A new year has begun, and with the coming of that new year, we have opportunity to slow down, reflect and reorient our lives around the things God says are priority. We have an opportunity to refocus. We have this opportunity as individuals, as married couples, as families, as a church family. 

It's very easy for us to lose sight of the things God says are to be our greatest priorities. It's easy for us to minimize the importance of those priorities and to delude ourselves into thinking we are 'just fine, thank you.' 

The reality is that the life God calls us to is radically counter cultural. The life He calls us to demands that we step away from ourselves as the center of the universe, deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus. To those who do not know Jesus, this may sound morbid, or at least certainly not 'fun,' however, the life He calls us to is where the abundant and meaningful life is that He promised all who follow Him (John 10:10). 

I am preaching through a four part sermon series on those things that are priority. Last weekend was the first sermon: Loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, which Jesus said is the most important commandment. We saw that God demands and deserves our highest expression of love, is to be our greatest love and greatest treasure, and that we are to love Him with every fiber of our being. 

He did not say to simply 'love Him,' or to love Him with 'some of your heart,' or even 'most of your heart,' but with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. This is the life we are called to.

In the weeks ahead, we'll also look at waht it means to love our neighbor as ourselves. It's a lot more radical than we want to admit, but again, it is in doing this that we discover life as God intends, and, in this we are useful to Him for His redemptive purposes. 

We'll also look at the major assigment we all have as Christians, and, the implications of that assignment. We are to definitely be a focused people living on this side of eternity.

And, we will also look at our motivation for all that we do. God has expectations there as well. 

I hope to see you in worship this weekend and in the weeks ahead. After this mini-new year sermon series, we will return to our verse by verse study of Romans. 

I pray we all run the race well that is set before us.

Grace and Peace to You,

Pastor