New Wine Deeper Explained

In one paragraph

This message was the second part of a series on new wine and new wineskins, drawn from Jesus's words in Matthew 9 and Luke 5. Brian walked the congregation through what those two things actually represent, using the story of Nicodemus in John 3 as the main teaching passage. The session was conversational, with the room regularly contributing observations and questions. Brian started by recapping...

Read together

1. Matthew 9:14-17 read aloud to introduce the new wine and wineskins teaching
2. Luke 5:33-39 read as a second account of the new wine and wineskins parable
3. John 3:1-21 read in full as the story of Nicodemus wrestling with the new wine Jesus offered
4. 2 Corinthians 5:17 cited by a congregation member to connect new wineskin with being a new creation in Christ
5. John 19:38-42 read to show Nicodemus coming around and helping bury Jesus at personal cost
6. Isaiah 63 referenced for the image of the returning Messiah treading the winepress with the blood of his enemies
7. Psalm 2 cited for the image of Jesus ruling nations with an iron scepter and smashing them like a clay pot
8. Ezekiel referenced for the passage about nations that refuse to celebrate Sukkot having their rain turned off during the millennial reign

Talk about it

1. Brian described the church as a place where your job, your paycheck, your past, and your failures do not define you. How does that compare to the way you present yourself in your friendships and workplaces outside of church?
2. The sermon offered two definitions of new wine: specifically, Jesus coming to fulfill the law and establish a new covenant, and generally, any new way God is moving. Can you think of a time when you recognized God doing something new in your life or in a community you were part of?
3. Several people in the room suggested that the wineskin represents things like the condition of our heart, our capacity for surrender, or our spiritual birth. What definition or image from that conversation stuck with you, and why?
4. Brian used examples like meeting in a bar, a preacher wearing a flat bill hat, and whether the Holy Spirit still moves in power today as stretch tests for a wineskin. Which of those examples challenged you the most, and what does that reaction tell you about the condition of your own wineskin?
5. At the end of the sermon, Brian pointed to Nicodemus showing up at the tomb with 75 pounds of spices, at personal cost to his standing and his ability to celebrate Passover. What did that cost Nicodemus, and what do you think a new wineskin might cost you personally?