It seems like yesterday when Mandi and I experienced the birth of our baby girl. Finleigh was born at 5:46 pm on April 29th, 2011, and our world changed forever! We received all kinds of wisdom and
education concerning our daughter before we left the hospital. Then, at three days old, it was time to take her home. We strapped her into her baby seat and drove extremely carefully back home.
This was a new beginning!
Learning how Finleigh ate and slept were new challenges to Mandi and me; early on, we struggled to get her to an appropriate weight. It wasn't long before she was eating quite a bit and her weight returned to normal. Her sleep schedule needed to be timed appropriately so that Mommy could rest and Daddy could rest, too (though Mommy was the all-star and needed way more rest than Daddy ever did!). Everything Finleigh experienced was new to us. It was exhausting on some days, but it was still exhilarating! It was scary at moments, but it was beautiful, too.
God prepared us for this new beginning.
Soon, Finleigh was rolling over on her own. Soon she was a year old and beginning to pull herself up and take her first steps. Soon she was communicating with us and developing her vivacious
personality. Soon she was sleeping through the night (what a blessing!). These new beginnings were coming at us faster than before, but each time God found a way to meet Finleigh's needs.
God continued to help us with new beginnings.
Her 1-year-old through 13-year-old birthday shave come and gone. I remember her young moments of laughter, running, joking around, playing games, drawing pictures, watching Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs and spending time with her neighborhood buddies. Today, she is 13 years old and growing up at the speed of light! Now, Mandi and I have a rising 8th grader who is so very excited to begin her new school year, reconnect with familiar friends and enjoy new academic, social and spiritual experiences. We are so proud of her, but sometimes we grieve for the "old" days. Yet, God has prepared Mandi and me for each new school year, each new beginning; additionally, God's new blessings have followed these annual changes. Our family is able to celebrate new beginnings because God is with us.
Moreover, God is with us all.
And so it goes, we all experience the blessings of new beginnings in our lives. Watching our children growing up is indeed a relevant example. New beginnings can be thrilling; however, at times they can be disconcerting and overwhelming. God's children, in the Old and New Testaments, experienced the
emotional swings of new beginnings, too.
Abraham was asked to leave his hometown and go to a new country, to take his family and all his possessions and make his way to Canaan. Noah was asked to build an ark so that it would withstand God's watery fury and save his family from destruction; a new world would await him and his descendants. David was anointed, after all his other older, stronger brothers were passed over, to become the next King of Israel...a new, royal line was formed. Mary and Joseph were told they would raise the King of the Universe, and their lives were never the same (neither were the world's!). Peter started the church. Saul became Paul. Timothy grew up. John saw a new heaven and a new earth...he saw a new beginning.
September 8th is a new beginning for United Baptist Church. This date marks the beginning of our new church year and our new Sunday School year. I understand that beginning something new can at times be paralyzing; however, starting something new can open your heart, mind and soul to an entirely new way of experiencing the abundant life we have in Christ Jesus! Imagine the blessings and visions God has awaiting you as you begin something new. Hopefully, you have seen the Sunday School class offerings. Perhaps many of you are ready to make that jump into beginning Sunday School at UBC for the first time, and we will celebrate that. Many of you will lead our church in various leadership roles and responsibilities that will benefit Christ's body here at United. Several of you will serve on teams and committees that will benefit God's people and mission both in this city, this state and around the world–and remember, you know your spiritual gifts, and they will beutilized to most effectively bless our church and community!
The point is that something new is coming...it's just around the corner! God wants you to be a part of it! How exciting it is that God has blessed us with new and familiar faces at UBC over the past few years and all are needed in building up God's church and ministry here on the corner of 65 and Murray Rd.! God is up to something new! It's a new beginning! Look here at God’s Word: "Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert" (Isa. 43:18-19, NASB). God is making ways for you to experience something new! New beginnings are in our lives, regardless of whether or not we realize it. We are not only created to experience new beginnings, but we are indeed a new creation!: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here" (2 Cor. 5:17, NIV)!
Pray about how God would have you start something new in September here at United Baptist Church. Additionally, ask God what new beginnings he longs to see in your friendships, your families, and within yourself. God is always up to something. The question is, "Are we aware of the new beginnings God desires for us to experience?"
So, how can new beginnings be described? Allow me to offer the following descriptions:
Thrilling. Overwhelming. Exciting. Daring. Scary. Faith-filled. Exhilarating. Worth the effort!
So, friends, make September 8th the day you choose to experience a new beginning. God has already given you the grace to start–he has given you Jesus Christ. What, then, can hold us back but ourselves? If God is for us, who then can be against us?
Here's to new beginnings! Here's to God's glory! Here's to Jesus' name made famous! Here's
to the Gospel taking root and sprouting forthfruit, fruit that truly lasts and builds the Kingdom here in our church, in our community, in our country and around the globe!
I look forward to seeing you on Sundays in September, and on Wednesday nights at Mathetes Bible study. You don’t want to miss the new beginnings God’s starting here at UBC!
Looking forward to engaging this new beginning with all of you, my dear church family,
Pastor Will
><> John 3:30 <><
