Made New (Fall Kickoff 2022)

Good evening and welcome back! It’s so good to see you here, and I hope everyone enjoyed some time off from the normal rhythm of things. Whenever you start a new year, people begin talking a lot about this idea of goals or resolutions. These resolutions are the things we plan to do, to stop doing, or to accomplish in the new year. For me, it’s typically things like exercise more or eat better. For you, maybe it’s the same or maybe your goals are much better and way more creative. However, in case you need some inspiration on what kind of goals or resolutions to set, here is what I found on a super-reliable source called the Internet.

LEADER NOTE: This is super-easy. Just Google some lists of top 10 resolutions for the new year and pick the best ones. My personal favorites came from a Time Magazine list of the most Googled New Year’s resolutions and included: “make my own kale chips” and “crochet a beanie.”

Stop doom scrolling on Twitter.

Go viral on TikTok.

Fart in front of my squad with no shame.

Eat more tacos.

Be OK with having to make more than one trip from the car to bring in groceries. The human arm can only hold so much.

Give up blaming the family dog for every strange smell in the house (especially when I know it came from me).

Here’s the problem with New Year’s resolutions. Most people start really strong at the beginning then they lose some momentum a few months, weeks, or even days into it. Then there are some people who, when it comes to stuff like this, take things to a whole other level. When it comes to goals or resolutions, they do stuff that most of us would say is over the top or even crazy.

Murray Marathon Video

That’s 26.2 miles every day, for 365 days in a row. Then they actually did it and ran over 9500 miles in one year! Crazy!

I don’t know about you but when I hear stories like that, I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished a whole lot in my life. It makes my goals seem pretty small in comparison.

But whatever goals or plans or resolutions you have, the most they can do is make you a better person, a healthier person, or even a smarter person depending on what they are. However, none of them can make you a new person. It doesn’t matter how disciplined you are, how many goals you set, or how many self-help books you read, none of these can make you new. The truth is that you and I don’t have any power to change ourselves into a new person. On our own, we can’t bring about any lasting change or transformation. But that’s the great news of the gospel!

At the cross, Jesus did something for you and me that we couldn’t do for ourselves. Through His death and resurrection, He provided a way for us to be new people; not new in terms of an upgrade like on a phone or computer or new in the sense of a better version of ourselves. It’s new in the sense that a fundamental change has taken place at the core of who we are. It starts on the inside then works its way on the outside. As we start this new school year, what if our resolution is less about 100 new things to do or try and more about a different way of thinking and living? What if our resolution could line up with God’s hopes and dreams for us and had the potential to not only change our lives, but also the lives of those around us?

As we start of this year, what if our one big focus or goal or resolution was to:

Live like the NEW person God CREATED you to be.

The passage that we’re going to look at together talks about this idea. It tells us what it means that God has made us new and gives us a picture of what could happen if we begin to live that way.

2 Corinthians 5. This book (or letter) was written by the Apostle Paul to a group of Christians living in a place named “Corinth.” Paul was writing to encourage them, to challenge them, and to remind them of some things like what it means to be “new” and why it matters. These words had big implications back then but they’re still just as powerful today.

What a great passage to remind us who we are! This passage tells us that for those who are followers of Jesus Christ, those who have already put their trust in Him, we have been made new by God. Specifically, there are at least three ways that this takes place.

1) You become a NEW PERSON.

That’s exactly what it says in verse 17. Anyone who belongs to Christ is a “new person.” This means that something has fundamentally changed in your identity, at the core of who you are. While your physical appearance may be exactly the same as before (sorry if you were hoping for God to change that tonight!), you are no longer the same person you used to be. Paul said it like this: “the old life is gone; a new life has begun.”

There is a man in our church that I look up to a lot. His name is Donnie Phelps. Used to be mayor of Science Hill, and I had his daughter, Summer in the student ministry here several years ago.

Donnie used to be addicted to drugs and was on the way to a long prison sentence because of some of the stuff he got into.

He was dead in his sin.

But he gave his life to Christ and was MADE NEW.

God miraculously kept Donnie out of prison, and Donnie has served the Lord for decades now, and is full of God’s wisdom because he is devoted to a strong prayer life, constantly talking with God.

When a person puts their trust in Jesus and begins to follow Him, they become a new person. It’s a change on the inside that begins to affect the way they live on the outside. For some of us today, we need to be reminded of this truth. We’ve forgotten who we are, so we begin to live like someone that we’re not. Listen to what Paul said about this in his letter to the Colossians.

Colossians 3:9-10 (NLT)

Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him

This is saying that the reason we shouldn’t lie is not because we might get caught; rather it’s simply not who we are anymore. The same is true of us if we have put our trust in Jesus Christ. Our identity has been changed. The old has gone, and the new has come.

What would happen if we began to embrace that truth this year? What would happen if we began to live like the person that God created us to be?

For some of us, this is really hard to see today because we’ve bought into the lie that nothing has really changed. We believe that we’re the same person as before: worthless, hopeless, helpless. We believe that we’re bound by our past mistakes and present addictions. But the truth we need to hear today is that Jesus died so that we could be made new. He says that we no longer stand condemned!

Romans 8:1-2 (NLT)

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

You are no longer a liar, a cheater, a victim or an addict. These are no longer who you are. It’s not your identity anymore. You are a new person so begin to live like who you already are!

2) You develop a NEW PERSPECTIVE.

In addition to becoming a new person, you will also begin to develop a new perspective. Look back in verse 16 of our main passage tonight. Paul said that he had “stopped evaluating others from a human point of view.” Another way of saying this is that his perspective had changed. He stopped looking at people through just the lens of race and ethnicity. Instead of thinking about people in terms of Jew or Gentile, Paul began to think about people in terms of their relationship with God. The same thing happens for us when we’re made new. God begins to change our perspective. We no longer see things the same we did before. Over time, this change affects our relationships, values, morals, the way we spend our time and even our money. We begin to see life through a new lens.

invite up a student to put on some tinted glasses or even virtual reality goggles and ask them how they’re seeing things before and after.

When a person begins to follow Jesus, God starts to change their perspective and they see life through a new lens. For some, this may be a slow process, while for others it can happen more rapidly. The rate of change is greatly impacted by the time you spend with the Lord in His Word and through time in small groups and serving. God begins to change your perspective to align it more with His. This is exactly what He did for Paul, someone who used to persecute Christians for a living. Listen to how his perspective began to change after he met Jesus.

Philippians 3:7-8 (NLT)

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.

For Paul, he was never the same after he met Jesus. He was a new person with a new perspective, and God has been doing the same thing for other people ever since.

3) You are given a NEW PURPOSE.

Look back at verse 15 in our main passage for tonight. It says that Jesus “died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ.” This is our new mission. It is no longer just about us our needs and our wants. We have a new purpose in life.

John Newton Pic

John Newton was a British slave trader from the 18th century. At his conversion to Christ, He became a new person with a new perspective. God began to change him from the inside out and gave him a new purpose in life. Instead of trading slaves, he began working to abolish slavery and then wrote one of the most famous songs of all time, “Amazing Grace.”

God loves to take old things and make them new. Part of being made new means that we not only have a new perspective but also a new purpose. In his letter to church at Ephesus, Paul said it like this:

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

You and I were created anew to fulfill God’s purpose through our lives. As you begin this new year, what new purpose or mission does God have for your life? Maybe it’s to start being regularly involved here in this church and youth group. Maybe it’s to join a Sunday school or sign-up for a trip. Maybe it’s to start reading the Bible or even memorizing verses of Scripture. Or it could be that there are some people in your sphere of influence that God wants for you to pray for, minister to, share the gospel with or invite here. Maybe your calling is even to start something new like a Bible study on your campus or accountability group with your friends or a new outreach ministry.

As we wrap up our time together this evening, what is God calling you to do and how does He want for you to respond? Maybe He wants to enlarge your view of a goal or resolution to line up with something bigger He has in store. If you are already a follower of Jesus Christ, remember what God’s Word says about who you already are. God has made you new! You are a new person who is developing a new perspective and you have been given a new purpose. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are, what mistakes you’ve already made or if you feel ready. The challenge for each of us tonight is to:

live like the new person God created you to be.

What would it look like for you to begin living this way and how does the Lord want for you to respond? Let’s pray.