LENT ONE2026 - Life in His Name

Devotional

Day 1: The Universal Need for a New Birth

Everyone, regardless of background or morality, must be born again. This spiritual rebirth is not reserved for the broken or the irreligious; it is a fundamental requirement for all people to see and enter the kingdom of God. It levels the playing field, showing that our own efforts, status, or goodness are insufficient. We all stand in equal need of a life that comes from above, a gift we cannot provide for ourselves. [41:21]

Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 ESV)

Reflection: Consider the various ways people typically try to find meaning or justify themselves, such as through moral living, career success, or family reputation. In which of these areas are you most tempted to find your standing before God, rather than in the new birth He offers?

Day 2: A Sovereign Work of the Spirit

The new birth is a mysterious and sovereign act of God's Spirit. It cannot be controlled, scheduled, or earned through human effort. Like the wind, we hear its sound and see its effects, but we do not direct its course. This work is entirely God's initiative, blowing where He wishes to bring about transformation. It is a gift of grace that happens to us, not something we can achieve. [44:26]

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8 ESV)

Reflection: Where in your own story of faith can you look back and see the unmistakable hand of the Spirit at work, doing what you could not have planned or accomplished on your own?

Day 3: A New Heart That Changes What We Love

Being born again fundamentally changes our affections and perceptions. It is like gaining new spiritual senses, allowing us to see God’s kingdom and truth in ways that were once invisible. This transformation alters what we love most, shifting our deepest desires away from worldly things and toward God Himself. We begin to love what we once hated and hate what we once loved. [49:33]

I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26 ESV)

Reflection: What is one specific thing you once loved that you now find less compelling, or one truth you once disregarded that now grips your heart, indicating the Spirit's renewing work within you?

Day 4: Look to the Lifted-Up Savior and Live

Salvation is received not by working, but by looking. Just as the Israelites in the wilderness were saved by looking at the bronze serpent, we are saved by looking in faith to Jesus Christ, who was lifted up on the cross. He took the full curse and poison of our sin upon Himself so that we might not perish but have eternal life through simple, trusting faith. [55:56]

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:14-15 ESV)

Reflection: In what area of your life are you still trying to save yourself or earn God's favor, rather than simply looking to and resting in the finished work of Christ on the cross?

Day 5: Stepping Out of Darkness and Into the Light

The light of Christ forces a decision: to remain in the comfort of darkness or to step into the life-giving light. Coming into the light means no longer hiding our fears, doubts, or shame, but bringing them to the One who already knows us completely and loves us unconditionally. It is a journey of taking small, courageous steps of faith, trusting that the light is not a spotlight for exposure but a warm sun for healing and growth. [01:05:50]

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. (John 3:19 ESV)

Reflection: What is one thing you are consciously or unconsciously keeping in the darkness, afraid to bring into the light of Christ's loving presence? What would it look like to trust Him with it this week?

Sermon Summary

A Vietnamese immigrant’s story of rescue and renewal opens the narrative, illustrating how persistent love and prayer can witness an unexpected conversion from alcoholism to faith. The ancient encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus frames the theological heart: new life requires a birth from above—born of water and Spirit—because flesh can only produce flesh. The Ezekiel promise of cleansing and a new heart arrives in fulfillment; the Spirit acts sovereignly, like wind, bringing life that cannot be manufactured by moral effort or religious performance. New birth changes perception and love: spiritual realities become visible, old loves lose their grip, and what once repelled becomes desired.

Birth from the Spirit also reassigns identity. Rather than grounding worth in family status, achievement, or self-invention, the new birth confers a received identity as a child of God; belonging replaces performance. The cross functions as the decisive sign: as Moses lifted the bronze serpent so the Son of Man must be lifted up—bearing curse and poison so that simple, repentant looking to him effects life. Faith is not a program of self-improvement but an act of trust: look and live.

Light and judgment appear together. The light exposes choices and calls people out of darkness into visible allegiance; movement toward the light produces small, risky steps toward love and service. Nicodemus models that pilgrimage—first coming by night, later speaking in daylight, and finally exposing costly devotion by preparing the crucified body for burial. The invitation remains active: step from private curiosity into the public warmth of the light, bring what one hides, and consider what it would mean to hold nothing back in response to the one who held nothing back. Practical spiritual formation follows: brief, repeated practices of silence and honest offering foster ongoing conversion and mission.

Key Takeaways

1. New birth is universally required New birth does not privilege moral standing or religious resume; it interrupts all human attempts to climb to God. The only ground for entrance into the kingdom comes from being born of water and Spirit, a gift that makes spiritual life possible where performance cannot. This truth frees both the proud and the ashamed to receive rather than fabricate righteousness. [42:38]
2. Spirit moves like untamable wind The Spirit’s work cannot be scheduled, engineered, or controlled; it blows where it wills and manifests in unexpected conversions and changed affections. Recognizing this sovereignty invites humility: prayerful dependence rather than managerial strategies for spiritual growth. Expect surprise, listen for the sound of the wind, and attend to the effect rather than trying to map every cause. [44:26]
3. Identity given, not earned Belonging to God reorients identity away from family honor, achievement, or self-invention toward adoption as children of God. This received identity reshapes motivations, loosens the grip of fear, and redirects ambition toward loving Christ and neighbor. Living as a child of God empowers risk, service, and freedom from performance-based worth. [52:32]
4. Look to the lifted Savior The bronze serpent typology makes faith plain: those poisoned by sin cannot heal themselves; salvation requires looking to the one lifted up in place of the condemned. Repentant looking is not moral bargaining but trusting surrender that receives life. That look reconfigures existence—calling believers to point others to the same simple, saving gaze. [55:56]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[36:20] - Testimony: John’s Conversion
[39:04] - New Life and Its Fruits
[40:05] - Nicodemus Introduced
[42:38] - Born of Water and Spirit
[44:26] - Spirit Like the Wind
[49:33] - New Loves and New Sight
[54:04] - Lifted Up: Serpent and Cross
[59:52] - Steps Toward the Light
[67:18] - Invitation: Hold Nothing Back
[71:45] - Prayer and Benediction

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
John 3:1-21 (ESV)

Observation questions

What two things does Jesus say a person must be born of in order to enter the kingdom of God (v. 5)?
According to Jesus, what is the nature of the Spirit's work, and what analogy does He use to describe it (v. 8)?
What Old Testament story does Jesus reference to explain how one receives eternal life (v. 14-15)?
What reason does Jesus give for why people love darkness instead of light (v. 19-20)?

Interpretation questions

Why do you think Nicodemus, a respected religious teacher, would have such a hard time understanding the concept of being "born again" or "born from above"?
Jesus says the Spirit is like the wind, blowing where it wishes. How does this image challenge our human tendency to try and control or manage spiritual growth through our own efforts?
The sermon described a change where a person begins to "love what you once hated, and hate what you once loved." [50:10] What is the connection between this change of affection and the new birth from the Spirit?
In the story from Numbers, the Israelites were saved by looking at the bronze serpent. What does this tell us about the nature of saving faith and our own ability to save ourselves from the consequences of sin?

Application questions

New birth gives a person a new identity as a child of God, not based on family, achievement, or self-invention. [52:32] In your own life, where are you most tempted to ground your identity and sense of worth—in your performance, your family's approval, or your own self-defined goals? What would it look like this week to rest more deeply in your received identity as God’s child?
The Spirit’s work is sovereign and untamable, often showing up in unexpected conversions and changed desires. [44:26] Is there someone in your life whose conversion seems impossible? How might this truth about the Spirit change the way you pray for them and interact with them?
Salvation is described as a simple act of trust: looking to the one who was lifted up on the cross. [55:56] When you are feeling spiritually empty or burdened by failure, what practical step can you take to "look" to Jesus again, rather than trying to improve yourself to earn God's favor?
Nicodemus’s journey involved moving from secrecy to costly, public devotion. [59:52] What is one "small step" you feel drawn to take out of the shadows and into the light—perhaps a conversation about faith, a act of service that points to Jesus, or a decision made for Christ that you’ve been hesitant to make?
The invitation is to consider what it would mean to hold nothing back from the one who held nothing back for you. [01:06:17] What is one thing—a relationship, a financial decision, a personal ambition, a fear—that you are still gripping tightly and keeping in the dark? What would it look like to bring that one thing into the light this week?
The new birth changes what you love most. [49:33] What is one old love (a habit, a priority, an attitude) that you feel the Spirit prompting you to hate, and what is one new love (for God, for others, for holiness) that you want to grow in?

Sermon Clips

Now think about what this meant. These people were dying. Those poisons were in their veins. They could not heal themselves. They could not walk to the pool. They could not crawl to the pool. They could not reach out and touch the pole. They could not bargain with God. They could not promise to be better. All they could do was look. And God said, look and live. And that is the picture of a saving faith. It's about looking. It's about trusting. [00:55:27] (40 seconds) #LookAndLiveFaith

Now hear what Jesus says about himself. The son of man must be lifted up. This is John's language for the cross. Jesus is saying, I will be lifted up on the cross, cursed, judged, condemned in your place. The serpent was a symbol of the curse and the apostle Paul tells us that Jesus Christ, he redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse. Jesus became a curse for you, for me, for us. He took the poison that we deserve so we could look and live. [00:56:11] (35 seconds) #LiftedUpForUs

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LENT ONE2026 - Life in His Name | March 8, 2026