As we launch into a New Year, there are many unknowns. We do not know what today will bring, let alone twelve months of days. We cannot predict global affairs or the specific circumstances in any one of our lives. This means that, above all else, we need to entrust our steps to God and walk forward by faith.
However, it may be helpful to reflect on our heartfelt intentions as we head into the New Year. In Romans 12, Paul gives such a helpful thought on interpersonal relationships:
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
(Romans 12:18)
Paul knew that it would be unrealistic to hope to control outcomes when we have no control or even influence over the actions and responses of others. The context makes it clear that people will act dishonorably, and people will perpetrate acts of evil. And we could add that in the church, people will behave unwisely, unkindly, and destructively toward relationships we have poured ourselves into over many years. It is tempting to want to sort it all out, correct everyone, and fix the mess. Paul is more realistic. We can only do what we can do.
What is true in relationships is also true in all areas of ministry. We can only do what we can do. So in that spirit, here are three areas to consider as we head into 2026:
So far as it depends on me, I desire to live prayerfully this year.
How would you define your priorities for your walk with the Lord this year? This is the most important relationship you have, so it is wise to think through how you intend to lean into it in the coming months. Perhaps you want to prioritise time in the Word of God, listening to His heart and values to shape your own. Perhaps you want to prioritise rest and the rhythms of sabbath to support your spiritual health. Perhaps you want to lean into times of prayer in a fresh way—transparency with God in all areas of life and struggle, responsive prayer with your Bible reading, and/or dedicating greater time to intercessory prayer. Of course, so much depends on Him, and so much is still unknown. He may grow your relationship with Him in ways you have never considered, and maybe might never choose. Nevertheless, it is good to pray through what this relationship looks like from your side as you head into the New Year.
So far as it depends on me, I desire to live presently this year.
We have other relationships that matter massively, too—marriage, parenting, other family relationships, friendships, ministry connections, etc. Every single person represents a multiplicity of potential unknowns. We don’t know anyone else’s future any more than we can understand our own. However, we can pray through how we are thinking about and prioritising important human relationships as we head into the New Year. Perhaps you want to schedule more dates with your spouse, maybe even an overnight getaway or two during the year? Perhaps your children have suffered because of your ministry commitments, and you want to prioritise the shrinking time you have with them before they leave home? Maybe one of your grown children is struggling and you want to find a way to invest in their situation for a season? The intention could be definite and marked on your schedule, or it could be a value you desire to integrate into your rhythms of life—maybe the desire to be present in whatever conversation or situation you are in, undistracted by technology or the busy swirl of other commitments.
So far as it depends on me, I desire to live purposefully this year.
The best-laid plans any of us make are quick to be interrupted by unforeseen complications—heavy traffic, problems with our computers, a broken washing machine, an unexpected phone call from someone in trouble. My wife and I sometimes remind each other that an hour going as planned is unusual in a fallen world! The problem is that the overwhelming swirl of urgent needs and demands can make us feel hopeless and lose heart. We could easily say, for the next month, I will just do whatever interrupts me and whatever issue presents itself. It feels like we could live life with absolutely no priorities or purpose because there is always so much to do. The New Year is a good time to consider prayerfully what really matters. What really matters in our relationship, in our parenting, in our home, in our church, in our ministry roles. What should I prioritise because only I can do it? That could be reading to your children before bed a certain number of times each week, or it could be starting a new ministry in your church that nobody else can do. And if it means saying yes to something, it will mean saying no to other things.
As we head into 2026, let’s prayerfully consider both our inability to influence and control everything and our desires for what we can shape about the year ahead.
As I mentioned before, my good friends at Fellowship of Wildwood in Missouri are giving away copies of Pleased to Dwell as part of their pre-Christmas outreach this year. Alongside the book, they have a weekly reading and a discussion. So here are the first three discussions.
Discussion 1: The Presence of the Promiser
Discussion 2: We Do Not Face Sin Alone
Discussion 3: The Birth of the Baby
I hope these are encouraging. There is one more coming in the next few days. Have a wonderful Christmas!
My good friends at Fellowship of Wildwood in Missouri are giving away copies of Pleased to Dwell as part of their pre-Christmas outreach this year. Alongside the book, they have a weekly reading and a discussion about an aspect of it. Here is the first reading:
And here is the first discussion:
I will post the others on here, but feel free to subscribe to their channel and see them as soon as they come out. Thanks so much!
Starting today, you would be very welcome to follow along with the Pleased to Dwell advent video playlist. It can work alongside the book, or you can just watch the videos. Here is the playlist, please do subscribe to the YouTube channel and use the playlist to work your way through these short videos as Christmas approaches!
The end of the year brings a strange combination of familiar traditions and genuine challenges. While we may be surrounded by bright lights and cheerful music, with parties and celebratory gatherings, we may also be struggling financially, wondering how we are supposed to get everything done and concerned about how we will handle looming difficulties. It could be navigating an awkward conversation with that difficult family member, or coping with the exuberant happiness when we are grieving a loved one, or facing particular challenges that would be hard enough at any time of the year, let alone during the “festive season.” Life can feel like too much, and Christmas sometimes makes it feel even worse.
As Christmas approaches, whether we are dealing with a particular challenge or not, we will all again be confronted with the challenge of seeing past the consumer festival and the nostalgic traditions to the reality of the incarnation. Finding the relevance of this critical doctrine is not achieved by simply revisiting familiar truths through nostalgic traditions. We also have a fresh need to explore how the old truth resonates with contemporary life – including all its challenges.
We are familiar with reviewing the great step taken by the Son of God from heaven to earth – the infinite taking on infancy, the glorious riches to abject poverty, etc. We are used to noting that He came with a purpose; He took on a human body and life so that He could experience death in that body for us. Indeed, Christmas is an arrow pointing to Easter, and it is right to think of that each year.
More than that, Christmas is an arrow pointing to a God who is revealing Himself in the ultimate way, and an invitation opened to rich and poor, local and global, Jew and Gentile. It is a story to stir our nostalgia and our worship, an inspiring example, and, if told well, a thriller with a villain, a deadly threat, and a perfectly-timed escape.
Actually, Christmas is a many-layered story, with intriguing characters, long-awaited prophecies, and profoundly moving themes woven together.
And yet, we so often end up repeating it as if it were merely a nostalgic children’s story to retell like an old family tale that gets trotted out once a year as we gather around a fire and nibble on seasonal treats.
How will you engage the Christmas story this year? How will it connect with your current experiences and concerns in a unique and fresh way in 2025?
Your life, your struggles, are very real. So was the first Christmas. It was not a pretty scene with snow falling peacefully. It contained real fear, real confusion, real hopelessness, real heartbreak. The bewilderment for Mary would have been so constant, the uncertainty for Joseph so vivid. The emptiness and despair of life for the shepherds would have been genuinely bleak. The intrigue of the wise men and all who came into contact with them must have been genuinely perplexing. The first Christmas was real.
As we come to another Christmas, let’s not just go through the motions of another ritual celebration. Let’s not think of it only in picture book scenes, nor apply its truth in nice generalities. Let’s be sure to bring the most real concerns of our time to the Christmas story and find in it a Saviour who has learned what it is to be human, what it is to enter into a world of political tensions, of the deadly inhumanity of men to one another, of the searing heartache of poverty. May we find a richer appreciation for our Lord because our 2025 Christmas realities meet with His first Christmas realities.
The reality of the incarnation is big enough to maintain its relevance and to shine forth its significance, no matter how difficult our current experience might be. May we honour God by bringing our real mess up close to the very real messiness of the first Christmas. There we will find a true Saviour, who is Christ our Lord, and that really is good news for all of humanity.
Peter’s book, Pleased to Dwell, is an ideal read in the Christmas season. To buy in the UK or Europe, click here, and to buy in North America, click here. Please do subscribe to the podcast, and let others know about it too:
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I can remember the first time I saw a Star Wars film in the cinema. This was back in the 1980s. With popcorn in hand, we found our plush velvet seats and tried to get comfortable. Then we were plunged into darkness. A slight pause. And then it began. In just two minutes, I was transported into another world. Everything normal seemed like a distant memory. “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” Then the blast of the brass section of an orchestra as the film title appeared. Three paragraphs of background story to orient us, and we were there. The start of the Star Wars movies was genuinely epic.
The Bible can, and should, have that same effect on us. Lifting us out of the everyday rhythms of life and helping us to see another whole realm of reality. For instance, consider the theme of The Day of the LORD. It is mentioned eighteen times in the Old Testament, plus dozens of other references like “on that day.” It is that future moment when God would step into history, bringing judgment for the wicked and blessing for His people.
Not only is it anticipated in the Old Testament, but it is also still anticipated in the New Testament. Consider, for example, 2 Peter chapter 3. There, Peter describes how scoffers will ridicule the idea of anticipating that day. Their tactic? They will suggest that “nothing really changes.” And how effective that tactic can be. Nothing really changes. So why should we be concerned about anything happening in the world? Nothing really changes. Why should we try to influence what is going on around us? Nothing really changes. Why look for something to break in from outside of our world? Nothing really changes. Today is like yesterday, and tomorrow will be more of the same. As one fiction writer put it, “it is a pity that thoughts always ran the easiest way, like water in old ditches.”
And yet, the Bible wants to lift our eyes and our hearts beyond our psychological preference for predictability. It wants us to know, and live in light of, the reality that one day, God Himself will step into history again.
Consider one of the passages that anticipates “that day” – Malachi chapter 3. For the first few verses, we read of how God is coming, the messenger of the covenant who will come like the purifier’s fire, like fuller’s soap. Two vivid images of cleansing, purging, separating – that fire so hot that metal melts and the impurities are separated; that lye that pulls out the impurities from fabric and bleaches it clean. The Lord is coming to cleanse and purify. Yes, the focus is on restoring proper worship, but the imagery is imposing and intimidating.
We might expect the passage to conclude with a call to run. Run for your lives! Flee this terrible day that is coming! And yet, as in so many of the “Day of the LORD” passages, we find an invitation. This God, who is coming to purge and to cleanse, is a God of grace who invites His people to draw near to Him.
In verses 6 and 7, God speaks of His character. He does not change, which means they are not consumed (because He keeps His promises). But they should change. They should change direction. They have gone away from God, but if they return to Him, then He will return to them. As James later put it, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
They asked how they could return. So God raised the issue of their giving. In verses 8-12, God describes how they should test Him (an unusual concept in the Bible!) by seeing if they could outgive God. They never would be able to do that! As we come to the end of the chapter, we find that some of the people who were challenged to give of their treasure, which really belonged to God anyway, were also moved in heart to fear God and be responsive to Him. So they are described as being God’s treasured possession.
A chapter that begins with such overpowering imagery of judgment is so full of God’s overflowing grace. Yes, the Day of the LORD is terrifying, and many in this world should be shaking with fear at what is coming. And yet, for those of us who know what it means to belong to this God, we can look forward, waiting, anticipating, hoping. We live today in light of that day, knowing that the old ditches of life are not forever. We understand that the “nothing really changes” mindset is doomed to be proven profoundly wrong. We wait, knowing that with a blast of the brass section of heaven’s orchestra, we will be transported into another time.
Honestly, I am not concerned with whether we agree on the details of what is to come in the future. I am worried that we are discouraged by the scoffers who claim that nothing really changes. Let’s read God’s Word and let it lift our eyes and our hearts. We have a God who has stepped into time and history and who will again. His coming will shake up everything. And we who live in anticipation of that day should live differently today.
In light of Malachi 3, let’s be sure to turn to God now and be ready for that day. Let’s consider our “tithing” – that is, our giving and investing in eternity today. And let’s rejoice at the privilege of being His treasured possession. May the Lord use us now as we live for Him, and wouldn’t it be great if He came back soon!
With Christmas coming soon, it is time to start making plans … especially if you are involved in preaching or teaching! Check out the latest episode of the podcast, and please do subscribe so you don’t miss any of the forthcoming episodes!
Speaking truth in a world of lies is not easy. Serving God in a world that hates Him is not comfortable. Standing for what is right in a world hell-bent on evil is anything but pleasant. We all know this. We all feel it. And there are times when we feel it more vividly.
What causes discouragement? Of course, there is the insidious work of the enemy to tear down our resolve and distract our hearts. Then there are the people who stand opposed, with their ideologies, threats, and apparent power to harm. But perhaps the greatest discouragement comes from those who should know better. As the years pass, I see time and again the difficulty posed by other Christians and their reasons why we shouldn’t speak truth, serve God, and stand for what is right quite so boldly.
I have been encouraged by reading through Jeremiah again in recent days. God called him to speak God’s message to God’s people. What could be difficult about that? In Jeremiah 11:18-23, we see the men of his own hometown conspiring to kill him because he spoke for God. In Jeremiah 26, he speaks God’s message in the temple courts. Surely there, the people of God would be responsive to the truth? No, the prophets, the priests and all the people wanted to kill Jeremiah. Is it possible to imagine a time when speaking the truth brings condemnation and calls for elimination and death?
In Jeremiah 37-38, we see the prophet being lied about, beaten, imprisoned, and thrown into a cistern to die. And yet, Jeremiah continued to speak truth, to serve God, to stand for what was right. Yes, his message was controversial; it was unpopular, as it went against the prevailing narrative, and he knew the consequences of continuing to speak. And still, he continued to talk about truth, to serve God, and to stand for what was right.
The passage that grips my heart and lifts me to speak again is Jeremiah 20. In this passage, it was also a priest who opposed Jeremiah. Pashhur the priest beat the prophet and humiliated him at the gate. And yet, Jeremiah continued to speak the truth, for God, boldly. From verse 7, we get a glimpse into the suffering heart of the weeping prophet. It was not easy to speak God’s truth and to stand for what is right. We read his cry to God as he is humiliated. We read his despair as the words he speaks don’t land in the hearts of his listeners, but seem only to rain down blows on his own soul. Jeremiah seems worn down, his reserves gone, his motivation in tatters. Later in the lament, he is cursing the day he was born, even the man who came out and announced the news of his birth to his father. Sometimes the despair can be so vivid that you despise the fact that you were even born at all. And yet . . .
And yet, there is verse 9. If it is so hard to speak the truth and stand for what is right, serving God amidst the hostility of the enemy, and even of God’s own people, then maybe it is not worth it? Perhaps lying spent on the ground, his fuel tank emptied, his inner drive stalling, his motivation poured out in his tears, maybe he should stop speaking? And yet . . . “there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot.”
The tears soak the ground. Tears of grief, of anger, of hurt. Tears not just at the evil of the enemy, but at the blindness and unwillingness to see among those who are supposedly on the same side. Tears of loss, tears filled with fear for the future, anger at injustice, weariness from the fight. The tears may soak the ground, and our energy may be all spent. And yet, is there not a burning fire still burning in our hearts and shut up in our bones? We cannot hold it in.
And so, like the weeping prophet of old, we rise to our knees, prayerfully resolute. We stand again. We take a breath. And we speak. We speak the truth, we serve God, we stand for what is right. Will those who should be with us change course and start to agree? Maybe. They can be won, one heart at a time. But perhaps they will continue to whisper and plot against us. Is it worth it? Can we, like Jeremiah, go again? We can if we remember who is with us. “The LORD is with me as a dread warrior.” (Jeremiah 20:11)
Are you wearied from the battle? That may be because of opposition from our spiritual enemy, or human forces arrayed against God’s truth, or even from “friendly fire” that sucks the motivation from you. Pour out all the angst that is built up inside. Pour it out until there is nothing left. And then ask yourself, is the fire still burning in my heart and shut up in my bones? “Alright then, Lord, if you will go with me, I will climb back onto my feet and go again. I will speak the truth. I will serve my God. I will stand for what is right. The LORD is with me as a dread warrior.”
Our brother Charlie Kirk was assassinated because his love for Christ, for his country, and for others drove him to speak. He spoke openly and gave the microphone to whoever wanted to disagree with him. He was imperfect, of course, but he was gracious, kind, informed and increasingly influential.
I’ve watched him for years, and have watched his testimony become clearer during that time. Last Wednesday morning, I watched a couple of clips as I often do. In one of them, Charlie spoke so clearly of his love for Jesus. I thanked God that my brother was reaching so many with such a clear testimony. On Wednesday evening, Jesus welcomed him home.
Here are my thoughts about some of the things people are saying, in no particular order:
“It hurts“. I’ve seen many people expressing on social media, or to me personally, how much this hurts. People are saying they have never felt grief over the death of a public figure like they have this past week. Me too. God doesn’t expect us to respond to something like this with stoic resolve. If I saw a family member shot and brutally killed, it would stir all sorts of emotions. I did see that last week. I can’t unsee it. And it hurts. Let’s not hide our emotions; I’m sure that is not going to help. Obviously, we need to be wise with the swirling anger and rage that can be mixed in with the sorrow and grief, but pretending it doesn’t affect us would be a weird response under any circumstance. Let yourself grieve.
“Did I agree with everything he said?” Can I politely ask, what if I did? Why do we have to caveat anything and everything we say that might seem remotely political? Why do we often hesitate to speak up when others hold different opinions and might be upset? Self-censorship is becoming a crippling feature of society. I loved how joyfully confident Charlie was in the truth and, therefore, how little he needed to be defensive if someone disagreed with him or criticised him. I want to be more like that.
(Just for clarity, I do not agree with things taken out of context and attributed to him to smear him. Also, I have not checked his view on every issue, so I do not know if I agree with him on everything or not. My point is, what if I did? Are we allowed to have opinions? Or is it only permitted if we share those opinions deemed acceptable by the media?)
“The killer was just one mentally unstable person.” Thankfully, the murder of public figures is not an everyday occurrence in our society. It is in some places. It could become more common in the West. However, the problem may not be restricted to one lone gunman. This killer seems to have been radicalised by the same education system and cultural media that have obviously influenced countless thousands, judging by the disgusting reactions to Charlie’s death from so many. Why are we shocked when so many celebrate such a heinous act, or call for more of the same? Are our memories so short? It wasn’t long ago that significant numbers of people on social media, on mainstream media, and for some, in person, were wishing death on those people who chose not to take a certain medical intervention. Condoning or celebrating death based on opinions is a disgusting development of our time, but it didn’t start in the last week.
“Words are violence.” Actually, no, violence is violence. The prevailing ideology which says that words are violence directly feeds into this kind of atrocity. If words are violence, then physical violence can be justified as an act of self-defence. Feed that “words are violence” mindset with a constant stream of terrible slurs and lies, and there will be someone ready to perpetrate an evil act of violence. After all, the public are being repeatedly told of the danger to democracy posed by people like Charlie because they are __________ (you can guess the labels.) I think Charlie said something like, “The most important thing is to tell people about Jesus, and the second most important thing is to fight for the freedom to do the first most important thing.” We live in a society that is hurtling towards the loss of free speech, and I am perplexed that so many people seem so unconcerned about that, or think it is just a political matter that can be left for others to defend.
“This is all just about politics.” True, Charlie was an outspoken supporter of values that meant broad alignment with one side of the political divide, and he actively worked to campaign for one presidential candidate. Sadly, I don’t think people in Britain understand the American political scene, and many only see the twisted impression promoted by the British media. Nevertheless, we cannot keep acting as if politics and faith are totally distinct. Politics is not just made up of parties. It is also made up of issues: issues that impact the lives of people, issues that relate to morality, issues that matter to us as Jesus followers. I am not suggesting politics is the answer. No, Jesus is the answer. But many of the issues really matter, and we cannot, we must not, keep abdicating our responsibility to speak out about those issues appropriately.
Too many Christians act as if they are “above politics”, and they simply want to focus on the gospel. But for some, the driving motivation seems to be fear of ruffling the feathers of those who may disagree. I see that fear impulse in myself, too. Yes, let’s preach the gospel; it is the only hope for our world. But self-censoring out of fear is not the faith-filled approach to the life that we are called to as followers of Jesus. You don’t have to become a party-affiliated influencer, but let’s have the courage to speak about what is true, what is right, and what is good. Politics matters because people matter. We, of all people, should be ready to speak, precisely because we believe that people matter.
So we have a choice. Either we continue to shy away from anything that could be considered political, or we face the fact that there is an existential battle raging in our society that is much bigger than traditional left vs right policy squabbles. It is a spiritually charged battle of ideologies. It is about unaccountable control versus freedom. It is about death versus life. It is a clash of worldviews. We need to speak about issues that matter, even if we get labelled with a political slur (either way). No party will ever represent key biblical values perfectly, but can we stop hiding our heads in the sand and acting like we are somehow “above all that stuff?” We cannot be “above” freedom of speech, or morality and the redefinition of crime, or sexual ethics, or the protection of children, or assisted suicide, or abortion, or war, or terrorism, or compassion, or any number of other issues. Values drive agendas, which in turn drive policies, legislation, and ultimately, change, affecting people’s lives for better or worse. Some political issues are directly related to our Christian values, and so we must speak up.
“Charlie shouldn’t have been so outspoken.” Why? First, a lot of people are taking the British media slurs of “hateful”, “racist”, etc. as if they are accurate. Watch Charlie for yourself, don’t trust the BBC, Sky News, ITV, etc. Second, realise that if you or I were significant enough for the media to go after us, they would probably use some of the same derogatory labels for you and me. Unfair? That’s precisely my point. Third, many people, especially young people, admired Charlie for his courage in speaking out. Was it the silence of many church leaders on “controversial” issues that made so many young people flock to Charlie as a mentor from a distance? We would do well to consider that possibility and examine ourselves. I am doing that myself. Let’s not fall into the trap of fear. Speaking truth and the gospel may cost any of us our lives, but we should speak it anyway. With grace, of course. With kindness, absolutely. Christlike? Without a doubt. But silence, fear, and trying to be acceptable to a fallen world is not the Jesus way.
“If you live by the sword…” Can we be clear, please? Charlie lived “with two microphones” – he let people disagree, he listened to people, he encouraged dialogue, and he believed in open debate. He put people who disagreed with him at the front of the line. He spoke as a Christian, and he was killed for it. He didn’t live by the sword.
“There is hate speech and violence on both sides.” Can we find bad examples of individuals on all sides of political divides? Of course. Are there good-willed people on all sides of political issues? Absolutely. But this “both sides” line is a misleading and disingenuous summary. Compare and contrast the response to Charlie’s murder and other high-profile deaths. Where is the looting, the rioting, the destruction, etc.? Do we see Christians or political conservatives celebrating the deaths of others, or even worse, calling for the killing of more people they disagree with? No, we don’t. The way of Jesus is profoundly different. We are called to love our enemies and not to return evil for evil. Ideologies differ, and it shows. Let’s stop pretending every ideology is the same.
“He has been silenced.” No, he hasn’t. He has been amplified and multiplied. Charlie’s death is only going to raise up thousands of others like him who are ready to be courageous and speak for Christ and for the truth. God is going to build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
“What will the impact be?” We cannot know yet. I’ve seen people posting videos saying that they’ve been fearful in the past, but now they want to start speaking the truth, sharing their faith, and so on. I’ve seen people writing about buying their first Bible and beginning to read it. I’ve seen people asking where to go to church. When the five missionaries were martyred in Ecuador in 1956, nobody could have known the multiplication in missionary sending that would follow that atrocity. Perhaps Charlie Kirk’s death will turn out to be a turning point in history, too. Actually, not perhaps, but definitely. God knows what He is doing, even when evil seems to get the upper hand. He is building his church, and we know the end of the story. Somehow, in the midst of grief, indifference, and even evil celebration, God is working out His purposes, and we will eventually see that God does all things well.
“Things feel different.” My brother was assassinated, and I know many are feeling it deeply. However we’ve been impacted, may it make us all different. Perhaps more courageous, gracious, informed, and deeply committed to Jesus, to truth, to communication and to conversation. If speaking costs you your life on earth, is it worth it? I’m sure Charlie would say absolutely, Jesus is worth it.
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We sang these words on Sunday, words I am sure Charlie would have sung wholeheartedly:
Biblical Preaching 