Jun 14 2015
A New Wineskin
Jesus said ‘No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins’ (Mark 2:22).
What is Jesus talking about? Well, new wine has more fermenting to do so it requires a flexible container. In Jesus’ day containers were made of animal skin. Old skins were hard and brittle and would burst as the new wine expanded during fermentation. So new wine had to be put into a new skin that was soft and would expand as the wine fermented.
Spiritually speaking, God is always pouring out his new wine and that new wine always challenges our religious structures. If we are going to keep in step with God we will need to keep changing those structures to accomodate the new wine.
The Vineyard in Mombasa aims to be a new structure, a new wineskin, something more effective for what God is doing in our city at this time.
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Apr 8 2016
‘I follow Paul – I follow Apollos’
1 Corinthian Series – Chapters 1-3
“Now that I’ve left my church and joined yours, must I be baptized again?” The young lady was serious. I stood speechless, wondering where on earth such a thought could come from. Then I asked “When you were baptized, were you baptized into Jesus or into your church?” “Oh into Jesus” she said.” “So, if you’re baptized into Jesus you are baptized for all churches, right?” Her eyes lit up, “Oh good … thank you!”
Over the last few years a number of people have asked me the same question. Isn’t it strange how quick we are to forget that all churches and denominations are part of one universal church – the Body of Christ unified and bound together by his death and resurrection.
At Corinth, the Christians did not speak of belonging to different churches or denominations, but they said something very similar. Some said, “I follow Paul”, others said “I follow Apollos” (1 Cor 1:12). Paul was stunned. He asks “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” More