Lent 02: Nicodemus

Community Group Questions:

1. The story of Nicodemus and his nighttime approach to Jesus is fairly well known among Christians. How did Tim’s teaching this week impact your understanding of Nicodemus, the story itself, its historical context, and/or the very famous John 3:16?
What kinds of thoughts or questions arose for you after learning more about the origins of the Pharisees and their historical context? Does seeing them through a different frame provoke any new ideas when it comes to the way you may have understood them throughout the gospels?
What might the takeaways be for that as a modern day Christian reading about an ancient civilization?

2. Tim also talked about the limitations of the law. The slide he presented contrasting things the law could and could not provide for people is shown below. He also said something like, “if you’re building your life on rules, there will come a point in time when the rules hamper your development.”
How does this orientation toward the law and rules feel for you? Are you someone who’s more or less inclined to embrace the rules when it comes to figuring out how to navigate life? How has that aspect of your personality impacted your journey as a Christian?
What do you think about the idea that rules can become a hindrance as you mature as a person and a person of faith? Have you seen evidence supporting that idea in your own life? If so, share about it. If you feel skeptical about the idea, share about that too.

3. Tim also talked about being “born again” as something more like a repeated process of letting go or giving up. He said it’s a fall or a surrender, rather than a one-moment crossing from A to B. It’s giving up the need to be in charge of our material lives.
What surfaces for you when you think about being born again in this way? Is this a familiar idea? or one that challenges you and things you’ve been taught in the past? What surfaces for you as you sit with this idea?
How does a clear understanding of the Greek behind John 3:16 impact or shift your understanding of both that verse and what it’s telling us about being born again? Especially within its context as part of the story of Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus?