A New Year feels like opening a fresh notebook, doesn’t it? The pages are blank, the
possibilities endless. For us as a congregation, this moment is more than just flipping a
calendar—it’s an opportunity to lean into the truth of how God works: not in sweeping
generalities or abstract theories, but in the small, specific details of our lives.
That’s the beauty—and the scandal—of particularity. It’s a theological term that sounds
lofty but comes down to this: God works through the ordinary to do the extraordinary.
Think about it. God didn’t send a philosophy; He sent His Son, Jesus, to a specific town,
born to a specific woman, at a specific moment in history. He chose shepherds on a
hillside, fishermen by the sea, and a carpenter in Nazareth to carry His message. He didn’t
work in the abstract; He worked in the specific.
And that’s what we’re called to embrace as a church, as we lean into God’s future. It’s
tempting to get caught up in big ideas and lofty dreams, but the truth is, God’s kingdom
grows through small, deliberate acts of love. It’s in the way we welcome a new face at
the door, the way we care for someone in need, the way we listen, pray, and serve right
where we’ve been planted.
This New Year, let’s ask God to help us see the particular opportunities around us. Maybe
it’s a neighbor who needs encouragement or a ministry that needs fresh hands and feet.
Maybe it’s just showing up—faithfully, week after week—trusting that God uses the small
things to do His big work.
We don’t need to have all the answers. We just need to trust that the same God who
worked through Mary in Bethlehem, Peter on the shore, and countless ordinary people
throughout history is working through us—right here, right now. He’s been faithful to us
this far, and He’s not going to stop now. Let’s embrace the particulars, step into the story,
and watch how God writes His grace into this New Year.
Maranatha, Jordy
