Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:10] Welcome back to the weekday podcast. I'm so thrilled you've been journeying with us this week and starting the year off on a great foot. I want to encourage you to join us, if at all possible, in person this Sunday at Sugar Hill Church as we kick off 2026 with a theme called Bridges. And we also kick off 21 days of prayer. And if you're not in the area, you can always join us at live sugarhillchurch. And we'd love for you to be part of that journey. Well, today, as we wrap up the week, I want to go back to the beginning of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, because Nicodemus walks in with everything you would think should make him good with God. And Jesus tells him something that honestly would have been shocking to him. In John 3:3, Jesus says to this religious guy, truly, truly, I say to you, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.
[00:00:59] Now, Nicodemus is proof that you can be religious. You can be respected. You can be informed, you can be disciplined and still be empty. He's a Pharisee. He's a leader. He's a teacher. He's got the training. And yet he comes at night because something's missing. So he starts the conversation by complimenting Jesus. He basically says, we know God is with you. And Jesus responds with something Nicodemus did not expect. He doesn't say, good job, Nicodemus. He doesn't say, keep studying. He doesn't say, hey, add a few more rules. He doesn't say, well, try harder. Instead, he says, you must be born again.
[00:01:36] In other words, you don't need a better version of you. You actually need a new you. And that's what the gospel is. It is not behavior modification. It is not religious performance. It's a new heart. And that's why the season of celebrating Jesus matters. Because God did not come to make bad people behave. God came to make dead hearts live. Being born again is the moment you stop trusting your effort and you start trusting Jesus. It's the moment you say, I can't fix this. I can't save myself. I need God to do what only God can do. And that's not weakness. That's faith.
[00:02:13] The gospel is not behavior modification. It is heart resurrection. So here's your next step today. Ask yourself one question. Am I trusting my effort, or am I trusting Jesus? And then pray one simple prayer. God, I'm available. God, I'm yours. Make me new. Well, friends, I hope this has been a helpful week for you can't wait to see this weekend. And then, of course, Pastor Chuck will be back for the podcast next week. Until then, keep leaning in and keep growing closer to Jesus. Have a great day.
[00:02:48] Sa.
