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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Ending Well, Beginning New · Voices Of Life

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  Good evening, and welcome to this special New
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  Year's edition of Voices of Life from the Church
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  for Life. Good evening, and welcome to this special
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  New Year's Eve edition of Voices of Life from
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  the Church for Life. I'm Pastor David, and I'm
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  honored to spend these final moments of 2025
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  with you as i listen outside the church i hear
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  fireworks going off everybody getting ready to
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  celebrate the new incoming year but tonight is
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  like like unlike any other night the calendar
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  is turning the clock is ticking and we stand
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  together on the edge of something new there is
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  the final breath of the year a sacred moment
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  between what has been and what will be tonight
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  we're not rushing we're not pretending and we
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  are not performing we are instead reflecting
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  honestly courageously and with faith this new
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  year's eve message is called The good, the bad,
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  and the ugly. Ending well, beginning new. Every
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  year tells a story. And this one, this past year,
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  has been no exception. There was good, moments
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  that lifted your spirit, people who surprised
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  you with kindness, opportunities you didn't even
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  expect. And breakthroughs you prayed for. There
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  was also bad. Disappointments. Plans that fell
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  apart. Relationships that got strained. And doors
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  that closed. And yes, there was ugly. The kind
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  of moments we don't post about. The mistakes
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  we wish we could erase. The emotions we tried
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  to hide. And the battles no one else saw. But
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  here's the truth. God was present in every chapter.
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  Not just the beautiful ones. Not just the triumphant
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  ones. But the messy, painful, and complicated
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  ones too. Psalm 34 says, The Lord is close to
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  the brokenhearted. Not just the joyful. Not just
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  the strong. But the brokenhearted. Tonight, we
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  name the year honestly. Because God meets us
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  in truth. Let's begin with the good. Think back
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  over the past 12 months. What were the things
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  that made you smile, even once? What gave you
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  strength? And what reminded you that God was
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  still working? Maybe it was a restored relationship.
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  Maybe it was a new opportunity Maybe it was a
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  moment of peace in the middle of chaos and Maybe
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  it was simply the fact that you made it through
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  Gratitude is not denial Gratitude is recognition
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  It says God I see you. I see what you did. I
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  see you carried me. I see how you provided. Tonight,
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  celebrate the good. Not because the year was
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  perfect, but because God was faithful. Now we
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  turn to the bad. The disappointments, the losses,
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  the things that didn't go the way you hoped.
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  This is part of the year we often try to skip
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  over. But to heal, it requires that we're honest
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  with ourself. Maybe you faced financial strain.
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  Maybe you battled loneliness. Maybe you prayed
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  for something that didn't happen. And maybe you
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  felt stuck, unseen, or overwhelmed. God does
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  not ask you to pretend. He invites you to bring
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  the truth to Him. Psalm 62 says, Pour out your
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  heart before him. Not the edited version. Not
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  the polished version. The real one. Tonight we
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  acknowledge the bad and that we're not going
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  to dwell on it. But we are going to release its
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  power over us. That is how we deal with the bad.
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  And then, then there's the ugly. We could say
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  the really, really bad, but we're going to use
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  the word ugly. The moments we regret. The choices
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  we wish we could undo. The words we wish we hadn't
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  said. The habits we fell back into. The anger.
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  the fear, and the shame. Everyone has an ugly
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  chapter. Everyone. But hear this clearly. Your
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  ugly moments do not disqualify you from God's
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  love. In fact, they qualify you for His grace.
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  Romans 5 says, Where sin is increased, grace
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  increased all the more. God doesn't run from
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  your mess. He runs toward it. Tonight, we bring
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  the ugly to God. Not to hide it, but to let him
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  redeem it. And we do this together. As the clock
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  moves toward midnight, we must decide what comes
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  with us into the new year. And what must stay
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  behind. What we have to leave behind. Some things
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  cannot follow you into tomorrow. They're destructive.
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  What are those things? The bitterness. The guilt,
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  the shame, the fear, the self -doubt, the lies
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  spoken over you, and the weight you were never
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  meant to carry. Isaiah 43 says, See, I'm doing
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  a new thing. Do you not perceive it? To receive
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  the new, you must release the old. Tonight is
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  not just a countdown. It is a letting go. A new
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  year is not magic, but it is a marker. A reminder
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  that God writes new chapters. You don't step
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  into a new year alone. Christ goes with you.
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  Christ goes before you. And Christ surrounds
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  you. Hebrews says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
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  today, and forever. The calendar changes, but
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  his faithfulness does not. Walk into the new
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  year with hope. Not because you know what will
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  happen, but you know who goes with you. Let us
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  pray. Gracious God, As this year comes to a close,
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  we bring you the good, the bad, and the ugly.
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  We thank you for every blessing. We surrender
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  every burden. We release every regret. Tonight
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  we choose forgiveness. We choose healing. We
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  choose hope. Renew our minds. Restore our hearts.
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  Lead us into the new year with courage and faith.
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  Amen. Thank you for spending this New Year's
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  Eve with Voices of Life from the Church of Life.
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  As you step into a new year, remember, God is
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  not finished with you. God is not disappointed
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  in you. And God is not distant from you. He is
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  with you in every moment that is coming. Join
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  us tomorrow for our special New Year's Day. We're
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  looking forward to celebrating the new year and
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  what we have in store. We'll be starting a 12
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  -week series, and I hope you will listen in on
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  that. I'm Pastor David, and this has been Voices
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  of Life. Grace and peace to you tonight and in
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  the year ahead. I look forward to being with
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  you again soon. Thank you and good night.