For 2025 I have asked the church I pastor (Owen Valley Christian Fellowship in Spencer, IN) to accept a challenge. The challenge was to use Everyday Gospel, a daily devotional written by Paul David Tripp as their go-to this coming year. Thanks to the generosity of Crossway Publishing, who offered the opportunity to buy them in bulk for $10 each (order at least 10), our folks were able to get on board for the challenge. To date we have had to order…wait for it…120 copies of the book!! That means there will be at least 120 people who will be reading the devotional each day plus the Scripture corresponding to it. By the end of the year, we will have read through the whole Bible. But I did something even crazier, which really put a target on my forehead. I told them that instead of preaching a series or a book of the Bible or even topics in 2025, that I would base all my sermons on the Scriptures read the previous week (Sunday through Saturday). For example, on January 5th, the first Sunday of 2025, I will preach on Genesis 1-15, the Scripture passages we are to read for January 1-4.  In all of my 50+ years of ministry, I have never-read that NEVER- preached on the whole Bible from the first Sunday of the year to the last. I’m not kidding you when I say I come with a bit of fear after I opened my mouth and made that statement. I wonder now if it was what drove people to sign up for the book.

But I also have to admit to a ton of excitement and cautious optimism for the task in front of me. As I stated earlier, I have NEVER taken on this task before. It will require some serious study and preparation as I weed through some great parts of the Bible but also some tough parts (how does one preach through parts of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers and make it exciting?). It has also required me reading the Devotional ahead of time, then I will go back and read it again on its planned day, along with the Scripture passage. Last night I read the devotions for January 26 & 27 in preparation for the sermon on February 2nd. My thoughts today are taken from the January 26th devotion.

We hear a lot during this time of the year about love, joy, and hope. My daughter Tami’s favorite Christmas song has the lyrics “The thrill of hope the weary world rejoices.” (O Holy Night).  I know how this whole scenario ends (Jesus wins) but even with that belief/truth, it is hard not to feel like many others do: where is the hope? We sure don’t live in a hopeful society do we? I’m not even talking politics here. I’m talking about life. Before I went to my ManCave last night to focus my thoughts and heart and to sit with an ice pack on my new knee and a hot pad on sore places from the needles of that surgery, I heard about Syria, the death of the United HealthCare CEO, the pardons, the rhetoric which seemed to say murder was wrong “but,” the immigration crisis, etc. You get the picture. So, tell me, where is the hope? I have an 18 year old, soon-to-be a high school graduate grandson, who will be attending THE Ohio State University this fall. What kind of world will he grow up in? One without truth? One without boundaries? One without knowing right from wrong? One without HOPE!  I pray not. I pray that Braden’s generation says, “Enough is enough!” and claws its way back to truth and the hope that comes with it. In his January 26th devotion, Paul David Tripp writes, “True and lasting hope is found in these words: “I will dwell in the midst of my people.”

May Tripp’s words be a signpost for my grandson’s generation. Really, for every generation still living and will soon be living. “May you dwell in the midst of your people, Lord.”