Transformative Victory: Embracing Christ's Resurrection Power
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Sermon Clips
"Imagine with me the time in your life when you've been the most defeated, the most heartbroken, the most pressed, the most sad. I can think of lots of times when I've been defeated and I thought there was no hope. When I was 17 my dad left and went to see the doctor. And when my mom came home, he was dead. And yet I can't imagine what Jesus's disciples and family must have felt like here." [00:01:29]
"But what looked like defeat, what looked like total destruction of everything they thought was going to happen, turned out to be the greatest victory the world has ever known. Jesus didn't just rise from the dead. He overturned death itself and rewrote our future. In Romans it says, 'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' That word sin implies missing the mark." [00:03:28]
"God through Jesus gave his life for us. And instead of dying for him, God asks us to live for him. And we can do that through the power of the Holy Spirit, which he promised and sent after he was raised from the dead. But Jesus was beaten. He was crucified and buried. Friday looked like a failure. Everything they'd hoped, everything they'd imagined had now been taken from them." [00:04:51]
"Sunday changed everything. The story of the resurrection isn't just a miracle to admire. It's a declaration that God is not done. Even when everything looks lost, he's still working through his resurrection power. Think of every movie you've seen through this series. We've been talking, kind of alluding to boxing, every good boxing movie the star of the movie, the antagonist." [00:05:52]
"God is doing amazing things in and through us even when we don't feel it. God can work in us and willing us to do his good pleasure even when we don't know what he's doing. Last year we closed the church building that the church had been in for over a hundred years and it felt sad. But as I look back over the last year and see what God has done faithfully." [00:10:04]
"Where are you expecting endings in your life when God is preparing something new? Where are you seeing a dead end and it's going to be over where God is knocking that dead end sign over and building a brand new road that you just can't see? When I was a younger kid, one of my friends' parents put an addition on their house. And from the inside of the house." [00:10:52]
"Jesus said this. He said to the religious leaders, 'If you tear down the temple in three days, I'll build it back up again.' And the religious leaders thought he was talking about the temple of God in Jerusalem. And they're like, 'You're crazy. It took 46 years for that to be built and you say if we tear it down you can build it in 3 days.' But they didn't understand." [00:13:04]
"The resurrection invites investigation but also a decision. You have to decide now that I know the son of God came, lived a perfect life, experienced all the things that I experienced: betrayal, depression, hunger, abandonment, and yet he gave his life, took death and hell captive as we sang and as Dylan read a few minutes ago, and he is alive and he's called me to submission to him." [00:20:28]
"Living a good life is not a life of commitment and surrender to Christ. And God is calling us to decide if we will or if we will not live for him. We have to decide now that I have this information, what will I do with it? Will I accept it? Will I accept that he is who he said he was, that he did what he said he was going to do?" [00:21:41]
"The tomb is empty. But what does that mean for you personally? You can't be like Switzerland and be neutral. You can either walk away wondering, 'Well that's interesting.' Or you can walk forward and believe. You can accept that Christ's resurrection means something and that you have a commitment that you have to make to do something about it. You will either follow Christ or reject him." [00:23:46]
"Death isn't the end. It's the beginning of the real life, the real hope, the real joy in Christ. Guilt isn't the final word. Because he rose, you can be forgiven, restored, and made new. What would your life look like if you really lived like death had no hold on you, if you believe that the resurrection power is at work in you today?" [00:27:11]
"Jesus was an unlikely hero. The Jews, people of God, were expecting a warrior to come and free them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. They were looking for someone to come and pick a fight with the Romans and beat them down and free them. But had the Messiah come that way, it would have been a temporary thing. Instead, Jesus came as this tiny little baby." [00:28:10]
"Jesus didn't just rise for us to applaud him. He rose for you. You rose for me to give you purpose, to give you hope. You don't need to carry your sin anymore because you can't. It will weigh you down. It will keep you from freedom that God is offering to you. You don't need to fear death anymore. Do you know what my mom said to my brother-in-law right before she passed away?" [00:29:58]
"One of the greatest desires of all humankind is to be loved. I know someone who loves you so much that he was willing to die for you. And the Bible tells us greater love has no man than this, than he lays down his life for his friend. God calls you his friend. He laid down his life for you. He loves you more than anything where you are right now." [00:31:19]
"First John it says, 'If we confess our sins, if we tell him I missed the mark, he is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' Last night Cara gave their her sisters a bath because they were funky. I love you but they I love them but they were funky. She washed them so that they would smell good for church today." [00:32:05]
"But the payment for your sin has been paid and there is nothing else you have to do than say thank you. I accepted that gift. Will you still sin and miss the mark? Absolutely. You're not perfect but God is there ready, willing, and waiting to continue to forgive you. His the Bible tells us his mercy is new every morning. So what will you do? The tomb is empty." [00:33:00]
"The king is alive. This unlikeliest hero has become the hero. He's alive. Your future can begin now. You don't have to worry about losing because you can trust in the winner. Let's pray. God thank you for your love for us. Thank you for making a way for us. Thank you for sending your son to pay the debt to carry the cross to take sin and death captive." [00:33:46]
"God help us to be your hands and feet every day. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. If you want to make a decision for Christ, if you never have, today is the day to do it. There is no day like today. One of my favorite little Latin quotes is carped. It's seize the day. Do whatever you can today to make sure that you have a hope and a future tomorrow." [00:36:24]
"We hope that you don't have a church family you'd like to consider joining this one. We'd be happy to talk to you about that. If you've never been baptized, like to talk about that, we're happy to do that. Anything that we can do to encourage you in your spiritual walk, just need somebody to give you a hug, we're here for that. Let me say one more prayer and then we'll be dismissed." [00:37:30]
"Thank you so much for your love for us. We pray that if you are moving in the heart of someone, that you would push them to take that step to come forward and talk to someone who can guide them to where you want them to be. We are not the heroes. We are the hero in the story. We are just supporting characters to point people to you." [00:38:50]
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"But what looked like defeat, what looked like total destruction of everything they thought was going to happen, turned out to be the greatest victory the world has ever known. Jesus didn't just rise from the dead. He overturned death itself and rewrote our future. In Romans it says, 'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' That word sin implies missing the mark." [00:03:28]
"God through Jesus gave his life for us. And instead of dying for him, God asks us to live for him. And we can do that through the power of the Holy Spirit, which he promised and sent after he was raised from the dead. But Jesus was beaten. He was crucified and buried. Friday looked like a failure. Everything they'd hoped, everything they'd imagined had now been taken from them." [00:04:51]
"Sunday changed everything. The story of the resurrection isn't just a miracle to admire. It's a declaration that God is not done. Even when everything looks lost, he's still working through his resurrection power. Think of every movie you've seen through this series. We've been talking, kind of alluding to boxing, every good boxing movie the star of the movie, the antagonist." [00:05:52]
"God is doing amazing things in and through us even when we don't feel it. God can work in us and willing us to do his good pleasure even when we don't know what he's doing. Last year we closed the church building that the church had been in for over a hundred years and it felt sad. But as I look back over the last year and see what God has done faithfully." [00:10:04]
"Where are you expecting endings in your life when God is preparing something new? Where are you seeing a dead end and it's going to be over where God is knocking that dead end sign over and building a brand new road that you just can't see? When I was a younger kid, one of my friends' parents put an addition on their house. And from the inside of the house." [00:10:52]
"Jesus said this. He said to the religious leaders, 'If you tear down the temple in three days, I'll build it back up again.' And the religious leaders thought he was talking about the temple of God in Jerusalem. And they're like, 'You're crazy. It took 46 years for that to be built and you say if we tear it down you can build it in 3 days.' But they didn't understand." [00:13:04]
"The resurrection invites investigation but also a decision. You have to decide now that I know the son of God came, lived a perfect life, experienced all the things that I experienced: betrayal, depression, hunger, abandonment, and yet he gave his life, took death and hell captive as we sang and as Dylan read a few minutes ago, and he is alive and he's called me to submission to him." [00:20:28]
"Living a good life is not a life of commitment and surrender to Christ. And God is calling us to decide if we will or if we will not live for him. We have to decide now that I have this information, what will I do with it? Will I accept it? Will I accept that he is who he said he was, that he did what he said he was going to do?" [00:21:41]
"The tomb is empty. But what does that mean for you personally? You can't be like Switzerland and be neutral. You can either walk away wondering, 'Well that's interesting.' Or you can walk forward and believe. You can accept that Christ's resurrection means something and that you have a commitment that you have to make to do something about it. You will either follow Christ or reject him." [00:23:46]
"Death isn't the end. It's the beginning of the real life, the real hope, the real joy in Christ. Guilt isn't the final word. Because he rose, you can be forgiven, restored, and made new. What would your life look like if you really lived like death had no hold on you, if you believe that the resurrection power is at work in you today?" [00:27:11]
"Jesus was an unlikely hero. The Jews, people of God, were expecting a warrior to come and free them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. They were looking for someone to come and pick a fight with the Romans and beat them down and free them. But had the Messiah come that way, it would have been a temporary thing. Instead, Jesus came as this tiny little baby." [00:28:10]
"Jesus didn't just rise for us to applaud him. He rose for you. You rose for me to give you purpose, to give you hope. You don't need to carry your sin anymore because you can't. It will weigh you down. It will keep you from freedom that God is offering to you. You don't need to fear death anymore. Do you know what my mom said to my brother-in-law right before she passed away?" [00:29:58]
"One of the greatest desires of all humankind is to be loved. I know someone who loves you so much that he was willing to die for you. And the Bible tells us greater love has no man than this, than he lays down his life for his friend. God calls you his friend. He laid down his life for you. He loves you more than anything where you are right now." [00:31:19]
"First John it says, 'If we confess our sins, if we tell him I missed the mark, he is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' Last night Cara gave their her sisters a bath because they were funky. I love you but they I love them but they were funky. She washed them so that they would smell good for church today." [00:32:05]
"But the payment for your sin has been paid and there is nothing else you have to do than say thank you. I accepted that gift. Will you still sin and miss the mark? Absolutely. You're not perfect but God is there ready, willing, and waiting to continue to forgive you. His the Bible tells us his mercy is new every morning. So what will you do? The tomb is empty." [00:33:00]
"The king is alive. This unlikeliest hero has become the hero. He's alive. Your future can begin now. You don't have to worry about losing because you can trust in the winner. Let's pray. God thank you for your love for us. Thank you for making a way for us. Thank you for sending your son to pay the debt to carry the cross to take sin and death captive." [00:33:46]
"God help us to be your hands and feet every day. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. If you want to make a decision for Christ, if you never have, today is the day to do it. There is no day like today. One of my favorite little Latin quotes is carped. It's seize the day. Do whatever you can today to make sure that you have a hope and a future tomorrow." [00:36:24]
"We hope that you don't have a church family you'd like to consider joining this one. We'd be happy to talk to you about that. If you've never been baptized, like to talk about that, we're happy to do that. Anything that we can do to encourage you in your spiritual walk, just need somebody to give you a hug, we're here for that. Let me say one more prayer and then we'll be dismissed." [00:37:30]
"Thank you so much for your love for us. We pray that if you are moving in the heart of someone, that you would push them to take that step to come forward and talk to someone who can guide them to where you want them to be. We are not the heroes. We are the hero in the story. We are just supporting characters to point people to you." [00:38:50]
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