Happy New Year! No, the calendar is not one month off. Today is New Year's Day ... at least as far as the church is concerned. Today is the first Sunday in Advent, which is the beginning of the church year.

True, most folks think of the season of Advent as simply preparation for Christmas — a time to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus, to make room for him in the "inn of our hearts" — and, of course, Advent is that. But it is more, as well. Advent is the time we prepare our hearts for another year of study and service as a part of Christ's church. For the church then, today really is New Year's Day.

And, since it is New Year's, what could be more appropriate than some New Year's resolutions? New Year's resolutions. Do you bother with them? "I'm going to quit smoking," or "I'm goin…