One of the first things my wife and I had to learn when we moved to the
country was how to deal with our garbage.  We learned very quickly that if
we just let it sit there, it would begin to stink up our lives.  It would
invite all sorts of pests.  It would make our lives unpleasant in a
variety of ways.  So, as a matter of regular discipline, we had to pack it
up, load it in the car, and take it to the dump.  We had to get rid of it.

Of course, there is more than one kind of garbage.  The kind of garbage we
put into our trash cans is relatively easy to discard.  It just takes some
planning, some effort.  When we work at it, it is gone.  But there is
another kind of garbage that is more difficult to manage. It is the
garbage of the past.  A great many people have never learned how to deal
with yesterday.  Instead of looking to the future with hope, excitement,
and positive expectation, they are bogged down in the past.  They feel
guilty about this.  They are hurting over that.  They are disappointed
that they didn’t do the other.  They are bitter over the way they were
treated.  For so many people, the past is like a heavy weight around our
necks, holding us back from the good future that God intends.

For so many of us, the negative parts of our past are like that piece of
cellophane, clinging to us by static electricity.  No matter what we do,
it hangs on, irritatingly, distractingly.  How can we focus on the future?
 How can we take hold of the promises of God to make all things new for us
if we are so maddeningly focused on the past?  We can’t get on to new
business because we are so bogged down in old business!

What is it in your past that keeps giving you a hard time?  Is it
something you did, and the guilt of it still hurts?  Is it something you
failed in and the disappointment of that will not let you go?  Is it
something someone else did to hurt you, and you keep rehearsing it, and
the pain of it will not go away?  Is it grief?  Someone or something you
once had and now have lost, and your life seems empty as a result?

Surely we understand that God does not intend for us to live like that.
Our God is not a God of the past, but of the future.  Our God is One who
says again and again, “Behold, I am doing a new thing.”  “If any one is in
Christ, there is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold
everything is new!”  Listen, I am sure of this:  whatever is hurting you,
whatever is holding you back, whatever is keeping you from the fullest
possible experience of life, God wants to gather it up, and like some
conscientious garbage collector, take it away so it will never bother you
again.  God will do that, if you will let Him.

1. Name and Claim Yesterday’s Garbage.
2. Learn from Yesterday’s Garbage.
3. Let God Take Yesterday’s Garbage.

---

Ephesians 1:1-14 

At the beginning of a New Year, a high school principal decided to post
his teachers' New Year's resolutions on the bulletin board. As the
teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started.
One of the teachers was complaining. "Why weren't my resolutions posted?"
She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his
office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had
mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded.
This teacher's first resolution was not to let little things upset her in
the New Year.  I don't know how you are doing on your New Year's
resolutions. I do know something that is more important than resolutions,
though. How do you see this New Year? Is it one that you approach with
anxiety or anticipation?

Michael Bausch tells a great story about archaeologist Howard Carter. In
1922 Carter was completing nearly fifteen years of digging in the famous
Valley of the Kings in Egypt. He was hoping to find the royal tomb of
Pharaoh Tutankhamen. Having found nothing, his days of digging were coming
to an end. Money was running out. Then workers discovered sixteen stairs
leading into the earth. Thousands of baskets filled with rocks and sand
had to be carried away, but eventually a door was found at the end of a
long passageway. Carter drilled a small hole in the door and stuck an
iron-testing rod into a dark, blank space. He then inserted a candle into
the hole and peered in. As his eyes grew accustomed to the light, details
emerged into his view, and he saw strange animals, statues, and everywhere
the glint of gold.

He wrote of that moment, "For the moment, I was struck dumb with
amazement." A partner asked, "Can you see anything?" And Carter's reply
was, "Yes, wonderful things." St. Paul gives us some reasons you and I can
look into this New Year and see wonderful things. He gives us reasons why
we can look forward with anticipation instead of anxiety.

1. We Are Blessed
2. We Are Chosen
3. We Are Predestined

---

Welcome on this first Sunday in a new year. Did you know that New Year's Day 
is the one holiday that is almost universal? It is the world's most observed holiday.

I trust you've made your New Year's resolutions one of which is to be in worship each week. 
Well done for this first Sunday. I won't ask you if you've resolved to lose the weight you gained 
between Thanksgiving and Christmas, or if you're planning on joining a health club, 
or if you're going to run five miles a day. Five miles, by the way, is my total aggregate of a lifetime of running.

The late Erma Bombeck made some memorable resolutions over the years:

1. I will go to no doctor whose office plants have died.
2. I'm going to follow my husband's suggestion to put a little excitement into my life by living 
within our budget.
3. I'm going to apply for a hardship scholarship to Weight Watchers.
4. I will never loan my car to anyone I have given birth to.

Joke writer Ed McManus has some words of comfort for those of us who are setting resolutions: 
"Don't worry about [keeping] those 2011 News Year's resolutions," he says. 
"You only have to deal with them until the end of February and then you can give them up 
for Lent." It sounds like he has been spying on some of us.

Resolutions are good, especially if there are changes we need to make in our lives. 
I heard about one poor guy who dialed his girlfriend and got the following recording: 
"I am not available right now, but thank you for caring enough to call. I am making some changes 
in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I do not return your call, you are one of the changes."

It's good to make changes, for the most part. As we are often reminded by our critics, 
our spouses or our children, none of us is perfect. In fact, some of us might have some deep regrets 
about the way we've lived our lives.

Dr. Les Parrott tells about a guy in Fredericksburg, Virginia named Cliff Satterthwaite 
who helps people get rid of their regrets. Each New Year's Eve Mr. Satterthwaite sets up a booth 
there in Fredericksburg where those celebrating New Year's Eve can come for a moment 
of sober reflection. Put the emphasis on "sober" reflection. Those who come write their regrets 
on a scrap of paper, then they set a match to them and turn them to ashes in an adjacent canister. 
Literally, their regrets go up in smoke. At least, that's the general idea.

We could do that. We could write our regrets on a piece of paper and bring them to the altar 
and watch them go up in smoke. That might be very therapeutic for some of us as we begin a new year. 
But our text for the day from the prologue to the Gospel of John puts the emphasis not on our past, 
but on our future. Not on our regrets, but on our possibilities.

---

We sometimes miss the great opportunities of life because we get sidetracked. 
I once heard the tale of a talented and gifted bloodhound in England that started a hunt 
by chasing a full-grown male deer. During the chase a fox crossed his path, 
so he began now to chase the fox. A rabbit crossed his hunting path, 
so he began to chase the rabbit. After chasing the rabbit for a while, a tiny field mouse 
crossed his path, and he chased the mouse to the corner of a farmer's barn. 
The bloodhound had begun the hunt chasing a prized male deer for his master 
and wound up barking at a tiny mouse. It is a rare human being who can do three or four 
different things at a time--moving in different directions.

The Apostle Paul knew his number one priority in life was to live his life to the honor 
and glory of God by preaching the Gospel. However, we know that Paul is not in a plush hotel room 
but in prison. He receives a report that all is not well at the Church in Philippi. 
His very life could be ended at any moment. And the list goes on. However, 
the Apostle Paul would not allow anything to cross his path that would deter him from his priority. 
Paul knew that his new life was a gift from God, not from the promises of humanity. 
His life was to be lived for his master. Nothing would sidetrack him of that priority!

(by Eric S. Ritz from The Ritz Collection, www.Sermons.com)

---

"Leisure," from the Latin, means "to be free." Leisure is anything that restores you to peace 
while you are doing it. So, gardening, golf, reading, puzzles, and many other things 
can restore us to peace as we do them. Another cousin of leisure is the word "paragon." 
This little-used word means "the second thing that we do in life that keeps the first thing in tune." 
Hence, our work may draw energy from us, and we have then a "paragon," 
a leisure thing we do in order to restore us.

Most often, to build toward leisure demands that we disassemble something else. 
In Thomas Moore's book Meditations, he tells of a pilgrim walking along a road. 
The pilgrim sees some men working on a stone building.

"You look like a monk," the pilgrim said.
"I am that," said the monk.
"Who is that working on the abbey?"
"My monks. I'm the abbot."
"It's good to see a monastery going up," said the pilgrim.
"They're tearing it down," said the abbot.
"Whatever for?" asked the pilgrim.

"So we can see the sun rise at dawn," said the abbot.

(by Richard A. Wing from Deep Joy for a Shallow World, CSS Publishing)

Welcome on this first Sunday of a New Year. I trust that one of your
resolutions for this year is to be in worship every week. Good for you.
That's one resolution you've kept for at least one week.

I heard about one poor fellow who decided to make only resolutions this
year he could keep. He resolved to gain weight, to stop exercising, to
read less and watch more TV, to procrastinate more, to quit giving money
and time to charity, to not date any member of the cast of Baywatch, and
to never make New Year's resolutions again.

Maybe he's onto something. Why torture ourselves when we never keep those
resolutions more than a week anyway?

What we need, of course, is not another resolution, but a revolution. We
need a turning point in our lives. Like the wise men of old we need to
catch a glimpse of a guiding light, and we need to follow that light to a
New Life in Christ.

(by King Duncan www.Sermons.com)

---

I read the words of Dr. Meyer Friedman, who said that lifestyle and
creative use of leisure can be more important than diet and exercise in
preventing heart attacks. Obviously a balance among all three is most
desirable. I have observed many people who have paid attention to the body
and diet and have neglected the spirit and are dying inside.

Dr. Friedman gives suggestions for people to live less frantic lives by
living more by the calendar than the clock:

1. Stop thinking about several things at one time.
2. Listen without interrupting.
3. Read books that demand concentration (games, too).
4. Avoid irritating people.
5. Plan for some personal quiet time each day.
6. Finally, things worth being are better than things worth having.

Remember the people who were here first. The Native Americans had an
ability to live by the ages rather than by the day. Among certain tribes
in North America were those who would make decisions for the tribe based
on how that decision would affect people seven generations into the
future!

(by Richard A. Wing from Deep Joy For A Shallow World CSS Publishing)

---

We're only a few days away from the New Year, and I can feel the
anticipation--or dread, depending on your point of view--growing.

I heard one guy say he already dreads the new year. He said, "The holidays
aren't quite over and already I'm about 90 days ahead on my calories and
90 days behind on my bills." Some of you can identify with him.

(by King Duncan www.Sermons.com)

---

I like a list of resolutions prepared by the Rev. Walter Schoedel. He
calls them ‘7-UPS for the New Year.’ No, this has nothing to do with the
soft drink. These 7-UPS fall under the heading of attitudes and actions.

The first is WAKE UP--Begin the day with the Lord. It is His day. Rejoice
in it.

The second is DRESS-UP--Put on a smile. It improves your looks. It says
something about your attitude.

The third is SHUT-UP--Watch your tongue. Don't gossip. Say nice things.
Learn to listen.

The fourth is STAND-UP--Take a stand for what you believe. Resist evil. Do
good.

Five, LOOK-UP--Open your eyes to the Lord. After all, He is your only Savior.

Six, REACH-UP--Spend time in prayer with your adorations, confessions,
thanksgivings and supplications to the Lord.

And finally, LIFT-UP--Be available to help those in need--serving,
supporting, and sharing.

If you're going to make New Year's resolutions this year, let me suggest
Rev. Schoedel's list.

Why do we bother to make New Year's resolutions in the first place? Why do
we feel this need each January 1 to set new goals? Maybe it is because
resolutions help us to identify our priorities. They answer the Question:
how do I want to invest my time, energy, money, and talents in this New
Year? The New Year reminds us that time is passing. It is up to each of us
to maximize the potential of every moment.

(by Walter Schoedel)

---

Pastor Stephen Brown taught swimming and diving for a number of years. He
tells about a young boy named Billy. Billy had watched so many
professional divers and wanted so much to dive like them that he refused
to take time to learn the basics. Time after time Brown tried to help
Billy see that the most important thing about diving was to keep his head
in the proper position. If his head entered the water properly, Brown
explained, the rest of his body would enter the water properly--at least,
more properly than it had been.  Billy would dive into the pool, do a
belly flop, and come up grinning, "Mr. Brown," he would shout, "were my
feet together?"

"Billy, I don't care whether your feet were together or not," Brown
shouted back. "Make sure your head is straight, then everything else will
work out."

The next time Billy would stand on the edge of the pool and really
concentrate. Then he would dive and, once again, make a mess of it. "Mr.
Brown, were my hands together?"

"Billy," Brown would groan in frustration, "I'm going to get you a neck
brace and weld it onto your head. For the hundredth time, if your head is
right the rest of you will be right. If your head is wrong, the rest of
you will be wrong."

And isn't that true in all of life? If our head is wrong, our marriage
will probably suffer. If our head is wrong, our priorities will be fouled
up. If our head is wrong, it may even affect our health in a negative way.
God understands our distress and God seeks to make us new persons so that
we can handle our distress more effectively.

(by Stephen Brown from When Being Good Isn’t Good Enough, Nashville: Thomas Nelson
Publishers. Adapted by King Duncan)

---

There are many churches today that are "out to lunch" when it comes to
reaching out to change the world. But fortunately, there are many other
churches--and many church members--who are seeking the best they are able,
to make a difference in the world. Let me give you one example of a
follower of Christ who gives us a reason to believe in the future.

His name is Burl Cain and he is the warden at The Louisiana State
Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola. This institution used to be one of
the nation's bloodiest and most brutal prisons. Then, in the early '80s,
Burl Cain became the new warden at Angola. Cain is a devout Christian; he
put his beliefs into action in reforming the prison. He established
literacy classes throughout the prison, even on Death Row. He increased
the number of prison chaplains. He also allowed a local seminary to teach
Bible studies at Angola. He also insisted that the guards treat inmates
with respect. Consequently, incidents of violence have plummeted, and more
prisoners are enrolling in education courses.

Warden Cain was particularly instrumental in the life of one inmate,
Antonio James. James was a convicted killer who spent about sixteen years
on Death Row. The night before his execution, Antonio James asked Cain to
eat his last meal with him. Cain had counseled James in the past and
introduced him to Christ. Now James wanted to know what it would be like
to die. Cain assured him that angels would come to take him to heaven. As
Antonio James prepared for his lethal injection, Burl Cain held his hand
and spoke to him about God. James' last words to Cain were, "Bless you."

As long as there are disciples of Christ like Burl Cain, there is hope for
the world. The question you and I need to ask ourselves is, are we doing
our part? This is a crazy world, but it is also a God-invaded world. "The
Word has become flesh and dwelt among us . . ." Christ has redeemed us
that we might work in his behalf to redeem the world.

(by Martin Fletcher from Almost Heaven (London: Little, Brown and Company, 1998),
pp. 133-142. Adapted by King Duncan)

---

Wife to Spouse: "I don't want to brag, but here it is February and I've
kept every one of my New Year's resolutions. I've kept them in a manila
folder in the back of my desk!"

(from Orben's Current Comedy)

---

Paul gives us specific directions for living each day. Paul in Philippians
says, "Forgetting what lies behind, I strain forward to what is ahead."

If you have ever been to a circus, you’ve no doubt seen the huge bull
elephants chained to a peg in the ground. Perhaps it has occurred to you
that the elephant could easily pull the peg out of the ground and escape.
However, he does not try. As a baby elephant he was tied to a huge stake
that he could not pull out of the ground. Weeks of pulling and tugging
only wore a trench around the stake, and finally he gave up. Now that he
is full-grown, with great strength and the physical ability to pull the
peg out of the ground, he remembers only the futility of past efforts and
does not even attempt to escape. He is conditioned to failure. If you are
straining forward to what is ahead this New Year, let us make a fresh
start and forget the things that may have been holding us back in the
past.

(by Arthur Caliandro of Marble Collegiate Church, New York City)

---

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead
of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know
myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not
mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please
you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I
am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And
I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may
know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem
to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever
with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

(Thomas Merton)

---

Some New Year's Resolutions:
 
"May my feet rest firmly on the ground
May my head touch the sky
May I see clearly
May I have the capacity to listen
May I be free to touch
May my words be true
May my heart and mind be open
May my hands be empty to fill the need
May my arms be open to others
May my gifts be revealed to me
So that I may return that which has been given."

(from Well for the Journey)

---

 

Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Proverbs 27:1

---

Some of us make resolutions like one man, named George, I heard about recently. 
He said to a friend: "There's nothing like getting up at six in the morning, 
going for a run around the park, and taking a brisk shower before breakfast."

His friend Bob asked, "How long have you been doing this?"

George said: "I start tomorrow."

---

We're only two days away from the New Year, and I can feel the anticipation--
or dread, depending on your point of view--growing.

I heard one guy say he already dreads the new year. He said, "The holidays aren't quite over 
and already I'm about 90 days ahead on my calories and 90 days behind on my bills." 
Some of you can identify with him.

(by King Duncan, www.Sermons.com)

---