New Beginnings!

Sermon: “New Beginnings” Scripture:  Acts 16: 6 -15

Rev. Betty Jo Sims 

Fourth of July – July 4 was a new beginning for our nation. My father was a pilot in the Air Force during World War II. My brother and sister-in-law both served in the Air Force too. We know that freedom is not free!  And we thank all veterans for their service. Those who have served in our military service, please raise your hand or stand.

Pastor friend tells story of another new beginning - - Wife encountered a pastor on mission trip to El Salvador. She called him Walter… Walter was an MS-13 gang member in El Salvador.  But Walter had found Jesus, turned life around, got an education and became a pastor. Wore long sleeved shirts to hide his gang tattoos… On bus one day, spotted by gang members who knew him, got on bus with him and put gun to his chest…

Walter had an opportunity for a new beginning with Jesus and a second new beginning with this murder attempt.

Paul had an opportunity for a new beginning through his Damascus Road encounter with the risen Christ that we read about in Acts,  “Paul said:  “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. “I persecuted the followers of this “Way” to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. 

“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  “ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.  My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. ‘What shall I do, Lord?’

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’  My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me. “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

“Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, ”  Saul’s name was changed to Paul and his new ministry for Jesus began.  Paul began his mission journeys to the Gentiles in Mesopotamia, Turkey and other places. He changed from being a zealot who crucified and imprisoned the people of The Way, to being one of its best ambassadors. 

That was definitely a new beginning.

In our scripture this morning in Acts 16, Paul has traveled to Troas with Timothy and their other companions.  During the night Paul has a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul has this vision, they got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called them to preach the gospel there.  From Troas they put out to sea and sailed to Samothrace and on to Neapolis.   From there they traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. they stayed there several days.

On the Sabbath they went outside the city gate to the river, where they hoped to find a place of prayer. They sat down and began to speak to some women who had gathered there. That in itself is a miracle of sorts because men did not converse with women in public. One of the women listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.  When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited Paul to her home.  

“If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.To be a seller of purple was a big deal.  One of the trade guilds in Thyatira made expensive purple dye. Since Lydia's husband is not mentioned but she was a householder, scholars have speculated she was a widow who brought her late husband's business to Philippi. The other women with Lydia may have been employees and slaves.  To be a woman in business was also a big deal so she most likely had an excellent reputation for her purple fabrics and trims. Just like Paul, Lydia and her household received a new beginning with Paul and Timothy as they became new Christians, followers of “The Way.”

Today, we begin the next chapter in the life of Bethel and Emmanuel UMC. I look forward to all God will do in us and through us as we live and worship together. Life is indeed a great adventure and we make the most of it when we put our efforts into positive outcomes.  I look forward to hearing your ideas and us working together in many ways and forms. This is our New Beginning. Over time, we will build friendships and trust relationships. We will nurture one another in truth and Christian love.  I am looking forward to all that God will do here.

Mary Oliver is a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and U. S. Poet Laureate. I want to share from her poem, The Summer Day:

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, 

how to fall down into the grass, 

how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, 

how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

And, there is our question for all of us to take with us and ponder - - what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? All of our choices will have consequences. What we decide to do today and every day has an impact on the rest of our lives.  In whatever work we find ourselves, we should find work that we enjoy.  Some of our best work is in places where we volunteer.  I said our choices have consequences. 

My husband and I declined transfers during our corporate work life to live and work in Houston, Texas, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Too far from Myrtle Beach and Too far from family!!  But those NO’s opened up other doors for us to even better experiences. 

As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, we should be about love. We cannot love others if we do not love ourselves.  Learn to be content with your circumstances, as Paul did, with little or with much. Then set goals and work to change them as needed.  

God loves us just the way we are but God is never content to leave us there.  Growing and changing are all around us.  We are challenged to be life-long learners.  Our paths will not always be straight.  But it is in the curves, the rough places, and the valleys that we do the most growing.

Our task is to Be motivated and learn to motivate others.  Be a problem solver.  Set our values and standards high.  John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, said strive for perfection.  We will not arrive at perfection in this lifetime, but if we do not strive for it, then we will only attain mediocrity. 

Who wants to be mediocre – not me!   Persevere.  Albert Einstein said, “It’s not that I’m so smart.  It’s that I stay with the problems longer.” Set your mind to be the kind of person that other people will want on their team.  Put your heart into whatever you set your sights on to do.  We must also Give ourselves permission to fail – not everything we try will work or be successful. we will learn great lessons from our failures.

Colin Powell says that “there are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, loyalty, persistence, and learning from failure.” “ A dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” Success in life comes in ‘cans.’  I can do this.  I can do that. “

Together we are going into the world of adventure to achieve good and great things for our church and community.  Pause this day and be deliberately thankful for Godly men and women who have influenced you.

David McCullough, noted American author and historian, writes, “Never be the kind of person who does things halfway.  If you are going to ring the bell, give that rope one hell/ heck of a pull.”