Good day all.  I hope you’re staying warm.  I haven’t been on top of the local news, but based on what I’m seeing in my neighborhood it seems like we may have overreacted a bit to the fearcast.  I am glad it will be on the way back up by Sunday, and I look forward to being together.

It was a small group with Priscilla unable to bring her crew.  She said Kimi is better and they are planning to be there.  Keep them in prayer.

Over the past few months we’ve talked a lot about God’s kingdom.  We’ve seen how it operates on principles completely foreign to the world.  We’ve seen how it’s citizens are to distinguish themselves.  We have gotten a glimpse into the nature of our loving, just, and all-powerful king.

There’s just one thing we haven’t really talked about.  That is what happens when we come into that kingdom.  We all know the story.  If I ask you if you’ve been born again, you probably know what I’m asking.  It’s the basic message of our faith.  But I wonder how many outside of the church, especially among the younger generations, would recognize that phrase.  Sadly, many who do understand and would answer “yes” to that question don’t really know what it means.  Research suggests that as little as 5% of the population in the U.S. actually meets the definition of a genuine Christian.

So, when we share the good news, it never hurts to have it fresh on our minds, told in various ways, giving us a variety of approaches to sharing it with others.  With that in mind, let’s look ad the familiar story from John 3:1-21.  Here Nicodemus, a Pharisee, ruler and teacher in Israel, comes to Jesus at night.  He knows by the miracles that Jesus has performed that He must be sent from God, but apparently Nicodemus wants to know more.  I am certain there was more to the conversation than John wrote down for us, but what we have is a concise and informative presentation of the truth of the gospel by Jesus Himself.  John 3:16 is probably the most well-known bible verse in the world.  And why not?  It is the essence of the message.  Let’s see what new insight we might gain as we drop in on this amazing conversation between Nicodemus and our Lord.

See you Sunday.

Love y’all,

Larry