Abridged Worship – March 22, 2026

Both our scripture passages speak about God restoring life to what is lifeless. Dry bone, and of course Lazarus. And when I was planning out today’s sermon, my mind keeps going back to a YouTube short video I saw a few months ago, I think I have mentioned this before, but I remind us. A young influencer interviews a pedestrian on the street. He asks the pedestrian if he would like to receive 20 million dollars – of courses, the man said yes, who wouldn’t. Then the influencer changes the question, would you like to receive 20 million dollars, but the catch would be, but after 24 hours, at the end of the day with the 20 million, you would die. You get 20 million for a whole day to do what ever you want, but you die at the end of that day. And the man says, no, he would not trade his life for 20 million. The influencer said, “so your life is greater than winning the lottery?” Yes. “Then when you make up in the morning why don’t we act like it.”

This light bulb turns on for this guy.

This little YouTube short was surprisingly profound, in that It reminds us that we so often forget about the gift that is our life itself. That most of us would give our last dime for one more day – so when we think about the idea of God restoring life, it is not just a miracle which speaks to God’s authority, but it is also a reminder that God has given each of us a gift which we could never gift to ourselves, he has given us existence.

God could have created any world, universe, he wanted but he chose this world, this existence, and was determined to put you into it.

But the sat truth is, so many of us, we dread life, we waste life, me moan and groan over life. Just think about Lazarus stepping out of that tomb the joy he would have ad to just feel the dirt beneath his feet and the air upon his face, and when his wrappings were removed to see the face of his saviour., and the love of his family.

This video my mind went to push my mind to another moment, a little further back when I still lived in Ontario. This was back when refugees where first coming into Canada from Ukraine. A family of refugees had come to one of the small towns in South Western Ontario and they were trying to settle in. The church welcomed them into the community and after a few months the families were flourishing. A conversation which arose from onlookers was, shock at how ambitious this family was to succeed in Canada. They had just been pushed out of their homes and left everything behind, and instead of sulking in the grief of it all, the parents were working, the kids were in school and sports, the family was getting involved with everything under the sun. The thought which echoed through many of the mind of parents and grandparents were, “We can get out kids or grandkids involved and engaged as well as these folks who lose everything.”

And in this moment another truth, God doesn’t just give us physical life, he also gives us communal life. Spouses, families, communities, nations. He creates in a life that comes from unity of hearts and minds. People who have seen that threatened or destroyed, know the true value of it. And these young families, though in grief at the loss of their home in one location, saw their new location as a new chance, like dry bone coming back for a second chance at living.

But there is one more type of life, something more precious than physical life, and communal life- Spiritual life.  

Before I break down the Spiritual life, I should say this, both the physical life and the communal life are both realities which come from God’s being nature. To live, to exists, is a reality which God has inherently and gifts to his creation, as God is the foundation of all being, and everything that is, come from Him. So, your life, your existence is an echo, or a microcosm of God’s existence. And since we know from the scripture that God is in communion with Himself, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we know that our communal experiences, existed only because communion existed in God first.

The Spiritual life, is the life which Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about, a life made new, by the Spirit of God. In a way the Spiritual life, is God’s life which is encased around us and through us by the presence of God, by the persons of the Son and Spirit, by the Grace of the Father.

The eternal life, the moral perfection, the holy righteousness, the endless peace and boundless love – all the things we dream about as a the faithful, they are all live realities which sole come from and radiate from God Almighty. And when through faith, we allow that Spiritual life of God, to cover us, our physical life, our communal life transforms into a vessel of divine purpose.

And this, is real folks, this isn’t fairytale. People through out history speak of encountering the Living God, and having their whole lives transformed, going from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh, going from angry, vengeful, violent, to lovers of God and neighbour.

God can restore the body, God can bring a community or nation to feast and plenty, but more important God can restore our eternal souls.  

Look no further than the scripture, you encounter Paul who went from persecuting Christians to converting people to Christianity.

Or consider, St. Moses the Egyptian: A 4th-century gang leader who robbed, murdered, and led a band of violent outlaws in the Nile Valley. After hiding in a monastery to evade capture, he was moved by the monks’ faith, repented, and became a monk himself. He later defended his community non-violently and was martyred, known for his ascetic life and teachings on forgiveness

Or Olga of Kyiv: A 10th-century ruler who orchestrated brutal revenge killings, including mass burials and burnings, against those who murdered her husband. After her baptism around 957, influenced by Byzantine Christianity, she promoted the faith in Kievan Rus’, built churches, and lived piously, becoming the first Russian saint and paving the way for her grandson Vladimir’s mass conversion of the region.

Or John Newton: An 18th-century English slave trader involved in the brutal Atlantic slave trade, responsible for the suffering and deaths of many Africans. After surviving a storm at sea in 1748, he gradually converted, left the trade in 1754, became an Anglican priest, and abolitionist. He wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace” and influenced the anti-slavery movement.

Or here is one from some of your lifetimes, David Berkowitz (Son of Sam): A 1970s serial killer who murdered six people and wounded seven in New York City, claiming demonic influences. In prison since 1977, he converted to Christianity in 1987 after reading Psalm 34 and interactions with fellow inmates. He now ministers to prisoners, expresses remorse, and has renounced parole attempts.

You see, God’s life is an amazing transformative gift, and when you realize it, when that light bulb turns on, in the same way the man who realized waking up alive is better than the lottery, when we realize God’s life, God’s love, God’s grace, is the source of all good thing, all righteousness, and the only hope for us, then we dedicate our lives to God, our physical life becomes an offering to God, our communal life becomes an offering to God, and our Spiritual life, awakens.

Church, don’t wait until you have one day left to live, or until your country or communion crumbles to come alive, allow God’s life to spark in you’re a new appreciation of gift of life God has put before you.
 
let us pray…   

Generous God, Giver of every good gift, You have blessed us beyond measure—with life, with love, with resources to share. We offer out lives as an act of gratitude and worship. Bless them, Lord, for the work of Your kingdom: to feed the hungry, comfort the sorrowful, welcome the stranger, and proclaim the gospel of grace. May we bring glory to Your name. In the name of Jesus, who gave everything for us, we pray. Amen.

Homework: