Welcome on this first Sunday of a New Year. Some of you have probably been working on your New Year’s resolutions. On the other hand, it’s been three days. Some of you have probably already given up on your New Year’s resolutions.

One poor guy I heard about tried praying about his resolutions. He got down beside his bed one night, closed his eyes and offered this earnest prayer: “Lord, in 2016, my prayer for the New Year is a fat bank account and a thin body. Please don’t mix these up like you did last year!”

One conscientious man kept a careful record of his past resolutions regarding dieting. Here are his resolutions by the year:

• 2011: I will get my weight down below 180 pounds.
• 2012: I will follow my new diet religiously until I get below 200 pounds.
• 2013: I will develop a realis…