First Sunday of January
5 New Year's Sermon Ideas
The first Sunday of the year is one of the most strategic in the calendar. People are open to change, hungry for a fresh start, and willing to commit to spiritual practices they would never commit to in October.
These ideas help the pastor channel that energy into Christ-centered resolutions that outlast January.
Philippians 3:13–14
1. Forgetting Those Things Which Are Behind
The Christian's gaze is forward — toward the prize.
- •Forgetting those things which are behind.
- •Reaching forth unto those things which are before.
- •I press toward the mark.
- •For the prize of the high calling.
Revelation 21:5
2. Behold, I Make All Things New
God specializes in making things new.
- •The God who makes new.
- •He has begun in you already.
- •He will complete it.
- •What 'new' means in 2026.
Psalm 90:12
3. Numbering Our Days
Brevity teaches wisdom.
- •Teach us to number our days.
- •That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
- •How a calendar becomes a sanctifier.
Joshua 1:8
4. A Year Through the Bible
The single best resolution your congregation could make.
- •Meditate therein day and night.
- •Then thou shalt have good success.
- •How to read the whole Bible in a year.
Hebrews 12:1–2
5. Run the Race Set Before Us
Discipleship is endurance, not sprinting.
- •Lay aside every weight.
- •Run with patience.
- •Looking unto Jesus.
Recommended readings
- Psalm 90 — Moses' prayer — number our days.
- Lamentations 3:22-23 — His mercies are new every morning.
- Philippians 3 — Press toward the mark.