Welcome!
We desire to be a Church Family that seeks to live out the words of James 1:22
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
New Year’s Eve
ANNOUNCEMENTS
INTRODUCTION:
“Making All Things New”
Henri Nouwen
NOUWEN QUOTES:
“we are usually surrounded by so much inner and outer noise that it is hard to truly hear our God when he is speaking to us.”
NOUWEN QUOTES:
“To be bored, therefore, does not mean that we have nothing to do, but that we question the value of the things we are so busy doing. The great paradox of our time is that many of us are busy and bored at the same time.”
SCRIPTURE: EPHESIANS 4:20-24
20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
DISCOVERY: VERSES 20-21
20 “That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.”
Previous verses (17-19) spoke of how the Ephesians had changed in their thinking and lifestyle. “You must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.”
DISCOVERY: VERSES 22-24
22 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Main Point: Get rid of old practices that put on new ones.
DISCOVERY: VERSES 22-24
This exchange is part of the life of being a follower of Jesus.
To “take off” the old life behind and to “put on” the new life.
As it implies, this is more than a one time event but a continuous action.
APPLICATION:
What specifically should we do?
What does this look like in our lives?
APPLICATION:
The first thing we need to do is to be good listeners: Three times it refers to the language of listening in our passage.
20: “That, however, is not the way of life you learned…”
21: “...when you heard about Christ and were taught in him.”
22: “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life.”
APPLICATION:
The second thing we need to do is to be deliberate: What are you taking off and taking on?
1. Take off your “former way of life” (v. 22)
2. Remove any “deceitful desires” (v. 22)
3. Choose to be “made new in the attitude of your minds” (v. 23)
APPLICATION:
The final thing is to remember the goal/reason/purpose of all of our lives.
We are created “to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (v. 24)
Brennan Manning: “We are called to nothing less than to be prophets and lovers.”
CONCLUSION:
Getting off to a good start and finding a good rhythm
CONCLUSION: 1 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18
“16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”