Discussion Questions:
1. What is repentance? What makes changing difficult to do? Do you have some areas of your life that you don’t want Jesus messing with? Why do you suppose God created us where we would need to be changed?
2. What causes others to be resistant to our changes? Why does the whole system need to be changed for one to be more capable of changing? How does this show God’s design for us to be community beings?
3. Why would Nicodemus struggle with a Jew, and particularly a leader of the Jews, needing to be born again? How have you struggled with substituting doing more works for letting Jesus change you? In what ways have we tried to replace repentance and being made new with religious activities?
4. In what ways have you tried to tack Jesus onto something that is broken instead of being made new? Why do you think mankind continues to fight against listening to what God says to us instead of surrendering to His wisdom and insight?
5. How do you think being partially born again effects your ability to see God and His Kingdom? Why can’t flesh evolve into Spirit? Does Garden Ridge have some blind spot where we encourage evolving from flesh to Spirit instead of surrender and being made completely new?
6. What does it mean to be born of water and the Spirit? How is this a demonstration of us and God working in unison to bring about change in our lives? How does this concept tie into the importance of becoming apprentices of Jesus?
7. How is will power, the guidance from the teachings of Scripture, and allowing God’s presence to work in our life all important aspects of changing into what God desires us to be? How can each of these elements be dangerous if they are misapplied?
8. How have you seen the Spirit blowing where it wishes and leaving a path like a tornado in your life or the lives of those around you?
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