Sermon Summary: “Forgetting What Is Behind You, Living for Christ”

1. A Call to a Year of Yielding

The sermon opens with a prophetic emphasis for the new year: a year of yielding. God’s will is not accomplished in believers’ lives through effort alone, but through surrender. Just as Jesus yielded His will to the Father in Gethsemane, believers are called to yield their strength, plans, and control to God so His purposes can be fulfilled.

1. Sanctification Comes Through Yielding

Believers are already perfected in Christ, yet are continually being sanctified. Sanctification is not achieved by striving, but by yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit. Our position in Christ is greater than our current condition, and real spiritual growth requires humility, honesty, and willingness to change.

1. Peter’s Failure Reveals the Danger of Self-Confidence

Through Matthew 26, the sermon examines Peter’s denial of Jesus. Peter failed because he:

• Refused to believe Jesus’ warning
• Neglected prayer and watchfulness
• Substituted action for prayer
• Followed Jesus from a distance
• Catered to his flesh

This progression shows how spiritual drift leads to open denial when believers rely on self-confidence rather than surrender.

1. Yielding Prevents Spiritual Collapse

Jesus warned, “Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation.” The sermon explains the difference between falling into temptation and entering into it deliberately. Yielding involves intentionally setting one’s life up for spiritual success through prayer, discipline, and obedience.

1. God’s Grace Restores the Fallen

Despite Peter’s failure, God’s grace was greater. Fifty days later, Peter stood up on the Day of Pentecost and preached the most powerful sermon in history. This demonstrates that failure does not disqualify a yielded heart. God restores those who repent and trust His grace.

1. Forgetting What Is Behind

From Philippians 3, the sermon teaches that many believers are controlled by their past. “Forgetting” does not mean erasing memory, but neglecting its power. Paul deliberately turned away from both sinful and successful parts of his past so he could pursue Christ fully.

1. Yielding Requires Intentional Neglect of the Past

Believers must choose to lay aside memories, regrets, accomplishments, and wounds that hinder forward movement. No counselor or circumstance can do this for someone—it is a personal decision empowered by the Holy Spirit.

1. A Unified Pursuit of Christ

The church is described as a people who are “with it” because they share the same pursuit, not because of obligation or structure. When believers wake each day seeking to please God, unity naturally follows.

1. Final Call

The sermon concludes with a strong call to surrender:

• Yield fully to God
• Forget what is behind
• Press toward the upward call of Christ
• Live not by sight, but by faith

Believers are challenged to enter the new year with renewed commitment, trusting that a yielded life leads to freedom, restoration, and spiritual power.

Sermon Summary: Joshua – Session 11 (Ending the Year Right)

1. God Calls His People to Possess What He Has Given

As the land is divided in Joshua 17–18, God reminds Israel that the inheritance already belongs to them—but they must rise up and take possession. Delayed obedience, fear of opposition, or spiritual passivity keeps believers from fully walking in God’s promises.

1. Incomplete Obedience Leads to Future Struggles

Some tribes failed to fully drive out the Canaanites, choosing compromise instead of obedience. What is tolerated today often becomes a snare tomorrow. God calls His people to remove what competes with devotion, not manage it.

1. Faith Requires Action, Not Excuses

When tribes complained about limited territory, Joshua challenged them to get up and do the work. God had already given them power, but they had to act in faith. Blessing follows obedience, diligence, and courage—not passivity.

1. The Lord Is Our True Inheritance

The Levites received no land because the Lord Himself was their inheritance. This points to a greater truth for believers today: our ultimate reward is not earthly security but life with God. Like Abraham, believers are called to live as pilgrims, prioritizing spiritual inheritance over temporary comfort.

1. God Is a Refuge for the Guilty and Broken

The cities of refuge reveal God’s mercy. Long before sin occurred, God provided a place of safety. These cities foreshadow Jesus Christ as our refuge, where sinners can flee for forgiveness, protection, and restoration.

1. Salvation Must Be Received, Not Ignored

A refuge only saves those who run to it. Jesus is God’s provision for sin, but each person must choose to enter. Trusting in goodness, effort, or delay is dangerous—Christ alone is the safe place.

1. A Call to Renewed Commitment

As the year closes, the sermon challenges believers to:

• Be honest with themselves
• Reject spiritual sluggishness
• Recommit to disciplined faith
• Place God first without reservation

The message closes with hope: when all hope seems lost, the Lord shows up. God remains faithful, and those who trust Him will find safety, purpose, and victory in Him.

Sermon Summary: “Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Besides Me”

1. God Must Be First—Always

The sermon opens with Exodus 20, where God establishes the first commandment: nothing is allowed to come before Him. This command is foundational because when God is not first, every other area of life eventually becomes disordered. Even temporary distractions or misplaced priorities can function as false gods if they take precedence over God.

1. Idolatry Is Often Subtle

Modern idolatry is rarely statues or images—it is anything that competes for God’s place. Satan works primarily as a deceiver, making good or neutral things seem more important than God. Careers, relationships, possessions, comfort, and personal ambitions can quietly move ahead of God, especially during seasons of pressure or busyness.

1. Jesus Demands Supreme Loyalty

Jesus reinforces this command in the New Testament, teaching that no relationship or pursuit—even family—can outrank devotion to Him. Loving anyone or anything more than Christ disqualifies true discipleship. This does not diminish human love, but properly orders it under a supreme love for God.

1. Counting the Cost of Discipleship

Following Jesus requires intentional commitment. He warns that disciples must count the cost, understanding that faith involves sacrifice, endurance, and perseverance. Those who begin without resolve often fall away when pressure, ridicule, or difficulty arises.

1. A Disciple Is Permanently Committed

The sermon explains that a disciple is not someone who tries Christianity, but someone who has made a decisive act with permanent results. True disciples are “glued,” “fused,” and fully attached to Christ and His teachings, refusing to live a divided life or allow compromise.

1. Spiritual Danger of Becoming Sluggish

Scripture warns against becoming spiritually sluggish—not sinful rebellion, but spiritual laziness. When diligence fades, prayer weakens, Scripture becomes neglected, and God gradually loses first place. Faithfulness requires intentional effort and consistency.

1. God Rewards Undivided Hearts

Psalm 84 highlights the blessing of those whose strength is in the Lord and whose hearts are set on the journey with Him. God withholds no good thing from those who remain upright, coupled, and fully devoted. A day in God’s presence is better than anything the world offers.

1. Trusting God With the Impossible

The sermon concludes with the challenge of the “Impossibility List”—placing before God needs that only He can accomplish. This practice reinforces trust, keeps God first, and builds faith as believers watch Him answer prayers over time.

1. Final Call

Believers are urged to examine their lives, realign priorities, and recommit to placing God first in every area. When hope seems lost, God proves Himself faithful. True discipleship begins and continues with this resolve: no other gods—only Him.