Call to Worship by Ann Siddall
Friends of God, believe this –
God loved the world,
God loves the world,
we are the beloved!
May the truth of this great love story,
shine through our worship today,
and renew our sense of calling.
So come, with your tiredness,
your frustrations and your discouragements;
come with your doubts, your fears,
and your longings;
come, to discover yet again
how Jesus reveals God’s love and mercy.
Come, in friendship to God
and to each other,
and in friendship to the world,
to listen for God’s Word to us,
to offer our prayers,
and to renew our calling.
Friends of God,
let us worship!
Scripture Reading – John 3:1-3
Now a certain man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, 2 came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus replied,
Song – The Churches One Foundation
Scripture Reading – John 3:4-21
4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus replied, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I tell you the solemn truth, we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. 12 If I have told you people about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. 18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. 19 Now this is the basis for judging: that the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.
Video sermon
Video Reflection – Night Has Passed / Morning Has Broken
Intercessory Prayer Adapted from Katherine Hawker
For God so loved the world;
The sparrows, the mountain lions,
the fish and the people.
For God so loved the world;
In success and failure,
in sickness and health,
in mediocrity and extraordinary.
For God so loved the world;
Enough to become one of us,
enough to suffer along with us,
enough to offer new life for us.
For God so loved the world;
we offer our prayers back to him.
(Take time to pray for those you love. Mention them by name)
(Take time to pray for those you have difficultly loving. Mention their names to God and Thank God for his great love for them).
(Take time to pray for all who hurt, suffer, and need Christ’s light)
(Take time to pray for yourself, ask God for what you need)
Song – Light of the World
Benediction
I fall into the camp that believes that Nicodemus became a Christian. I personally relate to his “walk”. When I started to ask questions of Jesus I also did not fully understand the answers. Jesus disturbed me with his answers. I kept trying to grasp Jesus with my mind.
I believe that Nicodemus’s heart broke after Jesus died. It was then that he followed him. My heart also broke after I understood that Jesus died for me. Only after my heart believed in Jesus did my mind follow.
I fall into the same camp. I love the unfolding narrative of his life.
Thanks for another time of inspiration. Is Merideth still doing the picture – inserts? I’m a visual learner, so I find those very effective also. Blessings …. George
Yes, Merideth does all the visuals. She is amazing.
Really glad you chose this passage, David. Also that you highlighted how frustrating it was for anyone who wanted a controlled, predictable outcome.
I love especially how Jesus draws out Nicodemus (and at least some of us who read about the encounter). The clear comparison and contrast of the two births illustrates the difference between water birth (under human control) and spiritual birth (under the Spirit’s control) — especially Jesus’ wind comparison showing the unpredictability of life in the Spirit. When Jesus said just later “We speak of what we know and tell of what we have seen,” was he referring in part to this unpredictable life? In the previous chapter, just before changing water into wine, Jesus had said to his mother that his time had not yet come — but then he performed a miracle that revealed who he was…..
The verse 10 rebuke of Nicodemus reminded me of Jesus rebuke of the Syrophoenician woman after her request for help for her demon-posessed daughter (Mark 7 and Matthew 15). In this instance Jesus asked why things meant for the children of the family should be given to the dogs. Jesus seemingly harsh response drew out the faith of the Syrophoenician woman. Both with her and Nicodemus, Jesus’ off-putting response surprisingly led the conversation deeper into the needs of both the questioner and those watching (including John’s readers). As you said, this doesn’t clearly convey head knowledge, but seems designed to impart spiritual understanding (to those with ears to hear).