Golden Bells #426 - People Who Met Jesus: Nicodemus

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Golden Bells

#426

People who met Jesus


Personal Profile Nicodemus

Name Nicodemus Age 56 Nationality Jew Religion Pharisee Job Ruler & Teacher Likes Praying, fasting, tithing Dislikes Pork Pentateuch Tresured Possession The Pentateuch is The Old Testament

Fascinating Fact

the first 5 books of the Bible.

He knows the Pentateuch off by heart!

5 People he’d love to meet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, King David

Life Ambition

To keep the 10 Commandments and finally get to heaven.


Nicodemus Meets Jesus At

9 O’clock At

12 O’clock At

3 O’clock

A blind man came to see Jesus. He needed to see. So Jesus gave him brand new...

A deaf man came to see Jesus. He needed to hear. So Jesus gave him brand new...

A lame man came to see Jesus. He needed to walk. So Jesus gave him brand new...

At

A man with a withered hand came to see Jesus. He needed it fixed. 6 O’clock So Jesus gave him brand new...

At

Nicodemus came to see Jesus. He needed to know the way to God in heaven. 8 O’clock So Jesus gave him a brand new...


Jesus teaches Nicodemus Nicodemus: “We know you are a teacher from God because you do such great miracles.”

Jesus:

Jesus:

“Nicodemus, unless you are born again you can’t know God and you will never get to heaven.” What are you talking about? What does ‘born again’ mean? Can I be born as a baby again?

No Nicodemus - You have totally got the wrong idea. You are thinking about a physical thing but I am talking about a spiritual thing. You must be born again! I am 56 years old. How can I start my life over again?

Think about the wind. You can see it, hear it and feel it when it blows in the trees. But you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. It is a powerful force which you cannot control.


Being ‘born again’ is mysterious like the wind. It is not something you can do or make happen. It is the powerful work of God inside a person. He cleanses them from sin and makes them brand new. You know it is real because you can see the change. It is a supernatural thing!

So, how can a person be born again?

How can this thing happen to ME?

I I

am the answer to your question. A person can be born again because of me.

have come down from heaven. Because God loves the world, He sent me to die on a cross. I came to save the perishing. Everyone who believes in me will have eternal life. My coming, my living, my dying and my rising again makes it possible for people to be born again.

Born Again

- A spiritual thing - Being cleansed from sin - Made brand new - Only God can do it

Perishing

Sinning, guilty, condemned, belonging to this world, not knowing God, dying, going to hell, facing judgement.


John 3:14 ...Even so must the “As Moses lifted up Son of Man be the serpent in the lifted up...� wilderness...

Long ago there were people who did some This world is full of people who terrible things against God. They kept on have sinned against God. They sinning and God punished them. He sent have been judged and they poison snakes into their camp. When the are dying. God has sent His people were bitten, they realized they had been Son to be lifted up high on a judged and they were dying. They cried out to cross. There is hope! God, asking for His forgiveness. God told them Everyone who looks to to make a snake out of bronze and put it high Jesus Christ can be rescued! on a pole. If they were sorry for their sin,they Everyone who believes in could look at the snake and be healed. All the Him is given eternal life. dying people who looked, lived! Numbers 21:4-9 John 3:14


Activities

Match-Ups

These words are found in the story of Nicodemus. Can you match them with their meanings?

3

Pharisee

God’s Chosen People

Rabbi

Life with God forever

Activities Miracles

Teacher

Perish

Religious Leader

Born Again

Supernatural acts of God

Jews

Made new on the inside

Eternal Life

Seperated from God forever

#426

about us

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J3:16

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What does the note trail say?

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Find all the words from John 3:16... “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.�

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Word Search

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#2

Spot the Difference


John's Gospel Ch3, v1-17

Bible Bits T

Instructions

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night time. Circle the differences on picture #2 (you will find up to 12) and colour in picture #1

2 4

here was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 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.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 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?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.


with Dr Paul The Teacher: The Student: The Lesson:

Jesus Nicodemus “You Must be born again�

T

Y C P

his is a story about a teacher called Nicodemus who meets Jesus and becomes a student. Jesus has been in Jerusalem teaching and doing miracles. Many people listened and watched. Nicodemus was one of them. One night, he comes to Jesus because He wants to learn more about who Jesus is and what He has to say. He tells Jesus that he knows He is a teacher come from God. Then he waits to learn more. That night Jesus taught a great lesson. A lesson we all need to learn. It is the lesson that you must be born again. If this lesson is not learned then none of us, including Nicodemus, will never get to heaven. We shall never see the Kingdom of God (v5). To be born again is to have new

birth, new life and to become a new creation. In the beginning God made man, breathed into him the breath of life and man became a living soul. Man was quite different to all the other creatures. But since sin came in, we have all become living sinful souls. We have all been born once as sinners, living a sinful life. The life we had been given by God has been spoiled by sin. We are therefore unfit for heaven. In fact, we are under the judgment of God because of our sin. It is therefore clear that we need a new life; a new beginning. Sin has to be removed. Our old life has to be finished. To put it another way:

we must be born again.


Nicodemus was amazed to hear this lesson. He had been born once and got his life from his mother. How could he do this all over again? So he asked Jesus ‘How can anyone do this impossible thing?’ (v4) Jesus explains that it is not something you can do, nor does this new life come from your mother. It is something God does. The new life comes from Him. He who made you first and gave you life which was sadly spoiled by sin will make you again with a life that is unspoiled by sin. New birth is an action of God when He gives you His Spirit. He does it when you turn from your sin in repentance to Him. Nicodemus finds all this very hard to believe. He wonders how God is able to do this, so he asks his second question – ‘How can these things be?’ (v9) Jesus answers by telling Nicodemus these things:

1 2 3 4

God loves the world of sinners who are perishing. He wants them to have this new life – eternal life (v16) He (Jesus) has come down from heaven to deal with the problem of sin. He would be lifted up to die on the cross to pay sin’s penalty, break its power and put it away forever (v13-15) If anyone believes on and trusts Him, they will not be condemned by God (v18). They will not perish (v16). They will have this new life, eternal life (v15). They will be born again. Those who will not believe on Jesus are condemned. They will be judged by God. They will perish. They don’t have eternal life. They are not born again. They will never see heaven.

Jesus completes His lesson to Nicodemus by telling him that it is He, Jesus Christ, who has that life and He is bringing it into the world as a light shining in darkness. The world has two kinds of people in it. Those who come to the light because God is working in them and those who hate the light and stay in the darkness because they want to continue sinning. They will not come to Him to have life.

What kind of person are you? Nicodemus came and he was born again (John 19:39)


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Stanley “Golden Bells is very helpful to my spiritual life”

and he is checklist th n o /6 6 but scored rfect score, e p is Nicodemus h h it d that pleased w ocked to fin h s was pretty s a w e h as et Jesus ough. He w n e d o o g when he m re e ay to se things w as on his w w e h none of the e s u a time bec in. wasting his en born aga e b r e v e n d Hell. He ha

Forget about your score on this personal checklist and answer the one question that really matters...

Have I been born again? Jesus says ‘You MUST be born again’. Read #426. Learn the lessons Jesus taught Nicodemus and make sure more than anything else in the world that you are born again.


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Cyril

Points Update Top Groups

1. Dallarnil Sunday School 2. First Century Gospel Church, Ghana 3. Stewart Family 4. Ulverstone Christian Assembly 5. Beaman Family 6. Saibai Island Sunday School & Youth 7. Rockhampton Girls Youth Group

Top Kids

[not including kids in top groups] Olivia Blanch Timothy Naduvilath Grace Dwalibi Carol Dwalibi Matthew Noble Rebecca McCall Abigail Too Susan Martin Amy Schreiweis Sarah Parker Hannah Westley Noel Vincent Hannah Costello Nathan Parker Sarah Lewis Felicity Bath


be

You must again born

5 famous words 5 words that have gone down in history Where did they come from? Who were they said to? ...Find out inside.


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