Sermon Tone Analysis

Last week: Moses’ last hurrah

Barbara Sampson - Moses last speech

Promises of God:

Strength foryour days

shelter and refuge (shadow of protection, not abandonment)

Everlasting arms of God

Jesus is the fulfilment of these promises

The water - baptism

The wine - Communion & the cross

Right at the start of Jesus’ ministry in John’s Gospel

Cleansing of temple -> wedding feast

New year, New broom

What do you need to clear out in your life?

I want to focus on the wedding itself

In the background

with disciples & Mary

reluctant?

(why do you want this?)

In the moment of need - wedding is about to hit an iceberg

New wine

Best wine

Communion wine

Water vs wine (covenant -> reign of God)

Baptism & Eucharist

Baptism - adopted into God’s family through the cleansing waters of baptism

Eucharist - renew and refreshes our faith

Are you running on empty?

We all have times when we hit icebergs in our life.

As strong as your faith is, as long as you have been a member of God’s household, you feel like you’ve run dry, and it’s just not enough to get you through.

That’s where I am right now.

Maybe some of you are too.

I need that water to turn into wine.

So as we move into a new year, it’s not just about bringing a new broom, or making a list of the wonderful things that we will achieve in 2022.

Instead, let’s open our heart to God.

Place our hope in him.

Trust the promises of Jesus, and let his new wine renew us and refresh our souls.

When water doesn’t seem enough, Jesus shows up with the wine.

Fill up on God’s abundance

Quietly

As we rest in God’s promises, often we look for the dramatic change, the sudden sign, the miracle, the evidence that God is definitely doing something here.

But at that wedding, even with new disciples around him, even with his mother urging him on, Jesus did not take centre stage.

The steqards didn’t know.

Maybe even the bride and grom didn’t realise that new thing was beginning in their midst.

Maybe, even in the midst of the crises and the trials in our lives, Jesus is at work, taking our water - our commitment to him, and turning it into wine - that hopeful taste of God’s promises of love, and joy, and life in all its abundance.

Final word

If Moses promise was “God will be with you through it all”, then the promise of the wedding at Cana is “The best is yet to come!”

Benediction:

Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

Amen.”