A New Chapter...
One of my favorite Scriptures comes from the book of Isaiah, chapter 43, verses 16-19;
Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
I think that this scripture is one of everyone's favorites, we see and hear it a lot. Well at least part of it. We hear often verses 18 and 19 which begins with "Do not remember the former things." We don't often talk about or look at verses 16 and 17. But those are really important verses. They talk about this is the same God that once parted the sea, and drowned all of the Pharaoh's army. That this is the same God who at one point made a dry path out of the water will now make a water spring out of the dry desert. As if the first wasn't impressive enough, God will now do the something else, something new. Not necessarily better, but new.
We have recently finished up our first year together. I am beyond grateful for that year. I look forward to hopefully many more. We did some really fun and wonderful things together last year, and I hope to continue building on old traditions as well as making some new traditions together, but also to going out on a limb and trying completely new things together. We will still be the same living, breathing congregation, that cares about this community and one another. We will still be worshipping and listening to the same Still Speaking God, but we are entering a new chapter.
We have finished one whole year together, and that is an amazing thing. We have had some great successes and some not so great things, but that is how we learn. I am looking towards the future, towards what will be coming our way next. Where might we go, what might we learn from one another, what changes might we make, what discoveries will we find? Our possibilities are endless really.
This website has been a big labor of love, working to provide a space that will help us to connect with the outside world in new and relevant ways. Combining our new site format with changes in our internet provider at the church we will have the ability to post more photos, videos and quotes from our services. Through this blog we as a congregation will be able to connect on a deeper more involved level than we have bee able to do in the past.
Sometimes change can be hard, and perhaps scary, but just because something is changing doesn't mean that the old wasn't good, or wonderful. It was a miracle and it is something we still talk about and celebrate that God was able to part the waters and allow Moses and his followers to escape Egypt, but even still God was excited and ready to do a new thing. To do something just wonderful but different. There may be some other changes coming in the next few years, hopefully they will fill this building and this congregation with new life and new energy. We are starting a new chapter, it will be different from the last, we are always growing and always changing. How exciting it is to be standing here, at this point with all of you. How exciting to be on this journey together.
We are blessed, God and the Holy Spirit are working among us. God and The Holy Spirit are guiding us into the next new and wonderful chapter. Some fear and trepidation are natural, but we do not make changes, we do not try new things alone. So let us put our fear aside and go confidently into our future together, as one family knowing that God goes with us, that God has gone before us, knowing that God is Still Speaking. And we are faithfully and excitedly listening.
Amen!
See you all in Church.
