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VISALIA FIRST CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH
NEW YEAR’S EVE SERVICE 2009
Messages: Rev. George G. Vink
#1:
Scriptures: I John 2:1-6 & I Peter 45: 7-10
Message: LOOKING BACK-FORGIVENESS NEEDED!
Dear Followers of Jesus Christ,
Look back on 2009-What do you remember? What were the highlights? What were the moments you’d sooner forget? The lows? Earlier, when we confessed the sins of omission and commission, doing and thinking, deliberate and presumptuous, and more, what came to mind? Looking back at 2009 means we remember that we didn’t walk in the light as well as we had good intentions to do so when we began the year.
It’s all right to look back. Visit the past to learn a lesson or two. I’m thinking about the scene in INVICTUS where Francois, the rugby team’s captain, looks over the prison where Nelson Mandela spent almost 30 yrs. He asks, “How do you spend 30 years in a cell and forgive the people who put you there?” How do you forgive the drunk driver who took away your dad? How do you forgive the dad who abused you instead of protecting you? How do you forgive the monstrous, the petty sins?
Forgiveness, being forgiven and being forgiving, lies at the heart of what following Jesus is all about! It’s God’s promise to a repentant people in Jeremiah and repeated in Hebrews 8:12. He “forgives and remembers our sins and wickedness” no more! The forgiven become forgivers!
A powerful scene in INVICTUS happens when Mandela talks to his head bodyguard who doesn’t want to work with white bodyguards. President Mandela holds firm and says, “Reconciliation starts here!” followed by words on forgiveness: “Forgiveness starts here. Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear….that’s why forgiveness is such a powerful weapon!” A moving moment! It’s truth we must appreciate.
As a “powerful weapon,” forgiveness is needed in my life. As a “powerful weapon,” forgiveness is needed in your life, in our congregation’s life! Love and forgiveness go together! That’s Peter’s word to us tonight too. “Love covers a multitude of sins” because “God is love” and He does so!
Experiencing God’s love, His grace, and His forgiveness, we must become more loving, more graceful and more forgiving. Doing so heals a hurting soul and in so doing, we become partners with a forgiving God. We have new life in Christ who prayed, “Father forgive them…..” We have the freedom to forgive so that we can experience the joy God intended us to have, as those forgiven and forgiving!
As you look back, forgive. We can’t afford the baggage of not doing so as we move into 2010. In the words of a well-loved song, “My Lord has saved my life and freely pardon gives; I love (forgive) because he first loved (forgave) me, I live because he lives.” Amen!
#2:
Scriptures: Philippians 1:3-6 & Matthew 28:20
Message: LOOKING AHEAD—HIS PROMISED PRESENCE
Once more, Dear Followers of Jesus Christ,
How much do you value the truth of Matthew 28:20? “I am with you to the end of the age.” Do you value the truth of Philippians 1:6? “…that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”….or “the end of the age.”
It’s one thing to sing “He who began a good work in you,” but another to have its truth assure you that God is at work in you and with you! I’m sure that the value of these truths varies according to our contexts, the time and the place. When I’m doing something that I shouldn’t be doing, the idea of Jesus’ being there is not all that re-assuring. Yet, the idea that I’m a work in progress is rather appealing, sometimes even a helpful excuse for my messing up.
How do we determine the value of something? What’s one person’s junk is another person’s treasure—something valued. We all have things in our homes that we consider treasures, but when the time comes, our children may simply get a big bin and “out it goes!”
I once had a statement on my desk, “The value of something is determined by the price that someone is willing to pay for it.” That’s being true, then we are valuable! Christ paid the price of His life for us!
So, as we go into 2010, remember, “He who began a good work in you” is also the one who will be “with you to the end of the age.” Whatever 2010 brings, the truth is still, “God is with us!” He’s completing His work! He walks the valleys and climbs the mountain tops—with us! When he seems the farthest away, he may actually be the closest. He doesn’t get out of the boat when the going gets rough.
We have the promise of His presence. It’s a valuable promise. Hold on to it. Seek his guidance, his leading! Confess you need it—daily! Ask for it—daily! Claim his promise so that when 2010 ends, or the Lord returns, or you’re called home, you will be ready!
Be assured, forgiven forgiver, God’s word speaks the truth.
Amen!
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