10 Questions for a New Year
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time…” (Ephesians 5:15-16)
As we enter the 2024th year of our Lord’s reign, let these questions from Don Whitney help guide your thinking about life in this new year:
Once, when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai. “Consider your ways!” (Haggai 1:5) he declared, urging them to reflect on some of the things happening to them, and to evaluate their slipshod spirituality in light of what God had told them.
Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It’s so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we’re going and where we should be going.
The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.
What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?
What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?
The value of many of these questions is not in their profundity, but in the simple fact that they bring an issue or commitment into focus. For example, just by articulating which person you most want to encourage this year is more likely to help you remember to encourage that person than if you hadn’t considered the question.
If you’ve found these questions helpful, you might want to put them someplace where you can review them more frequently than once a year.
So let’s evaluate our lives, make plans and goals, and live this new year with biblical diligence, remembering that, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage” (Proverbs 21:5). But in all things let’s also remember our dependence on our King who said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
May each one of us, our families, and our church experience “the fullness of the blessing of Christ” this year! (Romans 15:29)
“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude vs. 24-25)
THIS WEEK - The church office will be closed the week of Dec. 25th-29th. It will re-open on Jan. 2nd.
NEW - Visitor’s Lunch: Sun, Jan 14 - If you’ve been visiting Clover Hill, please join us for our visitor’s lunch directly after the worship service. This is a great opportunity to learn more about our church, meet the leadership, and enjoy a meal together! Please sign up HERE so we can know how many people to expect.
THIS WEEK - Christmas Giving Trees: This is the last week for our Giving Tree ( which is set up in the front of the sanctuary). You’ll find tags for food/gas gift cards to help members of our church and community, along with tags to help with local ministries (the Pregnancy Resource Center and Isaiah 117 House, for example). Cards are due back by Jan 7 and can be placed in the offering box. You can bring donations to the church/office (donation box) or give online (memo line: Benevolence).
THIS MONDAY - ELL New Year's Day Hike: Please join us Mon, Jan 1 as we hike the Abrams Creek Trail with our international friends! We will meet at ROCC (not Clover Hill) at 9:00am. Dress in layers, and bring a snack/drink. Contact Jen Fiebig, jenfiebig@gmail.com.
NEW - Growth Group Leader Training: Fri, Jan 26, 6:00-9:00pm and Sat, Jan 27, 8:30am-2:00pm at ROCC (not Clover Hill). This training is open to any church member interested in helping lead a growth group and current leaders who would like additional training. Our mission is to Declare, Disciple, and Demonstrate. One of the main ways we carry out this mission is through our growth groups, and this training will equip you to step into leadership. Food and childcare provided. Please sign up HERE by Jan 23
NEW - Online Directory: If you’re a member at Clover Hill, please update your picture and personal information on the online directory. On the Church Center App, click on your profile in the top right hand corner of the home page. From there click on “My Profile & Settings”, and then click “Directory Profile”, which will let you update your information that will show up in the directory for the other members.
Prayer Week: Sun, Jan 14 - Sat, Jan 20, 6:30-7:30pm at Clover Hill. Please join us as we meet each night to reflect on God's faithfulness in 2023 and seek the Lord and His leading in 2024! Please plan to come on your growth group night and at least one other night of the week with your family (children are welcome and encouraged to come).
Year-End Giving: This has been an exciting year with the launch of Clover Hill and would be a great time to give a year-end gift to the church to help with expenses! Donations can be made through: 1) Planning Center, 2) the offering box in the back of the sanctuary, 3) the mail. As a reminder, Dec 31 (before midnight) is the deadline for online giving to be submitted and checks/postmarks to be dated. Praise the Lord for His faithful provision for our body!
Prayer on Sunday Mornings: Jon Burkett will lead a time of prayer on Sunday mornings before our worship services. Prayer will be from 9:15-10:00am in the Loft (the upstairs area). Come out a little early on Sundays and join us to pray!
Online Giving: You can officially begin online giving for Clover Hill. If you’ve been giving to River Oaks online, you’ll need to stop those auto-payments, and begin new ones for Clover Hill.
Prayer:
This Sunday: Please pray for Jeff Bergquist as he teaches John 17:20-26, and Hannah Turner as she leads us in worship.
Five Families: Please join us as we pray for our people, specifically lifting up these five families in prayer each week:
Esmark - Eric, Nina, Parker, and Conner
Esmark - Lois
Fowler - Kevin, Lydia, Jaslin, Sophia, Jeremiah, Ben, Eliot, and Gideon
Fugate - Laura and Jack
Gilbert - Jon and Michelle
Resources:
Here are some different ways you can read through the bible in the new year.
If you enjoy going through devotionals, here are some good options from Westminster Bookstore.
“Prayer is a central—not peripheral—means of grace for Christians. God has given it to us as a precious gift that opens intimate access to him. How often do we make use of this gift?”