Mark 2:18-22 “New is Never Normal: 3 Phases of ReGathering”

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

INTRO> Its 1964, the civil rights movement is in full swing, President Kennedy had just been murdered the year before, the Vietnam was was under way and the US was at a turning point. A new crazy hair folk singer wanted to write a song that would be the sound track for everything happening, so Bob Dylan released his album with the feature song, “The Times They are A Changing” The first verse “Come gather ’round people Wherever you roam/ And admit that the waters Around you have grown/ And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone/ If your time to you is worth savin’ /Then you better start swimmin’/ or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin’

CONTEXT> A song written 56 years ago is prophetic in nature for today! There is much that is changing in our worlds! That’s also what Jesus is saying here in these verses. I want to focus on v21-22 today, and use them as our guide as we speak to what it looks like for us to reopen as a church.

1. How Jesus works.

21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

• Jesus uses a very common illustration to make a profound point.
• New clothe, sewn on old cloth shrinks and damages
• New wine ferments and stretches old wine skins.

Big Idea > Jesus doesn’t fix old things, Jesus creates new things.

*ILL> Remember the Tom and Jerry Cartoons? I remember the one when Tom is leaking (PIC)… that’s what we think we are, and Jesus can come along and “patch us up.”APP> We want Jesus to “patch things up” Relationships, situations so they can “go back to normal” Normal deals with the past, Normal is comfortable

APP> Jesus isn’t interested in going back to Normal, Jesus is interested in doing something new

• • • 2 Corinthians 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old is gone and the new is here!”
    • 1 Peter 1:3 – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
    • Ephesians 4:22-24 “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.”

APP> God’s new is never normal.

APP> Is your prayer, “God, make things normal again!” or “God, make me new.”

APP> It would be a failure for us as a church to “go back to normal” when we regather again. Jesus actually said in v21 “worse tear is made”

PHASE 1

• • • Online Service- There is no “varsity” and “JV” in all of this. your not “more spiritual”.

PHASE 2 (online survey over 120)

• • • Begins June 7th
    • “Micro-gatherings” 9am, 11am and 5pm
    • “Hands Free” service (every other pew marked off)
    • No Kids Side or nursery (Family Worship Style and a list of babies to be prayed for)
    • Parents rotate services if that easier for you.
    • Sermon Series “Canoeing The Mountains”

PHASE 3

• • • July 5th – One Physical Gathering at 10am, Live Stream at 10am and 5pm
    • July 12th – Full Re-Open of two services 9am and 11am
    • July 26th– Easter in July!
    • August Sermon Series : Proverbs: Fool Proofing Your Life

How can you help?

• • • Keep Praying 
    • Keep Giving
    • Keep Serving

Big Idea > Jesus doesn’t fix old things, Jesus creates new things.