SERIES TITLE
He Gets Us!
sermon TITLE
He Gets My Restlessness
SERIES OVERVIEW
Love and forgiveness is something we all need. We all have pain. We all have sorrow. We all have doubts. Jesus understands all of this…and the story of Jesus is for EVERYONE. Join us as we examine the life of Jesus through the eyes of those that knew him personally. Together, we will find hope and purpose because HE GETS US.
SERMON TITLE
He Gets Our Hopelessness
WEEKEND IN REVIEW
“He Gets Us” is a series based on eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life. Our Pastor is focusing on the details of what the Apostle John wrote about the life of Jesus. Last week it was the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. This week it is the story of Jesus’ meeting with a Jewish leader named Nicodemus. These are stories about Jesus that the Apostle John had a very clear purpose for including in the Gospel that bears his name. John says, “…these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
WARM UP
Begin with some conversation, checking in on how people are doing. You can talk about whatever you’d like, but here is a question to get the conversation going.
- This week’s message contained the most quoted, most familiar, and perhaps the most important verse in the Bible. It was John 3: ___? Share with us how you first learned about this verse or when it became meaningful to you.
DISCUSSion
Select 6-7 questions from the list below to guide your discussion time.
- Who was Nicodemus? What does John tell us about him and what did Nicodemus know about Jesus? See John 3:1-2.
- We don’t know for sure why Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. Most likely he felt the need for privacy if not complete secrecy. Perhaps John 9:18-23 could shed light on why Nicodemus chose nighttime for his meeting with Jesus. What might have Nicodemus feared?
- What did Jesus say was the prerequisite for seeing and entering the Kingdom of God? See John 3:3-5.
- What does “wind” have to do with spiritual rebirth? Read John 3:5-8.
- Jesus references a rather strange event in the Hebrews’ journey from Egypt to the Promised Land recorded in Numbers 21:4-9. You might even say God’s instructions were bazaar unless there was an intentionally hidden or symbolic meaning in what He instructed Moses to do. What sin did the Hebrews commit? What did God do to punish them for their sin? What were the people instructed to do to remove God’s judgment and heal them from the consequences of their sins?
- Of course, God was up to something! The only passage of scripture that reveals the prophetic meaning of the events in Numbers 21 is right here in John 3 where Jesus explains the symbolic significance of those Old Testament events. What did the bronze snake on a pole foreshadow about God’s ultimate plan of future redemption from sin?
- Why a snake—what did it represent? 2 Corinthians 5:21
- Why a pole—what did it represent? John 3:14
- What did the sinful Hebrew people have to do to experience God’s forgiveness? Numbers 21:8-9
- What do we have to do to experience God’s forgiveness? John 3:14-16
- What was God’s purpose for sending Jesus from heaven to earth? John 3:17
- What happens to the person who rejects God’s remedy for human sin? John 3:36
- Who was Nicodemus? What does John tell us about him and what did Nicodemus know about Jesus? See John 3:1-2.
Application
- Where do you see the Gospel of grace in John 3?
- How are we instructed to respond to grace?
wrap up | prayer
Share prayer requests and spend time praying for each other.