Making All Things New – Today’s scripture is from Revelation 21, where John of Patmos, the visionary, sees a new heaven and a new earth, a new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, along with an announcement that God will be dwelling with the people and there will be no more tears, sorrow, crying, or pain. It is appropriate for the Easter season when the agony of Good Friday was tossed away by the resurrection of Jesus. The question for us is whether we believe that God is always doing a new thing. In her sermon, Carol gives several personal examples of times when things appeared dismal, but then they turned around. She also cites several places in Biblical prophecy where those kinds of things were heralded by the likes of Isaiah and Jeremiah. She reminds us of the setting for the Book of Revelation, believers who were suffering because of their beliefs in God as ruler rather than the Roman emperor as ruler. Those believers were sometimes even executed for their beliefs, but this word from God through John of Patmos offered them a new Jerusalem, a new hope. If or when we feel like everything is falling apart, it would be good to remember this vision of the new Jerusalem and God’s promise to live among us and make all things new.