Tag: living

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Bless My Easter Plans

Holy Father,
Tomorrow we celebrate the greatest victory the world will ever know: Jesus’ victory over Satan. Along with that victory you have removed the sting of death and its permanence, as well as the slavery of sin and its condemnation.

Whatever Easter plans are in place for tomorrow and the days ahead, I pray that they are not a distraction from my Easter joy. Instead, as those plans are in motion, may they serve as reminders to make me even more mindful of your Resurrection. Guard me from being so caught up in any planning, preparation, or misplaced priorities that would rob me of Easter joy instead of expanding it. Keep me from any stress that would steal the peace and calm of knowing that the Resurrection has secured my eternal rest. Bless my celebration of your victory – for your victory is also mine!

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Grateful Living

Loving Redeemer,
By your innocent death, you paid the greatest price for my freedom. You have set me free from slavery to Satan, from the condemnation of sin, and from eternal punishment in hell. No show of thanks could ever adequately express the gratitude that I feel and that you deserve.

But you haven’t just set me from from those things, but also for the good that you already determined and laid out for me. Therefore, I have countless opportunities each day to live a grateful life as a living expression of thanks to you in all that I think, say, and do. Let gratitude flow out of me like a dam bursting forth, so that I embrace daily living as an endless thank you. Season all my conversations and my every act of service with thanks for all that you have both freed me from and for. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Grow in Christian Living

Gracious Lord,
When it comes to my knowledge of Christianity, while there is always room to grow, I am thankful for being quite knowledgeable about the Bible. However, when it comes to putting it into practice in my daily life, it is a struggle! Send your Holy Spirit to help me live what I know, since Christian teaching and Christian living go hand in hand. Guide my thoughts and actions to reflect the truths of your Word. Where I struggle with a mismatch between the good that I know and want to do with the bad stuff I keep on doing, lead me to repentance and refresh my guilty conscience with forgiveness. Renewed and restored, align my daily walk with your divine Word, so that I reflect your light as brightly as ever in this dark world. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Knowing –> Loving –> Living: Living and Listening (Sermon)

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What is the best way to live for the Lord? There is no better way than to start by listening. Listening to the Lord and living for him are inseparable. Do you really want to live more for him? Start by listening. This is the final sermon of a six-week series, Knowing –> Loving –> Living.

“Living and Listening” (Matthew 17:1-9 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, February 23, 2020.

Knowing –> Loving –> Living: Live Good Lives (Sermon)

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Knowing the Lord is key to loving him. What do we do for those we love? We live for them. In the second half of our series, our focus shifts to living for him who loves us most. This is the fourth sermon of a six-week series, Knowing –> Loving –> Living.

“Live Good Lives” (1 Peter 2:9-12 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, February 9, 2020.

Knowing –> Loving –> Living: The LORD (Sermon)

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Living for God depends on knowing him better. In addition to knowing our Savior as the Lamb and the Light, we also rightly call him Lord. But… do we even know what that title means? Do we really know what we’re saying when we call him our Lord? This is the third sermon of a six-week series, Knowing –> Loving –> Living.

“The LORD” (Micah 6:1-8 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, February 2, 2020.

Knowing –> Loving –> Living: The Light (Sermon)

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Living for God depends on knowing him better. One of the more common names given to Jesus is the Light. If you want to live in the light, the key is greater focus on its source. This is the second sermon of a six-week series, Knowing –> Loving –> Living.

“The Light” (Matthew 4:12-23 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, January 26, 2020.

Living a Full Life

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Photo by Anton Darius

I’m ready to die.

I didn’t say that I want to die, but that I’m ready to die. I’m not suicidal. I wasn’t diagnosed with a terminal disease that has given me mere months to live. No, I’m just ready to die.

I am often struck by the energy and effort many put into life… without scarcely a thought about death. Perhaps they (you?) wish to avoid thinking about it. Perhaps they (you?) don’t put much stock in it (that is, what happens after death), so the belief is that if this life is all that there is, then we had better make it count.

But here’s what I have found: my life is so very meaningful and richly fulfilling because I am ready to die. That is because I know what will happen when I exhale for the very last time.

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. I myself will see him with my own eyes – I and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”

Job 19:25, 27 (NIV)

I’m ready to die, for I am at peace now with what I know will happen then.

So no, it isn’t the end of the world when hardship hits me in this life. Tragedy doesn’t turn my world upside down. Loss doesn’t leave me languishing helplessly. Bad things will inevitably happen, and I will take them in stride.

What’s more, I can give my absolute best in this life, because the life that is coming to me is the kind of gift that prompts one to spend his time here on earth expressing gratitude in every way possible.

I am ready to die. 

Therefore… I can really live.