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New and Improved - Week Three

March 30, 2025 0 0

 

Old ways, new ways

 

The invitation to God’s ongoing unfolding Kingdom that stretches from Alpha to Omega is an invitation to a new way of living. Christian faith is not a rejection of the world — it is a new way of being in the world. How are we embracing the world and our new identities in it? 

The story of newness at the heart of Christianity is enacted every time someone becomes a Christian… Our Christian communities are ever new and are enhanced every time the community gets wider and somebody new discover a home there.

SEEDS TO SOW: What old thing has been made new in your lifetime?

 

Read John 13: 31-3

Old identity, new identity…

One of the ironies of these verses is that this ‘new’ commandment is hardly new! This shouldn’t be coming out of the blue for any disciple half-paying attention by this point! And yet there is something new happening…  

The kicker comes in verse 35 — this commandment is now to be so embedded in their lives as to become their identity, how they are immediately known and recognised. They are not just to love another they are to be known for it. Their acts of compassion and nurture are to be painted on a broader canvass, a bigger stage — the world. This commandment is ‘new and improved’ as it matures in their lives, rippling outwards!

So, are Christians today known for loving one another? Are we immediately recognised for our love for each other and one another?

 

Read 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21

Old creation, new creation…

Who we have been and where we have come from are not barriers to us being ambassadors for Christ — it is because of who we have been and where we have been that we are who we are and where we are now.

Here’s a challenge:

How can we ambassadors for Christ tomorrow at 12pm? Where are we likely to be and what are we likely to be doing? How can we be ambassador’s of Christ’s love and reconciliation in that place? We don’t need to do any grand gestures, but what simple actions could we take to be on Jesus’s side tomorrow at 12pm?

 

Read Isaiah 65: 17-25

Old earth, new earth…

A compelling vision of a peaceable kingdom… one that will be familiar but also novel!

Despair and anguish become relief and joy — we see the wonderful absurdity of transformed relationships — the old is not abandoned — instead it is transformed, made new.

What is a power dynamic in the wider world that you would love to see utterly transformed? It can be as absurd as a wolf and a lamb just chilling together.