New Year resolutions
2006: I will read 20 books
2007: I will read 10 books
2008: I will read 5 books
2009: I will finish The Pelican Brief
2010: I will read some newspaper articles
2011: I will read at least one article
2012: I will finish the comics section
New Year Resolutions Typical Track Record
Jonathan Edwards(1703-1758)
First Great Awakening
Resolutions
“Being sensible that I am unable
to do anything without God’s
help, I do humbly entreat him by
his grace to enable me to keep
these Resolutions, so far as they
are agreeable to his will, for
Christ’s sake.” “Remember to read over these
Resolutions once a week.”
“Aim at nothing and you will hit it every time!”
Psalm 90:5-6
You sweep men away in the
sleep of death; they are like the
new grass of the morning—
though in the morning it springs
up new, by evening it is dry and
withered.
James 4:14
What is your life? For you are a
mist that appears for a little
time and then vanishes.
Ephesians 5:15-16
Look carefully then how you walk,
not as unwise but as wise, making
the best use of the time,
because the days are evil.
Sunday Mornings January 15 – February 5
Studies on the Person and Plan of God from the Book of The Revelation
Sundays at GraceFebruary 5 – March 13
Ephesians 5:15-16
Look carefully then how you
walk, not as unwise but as
wise, making the best use
of the time, because the days
are evil.
Analyze – ―look carefully‖
Prioritize – ―making the best
use of the time‖
Lay hold of
our time!
24 hours
1,440 minutes
86,400 seconds
Ten Questions to Ask at the Start
of a New Year or on Your Birthday
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
1. I resolve to seek God in all of life, realizing that only in Him will I find fullness of joy!
Psalm 16:2
I say to the LORD, ―You are my
Lord; I have no good apart from
you.‖
Psalm 16:8
I have set the LORD always
before me; because he is at
my right hand, I shall not
be shaken.
Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of
life; in your presence there
is fullness of joy; at your right hand
are pleasures forevermore.
My resolutions for 2012
(Goal for Resolution #1)
Five days each week as part of my personal worship (as I begin my day), I will be using one of two tools:
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
1. I resolve to seek God in all of life, realizing that only in Him will I find the fullness of joy!
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
2. I resolve to immerse myself in Scripture, knowing that the Word of God is the only reliable foundation for life.
Matthew 7:24-25
Everyone then who hears these
words of mine and does them will
be like a wise man who built his
house on the rock. And the rain
fell, and the floods came, and the
winds blew and beat on that
house, but it did not fall, because
it had been founded on the rock.
Psalm 1:1-2
Blessed is the man who walks
not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but
his delight is in the law of the
LORD, and on his law he
meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:3
He is like a tree planted
by streams of water that yields
its fruit in its season, and
its leaf does not wither. In all
that he does, he prospers.
My resolutions for 2012
(Goal for Resolution #2)
Use daily M’Cheyne’s Bible reading plan
Robert Murray
M'Cheyne
(1813 –1843) was
a minister in the Church
of Scotland for just a
few brief years before
he died at the age of 29
during an epidemic of
typhus.
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
2. I resolve to immerse myself in Scripture, knowing that the Word of God is the only reliable foundation for life.
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
3. I resolve to pray better and to pray more.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
My resolutions for 2012
(Goals for Resolution #3)
Use daily a prayer journal that features a daily reading by Andrew Murray
Andrew Murray
(1828 –1917) was a
South African writer,
teacher,and Christian
pastor. He was also the
son of a Scottish
missionary.
My resolutions for 2012
(Goals for Resolution #3)
Read thru E.M. Bounds collection of books (8) on prayer; 3 chapters each week
Edward McKendree
Bounds
(1835-1913) was a
lawyer, army chaplain,
and pastor in the
Methodist Episcopal
Church, South. He spent
the last seventeen years
of writing (primarily on
the topic of prayer).
PrayerMate
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
3. I resolve to pray better and to pray more.
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
4. I resolve to better shepherd my children and grandchildren in their own personal faith journeys.
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
5. I resolve to better love my wife, seeking to imitate the example of Christ’s love for his bride, the Church.
Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, as
Christ loved the churchand gave himself up for her.
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
5. I resolve to better love my wife, seeking to imitate the example of Christ’s love for his bride, the Church.
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
6. I resolve to be more intentional in sharing my faith.
2 Corinthians 5:20
Therefore, we are
ambassadors for Christ, God
making his appeal through us.
My resolutions for 2012
(Goals for Resolution #6)
Be more “gospel-centered” in my prayers … always praying for the lost!
Be intentional in using the “3:16 Numbers of Hope” tract.
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
6. I resolve to be more intentional in sharing my faith.
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
7. I resolve to renew my commitment as a member of the elder team to shepherd our church family with integrity of heart and skillful hands. I resolve to engage in those things that will move me in that direction.
Psalm 78:72
And David shepherded them
with integrity of heart; with
skillful hands he led them.
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
7. I resolve to renew my commitment as a member of the elder team to shepherd our church family with integrity of heart and skillful hands. I resolve to engage in those things that will move me in that direction.
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
8. I resolve to better care for my body, knowing that as a follower of Christ my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Do you not know that your
bodies are temples of the
Holy Spirit, who is in you,
whom you have received from
God? You are not your own; you
were bought at a price. Therefore
honor God with your bodies.
My resolutions for 2012
(To be read twice each week)
9. I resolve to do my utmost to keep the above resolutions all by God’s grace and for His glory!
My resolutions for 2012
(I have shared these with you . . .)
Certainly NOT to say, “Look, I’ve arrived!”
1. To encourage you to do the same.
2. To ask you to pray for me.