Looking at the recent change of government, it’s very clear that a lot of people were looking for a new beginning and were prepared to vote differently in this General Election in the hope of bringing it about. As Christians we take seriously our responsibility to be a force for good in society and should continue to pray daily for our government.   

And so people many are crying out for real change to come in their own lives. When we consider the impact of family breakdown, loneliness, greed, and self-centred living it is abundantly clear that new beginnings are necessary for people, and God can bring this about in your life today. 

1. New beginnings are necessary (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:23-24) 

2. New beginnings are possible (Jeremiah 18:4; Ezekiel 18:31; Psalm 40:3; Acts 5:20; 1 Peter 1:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 3:18; Acts 2:24; John 8:45-47; 1 Timothy 1:16) 

3. New beginnings are personal (2 Corinthians 5:17; John 3:1-5; John 19:39; Romans 9:9) 

Apply  

1. New beginnings are necessary. There’s a disease that has infected humanity. It is at the root of all that is wrong in the world around us. The Bible calls it sin and it affects every one of us. Sin separates us from a God who loves us. It is because of that separation from Him and His love for us, that we see so much chaos and evil in the world (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:23-24). Despite our sins, new beginnings are possible. 

2. New beginnings are possible. The good news is that new beginnings are what the Christian gospel offers. Not religion, but a restored relationship with God where we are reborn, changed from the inside out by God. It shows up in changed actions and motives (Jeremiah 18:4). Like that pot, we are all marred. The root problem in the world is inside every one of us, and God alone has the cure. The Bible talks of how we can have a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 18:31), a new song (Psalm 40:3), a new life (Acts 5:20), and new birth (1 Peter 1:3). New beginnings have been made possible for everyone through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son (2 Corinthians 5:17). 2000 years ago, God sent His son Jesus to be born here and live among us. Because of His love for us, He took full responsibility for all our sins, past, present and future (1 Peter 3:18). He suffered the death penalty on a cross in our place to bring us to God. Through His death for our sins, He purchased a new beginning for every one of us. The Bible tells us that death could not keep its hold on Jesus (Acts 2:24). Because Jesus lived a sinless life, God raised Him from death to give new life to all who will repent of their sins and put their trust in Him (John 8:45-47). All through history people have experienced powerful changes in their lives because of their trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection. When the apostle Paul wrote, ‘the old has gone the new has come’ he spoke from personal experience. For he was once a violent enemy of Christianity. He approved the stoning of to death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He carried out murderous threats against the early disciples. But one day, he had an encounter with the risen Christ that changed his life. He was literally a new man. So dramatic was the change that even the first Christians had a hard time at first believing it (1 Timothy 1:16).  

3. New beginnings are personal (2 Corinthians 5:17). This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! This is something that happens when God meets with us personally by His Spirit. (See the story of Nicodemus in John 3:1-5). Nicodemus became a truth seeker. That’s one of the first step to a new beginning. You must seek out the truth about Jesus. This was a new beginning for Nicodemus and he helped take care of the body of Jesus and prepared it for burial (John 19:39). This put him at risk when you consider his fellow religious leaders had handed Jesus over to be crucified. What Jesus said to Nicodemus, He says to every generation: ‘You must be born again’. Your new beginning is necessary, your new beginning is possible, and your new beginning is personal. Today you are offered the real of hope of a new beginning no matter what ugliness or mess has marred your life. Jesus Christ came into this world to bring you new life. It is not too late. You are not ‘too far g one.’ By turning to God now, you too can become ‘new creation’ and know that ‘the old has gone, the new has come.’ It is only when we ‘repent’, that is to turn from living our way and come back to God, that we can know forgiveness and a new beginning (Romans 9:9).