Andrew Fountain - How to Make New Year's Resolutions

Sermon notes - How to Make New Year’s Resolutions

• What are the most common New Year’s Resolutions?
  • Here is a selection of the most popular

• Almost always fail —more on this in a moment
• What kind of resolutions do Christians make?

• Problem with focussing on Sin
  • I won’t eat ice cream, chocolate ice-cream... Particularly not Haagen Daas
  • The more you fix your eyes on sin, the harder your struggle will be
• It’s up to you if you make resolutions, but I’m going to take a different approach this morning
  • But before I do, I did find something a bit better

• What do you think of these?
  • Not bad—I particularly like the first one.
• Searched for relevant references in the Bible
  • Not a direct equivalent word
  • Even so, we are virtually never told to resolve to do something
  • A couple of times a similar expression is used for plans:
    • Jesus “set his face” to go to Jerusalem (where he would die)
    • Paul “resolved in the Spirit” to visit Jerusalem and then go to Rome (Some kind of revelation involved)

Why do resolutions usually fail?

1. It is about changing habits, which is extremely hard to do, especially by brute force effort.
   • However, there are some quite effective ways, and maybe I’ll preach on this sometime.
2. Much of our behaviour flows out of our identity—how we define ourselves
   • e.g how it is that vegetarians can be so consistent?
   • I don’t eat that: I’m a vegetarian
   • 100 times more effective than I’ll not have that chocolate because I’m trying to lose weight
   • There is a lot in the Bible about our behaviour flowing out of our identity
   • Story of taking History at high-school

But I did make a very interesting discovery, searching the Bible for resolutions

• Who is making the resolution here?
  • God makes resolutions about us
  • Are they going to fail?

• What makes us change is God’s resolution towards us, and our change flows out of that
• The most important resolution you can make is to fix your eyes on God’s love and destiny for you!

Adopted at 17

Earlier this year, I legally became an Esparza, five years after they took me in. It took five years for me to realize that these people were serious about being my parents; five years of doubting their love, but yearning for what they claimed to offer.

We had to go to court and wear dresses and ties — it was kind of like a marriage. When I entered the building my body immediately tensed up, and my mom put her hand on the small of my back. We walked into the courtroom where the judge said she was grateful to be administering something positive for once.

The lawyer asked my parents if they understood that this bound them to me legally, something about provision for me, and they said “Yes” in unison, very straight-faced.

Then he turned to me and said my name, smiling, “Do you understand that from this day forward your legal name will be Lyric Alexis Gabriella Esparza?”

“Yes,” I heard myself say, anxiety now tearing through my chest. I felt both my parents’ hands rest on either of my shoulders.

“And you understand that from this day forward, Toni and Juan Esparza are your legal parents, and your biological parents’ names will be replaced on your birth certificate?”

“Yes.” I looked straight ahead.

“Then it’s settled.” The lawyer said, beaming, and I jumped at the crack of the judge’s gavel.

Afterwards there was a moment when I hugged my mom, and all my siblings came around me and wrapped their slinky little arms around legs or purses or whatever they could get to. My dad even bumbled in on it, and he’s not one to get very emotional. I was shaking and I couldn’t let go of my mom — memories of the things they had done to fight for me over the years shot through me like fire. I closed my eyes and rested on her shoulder. I had found my way home. These people had always been my family.

• Read the full story: What It Feels Like to Be Adopted at 17

based on ESV & NET Bibles with some changes by amf

Updated on 2016-01-03 by Andrew Fountain