Every new year’s day is filled with anticipation! A new year is a time for a fresh start, and people are full of hope for the future. So do you need some new year sermon ideas to equip and encourage your church to start the new year right?
New year’s eve isn’t just another day. Just look at how people worldwide focus on New York City’s times square every New Year’s eve, waiting to see the ball drop!
You can’t deny that it’s appealing to leave the past behind and focus on a new beginning. And God gives us the promise of new seasons and a future filled with hope. So let’s dive into these sermon series ideas for the new year!
Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
Table of contents
Getting Ready to Preach a New Year Sermon
The holiday season is a beautiful time of year. But the start of a new year immediately follows, and that sometimes catches people off-guard. So planning for your new year’s sermon will help you (and your congregation) start the coming year on the right foot.
Although getting caught up in the holiday busyness is easy, remember to be intentional and pace yourself. You don’t want to be burned out from Christmas going into the new year! Here are some tips to avoid that scenario:
- Use a preaching calendar to prepare your sermons methodically and in advance. This way, you can plan ahead and spread out the work throughout the month leading up to the New Year.
- Give yourself and your team adequate R&R. Block out time in December to recharge. Work at a healthy pace and take care of yourselves.
- Set realistic expectations. Don’t try to put too much pressure on yourself or pull off a new series with tons of bells and whistles if you just went all out on your Christmas services.
- Invite Christmas guests to the upcoming year’s sermon series at all your Christmas services. Give guests an enticing reason to want to come back to church after New Year’s Eve.
How to Prepare for Your New Year’s Sermon
If you’ve been preaching for a while, the following information is simply a quick reminder. But sometimes, these reminders are important during busy times of the year.
Here are a few tips to help you prep and create new year sermon ideas:
1. Pray. This is an essential part of your preparation. Although you’re busy, take time to pray for yourself and your congregation. Listen to the Holy Spirit and what God has to say for new years.
2. Center Your Sermon on the Gospel. The New Year is about new beginnings, so make sure the sermon focuses on Jesus’ power to bring transformation and new life.
3. Do Your Research. Spend time studying and researching the scriptures that relate to the theme or subject of your sermon. Look for references, stories, illustrations, etc., to make your message come alive.
4. Brainstorm Ideas. Think outside the box and come up with fresh ideas and creative approaches to communicating your message. Brainstorm with your team for ideas to make the new year’s sermon relevant and engaging. Talk about current trends, create visuals & graphics to enhance the experience, have interactive moments during the service.
5. Create Your Sermon Outlines. Once you have gathered all your material, create an outline of the main themes and points of the sermon that will guide you as you write it out in more detail.
6. Practice Delivering Your Sermon. Rehearse your preaching aloud to get a feel for how long it will take to deliver, adjust any areas that need attention, and build your confidence in delivering the sermon.
By following these tips and praying for God’s guidance, you will be well-prepared to give an effective New Year sermon that will bless others!
Questions People are Asking at New Year
As you begin to prepare your sermon, take some time to reflect on what this new year means for individuals and communities. Everyone is focusing on new beginnings.
What are people hearing from culture and the media this time of year? Typically, marketing focuses on appealing to peoples’ desire for self-improvement and goal-setting for the year ahead.
Popular topics and sales pitches for the new year include:
- Weight loss and getting in shape
- Controlling finances
- Traveling to new places
- Time management
- Organization and cleaning
- Improving relationships
- Making career moves and advancements
- Setting professional goals and objectives
The other side of this issue is that many people won’t set any resolutions or goals because they haven’t successfully completed them in the past. Unfortunately, they’re discouraged about the prospect of ever being able to change their habits.
So with both sides in mind, choose your topics and scriptures intentionally. After all, you aren’t just trying to cater to what’s popular. However, relevant topics will attract and position guests to receive biblical truth and hear a word that can strengthen their faith.
As a preacher of God’s Word, you can talk about certain things from both a faith and cultural standpoint. People can find the solutions they seek in God’s grace and the Bible.
So, when it comes to the new year’s sermon series ideas, you can pray about what Bible passages God would have you preach. And then see how these tie into the relevant topics your audience wants to hear most.
Everyone is asking:
- What changes should we make?
- Are there things we need to leave behind?
- Do we need to start doing something new?
- How can we better serve our churches and communities?
- What challenges may come with the New Year, and how can we effectively address them?
These questions will help inform your series and guide God’s people to launch out into the world and new year confidently.
New Year’s Sermon Ideas
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s look at some general subjects that are appealing to talk bout in your new year’s sermon series.
Jesus Christ First
Before you jump into this year’s resolution or goals for the upcoming year, it’s vital to start with the main thing: Jesus.
Although the world pressures people to have perfect lives, God’s people are called to a different standard. And we have a beautiful hope in Christ. When Jesus is our Lord, we don’t have to do it all ourselves or develop more willpower.
Consider starting the new year with a powerful message about Christ Jesus and what that means in our day and age.
Sermon Series Titles
- How Jesus Lived
- Jesus Goals
- New Beginning: The Power of the Resurrection
Reflection
Every new year brings the promise of a fresh start, and with it comes an opportunity for reflection. People often use this time to look back on their experiences from the past year, take stock of changes and challenges, and identify steps needed to grow and move forward.
Reflection helps us make sense of our world by reminding us where we started and are now. It also gives us insight into how destructive patterns or problems can be avoided in the future.
By facing issues directly and with an open mind, we come away with the knowledge that can help guide us forward in the New Year.
Indeed, not only does reflection refresh our minds, it can give us the morale boost necessary to spring into action when various obstacles appear throughout the year.
So prayer, reflection, and contemplation should never be underestimated – clarity is an essential part of any successful journey, so taking a moment to reflect on your path today will help keep you organized and motivated for the coming year!
Sermon Series Titles
- Living an Intentional Life
- Finding Joy in the Journey
- Mirror, Mirror
Forgiveness
Any time you preach on forgiveness, you’re bound to dig into some heavy topics. Although that doesn’t sound fun and attractive for a new year’s sermon series, forgiveness is one of the most vital topics for personal health and spiritual growth.
Walking through forgiveness can bring freedom, healing, and restoration to someone’s life.
As we begin a new year, it’s vital to acknowledge the past year’s hurt and disappointment, and we must allow ourselves to process these feelings.
However, the proper response is not to stay stuck in anger, pain, and bitterness. Learning to forgive those who have wronged us is an essential step to follow the example of Christ. We release the offender to God and remember all the Bible tells us about forgiving others.
When we forgive, we open up the possibility for positive change in our relationships. Preaching messages on forgiveness can be an important tool in helping us to let go of the pain of the past and start fresh in the new year.
Sermon Series Titles
- Forgive to go Forward
- Letting Go of Fear and Anxiety
- The Challenge of Forgiving Others
New Season
A new year’s sermon on beginning a new season sounds fitting, don’t you think? And when you preach this kind of message, you have plenty of scripture to draw from. The Lord has a lot to say about seasons, new beginnings, and doing new things.
Take time to explore what the God says about this subject in the Bible. What is He saying about this particular season? What do you need to leave behind in order to move forward?
This sermon series can help church members to find strength and courage for the days ahead. It’s a reminder that God always has a plan – even if it’s different from what we had originally anticipated.
Sermon Series Titles
- A New Thing
- Freedom that Comes from Faith
- Shifting Seasons
New Year’s Resolutions
A lot of people have given up on the idea of resolutions and goal setting because, well, resolutions never seem to work!
However, the start of the year is a unique time to pause and reflect. There’s something special about being able to take stock of where you are and consider where you want to go.
Rather than simply continuing on autopilot into a new year, we gain insight that can help shape our attitude going forward. When we give ourselves the freedom to think intentionally about where we want things to go, rather than simply reacting day by day or just letting life happen, it helps improve our spirit of resilience and leads us closer towards greater fulfilment in life.
Reflective moments like these remind us of all that has brought us joy and give us strength during difficult times; they also offer critical moments of awareness so that every decision we make moving forward comes from an empowered mindset. Through mindful reflection, many people find hope as they enter a new season — no matter what comes their way!
Sermon Series Titles
- Resolved: The Power of Conviction
- A New Year, A New You: How to Make Changes that Stick
- God’s Goals
Health
Everyone wants to be healthy! Losing weight or getting in shape is always a top new year’s resolution. People will sign up for the gym, choose a meal plan, and resolve to go to bed earlier–all to improve health!
But what does God say about being healthy?
It doesn’t mean we have to be a certain number on the scale or look like a swimsuit model or bodybuilder. But…
As Christians, we are called to maintain our physical, spiritual and mental health. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, the Bible says “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
This verse teaches us that our bodies are a gift from God and we should take care of them. Healthy habits will help us avoid health issues that can negatively impact our future.
A new year’s sermon series on health can help church members understand the importance of making healthy physical and spiritual choices and what that looks like based on God’s standard, not man’s measure.
Sermon Series Titles
- Healthy From the Inside Out
- Living Life to the Full
- God’s Prescription for Health
Habits and Spiritual Disciplines
Whatever new year’s resolutions your church members might have, your habits are the common denominator and impact success or failure.
Maybe at the end of the old year people slid into habits that were easy and convenient, but now they want to start with a clean slate.
Most important among all the habits we have are spiritual disciplines. You could also call them our spiritual rituals or practices. We’re talking about things like:
- studying the Bible
- prayer
- fasting
- giving
- serving
- and others
These are the habits that help us build a stronger relationship with God and become more like Him in every area of our lives.
We all have good intentions to grow spiritually and form strong habits, but many times we need encouragement and guidance on how to make it happen.
A new year’s sermon series on habits and spiritual disciplines would be a great way to kick off the year with the right kind of motivation to help church members set realistic goals for themselves.
Sermon Series Titles
- The Power of Habits: Why We Do What We Do
- Discipline
- Teach us to Pray
Gratitude
You’ve heard about the power of an attitude of gratitude. Biblical gratitude is about more than just feeling thankful, it’s an intentional action in response to the many blessings of God.
A series on gratitude at the beginning of the year would be a great way to encourage church members to start the year with a spirit of thankfulness and appreciation for all that God has done for them in their lives.
Sermon Series Titles
- Living a Life of Gratitude and Generosity
- Cultivating Compassion
- A Grateful Heart
Purpose
A sermon series on purpose is perfect for the new year. Reflecting on purpose encourages church members to think about why they’re here, what their priorities are, and what they want to achieve in the coming months and years.
It helps them to set goals and find meaning in their lives. When we know our purpose, we can live with more focus and direction. This is especially important at the beginning of a new year when many people are looking for a new beginning.
This theme also brings our focus back to our Lord and creator. Every one of us is created with purpose for our purpose.
Sermon Series Titles
- Finding Purpose in {Year}
- Choosing Joy in the Journey
- Live on Purpose
Best New Year’s Sermon Series Ideas
Church members often make resolutions to change their physical habits at the beginning of the year, but what about their spiritual wellbeing?
As we reflect on the past year and look forward to what’s ahead, this is the perfect opportunity to refocus on God and the new life we have in Jesus. Preaching a new year’s sermon series on themes of change and personal wellbeing can make a tremendous difference! With the right new year’s focus, individuals can go out into the world and make a difference.
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Comments 5
Im inspired of your Sermon Series
God bless…
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Thank you so much!
Great topics to start the year indeed. Have borrowed from the list the areas of Year resolution and Habits and spiritual disciplines. My last 2022 sermon series was about spiritual disciplines and starting from what is known to unknown will facilitate the members understanding and start the year at a higher notch. Glory to God.
That’s wonderful to hear! Spiritual disciplines are a great teaching topic to cover. Glad the list was helpful for you.