Family of God, GES brothers and sisters, especially those from Indonesia and Vietnam - welcome to GES and the new semester!
When a new season begins, we face new situasions. We meet new people and sometimes we even see new sides of ourselves.

But lets be honest: those "new versions" of us often dont last long. Pretty soon, the old me comes back. The lazy me, the selfish me, the insecure me, the me i dont want anyone else to see.

I know this very personally. In the 2nd semester of 2024, I was teaching at my old middle school. In the 2nd semester of 2025 now, I've come back as a teacher at my old high school. And when i saw my teachers again after 20 years, they had wrinkles on their faces. But before i could be embrassed about myself, it felt like they were embrassed first.

And yet, I realized something deeper: i was more embarassed about me. Its because for a few weeks, i tried to show a new side of myself. I wanted everyone to see how much i had grown as an amazing adult. And you know, they even know i am a pastor. But soonm the old me showed up again. And i felt dissapointed - "Even after 20 years, I'm still the same me..", but then i remembered - this very school was the places where my life truly changed.

Back then, actually i was lost and wanderes in my first and second year. But in my third year, I encountered Jesus Christ. I was transformed so deeply that I even decided to become a missonary to Africa. I remembered that 2 Corinthians 5:17 woke me up:
"I am a new creation. I am a new creation."

And that is still true today.
Jesus Christ doesn't just fix us for a week or two. He made us new, he already made us new. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come."

That's not a motivational slogan. Thats a reality bought with blood. The blood of Jesus on the cross is stronger than your past. His sacrifice is greater than your failures. And His Spirit can re-create what you thought was ruined forever. Think about it: a dying person doesnt need advice. They need blood. And we were dying in sin until Jesus gave His blood at Calvary. Now His life flows in us.

So this semester is not just another autumn. There has never been an autumn the same like this year. There will never be another semester like this one. Because ypu are walking into it with Jesus Christ, the One who makes all things new.

So lets declare it together, shall we?
This semester, I will walk with Christ!
This semester, the old me is gonne!
This semester, I will be made new in Jesus!