Living the Resurrected Life - Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

At God's Direction

May 26, 2024 • Pastor Ben Johnson • Matthew 16:24–27

Last week, we remembered that our Lord Jesus sent the Holy Spirit so that we might become His living, breathing temple! Today, we remember that He didn’t simply send the Holy Spirit for us to have the resurrected life, but that by the Holy Spirit, we might live the resurrected life! What that means is that we not only live in the assurance and peace that His Spirit brings us, but we also live in obedience to the Risen Christ! Said plainly, living the resurrected life means living our lives in and through His direction for us!

At God's Direction

May 26, 2024 • Pastor Tim Phillips • Matthew 16:24–27

Last week, we remembered that our Lord Jesus sent the Holy Spirit so that we might become His living, breathing temple! Today, we remember that He didn’t simply send the Holy Spirit for us to have the resurrected life, but that by the Holy Spirit, we might live the resurrected life! What that means is that we not only live in the assurance and peace that His Spirit brings us, but we also live in obedience to the Risen Christ! Said plainly, living the resurrected life means living our lives in and through His direction for us!

As God's Temple

May 19, 2024 • Pastor Ben Johnson • 1 Corinthians 3:10–17

Today is Pentecost - when we celebrate what we sometimes call “The Advent of the Holy Spirit.” While that’s true and an accurate portrayal of what happened two millennia ago, it’s important to see that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us in order that we could truly and fully live the resurrected life in Him! In and through the Holy Spirit, we’re brought to faith in the Resurrected Christ, and in and through the Holy Spirit, we’re also empowered to embrace the resurrected life given through Him!

As God's Temple

May 19, 2024 • Pastor Joe Meyer • 1 Corinthians 3:10–17

Today is Pentecost - when we celebrate what we sometimes call “The Advent of the Holy Spirit.” While that’s true and an accurate portrayal of what happened two millennia ago, it’s important to see that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us in order that we could truly and fully live the resurrected life in Him! In and through the Holy Spirit, we’re brought to faith in the Resurrected Christ, and in and through the Holy Spirit, we’re also empowered to embrace the resurrected life given through Him!

In an Upside Down World

May 12, 2024 • Pastor Tim Phillips • Matthew 24:3–8

Have you ever looked at our world and wondered if we’ve collectively lost our minds? As you hear the news, read the posts, and check the internet, our world seems to be spinning out of control and doing so more every single day! Living the resurrected life in and through Christ in an upside-down world can be difficult at best! And the “badder news”? It’s only going to get worse as we approach that Day when Jesus returns for us! Wait…what? But today, we remember that in the midst of the chaos of this world and with the promise of more chaos to come, living the resurrected life in the victorious and risen Christ is exactly where we want to be!

In an Upside Down World

May 12, 2024 • Pastor Ben Johnson • Matthew 24:3–8

Have you ever looked at our world and wondered if we’ve collectively lost our minds? As you hear the news, read the posts, and check the internet, our world seems to be spinning out of control and doing so more every single day! Living the resurrected life in and through Christ in an upside-down world can be difficult at best! And the “badder news”? It’s only going to get worse as we approach that Day when Jesus returns for us! Wait…what? But today, we remember that in the midst of the chaos of this world and with the promise of more chaos to come, living the resurrected life in the victorious and risen Christ is exactly where we want to be!

When Doubts Set In

May 5, 2024 • Pastor Tim Phillips • John 20:24–29

Doubt is one of those very human traits that can actually be helpful when we’re unsure about the truth of a claim or the veracity of an offer, but on the flip side, it can also move us to question the truth of our faith. In fact, it can cause us to question the truth of Christ’s resurrection and, along with it, also cause us to question the truth of our own resurrected life! But you can rest assured in your heart of hearts that Christ rose from the dead for you! Jesus’ resurrection is a historical fact and not just heartfelt faith! Jesus’ resurrection is an absolute fact, and therefore, through Him, in Him, and with Him, your resurrected life, both now and forever, is sure and certain, too!

When Doubts Set In

May 5, 2024 • Pastor Ben Johnson • John 20:24–29

Doubt is one of those very human traits that can actually be helpful when we’re unsure about the truth of a claim or the veracity of an offer, but on the flip side, it can also move us to question the truth of our faith. In fact, it can cause us to question the truth of Christ’s resurrection and, along with it, also cause us to question the truth of our own resurrected life! But you can rest assured in your heart of hearts that Christ rose from the dead for you! Jesus’ resurrection is a historical fact and not just heartfelt faith! Jesus’ resurrection is an absolute fact, and therefore, through Him, in Him, and with Him, your resurrected life, both now and forever, is sure and certain, too!

When Death Invades

April 28, 2024 • Pastor Joe Meyer • Acts 20:7–12

When is our resurrected life the most difficult to embrace? I think we’d all say, “When someone we love and care for dies.” When we want to trust in God and believe He’s got a plan, but indeed, of all the challenges to living a resurrected life in Christ, facing the death of a loved one is the biggest challenge of all. And yet, it’s not just a big challenge, living the resurrected life amid death is also a big blessing! Our resurrected life means we worship a living Lord! We worship the Lord who conquered death! But we worship the resurrected Christ, and through His resurrection, we remember that we will rise too! Perhaps it’s the biggest challenge to our resurrected life, but in the midst of death, we remember that Christ didn’t conquer death for Himself; rather, He conquered death for every believer in Him so that we might live the resurrected life both now and forever!

When Death Invades

April 28, 2024 • Pastor Ben Johnson • Acts 20:7–12

When is our resurrected life the most difficult to embrace? I think we’d all say, “When someone we love and care for dies.” When we want to trust in God and believe He’s got a plan, but indeed, of all the challenges to living a resurrected life in Christ, facing the death of a loved one is the biggest challenge of all. And yet, it’s not just a big challenge, living the resurrected life amid death is also a big blessing! Our resurrected life means we worship a living Lord! We worship the Lord who conquered death! But we worship the resurrected Christ, and through His resurrection, we remember that we will rise too! Perhaps it’s the biggest challenge to our resurrected life, but in the midst of death, we remember that Christ didn’t conquer death for Himself; rather, He conquered death for every believer in Him so that we might live the resurrected life both now and forever!

When People Oppose You

April 21, 2024 • Pastor Tim Phillips • 2 Timothy 4:9–18

The Bible gives us an important reminder in 2 Timothy 3:12 when it says, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Living the resurrected life in and through the Risen Christ, that’s not what you wanted to hear, right? But it’s true. If you take a stand on God’s Word and are sold out for the Risen Jesus…you will be persecuted, people will oppose you. They won’t like the resurrected life and resurrected lifestyle the Bible proposes. They won’t like the exclusivity of Christianity, namely, the Risen Jesus is the only “way, truth, and life”. Nonetheless, we’ve been captivated by Christ and the truth of His life, death and yes, His resurrection, so much so, that we’d never deny Him or pull back or walk away! We’re living our resurrected life even in the face of opposition!

When People Oppose You

April 21, 2024 • Pastor Ben Johnson • 2 Timothy 4:9–18

The Bible gives us an important reminder in 2 Timothy 3:12 when it says, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Living the resurrected life in and through the Risen Christ, that’s not what you wanted to hear, right? But it’s true. If you take a stand on God’s Word and are sold out for the Risen Jesus…you will be persecuted, people will oppose you. They won’t like the resurrected life and resurrected lifestyle the Bible proposes. They won’t like the exclusivity of Christianity, namely, the Risen Jesus is the only “way, truth, and life”. Nonetheless, we’ve been captivated by Christ and the truth of His life, death and yes, His resurrection, so much so, that we’d never deny Him or pull back or walk away! We’re living our resurrected life even in the face of opposition!

When You Stumble and Fall

April 14, 2024 • Pastor Ben Johnson • John 21:15–19

Unfortunately, when we are brought to faith in Jesus, when we’re given the resurrected life through Him, we nonetheless retain our sinful human nature! Baptism into Christ and into His death and resurrection takes away the guilt of our sin, but it doesn’t take away our sin. We will be sinners until we aren’t, and that happens only when we die or Jesus returns. As a result, we will stumble and fall in this lifetime while we’re living in and through the resurrected Jesus. We will make mistakes and some of them will be whoppers! Thankfully, Jesus, the Risen Christ, is with us to bring restoration, healing, and forgiveness, as well as the desire and the ability to say no to sin and yes to Him. We rest in His forgiveness; even when living our resurrected life, we stumble and fall!

When You Stumble and Fall

April 14, 2024 • Pastor Joe Meyer • John 21:15–19

Unfortunately, when we are brought to faith in Jesus, when we’re given the resurrected life through Him, we nonetheless retain our sinful human nature! Baptism into Christ and into His death and resurrection takes away the guilt of our sin, but it doesn’t take away our sin. We will be sinners until we aren’t, and that happens only when we die or Jesus returns. As a result, we will stumble and fall in this lifetime while we’re living in and through the resurrected Jesus. We will make mistakes and some of them will be whoppers! Thankfully, Jesus, the Risen Christ, is with us to bring restoration, healing, and forgiveness, as well as the desire and the ability to say no to sin and yes to Him. We rest in His forgiveness; even when living our resurrected life, we stumble and fall!

When the Future is Uncertain

April 7, 2024 • Pastor Ben Johnson • 1 Kings 17:8–16

One of the biggest blessings of being a Christian is that our Resurrected Lord promised to be with us always! Of course, we’re thankful that through faith in Him and His resurrection, we will be with Jesus always at our death or the Second Coming. But we recognize today that the truth of our everlasting life is also true of our daily life, even when things seem uncertain! Jesus, the Risen Christ, isn’t just with us in the future far away, but Jesus, the Risen Christ, is with us right here and now! He’s here for us! He watches over us! Even when the future is uncertain, our connection to Jesus never will be, and through Him, God will provide for us as we live our resurrected life!