March 29 - Lesson Recap

1 John 3:4-10 Sin, What Does 1st John Say About It? - This week we were reminded that one of John's stated purposes for writing this letter was so that the believer would not sin (2:1). We then looked at what John had already written about sin. His early verses stressed a contrast between sin and righteousness and how Christ is our atonement for our sins.

In chapter 3, John continued his discussion contrasting sin and righteousness with very strong words about sinfulness. He does give us encouragement, however, when he says that, because we are born of God and have God's seed in our lives, sin should not prevail. We can even reach a point where it is more of our nature not to sin than to sin.

Next week we are going to look at John's warning about false prophets. I John 2: 18-27 and I John 4:16

March 22 - Lesson Recap

1 John 2:28-3:3 Children of God - "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" It is rare to find two exclamatory sentences in a row in the Bible but it certainly makes sense here. Imagine how John might have said these sentences. This is exactly what we need to remember when we are striving to walk in the Light, and to not love the world. We could easily lose hope at our failures but John says "..what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him...Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

March 15 - Lesson Recap

1 John 2:15-17 Do Not Love the World - or anything in the world! How are we to live out these verses? It is critical to continually check our heart, attitudes, and priorities. We must remember that sinful cravings, lust, and boasting come from the world and it will all pass away. "...but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

March 8 - Lesson Recap

1 John 2: 1-11 Walking in the Light - sounds nice but in this passage we are reminded that simply saying we are "in the Light" is not enough. If we are truly walking in the Light there will be evidence, things we do and things we do not do. Verse 6 sums it up, "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." How did Jesus walk? How do we walk like He did? That was the topic of much of our discussion today.

March 1 - Lesson Recap

I John - Chapter 1 Today we started our study of 1st John. This letter was written by the apostle John who was, as some people describe, in the inner circle. John is writing this to believers, so it exciting and challenging because it is written to us. In our opening lesson we set the groundwork noticing the verses that describe the setting, verses that contain christian truths, and verses that challenge us to respond and change.

John is a credible writer because he was with Christ. John sets a contrast between light and darkness (righteousness and sin). He states that we are not without sin but most importantly he reminds us about the sacrifice of Christ that purifies us from all sin. Lastly, we looked at how we can have sweet fellowship with Christ and one another as we walk in the light.