It is good when we love enough to help others. Jesus told his followers, "Freely you received, so freely give" (Matthew 10.8) Can you think of ways you can give to others? (Allow children to respond.) We might share a toy with our brother or sister. We might help set the table, or be willing to put our clothes away. Another way we give is by sharing the story of Jesus.
This lesson teaches us that Jesus did not come into the world to find fault with us, to make us unhappy by pointing out all the things we do wrong, to punish us, or to condemn us. He came into the world to give us choices. He offers us love, forgiveness for the mistakes we make, and always a new and better life.
In the biblical Book of John we find this verse "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up," (3:14) "that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (3:15). Believing in Jesus as the Son of God is something we celebrate. We lift him up for others to see by the way we live our lives. We want to share the joy and satisfaction of our Christian faith, the promise of eternal life. Hooray, we are all winners!
John 3:16 is all about love - God's love for us. It tells about how God showed us his love by giving us his only son. That's a lot of love, isn't it? I thought because it's so short - and important - that maybe we could recite it together. Would you say it with me?
Nicodemus became a friend of Jesus. In the Holy Bible we read about how Nicodemus questioned people who wanted to deny Jesus a trial. That day when he spoke up the crowd went away (John 7:50-53) and later still, Nicodemus was one of two important religious leaders who cared for Jesus’ body when he was taken down from the cross. (John 19:39-41)
So when we mention this Trinity we're talking about the three forms in which we know God. We know God as our Father in Heaven - and we know God in his human form as Jesus - and we know the Holy Spirit, which surrounds us and fills us all. Each of the three represents God - just in a different way.
I think we just saw an example of "three in one." Water, ice, and steam are all the same thing, but in three different forms. Water, ice, and steam all have something in common - water, but each one has a unique shape and purpose. Perhaps thinking about the forms of water will help us understand a bit more about the three forms of God; God the Father who created everything, Jesus the Son who came to live on earth and teach us about God's love, and the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
The beautiful design inside an apple is like the Holy Spirit in our lives, to help us grow in God's love and cause others to grow in God's love as well.
Our lesson for today is about the Spirit of God. In the Bible we find this verse: "The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don't know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (3:8). God's Spirit lives in us and that may be a difficult thing to understand. We know about our bodies, but The Spirit is something we cannot see. It is like the wind which we can hear, but cannot see, or a fragrance which we smell, but cannot see.
Jesus describes the Spirit of God as being like the wind. He says, "The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don't know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (3:8). Isn't that a good description of the Holy Spirit? Although we can't see The Spirit we sometimes feel it.