“In the Beginning…”
Celebrating a Christ-Centered New Year series
John 1:1-4, Matthew 2:1-12 (read for congregation)
Genesis 1:1-5 (used as reference)
December 28, 2003
Purpose: As 2003 comes to a close and 2004 begins, we have a new opportunity to either respond for the first time or to recommit ourselves again tot he gospel claim that Jesus Christ is the risen Lord and Savior of our lives.
Introduction – Life is full of new beginnings.
When we are born, there is a new beginning.
When we start our schooling, there is a new beginning.
When we move from our parent’s home, there is a new beginning.
When we meet that special someone, fall in love, get married, and have children of our own, there are many new beginnings.
When we begin our employment, it’s a new beginning.
When our employment may change, it’s a new beginning.
When we feel like we are invincible, we trudge into the world with a new beginning.
When we realize that we are not so invincible, in a way, it’s another new beginning.
And when we begin a new year, we have another new beginning.
Now there are some that would claim that these instances are not new beginnings, just circumstances, just things to be lived through. But I want to be more positive than that. Our scriptures remind us that in the beginnings of life, God is there. In the beginnings of life, the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. In the beginnings, God is able to do abundantly more.
This morning I would like to share with three facts about new beginnings. We find them in the creation story. We find them in our story of the wise men coming from the East. We find them in the story of the birth of Christ himself. And it’s my hope that we’ll also see these facts in our lives this morning.
What are these facts?
I. In our beginnings are new opportunities.
2. In these opportunities we find our faith.
3. In living out our faith, we find even more beginnings.
The first of these facts is probably not new to you, but it bares repeating…in our beginnings are new opportunities. This fact did not escape the watchful eyes of King Herod the Great. At the time of Christ’s birth, Herod had been ruling for almost forty years. He knew opportunities when he saw them.
So when the wise men came all the way from the Eastern regions of the known world. Herod became nervous. When he overheard that the child the wise men were looking for was to become a great king, Herod became troubled. And when he secretly called these wise men, he became downright devious. “Let me know,” he said, “so that I can worship him too.” Herod saw a new beginning and he didn’t like what he saw.
As the story goes, the wise men went, found the Messiah, gave them their gifts, and then went back by another route, because of a dream they had received. But they didn’t leave empty handed. Where Herod was left with a new beginning that scared him so much that he had all the male children killed who were in Bethlehem, the wise men left with an amazing opportunity.
The wise men knew this. From their study and knowledge they knew that this Christ child was a new beginning. They knew that the star shining above Bethlehem symbolized if not proclaimed that a new beginning had just occurred. They had read the prophets and knew that just by his birth, this child in Bethlehem had fulfilled prophecies written over centuries that were reserved for the Messiah alone.
Both Herod and the wise men knew that this new beginning was going to lead to astounding opportunity. In our new beginnings are new opportunities.
II. In these opportunities we find our faith affected.
But opportunities are only opportunities, until we act on them. And we can see in this story another fact…in these opportunities we find that our faith is affected.
Each time in Scripture it mentions “beginning” referring to Father, Son, or Spirit, it requires some step of faith.
When we say the words of Genesis 1:1, “in the beginning God created….” we speak of our faith.
When we repeat the words of John, “In the beginning was the Word…He was in the beginning with
God…” we speak of our faith.
When we think on other passages like…
Revelation 3:14 which refers to Christ as the “Amen, the Faith and True Witness, the Beginning of
the creation of God” we speak of our faith.
or Revelation 21:6 which refers to the words of Christ sitting on the throne making all things new
as saying “ I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the end.” we speak of our faith.
When we read in Colossians 1:18, that Christ “is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.” we speak of our faith.
We cannot accept any of these portions of Scripture without it affecting our faith!
Do you see the connection? In the beginning God, in the beginning was the Word, why? Not just so that we may have the opportunity, which comes from beginnings, but also the faith to move forward in those opportunities on faith.
Think about Mary and Joseph. Think about both of them being told separately about their beginning found in this child.
Joseph received the message of this new beginning by being told, “don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife.” Was he afraid…of course he was. But he allowed this beginning to go forward which activated his faith.
When Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not been with a man?” The angels final words to her in that conversation were, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” A new beginning with an obvious faith affect because Mary answered, “Let it be to the Lord’s servant as you have told me.” Beginings producing opportunities which require faith.
Let me try to give you another example…
When I accepted the call to ministry, it was a new opportunity. Although everything was working well in food retail, I knew that a new beginning in pastoral ministry would lead to something. But it wasn’t until I took the step, it wasn’t until AnnMarie and I acted upon the opportunity that our faith began to grow.
I believe that when many Christians claim that they are stuck in a rut, the truth is that they haven’t made the most of their new beginnings.
In our new beginnings are new opportunities.
In these opportunities we find our faith.
III. In living out our faith, we find even more new beginnings.
Which leads us to our third and final fact of new beginnings, when we live out our faith, we find even more new beginnings. And this is true for your first commitment to faith as it is to anytime you recommit yourself to the saving message of Jesus Christ.
For Mary and Joseph, they experienced new beginning after new beginning as they learned to put their faith and trust in this amazing Lord that they had shared their lives with.
For the Wise Men, they experienced a new beginning as they went back to the East and shared their stories about the experiences they had with Herod, and their time spent worshipping the Messiah.
For John, who probably sat down some sixty-seventy years after Christ’s ascension to write the well-known phrase, “In the beginning was the Word…”, we know that he experienced new beginning after new beginning as we read his version of the Gospel message, his letters, and finally the Revelation of Jesus Christ he received.
Honestly, I thank God that I am not the person I was five years ago! And I believe as I continue my discipleship journey, I am going to see many new beginnings, which lead to many new opportunities, which will lead to a deepening of my faith.
And to be honest, I’m looking forward to it.
Invitation and Closing Prayer
There is a hymn in our hymnal which we’ve sung from time to time. I think we’ll probably sing it next week as a part of our covenant service. Written by Brian Wren, it sums up nicely our thoughts this morning…listen to its words…
This is a day of new beginnings, time to remember and move on,
Time to believe what love is bringing, laying to rest the pain that’s gone.
For by the life and death of Jesus, God’s mighty Spirit, now as then,
Can make for us a world of difference, as faith and hope are born again.
Then let us, with the Spirit’s daring, stop from the past and leave behind
Our disappointment, guilt and grieving, seeking new paths, and sure to find.
Christ is alive and goes before us to show and share what love can do.
This is the day of new beginnings, our God is making all things new.
In faith we’ll gather round the table to taste and share what love can do.
This is the day of new beginnings, our God is making all things new.
I believe, that as we move from one year to the next, we each have a new beginning, with its own opportunity, its own possibility of demonstrating our faith.
Where do you see your beginnings this morning?
What opportunities may come from those new beginnings?
How will your faith be affected if you act? What new beginnings may result?
First and foremost, if you have never accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I invite you to make that commitment toward a new beginning for you in this moment.
If you have accepted Christ, but you know you’ve let too many new beginnings get by you, I invite you to start fresh with your Savior.
And maybe you know of someone, someone who needs to know the love, mercy, and grace that only Christ can provide, I invite you to pray for their new beginning and how you might assist the Spirit in facilitating that new beginning in that person’s life.
The fact that this belief called Christianity would spread around the globe with over 1.3 billion people (Britannica Book of the Year, 1999) claiming their faith in Jesus Christ should tell us that new beginnings are not only possible, but that the opportunities and faith they create are plausible.
Jesus can take ordinary people, like twelve fishermen, and do something miraculous, like build His church of over 1.3 billion. The fact is that if we accept Jesus’ offer of a new beginning, ask for forgiveness and Christ’s leadership in our lives, he’s promised that he’s able to abundantly more than we could ever do alone. It’s as simple as that.
In our beginnings are new opportunities.
In these opportunities we find our faith.
In living out our faith, we find even more new beginnings.
Will you join me in prayer?
Gracious God,
We stand today at the threshold of a new year, and in this new year, you offer a new beginning.
For those of us who have never accepted your offer of forgiveness and leadership, I pray that they will feel the need today. If there is anything holding them back, let your assurance calm their minds and settle their hearts, so that they may accept you.
For those of us who have accepted your offer, but find ourselves not acting in faith on the opportunity, Lord nudge them as only you can. Help them to see their faith. Help them to follow through on the new beginnings as a result of their faith.
And Lord, for those we know, either family or friend, who do not know you. We pray for them also today. May the love and grace found in your forgiveness and leadership in our lives be evidence of the love and grace they desire in theirs.
In the name of Christ we pray…Amen.
Closing Song - #224 – Good Christian Friends Rejoice
Benediction
As we leave this place,
May your 2004 new beginning bring you many new opportunities.
May those opportunities build your faith,
And through that faith, may more new beginnings develop.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, this is our prayer. Amen.
Note: If for any reason you did not find this sermon helpful, please let me know by contacting me at gb@clergy.net. Your input will help me personally and my congregation as I learn professionally.
