This Time Tomorrow

Pastor Matt Cottrill's message from our New Year's Eve service on Wednesday, December 31 2025

Standing at the threshold between what has been and what will be, we find ourselves in one of the rarest moments of human experience—the last day of the year. This message confronts us with a powerful truth: we cannot retrieve the 12 months behind us, nor can we yet touch the 12 months ahead. We exist in this narrow space where God demands our attention for genuine reflection and transformative change. The core message centers on Ecclesiastes 3:1, reminding us that while every season has a purpose assigned to it, purpose requires our response. We often confuse inspiration with obedience, emotion with transformation, assuming that because something felt meaningful, it must be lasting. But here's the reality: time doesn't change people—decisions do. Romans 13:11-12 calls us to awaken from spiritual sleep, to stop slumbering in distraction and comfort. The tragedy isn't that we fall asleep spiritually; it's that we get comfortable there. Conviction isn't cruelty—it's God's mercy trying to protect us. As we're urged to search and try our ways according to Lamentations 3:40, we're challenged to test our patterns against truth, not culture or convenience. Repentance isn't regret or embarrassment—it's directional surrender that costs us pride and excuses but always costs less than disobedience eventually demands. By this time tomorrow, our direction will be set in motion for the next year, and the choices we make tonight will echo through the next 12 months.