- Read Luke 5:36 and Ephesians 4:22–24. Jesus says a new patch will not "match" an old garment. If we try to "patch" our old, worldly lifestyle with a few Christian activities, why does it always feel like a mismatch?
- Based on Romans 12:2, how does the world’s "pattern" pull us toward just "patching" our lives (making small moral tweaks) rather than undergoing the total "putting on of the new self" that Paul describes?
- Read Luke 5:37 and Ezekiel 36:26–27. New wine requires a flexible skin to expand. How is a "heart of stone" like an old wineskin when it comes to the pressures of the world?
- Society often rewards men for being "hard" or "unyielding." How does that cultural pressure make it difficult to have the "soft/flexible" heart needed to hold the "New Wine" of the Holy Spirit?
- In Luke 5:38, Jesus insists that "new wine must be poured into new wineskins." If you are a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17), what are the specific "old things" in your daily routine that act like dry, brittle wineskins?
- When you try to live as a "new vessel" at work or with old friends, where do you feel the most pressure to shrink back into your "old skin" just to fit in?
- Read Luke 5:39 and Galatians 5:1. Jesus notes that people often say, "The old is better," because it's familiar. Why is the "old wine" of worldly status or self-reliance so seductive to men?
- In what specific ways does society try to convince you that the "old way" of living (seeking power, money, or comfort) is actually "better" than the freedom Christ offers?
- Looking at these verses together, what is the biggest difference between a man who is "conforming" to the world and a man who is "stretching" as a new wineskin?
- Is there a specific "old skin" habit you might need to trade in for "new leather"?
Scripture:
Luke 5: 33-39
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
33 They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”
34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”
36 He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”
Ephesians 4: 20-24
20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Romans 12:2
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Ezekiel 36: 26-27
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
2 Corinthians 5: 16-17
16 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. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
Galatians 5:1
5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
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