Looking for Life Student Workbook by Youthworks

Looking for life CONT ENTS Lesson 1

Jesus brings truth

Lesson 2

Jesus brings clarity

Lesson 3

Jesus brings satisfaction

Lesson 4

Jesus brings cleansing

Lesson 5

Jesus brings certainty

Jesus brings clarity NICODEMUS THOUGHT YOU GOT INTO HEAVEN BY BEING A GOOD RELIGIOUS PERSON AND OBEYING ALL THE RULES. JESUS CAME TO HIM AND SAID, ‘YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!’

READ: John 3:1–21 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no-one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him’. Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no-one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again’.

‘How can someone be born when they are old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!’

Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again’. 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit’. 5

‘How can this be?’ Nicodemus asked.

‘You are Israel’s teacher’, said Jesus, ‘and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No-one has ever gone into heaven 10

except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him’. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. 17

GAINING ACCESS

According to popular thinking in the world today, what types of people will God allow (or invite) into heaven? • What kinds of things do these people do? • What words would you use to describe them? • What do they believe?

From the

passage Nicodemus was a Pharisee. The Pharisees were a very strict group within the Jewish religion. According to the Pharisees, if God’s people could obey all of God’s rules (they’d summarised the whole Old Testament into 613 different rules), then God would accept them and allow them to enter heaven (Jesus called it ‘the kingdom of God’).

1. According to verses 1–2, what other things are true about Nicodemus? Circle the correct answers.

He thought Jesus was a teacher.

He believed in Jesus as God’s Son.

He was a well respected religious leader.

He had been born again by the Spirit of God.

He believed that Jesus had come from God.

He believed that Jesus could do miracles.

He came to Jesus during the day.

2. According to Jesus, which of the following things must occur before a person can enter the kingdom of God? Tick the appropriate ones. They must go to church. They must be baptised with water. They must be born again. They must earn God’s favour by obeying his rules.

3. The language of being ‘born again’ can be a bit tricky. Using the words listed below, fill in the blanks to learn more about what Jesus means by being born again.

moment effects rebirth Christians God kingdom of God wind purify new life effects born again physical birth symbolic lic Ezekiel 36:25-27 water spiritual experience In verse 3, Jesus says, ‘No-one can see the __________________ unless they are ______________’. Nicodemus got confused and thought Jesus was talking about 15

____________, so we see in verse 5 that Jesus replied, ‘No-one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of _________ and the Spirit’. Therefore, Jesus was not talking about a physical birth, but a spiritual ___________ of some kind. The reference to water is not talking about baptism, but of _____________ waters that ______ will use to wash and _________ his people from their sins. The reference to the Spirit is talking about the gift of his Holy Spirit that God gives to all _____________. The Holy Spirit gives them _____________ and helps them to obey him. God promises to do this for his people in ____________________. You might like to read these verses later if you have the time. To be born again is to have a ________________ where God sends his Spirit into your life. Although this might sound a little spooky, it does not have to be. Instead, in verse 8 Jesus says that the experience of new birth is like the ________. Even though you cannot see the wind, you can see its __________. That’s what it’s like for Christians. You cannot see the __________ that they are born again, but in the long run, you should be able to see its _________.

4. Why do you think it was important for Nicodemus to learn that he must be spiritually born again?

a. Like most Jews, Nicodemus thought that God accepted him because he was born Jewish. b. Like most Pharisees, he thought that he could earn God’s favour by keeping all 613 of his Old Testament laws. c. Like all people, he wasn’t good enough to earn God’s favour and instead needed to be washed clean from sin and given the gift of new life by God’s Spirit. d. All of the above.

In verses 14–18, Jesus moves from the language of being ‘born again’ to ‘believing in the Son for eternal life’. Whereas being born again referred to the experience, believing in the Son refers to the means and eternal life to the result of being born again. Diagrammatically it looks like this:

BELIEVE IN THE SON

BE BORN AGAIN

RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE

means

experience

results

5. Which of the following is not a reason why God sent his Son into the world? a. b. c. d.

To condemn (declare as guilty) the world. To save the world through him. Because he loved the world. So that whoever believes in him may not perish.

6. According to verse 18, in what position are those who have not been born again by believing in God’s Son? a. b. c. d.

They will be condemned by God. They will not be condemned. They will be saved through him. They stand condemned already.

1. In the Bible, what we call heaven is often called the kingdom of God. That’s

because in heaven, everyone will recognise God as the King. John wrote a beautiful description of it in another book of the Bible called Revelation (see Revelation 21:3–4). It’s also a place where God’s people live in perfect relationship with him and one another. What things excite you most about the biblical description of the kingdom of God?

_____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

2. Do you think you will see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)? Why or why not? _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

3. Jesus said that the new birth is like the wind. Even though you can’t see it,

you should be able to see its effects. What types of effects might you expect to see in the life of someone who has been born again?

_____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

4. What do you think it means if you cannot see these effects in someone’s life? _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

5. God loves us so much that he offers eternal life to all who believe in his Son. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazing! If you trust in Jesus, write a short prayer thanking God for sending his Son to die for you. If you do not trust in Jesus yet, write a prayer asking God to help you trust in his Son.

Get Creative 1 John 3:16 is probably the most famous verse in the Bible. In groups of three or four, come up with a short one-minute rap about this verse and some dance moves to accompany it. Perform it for the rest of your class.

Get Creative 2 Even though we can’t be sure if Nicodemus experienced the new birth for himself, for the sake of this exercise, pretend that he did not. Write down the conversation that might take place at the gates of heaven as Nicodemus tries to convince Jesus why he should be allowed in. Feel free to use a bit of creative licence; just don’t forget that Jesus said, ‘No-one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again’.

CLARIFYING THE KINGDOM WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU THINK OF HEAVEN? For most people it’s a place of disembodied spirits floating in the clouds, big golden gates, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, and plump babies with wings playing harps. How boring! Although common, this understanding of heaven has more to do with Hollywood than the Bible. According to the Bible, heaven is a physical place (cf. 1 Corinthians 15) where, one day, God’s people will experience no more pain, no more crying and no more death (Revelation 21:4). It’s a place where God’s people will live in perfect relationship with God himself (Revelation 21:3) and where Jesus currently lives and reigns as God’s Messiah-King (Hebrews 8:1). What we call heaven is often referred to as the kingdom of God in the New Testament.