Morning Worship - 3/1/26 - "Lent Series" Pastor Dan Miller

The congregation hears an extended visitation update and reflection on change, stewardship, and spiritual openness. Travel and visits reveal a depth of gifts across the community and also surface stories of hurt and perceptions of unfriendliness. Those realities prompt questions about the congregation’s future and invite honest reckoning: survival matters, but so does the kind of people the congregation becomes. Transition work appears as both practical planning and spiritual formation, calling for wide participation, prayerful discernment, and realistic expectations about who will respond to particular callings.

The text centers John 3:16–17 as a theological backdrop, reading those verses as a portrait of God’s wide, generous love: God loves the cosmos, gives sacrificially, and intends salvation rather than condemnation. That portrait frames Jesus’ night conversation with Nicodemus. Nicodemus comes in darkness—curious, cautious, and partly confused—and receives Jesus’ insistence that entry into God’s realm requires being “born from above.” The passage distinguishes physical birth from spiritual birth and underscores the Spirit’s hidden, sovereign movement: like wind, the Spirit cannot be fully tracked or controlled.

Jesus’ reference to Moses lifting the serpent in the wilderness prefigures the cruciform way of salvation and suggests that Nicodemus’ encounter aimed at transformation rather than mere information. Nicodemus reappears later defending a fair hearing and helping with Jesus’ burial, indicating that the encounter led to a changed life. The material presses the congregation to name sins and attachments that block fuller participation in resurrection life, especially during Lent and the lead-up to Easter.

The community receives an invitation to notice what the Spirit stirs—new or long-smoldering initiatives—and to act with faithful discernment alongside others. The time of transition becomes an opportunity to widen vision beyond immediate anxieties and to practice being the kind of people who respond obediently to varied gifts. For those who come to Jesus unsure or “in the dark,” coming with questions and openness remains a valid and honored way into transformation.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God loves the whole creation God’s saving concern extends beyond individual souls to the entire cosmos. This verse reframes salvation as cosmic restoration, not merely personal escape. Generosity and sacrificial giving characterize God’s engagement with the world, which grounds hope even amid failure and fear. The emphasis shifts worship and mission toward repair, not punishment. [45:10]
• 2. Being born from above matters Spiritual rebirth reorients identity and participation in God’s realm; it is not a repeat of physical infancy but a re-birth into a different way of life. This rebirth calls for vulnerability and a willingness to be reshaped by the Spirit’s work, not simply increased knowledge. It also exposes resistance and fear that can hide behind clever questions. The invitation to be born anew asks for trust in unseen, inner transformation. [51:44]
• 3. Spirit moves beyond human understanding The Spirit behaves like wind: audible in effect, invisible in origin and direction. This mystery protects the Spirit from being domesticated and invites humility in discernment. It also demands patience with others whose spiritual journeys look different, and courage to follow where the Spirit unexpectedly leads. Attunement, not control, becomes the central spiritual discipline. [55:35]
• 4. Transitions require communal, prayerful discernment Times of change narrow vision when anxiety rises, so widening focus matters for faithful response. Transition calls for collective attention to gifts, roles, and the kinds of people the congregation wants to become. Discernment should combine individual promptings with accountability and shared testing to avoid spiritual isolation or eccentric moves. The season before Easter provides a disciplined space to notice sin, step into fear, and respond together. [63:25]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [37:30] - Travel and Recent Visits
• [38:10] - Worship Experiments and Feedback
• [39:28] - Gifts Observed in Congregation
• [39:56] - Stories of Hurt and Unfriendliness
• [40:42] - Questions About Congregational Future
• [44:28] - Introducing John 3 Themes
• [45:10] - Reading John 3:16–17
• [50:23] - Nicodemus Comes at Night
• [55:15] - Born of Water and Spirit Explained
• [57:14] - The Lifted Son of Man Image
• [60:08] - Preparing for Easter: Lenten Focus
• [63:25] - Transition, Gifts, and Discernment
• [66:31] - Invitation to Come in Darkness

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.”

Observation questions

1. What details are given about Nicodemus and the timing of his visit to Jesus?
2. According to John 3:16–17, what does God’s love for the world lead Him to do, and what is His purpose?
3. How does Jesus describe the work of the Spirit in John 3:8?
4. What Old Testament story does Jesus refer to in John 3:14, and how does He connect it to Himself?

Interpretation questions

1. Why might Nicodemus have come to Jesus at night, and what could the darkness symbolize? [50:23]
2. Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be “born again” or “born from above.” What does this imply about the difference between physical life and spiritual life? [51:44]
3. How does the image of the wind help explain the nature of the Holy Spirit’s work in people’s lives? [55:35]
4. What might it look like for a person, like Nicodemus, to move from curiosity about Jesus toward genuine faith and action? [59:20]

Application questions

1. God’s love extends to the whole world, not just individuals. How does this change the way you view people outside your church or community? [46:15]
2. Being “born from above” involves a spiritual rebirth that reorients your identity. What old ways of thinking or living might you need to release to embrace this new life in the Spirit? [51:44]
3. The Spirit moves in ways we can’t always predict or control. Where have you seen the Spirit unexpectedly at work in your life or in your church recently? How did you respond? [55:35]
4. Times of transition can narrow our vision with anxiety. What practical step could you take this week to widen your focus and notice what God is doing around you? [01:04:19]
5. Nicodemus came with questions and uncertainty, and Jesus welcomed him. What questions or doubts are you carrying that you need to bring to Jesus in honesty? [01:06:31]
6. Spiritual rebirth isn’t just about knowledge but transformation. Is there an area in your life where God is inviting you to trust Him for inner change rather than just more information? [51:44]
7. The congregation is being called to communal discernment. Who is one person you can talk and pray with this week about what the Spirit might be stirring in you or in the church? [01:03:03]