A lot of people think all religions are the same. Why? They assume all religions teach how man expresses his devotion to his god. But Christianity is different, because Jesus teaches how God expresses His devotion to man. Knowing that will prepare your heart to live the New Year!

Have you ever wanted to pray, but couldn’t find the words ? Focus on being in His presence and your heart will do the rest. Because prayer prepares our heart for the unknown.

Preparing Your Heart for a Happy New Year is more than just making resolutions to change our behavior. Real, Meaningful Life Change comes from the inside. This begins with the heart. But what does it mean to guard the heart?

Meaningful, real-life change begins in the heart.  That’s why if you want your life to be blessed by God this year you need to start with this thought from the Psalms, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  The Word of God Reveals the Life Blessed by God.  So, the more we reflect on God’s Truth about life, the more motivated we are to change our life.

8% of people actually keep their New Years Resolutions.  Of those that fail, 80% of them fail by the 2nd week of February.  So, why are we so bad at change?  Most New Years resolutions reflect external, behavioral changes, but real life-change begins in the heart and flows out into our life choices.  We will focus on this as we talk about how to prepare our hearts for a Happy New Year!

The list of songs in the 60s about loneliness is endless,

God is with us in the valleys. That's where we learn to trust Him. God is with us in the wilderness. That's where we learn we can depend on Him. God is with us in the storms of life. That's where we learn He brings us peace. But what about the times we are in doubt?

Sometimes we’re able to just sail along through life with blue skies & calm waters. Life is good! But sometimes, the storm clouds roll in and suddenly you’re in a storm that scares you to death. The thing we have to remember in the middle of these storms is we are never alone. God is With Us!

Matthew 1:23 says “Look, the virgin will conceive a child. She'll give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us.”  We encounter the presence of God at different times in our lives.  During the lowest of valleys and the high-points in life.  A lot of times it’s when we feel like we’re wandering in a wilderness. Regardless, we need to remember that the darkest moment becomes a gift, when it drives us to depend on God.

Our new series, “God with Us!” is from the angel’s message to Joseph in Matthew 1:23.  "The virgin will conceive a child! She'll give birth to a son.   They will call Him Immanuel, which means God with us."  The promise of God’s Presence is something all of us need, especially when life gets confusing. We crave that kind of re-assurance in a world that’s constantly changing.  And that was exactly what God promised that first Christmas!