As we enter 2022 I hope that each member of our church will be prayerfully considering what pursuing God will look like in the year ahead. Growth in our Christian life does not happen accidentally. The New Testament calls us to be diligent in our pursuit of Christ and our growth in grace. As Paul reminded Timothy, growth in godliness requires hard work and diligence:
"Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Tim. 4:7 ESV)
As disciples of Jesus, our growth in godliness should be our number one priority each day and each year. So I want to share with you a couple of resources that I've found helpful over the years.
The first resource is an article by Donald Whitney (click here). Whitney helpfully gives us 10 questions that we can use to strategically pursue spiritual growth for the next year. These include questions like:
In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
I've personally found this list of questions super helpful for "recalibrating" my pursuit of God each new year.
The second resource that I've used for many years is a list of Bible reading plans that Ligonier (R.C. Sproul's ministry) publishes each year (click here). Each new year this list helps me choose a Scripture reading plan that suits my current needs. Super helpful resource.
Whether or not you're into New Year's resolutions, I'd encourage you to plan for this next year. Let's be diligent to grow, pursue Christ faithfully, and exercise ourselves in godliness in 2022! "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Pet. 3:18 ESV)
A pastoral encouragement as we enter 2022
Dear brothers and sisters,
As we enter 2022 I hope that each member of our church will be prayerfully considering what pursuing God will look like in the year ahead. Growth in our Christian life does not happen accidentally. The New Testament calls us to be diligent in our pursuit of Christ and our growth in grace. As Paul reminded Timothy, growth in godliness requires hard work and diligence:
"Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Tim. 4:7 ESV)
As disciples of Jesus, our growth in godliness should be our number one priority each day and each year. So I want to share with you a couple of resources that I've found helpful over the years.
The first resource is an article by Donald Whitney (click here). Whitney helpfully gives us 10 questions that we can use to strategically pursue spiritual growth for the next year. These include questions like:
I've personally found this list of questions super helpful for "recalibrating" my pursuit of God each new year.
The second resource that I've used for many years is a list of Bible reading plans that Ligonier (R.C. Sproul's ministry) publishes each year (click here). Each new year this list helps me choose a Scripture reading plan that suits my current needs. Super helpful resource.
Whether or not you're into New Year's resolutions, I'd encourage you to plan for this next year. Let's be diligent to grow, pursue Christ faithfully, and exercise ourselves in godliness in 2022! "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Pet. 3:18 ESV)
Your brother in Christ,
-aj