Everything Has Its Time

3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace (Ecc. 3:1-8, NRSV).

          Maybe in our own lifetimes, we have experience most or all of this list. Is it not so incredible that we can go through such sorrow, and yet sometimes have such much joy. I truly believe that the grief, the sorrow, and the suffering that we have experienced, and may one day experience again, can be used by God to make us more loving, more compassionate, and more caring for others. For when we know pain and suffering, then we can relate even more to the suffering and the brokenness of this world.

          Given all this though, how can we apply Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 to our lives today and going forward? Further, how can we take this sermon and this time of worship out into Adams and the world? How can we ask to continue to transform us, and how can the Holy Spirit use us to transforms others in Christ.

          Here are some thoughts and application points of how we can do all of these things:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 means there's a divinely appointed time for every event and emotion in life, highlighting life's cyclical nature and God's ultimate control over seasons of joy, sorrow, life, death, peace, and war, teaching patience and acceptance of this divine order. This passage presents contrasting pairs (like birth/death, weeping/laughing) to show the spectrum of human experience, reminding us to find meaning and make wise choices within God's perfect, though often mysterious, timing.

Key Themes & Meanings

• Divine Timing & Sovereignty: God sets the schedule for everything; there's a right moment for every action, even seemingly contradictory ones like killing and healing, or loving and hating. 

• Cycles of Life: Life isn't static but moves in patterns—planting and harvesting, building and tearing down, mourning and dancing.

• Human Limitations: While we experience these seasons, we lack ultimate control over their timing, which fosters humility and reliance on God.

• Acceptance & Wisdom: The passage encourages acceptance of life's ups and downs, trusting that God makes everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and seeking wisdom to discern our role in each season.

• Context of "Under the Sun": The phrase "under heaven" or "under the sun" frames these observations as earthly realities, emphasizing the transient nature of life's events. 

Examples of Life's Seasons

• A time to be born, and a time to die
• A time to plant, and a time to pluck up
• A time to weep, and a time to laugh
• A time to kill, and a time to heal
• A time to tear down, and a time to build up
• A time for war, and a time for peace 

In essence, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 teaches that life's complexities are part of God's sovereign plan, urging people to find purpose and peace by aligning with His purposeful timing rather than fighting against the inevitable flow of life's varied seasons. 

          In bringing this message to a close, it was recommended to me that I play a song for us that talks specifically about Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. This song is called “Turn! Turn! Turn!” By the Byrds. This video has pictures and words, that hopefully brings Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 home. When I showed this video to my mom, her response was, “Far Out.” So, I think she likes the video, but I am not one hundred percent sure on this. Let us watch this video together:

(Show Video - “Turn! Turn! Turn!” By the Byrds)

          Brothers and sisters, friends, there is a time for every purpose under heaven. We do not always understand, we sometimes do not like it, but we know that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. We know that through Jesus we offered eternal life if we repent of our sin and shame and turn to Him. We know that God is real, as we have experienced God, and have felt the Holy Spirit.

          What we can do, is continue daily to seek Christ, continue to serve Christ, to love others, to be healers, to be restorers, and be people that bring joy, hope, and mercy. We can do all of this, knowing that the day that Christ returns, the world will be as it is heaven, and there will be no more sorrow or hard seasons. So, until Jesus comes to be with us, or until we go to be with Jesus, as Christians, as brothers and sisters in Christ, you know what we do? We laugh together, we pray together, we cry together, we rejoice together, and we build each other up.

Jesus gave us the church, so that we can live through all the seasons of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 together. We are the body of Christ, and we are the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. May we be people that the make the world more like Jesus every day. As we do this we will continue to change and so will the world around us. May it be so. Amen.

AVBC - Sunday 01/11/26 - Sermon Title: “Are you Enjoying the Winter?” Genesis 8:22, Job 37:9-10, Psalm 147:16-18

 Sunday 01/11/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church

Sermon Title: “Are you Enjoying the Winter?”

Genesis 8:22, Job 37:9-10, Psalm 147:16-18

          In beginning this message for this morning, I have a question for us all to consider on this day, January 11, 2026. The question is this: “Are You Enjoying Winter?” This is a simple question, but it can also be a complicated question. Are you enjoying and do you like the season of winter? Some of us seem to love the season of winter, some of us might not, and some of us are indifferent about winter.

          I have always been fascinated though by four of all the seasons, and to an extent by how we live differently with the changes that occur in each season. We wear different clothes during different seasons and sometimes do different things in different seasons of the year. Yet we are presently in the winter season. So, I ask us all again: “Are You Enjoying Winter?” How many of us here love winter? How many of us here would say that winter is your favorite season? How many of us here, on the other hand though, do not like winter, and look forward to it ending every year?

          Some of us may say, for example, which Fall or Autumn is our favorite season with the leaves changing colors, apple cider, and of course football. Some might love spring the most, as the rain comes back, the flowers bloom, and the bird’s chirp. Or sometimes in January the rain comes back like it did this past week! Either way, maybe we should try to like and appreciate all four seasons of the year for varied reasons.

          Whatever our preferences are, we have seasons. Some places in the world though might be more like summer most of the year due to their climate, and in some places in the world it might be more like winter most of the year, due to their climate. In fact, in places in Alaska, there is a period of time up north, especially Utqiagvik (Barrow), where people experience periods of no sunlight in winter, known as polar night. This is due to the Earth's tilt, with the sun staying below the horizon for over 60 days (around Nov 18 to Jan 23). 

          I have heard many people already tell me about this winter, for example, how they do not like having less sunlight than we do in the summer months. Every year I also always hear the arguments for and against daylight savings time. Who here wants to get rid of daylights savings time? Who hear wants to keep it? I hear people every year tell me that the winter is too dark, too cold, and yet, as I said, some people that I talk to love the winter.

          As I asked the kids this morning for the Children’s Corner, “Is snow mentioned in the bible?” Which we now know that it is mentioned in the bible if we did not know this before. From what I have studied and researched, snow is mentioned in twenty-four scriptures in the bible, and winter is mentioned as many as sixteen times in scripture, based on your bible translation. Since we are in the season of winter, I thought it would be good this morning to discuss winter and a little bit of the bible says about it.

          In the first scripture that I read for this morning, once again, we hear again in Genesis 8:22 this:

²² As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease’ (Gen. 8:22, NRSV).

This scripture is God speaking as the great forty-day flood of the earth with Noah and his family has just ended. God is saying to Noah, that as long as this earth exists, we will have seedtime or the planting of crops, the harvesting time of crops, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, and this will be the natural order of things until the earth is no more. The seasons will always be with us, even if “snowbirds” and some of the rest of us are constantly trying to escape the seasons that we are potentially not the fondest of. Of course, up until more resent history going to different parts of the country and the world were not as easy as they are today.

          As I said, the seasons have always amazed me. In the winter much of the foliage, plant life, and animals seem to be gone or hibernating. Then in the spring it all just comes back every year. It really is an amazing and miraculous thing. This always reminds me of Jesus crucifixion, death, and entombment on Good Friday, and his resurrection to new life on Easter morning. New life come in the springs, and new life always comes on Easter morning when we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

          Since we have the season of winter, and all four seasons, it call also remind us that we have seasons of our lives. With this said, what kind of season are we currently in, in our lives? Are we in good season, an ok season, or a not good season? Wherever we are at, God is with us, and we are with one another. It was so exciting to have a good turnout for our movie night last night, as the more we are together, the better and the stronger that we are.

          The next scripture that I chose that mentions snow, is Job 37:9-10, which says, once again:

⁹ From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds.
¹⁰ By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast              (Job 37:9-10, NRSV)

We hear, once again, in these verses from Job 37:9-10 about the power and majesty of God is in the natural world. In these verses specifically, we hear about winter, cold ice, and frozen water. All four of the seasons is God’s plan for us, and it is how we are supposed to live. Some of us might not always be thrilled about this, but the seasons of the year are here to stay.

          In the famous hymn “In the Bleak Midwinter” we hear these familiar words in verse 1:

1 In the bleak midwinter
frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron,
water like a stone:
snow had fallen,
snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter,
long ago (https://hymnary.org/text/in_the_bleak_midwinter).

In hearing this, for those that do not like the season of winter, how many of your cringe just a little when hearing verse 1 of “In the Bleak Midwinter?” I mean winter is not described to me as particularly pleasant. Since we will always get all four of the seasons though, we should try to embrace the parts of them that we like and not be so critical of the parts that we do not like.

          For example, who among us likes summer as your favorite season of the year? How many of us would love to have nothing but summer all year long? If so, do I have your permission to remind you of this in August, when this church is going to be very hot? Maybe just maybe for a moment on those days or those warm Sundays this summer, winter will not look so bad?

          The point is, is that seasons are not only biblical, as snow is biblical, but they are from God. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall are all from God, and we will always have them, as God told Noah, once again, in our Genesis 8:22 reading for this morning. So, what if we reframed our view of the seasons as this what God Has given us. Further, would it not be boring if we only had one season?

          For example, went on a mission trip to the Central American country of Niacaragua, nine years ago. I was there in late winter/early spring at was unbelievably hot and humid. The temperature there is always hot and humid. Wouldn’t we miss the variety of the seasons if we no longer had them in their fullness? I would.

          The final scripture that I want to read for this morning, which is one of my favorite scriptures on snow and winter, is Psalm 147:16-18. This in part, is also the scripture on our welcome to worship picture for this morning. Psalm 147:16-18, says once again of God:

¹⁶ He gives snow like wool;
    he scatters frost like ashes.
¹⁷ He hurls down hail like crumbs—
    who can stand before his cold?
¹⁸ He sends out his word, and melts them;
    he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow (Ps. 147:16-18).

          I remember when I was a Methodist pastor, that I formed a pastoral mentoring relationship with a pastor in the African country of Kenya to help him with his ministry. This pastor was shocked when I explained to him that in New York we were in winter. I told him the temperature and the weather conditions. His response was, “How do you stay alive and not die?” This pastor was fascinated to hear that burn fuel, use electric, wood, etc. to hear our homes.

This pastor asked this because he had never been in wintry weather before. This pastor had never seen the leaves change, this pastor had never seen or experienced snow. I helped this pastor and collaborated with him to help get his church built up virtually in his country, but I took for granted the fact that we have all four seasons in their fulness where we live, and he did not.

          I mean imagine for those folks who ski, or snowshoe, or snow tube, never having done that because where you live there is no snow? Imagine living somewhere where there is no fall or autumn? This means no changed leaves, and if it is it is outside of the United States, no NFL Football! Now of course in the time that we live in we travel to places with different climates, but imagine if we could not do that?

People jokingly asked Melissa and I, as we were starting here at the AVBC, “You know what kind of winters that we get here in the Tug Hill Region right?” I guess they were jokingly saying, “Do you know what you in for here!” Would we really want no winter in Adams though? No fall? No spring?

          In asking the question at the beginning of this sermon “Are You Enjoying the Winter?” if your answer is still no, challenge yourself to see God’s majesty in this season. As you see the snow on the trees, and all the beauty of this time of the year.

          So, to bring all of this home, here are some application points, to take this sermon with you out into this winter day here in Adams, NY:

Winter and seasons are important in the Bible as metaphors for life's spiritual cycles, representing hardship, rest, and preparation, while also affirming God's constant control, covenant promises (like seedtime and harvest), and the necessity of spiritual pruning for future growth, echoing themes of death and resurrection. They symbolize spiritual "winters" of testing and barrenness that lead to deeper intimacy with God, renewed hope, and eventual flourishing, much like the earth rests before spring.

Key Meanings of Winter & Seasons:

• God's Sovereignty & Covenant: Winter's predictable return confirms God's power and faithfulness over creation, fulfilling His promise to Noah that seasons will continue (Genesis 8:22).
• Spiritual Trials & Pruning: Winter imagery often represents difficult times, spiritual barrenness, or a stripping away of illusions, preparing believers for deeper spiritual growth (like pruning in John 15).
• Rest & Reflection: Like the earth resting, winter signifies a necessary pause for spiritual rejuvenation, prayer, and drawing closer to God.
• Hope & Renewal: The cold, dormant winter holds the promise of spring's rebirth, symbolizing resurrection, new life, and the eventual triumph over hardship.
• Practical Life & Hardship: The Bible notes winter's practical challenges (difficult travel, agricultural slowdown) and its lessons in endurance, community, and reliance on God's provision. 

Examples in Scripture:

• Song of Solomon 2:11: "For now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone" – announcing renewal.
• John 15:2-6: Jesus' teaching on pruning branches to bear more fruit, paralleled with spiritual winters.
• James 1:2-4: Trials (spiritual winters) produce perseverance and maturity.
• Genesis 8:22: God's promise of continuing seasons, seedtime and harvest. 

Ultimately, seasons in the Bible teach that every phase, even winter, serves a divine purpose in God's grand plan, preparing for greater fruitfulness and closeness to Him (https://www.google.com/search?q=why+is+winter+and+the+season+important).

          Remember brothers and sisters, Jesus experienced all that we did. He experienced the seasons, probably not as cold and snowy as we do, but he experienced everything! He still loves us. He still died for us. When we repent our sin, guilt, and shame, and turn to Him, He makes us a new creation. He offers us forgiveness, new life, and eternal life. The good news is that we can accept this from Christ any day, any time, and in any season. So, once again, Amen.

AVBC - Sunday 01/04/26 - Sermon Title: “Do You Have any New Year’s Resolutions?” Colossians 3:9-17, 2 Corinthians 5:17

 Sunday 01/04/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church

Sermon Title: “Do You Have any New Year’s Resolutions?”             

Colossians 3:9-17, 2 Corinthians 5:17

          Happy New Year! It is hard for me to believe that it is already 2026! Some of us also feel this way too, as time just seems to go by so fast sometimes!

          Melissa and I were blessed to spend the last week of 2025 at my mother and stepfather’s house in Wisconsin. While there, we were blessed to worship at their church and meet some of the great people in their community.

          I also want to thank Pastor Bud again for leading the worship service last Sunday while Melissa and I were away. During the service last Sunday, Pastor Bud said that you all are working to make me a good Baptist, yet he was trying to make you a little more Methodist. Having the congregation stand for a reading of one of the four gospels is so Methodist Pastor Bud. However, saying that the bulletin can change and that an order of worship can be radically altered is very Baptist.

          With all of this said, for many of us a New Year is often seen by most as a new set of opportunities. A New Year is often also seen as “clean slate,” as we have yet another year to try to be more like Jesus. We have another year to try to grow, to be better, to love more deeply, and to pursue all that God has for us. Given this, I have a question for us this morning. The question is, “Do we have any New Years Resolutions?” If we do, what are our New Years Resolutions? Did we have New Years Resolutions last year and the year before that? If so, did we do well with our News Years Resolutions from 2024 and 2025? Lastly, are our New Years Resolutions for this year the same as our New Years Resolutions from 2024 and 2025?

          I ask all this, because I have found that in a secular sense that New Years for some is like salvation in Christ. What do I mean by this? I mean that when the ball drops in Times Square, and it is officially midnight on New Years, for many 2025 with all the good and the bad are gone. As a result, as I said, we have a “clean slate,” and we get to start over again. For some of us, this new year is seen as an opportunity to live and love differently. New Years resolutions are new opportunities in the new year.

          In the Apostle’s letter to the church in Colossae or the Colossians, he tells us in Colossians 3:9-11 this:

⁹ Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. ¹¹ In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! (Col. 3:9-11, NRSV).

 

          Do most people see New Years this way? Stripping off the old self with its practices and clothing ourselves with the new self? Is the celebration of New Year’s for many people a means of “secular salvation”? Is New Year’s a means of gaining forgiveness without Christ?

          The Apostle Paul goes on again picking up and finishing in in Colossians 3:12-17 this:

¹² As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³ Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col. 3:12-17, NRSV).

 

          For many people at midnight on New Year’s Eve, they sing part of or all of the song “Auld Lang Syne.” This Scottish says:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And auld lang syne

(https://genius.com/Robert-burns-auld-lang-syne-annotated).

 

In this song we are challenged in a new year, to remember, to reflect, and to move forward. While some seem to think that everything before New Years is gone, and only the future lies before us. However, only Christ can take away our sin, our shame, and our brokenness.

          Our New Years Resolutions can certainly make us better, more generous, and improve us, but where are these New Years Resolutions coming from? Are these New Years resolutions ones that we created on our own, for us, or are they New Years resolutions that God has given us to live out? While we can become better, more generous, and improve on our own, can we become all that we are called to be without Christ? I do not believe that we can, and as exciting as New Year’s is, it is different from salvation in Christ. For with Christ, we can do all things, while left to our own devices, we are doomed to fail.

          Specifically, what percentage of people do you think follow through with a New Years Resolution? Take a guess. Here is the answer:

·       Recent research has shown that just 9% of Americans actually keep their resolutions throughout the year (https://www.driveresearch.com/market-research-company-blog/new-years-resolutions-statistics/)

In another source it says this about New Year’s Resolutions:

“Very few people keep their New Year's resolutions all year; estimates suggest only 8% to 10% succeed for the full year, with most giving up within the first few weeks or months, as high as 64% by the end of January. While many people (around 40-50%) make resolutions, high failure rates are common because goals are often unrealistic, too big, or lack a concrete plan, though those who set specific resolutions are significantly more likely to succeed” (https://www.google.com/search?q=How+are+New+Year%27s+Resolutions+different+than+salvation+in+Christ).

          In the Romans 8:38-39 the Apostle Paul said this about our faith in Jesus Christ:

³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39, NRSV).

If we know Jesus and are a new creation in Him then our salvation and eternity in Him is 100%. If we know Jesus, we will be with Him for eternity, and if we are a new creation Him, our eternal success rate is 100%.

          Does this mean that we should no longer get excited about New Years? Of course we should! Does this mean that we should longer make News Years Resolutions? No, not necessarily. Make as many New Years Resolutions as you want, but realize that true hope, salvation, restoration, and transformation comes only through Jesus Christ. As our second scripture for this morning which is the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth or the Corinthians says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 this:

¹⁷ So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Cor. 5:17, NRSV).

 

          Do I want to be better for Christ in 2026? Sure, I do. I want to be more like Jesus, be a better person, a better family member, a better husband, and a better pastor. I can probably try to do all these on my own, but only with Christ can I truly be more like Him, more sanctified. As humans when we are left to our own devices we tend to struggle much more, noting only 8-10% of people achieve a New Year’s resolution.

          Friends, brothers and sisters, in this New Year, whatever resolutions we make, let our first resolution be our renewed hope and love in Jesus Christ. For if Christ is at the center of our lives, our hope, and our salvation, God can truly use us. God can take us places that we never imagined before. For as the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:10:

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me (1 Cor. 15:10, NRSV).

 

          In an effort to have this sermon on New Years Resolutions and being renewed in Christ in 2026 and always, here are some application points comparing these two things:

New Year's Resolutions are self-initiated, often temporary human efforts for self-improvement, relying on willpower and typically failing, whereas salvation in Christ is a divine, permanent act of God's grace, transforming a person's spiritual state from sin to righteousness, providing a new identity and power (the Holy Spirit) for ongoing spiritual growth and a relationship with God, not just behavioral changes. Resolutions focus on doing for self, but salvation empowers a new being, enabling true transformation through God's work within, as seen in 1 Corinthians 15:10, notes.

New Year's Resolutions (Human Effort)

·       Source: Personal will, self-motivation, desire for self-improvement.

·       Power: Relies on personal strength, which often fails (Romans 7 principle).

·       Goal: Often worldly or self-focused (e.g., lose weight, save money, be "better").

·       Outcome: High failure rate, temporary change, can lead to guilt. 

Salvation in Christ (Divine Grace)

·       Source: God's initiative and work through Jesus Christ.

·       Power: Empowered by the Holy Spirit, enabling true, lasting change (Philippians 2:13).

·       Goal: To be reconciled to God, gain new spiritual life, and glorify Him (1 Peter 2:9).

·       Outcome: Eternal life, new identity in Christ, a transformed heart, and the ongoing ability to live righteously. 

Key Differences

·       Origin: Self vs. God.

·       Power Source: Willpower vs. Holy Spirit.

·       Focus: Behavior vs. Being (heart/identity).

·       Duration: Temporary vs. Eternal. 

Christian Perspective on Resolutions

·       Christians can make biblical resolutions (e.g., read the Bible more, serve others) but they must be rooted in faith, for God's glory, and depend on Christ's power, not personal resolve.

·       The true "resolution" for a Christian is to live out the new life Christ provides, empowered by Him, rather than trying to earn favor or change through sheer effort. 

Brothers and sisters, while New Year’s is fun and New Years Resolutions are not bad intrinsically, how many of us here have ever sung that song that I mentioned a few minutes ago called “Auld Lang Syne?”

This Scottish song says once again:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And auld lang syne

(https://genius.com/Robert-burns-auld-lang-syne-annotated).

 

          When I worshipped at my mother and stepfather’s church last Sunday though, a Christian New Years song was song that I had never heard before. I am going to play it for us, and the lyrics of this song will be on the television screen, so that we can sing it together. This song is called “All Glory Be To Christ,” it is set the music of “Auld Lang Syne” and the words are by Dustin Kensrue. May this message, and this song, bring us new hope in Christ today and for all of 2026.

          Before have Communion, the Lords Supper, let us sing this Christian New Year’s song together. Happy New Year and Amen!

Play (“All Glory Be To Christ,” - Set to the music of “Auld Lang Syne,”

- words by Dustin Kensrue).