Our last Sunday of 2025 was another display of God’s grace at CLF. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating: our goal each Sunday is to be faithful to God, His Word, and His people. Sometimes this looks like a good at-bat (a run-scoring hit, moving a runner up to the next base, or seeing lots of pitches). Sometimes it seems like a sacrifice bunt (doing your job). And sometimes, it’s an extra base hit (a double, triple, or homerun). Each week, we want to be faithful. I praise God that, as I look back on 2025 and consider our Sunday gatherings, faithfulness is the word I would use to describe them.
Here are a few recaps of what I’ve seen that reveal this to me:
- The different men who filled the pulpit this year laid out spiritual “meals” for us. Stan Welch, Jeff Palen (SGC Pastor from Star, Idaho), Luis Castellanos, and Andrew Crawford all delivered faithful, God-ward sermons. I can’t thank God enough for Luis covering the 9 weeks while I was on sabbatical.
- Our Sunday set-up and tear-down crew faithfully emptied the trailers and box truck, set up tables, moved boxes, and served our church. At the end of each Sunday, they tore it all down, week after week.
- Our Children’s Ministry crew (and they are a crew of over 100 strong) faithfully taught our children God’s Word. They prepped for their lessons, prayed over their kiddos, set up and cleared their classrooms, and returned the next week to do it all over again.
- Our worship team and sound and tech teams, week after week, set up cables, mics, speakers, soundboard, and computer. They get to church earlier than most and never complain, week after week.
- Our communion crew often goes unnoticed, but do you know they make handmade communion bread for us every time we take communion? That task usually begins the day before (or the week before), and they bring all those supplies in on communion Sundays to serve our church. They set it up, and then they clean it all up.
- And finally, I’m not sure about you, but I sure enjoy being greeted each Sunday by people at the door or at the welcome desk with a smile, a handshake, or a hug. I love it. They are joyful people who reveal God’s joy to others and the heart of our church.
I believe these things and more reveal the faithfulness we’re shooting for each Sunday. God is so kind to us.
Looking ahead:
As we enter 2026, here is the direction we’re taking for the teaching series for our Sundays together:
- Beginning this Sunday through March 8th, we will look at the “One Another” commands in the New Testament. This series is called “Better Together” because the gospel brings us together to reveal the power of grace to a world of conflict.
- March 22nd, we will begin a study through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), as we look at “The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached.” This section of the Bible, unlike any other, shows what Kingdom Citizens look like and how they act.
- Beginning July 20th, we will look at moments in the gospels when Jesus encountered broken people. This series, called “Moments with Jesus,” is intended to help us understand Jesus’ heart, attitude, and ways He interacted with sinners and those who were broken by the world’s standards.
- Beginning October 4th, we will start a study of Romans, called “The Greatest Letter Ever Written.” This series will conclude sometime in 2027.
Now, if you’re looking at this, you might notice the desire of your pastoral team toward CLF. We have seen, over the last two years, a bit of a shift away from some ‘central’ themes of what has built CLF. Our desire for this coming year is to be reminded and return to those things. Those main themes are the hope and wonder of the gospel (Romans), how that gospel changes the way we treat others (One Another passages and passages when Jesus encounters broken people), and how we are to live in this world as Kingdom citizens (Sermon on the Mount).
So, here’s my appeal to you: we have a great year of Sundays planned. Please make it a goal to attend church as much as possible, and if you miss, please listen to the sermon on our podcast (on Spotify & Apple). We believe this will be a foundational year of sermons for our church.
Bible Reading and Spiritual Rhythms:
Many of you have reached out to me about Bible reading plans for the New Year. Here is a link to the best website for Bible reading plans that I know (Ligonier). My favorites in this list are: the Five-Day Bible Reading Plan, the Chronological Bible Reading Plan, and the Navigators Bible Reading Plan. However, the plan that shaped much of my early growth as a Christian was the Robert Murray Mc’Cheyne Plan.
Let me say that there is no right or wrong way to do bible reading and spiritual rhythms. There are a few essential things to keep in mind regarding these things:
- These things are to be done ‘from’ grace, not ‘for’ grace. What I mean by that is that these things are not ‘earning’ points with God or gaining His favor. These things are done because Christ has ‘earned’ and gained God’s favor on our behalf. So, there’s no time regulation, no ritual, or ‘perfect’ way to do these things.
- These things are a ‘means’ of grace or are tools of God’s grace to help us grow in Christ. There is simply no way to consistently grow in our faith without regular prayer, worship, and Bible reading. While they don’t earn us salvation, they are tools of God’s sanctifying grace to help us be more like Jesus.
- Finally, the important thing is to start somewhere, not to be overcome by guilt when you miss a day or two, and to stay at it. I liken this to staying active as I get older. Sometimes, it’s just about getting up and moving.
Cheap Seats:
- This was a fantastic story about a metal detector.
- I feel the same way Garrett from Dude Perfect does about University of Texas fans: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DSpvG8Nj5Sk/.
- I found this story about Curt Cignetti from Indiana really interesting. This guy is a crazy good coach.
- “Paid to Play” by Jeremy Schapp is an excellent overview of the Transfer Portal. I may not like it, but it’s here to stay.
Happy New Year!
Christ is King!
In Christ,
Dave York
