What Does It Take To Get Close To God

First Presbyterian gathers in the season of Lent with a return to the classic red hymnal and a spirit of tradition tied to simple practices: open communion for the baptized, seasonal liturgies, and church calendar changes like a Palm Sunday cantata and a moved chili cook-off. Nature provides a vivid image for spiritual truth through the pelican, an emblem of sacrifice, nurture, and family bonds that mirrors the blood-and-bread imagery of the Last Supper. Giving receives attention as an act of grace that reaches beyond church walls into the wider world; offerings fund mission, care, and witness rather than merely institutional maintenance. Intercessory prayer names global and local concerns—potential conflict in the Middle East, natural disasters, and personal afflictions—calling for compassion, justice, and practical relief for those who suffer.

The Gospel reading from John 3 frames the heart of the reflection: Nicodemus encounters the claim that sight of God’s kingdom requires new birth. Being “born of water and the Spirit” contrasts fleshly existence with spiritual transformation, and the image of wind describes the Spirit’s unpredictable yet real movement within people. A theological crossroads appears in the contrast between transcendence and immanence: either God waits outside and must be sought, or God indwells creation and awakens what already lives within each person. That indwelling reshapes mission—from recruiting converts into a program to awakening the divine image already present in every life. The Moses-and-serpent story points forward to the crucifixion: just as the lifted serpent brought healing to those who looked, the raised Son of Man brings life to those who believe.

The sermon reframes the church’s work as calling people into community—ecclesia—as a gathered fellowship that nurtures, forgives, and opens hands rather than pointing fingers. Condemnation does not align with the incarnate purpose; salvation and reconciling love form the primary posture. Communion functions as a practical sign: bread and cup embody remembrance, presence, and the call to let Christ’s life shape everyday behavior. A personal transition closes the service with gratitude, a lived example of leadership passing the torch and trusting a community to continue its calling. Overall, the material presses toward a simple, incarnational faith that notices creation, cares for neighbors, awakens inner life, and trusts the Spirit to move where it wills.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Pelican as sacrificial, nurturing symbol The pelican image connects maternal sacrifice to the redemptive sign of Christ’s giving. It refuses easy allegory and instead insists that care for the weak models divine love: feeding, risking, and sharing life so others survive. This invites practical ministry that sees feeding people as encountering the sacred. [19:15]
• 2. Being born of water and Spirit New birth requires both cleansing and inner transformation rather than moral improvement alone. The water gestures to initiation and community belonging; the Spirit names unpredictable, inward restructuring that reorients motives and desires. Expect change that feels like wind—seen by its effects, not by human engineering. [40:42]
• 3. God is already within people Immanence frames salvation as awakening rather than importing presence; God’s spark exists in creation and in human hearts. Recovery focuses on drawing that life to fullness: tending conscience, fostering humility, and dismantling barriers that hide divine worth. Such an approach reduces shame and cultivates a mission of accompaniment. [46:08]
• 4. Church called to redeem, not condemn The core vocation centers on rescue and reconciliation, not moral policing or exclusion. Proclamation aims to reveal belonging and to restore dignity, even while naming wrongdoing. The congregation’s hands should open in service rather than narrow in judgment, reflecting a gospel that saves rather than shames. [52:37]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:19] - Lenten Hymnal & Announcements
• [03:50] - Open Communion Explained
• [18:25] - Pelican: Sacrifice and Nurture
• [27:37] - Giving and Offering
• [33:05] - Prayers for World and Community
• [40:08] - Nicodemus and Being Born Again
• [45:34] - God: Immanent or Transcendent?
• [51:04] - Lifted Up: Salvation Through Belief
• [58:46] - Communion: Remembrance and Presence
• [71:37] - Farewell and Transition

Based on the sermon summary provided, here is a Bible study discussion guide.

Bible Reading
John 3:1-17 (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. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Numbers 21:8-9 (ESV)
And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Luke 17:21 (ESV)
...for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.

Observation questions

1. In John 3, what two things does Jesus say a person must be born of to enter the kingdom of God?
2. What comparison does Jesus use to describe how the Spirit works in a person's life?
3. According to the passage, what was God's primary purpose in sending His Son into the world?
4. The sermon connected the story of Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness to Jesus. What was the result for the Israelites who looked at the bronze serpent? [51:04]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus told Nicodemus, "You must be born again." What is the difference between being "born of the flesh" and being "born of the Spirit"?
2. The idea was presented that God is already within every person [46:08]. How does this view of an immanent God change our understanding of salvation from being something we "find" to something we "awaken" to?
3. Jesus said He must be "lifted up" like the serpent in the wilderness. What does it mean to "look" to Jesus or "believe" in Him in this context? What kind of healing and life does this bring?
4. If the church's mission is not to condemn but to save and redeem [52:37], how should that shape the way a community of believers interacts with the world around them?

Application questions

1. The wind of the Spirit blows where it wishes, and you can't control it [40:42]. Where have you been trying to engineer or control your own spiritual growth, and how can you become more open to the Spirit's unpredictable movement?
2. If the kingdom of God is within you [48:51], how does that truth affect the way you see your own worth and the inherent value of every person you meet this week?
3. The pelican symbolizes a nurturing, self-sacrificial love [19:15]. What is one practical, tangible way you can "feed" someone—physically, emotionally, or spiritually—as an act of encountering the sacred this week?
4. The core vocation centers on rescue and reconciliation, not moral policing [52:37]. Is there a relationship in your life where you've been pointing a finger in judgment? What would it look like to instead open your hands in service and grace?
5. Communion is a reminder of Christ's life given for us [57:53]. How can regularly "remembering" Jesus in this way reshape your everyday behavior and motives?
6. The church is meant to be a gathered community (ecclesia), not just an institution [44:17]. How can you actively contribute to making your small group or church feel more like a nurturing family that awakens the divine image in one another?