Resurrection Sunday | The Life That Looks Like Jesus

This Holy Week episode challenges listeners to move beyond celebrating the resurrection as a one day event and instead live out resurrection power daily. Dr. Lynn explores what it truly means to walk in newness of life — arguing that holiness isn't an aesthetic or performance, but becoming like Jesus in compassion, justice, mercy, and love.

Key Themes:

• The difference between acknowledging the resurrection and being transformed by it
• Holiness as reflecting the character of Jesus, not religious performance
• Confronting pride, self-preservation, and selective love
• Seeing and dignifying all people the way Jesus does
• Practical steps for embodied love and discipleship this week

Scriptures Referenced:

• 2 Corinthians 5:16–21
• Romans 6 (buried and raised with Christ)
• 1 Peter 1:16 ("Be holy, for I am holy")
• John 3:16–17

Church Mention: New Creation Fellowship, Downtown Orlando — Pastors Rechab Gray & Ike Todd 

Call to Action: Examine your life through the lens of Jesus's character. Practice embodied love, disrupt selfish patterns, sit with the resurrection accounts, and have honest conversations with people you love and disagree with.

Transcript

Intro

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Welcome to Unspoken Stewardship, where faith, culture, and responsibility intersect. Unspoken Stewardship is a thoughtful, honest podcast exploring the responsibilities we carry but rarely discuss. From faith and finances to culture, technology, leadership, and discernment, this podcast examines what it really means to steward our lives with wisdom and integrity. Hosted with depth, clarity, and compassion, each episode invites listeners into conversations that challenge shallow narratives, confront cultural blind spots, and calls us back to faithful living beyond what's preached, posted, or publicly praised. Hey you guys. Welcome, welcome back. My name is Dr. Lynnabi S and this is Unspoken Stewardship. This week that I'm recording this episode is Holy Week. And as I was in prayer about this week's episode, why not talk about Resurrection Sunday? Okay, and I feel like Resurrection Sunday is something that should be preached every Sunday, if I'm being honest. So we're just gonna dive right in. Y'all know how we do it over here. We're just gonna dive right in. And I want to say this plainly. I feel like a lot of people celebrate the resurrection, but don't live like they've been raised with that resurrection power. We go to church, we shout, he got up, we praise, we sing, we dance, we celebrate Easter, we do all the things, but we don't walk like we actually died. And if the resurrection doesn't change how you live, then it's just a moment you acknowledge. It's not a life that you truly entered into. When we talk about the resurrection, we're not just talking about an event. We're talking about new life. And I want to take this moment to honor and shout out my home church, new creation fellowship in downtown Orlando with Pastor Ike Todd and Pastor Recap Gray. That is literally the pillars of our church: new status, new sights, new service. And it's based off of 2 Corinthians 5, verse 16 through 21. You can take the time to read that on your own. But I really love the fact that's the pillars of our church, and the only distinction that we have is perfect unity. I really love that. I am just so thankful to be under sound teachers and shepherds of the Lord who are not perfect, but they're faithful. So if you're in the downtown Orlando area and you're looking for a home church, come check out New Creation Fellowship where Christ is exalted. Okay, the people feel like family, and you're really going to know how to be a Berean. You're going to get into this text and study it, walk through it, and we have the expository teachings and all the things. So if you're looking for a church, come to New Creation Fellowship with Pastor Recap Gray and Pastor Iktod. I just wanted to put that out there. But the Bible says, even in Romans 6, that we were buried with Christ so that just as he was raised, we too might walk in newness of life. So resurrection is not only what happened to Jesus, it's what's supposed to be happening in us. And holiness, holiness is not an aesthetic. Holiness is not performance. Holiness is this, okay? To be holy is to be like Jesus. Straight like that. To be holy is to be like Jesus. To be holy is to be set apart, to consecrate yourself from a world that sends yourself, striving and success at the expense of others. Look at Jesus. His compassion, his sacrifice, his suffering, his forgiveness, his empathy, his kindness, his peace, his justice, his mercy, his love. That is what resurrection produces. Not just excitement, not just going to church and just vibing and kicking and all that, but it's him. And even if you go to 1 Peter 1, verse 16, it says, Be holy, for I am holy. That command, command, hello, only makes sense because of the resurrection. It's about transformation. Because now we don't just admire Jesus. We are empowered to become like him. And here's where we have to start being honest for real. We have celebrated resurrection while stewarding lives that still look like death. We say we follow a risen Savior, but we still operate in pride, division, indifference, and self-preservation. And I will be honest, I have operated in pride. And not the type of pride that is boisterous and loud and all the things, the type of pride that's like, oh well, God, I can see how God do it for everybody else, but I don't see how He does it for me. Or I'm just so hyper-independent and I don't want to depend on nobody and I don't want to ask for help. But that's still pride. And we consume the gospel, we watch all the sermons, all the podcasts. We go to church on Sundays and we in our small groups and doing all the things, but we don't embody it. We love the idea of being saved, but we resist truly being transformed. And one of the clearest signs of that is that we don't see people the way Jesus does. So I really want to even ask you something. Like, do you actually believe people matter? Like, do you actually believe people matter? And not the people that you like. People. Everybody. Or do you only value people when it's convenient for you? Or just the people that you like, or just the people that you can get along with, etc. etc. etc. Do you actually dignify those who have been overlooked? Or do you just pass them by, don't pray for them? All the things. Do your decisions even reflect that your life affects others? And I feel like that's a big one because I feel like we walk this Christian walk and we think it's solely just about how God can make us better. But it's not about God making us better. It's about us looking like him. It's about us looking like him, and therefore people seeing the reflection of that, so then they can also be wanted to be transformed and also look like him. That's part of the reasons why we are called to make disciples of all nations so people can be like him. Are you willing to love people enough to fight for them? Even when you disagree with them, even if they don't look like you. Because the resurrection life looks like this too. It looks like seeing people the way Jesus sees them. It's about being a neighbor to everybody, it's about walking out the gospel daily, even when you don't feel like it. It's about rebuking oppression, it's about refusing to participate in dehumanization. This is holy work. This is the holy life. That's what that looks like. So, what does it look like to actually live this out? Right? I want you to examine your life through the lens of Jesus. I want you to examine your life through the lens of Jesus' character. Not your preference, not what feels good to you, not what you feel like doing, not culture, but Jesus. I want you to practice embodied love this week. Serve somebody, forgive somebody, honor somebody. Not in theory or not thinking about doing it, but just actionably. Disrupt selfish patterns this week. Catch yourself when everything centers around you and choose surrender instead. Sit with the resurrection accounts this week. Read them and read them slowly. Read them to yourself and be honest. Ask yourself, what in me still needs to be raised? If you have community, have a real conversation with someone you love and disagree with. Wash feet in a practical way. And I'm not saying you literally have to wash their feet, okay? I'm just saying serve them. Have a heart that is willing to serve them. May this resurrection Sunday not just pass you by. I don't want this resurrection Sunday to just be another Sunday when you went to church and wore pastels and put on your flyers fit and all the things. Pastels don't cover blood, they just make it neater. We're to JHP, okay? But in all seriousness, may you see it as an invitation. An invitation for your theology to be stretched, for your heart to be healed, for your mind to be renewed, for your life to reflect a savior who suffered, died, resurrected. He is alive. He's alive. I want you to have this invitation to be set apart. That you are not just saved, but you are called, you are loved, you are set apart, and you are being formed daily into the image of Christ. So that's what I want you to sit with this week. As much as I would like to go in depth with this, the Holy Spirit told me no. The Holy Spirit told me no. Because I'm thinking, I'm sensing that he just wants y'all to sit with him. He wants y'all to sit with him and ask him for yourself. Because, like I tell you all the time, this podcast is a resource, it's a tool, but it's not your end all be all with Christ. So go to the word, sit with the Lord, test everything, live what you've learned. And I just pray that if you do those things, that the Lord of hosts will respond and you will respond back to him. So I love you guys. I really do. And who knows? Next week I might go a little bit in depth with this, but I think the Lord just wants y'all to remember. I think he just wants y'all to remember, to remember him, to remember his word, and to just remember why he died for us. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes, hopes in him, should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. So I'm gonna pray and then I'm gonna close this out. All right. Holy Father, we just thank you. We come before you in awe and in surrender. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the cross. Thank you for the grave that is empty, and because of that, we are not. Your word says that you raised him with power, and that same power is now at work in us. So, Lord, I ask, do not let us celebrate resurrection and remain the same. Raise what is still dead in us, raise our hearts where they've grown cold, raise our obedience where we've delayed, raise our love where we've become selective, raise our faith where unbelief has been hiding in pride. Make us holy, Lord, not in appearance, but in truth. Form us in the character of Jesus, his compassion, his mercy, his justice, his humility, his love. Teach us to see people the way you see them, to honor what you created, to walk in a way that refuses to dehumanize or ignore or turn away. Lord, confront every place where we have chosen comfort over calling, every place where we have centered ourselves instead of you, every place where we have consumed truth but have not lived it. We lay it down now, God, and we receive the invitation to walk in newness of life. Holy Spirit, lead us this week, convict us, guide us, strengthen us, give us the courage to love people well, to serve when it's inconvenient, to forgive when it's hard, to stand for truth with both boldness and gentleness, and let our lives be a testimony of a Savior who suffered, who died, and who rose so that we could be set apart and truly free. We fix our eyes on Jesus. Not just today, not just this week, but daily. Be glorified in how we live, God. Be honored and how we love, be seen in how we steward our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen. I love you guys. Jesus loves you more. And I'll see y'all next week. Bye. Thanks for listening to Unspoken Stewardship. You are seen, you are loved, and you are entrusted. And what you do with what you hear matters. So make sure you steward it well. And let me say this clearly: this podcast is not a substitute for your child of God. Go sit with him. Open your Bible, pray, wrestle, test everything you hear, including me, the way scripture tells us to. Let the Spirit lead you into truth. Think deeply and don't outsource your discernment. If this conversation strengthened you, make sure you're following so you don't miss what's next. Share it with someone who might need it. And if it's been a blessing to you, leave an honest review so it can reach beyond this space. So until next time, store your life faithfully, love God deeply, and love people well.