What has this year in the scriptures meant to you? Would you mind telling us?
- How has your prayer life changed?
- What passages surprised you with new meaning or relevance?
- What passages did you read for the first time, or did you see a new detail you never noticed?
- What passages came into your inbox at just the time in the year when you needed them?
We’d love to know how God spoke to you through the scriptures this year. Drop a note to info@theparkforum.org and put “2025 Scripture Reflection” in the subject line.
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Links for today’s readings:
Dec 31 Read: 2 Chronicles 36 Listen: (4:26) Read: Psalms 149-150 Listen: (1:36)
Jan 1 Read: Job 1 Listen: (3:38) Read: John 1 Listen: (6:18)
Scripture Focus: Psalm 150
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Reflection: Reflection on a Year Gone By
By Erin Newton
In many places on New Year’s Day (or Eve), we sing “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish song that celebrates the practice of remembering those who have been in our lives for a long time.
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?
And who has been in our lives as long as God? Like the changing of seasons, this last day of the year allows us time to reflect, meditate, and continue the Advent practice of remembering what God has done—not only the birth of Christ but his daily caring of our lives.
As we gather in our homes or with friends and family, we celebrate milestones. We look back at the accomplishments and hardships we’ve overcome. We remember the difficult times and those we have lost. We grieve the plans that did not turn out the way we wanted. We thank God for the plans that did.
Reflection can be a spiritual practice. The Bible instructs his people to tell of the great deeds of history to each generation. The whole concept of the gospel is telling good news to others. You remember. You relive. You root yourself in what God had done.
Just as the book of Psalms ends with a call to praise God, we too should note how he has carried us through this year, enabled our perseverance, granted us blessings, answered prayers, and steadied our doubting hearts.
Unlike the end of a book, we are simply turning the page to a new chapter. God will continue to be with us in the next challenges and the next victories. Not much of the future can be foretold with certainty but one thing is: God is with us. And that is worthy of praise.
Along with making goals and affirmations for the new year, let us reflect on…
– A time this year that God brought you joy.
– A time this year that God gave you peace.
– A time this year that God calmed your sorrows.
– A time that solidified what you believe.
– A time when God helped you endure.
– A verse that steadied your heart.
– A hymn that brought you comfort.
– A truth that changed you.
– A person you prayed for.
May we begin the new year with hope in our Lord who has, and will be, a firm foundation.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
I will call upon God, and the Lord will deliver me.
In the evening, in the morning, and at noonday, I will complain and lament, and he will hear my voice.
He will bring me safely back…God who is enthroned of old, will hear me. — Psalm 55.17
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.
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