Emphasis Preaching Journal
The trouble with most New...
Illustration
The trouble with most New Year's resolutions is that they are so quickly and easily broken. The intention may be there to change, but the context, the order of things remains the same, making change quite difficult. For example, a resolution to give up smoking has little hope of success if the would-be ex-smoker continues to take coffee breaks with the same smoking friends. God's Kingdom, when fully realized, can never be dissolved, because there is a completely new order. The context, "the former things," is no longer recognizable because there is a new heaven and a new earth.