09/11/2026
Erev Rosh HaShannah service tonight. Come join us in person or live stream at live.bethadonai.com
Message: Facing the ghosts of your past
Summary of tonight's message:
On Erev Rosh HaShanah, we stand before God as King and honestly confront the “ghosts” of our past—our harmful words, poor choices, neglected responsibilities, and spiritual failures. This self-examination is uncomfortable, but its purpose is not to trap us in guilt or shame. Godly regret leads to repentance and transformation. Teshuvah, usually translated as repentance, literally means “return”: turning away from the path we have chosen and returning to God. This can be difficult because it requires us to abandon excuses, confess our wrongdoing, accept responsibility, surrender control, repair damage, and risk how others may see us. Yet we do not have to make ourselves worthy before approaching God; we return because we need His mercy, cleansing, and strength.
Scripture repeatedly shows that failure does not have to be final. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Jonah, Peter, and Paul all failed, sometimes with serious consequences, but God continued to transform and use them when they returned to Him.
Teshuvah does not erase the past or remove every consequence, but it prevents the past from determining our future. Rosh HaShanah offers the sacred opportunity to begin again—not merely by entering a new calendar year, but by choosing a new direction. Through God’s grace, regret can become repentance, repentance can become transformation, and transformation can become a new life. Our past may explain where we are, but only God has the authority to determine who we can become.