Communion Message
The Gift of a New Beginning
January 2, 2005
Pastor Leighton Sheley

We find these words written for us in 1 John Chapter 4:
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God--for God is love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us so much, we surely ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.

Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world.

Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us. We love each other as a result of his loving us first.

And if someone says, "I love God," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we have not seen? And God himself has commanded that we must love not only him but our Christian brothers and sisters, too.

As I was thinking about our time together on this first Sunday of a new year,
our the first time together for communion, I was thinking of that word new. The words to the song that we just sang are, with Your blood You paid the price, became the spotless sacrifice, so I could be made new. God is the God of new beginnings.

When God created the earth He created the week, marked by the Sabbath or a day of rest so that we would have new weeks. He gave the world seasons so that we would have new seasons. In His word it says His mercies are new every morning. We have new mercies every new morning. God is the God of new.

When we declare our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we have a new beginning, a new birth. God is the God of new. God is the God of second chances and second-second chances, and second-second-second chances and so forth. And because of how God has loved us we have a responsibility to love others as well, to forgive as God has forgiven us.

When Jesus gave His instructions concerning how men ought to pray to the Lord, one of the lines inside of prayer, Our father, was forgive as we are forgiven. We forgive others their debts as we have been forgiven our debts. We forgive others their trespasses as we have been forgiven our trespasses.

Now this is the beginning of a new year and all of us have been given a new beginning by God, and as we gather together and consider this new year, perhaps it's time that you gave the gift of a new beginning to someone else, that you forgave or gave an opportunity for reconciliation in a relationship.

Jesus said if you come to the altar with your gift and there you remember that your brother has something against you, you are to leave the gift right there at the altar and go immediately and do your best to be reconciled to your brother and then come back and offer your gift.

I'm going to invite you, if you are physically able, to join with me now as we kneel in the presence of our Lord and Savior. The Scriptures say at times like this we should examine our self.

Lord we are so thankful that you are the God of new beginnings, and that You are so anxious, You are so desirous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And Lord we thank you for making us new creatures in Christ.

Lord, often times we tend to think of our own sin as being so small compared to what others have done to us, but Lord it's at this time as we hold these elements and we are reminded of Jesus Christ going to Calvary's cross for our sin; we are reminded of the price that has been paid for our sin. We are overwhelmed.

Thank you Lord for loving us so much, for giving us so much. Help us Lord that we might love others as you have loved us, that we might forgive as you have forgiven us; that we might give others the opportunity to experience a newness as You have given to us. Forgive us our sins we pray and cleanse us in Jesus' name as we now partake of these elements in remembrance of You. Let's partake of the bread...and also the cup.

Thank you Lord for being so good and gracious, in Jesus' name we pray, and all God's people said - amen.