Recently, I had the opportunity to preach the sermon in between Christmas and New Years. One of our pastors refers to this as “Youth Pastor Sunday” and there is some truth to the fact that it is rarely the Lead Pastor preaching that week. At Mosaic, we tend to take turns doing it and let’s be honest, nobody really wants to do it. While everyone else is enjoying some extra time with their families at the holidays, the person who draws the short straw has to be prepping a sermon. So, since I knew that I’d be doing this particular Sunday a couple months in advance, I started my prep early and I did something really different. I attempted to practice silence and solitude in a room full of people. And it actually worked rather well! I guided the congregation through several reflective questions for 2020, all with the theme of having Expectancy for the year ahead. We gave everyone a card to fill out during their time to take with them and refer too throughout the year. People really appreciated the guided time of reflection with a little bit of spiritual goal setting built in. Below is the video of that sermon. You are welcome to steal this for your church. I’ll even email you my manuscript. (Just send me an email at [email protected]).