Living Spiritually, Walking in God's Life Ezekiel 37: 1-14 Rev. Dr. Galen E. Russell III  John 11:1-45 March 22, 2026 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Prayer: Holy Spirit of God, we open ourselves to your Divine Presence, seeking your life within us. Amen. “Hey, did you hear Chuck Norris died?” That’s what Barb asked me just as I was beginning to write this sermon on Friday. No, at that moment, I didn’t know that. Walker Texas Ranger. The man who was an accomplished ator and expert at martial arts and won competitively. The man who promoted nutritional supplements and health foods. Chuck Norris was 86 years old. Ever since early February, in our church we’ve faced a lot of death. Charlie Wells, Janice Heberlig, Arlene Trimmer. Now Lynn Marsh is on Hospice care. So yeah, it’s been kind of a heavy six weeks. But watch this! In our bible readings there are dead, dry bones in the valley. But, God said, “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live.” And we saw and heard that Lazarus was dead in the grave for four days! But, Jesus said, “I AM the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Do you believe this? Here we are, deep in the heart of Lent, striving to live spiritual lives, one week before Holy Week, almost two weeks before Good Friday’s stories of death, and we’re getting what feels to be precursors to Easter’s resurrection. Like God is just teasing us with some resurrection moments, prior to Easter, in the midst of the heaviness of death. Now as modern Christians, it’s difficult to take these bible stories as true literally. We don’t see bones coming together to form living human beings. It was Ezekiel’s vision. It’s clear in the text that Ezekiel’s dry bones is a metaphor for the nation of Israel. That even though the nation became like dismembered corpses, God would once again breathe life-giving spirit into it and reassemble it again. I can’t help but wonder if that isn’t a powerful metaphor for the nation of Israel today. And our nation as well, maybe becoming like a spiritual corpse I pray to God that this war stops and soon. And we don’t see dead people coming back to life, especially after four days. Just doesn’t happen. But, I don’t totally throw out the possibility of the miracle being true, though. Because in this universe with billions upon billions of galaxies, with so much that we don’t know, there just may be deeper laws such that the dead can be revived, even after four days. I don’t know But for now, I think it’s more important to discern meaning from this story on our faith journeys of learning more about living spiritually from it. So I was trying to figure out what struck me most about Lazarus being made alive again. And one thing that hit me was that his death was temporary. That he would presumably, later on, die again, this time permanently. And also, Martha and Mary, if they lived long enough, would one day grieve his death all over again. But it’s the temporary nature of death that spoke to me. Because Lazarus got a new lease on life, as we say. And Mary and Martha got second chances to be with him. More memories and life experiences. More opportunities to say the things that they may not have said while he was sick. Which makes me say—there is no better time than the present to say the things that matter to our loved ones, while there still is time. While they are near you. Tell those whom you love that you love them. Now. Speak words from your heart. Right away. Like the song “The Living Years” by Mike and the Mechanics says, “Say it loud, say it clear, you can listen as well as you hear. It’s too late when we die to admit we don’ see eye to eye.” And all of us face deaths of all types in our lives. And I dare say, all those deaths are temporary in nature. Sometimes for some, it takes a short period of time before life returns, sometimes for others, it’s longer. But, life does return. We find ways to recover. Our human spirit is resilient. It is enmeshed with God’s spirit of life, and we can walk in God’s life, if we choose. Notice I said, “walk in God’s life.” I was tempted to say “walk in God’s light.” Which may be expected. Because we often ask God to shed light upon our paths, so we can see. The psalmist wrote a long time ago “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). We often ask God for blessings, comfort, healing, acceptance. We pray to God for answers, for guidance, for things, for prosperity, for justice. For ways out of tricky spots, for good grades. We pray for God to DO great things in our lives. But, turning Jesus’ phrase “I am the resurrection and the life” over in my mind made me wonder if we should pray for God to simply have the Holy Spirit of Christ’s life BE in our lives. Is it the life of Christ in my life that is the most important? Not just believing that he is the resurrection and the life, but having a personal relationship with the living Christ in my life. Is that the crux of the whole journey of living spiritually? Maybe we focus too much on what God can Do for us, and less on having God’s life Be in us. What if a part of what living spiritually means is flipping that around? That we focus more on God’s life in us and less on what we want God to do for us? You’ve heard, haven’t you, that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? I think that means we are the places where God’s Holy Spirit lives. The Holy Spirit that lived in Jesus lives in us. The Holy Spirit of God and God’s Son is part of our spirit. So, as we walk in God’s life, I think we have the responsibility of keeping our spirit and our bodies in alignment with the Son of God’s Spirit within us. Which means, I think in part, that maybe we have to evaluate some things that we’re doing to our bodies that may clearly not be in the best interest of taking care of the temple where God lives. Just sayin.’ This is for me with needing more sleep and exercise. It may be for you something to do with what you’re eating or drinking or other habits. I think it also means that we may have to evaluate what we’re doing or not doing in our spirit which may detract from the life of the Holy Spirit prospering in us. Like focusing on dominating others, individualism, or win-lose dynamics. These can cut us off from the divine spirit. Like this past week, I was blown away that the Pew Research Center said 34% of people say they don’t pray or seldom pray at all in their lives. Which I don’t believe, by the way. Because even the most rudimentary, the most guttural thought of “help” in a difficult situation is a prayer. So, I think everybody prays—whether you know it or not. But, as people of faith, who are practicing living spiritually, having an intentional prayer life, in some way, is I think is walking in God’s life. Carving out devotional time, is a way of walking on life’s journey in God’s life and tending and nourishing the life of Christ within you. Its not going to grow and thrive unless you tend to your relationship with God in Christ in you. And the really good news is that as we walk in God’s life, God’s presence brings a breath of life that even in the deepest grieving we may face, can make us say, “It is well with my soul.” When we walk in God’s life, that brings a peace that upholds us each day, and can cause us to say, “It is well with my soul.” When sorrows come in our lives, even as we walk in God’s life, we will be able to say, [say it with me] “It is well with my soul.” When we are in the Spirit, and our cells and souls are animated, and we awaken to divine energy with every breath, we can say, “It is well with my soul.” Though evil can tempt us, though trials can come, though death in its variety of temporary ways can make us feel like it has won, we still can recover. Life finds a way, and we will be able to say, “It is well with my soul.” And oh my, when we feel sinful, or helpless, or guilty, or shame, or despair, when we walk in God’s life, we still can proclaim, “ It is well, it is well with my soul!!”

A sermon about the devil, evil personified, and focusing on God during our Lenten and life journeys.

“Secret Prayers, Public Faith”

A sermon on using smart technology, the wisdom of God, and the intersection of faith and culture.

A sermon about Minneapolis’ protests and the paradox of trusting God’s foolishness with faith.

A sermon about Bad Bunny, finding unity in loving relationships

A sermon about our response to God’s open invitation to come and see and follow Jesus.

A sermon about maturing on the Christian journey of faith.

A sermon about choosing God's light in our lives.