# Sunday Setup – 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Sermon transcript from Cross Church Surprise.
Series: Sunday Setup
Date: July 17, 2025
Watch: https://crosschurchcares.com/surprise/episodes/sunday-setup-2-corinthians-41-6

## Summary

Are you ready to shine the light of the gospel in a world filled with darkness? What does it mean to embrace our ministry despite our flaws? Join us as we explore how God's mercy empowers us to share His truth boldly. Let's dive in together!

## Transcript

[Music] 
 [Music] 
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 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. 
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 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] 
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 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. 
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