Nicodemus Visits Jesus

BIG IDEA: Jesus gives us eternal life.

This free Bible lesson, Nicodemus Visits Jesus, will teach preschool and elementary students about the night that Nicodemus came to speak with Jesus and learn the eternally valuable lesson of how to be saved. This lesson involves the well known passage of John 3:16 teaching us that to be saved, we must be “born again”.

FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: John 3:1-21

All of the printable activities and digital slides needed for the lesson, as well as a full printable lesson plan for both elementary and preschool are available.

Below is the outline of the free elementary Bible lesson.

PREP & SUPPLIES

• “Hot Seat” words/phrases printed & trimmed
• tape
• printed & trimmed “Secret Meeting” question cards, each in its own sealed envelope
• printed “Secret Meeting” Leader’s Guide
• video: Jesus and Nicodemus Kids’ Bible Story from Scotty Neasbitt (link)
• prize spinner with point values added (5, 10, 25, 50, 100)
  • printable spinner included if needed
• printed “Spin Review” Leader’s Guide
• printed “Nicodemus Mini Booklets” and Leader’s Guide
• scissors
• hole punches
• ribbon or string
• coloring supplies
• pencils/pens

MEMORY VERSE: “When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.” Romans 6:23 (NIrV)

THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:

• PREP: Before students arrive, tape the parts of the memory verses under random chairs. *For more than one service, remember to prepare for the next group. You can have the kids help you return the papers.*
• After the kids are seated, instruct them to look under their chairs to see if they are sitting in one of the “hot seats” (a chair that has a word/phrase under it).
• Whoever finds a word/phrase, should bring the paper to the front of the room. All students must arrange themselves in the correct order.

LESSON HOOK ACTIVITY

PREP: Print the 6 “Secret Meeting” question cards, place each in its own sealed envelope, and choose different students to receive these envelopes. Instruct students to bring these envelopes to the “Secret Meeting” you will be having later.

(SLIDE 3) For this activity, you will be hosting a “SECRET MEETING” with the students.

Turn out the lights (to simulate Nicodemus and Jesus meeting at night), and pretend to be very secretive as you invite them to a meeting place in the room.

I need to meet with you right now so we can discuss some very important questions.

Once the students are in the secret meeting place, allow those who have a sealed envelope to one at a time open their envelope and read the question aloud to the group. Call on students to answer and allow for discussion. [A leader’s guide is available with answers to the tricky questions.]

As time permits, go through as many of the questions as possible, then introduce the lesson.

These were some very confusing questions with some confusing answers weren’t they? Today we are going to learn about a man named Nicodemus who was very confused during a conversation that he had with Jesus when they met together one night while Jesus was in Jerusalem.

BIBLE LESSON

Show the video: Jesus and Nicodemus Kids’ Bible Story from Scotty Neasbitt (LINK) [If the video does not work, you can read this summary: Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. One night a religious man came to see Jesus. The man’s name was Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He studied and taught God’s law and he tried very hard to obey the law. Nicodemus wanted to know more about Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said. “We know that you are a teacher who has come from God. No one could do the miracles you do unless God were with him.” Nicodemus had that right. Jesus said, “I tell you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Now Nicodemus was confused. He thought that keeping all God’s laws was how a person got into heaven. Besides, what Jesus said didn’t make any sense. “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. Jesus said, “A person cannot enter God’s kingdom unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. When a baby is born, he gets physical life from his parents. Physical life doesn’t last forever, but the Spirit gives people a better kind of life. Spiritual life so they can live with God forever.” Jesus said, “Don’t be surprised. I told you that you must be born again.” Nicodemus still didn’t understand. “How is this possible?” he asked. Jesus said, “When you don’t believe what I say about things I’ve seen on earth, how will you believe what I say about the things I’ve seen in heaven? Do you remember how Moses raised up the bronze snake in the wilderness, and everyone who looked at it was healed? Like that, the Son of Man will be raised up so that everyone who believes in Him will have life. Then Jesus told Nicodemus about God’s great plan. Jesus said, ”God loved the world in this way. He gave His one and only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His Son to declare the world guilty but to save the world. Anyone who believes in Him is found not guilty, but anyone who does not believe in Him is guilty already.” Nicodemus needed a new life, eternal life, but he could not do anything to earn it. Eternal life is a gift that comes only from God. God showed His love in this way. He sent His one and only Son to save the world. Everyone who believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life.]

(SLIDE 4) What time of day did Nicodemus visit Jesus? (night) Why do you think he visited Jesus at night? (Nicodemus was a Pharisee, so he didn’t want the other religious leaders to see him talking to Jesus.)

Nicodemus was different from the other religious leaders, because he saw that Jesus was special. That is why he came to talk to Jesus. He wanted to find out if Jesus was the Messiah. Remember, the Messiah is the leader and Savior that God promised would come to rescue the Israelites. They were waiting for Him to come because of the scriptures they read in the Old Testament of the Bible.

What was the confusing message Jesus was trying to teach to Nicodemus? (that to enter into Heaven, Nicodemus needed to be “born again”) Nicodemus was confused by this because he thought that Jesus meant that he needed to become a baby again.

What Jesus was saying is that when we are born as babies, we have “physical life”. But physical life doesn’t last forever. Why doesn’t physical life last forever? (Sin entered the world through the first people, Adam and Eve, and because of that we are separated from God. Our physical earthly bodies must die so that we can be reunited with God and live with Him forever in new bodies.)

That is what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus. He says that our physical bodies will die, but what Jesus is offering is “spiritual life”. This “spiritual life” is “new life” just like being “reborn”, or “born again”. All we have to do is BELIEVE in Jesus and FOLLOW HIM to receive this new life.

(SLIDE 5) That is our BIG IDEA for this week: JESUS GIVES US ETERNAL LIFE.

Remember the memory verse, John 3:16. (Allow a few volunteers to recite the verse.) This verse actually comes from the part of the Bible that records the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus! The story of Nicodemus is found in John 3:1-21. The gospel of John is one of the four books that records many of the events that happened during Jesus’s life on Earth.

John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.”

This means that when you BELIEVE in Jesus and ASK Him to FORGIVE you and SAVE you from your sins, HE WILL! And you will have ETERNAL LIFE, forever in Heaven with God!

This is what it means to be “born again”! This is what Jesus was trying to teach Nicodemus.

When we are “born again”, will we STOP sinning? (No, we are still sinners. We should TRY not to sin, but that is impossible. When we do sin, we can ask God to forgive us and make us clean again.)

When we do sin, do we have to be “born again” all over again? (No, once we are born again, and we truly believe in Jesus and ask Him to be our Savior, then we can never lose Him. We just try hard not to sin, but when we do sin, we ask Him to forgive us and He will forgive us!)

Dear God,

Thank you for the true story of the visit from Nicodemus that we learned about from the Bible. We thank you that you love us so much that you sent your son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins, and then raise from the dead to take the punishment for the things we do that are sinful. We are so grateful for this blessing and the love that You give to us so that we can live forever with You in Heaven someday.

We love you and we pray all of these things in Jesus’ sweet name, Amen.

LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY

PREP: Add point values to the prize spinner (5, 10, 25, 50, 100) OR print the included spinner and assemble with a metal brad and paper clip.

Make a copy of the “Spin Review” Leader’s Guide.

Split the students into two teams.

We are going to play a game to review our Bible story. Each team will have the chance to answer a question about the story. If the question is answered correctly, one of the members of the team will come and spin the wheel. The team will earn the amount of points that the wheel lands on. If the first team answers incorrectly, the other team will have the opportunity to answer and spin. (Continue this process until the question is answered correctly.)

The play will go back and forth between the teams until all questions have been answered (or until time runs out).

Leader: The questions and answers can be found on your copy of “Spin Review” Leader’s Guide.

SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY

PREP: Print all 3 pages for each student. Provide them with hole punches, ribbon or string, coloring supplies, and pencils/pens.

Today you are going to be making your own mini booklet to tell the story of Nicodemus. You will each get 3 pages. Each page is a different part of the story. You will cut each page in half using the center line as a guide. Then, you will punch two holes on the left side and tie your pages together to create a mini booklet. Finally, you will read through the story and fill in the blanks with the correct words.

Leader’s Guide is included to prompt students as needed.

BREAK INTO SMALL GROUPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY.

Discussion Prompts for Leaders:

• Have you ever had a confusing conversation with someone?
• What does it mean to be “born again”? (to be given new life by asking Jesus to forgive you from your sins, cleanse you, and live in your heart)
• Do you think you would have been confused like Nicodemus was when Jesus answered?
• What is the difference between “physical life” and “spiritual life”? (physical life doesn’t last forever, spiritual life does last forever)
• What type of life does Jesus offer so that we can live forever with Him in Heaven?
• Jesus reminded Nicodemus about a time when Moses raised up the bronze snake in the wilderness and everyone who looked at it was healed. He said, “just like that the Son of Man will be raised up so that everyone who believes in Him will have life”. What do you think He meant? Why do you think Jesus would have brought this up with Nicodemus? (Jesus was using a reference to the Old Testament, which Nicodemus and the religious leaders would have recognized and been familiar with. He was comparing what happened during that event to His coming and healing and saving the people.)
• What is this week’s Big Idea? (Jesus gives us eternal life.)
• Can you say this week’s memory verse? (Romans 6:23)
• Summarize this week’s story in one sentence.
• Do you have any questions about the lesson?

CLOSING REFLECTION

We learned about a religious leader named Nicodemus who came to visit Jesus one night when He was in Jerusalem. Jesus taught Nicodemus about how to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said that to enter into Heaven, we must all be “born again”. Our physical bodies will die one day, but Jesus teaches us that we need to ask Him for a new SPIRITUAL LIFE. This means that if we believe that Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins, and rose again, then we can ask Him to be our Savior. When we do this, we can have NEW LIFE, and we will be able to live in Heaven with Him someday forever!

Reflection Questions:

• What does it mean to be “born again”?
• What did Jesus do for us?
• Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?

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