John 3:1-3, “You must be born again”

Passage: John 3:1-3

John 3:1–3 (ESV)

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Series: 2/4

Audience: 6th - 12th Grade Youth Students

Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Place: IND. Youth Group Building (1677 Delaware Crossing, Independence, KY 41051)

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BIBLE | HAND-OUTS | CHAIRS | PENS

Make sure each student has a bible, hand-out, chair, and pens before starting announcements and getting into worship

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PART 1 - ANNOUNCEMENTS

Business as usually until our Friendsgiving Party

Friendsgiving is on 11/23/25 (Sunday)

Time: 6 - 8 PM during regular youth group time

What to Expect: Worship, short message/challenge, Kanes Chicken, and side-dishes from you and your family, and fun games!

2. MISSION PLUG

Praying for the people in Japan

The students in Japan (young adults like yourself) study for 12+ hours a day… seeking value, acceptance, and worth through what they can accomplish and achieve

If they were to follow Christ… they would essentially be turning away from their family and going completely against their culture

Would you please pray with me as we consider those who are on the ground in Japan spreading the Gospel and for the people of Japan - that the Lord would allow his gospel to spread in and throughout Japan

PRAYER: Father, I am reminded of Matthew 28:19-20

Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Father would you allow your Gospel to spread throughout all the nations - including Japan

Would you give the missionaries strength, wisdom, courage, and confidence to boldly proclaim your Gospel and Good New - empowering them through your Holy Spirit…

Thank you Lord for the gift of salvation that you provided in and through your Son Jesus Christ… would we share the Good News of Your Gospel… with our friends, family, and strangers each day… Its in Jesus name we pray these things… AMEN!

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WORSHIP

At this time would you please stand as we enter a time of worship… were we get to praise the LORD!

Please do not allow what others might think of you… to distract you or discourage to sing praises to the LORD…

I pray that you would be more concerned about what God thinks about you… than man…

LETS WORSHIP TOGETHER!

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INTRO:

WORSHIP - THANK YOU

You LOVE THEM and you can not WORSHIP without them… GIVE IT UP for the Worship Team…

Thank you Worship Team for helping us prepare our hearts for the reading, teaching, and application of God’s Word in our lives

STUDENT SCRIPTURE READING - ELLIE ASHLEY:

Isaiah 43:1–4 (ESV)

But now thus says the Lord,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I give Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Because you are precious in my eyes,

and honored, and I love you,

I give men in return for you,

peoples in exchange for your life.

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RECAP - LAST WEEK

We are currently going through the Book of John… will be spending a total of 4 weeks in this book… Last week was our first week in the series… this week is our second…

But before we dive into the book of John… I like to try to provide you all with an Old Testament verse or passage…

Please turn with me to the book of Jeremiah… Jeremiah 4:22

Jeremiah 4:22 (ESV)

“For my people are FOOLISH;

they know me not;

they are stupid children;

they have no understanding.

They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!

But how to do good they know not.”

FOOLISH = Devoid (entirely lacking and without) wisdom or good sense or sound judgment

In other words, you on your own… a part from God… do not have a drop of or ounce of wisdom… good sense or sound judgment…

I would say it to you this way… those who do not follow Jesus are FOOLS…

You may be thinking… well Tanner there are a lot of really smart people out there… who have invented… created… and done a lot of things… how are they fools?

The wise man knows where the well of wisdom comes from… the fool makes a fort for himself… not allowing himself to see the wonder or wisdom of God over the walls of his own works…

In other words… you could compare the brilliance of Eli Musk and all that he has done and created… and if you would compare it to the wisdom of God… there would be no comparison…

Any man who claims to be wise but does not know God… his words are only worthless

I share this verse with you… because in order to no longer be a full… in order to no longer trust in your own thoughts or what you think is best… your own foolishness… you need to be able to have a relationship with God…

Which leads us to our main passage…

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TRANSITION - MAIN PASSAGE:

John 3:1–3 (ESV)

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

BOOK OF JOHN CONTEXT:

WHO: According to Tradition, the apostle John, one of the 12 apostles, and the one who was referred to as “the one whom Jesus loved”… is given credit for writing the Book of John

WHEN/DATE: Between 80 and 100 A.D.

AUDIENCE/WHY: The Audience of the Book of John was for both Jew and Gentiles… Its purpose is to strengthen the faith of existing believers and to provide a firm foundation for faith in Christ…

PASSAGE CONTEXT:

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and Ruler of the Jews

Nicodemus goes to Jesus by night… why? Because he did not want others to see him going to Jesus during the day… He was curious to learn more from Jesus… but did not want to be publicly associated with Jesus… therefore he went to him at Night…

He calls Jesus Rabbi… which means teacher…

Nicodemus does acknowledge that he must be from God because of the miracles that he has performed and the teachings that he has heard from Jesus…

And Jesus immediately goes after the heart of Nicodemus… by making a radical and profound statement…

Look at verse 3… John 3:3

John 3:3 (ESV)

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus is confused by this statement because in verse 4 he says…

John 3:4 (ESV)

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

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Which leads me to point number 1…

POINT #1: SALVATION never stems from STUDY or STATUS

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews…

Meaning that he would have been familiar with the traditions and teaching of the Torah (The torah is fancy word for the first 5 books of the Old Testament)

He would have been someone who studied God’s Word and would have had a working knowledge of the 600 + plus in the Torah

The Word Pharisee comes from a Hebrew word meaning = “Separated”

He was suppose to be viewed and seen as separate from the crowd and held in high regard and viewed as someone others should model their spiritual worth and life after

And yet… when he Jesus tells him how to be saved… when Jesus reveals to him that he must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God… Nicodemus was left confused and undone…

The Study and religious Status that he had obtained did not show him how he could be made right with God… ONLY JESUS CAN DO THAT…

This is WHY I LOVE THE BOOK OF JOHN… the emphasis is on JESUS… the target to focus on is JESUS… the one who allows you to see the KINGDOM OF GOD… is JESUS

And praise God he did not come into this world and act like a PHARISEE - someone who was separate from the rest of the population… he was not SEPARATED from us rather he was a SERVANT and SUFFERED for us… THANK YOU JESUS!

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I do not know about you but I am thankful for Nicodemus… because I think we can relate to him in a lot of ways…

A lot of us know about God, grew up in church, have done the things…

The world views us (people who go to church) as separate from them)… in some ways we should be… but at times it almost seems as if the world views us has HOLIER THAN THOUGH… or ON OUR RELIGIOUS HIGH HORSE

And yet… we often MISS what MATTERS MOST - THE MAJESTY… King Jesus…

And I think like Nicodemus… there are times were we would be scared to ask others about their relationship with Jesus or ask other questions about Go or Jesus… fearing that it would expose what we don’t know or what we don’t have… like Nicodemus being scared to ask Jesus publicly or go to him publicly because he feared what others would think…

We allow the FEELING of FEAR to FLATTEN, FRUSTRATE, and FATIGE or faith…

In other words, the fear of what others think is more important than my faith with my heavenly father… And I see this with the historical account of Jesus…

QUESTION: do you allow the FEELING of FEAR to FLATTEN, FRUSTRATE, and FATIGE your faith? Or you so worried about what others think that you do not ask more questions about God? That you are unwilling to speak up in front of others? That maybe you too would be like Nicodemus… preferring to approaching Jesus in the night… when no one else is around… instead of publicly for all to see?

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POINT #2: It takes a SUPERNATURAL SOURCE in order to be TRANSFORMED and REBORN

Look at John 3:3

John 3:3 (ESV)

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

BORN = “To be or become refashioned and transformed… by a supernatural source”

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I want to be very clear, if Jesus Christ is not your Lord and savior… if you have not been supernaturally reborn spiritually… you are dead…

In other words, if you have not come alive through Christ you are dead…

The Bible explains what it is like to be saved in Christ through being born again… and to help clarify what he means… he gives us another example and analogy found in the Old Testament…

Ezekiel 36:26 (ESV)

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

In other words, an external supernatural source - God - will give you a new heart - through faith in Christ - and the heart will be filled with the Holy Spirit…

That act… God taking away the heart of stone and placing a heart of flesh… is the act of being transformed… refashioned… supernaturally… its the act of being completely reborn!

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If you are not reborn… if you still have a heart of stone… then you are DEAD…

Not alive…

You are the walking dead… a zombie…

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STORY - FUNERAL HOME

STORY - GRANDPA DIEING

QUESTION: Do you have a heart of stone? Have you been born again? Or are you amongst the walking dead and a spiritual zombie? Is your heart stone and cold? Or is it alive and well?

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How do you I apply this to my life?

Give your life to Christ… today… do not delay or weight for a for a spiritual super bowl suspenseful moment

Realize that the life you have… being born again and the heart of flesh… happened supernaturally by and from God…

GRATITUDE does not have GUARDRAILS… in other words, if you have been saved by God… if you have a new heart… if you have been born again… I should be able to tell by how you speak about God… Do you talk about God as if he has something else that he needs to prove to you… as if you are just waiting for him to show up… or do you gush with gratitude for the new life you have been given… because you know it was only becasue of God that you are alive…

Express Gratitude… be grateful for the gift of salvation

REST and SLEEP well… You can apply being born again to your life by being secure in your salvation… once you are born again… once you have a new heart in Christ… you do not need to continually be reborn or continually have a new heart… it is a one and done act… meaning you can have security in your salvation… no longer questioning whether or not you are a child of God… God wants you to know that you are his child… no question or doubt…

John 10:28 (ESV)

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

snatch = to grasp hastily or easily; often in order to take away

If you have been born again you have to ask yourself the question… AM I grateful for what God has already done? And do I know and have security in the salvation he has given me? This is how this verse applies to our lives… you are his… and you are so grateful for what he has done!

WORSHIP TEAM - PLEASE PRAY WITH ME