Mt. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church     
 
Pastor Tim Janiszewski - "The Start of Something New"

Links:

 

Messages of Grace

(Past Recorded Sermons) 













 
This Sunday
Sept. 11, 2016



Sermon Title:
"The Start of
Something New"



Scripture:
     Ecclesiastes     1:1-4, 9-10
Mark 2:20-22
Revelation 21:5  
Picture
September 8, 2016
 
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends:
 
Americans long have been known for loving new things. They look forward each year to the new lines in clothing coming from fashion houses, the new automobile models rolling off manufacturer assembly lines, and the new television shows airing on cable or Direct TV. They wait anxiously for the newest tech toys and products to integrate into their daily lives. Americans make a rather large deal out of celebrating the New Year. I suppose we come naturally by this predilection for what is new, since the nation began its life as the New World.
           
This autumn, we turn to a new sermon series which is called The Start of Something New. In Revelation 21:5, we read these words spoken by God, "Behold, I am making everything new!" As followers of Jesus, we participate in the vision of God which takes things that are worn out, tired, broken, and bent by the world and makes them new again. This re-creation, this new life, this rebirth, reaches into the life of every believer in Jesus Christ. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 records, "If anyone is in Jesus Christ, he/she is a new creation; old things have passed away. Behold, new things have come!"
 
In this series, we'll look to Scripture concerning what God makes new, how He goes about making things new, and what our role is when we participate in God's new and creative work. This Sunday, we begin with Jesus' teaching about new wine being meant for new wineskins (Mark 2:20-22). What is the new wine of which Jesus speaks? What are the new wineskins in which it is poured? Why is it disastrous if we try to contain this new wine in old wineskins? We find that Christ was born, taught, suffered, died, rose again, and ascended to the throne of God in order to introduce this new wine into new wine skins.
 
Well, this image of new wine and new wineskins surely sounds fairly foreign to us, though it would have been as common to Jesus' listeners as Coca Cola is to us. What then does this old illustration have to do with God doing something new in us? To discover the answer to these questions and to much more, join us this Sunday and throughout the fall for our new series, The Start of Something New.
 
Pastor Tim

****

Having Trouble Viewing the Clip Art?

 

If you are having trouble viewing the clip art on this Pastoral E-Letter, please go to the top of the page and click where it reads "Click Here." If you have Outlook, please right click in the image block and "download pictures."