Start Where You Stand

About this episode

Bill Chapman challenges listeners to rethink their New Year resolutions by focusing on loving and valuing their neighbors instead of self-improvement.

A New Year Message from Myrtle House Community Church At our New Year service this Sunday, we paused together to reflect on a question that sits at the heart of every fresh start: what are we really resolving to do with our lives? New Year resolutions are nothing new. Every January people make plans to get fitter, save more money, break bad habits, or achieve personal goals. There is nothing wrong with making plans. But the challenge Bill Chapman brought to us was simple and searching. Most resolutions are focused inwardly. They are about improving ourselves, protecting our comfort, and increasing our own wellbeing. What if, this year, we chose something different? Instead of another self-focused list, what if we made a decision to look outward? What if our primary resolution was not about us at all, but about the people God has placed around us every day? Bill shared a powerful quote from C.S. Lewis: “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses.” Those words remind us that, apart from remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross, the most sacred calling we have is to value and love our neighbour. The people we encounter…

Topics covered

• New Year resolutions
• community
• self-improvement
• love thy neighbor

Keywords

• C.S. Lewis
• sacred calling
• Leviticus 19:18

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Scripture, Luke 10:27, 1 Peter 4:8

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