1. Welcome to “Learning and Living the God-centered life” Carmel Baptist Church www.learningandlivingtheword.com January 25, 2009

5. The term born again is also referred to as “regeneration” Regeneration means a secret act of God in which He imparts new spiritual life to a person It carries with it the inference that a person goes from spiritual death to spiritual life This is the doctrine of RE GENERATION can be supported with a number of verses: John 1:12-13 - But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. Ephesians 2:4-5 - But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6. Jesus makes His initial point to Nicodemus that it is not more religion that he needs but what he needs is new life. Nicodemus is a member of the Pharisees. Now Jesus starts to introduce Nicodemus to new categories of thinking spiritually.Jesus says you need to have life and Nicodemus says in essence I am alive. But Jesus then says the category for you at the moment is th e living dead. Luke 9:59-60 And He said to another, fo llow Me. But he said, Lo rd, permit me first to go and bury my father. But He said to him, al low the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God. Parable of the prodigal son Luke 15:62 - But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.