New Year’s Day—a time for parades, football games, and, yes, New Year’s resolutions! But did you know that it was Julius Caesar who put January 1 on the calendar? Named for the god of beginnings, Janus, it was a time for offering sacrifices for success in the coming year. In more modern times, in 1740, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, began conducting Covenant Renewal Services on New Year’s Eve.
They became known as “watch-night” services, for prayer and making “resolutions” for the year ahead. In one of John Wesley’s sermons he said: “Let me be homo unius libri . . . the man of one Book”—for Wesley it was a life-long resolution. In this coming year, we invite you to engage with the Bible—this book of all books!
They became known as “watch-night” services, for prayer and making “resolutions” for the year ahead. In one of John Wesley’s sermons he said: “Let me be homo unius libri . . . the man of one Book”—for Wesley it was a life-long resolution. In this coming year, we invite you to engage with the Bible—this book of all books!
Share
More Book Minute Features
August 19, 2019
Hieroglyphic Bibles
Millions of Bibles are published each year for children — in all sizes, shapes and colors — in a variety of translations. But perhaps none are more in...
August 12, 2019
Wycliffe Translators Origins
In 1917, a missionary named William Cameron Townsend went to Guatemala to sell Spanish Bibles. He was shocked when many people couldn’t understand the...
August 05, 2019
Five Presidential Birthdays
Five former US presidents have birthdays in August, with the oldest being Benjamin Harrison, followed by Herbert Hoover, Lyndon Johnson, Bill Clinton...