Reading: 2 Corinthians 5.16-21 (NLT)

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Make us your ambassadors here and now… people who speak your Word of mercy and grace – “Come back to God!” Holy Spirit – Bring to our mind, at this moment, the people we know who need to be made right with God… (name them). Heavenly Father – we plead for them. Make them new creations in Jesus Christ – body, mind, soul, and spirit. Make this Easter the day that they know, without a doubt, they have been born again. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hymn: “Born Again” – Third Day (YouTube)

Today I found myself / After searching all these years / And the man that I saw, he wasn’t at all who I thought he’d be / I was lost when you found me here / And I was broken beyond repair / Then you came along and you sang your song over me

It feels like I’m born again / It feels like I’m living / For the very first time / For the very first time / In my life

Make a promise to me now / Reassure my heart somehow / That the love that I feel is so much more real than anything / I’ve a feeling in my soul / And I pray that I’m not wrong / That the life I have now, it is only the beginning

It feels like I’m born again / It feels like I’m living / For the very first time / For the very first time / It feels like I’m breathing / It feels like I’m moving / For the very first time / For the very first time

I wasn’t looking for something that was more / Than what I had yesterday / Then you came to me and you gave to me / Life and a love that I’ve never known / That I’ve never felt before

It feels like I’m born again / It feels like I’m living / For the very first time / I’m living for the first time / It feels like I’m breathing / It feels like I’m moving / For the very first time / I’m living for the first time / In my life