Not Orphans: Abiding in Christ for 2026

Devotional

Day 1: You Are Not Orphans—Jesus Draws Near

As a new year begins, you are invited to remember that you are not abandoned. Jesus speaks into fear and instability with a promise of presence, not absence. He does not tease you with closeness and then step back; he moves toward you. If the last year felt distant or dry, let this be the year you intentionally live as someone already held. Receive his word over your life: not orphaned, but beloved and accompanied. Let 2026 be marked by a practiced awareness of his nearness. [15:08]

John 14:18 — I will not leave you as parentless or forsaken; I myself will come to you, so you are not alone.

Reflection: Where have you been thinking or acting as if you were spiritually on your own, and what simple daily reminder will help you notice Jesus’ nearness this week?

Day 2: The Spirit, Our Advocate and Helper Forever

Jesus answers your uncertainty by asking the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, the Advocate who strengthens, guides, and stays. This is not a short-term fix but a forever gift. The world may dismiss what it cannot see, yet you have been given a deep, inner knowing—he dwells with you and within you. The Spirit does not just comfort; he also fights for you, reminds you of truth, and leads you into life. You are equipped for the year ahead with divine help that will not run out. Ask for fresh awareness of his companionship today. [20:14]

John 14:16–17 — I will ask the Father to give you another Advocate who will remain with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive him because it does not see or know him, but you know him, for he stays with you and will be in you.

Reflection: In the specific moment of your week when you tend to feel most alone, how will you invite the Spirit’s help and what words will you pray then?

Day 3: Union with Christ: You in Me, I in You

Your hope is not simply that Jesus once walked beside people long ago; it is that he lives and shares his life with you now. Because he lives, you live—truly, securely, and eternally. This union means you are joined to him and he is present in you, closer than your breath. That intimacy surpasses even what the disciples knew as they stood beside him; he now goes with you into every room you enter. Let ordinary moments become places of shared life with Christ. Walk, decide, and serve today in companionship with the One who lives in you. [25:12]

John 14:19–20 — Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you will also share my life. On that day you will understand that I am in the Father, you are joined to me, and I am present in you.

Reflection: Choose one daily activity to consciously do “with Jesus” this week—what will it be, and what small cue will help you remember he is in you and with you?

Day 4: Love Expressed Through Obedience, Not Just Emotion

Love for Jesus is not vague feeling; it shows itself in obedient trust. We cannot obey what we do not know, so we open Scripture and let the Spirit teach and remind us. As he brings Christ’s words to mind, we answer with concrete steps—turning from what harms and turning toward what gives life. Obedience is worship: a lived “yes” to the One who has already given himself fully for us. Even one faithful act today can set a new rhythm for the year. Let love take the shape of action. [30:25]

John 14:15, 21, 24, 26 — Love for me shows itself by doing what I say. Those who hold onto my words and put them into practice are the ones who truly love me; my Father will love them, and I will love them and make myself known to them. The one who does not love me will not live by my teaching. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father sends in my name, will teach you everything and bring back to your minds all I have told you.

Reflection: What is one clear teaching of Jesus you have been postponing, and what small, concrete act of obedience will you take before next Sunday?

Day 5: Grow in Grace; Grounded, Gathered, Going in Hope

This year is a gift to be grounded in God’s word and prayer, gathered with his people, growing in maturity, and going in mission. Do not let the noise sweep you off your feet; stand firm and keep expanding in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. He has done everything to bring you near; now respond by arranging your life around his presence and purpose. Share the good news you have received, and refuse to hoard hope. By December, may you not be where you started, but further into love, courage, and obedience. Take one step today toward a year of steady growth. [35:49]

2 Peter 3:17–18 — Since you have been warned, be careful not to be carried along by the lawless and lose your footing. Instead, keep growing in the grace and in the knowing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Reflection: Looking at your weekly rhythms, what one practice will help you be grounded—such as reading John 14 each morning or joining a small group—and when, specifically, will you begin?

Sermon Summary

At the start of a new year, the call is to set God as the foundation and to receive the year as an invitation to worship. Scripture presses a spiritual health check: where instability, drift, or distraction marked the past year, grace invites a different path—one grounded in relationship, not mere resolutions. Jesus’ words in John 14 address the disciples’ fear of abandonment: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” That promise is not nostalgia for a first-century moment; it is the living provision of the Triune God for today. The Father sends the Son; the Son accomplishes redemption and intercedes; the Son asks, and the Father sends “another Helper,” the Holy Spirit, to dwell in believers forever. This is not a half-finished work. It is God’s completed plan to make closeness with Christ the ordinary experience of every believer.

Because the Spirit indwells, believers are actually brought into a deeper intimacy with Christ than the first disciples had during His earthly ministry. The Spirit doesn’t simply supply power for tasks; He brings the presence of Christ, uniting believers to the Son and, in Him, to the Father. “Because I live, you also will live”—resurrection life begins now in fellowship with God and blossoms into eternity. That nearness reframes the year ahead: believers are not spiritual paupers living on the streets with an unclaimed inheritance; they are sons and daughters, fully resourced by the Spirit of truth.

Love for Christ, then, is not proven by enthusiasm but by obedience. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” The Spirit who inspired the Scriptures now teaches, reminds, and forms believers so that obedience flows from communion, not compulsion. To love Christ is to want what He wants, to lay down patterns of disobedience, and to take up a life shaped by His Word. The way forward is not complicated: be grounded in the Word and prayer, gathered with the church family, growing in maturity, and going in mission—locally and globally. With God’s faithfulness already evident, the invitation is clear: do not arrive at next December unchanged. Prioritize His presence. Worship in response to His nearness. Live this year not as an orphan, but as one kept, taught, and led by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Key Takeaways

1. You are not left as orphans Jesus promises presence, not abandonment. The Spirit’s indwelling means the nearness of Christ is not occasional but constant, personal, and sustaining. This turns anxiety into assurance and reframes trials as places where companionship, not isolation, defines the believer’s experience. The antidote to spiritual drift is a recovered awareness of this promised presence. [15:08]
2. The Spirit upgrades our closeness The Helper does more than assist; He unites. By the Spirit, believers enjoy a deeper intimacy with Christ than sight alone ever offered the disciples. This union means Christ goes with believers into every room and season, transforming ordinary faithfulness into shared life with God. Intimacy becomes the engine of endurance. [24:20]
3. Obedience is love made visible Jesus ties love to a life that keeps His commands. This is not legalism; it is relational fidelity—the shape love takes when it is serious. Obedience flows from trust: believing His wisdom is better than our impulses. Where love cools, obedience falters; where love burns, obedience becomes both possible and joyful. [30:05]
4. Let Scripture train your affections The Spirit of truth teaches and reminds through the Word He inspired. Scripture is not merely information; it is formation—reordering desires to love what God loves. Without the Word, obedience becomes guesswork; with the Word, the Spirit clarifies, convicts, and comforts. Deep intake of Scripture deepens intimacy with Christ. [31:16]
5. Make worship your first priority The most fruitful resolutions are worshipful ones. Begin with adoration of the Triune God who has done everything to draw near, and obedience will no longer feel like a negotiation. Worship resets the heart’s center, displacing competing loves and renewing courage for costly faithfulness. Start the year at His feet and stay there. [35:25]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[06:04] - Opening prayer and focus for 2026
[07:42] - Invitation to Hope Explored
[09:50] - A spiritual health check
[12:11] - Guarded from drift and instability
[15:08] - “I will not leave you as orphans”
[20:14] - Promise of another Helper
[24:20] - Closer to Jesus than ever
[25:12] - Because He lives, you also live
[30:05] - Love proven by obedience
[31:16] - The Spirit teaches and reminds
[35:25] - Grounded, gathered, growing, going
[49:29] - Benediction and sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading

- John 14:15-26

If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.

Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Observation questions

In John 14, who is involved in making sure believers are not left as orphans, and what does each Person do (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)?
What titles and descriptions does Jesus use for the Holy Spirit in verses 16-17, and how long will He be with believers?
What situation made the disciples feel like orphans, and what exact promise does Jesus give to calm that fear? [15:08]
According to verses 21 and 24, how does Jesus connect love and obedience? What is the contrast He makes?

Interpretation questions

“Another Helper…to be with you forever” means the Spirit stays. What might “forever” change about how someone views dry seasons, fear, or drifting faith? [20:14]
If “Because I live, you also will live” includes present life with God (not only future hope), how should that reshape the way someone thinks about ordinary days and tough weeks? [25:12]
Love for Christ is shown through keeping His commands (vv. 15, 21). How is this different from cold rule-keeping, and why does disobedience signal a love problem, not just a willpower problem? [30:05]
It is claimed that by the Spirit believers today enjoy a deeper closeness with Jesus than the disciples had by sight. What should that imply about prayer, decision-making, and courage in daily life? [24:20]

Application questions

Where did you see instability or drift in 2025? Name one small, steady rhythm you will start this week to grow in grace and knowledge (time, place, plan). [12:11]
In what area of life have you been living like a spiritual orphan—acting as if you are on your own? What would it look like this week to live as a son or daughter who is fully resourced by the Spirit? [18:13]
The Spirit teaches and reminds through the Word. What concrete plan will you embrace for Scripture intake (reading plan, listening habit, time with a friend), and how will you let the Word correct your desires? [31:16]
What is one clear command of Jesus you already know but have been delaying? What is the next faithful step you will take, and who will you ask to check in with you about it? [30:05]
How will you prioritize being gathered with the church family (Sundays, a house group, serving on a team) so that you are grounded, gathered, growing, and going? Pick one new commitment for January. [35:25]
Where is God nudging you to go in mission—at home, at work, on your street, or to the nations? Name one person you could invite for a simple conversation, a meal, or to Hope Explored. [35:49]
Start the year with worship. What will adoration look like for you (for example, five minutes of praise at the start of the day, singing in the car, a gratitude journal)? How will this reset your heart’s center? [29:07]

Sermon Clips

You can't change 2025, but you can make changes for 2026. That's the challenge. You can't change 2025, but you can make changes for 2026. And really either way, what we're gonna see this morning as an opportunity to to see the determination of God towards us as a people who has given us that gift of faith and the great invitation to receive from him that maturity and growing in him that we have. [00:10:52] (32 seconds) #Make2026Count

I believe stories you hear, don't you, occasionally of people who live on the streets and they come to like the soup kitchens and they eat every day at the soup kitchen. And people try and help them to get a house or something, they got no interest and they they stay on the streets and when they die, they discover that they had a huge inheritance from their mom and dad, worth, you know, in the millions, but they never touched it. They lived like paupers even though they were so wealthy. And we live like orphans even though we're not orphaned. [00:16:44] (38 seconds) #HeirsNotOrphans

Jesus has put everything in place for you to have all that you need. This is not abandonment. There's so much more. To have a living, intimate, and beautiful relationship with him. Jesus does not leave. He's not someone who gets so far in the job and quits halfway through. Like me. Oh my goodness. It's embarrassing when people look in the back garden. They look at all the jobs that started, and I'm like, I'll get to that next summer. I'm not saying what year summer it is like, but it's atrocious. I'm such a a starter with total energy, and I'm just not a completer finisher. [00:18:21] (38 seconds) #JesusStays

Jesus speaks elsewhere about the fact that it's the father who sent him into the world. Jesus willingly goes, he willingly came, but he needed to be sent and was to fulfill his mission, achieving for us our salvation. As we reflected on, reminded ourselves at the table, his death was not a tragic mistake, but it was part of God's perfect plan. His death was a sacrifice of the only innocent and righteous person who, being both human and God, was able to lay down his life to die in our place that we might receive the forgiveness of sins and that wonderful gift of righteousness in our place. [00:21:10] (42 seconds) #SentToSave

So the Holy Spirit brings Jesus to us through him living with us. Happens as we become believers and follow Jesus and we end up with a closer relationship with Jesus that will last forever. Here's what's amazing about the Christian faith. Every believer since this time, since the coming of the Holy Spirit gifted to us by Jesus is closer to Jesus than the disciples were as Jesus spoke to them in John 14. [00:23:54] (35 seconds) #CloserToJesus

Even though the world won't see Jesus anymore, he's taken from them after his death and resurrection, ascends back to heaven, to the right hand of the father Because Jesus lives through that hope of resurrection, so do we. His resurrection is first, but through it comes newness of life to all who believe in his name. [00:25:47] (30 seconds) #ResurrectionHope

This relationship with God is his great achievement and it's a relationship that's based entirely on what God has done for us. But it's also a relationship that will last for all eternity. And so this year, as we look at 2026, we set the foundation in place that God has done everything possible to bring us close to him. And through what Jesus has achieved, through faith in him, we are closer to Jesus than John was when he heard these words said to his face. [00:27:24] (31 seconds) #EternalCloseness

But this year is a great opportunity for us to really think about what does it mean to ground our lives on the word. To really recognize that as we gather on a Sunday and other times in our house groups and other places that we we gather for that purpose, that without each other, we wouldn't grow in our faith, that we make maturity and obedience to him a priority in our lives. And we refuse to hoard this good news to ourselves, but we share it with others and empower others around the world to share it in places where we are not, that the gospel might reach the ends of the earth. [00:36:23] (39 seconds) #GroundedInTheWord

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