“For God so loved the world…”
I would guess that for many of you, if I gave you this opening line, you could finish it for me. You might be able to tell me where to find it in the Bible. Many of you have seen this famous verse on a billboard signs at stadium events, or even painted on the uniforms of a famous football player. If I ask you to think a little deeper, you probably could tell me the main characters in the story. Can you? There are actually three of them—not just two, as is often thought. See if you can answer who they are:
- _________?
- _________?
- _________?
This coming Sunday, January 31, I am teaching from this most famous story as part of our year-long series, “The Book of Jesus”—a series about how we can better understand that the whole Bible is really about Jesus. The story we are dealing with this Sunday is critical to seeing and understanding the complete picture. You cannot really understand everything else about Jesus unless you wrap your understanding around the significance of this story and what Jesus teaches.
But at the same time, we often look at this famous story in a far too simplistic way—almost like it is the only story that matters. It’s as though we expect to just quote the famous line and understand Jesus in his entirety, not needing to know anything else.
Now see if you can finish these famous quotes from the story:
- “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is _______________.”
- “For God so loved the world ____________________.”
We’ll get to the heart of the story when we explore these two key phrases:
- Flesh gives birth to flesh
- Spirit gives birth to spirit
Read ahead as you prepare for this Sunday. Think carefully about the phrases above and consider the impact they have.
Have you figured out yet where this story is found? The answer is John 3, the famous story of Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus.
At the end of the service, we encourage all of you to take the story and explore the meanings in discussion with others in a group, either online or in person. Participating in a group is the best way to really, fully grow. Read John 3 before Sunday.
See you Sunday morning at 10 a.m. through one of our 3 Doors to LifeWay:
- 1: Watch online in your own home
- 2: Join a Church in a Home group and stream the service together
- 3: Come to church and join us inside the building (yes, we are open!)
