A Warning About New Wine

In one paragraph

This message was the final planned week of the New Wine series, though Pastor Brian left open the possibility of continuing it. The sermon centered on a warning Jesus gives about what happens when someone refuses to get a new wineskin, using John chapter 8 as the primary window into that danger. The conversation moved between scripture, honest questions from the congregation, and direct...

Read together

1. Matthew 9:14-17 read aloud by a congregation member as the primary text for the series on new wine and wineskins
2. Luke 5:33-39 read aloud by a second congregation member as a parallel account of the new wine parable
3. John 8:31-47 read by Brian as the main teaching passage illustrating the warning about refusing new wine
4. 1 Corinthians Brian quoted Paul saying he beats his body and makes it his slave, in the context of crucifying the flesh
5. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 Brian quoted the Message translation about tearing down barriers and bringing every thought into captivity to Christ
6. James 2 Jay referenced faith without works is dead when discussing whether the believing Jews were saved

What was said

• Sit quietly this week and ask God to show you one specific mindset or habit he is calling you to surrender, then write it down.
• Go back and read John chapter 8 verses 31 through 47 on your own, looking for where you see your own wineskin in how the people respond to Jesus.
• When something feels uncomfortable in your faith or in church, resist the urge to walk away and instead ask whether God is using that friction to invite you into a new wineskin.
• If the Holy Spirit has already been nudging you about an area of your life, take one step of obedience this week without waiting to fully understand the why.
• Search Tribe JH on any podcast platform and catch up on the New Wine series if you have missed any of the earlier conversations.

Talk about it

1. Brian said that a new wineskin is purchased through surrender and death to old mindsets, patterns, and ways of thinking. What is something in your own life that you sense needs to die before there is room for what God is doing?
2. During the discussion of John 8, the group noted that Jesus was speaking to people who already believed in him, not to the Pharisees. What does it stir up in you to consider that Jesus confronts weeds in the gardens of people who are already his followers?
3. Amanda described keeping a wineskin pliable the way you season a cast iron skillet, by continually oiling it through time in prayer and the Word. What does that look like practically in your own life right now, and where does it feel like the skillet has gone dry?
4. Joy asked whether old wineskins are always wrong or just right for a previous season. Brian said the answer is yes to both. Can you think of something in your own faith life or church experience that was genuinely good and effective for a season but may now be holding you back from something new God is doing?
5. Brian read six things from John 8 that he said happen progressively when someone refuses to get a new wineskin, starting with no room in the heart for the message and ending with losing belonging and identity in Jesus. Which of those six steps feels most like a warning you personally need to take seriously, and why?