Taking First Steps: Embracing God's New Thing This Fall

Aug 02, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: First Steps Through Unfamiliar Doors

The weight of a dorm room keychain or a preschool backpack holds more than metal or fabric—it carries the vulnerability of new beginnings. Fresh starts often feel like walking into rooms where the walls haven’t memorized your name yet. God’s promise to do “a new thing” isn’t limited to tidy transitions but meets us in the messy, sacred space between what was and what will be. Whether you’re releasing a child’s hand or your own expectations, beginnings require leaning into trust before certainty. Every first step, no matter how small, is an act of faith in the God who walks ahead. [50:15]

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
(Isaiah 43:18–19, NIV)

Reflection: What “last breakfast” moment have you experienced when stepping into a new season? How might acknowledging the weight of endings help you embrace beginnings with greater trust in God’s presence?

Day 2: New Things Grow in Barren Soil

Exile is not where stories end but where God’s creativity begins. The Israelites heard “I am doing a new thing” not in a season of abundance but amid rubble and displacement. Fresh starts don’t require ideal conditions—they thrive where we least expect them, like wildflowers cracking concrete. God’s work often bypasses the obvious fertile ground to bloom in the places we’ve labeled “too broken.” What feels like a wasteland might just be soil waiting for the right seeds. [54:28]

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
(Lamentations 3:22–23, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you resigned yourself to barrenness? How might God be inviting you to plant hope in that exact place today?

Day 3: Stopping Good Things for Better Things

Intentionality requires pruning—not just adding more. A gardener doesn’t merely plant new seeds but uproots what crowds the soil. Fresh starts often mean releasing good commitments to make space for God’s best. Like a parent clearing the kitchen table for homework or a believer surrendering busyness for stillness, creating margin is holy work. What needs to end so something eternal can begin? [55:42]

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1,6, NIV)

Reflection: What “good thing” have you clutched too tightly? How might releasing it create space for God to surprise you?

Day 4: Intentional Steps Over Autopilot Cycles

Faith isn’t maintained by momentum but by deliberate choices—like a parent setting alarms for school drop-offs or a believer prioritizing prayer before screens. Routines become rituals when infused with purpose. The Israelites didn’t accidently cross the Jordan; they followed the ark intentionally. What daily habit, if given sacred attention, could become your ark-leading-the-way? [53:07]

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 3:13–14, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane task have you been rushing through? How might approaching it with holy intention transform it into worship?

Day 5: Communion as a Monthly First Step

The bread and cup are more than reminders—they’re reset buttons. Like a parent packing a fresh lunchbox or a student opening a blank notebook, communion invites us to approach God’s table with empty hands. Each “do this in remembrance” is a chance to release yesterday’s failures and tomorrow’s anxieties. Grace tastes like a new beginning served on a plate. [56:25]

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
(1 Corinthians 11:26, ESV)

Reflection: What burden do you need to lay on the communion plate today? How might receiving grace anew equip you for the next faithful step?

Sermon Summary

The back-to-school season becomes one of those natural turning points in the year, where the school supply aisle gets busy and everybody is scrambling for notebooks, folders, and the one strange item that somehow only one store seems to carry. The rhythm of the year gives January the official first day, but the fall brings another kind of fresh beginning. The church calendar starts turning too, with new programs, new firsts, and new steps opening up all around.

The first day of school carries more weight than people sometimes expect. The first-day picture matters because waiting until after school can leave a child looking like boot camp just ended. The first college drop-off matters too, because that “last breakfast” and that first goodbye can hit harder than expected. The beginning of a journey is not small, because every journey begins with a first step.

The call to take first steps asks for intentionality. The fall season gives families, students, parents, and the church a chance to ask what this year is going to be. Last year may not have been so great, but a new fresh start is given. Last year may have been wonderful, but it all starts again. The invitation is to think carefully about what needs to happen in a child’s life, in a family’s life, and in a life of faith.

The call to grow in faith becomes practical here. A person who has only attended worship may need to step into a Bible study, a small group, or a grow group. A parent who wants the church to be a larger part of a child’s life may need to take that first intentional step now. The life of faith does not drift into deeper discipleship by accident.

Isaiah’s promise gives the deeper ground for all of this: “Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing.” God spoke that word not to people with easy schedules and simple school-year goals, but to Israel in exile, after destruction, loss, and a way of life that had fallen apart. God’s new thing comes even in hard places, even when life feels like exile.

God meets his people in the first step and every step after it. The fall can become a great year at Hickory Flat, but not without intentional steps of faith. Baptism marks a first step, and communion becomes another fresh receiving of grace. God is the author and creator of new things, great things, good things, and blessed things.

Key Takeaways

1. Fresh starts need intentional steps. The first step matters because it gives shape to the direction of the whole journey. A new season does not become holy simply because the calendar turns. The life of faith requires ordered steps, chosen with prayer, grace, and purpose. [51:18]
2. God’s new thing meets exile. Isaiah’s promise was not spoken into comfort, but into loss, exile, and the ruins of a familiar life. That means God’s new work is not limited to easy seasons or clean beginnings. The hardest places can become the very ground where God says, “Do you not perceive it?” [53:43]
3. Some good things must stop. Intentional faith sometimes requires more than adding another spiritual activity. A life may need to release even good things when they crowd out the better steps that lead closer to God. Discernment asks not only what should begin, but what must be laid down. [55:17]
4. Communion becomes a fresh start. The walk to the table is not just movement down an aisle. Communion becomes a deliberate step toward grace that is already present but freshly received. God meets that step with the reminder that his mercy is not stale, thin, or used up.

## [56:08]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[43:24] - Opening Amen and Gathering
[48:26] - Back-to-School Beginnings
[49:11] - A New Church Year Begins
[49:51] - First-Day Pictures and College Goodbyes
[51:18] - Taking Intentional First Steps
[52:04] - A Fresh Start This Year
[53:07] - Isaiah’s Promise of a New Thing
[53:43] - New Hope in Exile
[55:17] - Faithful Steps at Hickory Flat
[55:42] - Making Room for God’s Direction
[56:08] - Baptism, Communion, and Grace

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Isaiah 43:18-19
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” [53:43]

Observation questions

In Isaiah 43:18-19, what are the two things God tells his people not to do, and what does he say he is doing instead?
What everyday “first steps” were used to show why beginnings matter so much—especially at back-to-school time? [49:51]
What were some specific examples of intentional next steps in faith that were named for adults, parents, and children? [53:07]
What hard circumstances were God’s people facing when Isaiah spoke about God doing “a new thing”? [54:28]

Interpretation questions

Isaiah says, “Do not dwell on the past,” but that does not mean the past was unimportant. How should that be understood for people who carry disappointment, regret, or even good memories from last year? [53:43]
God’s promise about a “new thing” was first spoken to people in exile. What does that suggest about where new beginnings most often take shape—in comfort or in difficulty? [54:28]
A fresh start requires intentional steps and not just hopeful feelings. Why is intentionality so important in growth, especially in the life of faith? [51:18]
Sometimes making room for what matters most means stopping even some good things. How can a person tell when a good activity is crowding out something better and more faithful? [55:42]

Application questions

This season offers a real chance to begin again. What is one area of life right now—home, work, school, relationships, or faith—where a fresh start is deeply needed? What would a real first step look like this week? [52:18]
Deeper faith usually begins with a specific decision. Is there a next step that has been put off for too long—joining a Bible study, returning to worship more regularly, serving, or helping a child take faith seriously? What has made that step hard to take? [53:07]
God’s new thing can begin even in exile-like seasons. Where does life currently feel dry, disrupted, or unfamiliar? What would it mean to look for “a way in the wilderness” there instead of assuming nothing can change? [54:48]
Some good things may need to stop so that better things can begin. What good but crowded part of life may need to be reduced, paused, or released to make more room for God? [55:35]
Ordering steps with intention takes honesty. What usually shapes the rhythm of an ordinary week right now—urgency, habit, exhaustion, other people’s expectations, or a clear sense of what matters most before God? [55:45]
Baptism marks a first step, and communion is a fresh receiving of grace. How can ordinary physical actions in worship—walking forward, praying, receiving bread and cup—become more intentional and less automatic? [56:17]
God is with his people not only in the first step but in every step after it. Where is encouragement needed to keep walking and not quit after the excitement of a new beginning fades? [55:03]

Sermon Clips

49s

#NewThingWithGod

“```The way of life that they as they had known it was gone, and yet God was saying that he was doing a new thing in the midst of that. So wherever you are in your journey, if you find yourself in a difficult place, if you feel like you're in exile, if you feel like it's time for a new start, the good news is that God is there, God is with you, and God is gonna be with you not just in that first step as you take it, but every step of the way in a new day. We have an opportunity this fall to make this the greatest year that we've ever had at Hickory Flat, but it's not done so without us being intentional, without us taking those steps that we need to in faith.”

46s

#GodIsDoingANewThing

“and yet God was saying that he was doing a new thing in the midst of that. So wherever you are in your journey, if you find yourself in a difficult place, if you feel like you're in exile, if you feel like it's time for a new start, the good news is that God is there, God is with you, and God is gonna be with you not just in that first step as you take it, but every step of the way in a new day. We have an opportunity this fall to make this the greatest year that we've ever had at Hickory Flat, but it's not done so without us being intentional, without us taking those steps that we need to in faith.”

70s

#GodWithYouEveryStep

“the good news is that God is there, God is with you, and God is gonna be with you not just in that first step as you take it, but every step of the way in a new day. We have an opportunity this fall to make this the greatest year that we've ever had at Hickory Flat, but it's not done so without us being intentional, without us taking those steps that we need to in faith. And the other thing about starting something new and making room for it and being intentional about it is that sometimes that also means that we stop things. Maybe we even stop some good things. But just to look at our lives and to ask God's guidance about how we organize the time steps that will lead us closer to him, to grow us into the people and the individuals that, that God has created us to be, as we do that with intention, we do that with grace, and we do that by taking steps of faith.”

66s

#FromExileToNewLife

“They were facing some really difficult situations in their life. This was written to the people in Israel when they had largely been exiled from their homeland. Many of them had. They'd gone through a really difficult time in their nation. Their temple had been destroyed. The way of life that they as they had known it was gone, and yet God was saying that he was doing a new thing in the midst of that. So wherever you are in your journey, if you find yourself in a difficult place, if you feel like you're in exile, if you feel like it's time for a new start, the good news is that God is there, God is with you, and God is gonna be with you not just in that first step as you take it, but every step of the way in a new day. We have an opportunity this fall to make this the greatest year that we've ever had at Hickory Flat, but it's not done so without us being intentional, without us taking those steps that we need to in faith.”

66s

#ContextOfHope

“what's the interesting thing is about the context of this scripture. The people that this was originally to, they weren't just beginning, first grade or beginning college or starting a new bible study. They were facing some really difficult situations in their life. This was written to the people in Israel when they had largely been exiled from their homeland. Many of them had. They'd gone through a really difficult time in their nation. Their temple had been destroyed. The way of life that they as they had known it was gone, and yet God was saying that he was doing a new thing in the midst of that. So wherever you are in your journey, if you find yourself in a difficult place, if you feel like you're in exile, if you feel like it's time for a new start, the good news is that God is there, God is with you, and God is gonna be with you not just in that first step as you take it, but every step of the way in a new day.”

43s

#StartSometimesMeansStop

“And the other thing about starting something new and making room for it and being intentional about it is that sometimes that also means that we stop things. Maybe we even stop some good things. But just to look at our lives and to ask God's guidance about how we organize the time steps that will lead us closer to him, to grow us into the people and the individuals that, that God has created us to be, as we do that with intention, we do that with grace, and we do that by taking steps of faith.”

58s

#HickoryFlatNewYear

“We have an opportunity this fall to make this the greatest year that we've ever had at Hickory Flat, but it's not done so without us being intentional, without us taking those steps that we need to in faith. And the other thing about starting something new and making room for it and being intentional about it is that sometimes that also means that we stop things. Maybe we even stop some good things. But just to look at our lives and to ask God's guidance about how we organize the time steps that will lead us closer to him, to grow us into the people and the individuals that, that God has created us to be, as we do that with intention, we do that with grace, and we do that by taking steps of faith.”

85s

#IntentionalCommunion

“As you take those steps towards, the front of the church this morning to receive holy communion, be intentional about that. I mean, God's grace is here every single day. His we have communion once a month, but it is still a new and a fresh start as we sing once again, as we are reminded once again through our worship and our prayer that god is with us and god is the author and creator of new things, great things, good things, blessed things as we come together and learn about his grace and love here at Hickory Flat.”

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