The Gospel Project® for Adults

Leader Guide CSB, Unit 20, Session 1

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THE SON BRINGS ETERNAL LIFE

SESSION OUTLINE

1. The Son came so that people might experience new birth (John 3:1-8).
2. The Son came so that people might have eternal life (John 3:9-16).
3. The Son came so that people might escape condemnation (John 3:17-21).

Background Passage: John 3

WHAT WILL MY GROUP LEARN?

Jesus came to earth so that those who believe in Him would escape
condemnation and have eternal life.

HOW WILL MY GROUP SEE CHRIST?

Jesus taught that new birth, not religious activity, is how
a person enters the kingdom of God and receives eternal life.
New birth is given from the Father through faith in the Son
as a work of the Spirit. Because of God’s love,
we are no longer condemned by our sin, but we have
been given eternal life in Christ.

HOW SHOULD MY GROUP RESPOND?

Because we have been born again and have new life in Christ, we live
in him with eternity in view as we prioritize calling others
to be born again.

GROUP TIME

INTRODUCTION

Click on the link or scan the QR code for a reproducible handout of this session’s Scripture passages:

Setting:

John began his Gospel helping his readers understand that Jesus
is God and pre-existed at creation and was active in creation.
He continued with John the Baptist and his pointing to Jesus
as the Lamb of God. He then moved to the beginning
of Jesus’s ministry as He gathered disciples. In chapter 2,
Jesus turned water into wine and began to show people how
He is able to transform things in His power for His glory.
His zeal for the Lord is unmatched. Chapter 3, then, begins
with one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus, approaching Jesus at night.
Nicodemus wanted to talk with Jesus about the signs Jesus
was doing.

Explain:

Sometimes there are words that people use in the church
that are unfamiliar to the new believer or to the world around us.
Some of us grew up with an understanding of these words
and others of us did not.

Discuss:

• What comes to your mind when you hear the words born again?
• (someone who is a church-goer;
• someone who is a Christian;
• people that relate to a particular political movement;
• someone spiritual or Spirit-filled;
• I have no idea what that means)

Transition:

In John 2, Jesus performed signs revealing His identity as the Messiah.
Right before our text in chapter 3, it says that Jesus “knew
what was in man” (John 2:25). Jesus knows what
consumes us—our desires, our sin, our hope.
Over the next few chapters of John’s Gospel, Jesus has
a number of conversations in which He reveals His
knowledge of what each individual needs and His purpose
for coming to fulfill those needs.