Exceptional Faith, Hope, Love | Sunday, January 4, 2026

Amen. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Dustin. Good morning, Cross Connection Church. Happy New Year to you all! It is so good to see you. You can have a seat. We're so glad you're here with us at the beginning of a new year.

It's hard to believe that it is a new year. Every single year, when we come into a new year, I find myself saying that we're now in 2026. When I hear that number, it just seems crazy to me. Time goes by way too fast. Does anybody else feel that way? Am I the only one? Okay, I'm not the only one who feels that way.

For some reason, hearing "2026" makes me feel like we should have flying cars by now. Like, for sure. I mean, with some of the way you guys drive, it seems fitting! But it's 2026, and that totally freaks me out. I was talking with my wife about this yesterday. What really freaks me out is that my oldest son will be 18 this year. That is scary.

Now, I know some of you at this point are like, "My youngest is 30." I get it. But when I think about my oldest turning 18, it's kind of frightening. It's even more frightening because, a little more than a month ago, I turned 46, which makes me feel very old. I know some of you are like, "Oh, come on. You're fine." I get it, but it is still a little bit frightening. Time just goes by so fast.

We are in a new year, and I know for some people, the marking of a new year is just a date, just some arbitrary number. But for me, I see it as an important moment, a turning point, if you will, a starting point. I think it's good to take account of time.

In Psalm 90, Moses, considered by scholars to be the author, says, "The days of a man's life are 70 years; if by reason of strength, 80." He continues, "So teach us to apply our hearts to wisdom, to number our days." I think it's wise to recognize the reality of the finitude of life and that time goes by very quickly.

When you're young, 70 or 80 years seems like a very long way away. I mean, when you're young and at the beginning of a school year, Christmas seems like an eternity. But when you're an adult, when you're a parent, and the school year starts, Christmas comes like that, and then it just flies by. Time goes by so quickly. So, it's wise for us to keep account of our time and to recognize the importance of it.

The times we are living in are significant, and it is important to recognize that God has placed you in this moment for a purpose. We will talk a little more about that today, but it is vital for us to keep in mind that you have been placed in this place at this time for such a time as this. This was the recognition of Esther, who understood that she was in her moment and in her place for a strategic purpose in God's plan. I believe this is true for every single one of us.

As we think about the new year, I was doing some work in my office at home last week when I received a notification, as I often do, that my friends David Guzik and Lance Roston were going live on their YouTube stream. Every Thursday, Pastor David hosts a live stream online around noon. I turned it on, and they were discussing the new year. David started with seven things that God will do in 2026. I liked these points so much that I wanted to share them with you, as they serve as good reminders to keep in mind at the start of the year.

David mentioned that in 2026, the first thing is that God will rule and reign over the affairs of men. This is a comforting reminder. It is essential to keep in our hearts and minds that God is still on the throne. Amen. We just celebrated Christmas and went through our Advent series. Every week during that series, I referenced Isaiah chapter 9, which states that Jesus is on the throne. He will hold the throne of David, and of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end.

Amidst all the things happening in the world, whether far from you or even close to home, it is good to be reminded at the beginning of the year that God, in 2026, will rule over the affairs of men. Revelation 1:8 tells us that Jesus says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come. Amen." The Almighty will not be dethroned. Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end.

It is also good to remember that in 2026, God will continue to remain faithful to His people. This is yet another reassuring truth to hold onto as we move forward.

Remember, David referenced a passage in Lamentations. Now, a little point of note: if you're going through a challenging time, Job and Lamentations should probably not be on your reading list. They are difficult books.

Lamentations, the word "lament," means to weep or to cry. Jeremiah, the author of Lamentations, wrote this while he was watching his nation be destroyed. He was literally watching his nation go down the drain. Sometimes, you might feel yourself in a situation like that. But for him, it was very literal. The armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian Empire in the 6th century BC, were moving upon Judah, destroying the cities of Judah. Eventually, they would utterly destroy Jerusalem, the city, and the temple. In 586 BC, Jeremiah was watching that, and he was weeping.

In the midst of that terrible situation, as he lamented, he wrote these wonderful, beautiful words in Lamentations 3:21: "This I recall to mind; therefore, I have hope." We talked about hope a few weeks ago in our Advent series. If you're going through a challenging, difficult situation like Jeremiah was, what do you do? What do you call to mind? Where do you set your mind? Well, he tells us right here: "This I recall to mind; therefore, I have hope."

"Through the Lord's mercies, we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness." Just as certainly as you woke up this morning, just as certainly as the sun rose this morning, the mercies of the Lord are new this morning. They never fail.

We are told in the book of Hebrews that we can come boldly before the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in our time of need. Never will you get there and come into the throne room of grace in prayer where God will say, "I am so sorry; John was here five minutes ago and took it all." It will never happen. I always pick on John because he's pickonable. I think he likes it, too. You're one of my favorites; I pick on you.

So, His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. We can come before the throne of grace constantly to ask God for mercy and grace.

The third thing is that in 2026, God will work in and through His obedient people for the gospel to go forth. We're going to talk a bit more about this.

This morning, as we get into the main part of my message, it is important for us to acknowledge, recognize, and understand that part of the purpose to which God has called you and me is the furtherance of the gospel. We are called to carry the gospel into this world. God is going to work; He is going to work in and through His people as obedient individuals. He has called us to be a part of that work.

The work of God is an amazing thing to consider. It still awes me to think about it. The work of God relies upon us, not because He could not work without us—He certainly could work without us. I mean, He created the world without us and has done an awful lot of things without us. However, He has chosen to fulfill His mission in the world through His people, His church, and through the agency of His people.

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 28, the Great Commission, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." That last bit is a good reminder: I am with you always, even to the very end. He has given us a task, and in 2026, He will continue to do the work that He is seeking to accomplish in this world. He wants to use you and me as a part of that work.

In 2026, God will continue to overcome the world. There are a lot of chaotic things going on in the world, yet Jesus says, "Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world," and He will continue to do that.

In 2026, God will rejoice over every lost sinner who repents. Jesus, in Luke 15, says, "I say to you likewise that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." God is joyful and rejoices over those who turn to Him in faith.

There are people in your life whom God has placed there, or whom He has placed you with, that He is seeking to reach. He wants to use you as a part of that work in reaching them. Maybe this is the year 2026 when they will turn to God in faith and repentance. God might use you to be the one who shares the gospel or simply invites them by saying, "Why don't you come with me to church?"

You should begin to pray for those people. There are individuals who come to mind as I mention these things right now; they are in your thoughts at this very moment. The prayer that you should...

What I have for them is, "God, would you open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light?" Maybe He will use you as the light in their life, the one who, when they go through whatever trouble they face this year, whatever loss they experience, will turn to you and say, "I don't know what's going on." You can respond, "Hey, can I pray for you?" It's a simple thing. Can I pray for you? I don't think I've ever had someone say no when I've asked them that. Even people who are totally not interested in God often have a startled and shocked look, and then they say, "Well, yes, please." God works in powerful ways through just a simple prayer. It does not have to be some amazing prayer; it's just simply, "God, I don't even know what to say or how to help this person in this moment, but You do. I pray that You would guide and direct them." Simple enough. In Jesus' name, Amen. You'd be amazed by how effective that prayer is in people's lives.

He will continue to overcome the world and rejoice over every lost sinner who repents.

In 2026, God will hopefully return to establish His kingdom. Does anyone want to say amen to that one? Lord, come quickly. That's what the last words of Scripture in Revelation 22 say. The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." Even so, Lord Jesus, come. He promises, "Behold, I am coming quickly." It's been a little bit of a delay for us; He is outside of time, and it's not very long for Him. But Jesus promised in John 14, in that great passage where He says, "Let not your heart be troubled." He continues, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." We say, "Lord, come quickly." Maybe 2026 is the year. He could certainly delay His coming, but maybe this year is the year.

Seventh, and finally, I really like this one. I kind of moved the order around because I wanted to put this one at the end, as it is so dear to my own heart. In 2026, God will work in and through His obedient people to grow in discipleship and holiness. The verse that comes to mind is my favorite passage of Scripture, which I've shared here so many times before: Philippians chapter 2, verses 12 and 13. Paul exhorts the church at Philippi, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." It requires some effort. For it is God who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure. So the question I've asked many times before is, who is working? Is it you or God? The answer is yes.

God is working. He will work in you to desire and do His good pleasure. At the same time, He says, "I'm calling on you to engage, to step in and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Work out what God has worked in. All of these great things are good reminders as we step into this new year. God is ruling and reigning. He remains faithful. His mercies will be new every single morning. God will continue to work in the world, in us, on us, and through us to accomplish His mission.

What is that mission? God will continue to rescue, revive, regenerate, and restore lost people. Every single time He does, He will rejoice in doing so. These are some of the great things we should be reminded of in 2026 that God will do and that He has called us to do.

However, there are some other things you can be certain of in 2026. You can be sure that the world will continue to be chaotic and crazy. We had another reminder of that yesterday morning. I woke up to a whole stream of notifications that the United States of America had just deposed a dictator. What a crazy timeline we are living in! It feels like we live in what is basically a Hollywood movie every single day, with just another crazy thing happening all the time. I was watching videos of helicopters and explosions, wondering, "What is going on?"

As I was reading the news, I found that this is not unprecedented. Some of you may remember this very well. I was just a child, eight or nine years old, in December of 1989 when we did the same thing in Panama and deposed Noriega. So, this is not unheard of; something like this can happen. But boy, does this shake the world. We live in crazy times.

I want to remind you that Jesus, in His most prophetic passage of Scripture in Matthew 24, which is called the Olivet Discourse, told us that this is how the broken world would be until He returns. The world in which you and I live will continue to experience turmoil until Christ comes and establishes His eternal kingdom, where there will be no more war.

Suffering is a reality in this world. Jesus says, "In the world, you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom." That is the world we live in, so it should not be surprising to you if you read in the news that another dictator comes to power. This should not be surprising to us because we live in a broken, fallen world.

In that passage, Jesus warns us to see that we are not troubled. He states that this is the beginning of sorrows and that it is going to get crazier. There will be more chaos and craziness in 2026. There is always chaos and craziness in the world.

Another thing to keep in mind in 2026 is that the enemy, described in the Scriptures as a roaring lion, will continue to oppose the work of God. He sometimes appears as a serpent and at other times as an angel of light. One thing you can be absolutely certain of in 2026 is that the enemy will continue to oppose God and His people.

Here is the encouragement in that opposition: when there is opposition from the enemy, it is an indication that God is working and moving. There will always be opposition when God is on the move. I believe we are seeing God move in mighty and powerful ways today, both in our own country and throughout the world. God is moving, and we can see the opposition of the enemy. We should rejoice in that because it indicates that God is at work.

When the enemy is not opposing, you should be more worried because, at that point, he might be saying, "I don't need to do anything; you're doing it all for me." But right now, there is opposition from the enemy. The encouragement we can take from this is that Jesus said, "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." We have the Holy Spirit residing in us. God will not be overcome.

Jesus promised in Matthew 16 that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. In an ancient city context, the gates of a city were where strategy was formed and where leadership resided. Therefore, the strategies and plans of hell will not overcome the church. God's church will persist; it will endure, and God will do great things. He is already doing great things, and He wants us to be involved in that.

So, a good reminder for 2026 is this: point number one, if you're taking notes, God remains on the...

Throne and in control of all the things that overwhelm me. This is a good reminder because you might already feel overwhelmed, or you very likely will experience circumstances and situations through 2026 where you feel overwhelmed. David in the Psalm says, "When my heart is overwhelmed, please lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Our God is a refuge and a strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. These truths all come from the Psalms.

If you've never done it, I encourage you at the beginning of this year to take the next quarter, a little bit more than that—150 days—and read through the Psalms. You can take a few days for Psalm 119 since it's kind of long, but in 160 days at least, you can read through every one of the Psalms, and your heart would be better for it. I encourage you to make that a goal for the first part of 2026: to read through the Psalms. God remains on the throne and in control of all the things that overwhelm me.

Now, this is just like the pre-message before the prime message. At the beginning of every year or at the end of a year, I frequently have people within the church ask me, "So, do you have a word for the new year 2026?" I've received that question maybe three or four times over the last couple of weeks. I want to say, as I've said before, I am not a prophet. I have proven to not be a prophet many times over. I am a pastor, a Bible teacher, and a preacher. I love the Scriptures. I can see certain cycles and things and think, "Ah, this seems to rhyme with this, and maybe this will happen." But I'm not a prophet, so I'm not going to give you some prophetic predictive novel sort of thing.

However, there is a sentiment, a thought that's been on my heart for me, for my family, and for our church for the last several weeks. I think it is something for us to ponder this morning from the Scriptures. It’s a hope and a desire that I have for us in 2026, and it comes from Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, specifically First Thessalonians, which some theologians and historians question, thinking that this might be Paul's first letter. Paul wrote a number of letters in the New Testament.

Testament, Corinthians, Romans, Ephesians, Galatians, and so forth. First Thessalonians or Galatians is regarded as Paul's first letter.

I’m going to ask you to stand and open your Bibles. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand. Of course, we have it on the screen, but if you open your Bibles to near the end, you will find the little books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. We are going to read from the first ten verses, Paul's opening words, because the kind of prayer or hope that I have for me and for us as a church comes from this text.

1 Thessalonians 1:1 states, "Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy." This is during Paul's second missionary journey when he is planting churches. He went on three journeys recorded in the New Testament in the book of Acts. His first journey was in what we know today as the modern nation of Turkey and the region of Galatia. His second missionary journey was primarily in what we know today as Greece, specifically in the region of Macedonia.

In Macedonia at that time was the city called Thessalonica, where he went and planted a church. He was only there for three weeks, three Sabbath days. Paul preached in Thessalonica for three weeks before they ran him out of town. In that short time, a church was planted. Now, he writes back to this church with a word of encouragement because they were going through difficulties and challenging times as a group of people who had turned to faith in God.

He says, "To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God always for you, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, your labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your choosing or your election by God. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.

You became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you, the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in...

Macedonia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

God, I pray as we consider this text this morning that You would continue the work that You want to do in me and in my brothers and sisters here this morning of transforming us from glory to greater glory, transforming us more and more into the image and likeness of You. Make us more like You. May our old nature be crucified, our old man put aside, and may we put on the new man that is created in righteousness and holiness. Help us walk in a way that brings honor and glory to You, but not only is it honoring and glorifying to You, it is truly joy-producing and satisfying for us. God, do that work. Transform us by the renewing of our minds that we would display in our lives what is Your good and perfect will in this world.

Then speak to us here by Your Spirit. Holy Spirit, we pray that You'd be here this morning and teach us. Give us insight, maybe into things that we've read before but didn't understand, or things that we never even saw before. Open our eyes to Your Word, for we ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen." Amen. You can be seated.

In so many ways, 2025 was a good year for me, for my family, and for this church. But 2025 was also a challenging year. That is always the bittersweet reality of life. There are highs and there are lows, and some of the lows are deep lows. My family went through one of those this last year, and we are not the only ones in our church who experienced some of those challenges. Some of you are still walking through the challenges of difficult diagnoses or losses, and some of you will receive words of loss and difficult diagnoses in 2026. Every year is a mix of good, joyful things and very difficult things. One of the encouraging realities in the difficult challenges...

It is important to look back and see how God worked in and through difficult challenges. Romans 8 is true, and for many of you, it is a favorite verse: Romans 8:28. We know that all things work together for good to those who are the called of God. God is able to work things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.

Not everything, when taken individually, is good in and of itself. However, in the long run, God works all things together for good. It is encouraging to remember that as we go through the challenges of life, God is working through those challenges to refine and sanctify us, making us more into what He wants us to be.

There is a verse in Hebrews that has caused a lot of angst for many people trying to understand its meaning. The author of the book of Hebrews states that Jesus, who is God incarnate, learned obedience through the things that He suffered. This raises the question: what does that even mean? You can read the commentaries, and there are many different ideas and views, but I don't think anyone has the exact perfect understanding of it. When we get to heaven, we can ask Jesus to explain it to us.

The idea that in the midst of suffering and difficulty, God is training and teaching us is significant. He will do that in 2026. My family has experienced challenges in 2025, and perhaps you did as well or will in 2026. Not only is Romans 8:28 an encouragement to me, but Philippians 1:6 is also a great source of encouragement. In the midst of difficulties, we can be confident of this very thing: He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.

That was Paul's confidence, both for himself and for the church he had planted in Philippi. He wrote this while in prison, facing execution, yet he remained confident that God would be faithful to complete the work He began in them. God will continue to accomplish the work that He began in me and in you, in us. He will continue to do that in 2026. That is my hope; He will not fail to accomplish it.

Work. My hope and my prayer for our church as we go through this year is that we will become exemplary among the saints. This is the word that the Lord has impressed upon my heart for me and for us. I hope that we, as the people of God here in this local church, would become examples to others.

I shared with you a couple of months ago about my early experiences teaching the Bible. I was teaching junior high students just 40 feet away, and I came upon that passage in Corinthians where Paul says, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." At the time, I was 19 years old, and I remember thinking that I didn't know if I could say to someone, "Follow my pattern." In Philippians 3, Paul encourages us to join in following his example, as we have him for a pattern. At 19, I was uncertain.

I was thinking about those motivational posters that many of you have seen before. A couple of decades ago, a company called Demotivators came out with posters that were the opposite of motivational ones. One featured a sinking ship with the word "Mistakes" and the tagline, "Your life may serve as an example of what not to do." Hopefully, that's not the kind of example you are as a Christian. We should not say, "Don't follow me; follow somebody else."

God wants you and me to become exemplary among the saints, to be a pattern that others can look to and say, "That's what it means to be a Christian." There are many bad examples of preachers and Christians in our country. However, there is a great verse in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11 that talks about Abraham. It says of these men and women of faith that God is not ashamed to be called their God. This implies that there are some people who say, "I'm a Christian," and God responds, "Yeah, kind of."

I want to be the kind of believer, and I want you to be the kind of follower of Jesus, where God is not ashamed to be called our God. He should be able to say, "That's one of my kids."

I want us to become exemplary among the saints. That's what I see here in this passage about the Christians in Thessalonica. Paul was there for just three weeks, shared the gospel, planted a church, and then got run out of town. Yet, God continued to do a work by His grace and by His Spirit.

But it wasn't only God doing the work. The believers in the city of Thessalonica continued and persisted. God was working in them to will and to do His good pleasure, and they were working out their own salvation with fear and trembling. As a result, they became exemplary among the saints. Paul was confident in this very thing: that He who began a good work in them would be faithful to complete it. My prayer for you is that you would become exemplary among the saints, and I am confident that God will complete that work. He will complete the work He started, but He calls us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. We have to be involved in this; we have to engage in this work.

So, what I'm aiming to do here on January 4th, 2026, at the beginning of the year, the first Sunday of the year, is to give you a target to aim at—an aspiration, if you will. Some might call it a vision. Here's the vision: I want you to orient your life to set your target at becoming an example to others of what it means and what it looks like to be a Christian. I want you to be able to say, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ."

Because, like it or not, people are watching you. They are patterning their lives after you. Whether you like it or not, they are looking at you and saying, "That guy goes to church. That gal says she's a Christian. Let me see if that's actually true." May it be that they see in you and in me that we are examples of Christians, and that we could say, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ."

Now, I'm asking you this year to make it a target of your prayer that you would begin to pray, "God, help me to become exemplary among the saints." That may seem like the craziest thing in your mind at this moment because you might feel like you are an example of what not to do. But God wants to make you an example of what a Christian actually looks like. People could look to you and say, "I want to be like that."

I want to follow their example. Note those who so walk as you have us for an example. Paul says in Philippians 3, right around verse 15, that we should strive to be examples to both believers and unbelievers of what it means to be a Christian. This is a humble acknowledgment that I have not yet arrived.

I love the fact that Paul, after decades of ministry and after writing Scripture under the inspiration of the Spirit, is in prison facing execution. In the book of Philippians, chapter 3, he says, "Not as though I have already attained or have been perfected, but I press on that I might lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me." I have told you before that Philippians is my favorite book, and passages like this are why.

The Apostle Paul expresses that he has not achieved perfection, but he lays everything aside and presses on to attain what Christ has called him to. I love that phrase: "that I might lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me." What does that mean? It means that God saved Paul for a purpose, and He saved you for a purpose as well. Paul acknowledges that he has not yet laid hold of it, and he desires to achieve what he was saved for.

Here I am now at 46 years old, having had the privilege of being in pastoral ministry since I was 19. I have pastored this church for 18 years this year, and I still feel that I have not achieved what God has called me to do. I couldn't articulate perfectly what it is that God is ultimately doing. I don't know; I will know it in retrospect. But I do know this: I have not attained it yet. So I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me.

My hope for you would be the same, regardless of what stage of life you are in. Maybe you are just starting out. When we do communion on the first Sunday of the month or the first Sunday of the year, as we are going to do in just a moment, all the youth are in here. We have junior highers and high schoolers with us this morning. At the age and stage you are at in this life, my encouragement and exhortation to you is to press on and lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus laid hold of you.

But some of you are in the last chapter. Some of you are in that 70 or 80 years that Moses talks about in Psalm.

You may feel like you are approaching the last portion of your life, but God still has a purpose for you that He wants you to lay hold of. How do I know that? Because you are still breathing. You woke up this morning. You are here. God has a purpose and a plan. May you lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of you. You haven't gotten there yet. Humbly acknowledge that you have not already attained, but press on that you may lay hold of it.

In 2026, God desires that you would apprehend more of His purpose and that you would become exemplary among the saints. This raises the question: What does it mean to be exemplary among the saints? What was it that made the Thessalonian Christians, 2,000 years ago, exemplary among the saints? We find in the text that it was three things. Three things set them apart as standouts, and they become three of the chief virtues for the Christian. These virtues show up in a number of places in Scripture.

Look at 1 Thessalonians 1:2. Paul says, "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers." He is praying for them constantly. And what does he do in his prayers? He remembers without ceasing. In verse three, he identifies the three things: your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God our Father.

Like Paul, 2,000 years ago, you, our church, have been on my heart. I have been praying for you, giving thanks to God for this church, and remembering without ceasing the wonderful things that God has done through this church. In 2026, my prayer for us as the people of God here at Cross Connection Church is that we grow in faith, hope, and love. These are the three chief Christian virtues. Paul says to the church at Thessalonica, "I am rejoicing over you and remembering you in prayer because of your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope."

Now, this church, Cross Connection Church, is 45 years old. Some of you have been here for decades. I'm looking at a couple of people right now. How long have you been here?

Guys, Marcia and Jim585 have been a part of this church since 1985. I think you have been here the longest. Now, that's not a bad thing; you should rejoice in that. Praise the Lord! I pray you are still here for a long time.

Here's the thing: I didn't pastor this church back then. Pastor Pat Kenny pastored this church for 27 years, and God did a great work in and through Pastor Pat. In 2008, he handed the church off to me. When he did, it was not something he really wanted to do. He had just lost his wife to cancer and was going through very difficult things physically. He was not all that old, really; I don't think he was 60 yet at that point in time. A lot of people were saying, "Well, you're retiring," and he kept saying, "I'm not retiring. I'm not retiring."

But at that moment, I know because he and I had some conversations, he was really discouraged. It felt like, "Well, now what?" You know what? Eighteen years have passed, and God is doing more with him today than I think He was then. He is still rejoicing in the Lord, running the race, and he will continue to run the race. He is 18 years older than he was then, but he is still running the race. He has that work of faith, that labor of love, and that patience of hope.

I hope that is the testimony you have as well because this life is not over until it's over. Even in eternity, God has work for us to do. I don't know what that looks like; the Scriptures are kind of ambiguous about it. But there is work to be done in eternity. Right now, you are not there yet, which means there is work for you to do. God wants you to lay hold of that and to be persistent in the work of faith, the labor of love, and the patience of hope.

May it be that in 2026, you, me, and this church are known for our work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope. That we become exemplary among the saints. Notice the church at Thessalonica; Paul says they were in much affliction. They were going through trouble and suffered persecution because of their work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope. In much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, they became examples to all who believe.

I love those words. Even though they were going through difficulty, they became examples to all who believe. That can be our testimony too. God certainly desires it to be our testimony, and He will continue to work in us to make it our testimony.

Will and to do His good pleasure. But we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. So how do we become exemplary? How do you individually, not just us as a church, not just me, become exemplary among the saints?

If you would jump to the end of the same book, a small letter, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, I think the answer comes in chapter 5. Look at verse two. 1 Thessalonians 5:2 states, "For you yourselves know well. You know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night."

Listen, church. I want to remind you that someday Jesus is coming back. It's going to come suddenly. We don't know when; we'll have no indication necessarily. For when they say, "Peace and safety," then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape.

But you, brethren, are not in darkness so that the day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of the light and daughters of the light, sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

Now, look at this verse eight; this is key. "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation." There are those three words again. They open the book. You have a testimony that you have a work of faith, a labor of love, and patience of hope. They end the book as well. Paul says, "I want you to continue to lay hold of and put on faith, hope, and love."

These two sets of virtues frame the whole story in 1 Thessalonians: faith, hope, and love. How do I put on faith, hope, and love? Paul gives a series of exhortations right here at the end of 1 Thessalonians. I think these exhortations indicate how you become someone who puts on more faith, more hope, and more love in 2026. If you make this your meditation and your prayer, "God, help me to fulfill these commands, these imperatives here," you will grow in faith, hope, and love in 2026.

So, here they are. Verse 12, 1 Thessalonians 5: "We urge you, brethren. We're begging you. We're pleading with you to recognize those who labor among you and who are over you in the Lord."

Admonish you. So, he says, recognize that you have leaders over you in the church. Submit to them and esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake.

Here are the commands for you as a church: Be at peace among yourselves. That's the first one. We exhort you, brethren. Here's the next one: Warn those who are unruly, out of step. If you see someone who's not walking the way they should, you should challenge them. It's okay to do that. Warn those who are unruly. Comfort the faint-hearted. There are going to be some people who go through some pretty difficult things this year. It's your task to comfort them. Uphold the weak. Be patient with all. And, Lord, I need your help with that one.

See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good, both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test all things and hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

There are a whole bunch of imperatives, commands—fifteen commands that are directed at you directly.

Point number four: The growth God desires requires our obedient effort. Yes, God is working in you to will and to do His good pleasure. And yes, you have to put in some effort, some obedient effort. The Holy Spirit will help you. When He says, "Be patient with all," and you struggle with that, you know what you can do? You can confess it.

"God, I really have a hard time with that person." You just had a person come to mind. That's the person. They might be sitting right next to you. Be patient with that person. You say, "God, I really have a hard time being patient with that person. Would you give me your patience?" Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. He'll enable you.

The growth that God desires requires our obedient effort, and that effort is compelled by and in response to...

The love of Jesus Christ is demonstrated in the gospel and in the cross. This is why it is good for us, as we do at the beginning of every year, to partake of communion. Through the bread and the cup, we are reminded of His sacrifice. If you have not received the elements, please raise your hand, and some of our ushers will come and give them to you. We will partake of them together in just a moment.

In partaking of the bread and the cup of communion, which we do every January at the beginning of the year, we remember Jesus's body broken for us and His blood shed for us, through which the love of Christ is demonstrated. May this act encourage, compel, and stir us to greater love and good deeds.

Now, notice that Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks." The verb there for "give thanks" is the Greek verb eucharistto. If you came out of a more formal traditional Christian tradition, you might have heard a word that you are familiar with: Eucharist. What is the Eucharist? It is partaking of the bread and the cup. But why is that called the Eucharist? The word eucharistto, meaning "give thanks," is the same verb that was used by Jesus on the night that He took the bread and the cup and gave thanks. He eucharistto.

When we partake of the bread and the cup, we are giving thanks to God for what He did for us. In this act of partaking of communion and in this work of giving thanks, we are reminded of His body and His blood given for us, His love demonstrated so that we might be stirred and compelled to press on and lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of us.

God, I thank You for the work that You did on our behalf. We thank You for Your grace, Your goodness, and Your love demonstrated through the cross. Your love shown to us, Your body broken, and Your blood shed. Jesus, on the night that He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given...

Thanks to the Eucharist, He broke it, gave it to His disciples, and said, "Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Let's partake together.

In the same manner, He also took the cup after they had eaten and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." Let's partake together.

Lord, we remember and give thanks today. We pray, God, that You would stir us to greater love and good deeds in 2026. Help us to be at peace among ourselves, to warn those who are unruly, to comfort the faint-hearted, to uphold the weak, and to be patient with all.

Help us not to render evil for evil to anyone, but to pursue what is good, to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, and to give thanks in all things. Help us not to quench Your Spirit, to not despise prophecy, but to test all things and hold fast to what is good.

Help us to abstain from every form of evil. God, empower us to give our obedient effort as we are able to do so by Your Spirit. Help us to rejoice in You and to become examples among the saints, well-known for our faith, hope, and love. We praise You, Jesus.