IT BEGINS

Sermon Summary (1/26/20/) “It Begins” (Matthew 4:12-23)

It’s the last Sunday in January, last chance for resolutions. My hunch is that any you made on Jan 1 have already been discarded.  Never too late, today is a day for new beginnings!  Every day is a day for new beginnings.

In fact, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before, lead you in the hymn of response before the introduction to the sermon is over: “This is a Day of New Beginnings” (UMH 383 or http://tiny.cc/AllThingsNew). Verse 4: “Christ is alive and goes before us to show and share what love can do.  This is a day of new beginnings; our God is making all things new.”  Look it up, drink it in.

By the way, the sermon title, “It Begins,” refers to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, but as you will see, there are many other beginnings we will refer to today. 

Here’s your question: What do you need to start over?  What is holding you back?  In our Scripture today, Jesus announces his ministry by saying, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is near.”  Is what is stopping you your inability to repent, examine your life, change, turnaround?  Ben Franklin allotted time each evening to examine his day with on of 13 virtues. (One being humility, but he said that once he had conquered humility, he became proud of his humility, thus losing on the virtue of pride.)  Your prayer life, that included repentance or confession may be stopping your new beginning. Begin again.

Or might it be your discipleship?  Three years ago we had a sermon series on discipleship.  It may be time to repeat it.  Is it an element of discipleship that is holding you back?  Worship, Hospitality, Opening to Jesus, Obeying Jesus, the Service of Jesus, Generosity?  Is one of these stopping you.  Yet, everything single one of them is an opportunity to begin again. 

Our Scripture for today, “It begins,” is a call for repentance.  So also in Mark, and then Luke begins the ministry of the church in Acts with Peter saying, “Repent, everyone of you and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus so that your sins may be forgiven”  Make new start.  John begins Jesus ministry with Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night and Jesus telling him, “You must be born anew.”  Jesus begins his ministry by calling for new beginnings.  Everyday is a day for new beginnings.

How are we to begin? I would suggest by beginning everything with prayer.  A model we’ve used is ACTS: Adoration (“I will praise the Lord with my whole heart” (Ps 9:1-2)), Confession (“Search me and know my heart,” Ps 139:23-34)), Thanks giving (Ps 9:1 again)), and Supplication (“But in everything with prayer and supplication” (Phil 4:6))  If we memorize these verses, take them to heart, we can flash them to God in everything we do.  We can make everything we do a new beginning.

Or I would recommend that you journal.  We know of the spiritual life of the heroes of our faith because they made new starts and journaled about it. David, after his terrible acts with Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Sam 11&12), journaled his confession in Ps 51, God gave him a new beginning. So with us.  Amen.