New Year! New You!

NEW YEAR! NEW YOU!

CONNECT - for mid-week/Home League groups

Fellowship Session - Special Days

A time to reflect on the New Year.

Summary

Discuss highlights of the last year, and dreams for this year
Reflect on the approaching year
Putting God first in our lives

Invite members to come prepared to share a highlight from the previous year
Ask members to be ready to share a New Year’s resolution they have made or a dream they hope to achieve in the coming year
Print out a Blob Tree sheet for each member and provide colouring pens. Click this link for the Blob Tree sheet.
Find a YouTube video of the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-27), eg click the link for Follow Jesus by LifeKids

The New Year gives us all an opportunity to consider the year that has passed and the year that is to come. We can reflect on what we have achieved, how we have grown, maybe the mistakes we have made, and consider how we might want the year ahead to look different. We can consider the plans we need to make, things we want to change and the dreams we want to fulfil.

Encourage members to share any highlights from the past year. Celebrate these together, whether they are large or small.

DISCUSS

Do any members have a particular dream they wish to achieve this year? Are any members brave enough to share a New Year’s resolution? Discuss any tips anyone has for keeping them. What can we do as a group to support each other?

VIDEO

Show a version of the story of the Rich young ruler, eg Follow Jesus by LifeKids (2mins 42 secs)

REFLECT

Give each member a Blob Tree sheet and access to colouring pens. Explain that they are going to use the Blob people to help reflect. Members can answer the questions by themselves or chat with a partner if they feel comfortable to do so. They might like to mark the sheet or colour it in. They may even like to keep it, to look at again in 12 months’ time.

Where do you see yourself in the picture, just now?
Where would you like to be, this time next year?
What is the first step to making this transition?

Mark 10:17-27

The New Year is a time of reflection. We have no idea what time of year it was when this nameless rich young man approached Jesus and asked him the question, ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And we have no idea what prompted him to ask the question. Maybe he had come to a point in his life where he had achieved and accumulated all he wanted but was concerned he might still be missing out on something. He certainly seemed to be preoccupied with how he could ensure he had everything he wanted, not just for the here and now, but for eternity.

We might imagine him feeling relieved when he was able to reassure Jesus that he was a model Jew who knew and kept all the laws and commandments and lived a good life. But then perhaps he became more and more uncomfortable as the ask became greater – to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. This was a step too far, and we read that the man went away sad. Jesus understood the dilemma for this young man, but he also wanted to offer him something of much more value than earthly wealth. Sadly, the young man could not let go of some of the things that were of great value to him, so the promise of eternal life was the one which he chose to reject.

At the start of this new year there may be things that we might have to let go of and choices we have to make which will make us feel uncomfortable or sad but are necessary if we are to put God first in our lives. As we think about this, we can rest in the knowledge of a God who loves us, accepts us and values us … and, best of all, wants to offer us life in abundance here on earth and eternal life with him.