Beginning Again: Born of Water and Spirit

Mar 01, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Sincerity in Seeking God with Our Deepest Questions

God honors the honest longings of our hearts, even when we struggle to form them into perfect questions. He meets us in our uncertainty, not just our certainty. You can bring your restless thoughts, your late-night wonders, and your unspoken yearings to Him. He receives them with grace, understanding the heart from which they come. This sincere seeking is the fertile ground where new beginnings can take root. [33:38]

“Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’” (John 3:1-2 NRSV)

Reflection: What is one sincere question or longing you have been hesitant to bring into the light of prayer? How might you offer it to God this week, trusting in His gracious reception rather than a need for a perfect answer?

Day 2: The Vulnerability Required for New Beginnings

Beginning again often means stepping into the unknown and risking what is familiar. Like coming to Jesus under the cover of night, it can feel safer to seek change away from the eyes of others. This journey requires a willingness to let go of reputation, certainty, or the comfort of having everything figured out. True transformation asks for our vulnerability, not our strength. God honors the courage it takes to simply show up and ask. [36:58]

“Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’” (John 3:4 NRSV)

Reflection: Where is God inviting you to be vulnerable in your faith journey? What is one small step you can take this week that feels like a risk, trusting that God meets us in those places of openness?

Day 3: Embracing the Mystery of Spiritual Transformation

God’s work in us is often more about mystery than methodology. We seek techniques and clear answers, but the Spirit moves like the wind—unpredictable and beyond our control. Being born from above is a work of God’s Spirit, not our own effort. This can be frustrating, but it is also liberating. Our role is to open ourselves to this divine movement, trusting that God initiates and completes the transformation we seek. [41:04]

“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’” (John 3:5-8 NRSV)

Reflection: In your desire for change, where are you trying to control the outcome? How might you practice releasing that control to simply be open to the mysterious and unexpected movement of God’s Spirit this week?

Day 4: The Process of Beginning Again is Often Messy

New birth is a beginning, not a finished product. It is a process that involves growth, time, and maturation. Like physical birth, spiritual beginnings can be messy, anxiety-producing, and bring us to the edge of what we can control. This is not a sign of failure but a mark of something genuine and holy taking shape. God is with us in the entire process, from the first stirrings to the full flowering of new life. [49:50]

“Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.’” (John 3:10-11 NRSV)

Reflection: Think of an area where you desire a new beginning. How can you extend grace to yourself by embracing it as a process rather than expecting an immediate, tidy resolution?

Day 5: We Begin Again in Community and With God

The call to begin again is never a solitary endeavor. We are invited into this journey alongside others and, most importantly, with God. The Spirit is already at work, stirring questions and longings within us before we even articulate them. We do not walk this path in our own strength but are supported by divine grace and a community of fellow seekers. Our response is to step forward in trust, knowing we are not alone. [51:09]

“No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:13-15 NRSV)

Reflection: Who is one person in your community—a friend, small group, or family member—you can share your hope for a new beginning with? How might inviting them into your journey provide encouragement and shared strength?

Sermon Summary

The Nicodemus encounter from John 3 serves as a map for how beginnings happen in the life of faith. A religious leader arrives at night carrying earnest questions and a vulnerable heart; that sincerity opens the conversation more than any clever argument could. The text pushes beyond quick fixes: Jesus refuses a technical trick and instead points to birth, water, and Spirit—images that insist on deep, God-driven re-creation rather than neat human programs. The Holy Spirit moves like wind—unpredictable, sovereign, and clarifying without being fully controllable—and invites a posture of receiving as much as striving.

Beginning again appears in many sizes: small habits reclaimed, apologies offered, strained relationships tended, vocational refocus, or the wide cultural work of learning to talk across difference. The gospel reframes beginning as a process that requires risk; vulnerability may cost reputation but also opens the way to real change. Questions about how to start often grow into larger questions, and that enlargement matters because transformation requires widening the lens rather than searching for an easy answer. Birth imagery reminds that beginnings come messy and slow; new life arrives over time and in community, not as a one-off achievement.

Hope threads through the whole: recovery work and pastoral reflection insist that starting anew does not wait for rock bottom. God’s action does not depend solely on human performance; the Spirit initiates and sustains what human effort cannot complete. The narrative shift from singular to plural address makes the invitation communal—readers find themselves named in the question and called to respond. The final challenge remains practical and urgent: will the invitation to begin again be taken, with honesty, humility, and reliance on God’s Spirit, or will it pass unanswered?

Key Takeaways

1. Sincerity opens the way to seeking Sincere longing and honest questions create the conditions for encountering God. When desire for clarity comes without trickery or posturing, deeper truths surface and conversation can move beyond defensive postures. This beginning of honesty itself bears spiritual fruit, because God receives what is offered with a vulnerable heart. [33:11]
2. Vulnerability precedes genuine spiritual transformation Risking reputation and admitting ignorance loosen the grip of false solidity and invite God’s renewing work. Vulnerability reframes authority from knowing to learning, and from performance to dependence. That posture costs something socially but gains access to grace that rigid certainty cannot reach. [35:18]
3. Transformation, not technique, recreates the heart Seeking a program-sized fix misunderstands the gospel’s economy; true change looks like rebirth rather than a clever method. Spirit-led transformation reorders desires, practices, and identity over time. Openness to the Spirit means trading immediacy for patient formation and trusting God’s timing. [39:25]
4. Begin again anytime; God supplies hope Change does not require rock bottom; help and new starts remain available now. Recovery metaphors and pastoral reflection insist that hope precedes perfection and that beginning can happen at many scales. That freedom to start invites penitent risk, not paralyzing shame, and places trust in God’s regenerative work. [44:52]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[06:49] - Registration and Prayer Cards
[07:34] - Midweek Groups & Listening Room
[08:06] - Lenten Resources and Cards
[09:16] - Circles: Small-Group Conversations
[10:14] - Opening Affirmation of Faith
[19:28] - Scripture Reading: John 3 (Nicodemus)
[31:53] - Layers in John's Storytelling
[33:11] - Nicodemus: Sincerity and Arrival
[39:25] - Transformation vs. Technique
[44:52] - Hope: Anyone Can Begin Again
[49:23] - Birth Imagery and the Holy Spirit
[50:07] - From Singular to Plural Invitation
[51:31] - Call to Begin Again in Community

Bible Study Guide

Based on the sermon summary and transcript, the primary Bible passage is John 3:1-15. This passage is the central text for the sermon and the discussion guide.

Bible Reading
* John 3:1-15 (ESV): Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 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.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 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?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Observation questions

What details does the text give us about Nicodemus and the circumstances of his visit to Jesus?
How does Jesus respond to Nicodemus's opening statement, and what does his response reveal about what is truly needed?
What two images does Jesus use to describe the work of the Holy Spirit in a person's life (verses 5-8)?
In the sermon, what was the significant shift in Jesus's language noted near the end of the passage, and what might that change imply? [50:07]

Interpretation questions

Why might Nicodemus have come to Jesus at night, and what does his timing suggest about the risks involved in being sincere with our questions? [35:18]
Jesus contrasts being "born of the flesh" with being "born of the Spirit." What is the fundamental difference between a change we try to make ourselves and a change brought about by God's Spirit?
The wind is used as a picture of the Spirit's work. How does this image challenge our desire for control and predictable outcomes in our spiritual lives? [40:16]
The idea that "anybody can get help anytime" and that we don't have to hit rock bottom was presented. [44:52] How does this concept of hope align with or challenge your understanding of how God initiates new beginnings?

Application questions

Sincere longing and honest questions create the conditions for encountering God. [33:11] What is a question or longing you’ve been hesitant to bring into the light, and what would it look like to offer it to God with sincerity this week?
Risking reputation and admitting ignorance loosens the grip of false solidity. [35:18] Where in your life—whether with family, friends, or at work—is God inviting you to be vulnerable by admitting you don’t have it all figured out? What feels risky about that?
True change looks like rebirth rather than a clever method. [39:25] Is there an area where you’ve been seeking a quick fix or a technique, when what is actually needed is a deeper, Spirit-led transformation of your desires or identity? What would it look to trade immediacy for patient formation in that area?
Beginning again appears in many sizes: small habits reclaimed, apologies offered, or strained relationships tended. [41:56] What is one "small beginning" you feel prompted to make? What is one "big beginning" that feels overwhelming?
Birth imagery reminds us that beginnings come messy and slow; new life arrives over time and in community. [49:23] How does this truth free you from the pressure to have your new beginning be neat, instant, or a solo achievement? Who in your community can walk with you in this process?
The invitation to begin again is communal. [51:31] How can your small group become a place where it is safe to be sincere, vulnerable, and in process, rather than a place where we feel we need to have everything together?

Sermon Clips

31s

#SincerityFirst

“We have these questions as well, and what I appreciate is even if Nicodemus isn't articulated as a question, it doesn't come out as a question. It comes out as just a statement that sort of speaks to this this thing that says, Jesus, you have something that I don't have and that I want. And the question comes later. Even if we're not having a fully formed question, even if we're not willing to bring it in the light, Jesus seems to receive it with the heart with which it is offered. This heart of sincerity. That's the second thing that I really like about this story.”

38s

#CrossingInstitutionalLines

“Now the third thing about it that I value and I think is important for us is that Nicodemus comes with a tremendous amount of vulnerability. Again, Jesus isn't fully in sort of adversarial relationship, but but Nicodemus is a representative of the religious institution. Institutions tend to hold their power. And so Jesus is gaining popularity and is fundamentally then a a sort of threat to that power. Maybe at this point, it's low level and manageable, but Nicodemus sort of crossing that line. Well, this is probably part of why he comes at night”

39s

#VulnerabilityHasCost

“It's safer to do that, but there is real vulnerability in coming to Jesus at all. It's not that he's going to lose his job or his status. It's not that he's gonna be put out on the street, but but it may very well be that he loses some of the the soft side. He's not invited to lunch anymore. That when he starts asking these questions and engaging with the people that we don't talk to, that then he's included a little bit less. He's he's ostracized a little bit. There is a real risk in what he is doing here. It could cost him clout. It could cost him his reputation.”

41s

#ResetWithCompassion

“Maybe it's about beginning again after church hurt or or choosing forgiveness even when reconciliation isn't possible. And then there are, of course, things far beyond us that we would like to see begin again. We're wondering if we can learn to talk across lines of difference as a nation, wanting to reset a culture that is addicted to outrage, restarting the conversation about immigration from a place of compassion rather than fear. And maybe this week, as Scott alluded to, we're we're thinking sort of the opposite of beginning again. How do we not begin senseless wars again? How do we break this silent this cycle of violence?”

45s

#JesusSpeaksToAll

“There is one last thing that I love about this story and we sort of miss it in our translation. But in those last five verses that we read today, there's a a shift in language. We read them all as the word you, but Jesus goes from a single person, singular you speaking to Nicodemus to all of a sudden this plural you. And I think that's significant because it might be that that Jesus is now speaking to a group that were gathered where where Nicodemus had come in, But it also might be that what John wanted for his audience to know is that Jesus wasn't just talking to Nicodemus, and now Jesus is looking at us and asking us that question.”

42s

#HowWillWeRespond

“All of the sudden, we're we're reading we're not reading the story. We're seeing that we're in it. And like the story of the rich young ruler or the story of the man with two sons, it's like the camera slowly pans away from Nicodemus and he disappears into the darkness that he came out of. And then the question becomes, how do we respond? We never get Nicodemus' response. The story with him ends unresolved, but I think part of that was because John never wanted us to focus the story on how it is that Nicodemus responds. Instead, I think the story was always about how we respond.”

21s

#BeginAgainLent

“So, friends, lots of good stuff going on in this Lenten season. I'm grateful that we're here, that we get to worship together. The question that we're wrestling with, that we're considering today is how do I begin again? And, I'm I'm excited for this. I think there's a lot of us that in a lot of ways want to begin certain parts of our life again, and so I think this will be a fruitful conversation.”

35s

#MeetNicodemus

“Another thing that I really love about this this passage is, that we get introduced to this man, Nicodemus. Now we don't know much about him. He doesn't get an intro except for what you've heard this morning that he is a teacher, that he is a Pharisee. And he literally arrives on the scene, by night, and there he is. But Nicodemus, comes in a place of of true sincerity, and this is important. It will be true in John's gospel and in other gospels that that shortly Jesus will become sort of at odds with the religious establishment and maybe particularly with the Pharisees. But at this point,”

44s

#NoEasyAnswers

“And Nicodemus, as Caitlin correctly summarized earlier, says, What? And Jesus is like, don't you get it? It's the water and spirit, not not like of your mother again. And and Nicodemus is like, no. I I still don't I still don't get it. And then we get this dialogue, this back and forth. And I love all of this because for all of Nicodemus' authenticity in coming and the vulnerability in asking this question, I think he really thought that he was gonna get a relatively simple answer. That if Jesus could just put one piece of the puzzle in, if Jesus could give one lens to see things, then then it would make sense.”

38s

#BeginAgainRelationships

“There are small things, a resolution that you lost track of or two months into the year that you've lost track of already, a routine that we're seeking after that that creates space instead of chaos, revisiting a neglected hobby or perhaps a neglected garden bed as the the spring comes and saying a a simple sorry to to somebody who you maybe blew up at, just a short temper moment. There there are small ways in which we would like to begin again. And then there are bigger ways as well, refocusing on a relationship that's been strained or broken by betrayal or or some difficulty or simply with the passage of time.”

40s

#EmbraceParadox

“First of all, I think it is worth naming and reminding ourselves that every one of these questions and in all of the dozens or maybe hundreds of questions that that you've been asking in the midst of this sermon, in the midst of your circles, in the midst of this week that that you'll go from to reflect on this? All of these questions are deeply layered and nuanced. Guys, our lives are complicated. And we we just finished this series, the promise of paradox. Sometimes it feels like to answer one question, we we have to necessarily open up others or we can't answer one without dealing with another. That's the nature of life. Our questions in our lives defy simple and trite answers,”

39s

#QuestionsGrowFirst

“And that leads into the the next thing is that if we do this, the questions will get bigger before they get clearer. The questions behind the questions, We'll have to make space for them and and let them guide us and respond to a a variety of things because they're always interrelated and interconnected. We often want modification, simple programs that can fix us, an easy button to reset life's complications, but Jesus wants transformation. I honestly believe that oftentimes these places where we want to begin again, it's the Holy Spirit that is stirring something within us”

31s

#TrustTheSpirit

“and it isn't clarifying per se as if, Jesus is giving Nicodemus, like, here's one building block that will get you to an easy solution, but it is clarifying and that it reminds us that these things are not within our power, that it is God who works transformation. We can till the soil for fertile ground. We can open ourselves up for it, but it will be God's spirit at work within us that will bring about the sort of change that we want. There is a mystery in this. Of course, it doesn't make sense, and I think that's almost by design.”

Ask a question about this sermon

St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Lenexa, KS This sermon · AI assistant

What does being born from above mean?

How does vulnerability enable spiritual transformation?

What role does the Spirit play in renewal?

Beginning Again: Born of Water and Spirit

Devotional

Day 1: Sincerity in Seeking God with Our Deepest Questions

Day 2: The Vulnerability Required for New Beginnings

Day 3: Embracing the Mystery of Spiritual Transformation

Day 4: The Process of Beginning Again is Often Messy

Day 5: We Begin Again in Community and With God

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Beginning Again: Born of Water and Spirit

Share