Sermon Note | The Promise of a Fresh Start

I dare say that we all like fresh starts. We like a clean slate, a limitless horizon of possibilities.

It starts early, too. I see it in my kids. We have crayons scattered all over our house. They’re old, sometimes broken, and scattered. I find them in the couch, under the carpet, behind the bookcase, and sometimes even in the shower! By the way, who “colors” in the shower?

Needless to say, we have plenty of crayons. However, while they “color” just as well as new ones, they never occasion the excitement of a brand new box. The new box is symbolic of new possibilities in a way that old, scattered, and broken crayons could never be.

Maybe you were like me as a child, looking forward to the start of a new school year. I was a B student for the most part, far too social to get the elusive 4.0. However, every summer, I thought that the new school year looming ahead would be “the” year; in September, I would finally break into the upper-stratosphere of academic excellence, a bewildering sky populated by luminescent freaks and geeks. It never happened, but that never tarnished the gleaming hope of my fresh start every fall. Delusion springs eternal!

Our love of fresh starts carries over from youth into adulthood. We see it in the workplace, where a new project, a new boss, maybe even a new job signals new and exciting possibilities. We see it in our families where a renewal of wedding vows after a period of turmoil offers hope for a future better than the past. We see it in paying off a debtor and moving forward in financial freedom.

However, like a broken crayon or an October midterm, we all inevitably see our fresh starts go stale. We fall short of our lofty expectations. Others on whom we depend fail us. Circumstances and challenges beyond our control undermine our progress. Dreadful tragedies eclipse our hopes and fill our lives with darkness.

On the one hand, at this time of year, we sense the possibility of a fresh start. After all, it’s a New Year, full of new opportunities to finally get things right in our lives. On the other, we know from experience that these fresh starts all to often turn stale. Instead of moving forward in a clear direction, we often end up feeling like we’re spinning in circles. Is there any hope?

Of course, there is hope! We are in Christ! The old is gone for us; the new has come! We have the ultimate fresh start, a new and unending life in God that will never turn stale! So, how should we live in the light of that great perspective? Over the next several days, I will pass along some suggestions built around the acrostic R.E.S.O.L.V.E.

NOTE: For their full biblical basis, consider listening to my sermon from January 1, 2012 – "Are you revolving or resolving?"