The Gift of Jesus

Video Host: Craig Hicks - West Florida DYD

Big Scripture: John 3:16-21

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” John 3 (NLT)

Big Idea:

In this story, Jesus is talking late into the night with a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a religious leader who wanted to learn more about Jesus. He believed that Jesus was a miracle worker sent by God to teach the people, but he didn’t know the real reason God sent the gift of Jesus. In John 3:16, the most well-known verse in the Bible, we learn the reason behind the gift God sent to us – JESUS - and the result of the best gift ever.

The reason God sent Jesus into this world is because He loves the world. He loves all the people in the world. That includes you, your friends, your family, and even those you don’t get along with too well. God’s heart is for you and he wants your heart to be full of joy and peace and hope.

God wants us to let His light shine in our hearts and to get rid of any dark thing. When His light overtakes all the dark things then we can have His joy, peace, love and hope!

The result of the gift of Jesus is that “everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” – forever life - life not just here on earth but life in heaven with Him too. There are two important things to notice about this incredible promise:

1) “Believe in him” means more than just “head knowledge”. Believe means to trust in Jesus (who He is and what He did) with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. It means to build your life, and center your heart on God. 2) “Perish” doesn’t mean natural death; this is about spiritual death – it means separation from God forever. Those who trust in God will live forever with God because

of the new life of the Spirit within them. This is why Christians are sometimes called “born again.” (You can read more about that in the first 15 verses of this chapter.)

Big Questions:

· What is the best gift you’ve received recently? What did you love about it?

· How would you summarize John 3:16 in your own words?

· How is “head” belief different from “heart” belief?

· What hope do we have for beyond this life?

Big Prayer:

God,

Thank you for the gift of Jesus! I had no way to earn eternal life on my own. I did

not deserve eternal life on my own. But you sent Jesus to live the life I should have

lived and to die the death I should have died. Jesus, thank you for giving your life

FOR me and giving your life TO me! I believe in you. Help me to believe in you more deeply and more consistently. God, thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen