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  • New Year Resolutions 2026

    Good morning, brothers and sisters. We just celebrated the birth of our King, and now we are days away from celebrating the start of a New Year.
    I love how Christmas, the birth of Jesus, the birth of hope itself, comes right before the start of a New Year, a time we look forward to new beginnings.
    You know, for some of us the past year has been full of great moments. New births, healing, restoration, overcoming hurdles, and some are experiencing God in a deeper way. We have celebrated these things together, as brothers and sisters in Christ. Sharing in the joy, wonders, and gifts of grace from above.
    For some, the past year has been filled with pain, depression, loss, and struggles. We have done our best to come up beside one another during these times. Praying with and for one another, helping to carry one another’s burdens, encouraging, edifying, and grieving at times with each-other.
    Some of us are looking at the past year and asking “What happened!” Almost like being on the worst roller coaster ride of your life, and fearing what may be around the next corner.
    The things of yesterday are behind us, it’s a little tiny rear view mirror, brothers and sisters. We can not focus on what is in front of us, if we are focused on what is behind us!
    Remember when God told Isaiah to share this with all of His people? God said:
    Isaiah 43:18–19 NIV
    18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing!
    God is telling us to stop looking behind us. To move forward with Him! Jesus Christ front and center in our lives! Jesus is not waiting behind us, He goes before us! Praise His Holy name this morning!
    As we enter this New Year, 2026, that should be our focus! Looking forward to what God has in store for us!
    I stopped making what are considered “normal” New Years resolutions years ago. I found that most of the time, the resolutions I was making were self-centered. And most of the time, it only took a few weeks for me to fail at keeping those resolutions.
    I am not saying there is anything wrong with making resolutions, but what I started doing instead is making goals, or commitments, that have brought me closer to God.
    When we do this, it is different in that we have to really focus on seeing things through God’s eyes. It can be challenging because we are forced to look deep within ourselves when we ask Holy Spirit to guide us into being more like Jesus.
    I put together three biblical goals for your consideration. For us to stop being distracted by what is in our rear view mirror, so we can boldly move forward in the LORD.
    These three commitments require something of us though: to set aside our pride, to set aside our egos, and to humble ourselves, like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ did. Let’s look at the first commitment.
    Commit to Forget Your Failures!
    Philippians 3:12 NLT
    12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
    It is important to understand the next few verses in the context of this verse. The Apostle Paul is openly claiming that he is far from perfect.
    Brothers and sisters, that gives me hope in my own walk. When the Apostle Paul declares he is not perfect, but presses on toward perfection in the Lord, I do not feel like such a miserable failure!
    He does not make excuses for his failures. Instead he recognizes them and commits to improving and moving forward, just as we should do.
    Man, will we get lost in where we have failed, we will dwell on it, and let it poison our spirit. If you have experienced failures in your life, welcome to the club! Failure is an opportunity to learn and to grow in our walks.
    When the Apostle talks about being possessed by Christ, he is talking about his road to Damascus experience. All believers have a road to Damascus type experience.
    At some point, Christ entered our hearts. The light came on, and we experienced Holy Spirit alive within us.
    Recognizing our imperfection is to recognize our dependence on Him. It’s the sign of a mature believer. We simply cannot do this without Him.
    Realizing that we do not give up on pressing toward perfection in Christ means that we know that we depend on Him to show us the way to live through Him.
    Look at what the Apostle tells us next:
    Philippians 3:13 NLT
    13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
    I am not sure there is a more fitting Word from God as we enter the new year. I know there are so many of us who see ourselves as having failed someone or something this past year. The truth is that most of us have all failed at something this past year.
    Our failures and perceived failures evoke painful memories within us. For some of us, those failures carry tremendous guilt and shame. Maybe you feel as though you have:
    Failed a child.
    Failed a parent
    Failed in a relationship with a friend or a loved one
    Maybe you feel as though you have failed yourself
    I know that most of us at some point feel we have failed God
    I also know that some of you are taking responsibility for failures that are not yours. That you have no control over.
    Let me ask you this morning, and be honest with yourself, how much control do you have over the situation you are not forgiving yourself for?
    If it is out of your control, then stop blaming yourself. If it is within your control, then do something about it.
    I got stuck on this verse. When Paul says “Forgetting.” I asked myself “if I forget my mistakes how can I learn from them?” See, Paul is not telling us to forget them in the way we think about “forgetting.”
    That word forget in the Greek means to let go of it and stop dwelling on it. When we know we made a mistake, we are to do what we can to repair the damage. There are really just three biblical questions we should ask ourselves and put into practice:
    “Have I done what I can to correct my mistake?”
    “Have I sought forgiveness?”
    “Have I repented?”
    If we can answer “yes” to those three questions, there is nothing left we can do except let God do what God does.
    Your failures are not your master, Jesus Christ is your master. Look to Jesus Christ! Kingdom life is what lies ahead for all who believe! Christ’s first utterance from the cross was: “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do!”
    He forgives you, it is time to forgive yourself. Stop torturing yourself. Forgive yourself. Move on, and do the work of the Kingdom. Leave that emotional prison, He opened the door for you!
    The second resolution two consider this year is:
    2. Commit to Give up Your Grudges
    Colossians 3:13 NIV
    13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
    I looked for a loophole in this one. I looked through every version of the Bible I have, the Hebrew, the Greek, the KJV, NLT, NIV, NKJV, ESV, and I found that every version issues this as a command.
    It does not say “You should consider,” or “think about it,” or “it may be a good idea.” It says “BEAR WITH EACH OTHER AND FORGIVE ONE ANOTHER.” GOD EXPECTS IT!. We are to: Endure one another, Hold back our tongues, and Exhibit self-control.
    Every single person here and online has something about them that others have to endure. Just like you have your failings, so does everybody else.
    I want to share a little secret with you: Everyone is guilty of… some weakness, some wrong behavior, some mistreatment, some neglect, some failure, some bad habit, some irritating behavior.
    Any person can be looked at and have their flaws picked out. The Word of God commands us to clothe ourselves in forbearance. To make allowances for one another. To love one another and to help one another if possible.
    A grudge is a deep ongoing resentment that we cultivate in our hearts against someone else.
    A grudge is an unforgiving spirit that leads to unforgiving attitudes and unforgiving actions.
    Grudges are dangerous because they are destructive.
    Grudges destroy marriages.
    Grudges break up families.
    Grudges ruin friendships.
    One of the problems with today’s Church is the grudges that Christians hold against one another. It boggles my mind and it breaks my heart how many believers absolutely refuse to work out their grievances with one another.
    I picture the Apostle Paul writing a letter to today’s church. It would probable start out: “Where do I even begin?”
    Holding a grudge is the antithesis, the opposite, to the message of the cross. It will create a root of bitterness that runs deep within us.
    I remember a particular situation where I refused to talk to or even acknowledge someone I had a grudge against. I mean, just the thought of hearing their voice or looking at them was like nails across a chalkboard. If I saw them, my eye would start twitching, and I would go the other way.
    So, as I was sulking in my own misery about this person; my blood pressure was up, I was grinding my teeth, all the things. You know what I am talking about. Really battling if I wanted to talk to them or not.
    I caught an image of Jesus, on the cross, battered and pulverized. Jesus looks at me from the cross, and He says: “Tell me more about your spirit of unforgiveness.” Message recieved.
    I went and spoke privately to the person. The individual and l are not friends, but I learned to make allowances for their faults, and they made allowances for my faults.
    Forgiveness is not condoning a behavior or saying what happened is okay. Forgiveness has nothing to do with our feelings either. Forgiveness in it’s simplest form is giving up the right to get even. Forgiveness is all about the will of God.
    I am telling you, a root of bitterness will grow into something ugly that is not of the LORD. I know because I was the guy who looked for reasons to be offended so that I could hate people and have a reason not to deal with people. That kind of bad fruit has no place in the believers life.
    Some of us need to forgive a grievance we have against a spouse.
    Some of us need to forgive the grievance we have against our parents for what they did or didn’t do.
    Some of us need to forgive our children for what they did or didn’t do.
    Some of us need to give up the grudge we have against someone at work because of the way they have treated us.
    Some of us need to give up the grudge that stems from an argument we had with someone.
    Some of us maybe even need to give up grudges we have against other people in this congregation.
    God says that the deep-seated resentment we may have against that person has to go.
    What better time to make that difficult decision to forgive than the start of a new year? There is no loophole, no way around it, THE LORD COMMANDS IT!
    The third resolution or commitment we should consider is...
    3. Commit to Restore Your Relationships
    Romans 12:18 NIV
    18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
    The cause of conflict must not arise from a believer. We are to do everything within our power to bring peace and to keep peace. Just a reminder that if you are waiting for the other person to come to you to work it out, Jesus told us something different.
    Matthew 18:15 NLT
    15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.
    Notice that Jesus places the imperative on us to GO. He says it right there! “YOU GO AND TALK TO THEM.” He does not say to wait for them to come to you.
    The Lord wants us to do everything we can to restore any relationships that has been damaged in our lives.
    Some relationships might have gone wrong in our lives because of what other people have done and they might not want that relationship restored.
    God recognizes that. Looking back at Romans 12:18...
    Romans 12:18 NIV
    18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
    That is why he starts by saying “If it is possible.” The truth is, that it is not always possible. I know there are still people in my life who have not forgiven me for the things I have said and done in my past.
    I also know I have done what the LORD would have me do to make peace with those people. When we have done that, there is nothing more we can do.
    When God’s Word says here “As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” God is saying, “if you have caused a rift in a relationship then you have a responsibility to do everything you can to restore it.”
    I wonder how many relationships remain broken or are not all they should be or could be simply because someone won’t say:
    “I was wrong, I am sorry, will you forgive me?”
    I am certain that some of us need to ask forgiveness for “ harsh words and terrible remarks” that have wounded others.
    Even after this long in my walk, there are still days I allow this flesh to rear up. I mess up, say something, or do something that a man of God should not be saying or doing. Just ask Carolyn, she will have no problem telling you.
    I have to go back and ask myself those three questions:
    “Have I done what I can to correct my mistake?”
    “Have I sought forgiveness?”
    “Have I repented?”
    We are going to close with a verse that sums up the reason we should put these three commitments into practice everyday. It is the verse that inspired me to write today’s message.
    2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
    17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
    If we live in the prison of our failures, if we refuse to forgive others, if we are not attempting to repair relationships, we are limiting the work of Holy Spirit within us.
    We live a new life in Christ, Christ alive within us. What better commitment to make this year than following the commands of our Savior, and being more like Him?
    Alter Call/Worship Team
    As the worship team makes there way up-front, let’s all close our eyes and go to the LORD. Ask Holy Spirit to search your heart and your mind. Are there failures in your life you need to get past? Is there someone you are holding a grudge against? Is there a relationship that you need to attempt to restore?
    Ask Him to lead you, to give you clarity, to give you wisdom in committing yourself to following His commands.
    The alter is open. You have brothers and sisters in the Lord who want to pray with you and for you. Do not leave here this morning carrying a burden or baggage. Jesus told us to cast it all upon Him so that we may live an abundant life.
    Closing Prayer

      • Matthew 6:33NLT

      • John 14:12–14ESV

      • Philippians 4:19NLT

      • Matthew 22:37NLT

      • 2 Corinthians 5:17NLT

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