The New Year - and decade - started off on a high note in Jamaica, as 330 persons assembled for Sabbath services on January 2, 2010 at the Sagicor Auditorium in Kingston. The packed hall accommodated a combined audience comprising members and visitors from the main Kingston congregation as well as the Spanish Town congregation.

It was a memorable experience of spiritually enriching worship, enlightening and inspirational preaching, and empowering fellowship among members of the combined congregation, as attested to by many members and visitors alike.

Deacon Chris Hendricks led the congregation in an uplifting worship session of hymns and scriptural readings. Up-tempo praise and worship songs with themes of overcoming, rejoicing, and thanksgiving also resounded within the walls of Sagicor. In his opening remarks Mr. Hendricks noted that notwithstanding the fact that the world's reckoning of the New Year doesn't coincide with God's calendar, it is a useful time marker for self assessment and spiritual and personal recommitment. He urged that as part of starting anew, members should forgive old hurts, and recommit themselves to love and mercy.

Several items of special music offered encouragement for the increased challenges portended by the current economic and social realities of Jamaica.

Pastor Ian Boyne gave a scintillating - if sobering - sermon on the keys to spiritual survival, which many brethren found to be very eye-opening - as well as scary. Weaving an intricate tapestry of spiritual insights around the centerpiece of Job's experiences of loss, suffering, despondency and eventual restoration, he laid bare the strategies of Satan to undermine the faith of God's people and rob them of their reward. Many people make the mistake of focusing all their attention on God, and ignore their enemy, the Devil, he noted. He further added that to be ignorant of Satan's devices is to become vulnerable and to risk being a victim of Satan's cunning, persistence, and unrelenting commitment to destroy us.

Referencing the Genesis 3 account of Satan's deception of Adam and Eve, Mr. Boyne warned that it was dangerous to naively believe that Satan was going to appear as the wicked enemy that he is. The devil's strategy is to deceive; to exploit people's everyday experiences and circumstances. Mr. Boyne warned that those who lack spiritual perceptiveness will miss his plots, and believe all that their problems are just time and chance. Referring to Satan’s conversations with God about Job (Job 1.6-12; 2.1-6), he also cited Luke 22.31 where Jesus asserted that Satan was intent on sifting Peter as wheat. Satan knows each believer's proclivities, strengths and weaknesses, and sets up his plans accordingly, Mr. Boyne cautioned.

Pastor Boyne especially pointed out that the devil schemes more ardently to deceive and destroy leaders of God's church. If Satan manages to trip up a leader in sin, or in personal problems, then he will gain a major victory over that flock, Mr. Boyne noted. Satan doesn't have to get either leaders or members to actually leave the church, once he has infused their minds with discouragement, disillusionment, anger, bitterness, or resentment, Mr. Boyne also explained.

While exposing some misconceptions about the experiences of Job, he also highlighted some major areas that Satan targets in order to destroy believers' faith. These included discouragement and personal anger and resentment in relationships. He showed how Job was able to remain strong and trusting of God up to a point, even confidently affirming, "The Lord gives and he takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord," when he lost his family and his economic livelihood.

Even when afflicted with painful sores, Job maintained his faith and spiritual integrity, rebuking his wife as being 'foolish', and avowing his acceptance of both God's blessings as well as God's trials.

After a prolonged experience of seemingly meaningless suffering however, Job's spirit was gradually broken until he regretted the very day of his birth, whilst in the pits of his despair (Job 10.1, 18-19). Pastor Boyne stressed that the everyday discouragements of unemployment, bad marriages, financial and other problems can eventually wear us down and makes us bitter, and vulnerable to Satan.

Briefly touching on the need to put on the full armour of God (Ephesians 6), Mr. Boyne promised to further explicate the specific strategies that will make us invulnerable against the wiles of the devil, in his follow up sermon to be delivered next week.

For this writer, the opening Sabbath service of the new year was a powerful reminder of the wisdom of Hebrews 10.24-25: "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." GS.