New Years

In a few short days at 11:59 pm, over one billion people

• All across the world will be watching as the “ball” drops in New York City’s Times Square.

• That got me wondering about the history of the New Year’s Eve “ball”

• And what I discovered was intriguing:

• The 1st "time-ball" was installed on top of England’s Royal Observatory in Greenwich in 1833

• After the success of that event, approximately 150 such time-balls were installed around the world.

• But few survive and still work.

• The tradition is carried on today in places like the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC,

• Where a time-ball descends from a flagpole at noon each day –

• And of course, once a year in Times Square, where it marks the stroke of midnight.

• New York actually held a New Years celebration as early as 1904,

• But it wasn’t until 1907 that they “dropped” an iron and wood ball and adorned with a hundred 25-watt light bulbs.

• It was 5 feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds

• From that date until today, the ball has dropped every year except 1942 and 1943 during the City’s WWII “dim-outs”.

• Crowds still gathered in Times Square during those years and greeted the New Year with a moment of silence

• Followed by chimes ringing out from One Times Square.

• Over the years, the “time-ball” has undergone about 4 re-designs –

• The most recent one was created for the Millennial celebration in the year 2000 by Waterford Crystal.

• It’s a geodesic sphere, six feet in diameter, and weighing approximately 1,070 pounds.

• It’s covered with a total of 504 crystal triangles that vary in size.

• And each of those triangles has a special designation:

• Hope for Fellowship, Hope for Peace, Hope for Wisdom, Hope for Unity, Hope for Courage, Hope for Healing, etc.

The Name of the ball itself is The Star of Hope

APPLY: Why would they call the New Year’s ball the “Star of Hope?”

• Because each new year IS a time for hope

• It’s a time for opportunity

• It’s a time for each one of us to grasp a hold of our future/ our destiny

Pr 17:24 Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

What we see in this verse is that: we have the opportunity to

• Grab hold of our destiny and future” for this coming New Year.

• The hope for our future depends upon us.

• But that hope doesn’t lie in “wishing upon a star” –

• Which is essentially what those triangles on the Star of Hope actually are all about.

• The “hope” for fellowship, peace, wisdom, courage and so on are not based upon promises,

• But upon a wish for what we’d like to see take place in the next year.

Proverbs 24 is saying that

• The Wise man has a powerful future waiting for him

• Because he keeps his eyes on wisdom.

• By contrast, the fool has his eyes on something else…

• His eyes are on the ends of the earth.

What’s the difference between the two?

• And how can we become like the wise man

• And get the best God wants to give us?

I. Well, let’s take a look at the fool first

• “The fool’s eyes,” says Proverbs “wander to the ends of the earth.”

• This verse interested me – because I can visualize this guy

ILLUS: I remember hearing a story once about a woman who was picking strawberry’s in a strawberry patch

• She would no sooner pick one …

• And then she’d look up and see another strawberry a couple of rows away

• And off she’d run to pick that berry.

• Then she’d look up and see another berry a few plants away and off she’d go,

• Again and again and again all across the patch.

• And by doing this she filled one bucket in the same time a normal person could fill 10

• Her eyes were always wandering across the field looking for the easiest berry’s to find.

This is what the fool is like…

• He’s always looking for the easiest berry in the patch.

• He’s always seeking an easy way to get ahead in his life.

• • He’s the guy who invests in the future by buying lottery tickets

• • He can’t seem to stay married… because no person is ever good enough

• • He can’t keep a job because no job is good enough

• • He can’t stay in one church, because no church is good enough