I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. - Psalm 119:11

New Year’s resolutions are as old as…well, new years. They are easily made and just as easily broken. Nevertheless, the new year is a good time to start new things and to accomplish new tasks. Pastor Matt encouraged us to consider the new year in just such a manner last Sunday as he walked us through three Proverbs to consider as we begin a new year. We start out each new year at LifePoint with a challenge to be in the Word of God. We are intentional about that because it is as good a time as any to encourage the beginning (or the continuation) of a healthy habit.

If you participated in our Bible Reading Plan in 2025, I hope it was both enjoyable and beneficial to your walk in Christ. Many people have shared with me that the plan was indeed a good way for them to start or finish their day. Although we will not be putting together a new reading plan for 2026, if you listened to my concluding remarks, you heard me say that I would provide some resources for you to consider as you progress through 2026. These are, of course, just suggestions and recommendations. Many of you will have no problems moving forward with your Bible reading and devotions on your own. But for those who would appreciate some direction, here are some suggested resources:

1. From Pastor Matt’s “Further Reading” this past Sunday: “10 Questions to ask yourself at the start of the new year.”

2. The Bible Reading Plan from 2025 will continue to be available at our church website. Feel free to listen to that again this year. My guess is that if you benefited from it in 2025, you will benefit from it again in 2026 (unless you have an amazing memory).

3. With the help of our newest pastor on staff (Pastor Sam Somesan), whom you will be introduced to very soon, we offer to you a 52-week Bible Reading Plan layout that is also available to be printed out on the church website. This plan will take you through the entire Bible in 2026 with daily readings from both the Old and New Testaments.

4. I recommend to you a book entitled How to Read the Bible Book by Book by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart. This book walks through every book of the Bible and offers a summary and reading advice for each. For a shorter version of the same concept, pick up Know Your Bible: All 66 Books Explained and Applied from Barbour Publishing. Both books can be found on Amazon (visit directly by clicking on the links) or at your favorite book retailer.

As we enter 2026, I once again offer you some suggested prayer points for our church family that I pray regularly in my devotions. Would you consider adding these to your own prayers in 2026?

• That the Lord will bring people under the influence of the church’s ministry who need to hear the gospel (Acts 18:9-10).
• That we will teach and preach “the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). That we will not fear for our reputation nor our advantage in the community, but that we will proclaim “Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).
• That we will be a unified body of believers. That gossip and slander will be rejected by those who hear it, and that we will love and offer grace to one another in truly biblical proportions (John 13:34-35).
• That we will be a sending church, with a heart for gospel missions that is unquenchable (Matt. 28:19-20).
• That we will love and care for our neighbors as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:39).

Because it is worth repeating, I will also reprint my prayer for our church family that the apostle Paul prayed for his friends in Philippi. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you will be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God (Phil. 1:9-11).

Happy 2026, friends. Let’s be people of the Word this year!

Grace and peace,

Pastor Jym

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