Dying to Self, Living for God (Galatians 2:20)

Because Jesus died and rose again, nothing will ever be the same. The old you does not have to run your life anymore. Sin does not have to win. Death does not get the last word. The same power that raised Jesus from the grave is alive in every person who belongs to him. This is not just a story from long ago. Today, right now, in this year of our Lord, the risen Christ is calling people to stop living for themselves and start living for him. He says: give me your life, pick up your cross, follow me. Lose yourself and you will find something far greater. The seed that falls into the ground and dies does not stay dead. It rises and bears fruit that lasts forever. Resurrection Sunday is the proof that dying to self is not the end. It is the beginning. If you have never surrendered your life to Jesus, today is the day. If you have been holding back, today is the day. The tomb is empty, grace is real, and the door is wide open. This is the day of salvation.

🌱 The Old You Must Go

• Your old sinful self was nailed to the cross with Jesus, so sin no longer has to control you. Romans 6:6
• Get rid of your old self. It was full of wrong desires. Put on your new self, made to be like God, good and holy. Ephesians 4:22-24
• You have died, and your life is now hidden safely with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3

✝️ Follow Jesus, Take Up Your Cross

• If you want to follow Jesus, say no to yourself, pick up your cross every day, and follow him. Luke 9:23-24
• If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give your life up for Jesus, you will save it. Mark 8:35
• Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Jesus cannot be his follower. Luke 14:27

🌾 Dying Brings New Life

• A seed must fall into the ground and die. If it does not die, it stays just a seed. But if it dies, it grows and makes lots of fruit. John 12:24
• If anyone belongs to Christ, he is brand new. The old is gone. The new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

💧 Buried With Jesus, Raised to New Life

• When we were baptized into Jesus, we shared in his death. And just like Jesus rose from the dead, we get to walk in a brand new life. Romans 6:3-4
• If we have died with Christ, we will also live with him. Romans 6:8

🔥 Stop Letting Sin Be the Boss

• Think of yourself as dead to sin but alive to God through Jesus. Romans 6:11
• Sin does not have to be in charge of you anymore. You are not under the old rules. You are under God's grace. Romans 6:14
• Do not let the sinful parts of your body do wrong things. Instead, give yourself to God as someone brought back from death to life. Romans 6:13
• Put to death the wrong things in your life: bad desires, greed, and all that belongs to your old self. Colossians 3:5

🙌 Live for God, Not for Yourself

• Give your whole body to God as a gift, a living sacrifice. Do not copy the world. Let God change the way you think. Romans 12:1-2
• Those who belong to Jesus have nailed their sinful desires to the cross. Galatians 5:24
• Walk by the Spirit, and you will not do what your sinful self wants. Galatians 5:16
• He must become greater. I must become less. John 3:30

💪 Christ Lives in You

• I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live. Christ lives in me. The life I live now, I live by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
• For me, living is Christ. Dying is even better. Philippians 1:21
• I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

🤝 Put Others First

• Do not be selfish or try to look important. Be humble. Think of others as more important than yourself. Philippians 2:3-4

🏆 Nothing Is Worth More Than Knowing Jesus

• I count everything else as worthless compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:8
• What good is it if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Luke 9:25

🕊️ Nothing Can Separate You From God's Love

• Not death, not life, not anything in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39