A New Beginning with God
Text: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
It is good to be together on this first day of the week with the people of God as we
continue to celebrate the great gifts of our Eternal Father. James wrote in his book “Every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with
whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)
This is a special day here at West Side as we are gathering for an added purpose of joining
heaven’s celebration concerning the new births or new beginnings that we have been able to
witness here the past year.
Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 and read with me…
The most amazing thing about Jesus Christ is not his wisdom!
It is true that there was never as wise a person ever to walk this planet like Jesus.
The most amazing thing about Jesus is not his ability to perform miracles.
To me, as someone who was lost and without hope, the most amazing thing about Jesus Christ is his
offer of a new beginning with God!
I don’t know if this has ever happened to you or not, but as a kid or with your own kid,
have you ever witnessed the fear in a child of the possible outburst of anger?
I mean, something is done at your house; perhaps a glass of grape juice is spilt on the rug.
The child knows they are not supposed to bring grape juice on the rug, they know that they are
supposed to be extra careful with their glass and yet they made a terrible mistake.
So, dad comes home and the child is either hiding for fear, had tried to hide the spot or is
waiting right at the door for an explanation! Have you ever had an experience like this?
What does that kid fear the most?
That the wrath of dad is about to hit home and perhaps in a delicate area!
This past week I had an experience like this! Not that I was about to get it from Sara
because that isn’t so unusual! Syd was having a hard week this past week. Old enough to know
something wasn’t right with Grandma, too many conversations spoken with adults forgetting that 5
year olds can pick up on things, so she was having a hard week. Little cranky at some times and
at other times very sad. Well one night it really hit home and we were having some chips for a
snack. Wouldn’t you know it but Syd kind of jumped up on the couch and her chips went flying.
Now, I have to admit my initial reaction was “I have told you a number of times” but soon I
could sense that type of reaction in a kid that I just spoke of. At that instant there was only
one message I wanted to get across to my confused, scared and right now really scared little
girl, “Daddy’s not angry with you, let’s just pick these up and start over.”
If you wouldn’t mind noticing this is exactly what God has done for us through the death of
Jesus Christ. So many of us due to our sin, can sink into a feeling like somehow we’ve got to
make up for our spills and mistakes or else we are going to face the wrath of the Father. But
for some reason we just can’t do it. So we shake and worry that when God finds us He’s going to
really give it to us. Listen again to the apostle Paul though:
Vs.17- if you are in Christ, you are a new creation! All things have become new!
How is this possible?
Vs.18-20- through Jesus we have been made friends again with God! God is not angry with us!
It’s almost as if he said, let’s just pick these up and start over!
How could God do that?
Vs.21- Get this straight- Jesus who never sinned, was made sin so we who sinned (and at times
sinned a lot), could be made as if we had no sin!
Listen to how one man reflects on this idea:
“Somewhere, sometime, somehow you got tangled up in garbage, and you’ve been avoiding God.
You’ve allowed a veil of guilt to come between you and your Father. You wonder if you could
ever feel close to God again. The message of the torn flesh is you can. God welcomes you.
God is not avoiding you. God is not resisting you. The curtain is down, the door is open, and
God invites you in.”1
The fact of the matter and I might say the beginning and the end of all matter is this:
when Jesus died on the cross, he brought a new beginning for all of us with God.
Please turn in your Bibles to Luke 7:36-50…
Isn’t it still phenomenal to you that so many people, so many sinful people, so many
adulterers, tax collectors, robbers, liars and prostitutes could come to Jesus' feet and leave a
saint of God?
That’s still the message of Jesus Christ and that still is the gospel of God:
that no matter where you came from, no matter what you have done, today I give you a new start.
How do I get this new start?
It’s found in the new birth! John 3:3-5…let’s stand and sing!
1. Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails, (Nashville, TN: Word Publishing, 2000) p.85
Back to lessons page.
Back to home page.