Samaritans Hill Church

New Year’s Devotional 2017
Pastor Ken Harste

‘Spiritual Resolutions’
Revelation 21:5 – “Behold I am making all things new!” ESV

  1. F______F______.
  2. Life isn’t fair.

i.  When in the past have you felt that life wasn’t fair?

ii. Read Ecclesiastes 9:11. If life isn’t fair, what can we do about it?

  1. Because God in Jesus forgave me I’m going to forgive frequently, habitually, this year.

i.  Do you have anyone that you haven’t forgiven in the past? Is there someone that you need to forgive now?

ii. How might God use something negative or what we might call bad to accomplish his good purposes? Has God ever done that in your life or in the life of someone that you know?

  1. When we fail to forgive ourselves for our sin because we think we ought to know better, we begin to negate what Jesus won for us on the cross.

i.  What do you need to do to believe that God forgives you?

ii. Do you turn the salvation Christ won for you on the cross back into work’s righteousness when you fail to forgive yourself?

  1. You can’t do anything to make God love you more and you can’t do anything to make God love you less!

i.  What are the things that you do to attempt to get God to love your more?

ii. What are the things you try not to do in an attempt to prevent God from loving you less?

  1. R______R______.
  2. Reading the bible isn’t going to get you a better spot in heaven, but it will help you decipher truth from falsity.

i.  Have you ever read the Bible cover to cover?

ii. Why won’t reading the Bible improve your spot in heaven?

iii.  Who in the Bible asked Jesus the question ‘what is truth?’

  1. Reading the bible isn’t going to get you a better spot in heaven, but it will be a powerful force in your life, of hope, love, purpose and meaning.

i.  Read John 17:17. How does God’s word impact you when you read it?

ii. Read Psalm 119:105. How does God’s Word provide a lamp for your life?

  1. L______L______.
  2. When we as Christians close ourselves off to hurt we fail to allow others to catch a glimpse of the love that God has for us in Jesus.

i.  What is a wound that you have taken in life?

ii. Has that wound changed the course or trajectory of your life? How?

iii.  How might God use the wounds and injustices that we have in life for his glory?

  1. The cross is the most intense symbol of vulnerability ever created.

i.  How did Jesus make himself vulnerable on the cross?

ii. How might our own vulnerability bring healing to others?

  1. If we are going to love the way that God loved us, then we are going to have to be as vulnerable with others as God was vulnerable with us.

i.  Name a time when you were vulnerable in the same way that God was vulnerable with us.

ii. Did your vulnerability have any kingdom result?