Ephesians 4:17-24 When the Holy Spirit brought us to faith, a wonderful change happened. Our old self – completely corrupt – was cast off and a new self – created in the image of God – was put on. The Christian life is a constant renewal of the wonderful change that God has wrought in us. As we put on the clothing of Christ’s righteousness we see life from a new perspective. It changes everything about the way we walk through life.

Living Hope

Clothed with Christ

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” When Paul says that to you and me it sounds like the pressure is on. The calling we’ve received from Christ has pulled us from darkness to light, from strangers to family members of God, from sorry sinners to forgiven saints. How can we ever measure up to what Christ has done for us? How can we ever be worthy of that calling we’ve received? The same Savior whose work we aim to measure up to is the one who takes the pressure off when we step on that scale to measure up. And he equips us to keep taking up our Christian calling day by day.

Equipped By Christ

Ephesians 2:13-22 Our world offers us two options when it comes to unity: uniformity or division. Either we must be identical or we are enemies. However, through Christ, the impossible happens. All of human diversity is brought into one family, the body of Christ. As we come to the cross, we leave united - not identical, but unified.

United in Christ

Ephesians 1:3-14 We have been chosen in Christ. He has woven some threads into our lives so that when all is said and done our earthly stories will be beautiful - all because God has woven the story of Christ into our own stories. Take a moment to admire the beautiful picture of your life that God weaves. He chose you. He paid for you. He guarantees a future for you. All in Christ.

Chosen in Christ

Mark 4:26-34 As we revisit Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed we come to learn that even a small seed grows. Faith, no matter how small it is, can grow when it’s watered and tended by God’s Holy Spirit and His Word.

Even a Small Seed Grows

Ezekiel 2:1-3:4 Ezekiel had a tough job. He was God’s chosen prophet to the rebellious people of Israel. He had to bring God’s Law to the people so they would turn back to the Lord. The Lord even told Ezekiel that the people would likely refuse to listen to him. But Ezekiel didn’t have to be afraid to speak God’s Word, and neither do we. We speak a message that is God’s, not our own. And even if God’s Law may sound bitter in the ears of sinners, his Word is always sweet to the taste because of his gospel. God wants to redeem rebels and heal his people.

Followers of Jesus Are Faithful in Spite of Rejection

Lamentations 3:22-33 Followers of Jesus have comfort even in death because the Lord gives grace for each day. As sinners, each day holds different levels of grief for us as we feel the effects of our sinful natures and the suffering of the world around us. But each day the Lord’s saving grace is new. The Lord will show compassion to his people, so great is his unfailing love.

Followers of Jesus Are Comforted in Death

Mark 4:35-41 Storms will roll in. Waves will crash and the wind will blow. That’s going to happen even if you’re not out on a boat in the middle of the sea like the disciples. This will happen in life. But the Lord who can calm a real storm with just 2 words, can calm your troubled heart when you find yourself in trouble and struggling with doubt. You can trust Jesus for more than just limited-edition rescues from troubles in life. He hasn’t promised to take away every problem for you. But he has given you a far bigger, comprehensive rescue. He has brought calm to your soul through his sin-stopping, guilt-calming work on the cross. Look there to see not only his power, but also his tender mercy.

Look to Jesus in the Storms

Mark 4:26-34 Today, Jesus tells us 2 parables centered on a seed. The theme of both parables is growth: the growth of faith in the individual and the growth of God’s kingdom in the world. In both cases, God is in control of the timing of the growth and he is in control of the extent of the growth. And so we scatter the seed of God’s Word, knowing God will bring growth and results on his timetable and to an extent we could never dream of.

Grow in God's Word

Mark 3:31-35 Jesus redefines family in a whole new way. His words about family might unsettle us or they might bring us joy. A lot of our reaction to what Jesus says about family depends on our own family experiences. The good news is that no matter our earthly family life, we have a spiritual family too. We are connected not by blood but by faith. And the glue holding this family together is our brother Jesus. This is a family we want to unite with!

Unite as Family

Mark 2:23-28 In the 3rd commandment, God tells us to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” Jesus, who’s the Lord of the Sabbath, points us to the purpose of the Sabbath and he reminds us that he is the fulfillment of the Sabbath. And since Sabbath means “rest,” we’re about to find out that Jesus himself is our rest. And he gives us a true and lasting rest that this world can’t give. He gives the rest of forgiveness of sins and salvation.

Enjoy Sabbath Rest

Isaiah 6:1-8 God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all active in our salvation. All 3 persons of the Trinity love us and know us. While the inner workings of how God could be three-in-one are beyond our human understanding, he makes himself known to us in his Word. And what we see there is that our God is for us. All three persons of the Trinity are all in for us.

The Great Three-In-One God

Ezekiel 37:1-14 We’re on the last week of our Revive series. It began in the biggest way possible – the resurrection of Jesus. And this is the perfect place to end our series as we stand with the prophet Ezekiel on the edge of the valley of dry bones. We see God revive things that seem beyond revival and beyond hope. But when God breathes, life is created. He can turn sinners, dead in their sins, into his living, forgiven people. He does this through his Holy Spirit who breathes life into us through the pages of God’s Word. And our God does more. His breath in us also gives everlasting life. The God who revived a valley full of dry, dead bones will also revive us and bring us to heaven through a resurrection of our own. Trust it and know it, our God is one who gives hope and revives life.

God-Given Breath

Ephesians 4:7-16 We may question the wisdom of having Jesus ascend out of our visible presence into heaven. But God really does know what he’s doing with the ascension. God gives us the best of both worlds—we have our Savior ruling all things and present everywhere for us. And we’ve also got a life filled with purpose - to build up the body of Christ, His Church. Through it all, Christ is still present and working through us and in us. Jesus’ ascension truly gives us a greater sense of purpose.

The Ascension Revives Your Purpose

John 15:9-17 If we’re going to be fruitful branches, producing the fruit of good works, then we first have to be revived by the message of Christ for us. Knowing Christ is for us will help us make sense of how we can keep Jesus’ command to love each other and be assured that he will remain in us. Since Christ is for us, Christ is also in us. John 15 gives ample evidence that Christ is for us and that spurs us on to show Christ in us to others. The love flowing out of us is a natural thing because of the love of Christ flowing into us.

Christ For Us. Christ In Us.

Living Hope Lutheran is a church in Chattanooga, TN seeking to center the listener on the living hope for everyday life we have in Jesus. Hope forever in Jesus brings hope for every day in life.