Easter Sunday - Resurrection

Celebrate the deepest love poured out of the greatest sacrifice in history. A love that heals. A love that forgives. A love that welcomes.

Transcript

Jesus’ resurrection is ongoing. No, I don’t mean that Jesus keeps dying and respawning like a bad Call of Duty player. I mean that the impact of Jesus’ resurrection didn’t stop one Sunday morning 2,000 years ago. The resurrection is ongoing.

But most of us can miss this. It’s like installing a printer at your parent’s house. It should be a one-time thing, right? No, it’s like entering a tech support black hole. You get it all connected, and then you go home thinking it’s done. But noooo! Sooner or later, you get that call—“It’s not printing.” And then, it’s "My printer is speaking Spanish.” What?!? Eventually, it’s, “Where can I buy Apple gift cards? A nice man from Facebook asked me to get him some.” And that’s when you realize it’s just easier to ban your parents from the internet.

What you thought was a one-time thing is really an ongoing part of your life.

The same is true about Jesus's resurrection. It seems like a one-time event—something that happened 2,000 years ago. You believe in Jesus; you go to heaven. He got resurrected; you get resurrected.

However, the Apostle Paul repeatedly connects Jesus' resurrection to our daily life, not just our eternal life. In fact, the resurrection is everywhere in the New Testament. It drives virtually everything about the Christian life.

The resurrection is ongoing. The impact of the resurrection, the power of the resurrection, and the hope of the resurrection don’t have to stop on Easter Sunday. It can breathe life into any place where you are struggling, floundering, or failing.

4 Ways the Resurrection in Ongoing

You might believe in the resurrection, but are you living the resurrection?

Today, I want to share four ways the Apostle Paul says you can live out the resurrection in your life. Each of these directly connects Jesus's resurrection from the dead to the way Christians should live.

1. You Are United into Christ

Living Jesus’ resurrection means you are united into Christ.

In Colossians 2:11-12 (NLT), Paul uses two metaphors to help us explain what this looks like. The first one is this:

“11 When you came to Christ, you were ‘circumcised,’ but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.

Circumcision was the Old Testament ritual that marked people as belonging to Yahweh God. It’s like a wedding ring for a couple, a uniform for a soldier, or hua txoon at dinner for a Hmong family. It shows who you belong to. When you come to believe in Jesus, you are united into God’s family.

But it didn’t stop there. Listen to the next verse.

12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him, you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.”

If you’ve been baptized, you were united with Christ into his death and his resurrection.

The opposite of being united into Christ is doing it yourself or, worse, trying to unite Jesus into you, rather than the other way around. You’ll claim Jesus’ name as long as faith doesn’t cost you anything you want.

That’s not really living an ongoing resurrection. Believing the resurrection means you’ve checked off a theological box. But living the resurrection means that you’re continually uniting yourself into Christ—belonging to him, dying to yourself for him, and being reborn with him.

2. You Are Empowered by Jesus

Living Jesus’ resurrection means you are also empowered by Jesus.

We all have that one area in our lives where willpower just disappears, right? For me, it's food. This year, I’ve been eating well. I’m losing weight; my A1C is down. But a few weeks ago, Pang Foua went shopping snacky and returned with a cart that screamed, “Cheat Day!”

One trip to Cub and I went from John Wick—a man of focus, commitment, and sheer will—to Homer Simpson, whose greatest battle is deciding which donut to eat next. In the end, I realized my true enemy wasn't a rival assassin but a sale on ice cream."

If you’re feeling powerless in your life, then you are missing out on the power of the resurrection. Listen to Ephesians 1:19–20:

“19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.”

This verse is part of a larger prayer that Paul is praying for the Ephesians and for us too. He prays that God gives us:

• the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.

• the eyes to see God’s gift of hope.

• and the glorious inheritance God has for us.

All of that is capped off with an understanding that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in us and for us.

Famed Alliance pastor A.W. Tozer once wrote: "God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible—what a pity that we plan only the things that we can do by ourselves."

Living the resurrection means that we can see the impossible with God. But without it, we can only see what’s possible in ourselves.

3. You Do Not Suffer Alone

Living Jesus’ resurrection also means you do not suffer alone.

At funerals, one of the most heartbreaking things to see is a person who believes they need to be strong for the family but just ends up suffering alone.

Thanks to the pandemic, we all know loss and suffering, and we all know being alone. That’s what makes Paul’s statement in Philippians 3 so appealing and yet so terrifying:

10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11)

According to Paul, knowing the power of Jesus’ resurrection and suffering with him somehow helps us join him in our resurrection.

Most of us don’t like to suffer. So, we avoid it, we numb it, or we make others suffer instead. But Jesus invites us to welcome suffering and, more importantly, welcome him into our suffering.

My favorite scene from The Lord of the Rings trilogy comes toward the end. Almost at the fires of Mt. Doom, Frodo collapses under the weight of carrying the ring and the isolation it brings. Samwise holds his dear friend and declares, “Come on Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you.”

Just as Sam shares Frodo's journey and burden, the resurrected Jesus walks with us, offering strength and companionship in our darkest times, carrying us when we can no longer carry ourselves.

Living Jesus’ resurrection means you do not have to suffer alone.

4. You Are Called to Kingdom Living

Lastly, living Jesus’ resurrection means you are called to Kingdom living.

Listen to Colossians 3:1-3.

1 Since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Paul repeats his command twice: “Set your hearts on things above.” Why? Because you have been resurrected with Jesus. But, you’re thinking, “No, I haven’t. I’m not dead yet.” Yes, if you believe in Jesus, your old self died, and now your life is in Christ.

So, what does it mean to set your hearts on things above? I used the phrase “kingdom living” to describe what Christians are called to—that’s a life that is moral, sacrificial, and pro-neighbor.

• Moral – Christians should act like Christians. What we watch, say, drink, and do should be marked by high moral standards.

• Sacrificial – For the Christian, your life is not your own. You live to serve others, to see others thrive, and to take the hit so someone can receive the reward.

• Pro-neighbor – We take Jesus’ command to love our neighbors seriously. We speak and treat people with kindness and respect, regardless of their race, age, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

In the Lord’s Prayer that we recited earlier, we said, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” That’s praying for kingdom living. That’s what we want when we live with Jesus’ resurrection as an ongoing reality in our lives.

Closing

As we sit here on Easter Sunday, we’re reminded that living the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just about believing in an event; it’s about embodying a transformation. It’s about letting the reality of the risen Christ take hold of every aspect of your life—your decisions, your relationships, your struggles, and your victories.

So, how do we make this practical? How do we ensure that, this Easter, the resurrection is not just a doctrine we affirm but a life we live?

First, identify areas in your life where you have been trying to go it alone, relying on your strength, and invite Jesus into that space.

Second, consider the places where you’ve encountered suffering or loss. Rather than shying away from them, invite the risen Christ into them. Receive his comfort and find peace in his hope.

Third, take an inventory of your priorities. Are they reflecting “things above”? Start by making one decision this week that prioritizes eternal value over temporary satisfaction.

Lastly, live out the Kingdom in practical ways. Be moral, be sacrificial, be pro-neighbor. Choose one act of kindness this week, one way to serve someone else without expecting anything in return. And as you do, remember that every act of love is a reflection of the resurrection life.

Let me tell you how one of these played out in my life this week. On Friday, I responded harshly to someone online. I immediately knew it was wrong. I was reactive, unloving, and a bit self-righteous. God was not a part of my words; it was all me.

Later, I couldn’t fall asleep. I wrestled with God a bit until I gave in and invited Jesus into my restless heart. I started reciting The Lord’s Prayer that we say here in service. And very quickly, my heart softened. I grabbed my phone and posted an apology. And then I talked with the person yesterday to make sure there weren’t any hard feelings.

As I was falling asleep, I realized that’s what it looks like to live out resurrection in my life in a really small way.

In a couple of minutes, I’ll give you a chance to reflect and journal on these, so keep your listening ears open to God. But I’m guessing He has already brought something to your mind.

If you commit to doing a couple of these in the coming weeks, I’m confident that you’ll get a glimpse of what made Paul say, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.”

PRAY

Now, it’s time to respond to God. Here are four practical ways you can live like the resurrection is ongoing in your life. I want to give you a few minutes to reflect, pray, and journal. Type in your phone or grab a card in front of you. But I don’t want you to walk away this Easter without hearing from God how you can live like the resurrection is an ongoing reality in your life.