Welcome to Zion Lutheran Church

Week of August 5-11, 2019: “You Are the ‘New You’” … Colossians 3:1-11

Have you ever wanted to be a “whole new self”—a new version of you? Maybe you’ve tried diets plans, exercise devices, or vitamin/drug supplements. Or maybe you’ve turned to self help books with titles like, Fresh Start: The New You Begins Today.

Have you ever wanted a new self—a new version of you? Guess what! In Christ, this is who you are already! Paul, in Colossians 3:10, speaks of you having put on the new self—the spiritual clothing that you have in Christ that has literally sunk into your very identity itself as you were baptized into Him (Galatians 3:27, Colossians 2:12). Yes, in Christ, you are the “new you”! As Paul says, “For you have died”—that is, to sin and death—“and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

But if we have this “new you”, why then do we continue to sin and struggle? Why does it seem as though, on so many days, we feel like the “old self”? Well, herein lies the paradox: We have the new self already, but we are meant to put it on anew each and every day. It all starts with setting our minds on what Paul calls “the things that are above” (Colossians 3:1-2, Romans 12:2). Then, what starts in our minds we are meant to put into action.

Putting our new selves into action is never easy because there are so many things—Paul gives two lists of them—that we are called to put to death within our old selves (Colossians 3:5-9). We are even warned that on account of these the very wrath of God is coming (v.6). Still, we fight a constant battle in this “clash of the titans”, this constant civil war within between our old and new selves (Galatians 5:17, Romans 7:24).

But as we wage this battle, Paul assures us that we have the victory, “thanks be to God through Jesus Christ Our Lord” (Romans 7:25). In Him, our new selves are continually “being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:10). Even the savage and warlike Scythians, who lived to the north of the Black Sea, could be brought to this salvation and renewal in Christ (v.11).

Yes, in the Biblical sense, we have a “fresh start: the new you begins today”. Our Lord will renew us each day all the way up, as Paul says, to the time, “When Christ, who is your life appears, you will also appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).
 

Your Pastor  Pastor Bill Mugnolo   Hi, I’m Pastor Bill Mugnolo and I have been serving at Zion Lutherran and at our sister congregation of St Johns in Elyria since September 2017. I was born in Baltimore, Maryland and I grew up on Long Island in New York State, in Northern New Jersey, and in Atlanta, Georgia. Since my graduation from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, I have lived in and have had an ongoing family connection to the Rochester, New York area which I consider to be my adopted hometown. I was confirmed in the Lutheran Church as an adult in 1984. I went on to seminary at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. I was ordained on August 16, 1990 on the thirty-first anniversary of my baptism. I have served congregations in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (1990-1998), Newark, New York (1998-2016), and Columbia Station, Ohio (2016-2017). I was joined in marriage to Sabra LeClaire of Rochester, New York on October 1, 1993. We have two daughters—, Emilia and Rebecca. I enjoy power walking, cross-country skiing, dumbbell training, travelling, and a wide variety of music. It is my great honor and privilege to serve both the Lord and you as pastor at Zion.

Wednesday and Thursday

9 A.M to 12 

440-282-8418 

Email pastor.mugnolo@yahoo.com

440-282-8418 Pastor Bill