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Multimedia Lent Devotional – Third Sunday of Lent

March 22, 2025

2025:

Third Sunday of Lent:

  • Scripture (Michael Sculley) – John 4:13-14
  • Reflection (Jim Roberson)
  • Prayer (Tamera Neal)
  • Videos: John 4:5-42
  • Music: “I Can Hear Your Voice” (Michael W. Smith) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwNNfJ-vbnM

2024:

Third Sunday of Lent:

2023:

Third Sunday of Lent:

  • Scripture (Robby Martin) – Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
  • Reflection (Karen Sculley)
  • Prayer (Patricia Dotson)
  • Videos: John
  • Music: “There Is a Redeemer” (Keith Green)

Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 – “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God . . . hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”

One of the lessons I’ve learned in the 21st century is that words carry baggage. It seems like the simpler the word, the more possibilities for misunderstandings accompany it, at least in our English language which isn’t as rich as the languages in which the Bible was originally written. We often hear the word “peace” today in terms of individual tranquility, like “peace, bro” or “I just want some peace and quiet.” In today’s Scripture, the Greek word translated “peace” is “eirene,” [ay-ray-nay] which indicates wholeness, that which results when all essential parts are joined together. God gives us the gift of wholeness in every imaginable sense of the word, even beyond our wildest dreams. Part of the human condition is knowing that there’s something missing inside of us. Let’s ponder again the marvelous words in the center of today’s passage: God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. It is the Spirit of God that points to Christ and what he did in dying for us. It is the Spirit of God that enables us to hear God’s love for us! This is in sharp contrast to traditional beliefs at the time this letter to the Romans was written, that God’s Spirit was only available to the most worthy individuals and only given rarely and sparingly. We see examples of this throughout Old Testament Scripture. But now we are assured that the Holy Spirit is given as a gift through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word used here means to bestow liberally and abundantly, giving our souls a rich sense of the greatness of God’s love for us. Picture a vast reservoir that is beyond human measurement, vibrant and overflowing such that divine love gushes forth, spilling on and saturating everyone and everything.

This pouring forth of the Holy Spirit fulfills the words of the prophet Joel given about 400 years earlier – “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” Jesus ushered in “those days” and these are the days in which we live. We welcome you, Holy Spirit! May we open our hearts and our lives fully to you! Thank you, Christ Jesus our Lord for the greatness of your love and your gift of wholeness!

Each short Multimedia Lent Devotional is an invitation to set aside time each day during the season preceding Easter. Lent is a solemn 40-day period in the Christian calendar, beginning on Ash Wednesday, observed in many Christian churches as a time of preparing our minds and hearts to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter. Our goal in practicing Lent is to draw near to God. Lent is characterized by prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards others). During Lent, we intentionally practice sober reflection, serious repentance, and sincere restitution, in which we more fully recognize our brokenness as humans, looking always to Jesus Christ as our Savior and sanctifier. During Lent, we seek to live lives marked by simplicity, self-denial, and surrender, in imitation of Christ Jesus, who fasted for 40 days in the wilderness before He began His public ministry. During Lent, we look for ways in which we express love for neighbors and nations in need in practical ways through generously giving of our time, talents, and treasures. Lent is a period of grief that ends with the great celebration of Easter.

This collaboration is brought to you by Liberty Vineyard Church

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