I Used to Believe: Letting Jesus Change Us

A congregation gathers for worship, a capital campaign, and confession before a reading from John 3. Choir robes arrive as a memorial gift, and donors receive thanks while plans to expand the narthex, add an elevator, and renovate facilities receive focus. The reading of Nicodemus frames a larger reflection on belief: Nicodemus, a Pharisee and religious authority, approaches Jesus with sincere conviction but faces cognitive dissonance when Jesus’ actions and teachings clash with settled interpretations. The narrative insists that the foundation of belief matters—certainty built on personal interpretation of scripture differs from trust placed directly in the one who descended from heaven.

An autobiographical example shows how seminary experience forced reexamination of a long-held conviction about women’s roles in ministry. That process models how beliefs often form identity and resist scrutiny until external experience or faithful challenge compels honest testing. Jesus confronts the problem by inviting Nicodemus to let go of self-authority and accept Jesus’ authority, claiming unique knowledge of heaven and asserting that eternal life comes through being born of water and Spirit.

John 3:16 becomes the pivot: change comes most readily when the path forward rests on love rather than fear or coercion. The text emphasizes that God did not send the Son to condemn but to save, and love creates the safe space needed to release old certainties. The image of Moses lifting the serpent points forward to the Son lifted up—Jesus’ crucifixion stands as the decisive invitation to belief and the means of salvation.

The call extends beyond a one-time decision. True repentance appears as an ongoing relationship in which Jesus continues to speak, challenge, and reshape convictions. Nicodemus moves from private inquiry to public care—present at the crucifixion and active in handling Jesus’ body—showing that intellectual assent must translate into transformed love and action. The season of Lent becomes a summons to relinquish rigid certainties, receive the authority and love of Christ, and live as a people who regularly rethink, repent, and renew their trust in the risen Lord.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Beliefs Require Honest Examination Long-held convictions form identity and often go untested until circumstances demand scrutiny. Placing beliefs under the lamp of Scripture and experience reveals inconsistencies and invites growth. Honest examination does not demolish faith; it refines it, allowing truth to replace inherited certainty and enabling fuller witness. [23:03]
• 2. Trust Jesus, Not Personal Interpretation Authority rooted in self-confident interpretation proves unstable when confronted with the living Christ. Jesus claims unique access to heavenly truth and asks for trust that surpasses private readings of Scripture. Shifting authority to Christ frees the mind from defensive literalism and opens the heart to transformation grounded in relationship. [28:02]
• 3. Love Opens the Way Change rarely happens through threat or superior argument alone; love creates the safety people need to let go. John 3:16 locates the impetus for belief in God’s self-giving love, which removes condemnation and invites surrender. When love paves the path, conversion becomes an invitation rather than a battle. [31:12]
• 4. Repentance Is an Ongoing Journey Turning to Christ remains a lifelong practice, not a one-time transaction for a future reward. Following Jesus requires continual surrender to correction, fresh insight, and obedience that reshapes actions and affections. True repentance moves from intellectual agreement to embodied care, as shown by changed hearts that act in love. [34:25]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:27] - Choir & Dedication
• [02:56] - Capital Campaign Goal
• [03:47] - Confession & Forgiveness
• [09:36] - Robe Memorial Dedication
• [18:18] - Gospel Reading: Nicodemus
• [20:23] - "I Used To Believe" Reflection
• [28:02] - Faith, Authority, and Interpretation
• [31:12] - For God So Loved (John 3:16)
• [33:57] - Cross, Salvation, and Repentance
• [36:41] - Hymn & Sending

Bible reading
John 3:1–17 (ESV)
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 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.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 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?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 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.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 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. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 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 time of day did Nicodemus come to Jesus, and what might that suggest about his intentions or concerns?
2. What two reasons does Nicodemus give for believing Jesus is from God? [18:18]
3. According to Jesus, what must happen for someone to see or enter the kingdom of God?
4. How does Jesus contrast earthly and heavenly understanding in his response to Nicodemus’ confusion? [19:17]

Interpretation questions

1. Why might Nicodemus, a respected religious teacher, struggle to understand the concept of being “born again”?
2. Jesus refers to the story of Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4–9). How does this Old Testament event help explain what Jesus came to do? [19:43]
3. What does it mean that God sent His Son into the world not to condemn it, but to save it? How does this differ from how religious people sometimes approach those who disagree with them? [32:35]
4. Jesus says the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going. How might this illustrate the work of the Spirit in someone’s life?

Application questions

1. What is one belief you once held strongly that you’ve since reconsidered or changed? What led you to reexamine that belief? [20:41]
2. Beliefs are often tied to our identity and can be hard to change. Where in your life right now might Jesus be inviting you to let go of your own understanding and trust His authority instead? [30:25]
3. How can love—rather than argument, correction, or pressure—create a safe environment for people to reconsider what they believe? [32:06]
4. Repentance is described as an ongoing journey, not a one-time decision. In what area of your life is Jesus currently challenging you to rethink, repent, and renew your trust in Him? [34:25]
5. Nicodemus moved from a private, curious conversation to publicly caring for Jesus’ body after the crucifixion. How does genuine trust in Jesus naturally lead to tangible acts of love and service? [35:51]
6. This Lent, what might it look like to “let go of everything you think you know and hold on to Jesus”? [36:25]
7. Who in your life might need to experience God’s love through you rather than hear your correction or criticism? How can you offer them grace and safety as they explore faith?