Singing Our Faith: The Best Is Yet to Come

Scripture: Isaiah 43:15–21 (CEB)

This week at Central UMC, we welcomed guest preacher Rev. Michelle Holmes Chaney, Director for Leadership and Church Vitality for the Northern Virginia District. Rev. Holmes Chaney reminded us that even in the midst of uncertainty and reflection, God is constantly doing something new—sprouting, emerging, and unfolding in our lives and in the world around us.

Through personal stories, memories, and even a Frank Sinatra song, she showed how hope can emerge in both the ordinary and the extraordinary. Like seeds that inevitably sprout when nurtured, God’s new things are always at work, even if we cannot yet see the full bloom.

Rev. Holmes Chaney encouraged us to pay attention to God’s perpetual “now”—a present that is always imminent and filled with possibility. Through trust, faith, and expectation, we are invited to perceive God’s transformative work in our lives, in the church, and in the world. The refrain is simple yet profound: The best is yet to come, and the sun has yet to shine its brightest.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. Where in your life, or in the life of the church, do you sense God inviting you to let go of the past in order to make room for something new?
2. What helps you remain hopeful when the future feels uncertain or delayed?
3. What is one thing you can do this week to actively cultivate hope, either in your own life or in someone else’s?

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