Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you—and a blessed 2026 as well. Happy New Year! What a glorious way to begin the year together, devoted to the Lord and gathered in God’s Word. What a joy it is to share God’s Word with you at the very start of this new year.

I want to keep our devotion fairly short today and look at a couple of verses from the Book of Hebrews. If you would, please turn with me to Hebrews, chapter 13. These verses give us a centered focus for the new year.

As we enter a new year, we often make resolutions—trying to form new habits to improve our lives or letting go of old habits we hope will no longer define us. Yet it’s easy to lose focus, become distracted, or even feel defeated. That’s why I want us to reflect on these verses, which remind us what our lives should be centered on—not just in the new year, but always.

So look with me at Hebrews, chapter 13, beginning with verse 20. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the author writes:

Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

What beautiful verses! I especially love them for the start of a new year because they keep our focus centered on Christ—on God’s glory and on seeking to do His will for His glory and for the good of those around us. What better way could there be to begin a new year than by centering our thoughts and attention on Christ and, in all our actions, seeking to honor and glorify Him?

As this new year unfolds before us, my hope and prayer is that you are richly blessed—not because of what you have or what you gain for yourself on this side of heaven, but because of what Christ has given you and won for you: eternal life, walking with Him and living in His presence.

As we close, I’d like to share a prayer with you from a truly lovely prayer book, Every Moment Holy—a prayer for the new year. Let us pray.

O unchanging God, let us pass through this New Year with faithful hearts, that we might in all things please your loving eyes. It is in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit that we pray. Amen.

I hope you have a wonderful first day of January 2026. I pray that you are richly blessed this year, that the Lord continues to draw you closer to Himself, that you grow to know Him more deeply, and that His blessings abound in your life.

God bless you. I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday and throughout the year ahead. God bless.

Pastor Malinak