Jesus Met Nicodemus
LESSON DATE & SCRIPTURE: May 03 | John 3:1-21
New city catechism question of the week:
Question #18:
Will God allow our disobedience and idolatry to go unpunished?
Answer:
No. God is righteously angry with our sins and will punish them both in this life and in the life to come.
Memory Verse: John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Talk about it together
Nicodemus was an important religious leader who tried very hard to follow God’s rules. He believed that if he obeyed the law well enough, God would accept him. One night, Nicodemus went to speak with Jesus because he had many questions about God’s kingdom.
Jesus told him something surprising. No one can enter God’s kingdom by being good enough. Instead, Jesus said a person must be “born again.” Nicodemus was confused. How could someone be born again? Jesus explained that he was not talking about being born physically, but about receiving new spiritual life.
Every person is born with sin, and sin separates us from God. That is why Jesus came. He lived a perfect life and obeyed God completely. He died to take the punishment for our sin. When we trust in Jesus, God forgives us and gives us new life through the Holy Spirit. It is as if our hearts are made new.
Just like Nicodemus, we all need this new life. When we believe in Jesus, we become part of God’s family and can live with him forever.
Family discussion
Who visited Jesus at night?
What did Jesus say must happen for someone to see the kingdom of God?
How did God show his love to the world?
What does everyone who believes in Jesus receive?
Family prayer
Lord, thank you for sending your Son to be our Savior. Thank you for giving us new life through your Spirit and welcoming us into your kingdom. Amen.