Series Details
Whenever a new year draws near, most of us follow certain routines to get ready for the upcoming twelve months. Some of us make resolutions—promises of what we’d like to start doing and what we’d like to stop doing. Others of us look over a calendar of the new year, jotting down notes to help us remember significant dates—birthdays, anniversaries, holidays. Others have different routines, but all of us look forward to a new year with the hope that our lives will be lived with purpose. No one wants to look back at the end of the year and see squandered time. No one wants to drift aimlessly through life, doing things that don’t have some lasting value. The difficulty lies in the fact that many of us simply don’t know what we need to do to give life purpose. Well, Jesus has three answers—three “musts”—for each of us.
A new year offers a landscape of fresh possibilities, yet many people find themselves drifting aimlessly or squandering time on things without lasting value. In this essential New Year’s message, Pastor Chuck Swindoll explores Jesus’ own “marching orders” for those who want to live with intentional purpose. By looking at a pivotal moment in the Gospel of Luke, Chuck identifies three non-negotiable requirements for every disciple who desires to make the coming twelve months truly count for eternity.
1. Three Musts for a New Year (Luke 9:22–25)
- Overview: Addresses the universal desire for a purposeful life. Jesus provides three specific commands—the “musts”—that define true discipleship: denying oneself, taking up the cross daily, and following Him.
- Key Fact: Purpose is not found in self-fulfillment or personal resolutions, but in the radical surrender of our will to the Lordship of Christ.
- Scripture: Luke 9:23 – “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.'”
