Hello, my friends, Michael Yusuf here, and I just wanted to thank you for connecting with leading the way.

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As one year ends and another year begins, the interesting thing to me about this whole new year thing is how the unbelieving world will talk about drowning the past year in a pool of Jack Daniels.

Ringing in the new year in another pool of Jack Daniels, welcoming the new year in another pool of Jack Daniels.

But in reality, so many of these folks, these dear people, bless our hearts, they're not going to remember drowning and they're not going to remember ringing in.

The only thing they're going to be ringing in their heads in the morning is

the hangover and in their ears. But it's for hundreds of years. This has been going on. It's nothing new.

For hundreds of years. People have been trying to drown the old and bring in the new.

And each year, sadly, for those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, it brings only

more emptiness. It brings to them more spiritual vacuum that creates discontentment in life.

Even the ancient Rome, ancient Rome tried to celebrate the new year. And that is why the month of January

comes named after the Roman god Janus. And Janus, as many of you probably know, the Roman god

with two faces. One face that is looking back to the year that passed, that is filled with sorrow, it's filled with dismay, it's filled with perplexity.

But then the second face that is looking forward to the new year, it's a forward-looking face.

It's projecting hope.

It's projecting confidence and optimism.

And for many years, the Italians had a fascinating way of celebrating the new year. It was not only fascinating, but it was very

expensive. Because what happened in many an Italian city, they stopped it now for the last few years now,

but in their desire to get rid of the old and ringing in the new, right about midnight in the new year,

...