Day 5: We Can’t Fix Sin—Grace in Light of the Cross

We wrap up week one of In Light of the Cross by looking at sin as a problem we can’t fix ourselves and why we need God’s grace. After praying, we read Ephesians 2:1–10 and focus on Paul’s point that we were dead in sin and saved by grace through faith, not by works. We use a story from Master and Commander to show why “trying harder” can’t solve sin, and we connect this to Genesis 3:21 where God clothes Adam and Eve with skins, pointing ahead to sacrifice and ultimately Jesus. We talk about confession as a practice that deepens fellowship with God, not a work that earns salvation, and we end by thanking God for grace and praying the Lord’s Prayer.

00:00 Week Recap and Focus

00:58 Prayer and Scripture Reading

03:05 Grace Not Self Repair

05:08 Genesis Covering and Sacrifice

07:26 Why Works Cannot Pay

08:43 Confession and Ongoing Grace

11:08 Application Gratitude Practice 1

1:59 The Lord's Prayer Closing

Sin, Brokenness, and the Life Jesus Brings

In week one, day four of In Light of the Cross, we kept exploring sin through the lens of the cross, focusing on how sin doesn’t just break God’s commands—it also forfeits the life God designed for us. Using Genesis 3, we talked about death as being cut off from the source of life, and read John 10:10 to see that Jesus came to give life to the full and undo the thief’s work. We unpacked four dimensions of brokenness caused by sin: our relationship with God, with others, with ourselves (shame), and with creation (the curse), tying this to creation’s groaning in Romans 8. We ended by reflecting on where we’ve experienced and contributed to this brokenness, then prayed the Lord’s Prayer together.

00:00 Week Four Welcome

01:02 Sin Forfeits Life 02:14

Life to the Full 02:52

Sin as Deadly Error

03:52 Fourfold Brokenness

07:38 Cosmic Reconciliation

08:19 Creation Groans

11:06 Reflect and Pray

12:10 The Lord's Prayer

Week 1, Day 3: Sin Is Siding With the Enemy In this Week 1, Day 3 episode of In the Light, we slow down with a brief pause and then unpack another dimension of sin: it’s not only breaking God’s commands or betraying relationship with him, it’s also switching allegiance and siding with God’s enemy. We look at Adam and Eve’s disobedience as trusting the tempter’s word over God’s, and then turn to Luke 4 where Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world—an offer Jesus doesn’t dispute but answers by worshiping and serving God only. We connect this to how humanity’s sin has, in a real way, placed us under the influence of powers opposed to God, and we reflect on Romans 6 where Paul describes offering ourselves as slaves to the one we obey. We end by examining the past 24 hours, confessing where we’ve sided with the enemy (intentionally or not), thanking God for forgiveness through the cross, and closing with the Lord’s Prayer.

00:00 Welcome and Theme

00:51 Pause and Prepare

01:30 Sin as Betrayal

01:56 Switching Allegiance

04:18 Luke 4 Temptation

05:39 Why Satan Has Power

07:16 Freed Yet Still Sin

09:06 Reflect and Confess

10:47 Lords Prayer Closing

Week 1, Day 2: Breaking and Betraying

In this episode of the In the Light podcast (week one, day two), we continue a Lenten journey by pausing to pray and then reflecting on sin as the great problem we’re saved from so we can better see God’s grace. We revisit the four dimensions of sin (breaking God’s commands, betraying relationship with God, siding with God’s enemy, and forfeiting the life God designed), then focus especially on the first two by returning to Genesis 1–2. I explore how God repeatedly calls creation “very good” to define what the good is—God, his creation, and his ways—and how the command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not about a “magic tree,” but an opportunity to show trust and allegiance to God rather than shortcut wisdom by rejecting his parenthood. We connect sin to condemnation because God is judge, and we read Romans 5:13–14 to highlight that even before the Law of Moses, God’s command existed and Adam’s disobedience paved the way for sin and death to enter the world. Daniel emphasizes that God’s commands are not arbitrary but flow from his good nature (using examples like lying and adultery), and we discuss how breaking a command is also a betrayal of relationship—rebellion replacing trust. For application, we are invited to give gratitude for where we have experienced God’s good, to confess where we have contributed to what is less than good, and to recognize how sin alienates us from God and opens space for evil to enter. We close by yielding our lives to God again through praying the Lord’s Prayer, asking for God’s will, daily provision, forgiveness, and deliverance from temptation and the evil one.

00:00 Welcome + Setting the Lenten Focus on Sin & Grace

00:33 Pause and Invite the Spirit (Opening Prayer)

01:07 Recap: The Four Dimensions of Sin

01:25 Genesis 1: God Defines ‘The Good’ in Creation

02:19 The Tree Command: Sin as Breaking God’s Law

03:47 Romans 5: Sin, Law, and Death from Adam Onward

04:53 God’s Commands Aren’t Arbitrary—They Flow from His Good Nature

05:50 Sin as Betrayal: Breaking Rules vs Breaking Relationship

07:51 Application: Gratitude for Goodness + Confession of Where We Fall Short

10:34 Yielding Our Lives to God: Praying the Lord’s Prayer

11:15 Closing: The Lord’s Prayer and Amen

Visuals for Day 1

Week 1, Day 1. Romans 5:12 emphasizes that sin is the fundamental problem underlying other problems, and that understanding sin highlights the greatness of salvation in Jesus—his life, death, resurrection, and ascension—anticipated during Lent and Easter. This episode outlines four biblical dimensions of sin, primarily from Genesis 3: breaking God’s command, betraying relationship with God, siding with God’s enemy, and forfeiting the life and wholeness (shalom) God intended.

In application, listeners are invited to examine their posture toward sin, pray for awareness, and reflect on confession, with a reminder from 1 John 1 about God’s faithful forgiveness. The episode ends with the Lord’s Prayer.

00:00 Welcome to In the Light: Launching the Podcast + Episode Theme

00:29 How This Lenten Devotional Works: The P.R.A.Y. Rhythm

00:52 Pause: Breathe, Pray, and Enter the Moment

01:52 Reflection Story: Deadly Marbles

04:01 Sin Isn’t Trivial: Romans 5 and Why It’s the Root Problem

06:16 Four Dimensions of Sin (Genesis 3 Preview): Command, Relationship, Allegiance, Life

08:23 Application: Examine Your Posture Toward Sin

09:54 Yield: Confession, Assurance, and Closing with the Lord’s Prayer

Visuals for this podcast

We created this 40-day Lent devotional to help our church set this season apart by putting the cross before our minds daily, not just on Sundays, so that we can be transformed in our thoughts, attitudes, affections, and actions.

Each day we’ll follow the PRAY rhythm: Pause (invite the Spirit and center ourselves), Reflect (scripture and reflections), Apply (how the text should shape our lives), Yield (confession, gratitude, or other responses), and we’ll end with the Lord’s Prayer because the cross is what makes it possible for us to pray to our Father for help, forgiveness, and His kingdom.

Over the series we’ll look at the following things in light of the cross:

1. Sin
2. Salvation
3. God
4. Ourselves
5. Our Relationships
6. Our purpose
7. Our Suffering
8. Our Future

We’re inviting you to join us five days a week, with weekend space to catch up, and to build this into your daily rhythms—morning, commute, or before bed—with journaling if helpful.

00:00 Welcome to In Light of the Cross (Meet the Hosts)

00:29 Why a Daily Lent Podcast? Setting the Season Apart

01:33 The Goal: Renewing Our Minds Through the Cross

02:58 The PRAY Rhythm: Pause, Reflect, Apply, Yield

04:05 Why We End with the Lord’s Prayer

04:38 What We’ll Cover in 40 Days (and Beyond Easter)

05:21 How to Join In: 5 Days a Week + Practical Tips

What is "before" the beginning?

The Bible has a wonderful answer to that, one that might surprise you and help you.

What does Genesis chapter one mean to our spiritual journey?