This autumn, our worship follows our Church School curriculum, Seeking Peace Together. We are learning in worship alongside the youngest members of our community.
There’s a wonderful, enigmatic figure who crops up in our scripture reading from time to time: Nicodemus. A leader of the Pharisees who came furtively to Jesus after dark to find out what this guy was all about (John 3:1-21). In the past, I’ve referred to Nicodemus as a closet Christian. He’s longing to know something about Jesus, but he doesn’t want others to see him associating with him.
Jesus tells him that he must be born anew (or from above). When Nicodemus asks how it’s possible to be born a second time, Jesus answers:
“I assure you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom.” And continues: “Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
On Sunday we’re going to delve into the question of what it means to be “born of the Spirit” as well as what it means to believe in Jesus, rather than just believe things about Jesus. I welcome your curiosity as we re-enter this question together.
In faith,
Kent
A note about worship on YouTube: If we experience serious technical difficulties, we will post the recorded worship service on YouTube later on Sunday. Thank you for your understanding. We ask for your prayers and patience as we seek to provide a quality online worship experience for our congregation at home. If you have a passion for audio/visual technology, we need your help! Please contact kent@upbrookline.org to serve on a tech team.
Image credit: reflectionsofpeter.org
