Year 8 Anniversary Sunday: Begin Again

August 23rd, 2026 | Seventh Day Adventist

Passage: Isaiah 43:16–19

Central Idea: Begin Again

Intro: Pinewood Church, today we are eight years old. Eight years!

Eight years ago, there was no guarantee that we would be standing here today. There was a calling. There was a dream. There were a handful of people crazy enough to believe that God wanted to establish something in Boulder. There were prayer walks, early mornings, late nights, setup, teardown, Sundays where everything worked, and Sundays where everything broke.

There were seasons when we knew exactly what God was doing, and there were seasons when we were thinking, “God, what in the world are You doing?” But here we are. Eight years later.

Psalm 126:3 says, “The LORD had done great things for us; we were joyful.” Pinewood, the Lord has done great things for us. And today, we are joyful.

But I’ve been thinking about this anniversary a little differently. Because I don’t think today is only about celebrating that Pinewood is eight years old. I believe we’re standing at the beginning of something new. And if you remember nothing else I say today, I want you to remember this:

What God did before gives me faith for what God will do next.

That’s what I want to talk about today. Because sometimes the best way to find faith for where you’re going is to remember who God has already proven Himself to be.

1. LOOK BACK: The God Who Makes a Way

   1. I want to take you to Isaiah 43. God is speaking to His people, and listen to how He introduces Himself. Isaiah 43:16 says, “This is what the LORD says, who makes a way in the sea, and a path through raging water.”
   2. God is intentionally taking Israel backward. He’s saying, “Do you remember the Red Sea? Do you remember when there was an ocean in front of you and an army behind you? Do you remember when there was no logical way forward? Do you remember when everybody thought it was over? I made a road where there wasn’t a road.”
   3. God is reminding them, “That’s who I am. I’m the God who makes ways where there aren’t ways.”

   4. And I wonder how many people in this room have a “God made a way” story.

      1. You can look back at something in your life and say, “I still don’t completely understand how I made it through that.”
      2. I don’t know how our marriage survived that.
      3. I don’t know how we paid for that.
      4. I don’t know why God gave me another chance.
      5. I don’t know how I got free from that.
      6. I don’t know how I survived that season.
      7. I don’t know how I’m standing here today. But somehow, God made a way.

      8. Can somebody give God some praise if you can say “He made a way!”

         5. Sometimes you need to look back and feel the value in the victories past.
         6. Pinewood has eight years of victory stories.

      9. There were moments when we didn’t know what was next, but God made a way. There were things we couldn’t afford, but God made a way. There were doors we couldn’t open, but God made a way.

      10. That’s why what God did before gives me faith for what God will do next.

          7. The Strange Command
          8. But then the text gets really interesting. Because God spends verses 16 and 17 reminding Israel about the Red Sea, and then in verse 18 He says, “Do not remember the past events; pay no attention to things of old.”
          9. Wait a second. God, You just brought it up! You just reminded them about the Red Sea, and now You’re telling them not to remember the past?
          10. I think there is something incredibly important happening here. There is a difference between remembering God’s faithfulness and living in God’s previous methods. God wanted Israel to remember who He was without assuming that He would always do things the way He had done them before.
          11. And I think somebody needs to hear this today: Never let the way God moved before become the only way you believe God can move again.
          12. Maybe He parted a sea last time. This time He’s inviting you to walk on water.

      11. Maybe He provided through a promotion last time, and He’s going to provide differently this time.

      12. Maybe God used a certain relationship, season, opportunity, location, or method, and you’ve been praying, “God, do it again.” And God is saying, “I am doing it again. It just doesn’t look the same.”
      13. Because yesterday’s miracle can actually become today’s limitation if we decide that God has to repeat Himself. (Say it again)

2. LOOK AGAIN: “Do You Not See It?”

   1. That’s why verse 19 is so powerful. God says, “Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it?”
   2. I love that God doesn’t say, “Someday, eventually, I might do something new.” He says, “Even now it is coming.” In other words, I’ve already started.
   3. And that means it is possible for God to be doing something new while I’m still asking Him to move.
      1. I can be praying, “God, open a door,” while God is saying, “I already did.”
      2. I can be praying, “God, change me,” while He’s saying, “I’ve already started.”
      3. I can be praying, “God, give me another chance,” while He’s saying, “This is it.”
      4. Maybe the question isn’t simply, “God, are You moving?” Maybe the prayer needs to become, “God, give me eyes to see where You’re moving.” We want to be where God is already moving!
   4. Because sometimes what we’re calling an ending, God calls a beginning. What we’re calling disruption, God calls transition. What we’re calling uncomfortable, God calls growth. What we’re calling uncertainty, God calls an opportunity to trust Him again.
   5. So look again. Because what God did before gives me faith for what God will do next.

3. THE EIGHTH DAY: A Biblical Pattern

   1. Something caught my attention this week. We’re turning eight. Now, I’m not about to get weird with biblical numerology. Scripture doesn’t give us a secret decoder ring where every number always means one thing. But there is a fascinating pattern throughout Scripture. Seven repeatedly represents a completed cycle, and again and again, eight appears on the other side of completion when something new is beginning.
      1. Think about Noah. The flood comes, the old world is gone, and 1 Peter 3:20 tells us that eight people were brought safely through the water. Eight people step out of that ark into a new world. It’s a new beginning.
      2. Then God establishes His covenant with Abraham, and the covenant sign of circumcision happens on the eighth day.
      3. Then you get to Leviticus. Aaron and the priests go through seven days of consecration. Seven days of preparation. And then Leviticus 9:1 begins with these words: “On the eighth day…” Aaron steps into his priestly ministry. Seven days of preparation, and on the eighth, something new begins.
      4. Then you get to one of my favorite examples. Samuel goes to Jesse’s house because God has chosen the next king of Israel. Jesse brings his sons before Samuel. The first one walks by. Not him. Another one. Not him. Another one. Not him. Seven sons pass before Samuel, and God says no to every one.
      5. Finally Samuel looks at Jesse and asks, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse basically says, “Well, there is one more, but he’s out watching the sheep.” David wasn’t even invited to the meeting. Nobody thought he belonged in the lineup. His own father didn’t think to bring him in. Samuel says, “Send for him.”
      6. David walks into the room, and God says, “Anoint him.” And 1 Samuel 17:12 tells us David was Jesse’s eighth son. The eighth son becomes the beginning of a new chapter for Israel. And maybe somebody walked in today feeling overlooked, forgotten, or behind. Hear me: Your new beginning doesn’t require everybody else to see what God sees in you. They can leave you in the field. They can forget to invite you. They can overlook you. But if God has called you, He knows exactly where to find you.
   2. The Eighth Day and Resurrection
      1. And then there is Jesus. He’s crucified. He’s buried. The Sabbath comes. The week is complete. And then, on the first day of another week, Jesus walks out of the grave.
      2. Early Christians would sometimes describe resurrection Sunday as the eighth day because it represented more than the beginning of another week. It represented the beginning of new creation. Death had been defeated. Sin had been conquered. The grave was empty. Something completely new had begun.
   3. So no, eight isn’t a magic number. But there is a beautiful biblical pattern here. Again and again, eight finds God’s people standing on the other side of what was and stepping into what will be.
   4. Pinewood Church, welcome to year eight.

4. BEGIN AGAIN: A Season of New Beginnings

   1. And I can’t think of a better weekend for this message because look around Boulder right now. Everything feels like it’s beginning again.
      1. Kids are going back to school. Parents are establishing new rhythms.
      2. CU students are coming back into our city. Some of you just moved here.
      3. Some of you are starting college.
      4. Some of you are walking into church for the first time.
      5. Some of you have recently met Jesus, and everything about your life feels new.
      6. And as a church, we’re walking into one of the biggest transitions we’ve ever experienced. We’re buying a building. After years of portable church, setting up, tearing down, temporary spaces, and wondering where God would take us next, He’s opening an opportunity for us to establish a permanent presence in this city.
   2. But I want to be really clear about something. The building isn’t the new beginning. The building is evidence that we’re entering one.
   3. Because buildings aren’t the vision. People are the vision. More people meeting Jesus. More disciples being made. More kids growing up knowing Jesus. More students encountering Jesus. More leaders being developed. More missionaries being sent. More churches being planted. More families being restored. More people experiencing the love of Jesus in Boulder.
   4. We’re not buying a building so someday we can stand outside and say, “Look what we built.” We’re stepping into this next season saying, “Look what God is beginning.”
   5. What Needs to Begin Again in You?
      1. But this is where the sermon has to stop being about Pinewood. Because it’s possible to get really excited about what God is doing around you while completely missing what God wants to do in you.
   6. So here’s the question I want every person in this room to answer: What needs to begin again in you?
      1. Maybe it’s your relationship with God. There was a time when you prayed, but somewhere along the way you stopped. Begin again.
      2. There was a time when you loved opening Scripture, but life got busy and that hunger faded. Begin again.
      3. Maybe there was a time when you believed God could use your life, but disappointment convinced you otherwise. Begin again.
      4. Maybe it’s your marriage. Maybe it’s purity. Maybe it’s forgiveness. Maybe it’s serving. Maybe it’s generosity. Maybe it’s baptism. Maybe it’s a calling you’ve been running from.
      5. And maybe you’re a college student sitting here today. You came to Boulder and suddenly Mom and Dad aren’t deciding whether you go to church anymore. Their faith can’t carry you through this season. At some point you have to answer the question: Is Jesus going to be my Jesus?
      6. Maybe you haven’t been in church for years and somehow you ended up here today. You think somebody invited you. You think you happened to show up on anniversary Sunday. But what if God brought you into this room because He wanted you to hear something?
      7. Your story isn’t over. You can begin again.

Closing: Everyone stand to your feet.

I want to bring you back one more time to Isaiah 43:19: “Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it?” Maybe that's the word you needed today. Stop looking for God to recreate what He did before and start looking for what He's doing right now. Because what God did before gives me faith for what God will do next.

That's why we're about to sing “Do It Again.” We're not asking God to repeat the last season. We're saying, “God, You were faithful then, and we trust You to be faithful again.” You don't have to part the same sea. You don't have to open the same door. Do something new.

And for some of you, that new thing starts today. Maybe you need a new beginning with Jesus. Maybe there's an area of your life where you're ready to begin again. Or maybe you already know your next step of faith, and today you're deciding you're not looking back.

Eight years ago, Pinewood stood at a starting line and said yes to God. And eight years later, here we are again. Another starting line. A new beginning. Another opportunity to trust Him.

So Pinewood, God said this first to Israel, and He is the same God today. Isaiah says, “Look, I am about to do something new.”

We see it. We believe it. And our answer is yes.

Year eight isn't the finish line. It’s the beginning of something new.

Let's begin again.

Invitation: Salvation Prayer & Baptism