St Mary's

Today Talk from Nigel

1st March 2026

God so loved the world.

Readings Genesis 12 v 1 – 4a,  John 3 v 1 – 17.

Good morning, a few weeks ago at the Covenant Service, I mentioned the Magical Mystery Tour, the Beatles had a major impact in changing the lives of many people, bringing much Happiness. At their peak the Beatles were playing live to 70 million people. I can’t help but think why God did not use such people as instruments of His mission, to reach out to all people and to all nations? Their songs All you need is love and Help I need someone, are answered when we turn to God.

The coming of Jesus has turned the world up side down. Yet the message of God so loved the world, has failed to reach millions of people, and several millions more that have heard something, but have failed to understand the message of His love. God no doubt must have a plan to rectify and reach these people, we hope and pray, He will have mercy on them, So Let it be.

John 3 v 16.  Is a personal message to each of us, it expresses God’s love for us, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. He calls us to believe in Jesus, He promises the gift of eternal life. Whilst this message is personal to us, it is also a message to all people of all nations to come to God. This verse sums up the Bible in one line. God loves His creation, we are His creation, His people and He calls us to love Him with all our hearts, with all of our minds, with all of our strength and with all of our souls. Beyond that to love our neighbours as ourselves.

We have heard John 3 v 16, many times, we are experiencing that abundant love, that comes through His grace. The amazing gift from God, a gift once received changes and transforms our lives, the change to become dependent on God. Our purpose in this life is to please the Almighty and Everlasting God our Father.

The question for each of us is a personal one, Have I received His Gift of Grace, Have I committed my life to God? We can only answer that question for ourselves. It’s a step of faith. Jesus announces that the most blessed people are those who are aware of their utter dependence on God and have a single minded devotion to Him.

The Good News is that His Grace is available to everyone, to all people and all nations. By receiving the gift of grace from God, our focus is transformed from this world to the above, changing our hearts and minds. Faith comes through Hearing the word of God, the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. When we take that step of Faith and believe in His word, we become children of God. This is how God showed his love among us, He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

God calls us to walk along the path of righteousness by accepting Jesus as our Lord, God gives us understanding through His Word,  and by following that message, God leads us day by day. Changing us over time, little by little, on the journey of faith  through the power of the Holy Spirit which He freely gives us. We are called to do His will, Holy and pleasing to God. To trust and obey there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.

Death is not the end, all who receive become children of God, and receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God so loved His creation, God saw all that He had made, and God said it was very good. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing, so on the seventh day He rested. And God blessed the seventh day and made it Holy. God so loved the world.

Last week, Julie spoke about temptation, that took us back to the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent, the fall of mankind. The fall was followed by the flood and God promised a new start.

Our reading from Genesis 12, relates to the first covenant God made with mankind. God called Abram and commands him to leave his home for an unknown land, initiating the covenant, a promise of blessing. God promises to make Abram a great nation, and blesses him, He promises to make his name great so that all families on earth will be blessed through him. Abram immediately obeys God, demonstrating faith by leaving Canaan.

The covenant of protection, God pledges to bless those who bless Abram and curse those who dishonour him, indicating a personal divine intervention on behalf of the lineage of faith.

This foundation of faith, required Abram’s immediate attention, his unquestioning departure at the age of 75 to an unknown place, demonstrates and highlights that faith is action, oriented and trusts in God’s leadership, and not in one’s own direction. Abram’s purpose is pleasing God. At the age of 100, God changed his name to Abraham.

This passage acts as a pivotal moment, shifting the focus from the failures of humanity, the fall of mankind, the flood covered in Genesis 1 to 11, to God’s plan of salvation, which is ultimately fulfilled through Jesus Christ, a descendant of Abraham. For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life.

Today’s gospel reading is about the necessity of a new life. God so loved the world, the personal question is for each of us. Have we taken the step to faith to believe in Him?, it’s a personal question and demands our attention and answer. To believe means to rely, depend and trust God. Such a belief is the clear proof that a person has been born again, from above, by the Holy Spirit.

God specialises in finding and changing people we consider that are out of reach. It took a while for Nicodemus to come out of the dark, but God was patient with this undercover believer. Here we have a one on one ministry.

Afraid of being discovered, Nicodemus made an appointment to see Jesus at night, Daylight conversations between Pharisees and Jesus tended to be antagonistic, but also Nicodemus wanted to learn. He probably got a lot more than he expected, a challenge of a new life.

Nicodemus’s came because he recognises Jesus as a teacher from God due to the signs.

Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus regarding the necessity of being born again, or more importantly being connected with the above by the Holy Spirit to enter God’s kingdom. Born again means a spiritual rebirth, not physical as Nicodemus misunderstands. The Holy Spirit brings this change, water and spirit, moving from spiritual death to life. Unless one is born from above, they cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God, it is a work of God, not of human effort.

The lesson being intellectual acknowledgement is not enough, spiritual transformation is required. The requirement of new birth.

The problem being that natural fleshy birth is insufficient for the kingdom of God. The solution is being born from above of water and the Holy Spirit.

The analogy Jesus uses, the Holy Spirit works like the wind, invisible in origin but visible in effect, as the transformation takes place.

Jesus also uses the analogy of the serpent, just as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, the Son of Man must be lifted up, Jesus has to be crucified, to pay for the sins of the world.

Salvation is as simple as looking at Jesus in faith, it is available to anyone. Eternal life is received through believing in the crucified and resurrected Jesus, not through human effort.

We know very little about Nicodemus but we know he left that night a changed man. He came away with a whole new understanding of both God and himself.

The motive, “For God so loved” is the basis of salvation, not our worthiness, not by human effort. The Gift is from God, God gave his unique, only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have eternal life. This was God’s purpose in sending Jesus, Jesus was not sent to condemn the world, but to save it. God’s love is universal; salvation is found in trusting in the Savior.

God looks for steady growth, not instant perfection. If we look back at our lives do we see a journey of change? A journey of spiritual growth? A faith that is flourishing?  How well does our present level of spiritual growth match up to how long we have known Jesus?

In conclusion, to this personal message from God, there are three points we need to ask ourselves.

Am I born from above?

True faith requires more than religious activity; it requires a transformed heart by the Holy Spirit. Baptism, confirmation to believe is to rely, depend and trust God

Do I Trust the Savior?

Look to Jesus on the cross and receive eternal life. To rely, depend and trust in Jesus.

Do I accept God’s Love?

Let go of trying to save ourselves and trust in the love of God, the love from Our Father, the love that brought Jesus to the world. To rely, depend and trust in Him, by accepting His love and Grace.

To answer yes to all these questions is clear proof that a person has been born again, from above, by the Holy Spirit. Amen.

May we pray.