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

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

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

1. 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"?
2. 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?
3. 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?
4. 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?

1. 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?
2. 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?
3. 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?
4. 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?
5. 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?
6. 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?