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Multimedia Lent Devotional – Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 29, 2025

2025:

Fourth Sunday of Lent:

  • Scripture (Shelly McClain) – 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
  • Reflection (Karen Sculley)
  • Prayer (Jim Roberson)
  • Videos: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
  • Music: “Whom Jesus Loves” (New Creation Worship) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5nc9vOHbQg

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 – So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Five times in this short passage, we see either the noun or verb form of “reconciliation” / “reconcile.” It’s a word that we hear today in family law (bringing back together people who had previously been legally separated), in accounting (making sure that two sets of records are in agreement), in the Catholic sacrament of penance, and in politics (in bringing justice, truth, forgiveness, and repentance into arenas of conflict). In 2 Corinthians, reconciliation refers to the end of the estrangement, caused by sin, between God and humanity. Reconciliation is the return to shalom, a restoration of the favor and harmony between God and people, which God originally intended.

Biblical reconciliation has the connotation of “exchange.” You might have heard the term “the great exchange” which describes what Jesus did for us in his life, ministry, death, and resurrection. Jesus Christ took on the sins of the world. In exchange, Jesus has given to us his righteousness. It is through this great exchange that we are reconciled to God. The use of verbs here tells us that this exchange is not automatic. God has done God’s part; there is also an action that we must take in order to participate in this reconciliation. The good news is that God has already reconciled us to himself through Christ. This invites a response from us: we are to be reconciled to God. This is an act of our will, a choice, a relinquishment, a surrender, to place our trust in God by resting on the faithfulness of Christ. Being reconciled to God is adjusting our entire lives in order to come into line with what God wants. Being reconciled to God is saying “yes” to God, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ!

And now God has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Who are the “us”? All who are “in Christ,” all who serve Jesus Christ as Lord. What is this ministry? It is sharing the good news that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” and inviting others to also be reconciled to God.

What will you do with this good news to you to be reconciled to God? Today is the day of salvation. Today is your day to be reconciled to God. For your sake God made Jesus Christ to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Christ you might become the righteousness of God. And today is the day for you to become part of the good news of Jesus Christ as a trusted ambassador of reconciliation for others.

2024:

Fourth Sunday of Lent:

2023:

Fourth Sunday of Lent:

  • Scripture (Karis Sculley) – Psalm 23:1-6
  • Reflection (Patricia Dotson)
  • Prayer (Karla Wilkinson)
  • Videos: John
  • Music: “Be Still” (The Fray)

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 we observe as we seek to draw near to God prior to the great celebration of Easter. 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;
  • 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;
  • 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.

This collaboration is brought to you by Liberty Vineyard Church

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