Dead & Alive

Announcements & Joys

Call to Worship

Leader: Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! He has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.

People: We come to proclaim His goodness and trust in His care.

Leader: Fear not, for the Lord is with us.

People: We are not afraid, for we are loved and held by God.

Leader: Come, let us worship the Lord who gives us life.

All: Alleluia! We rejoice in His salvation!

Opening Praise Songs or Hymns | Graves into Gardens (Video)

Opening Prayer

Merciful God, we confess that our fear overwhelms us, preventing us from living and acting in Your name. We struggle to trust in Your promises and speak boldly of Your love. Forgive us and strengthen our faith, that we may live as Your fearless disciples. We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Passing of the Peace

Children’s Moments

I brought something with me today—a jar full of sand.

Do you think anyone could count every grain of sand in this jar? (Let them answer.)

I sure couldn’t! There are way too many tiny grains to count. Even if we sat here all day, we’d probably never get the exact number.

But let me tell you something even more amazing.

In today’s Bible reading, Jesus says that God knows exactly how many hairs are on your head. Think about that! Some of us have lots of hair, some of us have a little less, but God knows the exact number for every one of us.

Jesus also says that not even a little sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing about it. If God cares about every little bird, and if He knows every hair on your head, imagine how much He cares about you.

You are never forgotten. You are never unnoticed. God knows you by name, He loves you, and He loved you so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross and rise again so that we could have eternal life with Him.

Now that’s amazing love.

Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Dear God, thank You for knowing us, loving us, and caring for us every day.

Thank You for sending Jesus for us. Help us remember that we are always precious to You. Amen.

Gospel Scripture Reading Matthew 10:24-39

Matthew 10:24–39 NIV

“The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Sharing of Concerns

Pastoral Prayer with the Lord’s Prayer

We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Presentation of Tithes & Offerings & Hymn | Take My Life & Let it Be | MH 399

Offertory Music& Doxology

Prayer Over the Offering

A Prayer for Father’s Day

Father God, today we thank You for all fathers and father figures—those who have guided with love, protected with strength, and shaped lives with kindness. We give thanks for dads, grandfathers, mentors, teachers, coaches, and all who have stood in the gap with care and faithfulness.

Yet we also hold tenderly those for whom this day is painful: those who had absent, abusive, or strained relationships with their fathers; those who grieve, who long to be fathers, or whose journey into fatherhood has been difficult. Bring comfort, healing, and peace to each heart. 

Above all, remind us that You are our perfect parent—faithful, strong, and full of love. Make us more like You in all our relationships, and bless all who give and receive fatherly love today. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Epistle Scripture Reading | Romans 6:1-11

Romans 6:1–11 NIV

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord, our strength and our redeemer; and Get me behind the cross so that your glory and not mine might shine through; and in spite of the stammering of my speech and the inconsistencies of my character, may your Word be proclaimed and heard here today.

Sermon | Dead & Alive

INTRODUCTION – Old Text Message

Have you ever gotten a text that wasn’t meant for you?

Maybe you got a new phone number, but somebody keeps texting you looking for “Mike.”

Or maybe you’ve moved into a new house, and for months you keep getting mail addressed to the people who lived there before you.

Maybe you’ve started a new job, but someone still introduces you by your old title.

It’s always a little awkward.

They’re talking…

But they’re talking to someone who isn’t you anymore.

Now let me ask you something.

Have you ever noticed…

Sin does the exact same thing?

It knows your old habits.

It remembers your old weaknesses.

It knows exactly what buttons to push.

And every now and then…

your phone buzzes.

Your old life is calling.

Your old anger.

Your old pride.

Your old addiction.

Your old fear.

Your old selfishness.

It still knows your number.

And maybe you’ve even caught yourself thinking,

“I guess this is just who I am.”

Paul says…

No.

That’s not who you are anymore.

That’s why he begins Romans 6 with what sounds like a shocking question.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase?” (Romans 6:1)

Why would Paul even ask that?

Because he’d been preaching grace so boldly that people thought he’d gone too far.

People were saying,

“So wait…

If God’s grace gets bigger than my sin…

Then why not just keep sinning?”

It’s almost as if they were saying,

“If God loves forgiving…

Let’s give Him more opportunities.”

We’ve heard versions of that before.

“I know I shouldn’t…

But God will forgive me.”

Paul’s answer comes immediately.

“By no means!”

Not because God stopped being gracious.

But because grace doesn’t just forgive people.

Grace changes people.

SCENE TWO – The Prodigal Comes Home

Think about Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son.

Most of us know how it ends.

The father runs.

The son is embraced.

The robe.

The ring.

The feast.

The celebration.

Now imagine something Jesus never tells us.

Fast forward a year.

Life has settled down.

The excitement is over.

One afternoon the son is standing out by the barn.

He looks down the road.

A thought crosses his mind.

“Maybe I should run away again.”

“Dad will forgive me.”

“Maybe I’ll get another party.”

Can you imagine it?

Of course not.

Why?

Because the party wasn’t permission.

It was restoration.

The father’s grace wasn’t meant to encourage another rebellion.

It was meant to end the first one.

I love how N. T. Wright puts it. Paul’s critics thought that preaching grace would make people say,

“Great! Then I can do whatever I like.”

But Paul knew something they didn’t.

Real grace doesn’t simply erase guilt.

It changes the heart.

Grace doesn’t make you want to leave again.

Grace makes you wonder why you ever left.

That’s exactly where Paul is taking us.

Christianity isn’t simply God saying,

“I’ll forgive you every time.”

It’s God saying,

“I’ve made you into someone new.”

So why would someone who’s finally come home…

want to live like they’re still in the far country?

SCENE THREE – The Funeral

Paul answers that question by taking us to a funeral.

Listen again.

Romans 6:3–5 “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Did you notice the first image Paul uses?

Not washing.

Not church membership.

Not even new life.

A burial.

Paul says our old self was buried with Christ.

Some of you may remember the movie Fried Green Tomatoes.

Buddy Jr. loses his arm in a train accident.

Later in the movie, the family actually holds a funeral…

for his arm.

It’s a strange scene.

There’s a little casket.

People gather.

They bury it.

Now here’s the point.

Nobody expected that arm to come back.

Nobody planned to dig it up next week.

A funeral means something is over.

That’s Paul’s image.

When you came to Christ…

God didn’t simply improve the old you.

He didn’t patch you up.

He didn’t give the old you a makeover.

He buried the old you.

John Stott tells about hearing Romans explained by saying that a dead body doesn’t respond anymore.

Touch a living animal.

It jumps.

Touch a dead one.

Nothing.

Some people have taken Romans 6 to mean Christians shouldn’t even feel temptation anymore.

Double PK - son rise service

But let’s be honest.

Has that been your experience?

Mine neither.

If that’s what Paul meant…

why would he spend the rest of Romans teaching Christians how to fight sin?

No.

Paul is saying something much richer.

Temptation still comes.

Sin still calls.

The enemy still lies.

But…

its authority is gone.

SCENE FOUR – The Old Boss

Let me explain it another way.

Imagine working somewhere for twenty years.

You answer to the supervisor.

He tells you when to come in.

When to leave.

When you can take lunch.

Then one day…

you get a new job.

A better job.

Better boss.

Better future.

Three months later…

your phone rings.

You look down…

and it’s your old boss.

“Hey…I need you to come in Saturday.”

You’d probably laugh.

“No thanks.

I don’t work there anymore.”

Notice…

The phone still rang.

The old boss still knew your number.

The old boss still made the request.

But…he doesn’t have authority anymore.

Church…

that’s Romans 6.

Sin still calls.

Temptation still calls.

The devil still calls.

Your old habits still call.

But…

they don’t get to tell you what to do anymore.

Sin is calling the wrong person.

Tomorrow morning…

your temper may call.

Your pride may call.

Your anxiety may call.

Your addiction may call.

Your gossip may call.

Your unforgiveness may call.

The phone will ring.

The question isn’t…“Will it call?”

The question is… Who’s answering?

SCENE FIVE – The Cross

Jesus says something in Matthew 10 that sounds impossible.

“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

That sounds backwards.

Until Romans 6.

Jesus wasn’t talking about losing your personality.

He wasn’t talking about becoming miserable.

He was talking about putting the old self to death.

Before resurrection…

comes a cross.

Before new life…

comes a funeral.

Before Easter Sunday…

came Good Friday.

The Christian life has never been about improving the old you.

It’s always been about becoming someone new.

That’s why Paul doesn’t say,

“Try harder.”

He says,

“You died.”

“You were buried.”

“You’ve been raised.”

Now…

live like it.

SCENE SIX – Walk Home

So tomorrow morning…

what does this actually look like?

It looks like remembering whose voice you’re listening to.

When shame says,

“You’ll never change.”

Remember…

That person died.

When temptation says,

“This is just who you are.”

Remember…

Wrong number.

When fear says,

“You’ll always be this way.”

Remember…

Christ didn’t just forgive your past.

He gave you a future.

You are not fighting for victory.

You are fighting from victory.

You’re not trying to become alive.

You’re learning to live like someone who already is.

Church…

stop answering for someone…

Jesus already buried.

Sin is calling the wrong person.

Invitation

Maybe this morning you’ve spent years trying harder.

Trying harder to quit.

Trying harder to be better.

Trying harder to clean yourself up.

Paul says…

You’ve started in the wrong place.

The Christian life doesn’t begin with behavior.

It begins with identity.

You don’t become God’s child because you finally got your act together.

You become God’s child through Jesus Christ.

And then…

little by little…

you begin living like who you’ve become.

That’s grace.

Not permission to keep sinning.

Power to start living.

Closing

So church…

when you leave today…

I don’t want you to remember every illustration.

I don’t want you to remember every scene.

But I do hope that sometime this week…

when temptation buzzes…

when shame whispers…

when the enemy reminds you of who you used to be…

one sentence comes back into your mind.

Sin is calling the wrong person.

Because through Jesus Christ…

the old you has been buried…

and the new you…

is alive.

Amen.

Sending Hymn | Because He Lives | MH 364

Benediction