Week of 4/19/26:Made New in Christ
SUMMARY
Formation Theme: Be the Church - Filled with PowerWeekly Theme: Be the Church - Made New in Christ
Sermon Text: Acts 8 : 4 – 25
Primary Reading: Acts 9 – 12
Secondary Reading: Romans 5 – 6
Memory Verses (Through May 2nd): Romans 8:2–6 (ESV)
[2] For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. [3] For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
[4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
[5] For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
[6] For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
1 | Theme Reflection - "Made New in Christ"
The gospel does not decorate the old life - it creates a new one.
When Saul meets Jesus on the Damascus road, a persecutor becomes a preacher, a heart of stone becomes a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26-27). The same power that spoke light into darkness now speaks grace and mercy into the human soul.
In Romans 5–6, Paul explains this mystery: those who are in Christ by faith are no longer slaves to sin but alive to righteousness. Grace does not excuse sin - it puts it to death on the Cross. The Christian life is not a self-improvement project; it is a Spirit-empowered rebirth. We were buried with Christ in baptism and raised with him from the dead. His death is our death, his life is our life. We walk in newness of life because we have died to sin and have freedom in Christ.
To Be the Church - Made New in Christ is to live as those who have crossed from death to life.
We do not build a new identity; we receive one.
The One who called creation out of nothing calls His people out of shame into joy.
The gospel does not decorate the old life - it creates a new one.
When Saul meets Jesus on the Damascus road, a persecutor becomes a preacher, a heart of stone becomes a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26-27). The same power that spoke light into darkness now speaks grace and mercy into the human soul.
In Romans 5–6, Paul explains this mystery: those who are in Christ by faith are no longer slaves to sin but alive to righteousness. Grace does not excuse sin - it puts it to death on the Cross. The Christian life is not a self-improvement project; it is a Spirit-empowered rebirth. We were buried with Christ in baptism and raised with him from the dead. His death is our death, his life is our life. We walk in newness of life because we have died to sin and have freedom in Christ.
To Be the Church - Made New in Christ is to live as those who have crossed from death to life.
We do not build a new identity; we receive one.
The One who called creation out of nothing calls His people out of shame into joy.
2 | Daily Reading Rhythm
3 | Practice of the Week - The Renewal Prayer
Each morning, pray or journal this rhythm of renewal:
In the evening, revisit your day.
Notice where grace interrupted an old habit.
Celebrate that transformation is already happening.
Each morning, pray or journal this rhythm of renewal:
- Confess - Name one place where sin or fear has shaped your choices.
- Receive - Speak these words aloud: “In Christ, I am not condemned. I am made new in Christ.”
- Surrender - Ask, “Lord, how can the new identity You have given me in Christ bless someone today?”
In the evening, revisit your day.
Notice where grace interrupted an old habit.
Celebrate that transformation is already happening.
4 | Doctrinal Focus - The Doctrine of Regeneration
Regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit, giving new life to those dead in sin.
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2 Cor. 5:17)
This is why Christian obedience is joyful rather than burdensome - because it rises from new life given by the Spirit in Christ, not from law.
To be born again is to breathe the air of grace.
The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Chapter 10, Paragraph 1
Those whom God hath predestinated unto life, He is pleased in His appointed, and accepted time, effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God; taking away their heart of stone, and giving to them a heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and by His almighty power determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ; yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace.
Click here to see Scripture references attached to this Confession.
Regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit, giving new life to those dead in sin.
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2 Cor. 5:17)
This is why Christian obedience is joyful rather than burdensome - because it rises from new life given by the Spirit in Christ, not from law.
To be born again is to breathe the air of grace.
The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Chapter 10, Paragraph 1
Those whom God hath predestinated unto life, He is pleased in His appointed, and accepted time, effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God; taking away their heart of stone, and giving to them a heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and by His almighty power determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ; yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace.
Click here to see Scripture references attached to this Confession.
5 | Missional Focus - New Life For the World
New life in Christ is never meant to stop with us.
When God makes people new, He also sends them to bear witness.
This week, consider how the change Christ has worked and is working in you might serve others:
Pray:
“Lord Jesus, let the new life You have made and are forming in me be seen in love and mercy, so that others may see You and come to life.”
New life in Christ is never meant to stop with us.
When God makes people new, He also sends them to bear witness.
The renewal God works in His Church is for the good of the world and for those who do not yet know Christ.
This week, consider how the change Christ has worked and is working in you might serve others:
- A relationship to seek reconciliation
- A habit to turn from
- A word of mercy or encouragement to speak
Pray:
“Lord Jesus, let the new life You have made and are forming in me be seen in love and mercy, so that others may see You and come to life.”
6 | Community Group Discussion Questions
From the Readings
From the Sermon (Text — Acts 8 : 4 – 25)
- What warning does Simon the Magician give about seeking the Spirit's benefit's rather than seeking the Spirit Himself?
- How do the apostles model the example of genuine faith leading to life change?
- How does Saul’s conversion in Acts 9 mirror the truth of Romans 5:8 - that Christ died for us while we were still sinners?
- What does Peter’s vision and Cornelius’ conversion teach us about the reach of God’s renewal?
From Personal Reflection
- How might you be resisting God's work of renewal in your life?
- How can remembering your baptism remind you of who you already are in Christ?
From Community Life
- How might our group develop a practice of celebrating spiritual growth moving forward?
- In what ways might we embody Christ in how we serve or speak to our non-Christian neighbors?
Questions for Children
- What happened to Saul when he met Jesus?
- How does Jesus change people’s hearts?
- Can you think of a time God helped you do what was right instead of wrong?
- Why do we say “Jesus gives us a new heart”?
7 | Closing Prayer
Thou art worthy to be
praised with my every breath,
loved with my every faculty of soul,
served with my every act of life.
Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,
purchased, washed, favored, clothed,
adorned me,
when I was a worthless, vile soiled, polluted.
I was dead in iniquities,
having no eyes to see thee,
no ears to hear thee,
no taste to relish thy joys,
no intelligence to know thee;
But thy Spirit has quickened me,
has brought me into a new world as a
new creature,
has given me spiritual perception,
has opened to me thy Word as light, guide, solace, joy.
Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace.
- The Valley of Vision