Prepare your heart for our Sunday Morning Gathering by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together.
You will find tangible suggestions for putting scripture to action in your personal life and in our corporate body, links to the songs we will sing, and lyrics for you to prepare for our corporate singing.
Critically Think
- Read John 3:1-10.
- What is the context of this passage? Where is it picking up from in John’s gospel?
- What in verse 1 connects this passage to what has come before in 2:23-25?
- How does Nicodemus address Jesus in verse 2? How does this compare to the timing of his visit by night?
- What does Nicodemus base his conclusion of Jesus’s origin upon?
- What is Jesus’s answer to Nicodemus’s compliment? How do His words contrast with Nicodemus’s words?
- What is Nicodemus’s response to Jesus’s answer? What kind of attitude is present in his response, based on his words?
- How does Jesus begin to answer Nicodemus’s retort in verse 5? How does it relate to His original answer in verse 3?
- Despite Jesus’s statement that Nicodemus shouldn’t be amazed, how does Nicodemus respond in verse 9? How does this response differ from his original response in verse 4?
- How does Jesus answer Nicodemus’s question in verse 10? How does this contrast with
verse 2? What is the implied answer to his question?
Prayerfully Meditate
- What does “flesh” refer to in verse 6? (Cf. John’s use of the word elsewhere in his gospel, especially John 1:12-13, but also 1:14, chapter 6, and 17:2) What is Jesus’s point in comparing its birth with the Spirit’s, based on what His argument has been so far?
- What similarity does Jesus point out between the nature of wind (which is the same Greek word for “spirit”) and the nature of the birth of the Spirit in verse 8? How does this yet again address Nicodemus’s preconceived notions (note “know” here in verse 8 and back in verse 2)?
- How does between the wind and birth of the spirit explain Jesus’s retort in verse 7 that Nicodemus shouldn’t be amazed, as he was in verse 4, by Jesus’s imagery of being “born again”?
- How do verses 6-8, along with passages such as Ezekiel 36:22-28 and Jesus’s remark in
verse 10, define what “water and the Spirit” refer to? - What is Jesus’s connection between being born of water and the Spirit and the kingdom of God? What is the gravity of this statement, considering the nature of its Old Testament roots and the person to whom Jesus is speaking?
Intentionally Act
- Coming from his religious background, Nicodemus had developed a whole worldview around God that had nothing to do with God. How have you done this in your own life?
- Nicodemus had a knowledge of Jesus, but it was only partial. What is the danger of halfway knowledge? How do we avoid this danger?
- Last week Pastor Bret explained that being born again isn’t a result of faith; faith is the result of being born again. Is that how you’ve thought of it before? What do you think about it now?
- From this passage, we learn that the faith we have is a result of God’s free gift of new birth. What impact should this truth have in our lives (regarding assurance, pride, gratitude, etc.)?
- How could this passage be applied to your personal evangelism?
- What can you thank God for in light of this passage?
- Click the links below to find the lyrics and recordings of the songs planned for our gathering this Sunday; learn the songs, study the lyrics and sing them with others.
- Pray for those leading our corporate gathering this week and for the Holy Spirit’s work as the Word of God is further explained and applied: Dawson Bryant: music; Ben Gardner: elder prayer & scripture reading; Bret Capranica: teaching.
Songs for Sunday
Morning Gathering
- Psalm 150 (sheetmusic)
- Almost Home (sheetmusic)
- Turn Your Eyes (sheetmusic)
- In Christ Alone (sheetmusic)
- Behold the Lamb (sheetmusic)
Evening Gathering
Lyrics
Follow this link for a copy of this weeks Sunday morning lyric slides.