He Makes All Things New

New church. New pastor. A chance to start fresh. We’re combining the old and new. We still listen to the same Word of God and see God's grace in the same sacraments, but now a new pastor leads us. We still follow the same order of service, but now we read it from screens. What we do hasn’t changed, but how we do it has.

The newness of the church building and the pastor reminds us of how God makes all things new. God's mercies “are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Every day is a fresh start in God's forgiveness. Because Jesus died for your sins, you can begin a new day. Because God has washed your sins away in Baptism, through faith you can daily drown your Old Adam and live renewed in Christ. Because Jesus has refreshed you in the Lord’s Supper, you can begin a new week. “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Wake up each day in the forgiveness Jesus has won for you. Live each week as part of God's new creation. When you stumble, remember your identity is no longer the old, sinful person you were, but the forgiven person Christ has made you. He will sustain you with his Word until he comes and “makes all things new” (Revelation 21:5).