In the years I have been a pastor, the number one question I have been asked is, “Rick, why can’t I change? I want to change — I really do. But I don’t know how.” Or sometimes a questioner will add instead, “But I don’t have the power.”

We go to seminars and conferences looking for a painless cure by which our lives can be zapped and changed by instant self-discipline. We go on diets. (I once went on a diet for an entire afternoon.) We join health clubs, and our enthusiasm runs strong for about two weeks. Then we fall back into the same old rut. We don’t change. We read self-help books, yet the problem with self-help books is that they tell us what to do but can’t give us the power to do it. They say things like, “Get rid of all your bad habits. Be positive; don’t be negative.” But how? Where do we get the power to change? How do we get our lives out of neutral? How do we break out of the mold we’re in? The good news is, Christianity offers the power we need.

WE CAN HAVE RESURRECTION POWER

The word power occurs fifty-seven times in the New Testament. It is used to describe the most powerful event that ever happened, an event that separated AD from BC — the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And that resurrection power is available to change your life!

The most important thing in life is knowing Christ and experiencing the power of his resurrection. Paul writes, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3:10). In another letter he tells his readers, “I pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly great his power is to help those who believe him. It is that same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in heaven” (Eph. 1:19 – 20 LB).

Paul uses the Greek word for power, dunamis, which is the root of our word dynamite. So Paul is saying, “God wants to give you dynamite power that can change your life.” Yes, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead two thousand years ago is available to us right now to transform the weaknesses in our lives into strengths. The Bible describes resurrection power as the power to cancel our past, the power to conquer our problems, and the power to change our personality.

Rick Warren, God’s Power to Change Your Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008).

We have just released a new Bible study on based on Rick Warren's book God's Power to Change Your Life.

These lessons are available on Amazon, as well as a part of my Good Questions Have Groups Talking Subscription Service. Like Netflix for Bible Lessons, one low subscription gives you access to all our lessons--thousands of them. For a medium-sized church, lessons are as little as $10 per teacher per year.

Sessions include:

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #1
The Power to Change Your Life

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #2
God’s Part and My Part in Changing Me

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #3
God’s Power to Make You More Loving

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #4
God’s Power to Make You More Joyful

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #5
God’s Power to Give You Peace

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #6
God’s Power to Develop Your Patience

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #7
God’s Power to Develop Your Kindness

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #8
God’s Power to Develop Your Goodness

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #9
God’s Power to Develop Your Faithfulness

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #10
God’s Power to Develop Your Gentleness

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #11
God’s Power to Develop Your Self-control

God’s Power to Change Your Life, Lesson #12
A Productive Life