A QUOTE, A TEXT AND A PRAYER…OR TWO
A QUOTE
The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards. Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. – Gilbert Keith Chesterton
A TEXT
He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. … You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'”
2 Chronicles 20:15,17
AND A PRAYER…OR TWO
God of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany,
you have given us many promises and prophecies
about your son Jesus Christ’s birth,
and they have been fulfilled.
May we see from the past to the present,
the present into the future,
that your loving hand guides all things.
Your glory is forever within our reach.
Amen
At the beginning of this new year, we implore God’s blessing upon our work and pray for the needs of this new year of grace. Throughout all time you have blessed your people, O God, and dwelt among them. On the eve [first day] of this new year, inspire and guide us, that all we do may find in you its beginning and fulfillment. Amen.