Sunday Setup – 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

[Music] [Music] [Music] Hey church family and welcome to the Sunday setup. This our weekly time where we gather together digitally Thursdays at 2:00 across all our social media platforms and podcasts where we just get a time to read this coming Sunday's piece of scripture and we get to pray over it and just prepare our hearts for what God will do within our congregation and within our community. Today we're going to be in 2 Corinthians looking at chapter 4. We have a smaller section in this week as we preach through this text, but we're going to look at chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians looking at verses 1-6, but is just packed with so much truth. And Paul the writer starts here and he says, "Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up. Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting deceitfully or distorting the word of God, but commending ourselves before God to everyone's conscience by an open display of the truth. But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we are not proclaiming ourselves, but instead Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your servants for Jesus's sake. For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ. As we read this passage and begin to reflect on what Paul writes us, there's a central theme of how this light of the gospel, how it is the greatest truth in our world, how it is what shines out and pushes back the darkness. But it starts here in verse one. And this leads into our first prayer prompt is Paul says, "We have this ministry. this ministry being to make Jesus known, to share the good news of Jesus Christ that we have it because we were shown mercy. And I want us to start off with just a prayer of thanksgiving is God, thank you for this ministry despite God, thank you for this ministry despite we have this ministry to make Jesus known despite the fact that we're sinners. despite the fact that we're prideful, despite the fact that we deserve judgment, is God, thank you for this ministry despite. Pray those prayers to our God. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] God, thank you for this ministry that you have given us. Despite the fact that we are broken, despite the fact that we can't argue your word into someone's heart, despite the fact that we often misrepresent you, thank you for showing your mercy, for letting us be a part of something that is greater than us. And God, as we continue to pray to you, not only do we thank you for the fact that you allow us to be a part of your kingdom despite our shortcomings, but Lord, we ask a prayer of your movement and allowing us to do more. And in verse five and six, it talks about proclaiming Jesus Christ. In verse six, it talks about the light shining out. And as we talk about this light of the gospel that we are to shine in our world, here's our second prayer prompt. is God. Let me shine your light in. God, let me shine your light in my family and be able to bring more of you, more of the gospel, more of your truth and who you are into my family. God, let me shine your light in my neighborhood, in my workplace, and wherever the fill-in-theblank is. God, let me shine your light in. [Laughter] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Laughter] [Music] [Music] God, we thank you for the ministry that you've allowed us to be a part of. Your ministry, not ours. That we get to be a part of this despite the fact that we sin all the time and we separate ourselves from you. but you bring us back through the sacrifice of your son that we can have mercy and be delivered from our judgment. That we can have grace and be welcomed into your family. But God, because we are part of this ministry, that Lord, we have a responsibility, a responsibility to be the hands and feet of Jesus, a responsibility to be the light of you and let that shine, God, in the world around us. And Lord, as we just prepare for this weekend, God, show us opportunities that we can let your light shine. Uh let us verse six, let that light shine in our own hearts so that people know that we're radiating you, that we're letting you shine through us, that we have been close to you, and because of that, God, that we are different and we can share what is different about us with the world around us. God, I just thank you for all who um are in our church family, those who are praying these prayers with us today. And God, I just ask that you start to move in our hearts in urgency to love the world around us, God, to make a difference uh for your kingdom. And we can come together this weekend to be empowered uh to be emboldened and to live out this ministry of making Jesus known to the world around us. God, we thank you for this time and we lift all this up in Jesus' name. Amen. [Music]