It’s New Year’s Eve! Can you believe it? We are but hours away from the year 2020. I find that amazing. As a kid I never imagined that I’d see the year 2020 because that was soooo far away and sooooo far in the future. And if I did see 2020 we would be traveling back and forth to the moon and other planets and stuff. But here we are, on the brink of a new decade and frankly, —-not much has really changed. Certainly people and society have changed for the worse. When I was a kid it was unheard of to walk into stores and churches and schools and gun down innocent people for no reason. When I was a kid, we knew we were either a boy or a girl and we knew God had made us to be that way. Our parents weren’t confused as to which sex their child was either, When I was a kid I was held accountable for my actions. I was taught manners and respect for my parents, my neighbors, my teachers, the law, and my country. We were taught to do what was good for society. Today it seems, we are too focused on individual wants; — not needs or rights, — wants. And the world I see approaching  will continue to be filled with hate, and greed unless we can turn ourselves around and look toward God instead looking in the mirror to see the most important person in our life. How was that for a gloomy end of the year paragraph??

On the other hand!!!! —- As I said in my sermon on Sunday, I also see a blank canvas in front of me. God has laid out 365 brand new days for me to paint the best picture I possibly can. There are 385 days of opportunities for me to make a difference in the world around me. Every dayI will have a brand new day to treat people kindly. Everyday I will have a chance to show respect to others, to do something for someone, to bring the word of Jesus Christ to someone, and to be the example of God’s love to the world around me. That my friends, is an exciting challenge isn’t it. Now, some of you who read this may not in fact be Christian and that doesn’t in any way diminish your opportunities to be a decent human being. The Ten Commandments of the Hebrew Bible were written many decades and centuries before Jesus came to earth. If you simply and truly follow those, you can and will be an excellent citizen of society. I urge you though to take the next step and read and accept the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus adds love and grace and mercy to the Ten Commandments. Love and grace and mercy received from God Almighty and shared with your fellow human beings will open up a world of joy that seems impossible.

I didn’t start out to write aa sermon this morning. BUt it looks like maybe I did. I hope you have a wonderful 2020 and I hope it starts out a whole decade of blessings. Enjoy those blessings and share them. Peace.