Begin Again - Introduction

A new year has arrived which begs the question: What are you looking forward to in the year ahead? What did you value most in the year just completed? Are you excited for new possibilities in the new year, or dreading having to start over in some area of life once again?

The start of a new year is a natural time to do a bit of self-evaluation. For some of us, that opens up exciting new possibilities. For others, we attempt to prepared ourselves for trials we know we will face. For most of us, we simply make our best guess as to what the year ahead will hold and what it will mean for our daily lives.

In the last year I’ve come across a song by Taylor Swift which talks about new beginnings. She was talking specifically about romantic love and relationships but I find myself thinking about so many different aspects of life when I hear it. We all have experiences which expose us to the sin ever-present in our world. But this song reminds me that love, and hope, and faith are always waiting for us to embrace a random moment to let them begin again.

So today we will be kicking off our New Year’s series taking a look at 4 different Biblical figures who found themselves starting over for various reasons and what we can learn from their examples. There are certainly lots of examples to choose from and we’d love to hear who in Scripture has inspired you when you find yourself having to Begin Again.