Main Idea
As we approach a new year, it’s a time of reflection and anticipation. But here’s the tension: We love the idea of a new season, yet we often try to bring the old self into it. Jesus teaches that new wine needs new wineskins. In other words, what God wants to do in your life next cannot be sustained by who you’ve been in the past. The future requires a transformed you
Scripture
Psalms 90:12
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Matthew 9:14-17
14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”
15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Luke 19: 41-44
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Discussion Questions
- If you could describe 2025 in one word, what would it be? Why? (Icebreaker)
- What are some old habits, mindsets, or wounds you might still be carrying from the last season?
- Read Matthew 9:16–17. What does it mean that new wine can’t be poured into old wineskins? How have you experienced this truth in your own life?
- Luke 19:41–44 says the people missed the moment of God’s coming. What are some ways we might miss what God is doing right now because we are stuck in old patterns?
- What would it look like for you to fully surrender to God in 2026? What’s one step you can take this week to align your spirit with where He’s leading you?
Moving Forward
Don’t carry the old you into the new year. Instead of asking God to simply “fix” your circumstances, invite Him to renew your mind, reshape your heart, and align your spirit. The person you’ve been cannot survive where God wants to take you next. Say yes to transformation, not just change.
