Minister’s Letter – Sept 2017
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!
(2nd Corinthians 5: 16-17 NIVUK)
Sometimes we all need a fresh start. It could be with a project (work or personal!): we’ve been involved for too long, become too bogged down in the detail, and to make progress we need to wipe things clean and start again.
More seriously, it could be the need for a fresh start in a relationship. For a variety of reasons, we might need to take a step back from another person, wipe the slate clean, and almost say, “let’s start again!”
While a fresh start can sometimes come from unfortunate circumstances, they can give us a sense of excitement and anticipation: from the new start point, we look ahead with a sense that anything is possible!
We’re at a stage of fresh-starts in our congregation. We are all returning from our summer break, groups are restarting, people are getting back into the “swing of things”, and I hope we are looking ahead to the latter part of 2017 and asking, “God, what do you have in store for us?”
As followers of Jesus, we all have experienced a fresh start. Paul captured this in the verses about: because we are in Christ, we are no longer the old, sinful creation, but a new one! Because Jesus died for our sins, we are no longer our old, sinful selves; but through faith are being made new in Him. Because Jesus came back from the dead, we have this promise that one day, God will complete His work and we will be made completely new in mind, body and spirit.
There are people in our world who desperately need a fresh start; and we can offer it to them through Jesus Christ! I hope, therefore, that as we look ahead in anticipation and excitement to our new-start as things restart after the summer break, that we will also be on the lookout for those in our community to whom we can minister and share the good news that they can have a fresh start through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
May God bless you,
Stuart