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

Hey everyone, and welcome

to In Light of the Cross.

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This is a podcast by me, Nathan

Beasley and Daniel Jepsen.

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And we're the co-pastors of Franklin

Community Church in Franklin, Indiana.

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I'm the handsome, good looking young man.

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We wanted to post an introductory

podcast just to tell you what this is

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all about and what to expect, right?

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So what, why are we doing this, Dan?

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Yeah, because we don't have

enough things to do with our time.

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No.

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Actually, as we began thinking through

this, it seemed like this would be

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a way to help our church set this

season apart a little bit more.

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And in particular, to set apart as a

time where we're thinking about the

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cross and all the things that that means.

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We, don't put that in our mind enough.

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And even during Lent season,

we think of it on Sunday.

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But very often during the rest of the

week we're engaged with, you know, work

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or school or other activities and until

next Sunday morning comes around, maybe

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we haven't thought about, oh yeah, this

is lent, this is the season to think

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about the cross and all that it means.

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Yeah.

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I remember talking with you and somebody

else a few years ago and asking about.

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The rhythms of the church and asking

if Advent and Lent were meaningful and,

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and that discussion, it really came out

that, yeah, these are good, good rhythms

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to have in the church and it's good to

enter into these intentionally and deeply.

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And we thought that this 40

day podcast series might be a

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way of helping us all do that.

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Right?

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So our goal with this whole thing

is that in this Lenin season, to put

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the cross before our minds daily so

as to be transformed by it in our

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thoughts and in our attitudes and

our affections and in our actions.

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We actually take seriously God's command

in scripture through the Apostle Paul in

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Romans 12, where he says, do not conform

to the pattern of this world, but be

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transformed by the renewing of your mind.

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Then you'll be able to test and

approve what God's will is his

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good, pleasing and perfect will.

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So we want to be transformed by the

renewing of our mind and our way

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of doing this is through this Daily

devotional podcast that centers on

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putting the cross in front of our

attention so that we can view every

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aspect of life in and through it.

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There's a great quote by John Stat,

The cross is the blazing fire at which

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the flame of our love is kindled.

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It, but we have to get near enough

for it sparks to fall on us.

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Yeah.

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And that's what we're trying to do.

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We're just trying to get near it in

the sense of putting our thoughts and

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our attention there and letting that

Kindle our love for what God has done

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for us and then seeing ourselves and

all the aspects of our life in light

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of this glorious cross of Christ.

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Yeah.

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So what we're going to do in this

podcast each day is follow this

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rhythm that is the acronym, pray.

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And so we'll begin with a time of

pausing and inviting the spirit

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into the time, centering ourselves.

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From there, we'll move into a

time of reflection where we'll

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bring up, uh, scripture and

reflections on that scripture

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about life in light of the cross.

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From there, we'll move

to a time of application.

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So our goal isn't for this to just

remain an intellectual exercise like a,

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a lot of podcasts where you just kinda

listen and as you're going throughout

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your day, you just kind of tune in and

it's interesting and all that stuff.

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I think it will be interesting,

but we want to have this be part

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of the work that God is doing

in us and and transforming us.

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And so we want to really ask

how this text applies to us.

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And then, uh, as we.

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Work to apply it and make space for that.

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We will yield our lives once again,

rhythmically to God, either through

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confession of sins or expressing

gratitude or something else.

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And then we'll conclude

with the Lord's Prayer.

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We chose to end with the Lord's Prayer.

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because it's a way for us to understand

that we have a father who has a will, but

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that father has also graciously called

us to be part of his kingdom that he

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established through the cross of Christ.

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And it's a way that we can, pray to this

father seeking his help, seeking his

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glory, but also seeking forgiveness.

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And all of that is because of the cross.

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If the cross had never happened,

we would never be able to pray

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what we call the Lord's Prayer.

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So over the next 40 days, we're going

to explore sin in light of the cross,

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salvation, in light of the cross, God,

in light of the cross ourselves, in light

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of the cross relationships, in light of

the cross purpose, in light of the cross.

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And then through Holy Week we'll

explore suffering in light of the cross.

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And we decided to do

something special here.

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And that is that add on an extra week

after Easter Sunday, which is our

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future in light of the cross, right?

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Because Easter changes everything.

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Easter tells us that more is yet to

come and it's gonna be very different.

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Amen.

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So we want to invite you all to tune in.

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Specifically, we want to invite you this

Lenin season to join us five days a week.

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we specifically made it just five

episodes per week that will be released

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daily, uh, with some space so that

if you miss one or two, you can catch

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up on the weekend, but make space

throughout your day to tune into this.

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Maybe if it's helpful.

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Incorporate it into one

of your other rhythms.

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Uh, for example, when you wake up, if you

have a quiet time, maybe it's a good thing

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to begin with or right before you go to

bed, or even on your way to work each day.

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And then after that, for some folks, it

may be helpful to journal, But whatever

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it is, consider the ways in which

you can enter in this Lenin season.

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To again, put the cross

before your mind daily.

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We trust that this is going to be

used by God for our transformation, so

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that we can be transformed in thought,

attitude, affections, and actions.

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Hope you join us.

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Bye.