New Wineskins for Sale

In one paragraph

Brian preached on Tribe's eighth birthday, using Jesus' teaching on new wine and old wineskins from Luke 5 as a lens to look back at what the last several years have actually done to the church. The sermon was less a single argument and more a guided review of eight things the Holy Spirit has been shifting in Tribe's life together. He framed the whole conversation around the question of whether...

Read together

1. Luke 5:33-39 read aloud by a congregation member as the main text for the sermon on new wine and wineskins
2. Matthew 25 parable of the ten virgins used to discuss buying oil for your lamp and being prepared
3. Matthew 24 Jesus' own words cited to place his return at the end of the tribulation
4. Hebrews 10:25 do not forsake the gathering of the saints, cited in discussion of koinonia
5. Ecclesiastes 3:1 for everything there is a season, closing thought on why new wineskins are needed
6. Psalms 27:8 my heart has heard you say come and spend time with me, cited in closing prayer
7. Song of Solomon with one glance of your eye you have ravished my heart, cited in closing prayer about God's response when we turn toward him

Talk about it

1. Brian described the period around COVID as a Rubicon moment where churches had a choice to construct new wineskins or scramble back to the way things were. Looking back, what did that season actually do to the way you relate to God and to this community?
2. Several people in the room described how they cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit, things like talking to him constantly, listening for small nudges, and praying in the spirit. What does that actually look like in your daily life, and where does it feel hardest to stay consistent?
3. Brian said that buying oil requires an exchange, specifically that small acts of surrender and obedience are the currency. Can you think of a recent moment where obeying that small nudge cost you something, and what came out of it?
4. Brian raised the concern that we can mistakenly expect a pastor, a worship service, or a format to supply our oil for us, and that when that happens the equation never zeros out. Where have you caught yourself doing that, and what did it take to recognize it?
5. The sermon connected anticipating hardship and tribulation directly to the opportunity to buy oil, pointing to the persecuted church around the world as an example of that. How does that framing change, or challenge, the way you think about difficulty in your own life right now?