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LWC SERMON GUIDE

OUT WITH THE OLD (Because Everything Has Become New)

Scriptures to Read and Ponder

  • 2 Corinthians 5:17 — The main text: God's declaration that those in Christ are a new creation.

  • 2 Corinthians 5:14-16 — The foundation that leads Paul to his conclusion in verse 17.

Sermon Recap

1. Christianity Begins with a Funeral

Many people spend their lives trying to improve something that God intends to bury.

  • The world teaches self-improvement.

  • The Gospel announces death and resurrection.

  • God did not send Jesus merely to improve the old life.

  • God sent Jesus to bring the old life to an end and launch something entirely new.

  • Christianity begins with a funeral before it leads to resurrection.

Key Application

Stop trying to perfect the old self. Embrace the new life God has given you in Christ.

2. The Caterpillar Was Never the Final Product

The caterpillar illustration reminds us that God's goal is transformation, not enhancement.

  • The caterpillar thinks life is about crawling.

  • God's vision is flight.

  • God's plan was never a better caterpillar.

  • God's plan was always the butterfly.

Key Application

Many believers still live as if they belong to their old nature. God is calling us to live from our new identity.

3. Understanding Paul's "Therefore"

Paul's declaration in verse 17 is built upon truths already established.

Christ's Love Controls Us

  • The Christian life is driven by love, not fear.

  • Christ's love arrests our hearts.

  • Once His love grips us, life cannot remain the same.

Christ Died for All

  • The cross is sufficient for every person.

  • No sin is beyond the reach of God's grace.

  • No one is excluded from Christ's invitation.

All Have Died

  • Through faith we participate in Christ's death.

  • The old way of life has been buried.

  • Sin is no longer our master.

Key Application

The Gospel is not behaviour modification. It is participation in Christ's death and resurrection.

4. We No Longer View People from a Human Point of View

Paul says that because of Christ's work, we see people differently.

Many of us carry labels:

  • Failure

  • Rejected

  • Unloved

  • Addict

  • Divorced

  • Not enough

But Jesus introduces us differently.

  • Not by our wounds.

  • Not by our failures.

  • Not by our past.

  • But by our union with Him.

Key Application

Stop defining yourself by labels that died at the cross.

5. What Does It Mean to Be "In Christ"?

This is the heart of the passage.

Being "in Christ" means:

  • Union with Christ.

  • Belonging to Christ.

  • Participation in Christ.

  • Living from Christ.

Paul sees believers as transferred from one realm to another.

The World of Adam

  • Sin

  • Shame

  • Death

  • Separation

The World of Christ

  • Righteousness

  • Acceptance

  • Peace

  • Life

  • Sonship

Because we are united to Christ:

  • His death becomes our death.

  • His resurrection becomes our resurrection.

  • His victory becomes our victory.

  • His Father becomes our Father.

  • His Kingdom becomes our Kingdom.

Key Application

Your identity is no longer found in your history but in your union with Jesus.

6. New Creation Has Entered the Room

Paul uses the biggest language available.

He does not say:

  • New habits.

  • Better behaviour.

  • Improved religion.

He says: New Creation.

This is not simply about individuals getting saved.

This is God's plan to renew all creation.

  • The Bible begins in a garden.

  • The Bible ends in a garden-city.

  • God's purpose has always been restoration.

The resurrection was:

  • Not merely proof of Jesus' divinity.

  • It was the launch of God's new world.

Key Application

Salvation is bigger than "going to heaven when I die."

Salvation is becoming part of God's renewal project.

7. The First Shoots of Spring

The sermon's central illustration…..

Imagine:

  • Winter everywhere.

  • Grey skies.

  • Frozen ground.

  • Everything appears dead.

Then a tiny green shoot emerges.

That shoot announces: Spring has begun.

The landscape still looks like winter.

But winter's reign has been broken.

That is what every Christian is.

  • Evidence that God's future has begun.

  • Evidence that Jesus is alive.

  • Evidence that death will not have the final word.

Key Application

The world may still look wintry, but new creation is already breaking through.

8. Out with the Old

The sermon ends where it began.

At the funeral.

Many believers keep carrying things that God has already buried:

  • Shame

  • Guilt

  • Condemnation

  • Failure

  • Bitterness

  • Unforgiveness

Paul's message is simple: The old has passed away.

Do not keep digging up what God has already buried.

Key Application

You cannot fully embrace the new while holding onto the old.

Memorable Quotes & Aha Moments

  • Christianity is the only faith that begins with a funeral.

  • God did not send His Son to improve the old you. He sent His Son to put the old you to death.

  • The world says, "Reinvent yourself." The Gospel says, "Be born again."

  • God's plan was never a better caterpillar. God's plan was always the butterfly.

  • Discipline cannot create new life. Only resurrection can do that.

  • Love will get you where law will leave you.

  • Jesus never introduces you by the labels attached to your history.

  • What is true of Christ becomes true of those who are in Christ.

  • The resurrection was the launch of a new world.

  • You are God's little green shoot in a wintry world.

  • The future has already begun.

  • Do not keep digging up what God has already buried.

  • Do not live like a caterpillar when God has given you wings.

  • Do not live like winter is still in charge when spring has already arrived.

Questions for Discussion & Reflection

  1. What stood out most to you from Sunday's message?

  2. Why do you think the Gospel begins with death before resurrection?

  3. In what ways does our culture encourage self-improvement rather than transformation?

  4. Which labels from your past have you struggled to let go of?

  5. What does being "in Christ" mean to you personally?

  6. How does union with Christ change the way you view yourself?

  7. Which aspect of Christ's identity or inheritance is hardest for you to believe belongs to you?

  8. How does the image of the caterpillar and butterfly speak to your spiritual journey?

  9. What are some "old things" that God may be asking you to stop carrying?

  10. How does the illustration of the green shoot help you understand new creation?

  11. In what areas of your life can you already see signs of God's renewing work?

  12. How can Christians become visible evidence of God's coming Kingdom?

  13. How does this message challenge a purely "heaven when I die" view of salvation?

  14. What practical step can you take this week to live more fully from your identity in Christ?

  15. Who do you know that needs to hear that their past does not define them?

Further Reading & Deep Exploration

Bible Passages

  • Romans 6:1-11 — Dying and rising with Christ.

  • Romans 8:18-25 — Creation groaning and waiting for full restoration.

  • Isaiah 43:18-19 — "Behold, I am doing a new thing."

  • Revelation 21:1-5 — God's promise to make all things new.

  • Galatians 2:20 — "I have been crucified with Christ."

  • Colossians 3:1-4 — Living from the reality of resurrection life.

  • Romans 5:12-21 — Adam and Christ contrasted

  • Ephesians 1:3-14 — Our identity in Christ

  • Colossians 1:15-23 — Christ and cosmic restoration

Recommended Reading

  • Surprised by Hope — N. T. Wright

  • The Divine Conspiracy — Dallas Willard

  • Simply Christian — N. T. Wright

  • The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry — John Mark Comer

  • Practicing the Way — John Mark Comer

Prayer Points

  • Thank God that through Christ the old life has passed away.

  • Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas where you are still living from your old identity.

  • Pray for freedom from shame, guilt, condemnation, and past failures.

  • Thank Jesus that His victory, righteousness, and sonship are now yours through union with Him.

  • Pray for fresh revelation of what it means to be "in Christ."

  • Ask God to help you live as a citizen of His new creation.

  • Pray that Living Waters Church would be a visible sign of God's Kingdom in Gibraltar.

  • Ask for grace to stop revisiting what God has already buried.

  • Pray for courage to embrace the new things God is doing in your life.

  • Ask God to make you a "green shoot" of hope, life, and renewal in a world that often feels trapped in winter.

Key Verse for the Week

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." — 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)