September 2023
“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." As the refrain of this hymn reminds us, every beginning is a new opportunity to encounter the divine in a different way than we had before. This does not just happen within the context of church, though. It takes place in every facet of our lives. A new job. The beginning of a new academic year. A new relationship. A new season of our life. Every beginning is marked with new energies, new enthusiasms, new hopes, and new aspirations. We mentally map out all of the things that we look forward to doing in the days and months ahead. But every beginning is also marked with new challenges, new territories, new struggles, and new frustrations. Moments during these new beginnings which cause us to say that "tomorrow HAS to be better." That is the reality of life, and in its midst, we are cautiously excited for what awaits us in the days to come.
The beauty of this new beginning, however, is that we can be confident that God is with us. One might ask, "How can we be so sure?" We can be confident because Christ has already gone before us. Within our unknown future is the certainty of Christ's knowledge and Christ's omnipresence. No matter what awaits us, Christ will be there. To lead us, to guide us, to comfort us, to console us, to grow us.
There will be many things throughout the month of September that mark the new "church year" beginning. From the return of board meetings to the resuming of Sunday School and bible study, we come back to the familiarity of routines and rhythms. (Of course, with new memories and events sprinkled in between!) May we not be frozen in the familiar, but may it bear new fruits in this new season.
As we embark upon this new beginning together, I know that there will be moments of joy and moments of sadness. I know that there will be challenges that lay ahead of us as we envision the latest chapter of FBC Freehold. But may we be confident in knowing that the God who has gone before us is the same God who makes all things new, each and every day.
– Pastor David