Podcast Summary: Fresh Life Church

Episode Title: "This Could Be the Death of Me"

Host: Pastor Levi Lusko
Date: April 4, 2026
Key Scripture: Galatians 2:20

Episode Overview

In this Good Friday message, Pastor Levi Lusko delivers a powerful teaching on the theme of pride and its deadly impact—both spiritually and practically. Drawing from Galatians 2:20, he challenges listeners to confront the sin of pride, explaining its roots and consequences, and showing how the humility and sacrifice displayed by Jesus on the cross provides the only true cure. The episode is both theological and practical, interlacing personal stories, biblical history, and reflections on modern culture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Anecdote: “This Could Be the Death of Me”

• [00:00-04:12]
  Pastor Levi opens with a humorous, self-deprecating story about injuring himself on a flight. The tale becomes a metaphor for unexpected “deaths” — moments of humiliation or pain that catch us off guard — paralleling the spiritual “death” we experience in coming to Christ.

"This could be the death of me. What a terrible way to die... Not even a good story. You get to heaven and meet martyrs... How'd you die? Got beaten by a lion... Me? Delta Comfort, you know."
— Pastor Levi [03:35]

2. Series Context: “Killing You Softly” & The Seven Deadly Sins

• [04:13-09:14]
  Levi situates the message within the church’s series on the seven deadly sins, unpacking their historical significance and spiritual diagnostic purpose— likening them to a “spiritual Apgar test.” He explains the Latin root “caput” (head), noting how pride is the “head” or source of other sins.

"These are the seven heads of where sin flows out of... These ones categorically end up multiplying sin in your life."
— Pastor Levi [05:45]

3. Focus Sin: Pride

• Definition & Cultural Context
  • Pride is defined biblically as putting oneself above God and others, an "over-love" of self.
  • Levi critiques the self-centric and pride-reveling culture: selfie culture, humble-bragging, and self-promotion.
  • Convicts listeners that the more prideful we are, the easier it is to see pride in others.

"Pride, the over love of yourself... It’s to live with main character energy, which I think you’ll agree is what the world revels in."
— Pastor Levi [06:55]

• Consequences
  • God opposes the proud; pride always leads to a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
  • Pride puts us at odds with God, and no one can oppose God and win.

"When you are your own God, you have a bad god."
— Pastor Levi [10:15]

• Modern Parallel
  • Spike in anxiety/depression correlates with rise of “front-facing camera” culture (2010):

“When all of a sudden our phones became mirrors… that’s when [mental health] data jumps up.”
— Pastor Levi [11:00]

4. Three Forms of Pride

• Self-Promotion
  • The overt narcissist, always about their achievements.
• Self-Righteousness
  • The religious or moral superiority complex (“Pharisaic pride”).
• Self-Pity
  • Inverted pride: the “woe is me” mentality, which still keeps self at the center.

"Insecurity is really just an inverted form of pride... Whether it's 'I'm so great' or 'I'm so terrible,' what do they have in common? It's still me, me, me."
— Pastor Levi [13:38]

5. Three Key Takeaways about Pride

I. Pride is Not Just a Sin — It's the Sin That Launches Others

• [14:00-20:18]
  • Pride is called the “queen of the deadly sins” (church history), Augustine calls it “the foundation of all sin,” and C.S. Lewis names it “the great sin.”
  • Even the devil’s story proves pride is “the first sin” (see Isaiah 14; “the 5 I wills” of Satan).

"Pride is the sin the devil wants to jump over the wall of your life, so he can bring all his friends in."
— Pastor Levi [14:38]

II. Pride Kills — But So Does the Cross

• [20:18-25:00]
  • Pride leads to spiritual death; the cross is God’s ultimate solution.
  • The cross is an “insult” to our self-sufficiency, showing only Christ’s death can save us.
  • Pastor Levi references Tim Keller:

"You are so bad that Jesus had to die, but you are so loved that Jesus was glad to die."
— Attributed to Tim Keller, quoted by Pastor Levi [22:28]

• Each sin we commit is rooted first in pride—exalting our will above God’s:

"Whenever we choose pride, we are choosing to oppose God."
— Pastor Levi [09:15]

III. The Cure for Our Pride is Found in Jesus’s Cries from the Cross

• [25:00-44:49]
  Levi walks through the seven sayings of Jesus from the cross, identifying how each confronts a form or consequence of pride:

1. “Father, forgive them…” — Cure for Self-Absorption

[27:05]

"He should have been absorbed in his pain, but he wasn’t. He was thinking about others."
— Pastor Levi

2. “Woman, behold your son…” — Cure for Self-Importance

[28:12]

"He was more focused on how they were doing at the cross than on how he was doing."
— Pastor Levi

3. “Today you will be with me in paradise…” — Cure for Self-Exaltation

[29:24]

"Entrance into God's kingdom is only supplied by those who are willing to go low."
— Pastor Levi

4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” — Cure for Victim Mentality

[32:00-36:00]

"He was forsaken and abandoned by the Father in that moment, so we never will be, never can be."
— Assistant Pastor [34:38]

5. “I thirst.” — Cure for Bondage to Appetite/Desire

[36:50]

"He voluntarily chose to not be controlled by his earthly appetites. So when we say, 'I had to give in,' we are arrogantly saying, 'Jesus, you don’t know what you’re talking about.'"
— Pastor Levi

6. “It is finished.” (Tetelestai) — Cure for Shame & Self-Flagellation

[39:01]

"To walk in freedom from shame and to say, 'If He said it’s finished, it is finished.' ...Whom the Son sets free is free indeed."
— Pastor Levi

7. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” — Cure for Self-Reliance

[41:40]

"Jesus didn’t [do it all alone]. Why would you try? ...I don’t have what it takes... So, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."
— Pastor Levi

6. Application: Living Out “I Have Been Crucified with Christ”

• [42:16-44:49]
• Emphasis on dying to pride and sin, identifying Good Friday as not just Jesus’ death day but the believer’s “death day”:

"That’s your death day, too."
— Pastor Levi [43:38]

• We are now dead to sin and alive in Christ through faith, no longer identified with shame, pride, or victimhood.

7. Redemptive Hope: Good Friday Restored

• [45:15-46:21]
• Levi highlights that humanity was created on a Friday (Genesis account), “we ruined it,” but Jesus’ death redeems and restores the original “good” of creation.

"God made man on day six and said, 'It’s good.' And then we ruined it. We messed that up real bad. So God sent Jesus to redeem it. And Jesus died on Friday. And God says, 'It’s good.' It’s Good Friday."
— Pastor Levi [45:33]

8. Call to Salvation

• [46:21-end]
• Listeners are urged to trust Jesus, recognizing the urgency and the personal need for “death to self,” and new life through Christ.
• Ends with a prayer of repentance and faith.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The more pride we have in ourselves, the easier it is to see it in others. The more you're repulsed by it, the more you probably, like me, struggle with it." — Pastor Levi [08:50]
• "Sin is the suicidal action of the self against itself." — Pastor Levi quoting a theologian [22:10]
• "Pride drives us to cling to our old sins because it gives us permission to still live at a low level instead of at the high level He's calling us to in change and freedom and liberty." — Pastor Levi [39:26]
• "If He said I'm free, I'm free. If He said I'm innocent, I'm innocent." — Pastor Levi [39:18]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Personal Story/Introduction: [00:00 – 04:12]
• Series Context and Seven Deadly Sins: [04:13 – 09:14]
• Defining Pride & Its Modern Forms: [09:15 – 14:00]
• Three Forms of Pride: [12:41 – 14:00]
• Why Pride Is the Root Sin: [14:00 – 20:18]
• Cross as Solution to Pride: [20:18 – 25:00]
• Seven Cries from the Cross and Their Cures: [25:00 – 44:49]
• Dying With Christ, Application: [42:16 – 44:49]
• Creation, Good Friday, and Redemption: [45:15 – 46:21]
• Call to Response and Prayer: [46:21 – End]

Final Thoughts

Levi Lusko’s “This Could Be the Death of Me” is a rich, convicting Good Friday sermon that links theology, cultural critique, and personal application. The message centers on how pride—our deepest spiritual poison—is only truly dealt with at the cross, where the humility and suffering of Christ create an entirely new way of living and being. Through storytelling, biblical teaching, and direct address, Pastor Levi invites every listener to die to self, pride, and sin, and to rise in the life and liberty offered by Jesus.

For further information, visit freshlife.church.