So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  -1 Corinthians 5:16-21

This passage may be familiar to you, specifically verse 17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  But the rest of this section in Paul's letter to the Corinthians reminds us that because we are made new, then we accept the challenge that we are called to be Christ's ambassadors to share the gospel and the message of reconciliation. I believe that each day when we learn and grow in our relationship with Christ, we are continuing to be made new.

So when you go through your day living into the gift of being made new, how do you share your faith and belief in God in our daily lives? If each day we experience this gift of forgiveness and being made into a new creation, what is our response?

We have been experiencing many new things over the course of the past few weeks and this Sunday, we will join together to worship at one service in our new building. God continues to open up new doors for growing in our own faith and reaching out to those in the community to share the message of Christ's love and forgiveness.

Prayer for Today

Gracious God, Thank you for your gifts of love, grace, and forgiveness. Help us to share these gifts as new creations today. In Christ's Name, Amen.