ADVENTIST COMMUNITY CHURCH OF VANCOUVER | DECEMBER 27, 2011
| From Pastor Roger ... Happy New Year With the exception of the weekly cycle, our calendar cycles are determined by nature. The sun's rotation divides up the days, the moon's movements give us a fairly constant monthly cycle, but the yearly cycle may vary, depending on your culture. The Jewish calendar celebrates the beginning of a new year in the fall. The Chinese calendar places the beginning of the year from the end of January to mid February. What each tradition has in common are secular and, sometimes, religious celebrations around the big day. Aside from the annual tradition of New Year's resolutions, most Western traditions use the New Year as an excuse for partying. The problem I see with the 'New Year' is that's really all the old stuff — recycled and looking worse than the its prececessor. Paul tells us in Romans 6:4: "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." When God makes you new, you're new. Not recycled, tarnished and blemished, but new. When you dress your kids in their Sabbath-best clothes before church, you can pretty much count on them being stained with food, rain, dirt and sometimes tears by the time you get home. We do that with the newness God gives us. But God doesn't give us one new life, or a new life every New Year's Day. He makes us new moment by moment, as we walk with Him and ask for His constant refreshing. My prayer for you is that your walk with God is an ongoing daily "newness of life" (KJV) through your L.I.F.E.'s journey. | What's happening: Pray for our mission team in Fiji. They're coming home Thursday. THIS WEEK Friday, Dec. 30
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