TH-12-31-2020 – Looking Back at 2020 ~ Looking Forward to 2021

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(this Bible Study is not recorded)

12-31-2020 Thursday (New Years Eve) (7pm)
"Looking Back at 2020 ~ Looking Forward to 2021"

Greetings,

Isaiah 43:18-19
"¹⁸ “Do not call to mind the former things, Or consider things of the past. ¹⁹ Behold, I am going to do something new, Now it will spring up; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert."

Ezekiel 11:19-20
"¹⁹ And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ so that they may walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God."

God wants us to learn from the past, but He doesn't want us to dwell on it; He has given us everything we need to know Him, trust Him, and do what pleases Him today, tomorrow, and forever.

2Peter 1:3-4
"³ for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. ⁴ Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust."

Colossians 3:16-17
"¹⁶ Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."

Colossians 3:23-24
"²³ Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, ²⁴ knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."

As you think back to 2020, what event, struggle or blessing (to you or a family member) was pivotal in your relationship with the Lord:

Was there anything that happened this year that caused you to seek God?

Did God use others to help you this past year, during some tough times?

Did God use you to help others?

Was there anything that happened to you, to someone in your family, or to someone you know, that caused you to seek God's help and/or to trust Him more?

Proverbs 3:5-6
"⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.  ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight."

Philippians 4:6-7
"⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:12-13
"¹² I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. ¹³ I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

What does God want?

1Timothy 2:3-4
"³ This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

1John 2:4-6
"⁴ The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; ⁵ but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: ⁶ the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked."

1John 1:5-7
"⁵ This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; ⁷ but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

Ephesians 2:10
"¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

As a Christian, the greatest thing you can do is to share God’s plan, purpose and provision of Jesus Christ, showing God's light in this darkening world where unbelievers remain prisoners of darkness and only Jesus Christ can set them free.

2Corinthians 4:4-6
"⁴ in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants on account of Jesus. ⁶ For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

2Corinthians 5:17-21
"¹⁷ Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. ¹⁸ Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Ephesians 5:1-2
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; ² and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

1John 2:4-6
"⁴ The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; ⁵ but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: ⁶ the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked."

Matthew 5:14-16
"¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵ nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Hebrews 10:24-26
"²⁴ and let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, ²⁵ not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.  ²⁶ For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,"

As we enter 2021, let us continue to encourage one another to know and to obey God’s Word, while at the same time showing God’s love to others.

Pastor Mike
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